Weekend wrap

Brisbane has maintained its slender grip on third spot on the NRL ladder despite crashing to a fourth straight defeat with a 30-18 loss to Canberra yesterday.

The Broncos are now locked on 26 competition points with Newcastle, Manly and St George Illawarra, with the Dragons slipping to sixth spot on points differential after their fourth consecutive defeat.

The Knights meanwhile moved back into the top four with a 32-18 win over Sydney Roosters at Gosford yesterday to set up a blockbuster clash with the Sea Eagles at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Friday night.

Andrew Johns has warned rivals the Knights won't "choke" in the big matches in September. Johns scored a try and set up several others to help earn the Knights a top-four spot and effectively kill off the slim semi-final hopes of the Roosters. The Newcastle captain concedes the Knights are about ten per cent behind pacesetters Melbourne and the Bulldogs but can bridge the gap come finals time.

Elsewhere, Penrith's top eight hopes was dealt a cruel blow yesterday with the Panthers succumbing to a 32-26 loss against bottom side South Sydney. After going into the contest eying off eighth spot on the ladder, the Panthers now find themselves in 11th and needing to win all four of their remaining matches to make the finals.

Meanwhile, Melbourne will find out today if it will pay a heavy price for Saturday night's win over Wests Tigers with prop Brett White and fullback Billy Slater sure to come under the microscope from the NRL match review committee.

White was put on report for a high tackle on Tigers centre Jamaal Lolesi while Slater could also be in trouble for a forearm to the head of Shannon McDonnell. It would be a devastating blow for Slater if he was charged, with the electrifying fullback having already served two long suspensions this season.