Thurston, Hayne in wooden spoon battle
Manly's pluck and Canterbury's resurgence have left two of rugby league's biggest names in a desperate battle to avoid the NRL wooden spoon.
In Johnathan Thurston's case, the retiring champion faces the grim prospect of bowing out of the game next month with a last-place finish unless North Queensland can drag themselves out of the competition cellar in the closing rounds.
If not Thurston's Cowboys, Jarryd Hayne's hapless Parramatta Eels are likely to run last despite their weekend win over Gold Coast.
While two straight wins have eased pressure on the Bulldogs and Manly's gritty golden-point victory over Cronulla may have spared the Sea Eagles a first wooden spoon in the club's 71-year history, the heat is well and truly on the Cowboys and Eels.
Between them, Thurston and Hayne boast six Dally M Medals, 51 Tests for Australia and 60 State of Origin appearances for their respective states.
But, as it stands, the Eels are propping up the ladder with the Cowboys languishing in second last spot with four rounds remaining.
Such a scenario at the start of the season was unthinkable as both superstars prepared to rejoin their clubs - and seemingly boost their title chances.
The Cowboys were immediately installed as 2018 premiership favourites after losing last year's grand final to Melbourne without their talismanic leader, as the Storm planned for life after Cooper Cronk.
Thurston, though, has failed to rediscover his best form since returning from a shoulder reconstruction, while the magic that helped the Eels charge to a top-four finish in 2017 has vanished since Hayne's return from the Titans after a stint in the NFL and cameo with the Fijian rugby sevens team.
Manly and Canterbury remain in danger of "winning" the spoon, while the Titans, Newcastle and Canberra are also mathematical "contenders".
But with a treacherous run home, Parramatta - and Hayne - are favoured to finish last for the third time in the past seven seasons, having collected the spoon in 2012 and 2013 before the dual Dally M Medallist dramatically departed the club.
In a decorated 17-season career featuring two premierships from three grand finals, a record three Golden Boots as the world's best player, an unmatched four Dally M Medals, a World Cup and 11 Origin series wins, Thurston has never felt the wooden spoon.
The future Immortal's hopes of avoiding it in his NRL swansong season could well come down to helping the Cowboys trump Hayne's Eels in a high-stakes head-to-head showdown in Townsville in the penultimate round.
RUN HOME FOR THE NRL'S WOODEN SPOON CONTENDERS:
16. Parramatta (12 points, -124 for and against): Dragons (home), Storm (away), Cowboys (a), Roosters (h)
15. North Queensland (12 pts, -106): Broncos (h), Sharks (a), Eels (a), Titans (a)
14. Manly (14 pts, -92): Bulldogs (h), Titans (h), Tigers (a), Broncos (a)
13. Canterbury (14 pts, -61): Sea Eagles (a), Warriors (h), Dragons (a), Sharks (h)
12. Gold Coast (16 pts, -111): Panthers (h), Sea Eagles (a), Storm (h), Cowboys (h)
11 Newcastle (18 pts, -146): Warriors (a), Panthers (a), Sharks (a), Dragons (h)
10. Canberra (18 pts, +5): Tigers (h), Roosters (h), Rabbitohs (h), Warriors (a)
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