Premiers Penrith confirmed their finals participation with a 28-0 shut-out of Cronulla, while Brisbane are also assured of September football after outclassing the Sydney Roosters 32-10.
But the remaining six finals spots remain up for grabs, with a dozen teams left in a mad scramble to make the playoffs.
The in-form Cowboys' 22-13 loss to the Titans in the last game of round 22 on Sunday has turned the finals race upside down and given renewed hope to several sides whose chances looked to have been shot.
Instead of moving to fifth on the most congested competition table in memory, the Cowboys remain eighth and just one point ahead of resurgent Newcastle and Manly.
Newcastle produced the shock of the round in Canberra, stunning the Raiders 28-6 in the national capital for a fourth consecutive victory.
The Raiders' defeat left Ricky Stuart's men clinging to fifth spot but vulnerable in the weeks ahead because of a dreadful points differential.
South Sydney leapfrogged Cronulla into sixth spot with a 32-18 win over Wests Tigers but face the seventh-placed Sharks in Perth on Saturday in one of many pivotal round-23 encounters.
The Knights travel to Perth to play the Dolphins with the chance to surge into the top eight, a scenario that seemed unimaginable last month when all the talk was about Adam O'Brien fighting to save his job as Newcastle coach.
The 14th-placed Dolphins remain a mathematical finals prospect despite suffering a crushing 23-22 loss to the Titans on Sunday.
Parramatta and the Sydney Roosters are also still alive despite losing convincingly.
RUN HOME FOR THE NRL FINALS CONTENDERS:
1. PENRITH (34 points, +257) versus Storm (home), Sea Eagles (away), Titans (a), Eels (h), Cowboys (h)
2. BRISBANE (34, +153) v Cowboys (a), Eels (h), bye, Raiders (a), Storm (h)
3. WARRIORS (32, +111) v Titans (a), Wests Tigers (a), Sea Eagles (h), Dragons (h), Dolphins (a)
4. MELBOURNE (30, +101) v Panthers (a), Raiders (h), Dragons (a), Titans (h), Broncos (a)
5. CANBERRA (28, -78) v Tigers (h), Storm (a), Bulldogs (h), Broncos (h), Sharks (a)
6. SOUTH SYDNEY (26, +90) v Sharks (h), Dragons (h), Knights (a), bye, Roosters (h)
7. CRONULLA (26, +70) v Rabbitohs (a), Titans (h), Cowboys (a), Knights (a), Raiders (h)
8. NORTH QUEENSLAND (26, +48) v Broncos (h), bye, Sharks (h), Dolphins (a), Panthers (a)
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9. NEWCASTLE (25, +72) v Dolphins (a), Bulldogs (h), Rabbitohs (h), Sharks (h), Dragons (a)
10. MANLY (25, -25) v Roosters (a), Panthers (h), Warriors (a), Bulldogs (a), Tigers (h)
11. PARRAMATTA (24, +59) v Dragons (h), Broncos (a), Roosters (h), Panthers (a), bye
12. DOLPHINS (22, -92) v Knights (h), Roosters (a), Tigers (a), Cowboys (h), Warriors (h)
13. SYDNEY ROOSTERS (22, -110) v Sea Eagles (h), Dolphins (h), Eels (a), Tigers (h), Rabbitohs (a)
14. GOLD COAST (22, -43) v Warriors (h), Sharks (a), Panthers (h), Storm (a), Bulldogs (h)
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