Cronulla and St George Illawarra will run out for their final games of the regular season on Saturday but with very different motivations.
The Sharks head south to Melbourne to face the Storm, with the winner to be crowned the minor premiers, while the Dragons will play for pride against last-placed Newcastle at Jubilee Oval, Kogarah.
Cronulla’s impressive win over the Sydney Roosters on Saturday night and Melbourne’s loss to Brisbane saw the Sharks narrow the gap at the top of the table to one point.
The Sharks, who can finish anywhere between first and third, looked back to their menacing best against the Roosters and will take plenty of confidence into the Melbourne clash, especially given the outstanding return of captain Paul Gallen from injury.
But second-placed Cronulla aren’t guaranteed a top two finish.
A loss to Melbourne, and a Canberra (+190) win over the Wests Tigers on Sunday, would likely see Cronulla (+196) slip to third on for and against.
Saturday won’t be as exciting for the Dragons, who have endured a difficult and ultimately disappointing season.
After starting the season with high hopes of finishing in the top eight – and possibly challenging for the top four – St George Illawarra have struggled.
They have conceded 512 points after Monday night’s loss to Parramatta with a for and against of -199 – the second worst in the competition.
The Dragons attack has been no better, scoring 313 points so far – above only Parramatta, who were stripped of their for and against earlier in the season for salary cap breaches, and Newcastle.
After their disappointing 30-18 loss to the Eels, the Dragons can’t finish higher than 11th on the table – but could fall as low as 13th.
The Dragons’ clash with the Knights kicks off at 3pm, with the Sharks battle with Melbourne starting at 7.30pm.