NRL 2022

The Cronulla forward pack had a field day through the middle, with props Royce Hunt and Braden Hamlin-Uele getting over for tries and Cameron McInnes putting in a huge shift from the interchange, running for 138 metres and making 36 tackles in his 59 minutes on the field. 

Cronulla scored four converted tries and kicked a penalty to lead 26-6 at the break, but while they were in control for most of the match at Scully Park, they never managed to fully shake off their stubborn opponents. 

After dominating the opening 40 minutes to lead 18-0, Brisbane allowed the Knights back into the match in the second period before Cobbo's double inside the final 10 minutes ensured they picked up their 13th victory of the season. 

The win lifts Brisbane to sixth position ahead of a crucial meeting with the fourth-placed Storm in round 23, while also boosting their points differential which is the second-worst among current top-eight sides. 

With games against the Storm and Eels still to come it's crucial that Kevin Walters' men take care of business against the 15th-placed Knights and get their defence back in order after conceding 66 points in the past fortnight.

The Knights are coming off a morale-boosting win over Wests Tigers and will fancy their chances of an upset on the back of Daniel Saifiti, Tyson Frizell and Mitch Barnett up front and Dane Gagai out wide.

Through the dramas of the past decade Wests Tigers have never finished last in their 22 seasons as a joint venture but Sunday's loss to the Knights leaves them precariously placed in 15th, just one win ahead of the Titans.

The Sharks, meanwhile, are sitting pretty in third spot and face teams well below them on the ladder in their final four games but coach Craig Fitzgibbon will be taking nothing for granted in the run home.

The Tricolours have now put a win between themselves and the ninth-placed Raiders, with skipper James Tedesco in fine touch as he led them to a comfortable win over Brisbane, who up until that result had been among the frontrunners to claim a top-four place.

The Cowboys were made to work for it against the Bulldogs last week, with a late double to Scott Drinkwater helping them to a win which keeps the slim chance of them jumping past Penrith for the minor premiership alive for the time being.

With Alex Johnston and Cody Walker grabbing doubles the Rabbitohs beat the Eels for the second time in seven weeks to reinforce their premiership credentials.

The Rabbitohs got the ball rolling in the fifth minute when Damien Cook found Walker from close range and the five-eighth caught the Eels defence flat footed on their own line.

Walker got across the line again in the 11th minute but the came loose as he was attempting to ground it and the Eels were off the hook.

With Tohu Harris and Addin Fonua-Blake turning on the power and Shaun Johnson turning back the clock, the Warriors sent the parochial Auckland crowd home happy with the seven-tries-to-three win.

The Warriors opened the scoring after seven minutes when Johnson put centre Viliami Vailea into a huge hole and the youngster celebrated his return from a broken jaw with a try.

The Eels won without Mitchell Moses last week and crucially showed an ability to back up from a big win the previous week, something which has been lacking for them in 2022, and will have taken confidence from overcoming the Sea Eagles in the final half hour of the match.

South Sydney were always in control against the Warriors and were able to manage the minutes of a couple of key men as a result of being well up midway through the second half.  

Come Friday night they will find themselves playing a revitalised Dogs team who pushed the second-placed Cowboys all the way in Round 21.

After leading with half an hour to go, the Bulldogs fell just short of footing it with North Queensland but will have taken plenty of confidence from the performance and still have two wins from their last three matches, with their key players in good form.

Penrith had 55 per cent of possession and more than 50 tackles within 20 metres of Melbourne's try line but failed to score a point for the first time in a match since the Storm shut them out 20-0 in 2015.

It was Melbourne's third consecutive win, while the Panthers have now lost two of their last three games to give North Queensland hope of snatching the JJ Giltinan Shield when the top two sides meet in the final round at QCB Stadium.