NRL Round 21 Preview | Get Ready for Round 21 2026

Finals Race: Are The Panthers Giving Others a Chance?

The Penrith Panthers went down to the Brisbane Broncos last time out 12-14; this means they’re sitting on 32 points, and both the New Zealand Warriors and Roosters are just one win behind them. The Panthers are still Premiership favourites according to NRL betting odds, though.

What would be more concerning for the Panthers side is that they’ve only won two of their last five games. Yes, most of their losses have been by narrow margins, but they’re still losses and other teams are starting to smell blood in the water.

The second-placed Warriors are up against the Canterbury Bulldogs in Round 21. This won’t necessarily be an easy one for the Warriors either, as the Bulldogs have won four of their last five, and we should see the likes of Viliame Kikau and Stephen Crichton back into the 13.

Let’s take a look at the Roosters side now. They are currently in third place on the ladder, and while they’ve been a tad inconsistent over the better part of the season, they were one of the squads most impacted by Origin.

Origin is now over, and they’ve managed to win their last four games in a row. In Round 21, they are up against the Knights, who are sitting in sixth spot, so they’ll be happy to welcome back captain James Tedesco, plus both Robert Toia and Lindsay Collins.

It’s now looking like an almost full-strength Roosters squad. Only Blake Steep and rugby-bound Angus Crichton remain on the sidelines. So, I think the Panthers should definitely be looking over their shoulders!

The Pack: Two Season-Ending Achilles Injuries, What Are The Chances?

There were heartbreaking scenes in not one but two games last round. We saw both Hudson Young for the Canberra Raiders and Will Warbrick for the Melbourne Storm suffer season-ending Achilles injuries.

Young couldn’t put any pressure on his foot at all, while Warbrick had to be stretchered off. Warbrick, who heads to the Warriors for next season, was in tears as he realised he had played his last game in Storm colours.

The Raiders were still able to get across the line over the Rabbitohs last time out, though. They are now sitting in 12th spot on the ladder with 20 points, and have won their last three games in a row. They have been looking like the Raiders of 2025, but have they left their run too late?

For the Storm, they couldn’t get the job done over the Roosters last time out, and are still outside the top-eight, in 11th spot, also on 20 Premiership points. After losing their way for much of the season, they seem to be back-ish now. However, injuries to key players threaten to derail them.

Wooden Spoon Watch: The Dragons Have Stability & The Tigers Have The Exact Opposite

Let's start by talking about the St. George Illawarra Dragons because they are realistically the only team in the running for the wooden spoon. While this season looks to be a write-off, they have seen some stability over the last few weeks.

Interim coach Dean Young has impressed during his short stint and has been offered the head coach role permanently. It’s been reported his contract will take him out to the 2028 season. The Dragons held their own against the Warriors last time out, but still went down 20-12.

Ah, the West Tigers, the gift that just keeps on giving! With Jarome Luai officially landing at the Parramatta Eels, things just keep going from bad to worse, and their performance last time out against the Bulldogs was awful. And that’s putting it nicely.

Two Tigers were sin-binned late in that clash, and things were falling apart at the seams. Both Adam Doueihi and Latu Fainu are facing bans, but the Tigers are rolling the dice and taking it to the judiciary. We’ll know on Tuesday night what the charges are.

Meanwhile, Alex Twal escaped with a fine from that Bulldogs clash after striking Jaeman Salmon in the face. Clearly, players are unhappy and on edge, and this isn’t something we’ve seen virtually at all from Twal.