The St George Illawarra Dragons may be reeling from Sunday's 36-18 loss to the Roosters but their upcoming schedule could help them regain their winning touch leading into the Telstra Premiership finals.
NRL.com Stats have assessed each club's draw for the run home, based on the competition points scored this season by each of their opponents. Extra loading is added for away games, based on that opponent's home record.
The Knights now have the toughest run home of any team by that metric, edging out the Raiders, while South Sydney's draw becomes significantly tougher – jumping from seventh easiest last round to third toughest as of this week. The Rabbitohs are neck and neck with Melbourne at the top of the ladder but face a huge challenge if they are to earn a minor premiership with matches against the Storm, Roosters and Broncos in the next three weeks.
On the bright side, the Dragons have a good chance to turn their fortunes around following their loss to the Roosters with the second "easiest" draw from here on out, with a home game against the eight-placed Warriors followed by five matches against bottom-eight sides.
Wests Tigers remain a mathematical chance of sneaking into the finals, sitting two wins behind the eighth-placed Warriors after both sides suffered surprise defeats on the weekend. The draw, however, favours the Warriors, whose toughest game will be this week's trip to face St George Illawarra, while the Tigers will face the Dragons and Rabbitohs in the final three rounds.
