The 2021 NRL regular season is coming to a close, and while the Bulldogs have wrapped up the spoon, there is still plenty to play for at the top of the ladder with the race for the Top 4 heating up this week.
Rabbitohs Rally
The South Sydney Rabbitohs fell 25-12 to the Penrith Panthers, but Wayne Bennett will take a lot out of the match.
His side put in one of the better defensive performances of this season. It took a clinical Nathan Cleary and a few bounces of the ball for the Panthers to mount their comeback and ambush the Rabbitohs in the second half.
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Defence has been the main area of concern for South Sydney’s premiership chances but they are on the improve. Round 23 is another example of their development in that area but Souths have drifted out to $6.50 in the premiership winner market after coming into $5 last week. With what we saw out of them in the first half and given how hard the Panthers were forced to work in the second, $6.50 is an appealing price this far out from the NRL Grand Final.
Tigers Extend Unwanted Streaks
The Wests Tigers’ performance on Saturday afternoon was all too predictable for the cynics.
With their season on the line and with a chance to make a serious play for an unlikely Top 8 spot, Wests fell to pieces. Atrocious defensively, Michael Maguire’s side didn’t have any interest in playing without the ball. The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks simply needed to hold onto it and, eventually, the points came. 50 of them…
The 50-20 loss locks the Tigers into the bottom eight for a tenth consecutive season – the longest current finals drought in the NRL. Round 23 also provided Wests with a chance to win three games in a row for the first time since Round 6, 2018. That streak will be extended through to 2022 and acts as a another bitter reminder of just how bad the club has been and for how long.
Bulldogs Bottom Out
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs fought hard to challenge the Newcastle Knights on Saturday afternoon but the 22-16 defeat ultimately left them holding the wooden spoon.
Trent Barrett will finish his first NRL season at 16th on the ladder.
The Bulldogs have some promising players joining the club for 2022. They’re primed to be the consensus bolter for the Top 8 as media members clammer to get on the bandwagon early, though. In reality, it will more than likely take a season for the group to start playing at finals footy level. Maybe two. Bulldogs to Miss Top 8 will be worth exploring when the market opens up for 2022.
Race For Top 4
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and Sydney Roosters both picked up wins to keep the race for the Top 4 wide open heading into Round 24.
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A convincing win over the Dragons keeps the Roosters at 4th on the ladder for the time being, but they’re at $3 to keep it for a reason. They have the Rabbitohs and Raiders to come across the last two rounds while the Sea Eagles will ease their way into September through the Bulldogs and Cowboys.
Manly are two competition points behind Sydney but their superior points differential would act as the difference if the two sides end up level after Round 25. At $1.45 to make the Top 4, we can all but lock in back-to-back wins for the Sea Eagles from here. It’s going to take the Roosters winning both of their remaining games to finish alongside the Storm, Panthers and Rabbitohs in the top half of the finals draw.
NRL Against The Spread Standings
The Storm are getting ready to break the NRL record for most consecutive wins in Round 24 but they’re not the perfect football side. They’ve failed to cover the spread in each of their last three games. Still, their place at the top of the ATS ladder is unlikely to change before the end of the season. Meanwhile, the Warriors remain fastened to the bottom after losing straight up as slight favourites against the Broncos on Sunday afternoon.
After Round 23
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| Top 8 |
Bottom 8 |
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| Storm (17-5) | Panthers (11-11) | |
| Eels (15-7) | Roosters (10-12) | |
| Sharks (14-8) | Dragons (10-12) | |
| Rabbitohs (13-9) | Knights (9-13) | |
| Sea Eagles (12-10) | Bulldogs (8-14) | |
| Tigers (12-10) | Cowboys (8-14) | |
| Broncos (11-11) | Raiders (8-14) | |
| Titans (11-11) | Warriors (7-15) | |
