How the Panthers and Warriors can win the NRL minor premiership

The NRL minor premiership remains undecided as the season draws to a close, with the New Zealand Warriors leading and the Penrith Panthers poised to overtake them. A win for the Warriors in Saturday's match in Auckland propelled them to the top spot, while the Panthers require only a narrow victory on Sunday to reclaim the lead.

Both teams are set to finish in the top two and host matches in the finals, including qualifying finals the following week. However, the minor premiership attracts a monetary prize and a boost in confidence for the season ahead. In the event of a tie between first and second place, the minor premiership will be decided by point differential.

The Warriors lead the Panthers by just two points in the points differential, with the Warriors at +310 and the Panthers at +308. If the Panthers manage a one-point win against Wests Tigers, they will draw level on points with the Warriors, and the minor premiership will hinge on their performance against the Tigers. The Panthers will secure the minor premiership if they beat the Tigers by two or more points.

In the highly unlikely scenario where both teams share identical points and point differentials, the NRL will use a tiebreaker, comparing points for divided by points against, multiplied by 100. If the Panthers are victorious in week one, they will host a preliminary final in week three. If either the Panthers or Warriors are defeated in week one, they will then host a semifinal against the team that emerged victorious from the week one elimination finals.

The NRL will announce the dates and times for week one of the finals once all matches from round 27 have concluded.