The Minor Premiership race was flipped on its head, while a number of teams finals hopes were ended after Round 22.
PENRITH PANTHERS 44 – 10 VICTORIA THUNDERBOLTS
The Panthers, who have a bye and two points in hand, secured their finals spot with a dominant 34-point win over Victoria.
Penrith 44 (C Lawson 3, W Fakatoumafi, L Ison, H Puru, K Russell-Smith, B Scott tries; A Williams 6 goals) def. Victoria 10 (J Napatu, A Salani tries; T Ua goal) at BlueBet Stadium.
Stat sheet
Penrith: Harrison Hassett – 28 tackles; Cody Lawson – 170 run metres, 2 line breaks
Victoria: Kade Roberts – 27 tackles; Jack Natapu – 101 run metres
Debuts: Liam Ison (Penrith)
PARRAMATTA EELS 32 – 26 SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Parramatta made it two straight wins with a victory over the last-placed Rabbitohs. The Panthers win earlier in the day ended the Eels slim finals hopes.
Parramatta 32 (C Parry 2, M Graham-Taufa, D Lui, F Niutili-Schmidt, P Taateo tries; E Sanders 4 goals) def. South Sydney 26 (D Leugaimafa 2, W Bruines, C Lahood, T Munro tries; T Munro 3 goals) at Ringrose Park.
Stat sheet
Parramatta: Brock Parker – 26 tackles; Arthur Miller-Stephen – 147 run metres; Moala Graham-Taufa – 2 line breaks
South Sydney: Thomas Giles – 23 tackles; Tyrone Munro – 168 run metres; Deijion Leugaimafa – 2 line breaks
Debuts: Cody Parry, Markis Atoa (Parramatta), Lachoneus Paki (South Sydney)
CANTERBURY BULLDOGS 44 – 24 MANLY SEA EAGLES
Brandon Clarke crossed for four tries in Canterbury’s win over Manly. To make the finals, the Bulldogs will need results to go their way and a huge points differential swing.
Canterbury 44 (B Clarke 4, E Clark, L Dale-Doyle, B Hayward, J Mazzone tries; B Hayward 6 goals) def. Manly 24 (J Palota-Kopa 2, V Fifita, F Iosefa tries; F Angles-Corke 2, C Brown 2 goals) at Belmore Sports Ground.
Stat sheet
Canterbury: Brandon Clarke – 24 tackles, 4 line breaks; Jordi Mazzone – 135 run metres
Manly: Zac Fulton – 25 tackles; Viliami Fifita – 84 run metres; Jonah Palota-Kopa – 2 line breaks
WESTS TIGERS 32 – 24 CANBERRA RAIDERS
The Tigers sealed their Top 5 spot with an important win over Canberra. The Raiders sit in seventh and will need to win out for a hope of finals football.
Wests Tigers 32 (J Matamua 2, J Delle, K Hill, C Nicholas, J Valevatu tries; L Saukuru 4 goals) def. Canberra 24 (J Billing 2, M Kaho 2, L Kaloutolu tries; N Ryan 2 goals) at Leichhardt Oval.
Stat sheet
Wests Tigers: Brandon Webster-Mansfield – 25 tackles; Christian Ma’anaima – 219 run metres, 2 line breaks
Canberra: Eneseli Kamuta – 29 tackles; Manase Kaho – 152 run metres, 3 line breaks
Debuts: Josh Feledy (Wests Tigers), Cooper Harris (Canberra)
NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS 22 – 14 SYDNEY ROOSTERS
The Knights now have a chance to snatch the minor premiership thanks to a win over the first-placed Roosters. Newcastle trailed 14-0 before running in 22 unanswered points.
Newcastle 22 (N Nailagoliva 2, J Johnson, F Sharpe tries; T Cant 3 goals) def. Sydney 14 (R Meyn 2, V Karawalevu tries; H Savala goal) at Marcellin Fields.
Stat sheet
Sydney: Tyler Moriarty – 34 tackles; Jack Stringer – 191 run metres; Riley Meyn – 2 line breaks
Newcastle: Jaron Purcell – 39 tackles; Brock Greacen – 143 run metres; Chris Vea’ila – 2 line breaks
Cronulla Sharks, St George Illawarra Dragons – BYE
Round 22 Highlights: https://www.nswrl.com.au/news/2022/08/15/jersey-flegg-cup-highlights-round-22/
Click HERE for the Jersey Flegg Cup ladder
| Top Try Scorers | Top Point Scorers |
| 15 Jack Mossman (Sydney) | 172 Ryan Rivett (Cronulla) |
| 15 Thomas Rodwell (Cronulla) | 122 Hugo Savala (Sydney) |
| 13 Sanele Aukusitino (Manly) | 98 Thomas Cant (Newcastle) |
| 13 Josh Billing (Canberra) | 90 Corey Fenning (Parramatta) |
| 13 William Fakatoumafi (Penrith) | 84 Niwhai Puru (Penrith) |
| 13 Isaiah Iongi (Penrith) | 80 Sam Hooper (St George Illawarra) |
| 11 Ethan Sanders (Parramatta) | 78 Jack Mossman (Sydney) |
| 10 James Johnson (Newcastle) | 76 Jonah Pezet (Victoria) |
| 10 Vuate Karawalevu (Sydney) | 76 Ethan Sanders (Parramatta) |
| 10 Jacob Preston (Sydney) | 76 Addison Williams (Penrith) |
Round 23
Saturday, August 20
Parramatta v Canterbury – Kellyville, 11am
Newcastle v Canberra – Newcastle, 11:30am
Manly v Cronulla – 4 Pines, 1:30pm
St George Illawarra v Victoria – Ziems, 2pm
Sunday, August 21
South Sydney v Penrith – Erskineville, 2:30pm
Sydney v Wests Tigers – Waverley, 3pm
18TH MAN 