Episode 171 | “Will the real contenders please stand up?”

At this point the 2025 NRL Premiership could be won by any club… Wild weather or not, Round 22 saw some major upsets and close-calls that have put every club on notice with five weeks remaining… In our ‘Bunker Review’ we discuss the NRLs ill-timed tweak to the Rookie of the Year criteria! We end the episode with the Super League Round 20 results and transfer news, as well as Super League expanding to 14 teams in 2026, the NRLW Round 5 Magic Round  results, and the Warriors NSW Cup 14-game win-streak coming to an end!——TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Intro01:24 - Clarkie’s Good Guy of the Week vs. Who’s in Guildy’s Bin11:08 - Episode Overview12:40 - Bunker Review: Rookie of the Year criteria changed20:18 - TSS Tipping + Supercoach money comps [Round 22]23:40 - NRL Ladder analysis after Round 2224:53 - NRL Round 22: Storm def. Eels (Hughes re-signs until 2030)32:22 - NRL Round 22: Dolphins def. Warriors (Herbie hamstrung; Warriors slide continues)37:34 - NRL Round 22: Broncos def. Rabbitohs (Souths cannot field 18 men)45:53 - NRL Round 22: Panthers def. Titans (Controversy galore)59:59 - NRL Round 22: Dragons def. Raiders (Canberra 9-game win streak ends)1:06:07 - NRL Round 22: Roosters def. Manly (Easts still in the race for finals)1:12:48 - NRL Round 22: Tigers def. Bulldogs (Bulldogs hopeless in the wet)1:24:46 - NRL Round 22: Sharks def. Cowboys (Cronulla win 4-in-a-row)1:30:30- NRL Rapid Fire Tips: Round 231:34:35 - ATG: Super League Round 20 Results1:35:19 - ATG: Super League confirm expansion to 14 teams1:39:00 - ATG: Super League Player Transfer News (Townsend, Jurbo, Sipley, Kerr, Havili)1:41:24 - ATG: NRLW Round 5 Magic Round Results1:41:56 - ATG: NSW Cup NZ Warriors win-streak ends1:42:34 - Outro——Click the link to follow us on Instagram, Facebook & TikTok, check out our sponsors, or to listen on your preferred podcasting platform:https://linktr.ee/thesidelinestoryrlpodcast——Proudly sponsored by:* ADSE Apparel* Best Sport 2.0* Good Guys Mowing* rugbyleague.com ——Hosted by Daniel Tassone, Nicholas Guild & Ryan Clarke.Podcast mixed by Daniel Tassone using Garageband.Podcast distributed to all major listening apps using Spotify for Podcasters.Music credit for this episode: ‘Chase’ [prod. Yrii Semchyshyn from Pixabay].——Logo designed by Tahlia Zaccomer.© The Sideline Story: Rugby League Podcast, 2021.——“You're listening to The Sideline Story Rugby League Podcast: The Greatest View of Rugby League from the Sideline”