Daily Telegraph
July 25, 2005
TEN teams fighting for NRL finals positions are separated by just four competition points – an extraordinary situation that prompted St George Illawarra coach Nathan Brown to claim: "No one has seen a competition so close in the history of the game."
After round 20, six clubs sit on 24 points with the Bulldogs back on 23 points outside the top eight.
Canberra remain on 22 points, one win clear of the faltering Sydney Roosters and New Zealand Warriors.
Brisbane and Parramatta are outright first and second before the log-jam of Cronulla, Melbourne, North Queensland, St George Illawarra, Wests Tigers and Manly.
But for the first time in weeks, there is a clear-cut top eight.
"It is bizarre," Brown said. "If we lose to the Roosters on Friday we could be outside the eight.
Cronulla's 20-10 loss to the Dragons at Kogarah – in front of a ground record crowd – pushed them from third to seventh. The Dragons jumped into fifth position with the win. Wests Tigers went up to sixth spot after their win over Souths at Leichhardt Oval, where another ground record crowd was set.
July 25, 2005
TEN teams fighting for NRL finals positions are separated by just four competition points – an extraordinary situation that prompted St George Illawarra coach Nathan Brown to claim: "No one has seen a competition so close in the history of the game."
After round 20, six clubs sit on 24 points with the Bulldogs back on 23 points outside the top eight.
Canberra remain on 22 points, one win clear of the faltering Sydney Roosters and New Zealand Warriors.
Brisbane and Parramatta are outright first and second before the log-jam of Cronulla, Melbourne, North Queensland, St George Illawarra, Wests Tigers and Manly.
But for the first time in weeks, there is a clear-cut top eight.
"It is bizarre," Brown said. "If we lose to the Roosters on Friday we could be outside the eight.
Cronulla's 20-10 loss to the Dragons at Kogarah – in front of a ground record crowd – pushed them from third to seventh. The Dragons jumped into fifth position with the win. Wests Tigers went up to sixth spot after their win over Souths at Leichhardt Oval, where another ground record crowd was set.
