5 Things to Watch: Everything to keep an eye on in NRL Round 24

The final fortnight of the NRL’s 2022 regular season is upon us and week one finals matchups are still far from set with a handful of massive clashes to look forward to over the next two weeks. Here are 5 Thing to Watch in Round 24.

Desperate Broncos host Eels

With three losses from their past four, the Broncos have left themselves open to the possibility of dropping out of the eight completely if they cannot jag a win across their final two matches against Parramatta and St. George Illawarra. They host the Eels this Thursday night who are at virtually full-strength and fresh off a 42-6 win over Canterbury. For Kevin Walters’ Broncos, Brenko Lee returns into the centres for Delouise Hoeter whilst Selwyn Cobbo is set to be rested with Jordan Pereira his replacement. Ryan James and Rhys Kennedy will also be replaced by Keenan Palasia and Zac Hosking. For Parramatta, Makahesi Makatoa and Jake Arthur have been named on bench in place of Bryce Cartwright and Ofahiki Ogden. The sides last met just over a month ago with Brisbane coming away with a decisive 36-14 victory, however, since then the Broncos have gone 1-3 and the Eels 3-1. The clash should be a blockbuster to open the round with both sides jostling for top eight seeding and looking to jet into the finals with some momentum. The Broncos are only one win ahead of the Raiders and 46 for-and-against points better with Canberra to face Manly and Wests Tigers to end their season.

Roosters travel south for Melbourne blockbuster

The Roosters will head down to Melbourne for the game of the round against the Storm in what could be a potential finals matchup. Lindsay Collins and Siosiua Taukei’aho return onto the bench for the tricolours in place of Terrell May and Oliver Gildart whilst Paul Momirovski is back into the centres for Drew Hutchison. For Melbourne, Felise Kaufusi returns with Tui Kamikamica back to the bench. The Storm have won four games in-a-row including a last-start 60-12 win over the Broncos in Brisbane whilst the Roosters have won six-straight and are fresh of a 72-6 demolition over the Wests Tigers. Arguably the two form sides of the premiership, the Roosters and Storm have faced off in some brilliant battles over the years including the 2018 Grand Final. Melbourne, however, have won their past five against the Roosters including a 26-18 win at the SCG earlier this season. The Storm and the Roosters are the premiership’s two best attacking units this season and are both top five defences. A win for the Roosters would see them secure their spot in the top eight whilst the Storm can keep their top two hopes alive with a win of their own.

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Raiders eye sixth win in seven weeks to keep finals hope alive

Many pundits drew a line through the Raiders about a month-and-a-half back but cue five wins over a six-game period and the Green Machine find themselves right on the cusp of the top eight with two winnable games ahead of them. They will face the listing Sea Eagles this Saturday afternoon in Canberra and could find themselves in the top eight for the first time since Round 3 depending on results and margins. They will trot out the same 17 that came up with a come-from-behind win in Newcastle on Sunday whilst Manly have named Andrew Davey and debutant Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega in the run-on side after a dreadful showing against the Sharks. Sebastian Kris has made the left centre spot his own in recent weeks for Canberra with six tries from his past six appearances and has averaged close to 100 run metres over the same stretch. The Raiders have, however, won just two of their past 10 against Manly. Josh Papali’i and Joseph Tapine have been close to premiership’s most productive front-row pairing this season and will be licking their lips at the thought of matching up against a Manly pack that has been severely outmuscled throughout the five-game losing streak that they are riding.

Huge clash at Homebush

If top eight showdowns on Thursday and Friday night fail to satisfy your rugby league hunger, South Sydney will face off against North Queensland on Saturday night at Homebush in a massive test for both sides. The Cows can go one step closer to a home qualifying final with a win whilst South Sydney can virtually punch their ticket to the postseason with a victory of their own. For the Cows, Tom Dearden is missing after rupturing his testicle with Scott Drinkwater shifting to six, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to one, and Tom Gilbert onto the bench. For Souths, Thomas Burgess returns with Daniel Suluka-Fifita dropping out, Izaac Thompson replaces Jaxson Paulo on the wing, and Kodi Nikorima joins the bench in place of Taane Milne. Both sides have enjoyed a hot run of form of late with the Cowboys victorious in eight of their past 10 and the Bunnies in six of their past eight. South Sydney’s attack has been especially crisp since the return of Latrell Mitchell whilst North Queensland possess the premiership’s second strongest defence. Alex Johnston has enjoyed yet another historic season on the left flank for Souths and has scored in each of his last seven games and 11 of his past 12. After scoring a relatively meagre six tries from his opening nine games, the veteran has crossed for 21 over his past dozen.

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Unwanted race for the spoon heating up

Both sitting on 10 competition points, the Wests Tigers and the Titans are locked in a fierce battle to avoid the dreaded wooden spoon. The Titans are in the box seat to finish second-last with a stronger for-and-against and a friendlier final pair of clashes. The Wests Tigers are fresh off their biggest ever loss and will face a Dragons side that dispatched of the Titans by 20 points last week despite playing the final quarter of the game a man down. In their final game of the season, they will host the Raiders in a Sunday afternoon clash at Leichhardt Oval. The Titans, meanwhile, will host the Knights this Sunday afternoon before finishing the year in Auckland against the Warriors. It has been a calamity of a season for both teams and neither will want the wooden stamp of disapproval on it in the history books. Questions surrounding Justin Holbrook’s job security on the Gold Coast have been swirling around for some months now whilst the Wests Tigers have already confirmed that former premiership-winning coach Tim Sheens will return to the club next season after Michael Maguire was let go off earlier this year. The Wests Tigers have never finished last but the situation is not looking particularly rosy at the moment.

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