Another cracking round of SG Ball last weekend with several close fixtures being played out in tricky conditions.
The Raiders snuck home against the Steelers 8-4 at a rain soaked WIN Stadium while a late Jake Trindall field goal was enough to see the Tigers grab victory against the Bulldogs.
Round four promises much of the same with several tantalising clashes on offer.
It will be an all top four affair when the first placed Roosters travel to Remondis Stadium on Friday night to face the fourth placed Sharks.
The Sharks announced their intentions of being a real premiership hope a fortnight ago when they knocked off the Tigers however could only muster a draw last weekend against a much improved Western Sydney Academy of Sport side.
It has been a flawless start to 2014 for the Roosters as they have posted three wins to start the year, and despite being pushed by the Magpies early last weekend, the Roosters pulled away late to maintain their spot on top of the ladder heading into this one.
Another interesting clash is the one between the Penrith Panthers and Western Sydney Academy of Sport out at Sportingbet Stadium on Saturday morning. As mentioned above, the WSAS has shown some wonderful signs through three rounds of competition, posting a win, a draw and a loss to this point. But a clash here with their big brother, the Panthers will truly test just how far they have come. There will be five games to be played on the day at Penrith, starting with the Harold Matthews fixture at 8.45am and culminating in the Panthers V Knights NRL clash at 4.30pm. It should be a great day of rugby league so get out there and support all grades.
Perhaps the other clash that has the biggest ramifications in relation to spots in the top eight is the one down in Canberra between the Raiders and the Magpies.
Currently sitting in 7th and 8th respectively, both the Magpies and Raiders will be desperate for the win to keep themselves inside that all important top eight. It sounds weird to say, but at the end of this round we will be the best part of halfway through the regular season, so wins, more so than ever, will be at a premium.
Other clashes this round see the Pirates hosting the Tigers over in the west while the Steelers and Bears lock horns down at Wollongong.
The Centurions make the trip to Victoria to face the Storm and up at WIN Jubilee, the Dragons take on the Knights with both sides desperate for a win.
The Bulldogs will take on the Rabbitohs in both the Harold Matthews Cup and SG Ball Cup at 1.45pm and 3.00pm respectively, and if you can’t make it out to Belmore on Saturday, Steele Sports and 2GLF will both be broadcasting these games as part of their coverage of this bumper day of footy at Belmore.
And last but not least, on Sunday, Manly will host the Eels at Brookvale Oval.
Once again the NSWRL twitter account @NSWRL will be providing halftime and fulltime match scores and you can follow the account by clicking here.
Click here to view all of the kick off times for this weekend’s games
Click here to view the SG Ball Cup ladder after three rounds
Click here for a full recap of all of the scores and scorers from round three
