round 23

St George Illawarra led by as much as 22-6 late in the first half, but didn't pull away until late and were ahead by just four points when Molo was sent from the field for a high tackle on Patrick Herbert, which ruled the Titan out for the remainder of the game.

The Gold Coast meanwhile failed to take advantage of their numerical advantage in the closing exchanges, and in the end collapsed badly to leak three tries in that period. 

Down by 14 at half-time, the Raiders dominated the second half and struck the telling blow seven minutes from time when representative props Josh Papalii and Joseph Tapine combined for a long-range break, which ended in Jack Wighton scoring in the corner. 

Jordan Rapana then had to make a try-saving intervention 30 seconds from time when Edrick Lee flew into the corner for what would have been his third try, with Rapana doing enough to force Lee to put the ball down on the sideline in attempting to ground it. 

The Raiders almost let the Dragons off the hook in a frantic finish but the two-point win keeps them hot on the heels of the Roosters with three games to play.

The occasion will be an intriguing trip for the visitors, who haven't played the Knights at home for five years. Jack Wighton, Nick Cotric, Jordan Rapana, Elliot Whitehead and Joseph Tapine are the only current Raiders who featured in the 2017 game.

Meanwhile, Newcastle are reeling after five defeats from their past six matches, finding themselves in 14th position on the ladder.

Seemingly in good shape in eighth position just six weeks ago, the Dragons have now slumped to 11th and will miss the finals for a fourth straight year - the longest absence since joint venture began in 1999.

Meanwhile, despite being well out of the finals race, the Titans have shown positive signs in the past month, desperate to avoid their second wooden spoon in four years.

When these sides met in Round 10 it was the Titans prevailing 20-16 in Magic Round. Justin Holbrook's men then lost 10 in a row before stunning the Sea Eagles at Cbus Super Stadium.

The seven tries to one win was the first time Cronulla players have left the Northern Beaches with two competition points since 2008 and just their sixth triumph in 41 visits to Manly since joining the premiership in 1967.

It also officially put paid to any hope of the Sea Eagles making the finals after their fourth consecutive defeat.

Manly's sole try by captain Daly Cherry-Evans in the 77th minute staved off the equal worst defeat at Brookvale in the club's history but it was easily Cronulla's biggest win at the ground - eclipsing their 27-18 victory in 1974.

The victory lifts Parramatta above Souths into fifth place on the ladder with games against the Broncos and Storm to come in the final two rounds.

The Bulldogs drew first blood through a Matt Burton penalty goal in the sixth minute but tries to Will Penisini and Waqa Blake in quick succession had the Eels up 12-2 after 15 minutes.

A mistake by the Eels in the 28th minute gifted the Bulldogs field position and Aaron Schoupp made the home team pay when he left Blake clutching at thin air to grab his eighth try of the season.

The 72-6 defeat of Wests Tigers was the most points scored by a Roosters side since Eastern Suburbs' 87-7 triumph against Canterbury in 1935 and has catapulted the team into sixth position.

The winning margin eclipsed the Roosters' 56-0 triumph against the Tigers in 2004 and lifted Trent Robinson's men ahead of South Sydney and Brisbane into sixth place on for-and-against.

For the Tigers, the defeat eclipsed the club's 64-0 loss against Melbourne in 2001 as their worst defeat and the frustration with the performance led to captain James Tamou being sent off for dissent.

With James Tedesco in supreme form and their forwards doing a mighty job in the middle, the Roosters are looking every bit a serious title contender, but they still have some significant challenges ahead.

Most expect them to roll over the top of the struggling Tigers on Saturday night but the Storm and Rabbitohs will offer far sterner tests in the final two games of the regular season.

Seemingly in good shape after a Round 18 win over Newcastle, the Sea Eagles have slumped to four losses in a row for the first time since the opening month of the 2021 season to now sit four points outside the eight.

They face a confident and composed Sharks outfit who have a top-fourth berth well and truly in the grasp with games against Manly, Bulldogs and Knights to come.

Craig Fitzgibbon's men are playing a brand of footy well suited to high-pressure play-off games and they have every reason to believe a second premiership in seven years is a real possibility.

Since their bye in Round 13 the Eels have gone L-W-L-W-W-L-W-L, a rollercoaster ride which has seen them spoken about as premiership contenders one week and inconsistent under-achievers the next.

That stretch of games started with a shock loss to the Bulldogs in Round 14 and that's the opponent they confront again this week in front of what us sure to be a raucous crowd at CommBank Stadium.

The Bulldogs looked jaded in Auckland on Friday but they've had a chance to recharge their batteries and will be buoyed by the news of Cameron Ciraldo's arrival as head coach in 2023.