The Sydney Roosters have had to readjust the rear view mirror after Canberra and St George Illawarra joined Brisbane in the chase for the last spot in the NRL top four.

The Roosters (30 points) have lost two in a row and now have three sides hot on their tail in the race to secure a home final.

Brisbane (29), Canberra (28) and the Dragons (28) all have a better points difference than the Roosters with two rounds left.

Should the boys from Bondi slip up against South Sydney on Friday night, they could find themselves as low as seventh when they host the surging Dragons in the last round.

"We can definitely go past them," said St George Illawarra coach Nathan Brown after his side thrashed the New Zealand Warriors 34-6 in Wollongong.

"The good thing is we can put ourselves in a position if we keep winning, we don't have to rely on anyone else losing really."

Given the form the Roosters have displayed recently, you could almost bank on another loss as their attack has lost direction and penetration.

Just a fortnight ago they appeared some chance of overhauling Melbourne, Manly and Cronulla in the race for the minor premiership.

It now appears a spot somewhere in the lower reaches of the top eight will have to suffice as the Sea Eagles and Sharks have shot ahead of the chasing pack.

The Storm can regain top spot with a win over Penrith on Monday night in the first of a horror run home for the Panthers that also includes games against the Warriors and Manly as they look to stay in touch with the top eight.

The Roosters, Broncos, Raiders and Dragons all now figure to be there somewhere in the finals, which leaves Newcastle, Parramatta, the Warriors and Panthers battling it out for one place in the eight.

Injuries will play a large part.

The Knights are almost certain to be without skipper Danny Buderus after the departing veteran suffered what looked to be a serious biceps injury on Saturday night.

Newcastle have called a press conference for Monday afternoon when it is expected they will announce Buderus has played for the final time in the NRL before taking up a two-year deal with Leeds.

The Raiders, meanwhile, added another couple of names to their casualty ward.

Halfback Marc Herbert (knee) and prop Troy Thompson (Achilles) suffered season-ending injuries in the 40-25 win over Souths - a double blow sure to dent their top four hopes.

Skipper Alan Tongue said securing a home final wasn't the motivation behind his side's brilliant end of season form.

"We haven't talked about beyond this weekend," Tongue said.

"We'll do the same again next week, we've got to reassess our injuries and we've shown all year that we play for each other no matter what we've gone through and that will be the case again next week."

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