NRL

The mini-revival that produced three wins in four games against the Panthers, Dragons and Cowboys now seems a distant memory for the Tigers, who have lost four on the trot and conceded 150 points in the process.

The Sharks, meanwhile, have put a Round 15 horror show against the Storm behind them to run up big scores over the Bulldogs and Dragons to sit third on the ladder with nine games to play.

Six of those matches are against teams currently outside the top eight so the Sharks have every opportunity to secure a top-four finish and a double chance in the finals.

In a game where momentum shifted constantly and neither team enjoyed periods of prolonged dominance, the result looked confirmed when the Raiders scored eight points in the final six minutes, but a Tino Fa'asuamaleaui try two minutes from time set up a thrilling finish. 

Fullback Sebastian Kris was key for coach Ricky Stuart, with his aerial dominance leading to a first-half try and snuffing out several other promising Gold Coast raids. 

If coach Kevin Walters' post-match comments are anything to go by, some hard truths will have been shared at Broncos HQ following the club's 18-12 loss to a Titans side who were missing their captain and had only days earlier fired their coach. 

The Dolphins have plenty of their own problems to work through this week after being hammered 48-20 by the Eels on the Sunshine Coast in Round 17, which leaves them without a win in the past month. 

After putting 45 points on the Storm in Round 14 the Cowboys outlasted Penrith in a golden point thriller and then piled on five tries in a 31-6 demolition of the Rabbitohs.

With their back three of Scott Drinkwater, Semi Valemei and Murray Taulagi combining for 575 running metres the Cowboys got on the front foot early and dominated the Rabbitohs, but fresh in coach Todd Payten's mind will be the fact the Tigers embarrassed his men 66-18 at Leichhardt Oval just six weeks ago.

Even without skipper Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, who was rested after Origin II, the Titans forwards took the game up to the highly touted Broncos pack, laying the foundation for their classy backline to lay on some scintillating tries.

At the end of a tumultuous week in which the club parted ways with coach Justin Holbrook, the players dug deep to register their best win of the season, holding the Broncos to half their season average of 23 points per game.

A double to Alex Johnston and try to NRL debutant Tyrone Munro set up victory for the visitors, who held their nerve to overcome an early deficit and then go on to score 28 unanswered points. 

It wasn't necessarily desperate stages for the Bunnies, who were eighth coming into the match after dropping four of their past five games, but Jason Demetriou's men had to show some grit after conceding over 30 points in each defeat. 

The Storm dominated for 32 minutes to set up a 14-0 lead before the defending premiers made a statement of their own with three tries in eight minutes to take a two-point advantage into half-time.

It was a remarkable turnaround from the competition leaders during the match, who were without Nathan Cleary but had the likes of Origin stars Jarome Luai and Liam Martin stand up in his absence while Izack Tago was enormous in the win. 

Tied on competition points having each picked up 10 wins from 15 games to date, the winner of Friday night's clash is a good chance of finishing Round 18 at the top of the ladder. 

The Panthers have been nothing but impressive through the Origin period so far, toughing out a handful of wins to go with a golden point loss to the Cowboys a fortnight ago, despite the absence of plenty of talent at different stages.

Melbourne too have been tracking well, with wins in their last three games, where their defensive efforts have been standing out.

The New Zealand-based side made light work of the Dragons in Round 17, running in nine tries in a 48-16 victory which lifted them to fifth on the Telstra Premiership ladder. 

On Friday night they'll be boosted by a capacity crowd at Go Media Stadium in Auckland, with the chance to win four in a row for the first time since the 2018 season. 

Their opponents meanwhile are reeling after a heavy loss to the Cowboys last Sunday which followed defeat at the hands of the bottom-placed Dragons in Round 15. 

Cronulla have now won their past seven clashes with the Dragons but they found themselves behind early after a mistake by Briton Nikora invited the Red V into the red zone and Mikaele Ravalawa scored. Zac Lomax converted from the sideline for a 6-0 lead.

The Sharks steadied the ship and hit back in the eighth minute when Nicho Hynes ran a great angle off a Matt Moylan pass and the scores were locked 6-6.

Four minutes later the Sharks got across the line again through Ronaldo Mulitalo but desperation defence from Tyrell Sloan and Lomax denied the winger.