NRL Round 22 Preview | Get Ready for Round 22 2026

Finals Race: Roosters in Second, But Still Not Playing Their Best Footy

As has been the case for pretty much the entire season, the Penrith Panthers are sitting atop the ladder and in NRL betting odds for the Premiership as well. However, the Sydney Roosters are hot on their heels.

What should concern the Panthers even more is that it doesn’t seem like the Roosters are playing their best footy. They are still picking up the all-important wins and now sit just one win behind the Panthers.

The Roosters have been one of the most impacted teams by Origin, so inconsistency was to be expected. But now that Origin is over and they aren’t facing too many injuries (minus Daniel Tupou), the Roosters could be a genuine contender for top spot, especially if they play to their potential.

The Cronulla Sharks are another hot team that is rising through the ranks but has been a little inconsistent at times. The team is currently riding a four-game winning streak and has the potential to compete with the best of them.

They are currently nestled in fourth spot on the ladder, and they have a great points differential as well. With the New Zealand Warriors’ form starting to shake a bit, the Sharks will be confident they can remain in the top four come the end of the season.

The Pack: The Knights Clinging On For Dear Life

Talk about an awful turn of events! The Newcastle Knights were right up there, embedded in the top eight. Now, they sit in seventh spot and could even see themselves drop outside of the finals spots if they lose this round.

Injuries have come seemingly all season for the Newcastle side, and it was a heartbreaking watch last time out as we saw both Dylan Lucas and Dylan Brown pick up injuries. It’s now been confirmed that both players will be out for the rest of the season.

The Knights are just one spot ahead of the North Queensland Cowboys, but the team will have to try to hold onto their top-eight spot without their captain Tom Dearden. Dearden picked up a leg injury in his last game and is expected to miss at least three weeks.

Another team that is clinging on for dear life (and one that’s lost their captain) is the Melbourne Storm. Harry Grant went off in the Storm’s last game against the South Sydney Rabbitohs with a hamstring injury. The captain is expected to miss a couple of weeks alongside the likes of Cameron Munster, who is recovering from knee surgery.

One more loss for the Storm side will all but seal their fate. If they don’t manage to make the finals this season, it will be the first time since 2010 that they haven’t played finals footy. Even if they win every single one of their games from now on, the odds are still stacked against them.

Wooden Spoon Watch: How Low Can The Tigers Go?

The once top-four team this season is now back where they have been for most of the time, near the bottom of the ladder. They are sitting just one spot above the St. George Illawarra Dragons, and there’s still a chance they could finish with the wooden spoon once again.

It seems like wherever the Wests Tigers go, drama follows. Adam Doueihi sensationally pulled himself out of play in the Tigers’ last game in Canberra. However, there seems to have been successful peace talks on Monday, and it looks like he’ll join the squad on Tuesday for training.

The Tigers haven’t made the finals since 2011, and another year without a finals appearance has many questioning whether Benji Marshall is the right person to lead the way. This is certainly a developing story, so watch this space!

Let’s move away from the Tigers now and focus on the 2025 Premiers, the Brisbane Broncos, who are all but out of finals contention. The Broncos went down to the Cowboys last time out 10-18, which has seemingly sealed their fate.

Interestingly enough, they are the first team since the 2005 Tigers to miss out on the finals the season after winning the Premiership. While they don’t have anything to play for other than pride from now on, they do take on the Knights, who saw two season-ending injuries in their last game.