The Bulldogs are already in sudden-death mode, but one of their former stars thinks they will be a team no one wants to face in the finals if they get there.
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Round 26
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Meanwhile, Penrith is in uncharted territory heading into the finals with their least stable spine in recent memory. Ivan Cleary’s team selection will be “season defining” in the coming weeks.
And is history repeating itself at the Roosters? Their fans are hoping so following a shock loss at the weekend.
Read on for the Round 26 Talking Points!
WHY BULLDOGS CAN UPSET TOP TEAMS IN FINALS… IF THEY GET THERE
Penrith Panthers v Canterbury Bulldogs, Friday 8pm @ CommBank Stadium
The Canterbury Bulldogs have given themselves plenty to play for in the final couple of weeks of the regular season, but their path into the top eight remains far from straightforward.
Having only managed to win one from their past three matches, the Bulldogs now need to win their final two games and hope the Cowboys drop one of their remaining matches to keep their finals hopes alive.
Despite the uphill battle, former club captain Michael Ennis believes the club has the style and star power to keep their finals hopes alive as they prepare to face the Penrith Panthers and Brisbane Broncos in the next round.
“It’s bittersweet because I always love seeing the Dogs play the style of footy that they did on the weekend,” Ennis told foxsports.com.au.
“(It’s also) just a frustration because I feel like they play such a final style of footy and I just feel if they can get there I still give them a chance.
“I think they play a really finals style of footy and unfortunately there’s just been games like the one against the Raiders a couple weeks back at home where they were convincingly beaten.
“The one where they played the Roosters, well in front with ten to go and then run down and you just hope a couple of those ones don’t come back to haunt them, but it’s an uphill battle.
“But I think they can ruffle a few feathers if they get there with the stars that they’ve got in that team, that’s for sure.”
If they are able to sneak into the finals, the former Origin representative believes they could be a genuine threat in week one and potentially make a late surge all the way to the grand final
“You look at the bottom half of the eight at the moment like Cowboys, Souths, Sharks and Newcastle. I’d give the Dogs a shot against all of them in week one,” Ennis continued.
“They’ve just put themselves in a position now where it’s their semi-final sudden death every week.
“They’ve just got to keep winning and if that supporter base gets behind them, they could really challenge in week one of the finals.”
Burton silencing contract talk | 01:11
ARE THE PANTHERS STARTING TO CRUMBLE?
Penrith Panthers v Canterbury Bulldogs, Friday 8pm @ CommBank Stadium
For years Penrith’s spine has been running like a well-oiled machine leading into the finals but it now appears there are little “chinks” in the armour of the premiership favourites heading into September.
In April, some pundits and fans were suggesting the Panthers could go through the season undefeated after blowing their opposition away during the first five weeks of the competition.
After Round 14 they’d only lost one match, but since then they’ve got the wobbles, winning just four of nine.
In the four consecutive seasons Penrith won the comp, they had their best 17 running out on grand final night.
It just shows that luck plays a big role in a team’s success.
It doesn’t look like they’re going to be blessed with the same fortunes this season with Isaah Yeo and Mitch Kenny still on the sidelines.
Panthers Adjust to Life Without Yeo | 00:53
Also, Ivan Cleary has dropped a key player in Blaize Talagi and it’s rare spine players get dropped before a team goes on and wins a title.
Talagi is so out of favour at Penrith that they’re starting Jack Cole when Jack Cogger isn’t available, which is the case this week against the Bulldogs.
“That’s five halves changes in seven weeks for the normally consistent, stable Panthers,” journalist David Riccio said on NRL 360 on Tuesday night.
“Granted that they’ve had reasons, a suspension on this account for Cogger.
“I just find it different from a Panthers point of view that they are so stable, always so consistent in the halves. Remembering it was back in Round 22 against the Raiders that Ivan made that decision to drop Blaize Talagi for Cogger and it was a significant call at the time.
“We said it at the time that this could be a season-defining call.”
A lot of former playmakers have come out and said Talagi was the best option to give Penrith a little bit of X-factor and Braith Anasta agreed.
“I would play Blaize, I’m a big fan of his. He’s struggling with defensive reads, that’s why he’s not there,” Anasta said.
“He has great X-factor that other players don’t have. If he gets his defence right, he’s definitely the man for the job. But with Cogger, (Nathan) Cleary seems to lift as well and I think he enjoys that combination and that’s worked.
“They’ve probably been looking at it for a while. They know that Cogger’s delivered on the big stage, and they know that the combination works.
“A couple of months out they’ve gone ‘this is what we’re going to go with, if it doesn’t work, we’ve always got Blaize there’.”
Anasta conceded however, that Ivan Cleary’s judgement should be trusted but there’s no doubt that Penrith is still in its most uncertain period in terms of the team make-up since 2019.
If there’s one part of the field you don’t want uncertainty in, it’s the halves.
“I’m just coming from a place where there’s no Isaah Yeo. Then you throw in another halves change, still no Mitch Kenny. It’s just these little chinks in the spine at this point of the season, with two rounds to go,” Riccio said.
Preston commits to Bulldogs | 00:38
WHY TIMING COULDN’T BE BETTER FOR LATRELL RETURN
Gold Coast Titans v South Sydney Rabbitohs, Saturday 3pm @ Cbus Super Stadium
He’s back.
Souths superstar Latrell Mitchell is set to make his much-anticipated return from an injury-enforced lay-off which has seen him miss three months of action.
Mitchell is in jersey No. 19, so he’s no certainty to play, but given the Bunnies will be able to use five of their six-man bench because of the special provision Jai Arrow has received, it’s likely Mitchell will be utilised.
Coach Wayne Bennett was confident last week that this Saturday’s clash against the Titans would be Mitchell’s return date.
The timing couldn’t be better.
While a top eight finish is likely, Souths still need to win at least one of their final two games to lock in a finals spot.
They’ve done well to get to this position given they’ve endured another luckless season on the injury front, but now, they’re rounding back to full health at a crucial stage of the year.
With Mitchell back in the fray, Souths will be a dangerous team in the finals.
While there is a query at halfback, they’re stacked with talent everywhere else.
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Mitchell may take some time to find his best form given the time he’s spent on the sideline, but if he recaptures the touch he was in early in the year, he’s going to be a handful.
Mitchell was arguably the player of the year up until Round 11.
In his nine games this season, Mitchell scored 11 tries, set up seven more and had ten line breaks in the centres.
Fox League’s Michael Ennis can’t wait to see Mitchell back out there in the cardinal and myrtle.
“I think we’re all looking forward to this weekend. He has just given us so many great moments,” Ennis said.
“He’s just he’s one of my favourite players to watch. He can do things that others can’t and the confidence that he was playing with at the start of this season, I’ve not seen.
“I was so excited about what could have been in the Origin arena with Latrell given the form that he was in but it wasn’t to be.
“His side’s done a great job to get put themselves in a position to play finals with Mitchell being absent for a big chunk of the season. But yeah I can’t wait to watch him play this weekend that’s for sure.”
Jai Arrow gets his century shot | 03:00
Sydney Roosters v Dolphins, Saturday 5:30pm @ Allianz Stadium
TIGERS LOSS MAY BE THE KEY TO A ROOSTERS PREMIERSHIP
Is history about to repeat itself at the Roosters?
The club and its fans are certainly hoping so following the shock loss to the Tigers on Sunday.
The Roosters were on an eight-match winning streak and looking unbeatable against the lowly Tigers but a shock 25-24 loss saw them go from first to third on the ladder.
The loss was discussed on the Matty & Cronk podcast this week and Johns said it wasn’t all bad news.
“They’ve done it before under Robbo. The year they won in 2013, Robbo’s first year, in Round 25, they played the Titans at home. The Titans were $12 to beat them and rolled them. They’ve got form, it does happen sometimes,” Johns said.
“The Roosters have gone through a really big six weeks. They’ve been up in the last couple of weeks, and yesterday (Sunday) you just had that sense that they’re going to be vulnerable against a side who’s had a horror back end of the year.”
Had the Roosters won last week, and taken out the final two games of the season, and gone on to win the grand final, it likely would’ve meant that they would have won 15-straight games to win the title.
History says that just doesn’t happen.
So maybe a loss a few weeks out from the finals isn’t so bad and will ensure there’s no complacency come the big games.
“Winning the competition is about timing, you’ve got to be playing your best football at the right time,” Johns told Cronk.
“What do you think about that loss yesterday?”
“In the years that you win a premiership, there’s no doubt that you have slip-ups. I I’ve been a part of teams that end up winning, but in Round 23 or 24, you just drop a game,” Cronk said.
The four-time premiership-winning halfback does think, however, the loss may keep Robinson up at night knowing his side has that sort of performance in them whereas the Panthers and Warriors don’t appear to.
“Is this the game that had to slip up in? Maybe. I think Trent Robinson’s probably saying, ‘I’m hoping so’ because their best performance was arguably against Penrith the weekend before then they had their worst performance against the Tigers seven days later.
“There’s something in there that says their best is really good, their bad is not up to it.”
Fellow Fox League commentator Michael Ennis wasn’t too worried about the slip-up.
“I don’t think you ever need a loss, but I don’t think it’s the worst thing. I just think that they’ve got such an incredible roster and guys that know what it takes in the big games and they’ll be right to come finals time,” Ennis said.
Maddens field goal sinks Roosters | 00:45
TIGERS’ FALSE DAWN OR FINALS BOUND IN 2027?
NQ Cowboys v Wests Tigers, Saturday 7:35pm @ QLD Country Bank Stadium
The Wests Tigers upset win over the Roosters last round has reignited debate over whether they can finally turn their fortunes around or whether it is simply another false dawn at Concord.
After a horror run of form that saw them win just two of their previous 14 matches, the club produced a much-needed response against the Roosters, showing the resilience they had been missing throughout the second-half of the year.
“I think they decided to have a go. In the past eight weeks they haven’t shown any resilience. They haven’t shown any passion,” CODE Sports reporter Brent Read said on NRL 360.
But with the North Queensland Cowboys up next, the Tigers face another crucial test of whether they can build some consistency to round out the season and carry some momentum into 2027.
A strong finish against the Cowboys in Townsville and the Penrith Panthers in the final round could give the club some belief heading into the off-season.
Tigers win biggest upset of NRL season | 01:58
Meanwhile, another inconsistent performance would only reinforce the doubts over whether they are genuinely ready to take the next step.
“I think they can play finals footy next year,” Read continued.
“They won five of their first seven games. At some point it’s got to happen. They can’t keep capitulating forever.
“They had some injuries, they lost a bit of confidence, Jahream Bula wasn’t fit, the (Jarome) Luai thing went on.
“If they can rediscover the magic they had in the opening seven weeks, they can play finals footy.”
While Read was confident the Tigers could finally end their finals drought in 2027, fellow CODE Sports reporter Dean Ritchie was far less convinced.
Ritchie highlighted their poor record and increasing difficulty of breaking into the top eight with the addition of the Perth Bears.
Ritchie added, “They’ve won three from their last fifteen games.”
“We’ve got 18 teams next year, if we’ve got the top eight, that means they’ve got to finish in front of ten teams.
“Name me the top eight teams that won’t be there next year that the Tigers will replace?
“It’s impossible! The Dragons will go past (them).
“They played a bit of eyes up footy yesterday and they had a red-hot crack but it’s all about consistency.
“(It’s) know good having one good week and eight crap weeks. You’ve got to have a crack every single week and I’m sick of false dawns at Concord.
“I want them to do well. I really love the Tigers but you can’t sit here and praise 15 years of failure.”
WHY AN INJURY CRISIS HASN’T STOPPED THE WARRIORS
New Zealand Warriors v Newcastle Knights, Sunday 2pm @ Go Media Stadium
Momentum is everything heading into the finals series and a week ago it looked like the Roosters were the team with most of it.
But a loss to the Tigers has halted them to a degree and now it’s the Warriors who are all of a sudden running downhill.
How can a club which has lost its three best halfbacks still keep winning?
Would powerhouse Penrith continue their success without Nathan Cleary, Jack Cogger and Blaize Talagi?
Fox League’s Mick Ennis said the current form of the Warriors is not due to a sudden surge, but rather than bi-product of meticulous planning from coach Andrew Webster and the front office.
They’re still winning precisely because they don’t have a champion playmaker to fall back on.
“It’s just such a well-balanced side, and he’s done a hell of a job with them, Andrew Webster, and (CEO) Cameron George,” Ennis said.
“I thought a couple of weeks back that they might have been a little short of the mark but I think I’m wrong. Their last couple of weeks have been so impressive and you just hope they get through the next fortnight injury-free.”
Webster after big Souths win | 07:49
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You’d have to say the Warriors deserve a bit of luck on the injury front considering they’re currently without three halfbacks, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and star big man Jackson Ford.
It just goes to show how good Webster’s systems are.
He said following the win over Souths last week that simple messages make it “seamless” when a player comes in to replace an injured teammate – he’s obviously learned under Ivan Cleary.
Ennis said it made for a united and powerful squad across the park.
“They’re just relentless but they’ve got this calculated and flamboyant style of attack where Wayde Egan can use his craftiness like no other. He’s such a unique dummy half and that just unlocks the running game of their halves Harris-Tavita and Martin,” Ennis said.
“All the New Zealand fans are behind their team because they’re playing a style of footy you’re drawn to. It’s physical and it’s brutal through their forward pack which has been such a big cornerstone of thei game. It’s what attracts fans.”
Following wins in Brisbane and Sydney in the past fortnight, their final two games are at home, starting with the Knights this weekend.
If the Warriors stay on top of the ladder, or even finish second, they might not be seen in Australia again until grand final day, which will be a huge advantage.
“That first home semi, if they get it, will be absolutely incredible,” Ennis said.
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