rugby league

The victory was the Warriors' 16th of the season but looks to have come at a cost with five-eighth Luke Metcalf suffering a hamstring injury.

In a bizarre opening to the match the Warriors allowed the kick-off to bounce and the ball ended up with Dragons centre Zac Lomax who dived over to score, but the bunker ruled Lomax had lost the ball into Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad as he tried to collect it.

Five of those defeats have been by 10 points or less and there has plenty to admire about their efforts against Wests Tigers and Newcastle in recent weeks, both games going right down to the wire before slipping out of the Dolphins' grasp.

The Cowboys remain in the hunt for a trop-eight spot despite a three-game losing streak dropping them from seventh to ninth and knocking their points differential down from +57 to +12.

Andrew Webster's men won their sixth game on the trot last week by beating the Sea Eagles, becoming the first Warriors side to do that since 2002, while they are now just two wins short of equaling the club record winning streak, also set in that season 21 years ago. 

While it was a more convincing performance than what they dished up in the previous two weeks, some big question marks remain over the Warriors in defence right now, particularly their left edge which allowed Jason Saab to score three tries in Round 25. 

The Eels' September hopes were snuffed out in Friday night's loss to the Roosters, leaving them in 11th place with an 11-12 record.

The ladder-leading Panthers, meanwhile, overcame the absence of Brian To'o, Scott Sorensen and Mitch Kenny to roll past the Titans for their 17th win of the season.

If the premiers can down the Eels on Thursday they will likely secure their third minor premiership in four years, potentially giving coach Ivan Cleary the luxury of being able to rest players from the Round 27 clash with the Cowboys should he choose.

The book, aimed at motivating young minds to envision their future careers, was introduced by 10 enthusiastic children from Buk bilong Pikinini (BbP) during a remarkable field trip to the iconic Sir Hubert Murray Stadium.

The purpose of the trip was to offer these children a firsthand experience of the life of a rugby player, engaging with SP Hunters Players and absorbing the essentials of the profession.

Booking the first grand final spot after overcoming a strong challenge from Lae Snax Tigers on Sunday, has again reaffirmed their determination to go one better, after falling short to Lahanis in 2018.

After a scoreless but frustrating first half for both teams, Mioks had points in them but squandered their chances. While the Tigers had their work cut out for them, somehow held their line well to repel the Mioks' onslaught for a scoreless first half.

Melbourne trailed 18-4 before Warbrick crossed for two tries and fellow winger Xavier Coates scored in an eight-minute period before halftime and they again had to come from behind in the second term.

Kiwis halfback Jahrome Hughes scored a try and produced three try assists to help steer the Storm home and enable them to leapfrog the Sharks into fourth place, while the Dragons remain in danger of finishing with the wooden spoon.

The Panthers looked under threat midway through the second half when the Titans ran in two tries to narrow a 22-6 half-time deficit before premiership-winning stars Nathan Cleary, Dylan Edwards and Stephen Crichton took control.

A double to Edwards and try assists through Cleary and Crichton fended off any thought the Titans would come back and win after Alofiana Khan-Pereira and David Fifita crossed after half-time. 

In a see-sawing contest that built up to an even scoreline in the final stages, a Jamayne Isaako field goal with four minutes remaining appeared to give the Dolphins victory before Koroisau provided a short kick-off to get the ball back. 

When Isaako and Tesi Niu were penalised for taking Junior Tupou into touch it was Koroisau who put his hand up to take the unlikeliest of penalty goals from out wide - a 40-metre effort from the 30-metre line on the left sideline.

Prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was a late withdrawal before the match due to acute neck pain, but in big news, captain James Tedesco left the game mid-way though the second half for an HIA, with the head knock later deemed to be Category 1 by the independent doctor, which would rule him out for next week's match against the Tigers. 

Going into tonight's game, there was all to play for with both teams needing to win to keep their finals flame flickering.