Race for 8th place heats up in NRL after Dolphins, Warriors lose

The race for the final spot in the NRL’s top eight is heating up after both the Dolphins and New Zealand Warriors lost on Friday night.

New Zealand squared off against 16th placed Parramatta Eels, and suffered a disappointing 30-10 loss in Auckland.

The Warriors were once again error-ridden as they leaked five tries in front of 23,000+ home fans.

Even playmaker Shaun Johnson was not enough to get them a much-needed win, despite a late three-try flurry to the New Zealanders at the death.

The Dolphins, meanwhile, were entangled in an entertaining, high-scoring affair against top four contender the Sydney Roosters, falling short 40-34 in Perth.

Sydney raced out to an early lead, running in three converted tries within the first quarter.

However, the Dolphins pulled the match back well, scoring three of their own in the first half to make it 20 points each at half-time.

A second half double to Sitili Tupouniua was enough to see the Roosters home though, lifting the club to within two points of the second-placed Penrith Panthers.

These results mean the race to grab eighth place on the NRL ladder is now a six-way contest heading into the final month of the regular season.

Bookmakers favour Dolphins to make NRL finals

With five and a half rounds remaining before the top eight is decided, NRL bookmakers have all but decided on seven of the teams that will be making the post season.

The Melbourne Storm, Penrith Panthers and Sydney Roosters are all qualified already.

However, the Cronulla Sharks, North Queensland Cowboys, Manly Sea Eagles and Canterbury Bulldogs are heavy favourites to progress as well. Bookmaker PlayUp gives these four sides odds of $1.083 to $1.12 to progress.

This leaves the Dolphins, Canberra Raiders, St George Illawarra Dragons, Newcastle Knights, New Zealand Warriors and Brisbane Broncos all a chance at making the eight still.

The leading contenders are the Dolphins ($3), Broncos ($3.25) and Dragons ($3.50). Both the Dolphins and Dragons sit on 24 points, level eighth place on the table.

Brisbane are way back on 20 points, sitting in 13th spot. However, they have a bye and two matches against bottom-four sides, making them an outside chance.

Trailing these three are the Raiders ($5) and Knights ($7), with the Warriors heavy underdogs at $10 to make the cutoff.

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