NRL top eight sides are having a nervous glance over their shoulders with victories from a host of strugglers raising the prospect of another Parramatta-like surge into finals reckoning.

Just as the Eels did in winning seven of their last eight games to storm into last year's finals, Canterbury, Canberra and Newcastle all won on the weekend to keep their fading playoff hopes alive.

The Knights' 21-10 win over Cronulla was their third in a row and left them two points out of the top eight, with the Bulldogs also notching up their hat-trick with a 20-18 win over Melbourne in Adelaide to be two points further back in 11th.

Premiership heavyweights Manly joined the throng outside the top eight as they slumped to a 24-22 loss to the Raiders - who like the Bulldogs are now on 16 competition points - the Sea Eagles with just one win from their last five games as they slipped to ninth on points differential.

The big winners from the weekend were undoubtedly the Sydney Roosters, who surged into fourth thanks to their late 18-14 win over neighbours South Sydney, while the Warriors resurgence lifted them to sixth as they held on to beat Penrith 12-6 for their third straight victory.

"There's a long way to go but it gives you something to look back on," Warriors coach Ivan Cleary said after his side repelled numerous Panthers raids late in the game.

"They should draw some confidence from this.

"A lot of our guys are still finding out feet at this level. We're a work in progress but with each performance, especially a good one, they get a little bit more confident and more faith in each other.

"There's a lot of footy to go but we're travelling reasonably well at the moment."

The clash with the second-placed Panthers was the start of a tough four-week stretch for the Auckland-based side, who face Melbourne and top eight sides Gold Coast and South Sydney in coming weeks.

The Panthers missed a chance to stay level with ladder leaders St George Illawarra, but backrower Luke Lewis said the lesson learned by defeat would hold his side in good stead come finals time.

"You can feel the intensity going into games now," Lewis said.

"I think every team's playing that finals football and it's a good way to build up coming to August, but we've still got a lot to learn between now and then."

Bulldogs skipper Andrew Ryan was hoping his side would use the win over the Storm as a springboard to something bigger.

"I hope we can make a run - we're certainly doing some good things at the moment," Ryan told ABC Radio.

"As far as semi-finals go, we realise that if we want to be in contention we have to just keep playing well and try and win games - there's no magic solution."

While the win over the Storm no doubt lifted the confidence of the Bulldogs, the real test will come next Sunday when they take on the Roosters in what suddenly shapes as one of a series of epic round 19 encounters.

The south Queensland derby kicks things off on Friday night with Gold Coast and Brisbane both in danger of dropping out of the eight with a loss, while the loser of the Newcastle-Canberra clash in the nation's capital could be done and dusted for 2010.

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