Kevin Walters ’complete change has the Broncos ready to break their final drought, while the Warriors will pick up the most unwanted NRL award.
According to the Fox Sports Lab, the Roosters will surprisingly miss the top eight after starting the season as premier favorites.
The first six places are almost ready, as five teams are fighting for the last two positions of the postseason and five other clubs are desperately trying to avoid the wooden spoon.
The Panthers have the first minor charge almost assured, while the Cowboys, a surprise pack, are locked in a fight with the Storm for second place.
The Eels have a penchant for beating the Sharks and Broncos and completing the top four, winning a crucial double chance in the final.
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The Fox Sports Labhas predicted the end of all clubs this season based on the current form, the records of direct matches and their previous performances at the facilities.
However, our statisticians have warned that things can change quickly; for example, if the Roosters upset the Panthers next week, their forecast would change significantly.
Read on below to see where your team is expected to end up!
NRL Fox Sports Lab.Font scale predictor: Getty Images
FOX SPORTS LAB PREDICTED SCALE
1. Penrith Panthers
The Panthers have completely dominated this season – losing just one game against the Eels in round 9 – and are undefeated favorites to win the top ten.
Penrith still has a goodbye up his sleeve and has five games against the top eight in his last nine games, including the Eels and Storm.
No team has ever won 20 games three seasons in a row: the Panthers only need six more wins to make history.
2. Melbourne Storm
Another season and another ranking between the top two attractions for the powerful club of legendary coach Craig Bellamy.
The storm has a very manageable race in the finals with games against the Warriors, Titans and three teams of eight lower.
Melbourne have never had a losing season with Craig Bellamy and since their time at the club they have won 78 more games than the next best team.
3. North Queensland Cowboys
No one, and I mean no one, saw this rise from Todd Payten’s team, which finished 15th last season.
The Cowboys have been sensational this season and are still looking for second place, with an easier tie than the Storm and goodbye yet to come.
North Queensland is on track for its best defensive season, with just 13.1 points per game.
4. Paramatta eels
The Eels have endured an inconsistent campaign, but are still expected to enter the top four.
The blow to Parramatta is that they can’t motivate themselves against the pesquillos, but they will have to win clashes against the Tigers, Warriors and Bulldogs to ensure their double chance in the final.
The current drought of Prime Minister Eels (36 years) is longer than his wait for his first title (34 years).
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5. Cronulla Sharks
Rookie coach Craig Fitzgibbon is expected to only miss leading his team to a place in the top four in his first season at the helm.
The Sharks face Storm, Cowboys and Panthers consecutively over the next month in a period that will decide if they have a double chance in the final.
Cronulla has finished a season in third or better position in just eight times in its history – reaching the grand final four times – and is currently just two points away from the top three.
6. Brisbane Broncos
The former power player is finally back in the final after a tough period that included the club’s first wooden spoon in 2020.
Kevin Walters has done a brilliant job giving new life to the Broncos and they are still looking for a place in the top four.
Brisbane have never lost the final in three consecutive seasons and thanks to Walters they should avoid that unwanted record this year.
7. South Sydney Rabbitohs
The grand finalists of 2021 have endured a tumultuous season and are struggling with nails and teeth just to play the final.
Our prediction is that the Bunnies will finish seventh, but it will probably come down to whether they can beat the Roosters in the final round and the opening of the new Allianz Stadium.
The Souths have lost the final only once after making a grand final the previous season, in 1966.
8. Manly sea eagles
The Sea Eagles have lost some impact this season and have struggled without injured superstar winger Tom Trbojevic.
But they have one of the easiest races at home and face only four teams in the top eight in the remaining nine games.
Despite this, Des Hasler looks set to become the first Manly coach to fail to reach a grand final in a four-year stretch at the helm.
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9. St. George Illawarra Dragons
Close, but without cigarette. Anthony Griffin’s men are expected to be the bridesmaid this season, but they will still end up taller than most experts predict in the summer.
Three more wins will allow the Dragons to avoid one-figure wins in four consecutive seasons for the first time since the 1930s.
10. Sydney Roosters
The fantasies of the first preseason just haven’t started in 2022, with halves Sam Walker and Luke Keary never finding a steady groove before the latter fell injured.
The Roosters have reached the final only once in the last 20 years when they have lost four games in a row in a season: they have lost their last three games and the next they face the Panthers.
11. Canberra Raiders
Ricky Stuart’s letters were marked at the time his prized recruit and migback Jamal Fogarty fell with a serious knee injury on the eve of the season.
That and his ability to lose games should win. Since entering the competition, no team has achieved more double-digit advantages than Canberra, with 62 in total in its 1007 matches.
12. Knights of Newcastle
The Knights are chasing a third-place finish in the final for the first time since 2003, but for a club that has lost nine of its last 11 games, this is not such a bad result.
They have the easiest home run of the competition, facing the Titans twice, and winning games against the Wests Tigers and Bulldogs.
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13. Canterbury Bulldogs
The Bulldogs were anchored at the bottom of the ladder as the favorite wooden spoon for most of the first half of the season, but their recent resurrection has lifted them off the canvas.
The Bulldogs have scored more points in their last five games than in their top 10 this season.
14. Wests Tigers
Michael Maguire’s saga has finally ended with the club releasing him this month, but that won’t stop him down the ladder. They finished 9th, 11th and 13th during Maguire’s first three seasons.
Here’s a shocking statistic for the Tigers fans – the club hasn’t won three games in a row in 100 games.
15. Titans of the Costa Dorada
A team that was just one step away from reaching the second week of the final last year has completely capitulated in 2022.
It follows a trend in the history of their club: the Titans finished 16th and 15th in the season after their last two appearances in the final.
16. Warriors
The Warriors, one of three teams that have fired their coach in 12 rounds, are scheduled to finish last after spending nearly three seasons on the road due to Covid.
The Kiwi side should possibly own the crown of “faiders”, as it has bombarded 56 double-digit advantages in just 670 games.
EVERY TEAM RUNS HOME
PANTERES: Roostersm goodbye, tigers, sharks, eels, assailants, storm, rabbits, warriors, cowboys.
STORM: Sea Eagles, Sharks, Raiders, Rabbitohs, Warriors, Titans, Panthers, Broncos, Roosters, Eels.
COWBOYS: Broncos, goodbye, Sharks, Tigers, Dragons, Bulldogs, Roosters, Warriors, Rabbitohs, Panthers.
THEM: Rabbitohs, Tigers, Warriors, Broncos, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Rabbitohs, Bulldogs, Broncos, Storm.
SHARKS: Bulldogs, Storm, Cowboys, Panthers, Rabbitohs, Dragons, Tigers, Sea Eagles, Bulldogs, Knights.
BRONCHOS: Cowboys, Dragons, Titans, Eels, Tigers, Roosters, Knights, Storm, Eels, Dragons.
RABBITS: Eels, Knights, Bulldogs, Storm, Sharks, Warriors, Eels, Panthers, Cowboys, Roosters.
SEA EAGLES: Storm, goodbye, Knights, Dragons, Roosters, Eels, Titans, Sharks, Raiders, Bulldogs.
DRAGONS: Raiders, Broncos, Roosters, Sea Eagles, Cowboys, Sharks, Raiders, Titans, Tigers, Broncos.
ROOSTERS: Panthers, goodbye, Dragons, Knights, Sea Eagles, Broncos, Cowboys, Tigers, Storm, Rabbitohs.
RAIDERS: Dragons, goodbye, storm, warriors, titans, panthers, dragons, knights, sea eagles, tigers.
KNIGHTS: Titans, Rabbitohs, Sea Eagles, Roosters, Bulldogs, Tigers, Broncos, Raiders, Titans, Sharks.
BULLDOGS: Sharks, goodbye, Rabbitohs, Titans, Knights, Cowboys, Warriors, Eels, Sharks, Sea Eagles.
TIGERS: Warriors, Eels, Panthers, Cowboys, Broncos, Knights, Sharks, Roosters, Dragons, Raiders.
TITANS: Knights, goodbye, Broncos, Bulldogs, Raiders, Storm, Sea Eagles, Dragons, Knights, Warriors.
WARRIORS: Tigers, goodbye, eels, Raiders, Storm, Rabbitohs, Bulldogs, Cowboys, Panthers Titans.
– with Aaron Wallace
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