Overnight Wrap

The race for the top eight will go down to the final day of the regular season following wins by the New Zealand Warriors, Brisbane and South Sydney yesterday.

The Warriors downed Manly 36-14 in Auckland, the Broncos beat Canberra 30-19 in Brisbane and Souths made it tough for the Wests Tigers with a 37-12 pummelling at Leichhardt Oval.

Parramatta can take a step towards a home final with a win over St George Illawarra at WIN Stadium tonight.

Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens issued a public apology to the fans who packed Leichhardt Oval yesterday to watch his side drop out of the top eight.

The Rabbitohs silenced the majority of the 20,000-strong crowd with a dazzling performance that would have sent more than a few shivers through sides further up the ladder.

The win wasn't enough for the Bunnies to cement their first finals berth since 1989, but the Tigers, on the other hand, will now have to beat Newcastle on Friday night and hope other results go their way to force their way into the top eight.

The Tigers' cause was not helped when Robbie Farah was forced to leave the field after 15 minutes with a numb left leg, the result of painkilling injections for a hip problem. The Bunnies will be sweating on the fitness of fullback Nathan Merritt after he suffered suspected knee ligament damage in the opening minute.

The race for the NRL finals heading into the final round of the regular season:

MELBOURNE - 1st, 42 pts (+306 points differential) - The minor premiers for the second year play Gold Coast on Sunday night.

MANLY - 2nd, 36 pts (+216) - Locked into second spot ahead of game against St George Illawarra on Sunday.

NORTH QUEENSLAND - 3rd, 30 pts (-77) - Home final secure, could slip to fourth if they lose to the Bulldogs on Friday night and Parramatta win both their remaining matches starting with St George Illawarra tomorrow night.

NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS - 4th, 27 pts (+155) - Guaranteed finals berth, could finish fourth with a win over Penrith and at least one loss for the Eels.

PARRAMATTA - 5th, 26 pts (+54) - Could secure fourth with two wins or finish as low as eighth with two losses. A remote chance of dropping out of the eight altogether with two losses but would need the Tigers to win and overturn a 72 points differential as well as the Bulldogs, Souths and Broncos all winning.

BULLDOGS - 6th, 26 pts (+53) - Need to beat Cowboys on Friday night to confirm spot. Could finish fourth if the Eels (twice) and Warriors lose. Similar to Parramatta in that they could also drop to eighth or out with massive win for Tigers and wins for Eels, Broncos and Souths.

SOUTH SYDNEY - 7th, 26 pts (+23) - Same as Bulldogs, but would have to improve points differential markedly to secure top four spot and home final.

BRISBANE - 8th, 24 pts (+81) - Will be in with a win and may even survive with a loss if Tigers also lose to Newcastle two days earlier. Can finish as high as fifth if Eels (twice), Souths and Bulldogs all lose.

WESTS TIGERS - 9th, 24 pts (-18) - A win over Newcastle and a Broncos' loss will be enough to make the eight. Otherwise they need to win and hope they can overturn substantial points differentials with the Eels, Bulldogs or Souths, should either of those sides lose.