Dragons Conquer All Comers
After defeating the Broncos in round 23 St George-Illawarra made it two contenders in two weeks as they snuck
past Parramatta to gain some revenge for the heavy loss they were handed by the Eels just six weeks ago.
The Tigers continued their charge towards a top four spot stretching their winning streak to eight with a
total annihilation of the Doggies, while the once mighty Broncos stumbled yet again but are still clinging to
a two point lead at the top of the competition ladder.
Melbourne, North Queensland and Cronulla all booked their spots in the playoffs over the weekend leaving
just one place to be decided over the next two weeks.
Manly are the favourites to take that spot at the moment, but their confidence will be well down after
taking a 62 point beating from the Sharks in round 24.
Canterbury, Sydney, Penrith and Canberra are the other teams still left with a mathematical chance of
making the semi finals, but will be preying that the Sea Eagles slip up this weekend otherwise their hopes
will be extinguished.
Two of the hottest teams in the league are fighting it out for the wooden spoon with Newcastle and Souths
playing inspired football over the concluding stages of the season to at least keep some interest in the
season for their fans.
|
Power Rankings through Round 24 |
| Current | Team | Last Week |
| 1 | St George-Illawarra Dragons | 1 |
|
St George-Illawarra continued their stunning charge into the playoffs on Sunday afternoon sneaking by title
hopefuls, the Parramatta Eels, 25-22 in front of a capacity Oki Jubilee Stadium. The win makes it six straight
for the Dragons, but they wont get a chance to extend that streak this weekend courtesy of the bye they
receive in round 25. |
| 2 | Wests Tigers | 2 |
|
The Tigers are soon becoming the most talked about team in the NRL after they won their eighth game in a row
and this victory was especially sweet as they put the cleaners through their geographical rivals, the
Canterbury Bulldogs, 54-2. The win almost surely secures a top four berth for Wests and it will be the first
time the joint venture has reached the playoffs since their inception in 2000. |
| 3 | Parramatta Eels | 3 |
|
If there is such a thing as a good loss Parramatta achieved that over the weekend with a tight three point
defeat to the red hot St George Dragons. The loss may have put a dent in the Minor Premiership campaign, but
they still hold their destiny in their own hands as two wins over the final two rounds will see them claim
first place on the NRL ladder. |
| 4 | Melbourne Storm | 5 |
|
Melbourne scored the two free points on offer in round 24 courtesy of the bye and are still in with a slight
chance of a top four spot heading into this weekend’s crunch match against the Tigers. |
| 5 | Cronulla Sharks | 7 |
|
Cronulla set all sorts of records on Sunday afternoon at Toyota Park as they annihilated a lacklustre Manly
outfit in a 12 try romp 68-6. The win was the Sharks biggest in their 39 year history and ensured that they
would be in the semi finals in two weeks time. |
| 6 | North Queensland Cowboys | 8 |
|
The Cowboys are continuing to hang tough even though they aren’t in the best of form currently, but their
gritty 31-28 victory over the Raiders on Saturday night made sure that they would be in the playoffs for a
second straight year. |
| 7 | Brisbane Broncos | 4 |
|
Brisbane’s dismal run showed no sign of stopping on Sunday afternoon at Penrith Football Stadium, as they were
beaten on the bell by the Panthers 22-20. That loss now means they have three teams just two points behind
them in the race for the Minor Premiership and with a couple of tough matches ahead the Broncos could slip
down as far as fourth on the competition table by the end of the regular season. |
| 8 | Penrith Panthers | 9 |
|
The Panthers finals hopes are still barely alive after a remarkable two point victory over the Broncos that
saw them score two tries in the final five minutes to steal the win. They are still quite a long shot to make
it into the semi finals, but the outlook is a lot brighter than it was just six weeks ago when they were
contending for the wooden spoon. |
| 9 | Newcastle Knights | 10 |
|
Newcastle continue to play a wonderful brand of football, but even though they keep winning it seems more and
more likely that they will pick up the wooden spoon this year. Their 16-4 victory over the Warriors on
Saturday night moved them to within two points of the New Zealanders, but they must now win their final two
games and hope results go their way if they are to rid themselves of this unwanted title. |
| 10 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 11 |
|
The Rabbitohs have turned over a new leaf in recent weeks winning five of their last six games to keep the
Knights at bay in their duel at the bottom of the table, but the only thing on the minds of the Red and Green
Army on Saturday night was celebrating as they defeated their arch rivals, the Sydney Roosters, 17-16. This
was the first time the Bunnies had beaten their inner city adversaries since 1994 so there was much cause for
partying out Redfern way. |
| 11 | Manly Sea Eagles | 6 |
|
Manly hit rock bottom on Sunday afternoon suffering a humiliating 62 point thumping at the hands of the
Cronulla Sharks. The club is racked with injury problems, but there is light at the end of the tunnel as just
one win over the final two rounds would secure a semi final spot for the Sea Eagles for the first time since
1998. |
| 12 | Canberra Raiders | 12 |
|
Canberra are on their last legs in the playoff race after a tight three point loss to the Cowboys on Saturday
night. Anything but a win this weekend will eliminate them from contention and their task could not be much
harder as they take on the Eels away from home. |
| 13 | Sydney Roosters | 13 |
|
The Roosters blew a golden opportunity to put themselves right into contention for the final playoff spot when
they lost to the Rabbitohs by a point after holding an early 12-0 lead. Sydney must now hope results go their
way over the final two rounds, but it would be an absolute miracle if that were too happen. |
| 14 | New Zealand Warriors | 14 |
|
New Zealand’s dismal season continued on Saturday night as they lost by 12 points to the Knights. It was a
disappointing way to send off their veteran halfback Stacey Jones who has been with the club since their
inception in 1995, but the Warriors will be looking to farewell him in fine fashion this weekend against Manly
in their last game of the season. |
| 15 | Canterbury Bulldogs | 15 |
|
For the second week in a row the defending Premiers were spanked by 52 points, this time it was the Tigers who
dished out the pain. Unbelievably the Bulldogs are still an outside chance of making the playoffs, but with
the way they are playing right now they have next to no chance of completing a miracle recovery. |
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