With just four weeks remaining in the regular NRL season, the race for the top eight has reached a fever pitch, as two of Sydney’s most storied clubs, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and South Sydney Rabbitohs, prepare for a do-or-die showdown that will largely shape their post-season fates on Friday night. Though the finals series itself is still a month out, the stakes of this Accor Stadium clash could not be higher: with a slim two-point gap separating the two 2014 grand finalists on the competition ladder, the loser will face an uphill battle to secure a spot in the finals, thanks to punishing remaining fixture lists for both sides.
South Sydney currently holds the narrow advantage over the Bulldogs, having held on for a hard-fought win against the Parramatta Eels last week. In contrast, Canterbury suffered a gut-wrenching late loss to the Sydney Roosters, surrendering a 10-point lead in the final 10 minutes of play after the Roosters crossed for two late tries to steal the victory. Reflecting on the defeat, Bulldogs prop Max King opened up about the mixed emotions running through the club this week.
“There are two sides to how we’re all feeling right now,” King explained. “Obviously, there’s a lot of disappointment. We didn’t put out our best performance — we had too many dropped passes, too many unforced errors that threw our rhythm off. To be up 10 points with just 10 minutes left to play and walk away with a loss is incredibly frustrating. That’s two competition points we absolutely should have had. But even with that loss, there’s confidence too: we went toe-to-toe with one of the best sides in the league, fresh off their 82-point rout of the North Queensland Cowboys. We know we can match it with any team in the competition when we play our best footy.”
The blockbuster has been framed as a virtual elimination final by both camps, given the difficult run home each side faces after Friday’s clash. Canterbury still has fixtures against the in-form St George Illawarra Dragons, ladder-leading Penrith Panthers, and defending premiers Brisbane Broncos left to close out the season. For South Sydney, their remaining schedule is equally challenging: they face a red-hot New Zealand Warriors side fresh off an upset win over Penrith, followed by a match against Gold Coast Titans, before closing out the regular season with a grudge match against their cross-city rivals the Roosters.
Bulldogs utility Kurt Mann noted that every remaining match for his side carries the same pressure as a finals fixture, with the club sitting on the cusp of the top eight. “It kind of already felt like a finals game last weekend, so there’s no secret about how high the stakes are this week,” Mann said. “We need a strong month over these next four weeks, every single game is going to have that finals-level intensity for us. We know we’ve got a tough run home, and we need to get results if we want to make the eight.”
While a tough closing fixture list would rattle most sides, Mann argued that challenging matches against top competition is the best preparation for a deep finals run, rather than easy games that create a false sense of security. The Bulldogs have already proven they can beat the league’s best this season, notching wins against both the Panthers and Warriors already this year.
“You don’t want easy games leading into finals, because that gives you a false sense of how tough the post-season is going to be,” Mann explained. “If you earn your spot by beating top-four side after top-four side, you know exactly what it takes to get it done when it matters. We’ve already shown we can beat any team in the competition when we’re at our best. We were pretty unlucky to lose to the Roosters last week — I thought we’d done enough to get the win, it just slipped away at the end. But on our day, when we play to our potential, we can beat anyone.”