Wests Tigers coach Ivan Cleary is praying his son Nathan can lead the Penrith Panthers to victory over the Warriors in Auckland on Friday night.
The Panthers need to beat the Warriors to ensure the Tigers head into the final round with the best chance possible of qualifying for the NRL's top eight.
Wests' 22-20 win over the Manly Sea Eagles in Campbelltown on Thursday puts them two points behind the Warriors.
- Steve Hansen has league phenom Kalyn Ponga on radar
- Tohu Harris ready to lead Warriors' finals charge
If the Warriors beat the Panthers however, it would ensure the Auckland franchise qualify for September football while putting a huge dent in the Tigers' finals aspirations.
As it stands, the Tigers need the Warriors or Broncos to drop their final two games of the regular season, while Wests need to back up their efforts with victory over South Sydney next week.
But the equation is simple should the Warriors and Broncos both win their clashes this weekend - the joint venture's finals hopes are over for a seventh year in a row.
So a win for the Nathan and the Panthers over the Warriors would go a long way in ensuring the Tigers give themselves a good chance of playing finals football.
"There's a certain number seven who knows what to do. Hopefully, they can do their job over there," Ivan said of Nathan.
"I'll sit there and watch, but what can you do? You've just got to cross your fingers. It's great we're still alive at this point."
The Warriors last qualified for the finals in 2011 - when Ivan coached them, and Nathan was one of the club's ball-boys.
The Tigers were made to work hard in their two-point win over the Sea Eagles as they trailed 8-6 at the break. Wests roared to life early in the second half, scoring three tries in five minutes to race out to a 22-8 lead.
But they had to endure a nervous final six minutes when Trent Hodkinson first scored and Tom Trbojevic caught a pass off his laces and found Daly Cherry-Evans to help bring Manly within two points.
Cherry-Evans then had a penalty shot at goal after the siren from 47 metres out and on the sideline to level the scores, but the kick fell two metres short.
"Honestly I thought it was too far, but I thought he nailed it," Tigers coach Cleary said.
"If he kicked that, I'm not sure of Pythagoras, but that's a long way. I thought he hit it perfectly, nice to see it go short.
"There was a period we were up 22-8, and they had three or four sets in a row. When they get some ball, they're dangerous. It was just a scrap to hang on and win."
Newshub.
