NRL

Penrith's now guaranteed a top two finish and a home qualifying final.

The Panthers will secure the minor premiership as early as tomorrow (Sunday) if the Melbourne Storm don't beat the North Queensland Cowboys.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are poised to finish with the competition's wooden spoon after falling to their 16th defeat from 18 matches.

They've been beaten 32-20 by the Manly Sea Eagles in Sydney.

Manly's now 10th, level on points with the Warriors who play the Cronulla Sharks tomorrow night.

A couple of game-defining calls have gone against the Warriors this season - including the sin binning of Jazz Tevaga against the Eels in the last round.

The NRL's head of football, Graham Annesley, has since said Tevaga's sending off was wrong, but Payten doesn't know how to turn the tide in his side's favour.

"I just have the feeling that because it's us and the Warriors its forgotten about pretty quickly," Payten said.

No Gold Coast side has ever beaten the Broncos twice in a season, dating back to 1988, and after winning the round seven clash 30-12 at Suncorp Stadium the Titans have the chance to secure an historic double at Cbus Super Stadium. 

Broncos coach Peter Gentle said last week he hoped Titans-bound Fifita would "show them what they are getting" in the clash. After two wins on the trot Gold Coast captain Jamal Fogarty said he was wary of Fifita but determined to send him home a loser. 

It comes as several of the club’s players raised trust and communication issues with coach Michael Maguire during a crisis meeting on Monday, with concerns growing over the coach’s rapport with the playing group.

Marshall’s manager began calling rival NRL clubs on Monday night, offering the five-eighth’s services for next year following a two-hour meeting with Tigers officials during the afternoon.

Williams is expected to end a 2171-day NRL hiatus against on Saturday night at GIO Stadium, with five matches for Toronto Wolfpack his only rugby league since leaving the Roosters in 2014.

The return of the former All Blacks ace comes at an ominous time for the Roosters’ NRL rivals, with reigning Dally M Medallist Tedesco involved in five tries last week and the premiers’ attack the best in the competition.

But with Williams in the team, superstar fullback Tedesco believes the Roosters will be even more dangerous.

They have blown the Newcastle Knights 36-6 at their home away from home in Tamworth, after leading 8-6 at halftime, to keep alive their top eight hopes.

It is the Warriors' first win over a top eight side this season and lifts them to ninth on the table, four points behind the Cronulla Sharks, who later beat the North Queensland Cowboys 28-12.

Captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck again led from the front, scoring two tries, saving another and running for more than 200 metres.

The sight of Taumalolo hobbling up the tunnel of McDonald Jones Stadium in the 53rd minute would have sent shivers up the spines of all North Queensland Cowboys fans.

He only managed 41 metres in his 32 minutes on the field in Sunday's 12-0 loss to the Knights, which is far below his usual standards.

In the round seven 32-30 win over the Knights in Townsville, Taumalolo ran for 297 metres in his 70 minutes input.

"It's a calf injury but I'm not sure of the severity. It's a fresh injury – he had no niggle coming into the game," said Cowboys coach Josh Hannay.

Of most concern is hooker Brandon Smith, who left the field late clutching his jaw, while five-eighth Ryley Jacks also went down with a hip injury.

The Storm could well be the first team to fall foul of a crusher tackle crackdown, with debutant half Cooper Johns and bench forward Albert Vete placed on report in the first half.

Eight young males were escorted from the ground by police during the first half of Penrith's 18-12 victory.

NRL acting CEO Andrew Abdo said the governing body took the matter extremely seriously.

"Racism and vilification will not be tolerated in our game," he said.

"Bringing communities and cultures together is part of rugby league. We pride ourselves on being inclusive and taking a leadership role in driving social change.

"Any fan found to have racially abused a player or another fan will not be welcome at our games.

The Daily Telegraph reports Tuivasa-Sheck is weighing up his future at the Warriors with concerns around what next season could be like for the Auckland-based franchise on his mind.

The major concern is if the team would have to be based in Australia again like they have this season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has meant Tuivasa-Sheck has had to spend an extended amount of time away from his young family.