Raiders in NRL top-four contention after beating Warriors, Knights defeat Dragons

Raiders in NRL top-four contention after beating Warriors, Knights defeat Dragons

The Canberra Raiders have survived a testing battle against the Warriors to claim a 26-14 victory and remain in sight of a crucial top-four NRL finish.

The Raiders still have a chance of finishing in fourth place on the ladder following the win over the Warriors.

The home side scored five tries, including a double to winger Semi Valemei.

Another finals-bound side, the Knights, also won in Round 19, posting a convincing 42-18 defeat of St George Illawarra in Newcastle.

The Knights moved into sixth place on the points table after beating the Dragons.

Round 20 of the NRL which is the final round kicks off on Thursday.

NRL finals system explained

At the end of the home-and-away season, the top eight ranked NRL teams playoff in the NRL Finals series to determine the NRL Premiers of the year.

These four weeks of rugby league cut the top eight teams down to two in time for the grand final in the fourth and final week.

The top eight teams in the NRL are decided based on the points table.

The eight teams are typically divided into two groups of four, the top four (1-4) and the bottom four (5-8), who play games among themselves in the first week of finals.

In the top four, first, play fourth and second play third in qualifying finals.

The higher-placed teams, first and second, have the right to host these finals in their home state.

One of the advantages given to teams in the top four is that they cannot be eliminated if they lose in the first week.

However, the winners of these finals have a bye in the second week and host a preliminary final in their home state in the third week.

Meanwhile, the losers of these finals must play again in the second week and, if they survive that, may have to travel interstate to play their opponent in the third week.

So winning a qualifying final is a significant advantage.

In the first Qualifying Final: the first ranked team hosts the fourth-ranked team while in the second Qualifying Final: the second-ranked team hosts the third-ranked team.

In the bottom four, fifth play eighth and sixth play seventh in elimination finals.

The higher-placed teams, fifth and sixth, have the right to host these finals in their home state.

These are are the top eight teams in the NRL points table, the Panthers, Melbourne Storm, Roosters, Eels, Raiders, Knights, Rabbitohs and Sharks.

[Source: abc.net.au, theroar.com.au]