Four out of ten: Which teams will make the NRL finals?

With just five rounds of the 2023 NRL season to play, there are still four finals spots up for grabs, and ten teams potentially in the hunt.

While the Canberra Raiders, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Cronulla Sharks and North Queensland Cowboys sit with the advantage coming into the weekend, inside the top eight, all of the Newcastle Knights, Manly Sea Eagles and Parramatta Eels are very legitimate chances of playing finals football in 2023.

The Gold Coast Titans, Dolphins and Sydney Roosters are all approaching miracle territory, but by no means are out of the equation.

With so many teams still alive, bet365 offers provides plenty in the way of opportunity for punters looking to predict who might fall over the finish line and have a chance of lifting the Provan-Summons trophy on grand final day this year.

While the top four sides - the Penrith Panthers, Brisbane Broncos, New Zealand Warriors and Melbourne Storm - are all as good as locked into the finals, the same can't be said for the sides behind them with five weeks to play.

Of the four sides immediately behind in the top eight, the South Sydney Rabbitohs and North Queensland Cowboys both have a bye to play and to guarantee a spot in the top eight, would likely need to win two of their remaining four games.

The Cowboys, who will be without the suspended Valentine Holmes for those games, play the Brisbane Broncos, Cronulla Sharks, Dolphins and Penrith Panthers, while South Sydney play the Cronulla Sharks in Perth, the St George Illawarra Dragons in Cairns, the Newcastle Knights in the Hunter and the Sydney Roosters at home.

The Raiders have an extra game still to play to get their two wins, also having 11 for the season to date, and with games against the Wests Tigers, Melbourne Storm, Canterbury Bulldogs, Brisbane Broncos and Cronulla Sharks, it's hard to see them missing the eight.

Speaking of the Sharks - their form has been a real worry, and they could well need three wins to sneak into the finals. With games in Perth against the Rabbitohs, the match against Canberra and other games against the Titans, Cowboys (in Townsville) and Knights, the black, white and blue could be the most likely team to drop out of the top eight.

From outside the top eight, the Knights and Sea Eagles are the teams in immediate striking distance, just a single point behind after they played out a draw earlier this season.

Both are likely to need four from five wins to make the finals, although the Knights' for and agaist is to their advantage, while the Parramatta Eels, who are a point further back, have a bye up their sleeve and likely need to win three from four.

Last year's grand finalists could ultimately be the team most likely to sneak in to the eight despite a run home that features the Dragons, Broncos, Roosters and Panthers.

Behind the blue and gold, it's the Gold Coast Titans, Dolphins and Roosters who all likely need to win five from five to have a chance of qualifying.

The Titans and Dolphins are almost at the point of hopes being exstinguished, while a team coached by Trent Robinson can never be written off until it's impossible, although it'll be exceptionally difficult.

While the Knights are a strong chance of playing finals football, it seems the most obvious change to the current top eight is the Sharks being replaced by the Eels over the final five weeks, with the run to the finals now well and truly on.