NZ Warriors' hopes of a late NRL playoff bid have received a huge boost from Manly Sea Eagles' 30-6 loss to Melbourne Storm on Sunday.
Heading into the weekend, the Warriors sat 12th on the NRL ladder, sitting behind Wests Tigers, St George Illawarra Dragons and Sea Eagles - all on 12 competition points, but the Auckland side with the worst points differential.
But all three close rivals lost, while the Warriors demolished Newcastle Knights 36-6, elevating them to ninth on the NRL ladder.
Unfortunately, eight-placed Cronulla Sharks beat woeful North Queensland Cowboys to keep their four-point advantage over the Warriors, but Todd Payten's side still remain in the hunt, with the chasing pack now needing more than a miracle to reach the top eight.
Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler knows his side faces an uphill battle to reach the postseason, but he's not giving up just yet.
"We’ve just got to start winning games and we can start by working on some fundamentals," he says. "Things that we can control to give ourselves to set up to win the game.
"We’ve just got to make sure there are certain standards that we need to be accomplished at."
The Sea Eagles face the Tigers next Saturday in a crucial match for both side's finals aspirations.
The Storm's win keeps them in second place in the standings and all but ensures them a spot in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Canberra Raiders kept in touch with the NRL's top four, beating Canterbury Bulldogs 34-20.
The Bulldogs led 20-12 at the break, but failed to fire in the second half and remain bottom of the standings.
Canberra face a tough test next weekend - a Grand Final rematch against the two-time defending champion Sydney Roosters, with Sonny Bill Williams set to feature in his NRL return.
Join us at 6pm Sunday for live updates of the Warriors v Eels NRL clash