Round 21 of the 2021 NRL season when a long way from separating the contenders from the pretenders while Super Saturday put on a show.
Knights Inch Closer To Finals
It wasn’t pretty, but the Newcastle Knights did enough to beat the Brisbane Broncos 28-20 on Thursday and clawed their way closer to a spot in the Top 8.
Kicking off the round at 11th on the NRL ladder, the Knights are up to 9th with points differential all that is keeping them out of the finals. They are, however, 65 points behind the Canberra Raiders for 8th. Adam O’Brien’s men will effectively need to win an extra game or start piling up the points to leap the Raiders. It’s certainly not out of the question given the remaining draws of the two sides.
Knights: @ Sharks, @ Bulldogs, Titans, @ Broncos
Raiders:Â @ Storm, Sea Eagles, @ Warriors, Roosters
Rabbitohs Roll Through Eels
We can all but stick a fork in the Parramatta Eels as premiership smokies. Losers of three on the bounce and with the Sea Eagles to come in Round 22, Brad Arthur’s side have blown out to $41 in the Premiership Winner market.
Parramatta never looked like keeping close with the South Sydney Rabbitohs on Friday night. The final 40-12 result highlights just how far away they are from the genuine contenders. With their attack struggling for creativity and not producing points, the Parramatta defence is now suffering after being one of the better defensive sides in the NRL this season.
To make matters worse, Reed Mahoney is out for the rest of the season after re-injuring his dodgy shoulder.
https://twitter.com/JasonNRL/status/1423081701975085060?s=20
The Eels are hanging onto 4th for dear life but could drop to 6th by the end of Round 22. Assuming the Roosters beat the Broncos on Friday night, the Sea Eagles only need to beat the Eels by three points for both teams to leap them on the ladder.
Super Saturday
Three games and none decided by more than 10 points?!?
That’s almost unheard of in the NRL these days.
Saturday’s opener isn’t one anybody will be writing home about. Certainly not Kane Evans. For the New Zealand Warriors to beat the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 18-16 in spite of Evans’ unfathomably bad performance is a big tick for Nathan Brown’s side. They’ve shown a lot of ticker over the last fortnight. The Sharks, on the other hand, may have just played themselves out of finals contention.
The Sydney Roosters remain in touch with the top four despite their 20-14 loss to the Penrith Panthers. Yet again, the Roosters pushed the Panthers close but couldn’t quite get over the line. At $3.75 and $23 respectively, expect a tight contest should they meet again in the finals regardless of their premiership odds.
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and Melbourne Storm put on a show to wrap up the day. Coming out on top 28-18, the Storm extended their winning streak to 17 games and are at $2.25 to lift the Provan-Summons Trophy in October. Few teams have been able to keep a lid on Tom Trbojevic, but the Storm kept him relatively quiet on the night. While the Storm winning will surprise nobody, the game does provide hope for the Sea Eagles challenging for the premiership. They’ve proven they can match it with the best for extended periods. Their $9 to win the NRL Grand Final deserves some consideration.
Top 8 Titans
The Gold Coast Titans made it three wins in a row by beating the North Queensland Cowboys 36-14 on Sunday afternoon. The two competition points put them to 7th on the NRL ladder and in the sort of form that should carry them through to the finals. Although, they do face a tough draw home: @ Rabbitohs, Storm, @ Knights, Warriors.
https://twitter.com/JasonNRL/status/1424279124785332228?s=20
NRL Against The Spread Standings
The Parramatta Eels losing streak extends beyond straight-up results and into the NRL’s ATS ladder after failing to cover the spread in three consecutive games. Meanwhile, the Warriors have covered in back-to-back games to lift themselves off the bottom of the standings.
After Round 21
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| Top 8 |
Bottom 8 |
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| Storm (17-3) | Knights (9-11) | |
| Eels (14-6) | Roosters (9-11) | |
| Sharks (12-8) | Broncos (9-11) | |
| Rabbitohs (12-8) | Dragons (9-11) | |
| Tigers (11-9) | Cowboys (8-12) | |
| Sea Eagles (11-9) | Bulldogs (7-13) | |
| Titans (10-10) | Warriors (6-14) | |
| Panthers (10-10) | Raiders (6-14) | |
