Tigers turmoil to \u2018linger\u2019 as damning new detail revealed<\/a><\/p>\n6. NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS (28 points, +60)<\/p>\n
Predicted finish: 6th <\/p>\n
Chance of finishing in top eight: 86.1%<\/p>\n
Chance of finishing top four: 1.1%<\/p>\n
Chance of winning minor premiership: 0%<\/p>\n
Remaining games: Raiders (A), Titans (H), Sea Eagles (H), Warriors (A), BYE<\/p>\n
Analysis: Last week\u2019s win over Brisbane has just about got them into the finals given they\u2019ve still got a bye to come. They probably need to win just one of their remaining four games to qualify for the finals. They\u2019ve got some tricky games ahead and will have to do it without halfback Dylan Brown, but his replacement, Sandon Smith, played well on the weekend in combination with Fletcher Sharp. The Fox Sports Lab has given them a 1.1 per cent chance of making the top four.<\/p>\n
7. SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS (26 points, +62)<\/p>\n
Predicted finish: 7th <\/p>\n
Chance of finishing in top eight: 71.5%<\/p>\n
Chance of finishing top four: 0.6%<\/p>\n
Chance of winning minor premiership: 0%<\/p>\n
Remaining games: Eels (H), Bulldogs (A), Warriors (H), Titans (A), Roosters (H)<\/p>\n
Analysis: They desperately need Cameron Murray, David Fifita and Tallis Duncan back this week. They still need to win three more games to assure themselves a finals spot. None of their final five matches are easy, particularly the Warriors and Roosters. The latter would love nothing more than to knock them out of finals contention. Without Latrell Mitchell, they\u2019re not considered a title threat, and he may not play again this season as he battles nerve issues.<\/p>\n
8. CANTERBURY BULLDOGS (26 points, -44)<\/p>\n
Predicted finish: 8th <\/p>\n
Chance of finishing in top eight: 55.8%<\/p>\n
Chance of finishing top four: 0.1%<\/p>\n
Chance of winning minor premiership: 0%<\/p>\n
Remaining games: Roosters (A), Rabbitohs (H), Dragons (A), Panthers (A), Broncos (H)<\/p>\n
Analysis: They\u2019ve won six of their past seven to surge into the top eight. The Dogs receive a huge boost with the anticipated return of Sitili Tupouniua, and they\u2019ll need him against the red-hot Roosters. They\u2019ve also got to face Penrith in the run-in. They need to improve their attack if they\u2019re to make the finals. <\/p>\n
9. NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS (26 points, -98)<\/p>\n
Predicted finish: 9th <\/p>\n
Chance of finishing in top eight: 42.7%<\/p>\n
Chance of finishing top four: 0%<\/p>\n
Chance of winning minor premiership: 0%<\/p>\n
Remaining games: Titans (A), Eels (A), bye, Tigers (H), Raiders (H)<\/p>\n
Analysis: They have one of the easiest runs home according to the Fox Sports Lab, but are coming off a 70-point loss to the Roosters which was described by coach Todd Payten as the club\u2019s \u201cdarkest day\u201d. Fox League\u2019s Cooper Cronk has questioned whether they can recover from the humiliating loss. They still have a bye and only travel interstate once in the final five weeks which will be a big help. You get the feeling the Titans game this week is a crunch game. Another loss, and Cronk may be right. <\/p>\n
10. MANLY SEA EAGLES (24 points, +90)<\/p>\n
Predicted finish: 10th <\/p>\n
Chance of finishing in top eight: 42.2%<\/p>\n
Chance of finishing top four: 0.1%<\/p>\n
Chance of winning minor premiership: 0%<\/p>\n
Remaining games: Storm (A), Dolphins (H), Knights (A), Dragons (H), Warriors (A)<\/p>\n
Analysis: They really needed the bye last week after losing five of their previous six. They\u2019re only two points off eighth spot and do have a better for-and-against than the teams around them on the ladder so their finals charge is not over, which is why the Fox Sports Lab has given them a 42.2 per cent chance of making the eight. The Lab has even given them a 0.1 per cent hope of reaching the top four. An understrength Storm this weekend is a must-win game. They may only be able to lose one of their remaining five matches if they\u2019re to play finals and only play at home twice.<\/p>\n
11. CANBERRA RAIDERS (22 points, -59)<\/p>\n
Predicted finish: 11th <\/p>\n
Chance of finishing in top eight: 2.2%<\/p>\n
Chance of finishing top four: 0%<\/p>\n
Chance of winning minor premiership: 0%<\/p>\n
Remaining games: Knights (H), Sharks (A), Broncos (H), BYE, Cowboys (A)<\/p>\n
Analysis: Last week\u2019s loss to Penrith didn\u2019t officially end their season but in reality it likely did. The Fox Sports Lab now only gives them a 2.2 per cent chance of playing finals footy. They need to win all their remaining games to be a finals hope. With tough away trips to Cronulla and North Queensland ahead, they probably have too much to do. They\u2019re trying hard, but are their own worst enemy when it comes to discipline, which is the main reason they\u2019re not going to play finals football in 2026.<\/p>\n
12. MELBOURNE STORM (20 points, -26)<\/p>\n
Predicted finish: 12th <\/p>\n
Chance of finishing in top eight: 0.1%<\/p>\n
Chance of finishing top four: 0%<\/p>\n
Chance of winning minor premiership: 0%<\/p>\n
Remaining games: Sea Eagles (H), BYE, Panthers (H), Broncos (A), Sharks (A)<\/p>\n
Analysis: They\u2019re going to be understrength again without Harry Grant and Jahrome Hughes. They\u2019re still playing with plenty of grit and coach Craig Bellamy said he\u2019d drop players to reserve grade if they were just \u201cgoing through the motions\u201d now that the finals are out of reach. Technically, the Fox Sports Lab says they\u2019re not, but only gives the Storm a 0.1 per cent chance of pulling off a top eight miracle. They have a very tough run home after the bye.<\/p>\n
Ryles Demands Consistency | 03:28<\/p>\n
13. PARRAMATTA EELS (20 points, -179)<\/p>\n
Predicted finish: 13th <\/p>\n
Chance of finishing in top eight: 0.1%<\/p>\n
Chance of finishing top four: 0%<\/p>\n
Chance of winning minor premiership: 0%<\/p>\n
Remaining games: Rabbitohs (A), Cowboys (H), Dolphins (A), Sharks (H), Dragons (A)<\/p>\n
Analysis: They jumped from 16th to 13th on the ladder after beating the Tigers on Sunday and have a reasonable run home with the Sharks being the biggest obstacle. They won on the weekend but it wasn\u2019t a great performance. Play like that this week and Souths will beat them. If they jag a win and Melbourne loses, they\u2019ll finish the round in 12th and all of a sudden it\u2019s not looking like a shocking season. <\/p>\n
14. GOLD COAST TITANS (18 points, -122)<\/p>\n
Predicted finish: 14th <\/p>\n
Chance of finishing in top eight: 0%<\/p>\n
Chance of finishing top four: 0%<\/p>\n
Chance of winning minor premiership: 0%<\/p>\n
Remaining games: Cowboys (H), Knights (A), Sharks (H), Rabbitohs (H), Dolphins (H)<\/p>\n
Analysis: For weeks the Fox Sports Lab has been giving them a less than one per cent chance of making the finals despite their lowly position on the ladder. Finally, the Lab has given up on them because they can only get to 28 points if they win all their remaining games. <\/p>\n
15. BRISBANE BRONCOS (18 points, -156)<\/p>\n
Predicted finish: 15th <\/p>\n
Chance of finishing in top eight: 0%<\/p>\n
Chance of finishing top four: 0%<\/p>\n
Chance of winning minor premiership: 0%<\/p>\n
Remaining games: Dolphins (A), Warriors (H), Raiders (A), Storm (H), Bulldogs (A)<\/p>\n
Analysis: The Broncos just want to put this season behind them and get to Mad Monday. It\u2019s been a shocking title defence and their local rivals the Dolphins would love nothing more than to kick them while they\u2019re down this week. The big brother Brisbane won\u2019t want to lose this game so expect them to be up for it. The Storm are the only out-of-form side they face now and running second last is a possibility.<\/p>\n
Tigers fail to beat error-riddled Eels | 06:59<\/p>\n
16. WESTS TIGERS (18 points, -211)<\/p>\nPredicted finish: 16th<\/p>\n
Chance of finishing in top eight: 0%<\/p>\n
Chance of finishing top four: 0%<\/p>\n
Chance of winning minor premiership: 0%<\/p>\n
Remaining games: BYE, Dragons (H), Roosters (A), Cowboys (A), Panthers (A)<\/p>\n
Analysis: They really need the bye this week. And if Brisbane or the Gold Coast loses they\u2019ll at least move up from second last on the ladder. To make things worse for the struggling club, they\u2019ve still got to play the Panthers and Roosters. Their best chance for a win will come next week at home to the last-placed Dragons. <\/p>\n
17. ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS (10 points, -273)<\/p>\n
Predicted finish: 17th<\/p>\n
Chance of finishing in top eight: 0%<\/p>\n
Chance of finishing top four: 0%<\/p>\n
Chance of winning minor premiership: 0%<\/p>\n
Remaining games: Sharks (H), Tigers (A), Bulldogs (H), Sea Eagles (A), Eels (H)<\/p>\n
Analysis: It\u2019s hard to believe a side has only won two games all season. The Dragons should be able to jag at least one more win this season as they still have to play the Tigers, Sea Eagles and Eels who are all having their own struggles. They have the chance to pull off the upset of the season against local rival Cronulla this week. It will be interesting to see if Kade Reed gets a run before the end of the season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With five rounds remaining, four teams have been given a chance to take out the minor premiership, according…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":559123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-559122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=559122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/559123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=559122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=559122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=559122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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