The numbers that matter
The big winners of Round 22
Canterbury Bulldogs are absolutely flying at the right end of the season and they continue to take names!
Knocking off the Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park is still no mean feat, even despite the boys down south going through one of their worst ever seasons under Craig Bellamy and missing their first choice spine, and Cameron Ciraldo's side did it in a seesawing affair against a gritty and determined home side who were testing them for the first 70 minutes of the match.
With a finals spot on the line for both teams, Bulldogs forward Viliame Kikau stepped up to set up a crucial first half try for the Bulldogs when he busted the Storm line and then delivered a skillful offload to captain Stephen Crichton, who scored two and assisted another two of his side's seven tries despite making only six runs all game.
The Storm threatened to take the momentum away when they scored their fourth try with Bailey Hayward in the sin bin, but once they were back to 13, the Bulldogs engine was roaring again.
The halves combination of Crichton and Lachlan Galvin are playing their best footy of the season when it matters most and the Cowboys' big loss saw them finish the weekend inside the eight with six wins from their last seven games.
Games against the Rabbitohs (home), Dragons (away) and Broncos (home) should see them pick up at least three wins from their final five games and finish with 13, which would be enough for a finals appearance that appeared a world away when they had a 4-8 record and couldn't even score against the Wests Tigers.
The big losers of Round 22
South Sydney Rabbitohs are leaking points week to week and it continues to heavily impact their ability to establish a foothold in the eight.
Their 464 points conceded this season is the worst of all top-eight sides and as a result they haven't been able to string together consecutive wins since June, going for at least 24 points in each of the five games since.
Whilst few were expecting them to defeat an in-form Cronulla at Shark Park this weekend, the loss was largely self-inflicted.
Things were falling into their lap when Teig Wilton was sin-binned with the Bunnies in the lead on a sunny afternoon, but more than 50 missed tackles and a series of costly penalties made things much more difficult for them than it needed to be.
Veteran coach Wayne Bennett insists week to week that his side can challenge any team in the competition at their best, and that appeared to be the case for 20 minutes on Sunday, but he was again left to lament what he described as "rubbish getting into our game" - something he has seen far too often and at untimely moments.
Now with the Bulldogs penetrating their way into the eight, Bennett's side are going to have to negotiate a tough run home that includes Easts, the Warriors and Canterbury themselves - not ideal for a team that has lost four of their last six games against the current top-eight.
Team of the Week
Who scored a brace this week?
The hot-or-cold Mark Nawaqanitawase has now scored at least two tries in each of his last six tryscoring appearances this year, moving to 15 tries from 15 games.
His teammate Sam Walker also got a hat-trick in the rout of the Cowboys, whilst Teddy and Hugo Savala chipped in with two each.
Knights winger Greg Marzhew moved to outright third on the tryscoring leaderboard with two, with Tom Jenkins extending his lead over Alex Johnston with two of his own.
There were also doubles for Selwyn Cobbo, Moses Leo, Te Maire Martin, Liam Martin and Bulldogs pair Stephen Crichton and Jaeman Salmon.
Try of the Week
The naughty boys
Just days after it was revealed that Parramatta have withdrawn their pursuit of 30-year-old front rower Moses Leota, he faces a potential ban if he chooses to dispute a crusher tackle charge that would come with a $3000 sanction.
Teig Wilton has precisely the same choice in front of him for his own crusher tackle as he faces three charges.
Potential suspensions:
Moses Leota (Panthers) - Crusher tackle - $3000 (guilty plea) or 2 matches (found guilty after challenge)
Teig Wilton (Sharks) - Crusher tackle - $3000 or 2 matches
Fines:
Max King (Bulldogs) - Careless high tackle - $1800 or $2500 fine
Teig Wilton (Sharks) - Careless high tackle - $1800 or $2500 fine
Alex Twal (Tigers) - Careless high tackle - $1800 or $2500 fine
Jack Williams (Eels) - Careless high tackle - $1800 or $2500 fine
Teig Wilton (Sharks) - yes, again - Careless high tackle - $1800 or $2500 fine
Oryn Keeley (Storm) - Dangerous contact - $1800 or $2500 fine
Setu Tu (Dragons) - Dangerous contact - $1000 or $1500 fine
Trent Toelau (Storm) - Careless high tackle - $1000 or $1500 fine
Joseph Tapine (Raiders) - Careless high tackle - $1000 or $1500 fine
Reece Walsh (Broncos) - Contrary conduct - $1000 or $1500 fine
Jermaine McEwen (Knights) - Contrary conduct - $1000 or $1500 fine
Jermaine McEwen (Knights) - Dangerous conduct - $1000 or $1500 fine
Junior Paulo (Eels) - Dangerous conduct - $750 or $1000 fine
Brandon Smith (Rabbitohs) - Careless high tackle - $750 or $1000 fine
Next weekend's fixtures
Wests Tigers get a well-timed weekend off, though perhaps not for Adam Doueihi after he had an excellent match back in his proper position.
It's well and truly crunch-time for both Manly and Canberra in particular as they look to reduce or at least maintain their two-win gap to the top eight.
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
