Round 21 of the 2025 NRL season has wrapped up, so we’re looking over the results and digging into three big takeaways from the weekend.
The Sydney Roosters and Melbourne Storm kicked Round 21 off with a thriller. However, it’s one that could well define Melbourne’s season. Despite claiming a 34-30 win over the tri-colours, they’ve lost Jahrome Hughes to a shoulder injury in the process.
The North Queensland Cowboys and St George Illawarra Dragons did their best to add a thriller of their own to the round. No lead ever looked safe as the two teams combined for 70 points. It took until the final set of the game for the Cowboys to secure the much-needed 38-32 victory.
Jason Ryles has been telling the NRL public that his club is making strides despite the poor run of results. Their 22-20 win over the Brisbane Broncos is proof. Mitchell Moses made his return with the veteran halfback providing a steady presence to the attack. While it appeared as though the Broncos found a winner late, the Bunker spotted Reece Walsh offside to give Parramatta the competition points.
Two early tries came a little too easy for the New Zealand Warriors. The Titans managed to extinguish the 10-0 deficit after 10 minutes to win 24-16 across the ditch.
Watch all the highlights as the Warriors take on the Titans in Round 21! 🎥 pic.twitter.com/13jtXFUX8u
— NRL (@NRL) July 26, 2025
Benji Marshall said himself that the Wests Tigers didn’t play any good in Round 20 despite the win. Unfortunately for him, his side carried the same form into Round 21 against the four-time premiership-winning Penrith Panthers. The final 36-2 result is an accurate reflection of the difference between the two sides.
Many anticipated a similar scoreline in the final game on Saturday as the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks took on an injury-depleted South Sydney Rabbitohs. If there is ever a game to claim “a win is a win” it’s this one for the Sharks. The quicker they flush this 14-12 result and move onto the next, the better for their premiership aspirations.
The Newcastle Knights made a game of it in the first half, but in classic Canberra Raiders fashion, the Green Machine pulled away to win 44-18. Finally, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs made light work of the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 42-4 at Allianz to close the round. With hopes of this game being one of the best this season in front of a packed crowd, the Sea Eagles didn’t hold up their end of the bargain while also losing Haumole Olakau’atu to another shoulder injury.
3 Takeaways From Round 21
Hughes’ Path To Recovery
The Melbourne Storm won the game on Thursday night, but appeared to have lost their season with Jahrome Hughes leaving the field with a dislocated shoulder. When an ambulance needed to be called and a visit to hospital required to get it back in, many assumed the worst. However, scans have since revealed hope of a potential return.
Storm are hopeful Jahrome Hughes will be back in 6 weeks with initial scans clearing him of any fracture after dislocating his shoulder (via @brentread_7).
MRI is still to come to assess ligament/cartilage/tendon damage, but avoiding fracture a major hurdle in being able to… pic.twitter.com/VhKbnAOZQq
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) July 25, 2025
Hughes will be out until at least the NRL Finals. With the Storm sitting 2nd on the ladder, the challenge is to hold their spot in the top four to ensure a second life in the finals, and provide Hughes with the extra week to return, or get 80 minutes under his belt.
While the Storm are accustomed to playing without big names, and have two returning in Cameron Munster and Ryan Papenhuyzen, they face a tough run home to September: @ Eels, Broncos, @ Panthers, Bulldogs, Roosters, @ Broncos,
Panthers Keep Coming
The Penrith Panthers are looking more and more Panthers-like every week.
Isaah Yeo spoke about needing to be a top two team defensively if you’re to win the premiership as the Panthers kept the Wests Tigers to only two points on Saturday night.
“Their four-consecutive premierships have been built on defence first. They’re patient with the ball, but can always afford to be when the defence is performing at its best. With cohesion developing in the side, it’s translating into a more Panthers-like defence.” – Panthers Defending Their Title
Penrith have never been an attacking powerhouse. They’re happy to be patient, play the long game, and don’t take a lot of risks even with a healthy lead. However, they made it look easy at times against the Tigers to score 36 points on the back of three Nathan Cleary try assists.
The Panthers are defence-first. When you’ve got the quality of Cleary in the halves, you can rely on him to generate enough points to win. Following a poor start to the season as new players in different spots adjusted to their surrounds, Ivan Cleary’s side is back to normal as the NRL Finals approach.
The Run To The Minor Premiership
With the Melbourne Storm losing their halfback and the New Zealand Warriors dropping points at home to be six points back at 4th, the race to the NRL’s minor premiership is down to the Canberra Raiders and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
1st – Raiders: 36 points – 16 wins/3 losses/2 byes
2nd – Bulldogs: 34 points – 14 wins/4 losses/3 byes
Canberra has won seven games on the bounce to be the form side of the competition at the moment. While they’re yet to dominate for a full 80 minutes, they don’t need to right now. Strong second halves are proving more than enough to put the opposition away. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are nursing Lachlan Galvin into the side, and doing so without it impacting the NRL ladder. They aren’t always looking their most fluid with the ball, but still have plenty of time to iron out the kinks while still being in the hunt for the top.
Looking at the remaining schedule, it’s advantage Raiders in the push for the minor premiership.
Raiders: @ Dragons, Sea Eagles, Bye, @ Panthers, Wests Tigers, @ Dolphins
Bulldogs: @ Wests Tigers, Warriors, @ Roosters, @ Storm, Panthers, Sharks
With a bye also in hand, the Raiders can afford to drop one while playing out a friendlier draw to the Bulldogs who have the four Top 8 teams and the always-dangerous Roosters to come.
The Raiders haven’t had to play out the most difficult draw recently, but they’ve made the most of it to be in the box seat to end Round 27 at the top of the table.