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Minor premiers Manly play St George at Brookvale Oval. Manly have named Phil Lowe as the replacement for the suspended Mal Reilly, while St George have named Peter Fitzgerald for the injured John Jansen. St George will be trying to avoid the wooden spoon, while in reserve grade, the Dragons will be looking for a win to finish second and give them confidence in the finals.
Cronulla play Balmain, with the winner assured of second spot. Balmain have promoted Percy Knight and Phil Sommerville to first grade after their recent run of losses. A loss to the Tigers could see them lose their spot in the top three. A loss to the Sharks could see them miss out on the finals altogether.
Newtown play Canterbury for the Porter Cup at Henson Park. The Berries have named the returning Bill Noonan and Mark Hughes in reserve grade as they try to get into the semis. In first grade, a win to the Jets could see them finish in the top three and have a second chance in the finals. A loss could see them miss out on a place in the final five.
Penrith play Easts at the Sydney Sports Ground. The Roosters need a win to have any chance of avoiding the wooden spoon, while Penrith need a win to assure their place in the top five.
Souths need to beat Wests at Lidcombe Oval to have any chance of making the finals. The Rabbitohs need not only to win, but hope Newtown or Penrith lose. The only other way for Souths is for Cronulla to lose and Souths to force a playoff for fifth spot next Tuesday. The Rabbithos welcome John Berne back from a long lay off with injury. Wests have named John Heyward for the injured Wayne Smith.
Norths play Parramatta at Cumberland Oval and have it all to do. Not only do Norths need to win, but they also need two of Newtown, Penrith and Souths to lose if they are to make the finals. The Bears have named Rod Henniker as the replacement for the injured Paul McCabe, while the Eels welcome back Mick Cronin from injury for the last game of their season.
Graham Eadie (157) needs eight points to beat Ted Goodwin's record of 164 points for the season set last year. John Adam needs one try for the Bears to equal Kevin Dann's 14 for the year set last year. The Rothmans Medal will also be decided this weekend, with the winner announced on Thursday. In a pointer to the finals, Greg Hartley has been appointed referee to the match of the round between Cronulla and Balmain at Endeavour Field.
The NSWRL is pleased to announce the formation of the Maher Cup to be played in September between the seven sides to miss out on the Scanlens Cup finals and nine regional sides. The regional sides are Newcastle, Illawarra, Canberra, Riverina, New England, North Coast, Central Coast, Eden Monaro and Western Division. The sixteen sides will play a knockout competition, with the final to be played as a curtain raiser on Grand Final Day.
Club Pages Balmain Tigers Canterbury Berries Cronulla Sharks Eastern Suburbs Roosters Manly Sea Eagles Newtown Jets North Sydney Bears Parramatta Eels Penrith Panthers South Sydney Rabbitohs St George Dragons Western Suburbs Magpies Representative Games Pages City V Country NSW V QLD Australia V New Zealand Statistics Pages Trial Matches Craven Mild Cup Amco Cup Other Cups Round by Round Results Finals Series Grand Final All Tables For all the details of the Rothmans Medal, click HereFor a recap of Season 2003 click Here
