1. Panthers (Last Week: 1)
The Panthers secured the minor premiership on Friday evening with yet another dominant victory. They blew the Cowboys away and ultimately did it pretty easy to the tune of 32-12. Kikau looked back to his bossing best, with a game high 180 metres, as well as two line breaks and a try. All four of the Panthers outside backs crossed for tries. The win and minor premiership was nothing less than what they deserved after a brilliant season.
2. Storm (2)
The Storm sent a timely reminder of their title aspirations after running in nine tries against the Tigers on Saturday afternoon. I'd recap the try scorers but I only have 10,000 words. Cam Smith's try will be a memorable one as a result of the off-field actions of his coach. Great stuff! Nelson Asofa-Solomona was back to his destructive best in the middle. Pretty frightening stuff, despite the opposition, without their superstar fullback. Jahrome Hughes is in red hot form right now also. Cam Smith though, he SURELY has to play on next year.
3. Roosters (3)
The Roosters managed to rest a string of star players yet still walk it in against the Sharks on Saturday. Milestone man Mitch Aubusson had a field day, scoring a double at centre. The Sharks simply couldn't contain the likes of Tupou, Manu and Keary who all ran rings around their direct opponents. The Roosters, sans SST won the middle despite just 44% possession. This was job done while Tedesco, SST and Friend rested up for the finals. Brilliant coaching.
4. Raiders (4)
The Raiders downed a brave Warriors outfit in relative cruise control, meaning they will either finish fourth or host a week one final against the Sharks this weekend. The 26-14 win came despite an early injury to halfback George Williams. Hudson Young continues his incredible rise in 2020. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad played extremely well opposite RTS. Semi Valemei looks the goods on the wing. He scored a double in a huge effort. The Raiders will play the Sharks not knowing the fate so perhaps don't expect big names to be rested.
5. Eels (5)
The Eels kept their top four ambitions in their own hands with a handy victory over the Broncos on Friday night. This wasn't a brilliant performance by any means, however it was job done. Blake Ferguson and Maika Sivo crossed within a few minutes before Clint Gutherson's quick double just before half time ended this as a contest. 60% possession and an 86% completion rate are both very positive figures. Mitch Moses was more involved with two try assists, two line break assists and over 100 running metres. Good signs despite not blowing Brisbane away as expected.
6. Titans (7)
Gold! Coast! TITANS!!! Wow. The Titans moved into ninth spot on the NRL ladder with their fifth straight victory. AJ Brimson is everything we thought he would be and then some. He, for mine, was the player of the round and has a spot locked up for the Maroons. The Titans absolutely smashed the Sea Eagles off their home turf scoring tries for fun. A late fade out saw them concede two late tries however nothing will take the gloss off a huge 42-24 win. A win over Newcastle will see them finish 9th and just a win (plus points diff) outside of finals.
7. Knights (8)
Newcastle put themselves in prime position to host a final in round one after a thumping victory over a hapless Dragons outfit. They scored seven tries to three and helped their fans celebrate old blokes day in style.
Truthfully if they'd pushed they could have cracked 50 but there is nothing negative here. The Saifiti boys ran riot and both crossed for tries. Ponga was good as usual, while Mason Lino stepped into the halves on relatively short notice and can be very, very happy with his effort. A win over the Titans means a home final against the Bunnies.
8. Rabbitohs (6)
The Bunnies fell to one of the season's biggest upsets on Thursday night in their loss to the Bulldogs. They were absolutely ambushed from the kick off and fell 20-0 down before they seemingly woke up. They would bring it back to 20-16 however they conceded a late try and saw any chance of a top four finish slip away (although the Eels would ruin that anyways with their win). They now need to beat their bitter rivals the Roosters and hope Newcastle lose to play a home final. This could be a costly loss.
9. Sharks (9)
The Sharks were brave, yet hopelessly outclassed in their loss to the Roosters on Saturday night. The worst case scenario came true as Shaun Johnson suffered a long term injury which could see him miss significant playing time in 2021. Any chance in the world that they had come round one of finals ended.
Royce Hunt also suffered a horror injury. Johnson was incredible pre-injury while Scott Sorenson lead the way in the middle. Woods. Hamlin-Uele and Jack Williams were absolutely battered in the middle by a side missing SST. Katoa is a human highlight reel.
10. Warriors (10)
The Warriors look ready to head home, and who can blame them, despite yet another brave effort in a losing effort in the capital. A Peta Hiku double and a pair of Chanel Harris-Tavita penalty goals kept the Warriors in this right yup until the halftime break. Although they were held scoreless after the break, this was still a monster effort. RTS's season ended via injury with the superstar captain ruled out of next week already. He topped the Warriors run metres despite playing only 59 minutes. What a star.
11. Tigers (11)
It has become a joke but the Tigers are now in serious danger of handing over their prized 9th spot after copping a hiding at the hands of the Storm. The 50-22 loss sums up where they are right now, in that they're a mile off the big dogs. Young Asu Kepaoa scored a double in a rare highlight for the travelling Tigers. The Tigers enjoyed an even split 50% possession yet conceded nine tries. Awful reading. Benji was again the better of the Tigers halves which is a shame for 2021.
12. Sea Eagles (12)
Yuk! This Manly side is almost unrecognisable to that of 2019 who played finals footy. Tommy Turbo's return was cut short after the superstar fullback was taken off with a shoulder injury. He's now racing the clock to be fit for Origin. Curtis Sironen topped the metres with 203, although that was a rare highlight. In a week where they were caught off guard by AFB requesting a release, the Sea Eagles played like they were also surprised there were two games to go. Dreadful.
13. Bulldogs (15)
The Dogs moved off the bottom of the table with a stunning upset win over the Bunnies on Thursday night. They came out of the blocks with fire and aggression and found themselves 20-0 within half an hour. Jayden Okunbor didn't score but threatened all night in topping the metres. Chris Smith's 65th minute try, which turned out to be the one to seal victory, was almost anticlimactic after he looked unsure whether or not he got the ball down. They were a far better side on the night than their highly fancied opponents.
14. Dragons (13)
The Dragons played like a team who know they're only two games (now one) away from the off-season. Truthfully they were dire and never in this game in any way, shape or form. To say Anthony Griffin has a job ahead of him is a huge understatement. On the positives, Zac Lomax is an absolute genius.
I was absolutely gobsmacked to hear Dean Young come out and place blame on the younger players here. Norman and Hunt, on a combined almost 2 million, played like reserve graders yet largely avoided criticism. Suggests why Young wasn't considered for the fulltime job.
15. Cowboys (14)
The Cowboys continued their slow limp towards the end of the season after a 20 point loss to the Panthers. 46% possession and 38 missed tackles is always going to be tough, especially against a rampant Penrith side. Val Holmes topped the run metres, broke four tackles and made a line break. Taumalolo returned from the bench and was largely kept quiet. The Cowboys are seemingly everyone's second favourite team this Thursday as they look to consign QLD rivals the Broncos to last spot.
16. Broncos (16)
The Broncos will be forced to defeat their QLD rivals the Cowboys in their last game of 2020 to avoid a club first ever wooden spoon. They were beaten pretty handily by the Eels despite patches of good play. Patrick Carrigan lead every stat category yet again but also yet again didn't have enough help. David Fifita scored a good try before exiting with injury. Man Monday can't come soon enough.