Cameron Smith says he believes the Melbourne Storm and Penrith Panthers are locked in a 'two-horse race' for this year's premiership.
Melbourne have already wrapped up the minor premiership and the Panthers moved back up to second after their win over the Rabbitohs on Friday; this combined with losses for the Roosters and Sharks on the weekend leads Smith to believe they will not be caught.
"I would say it's a two-horse race," Smith said on SEN's Breakfast with Vossy and Brandy.
"I think Melbourne and Penrith now [are] in the box seat. When you think about Penrith, they've still got Cleary to come back and we know how crucial he is to the Penrith side.
"They're a much stronger footy team when he's there."
Questions began to emerge around the three-peat champions after back-to-back losses saw them surrender the minor premiership and slip to fourth before last weekend's matches, though they responded to the doubts with a commanding 34-12 win over South Sydney in Friday night football.
Coach Ivan Cleary said last week his side needed to 'pay the price' if they were to win an incredible fourth premiership in a row, and they will have to be at their best to beat a Melbourne side who are looking as good as ever in the final stretch of the season.
Craig Bellamy's chargers did lose to the Cowboys on Thursday, though they rested many of their key players to be fresh for a charge at the finals.
While both sides haven't been perfect, Smith was insistent on his belief they were the overwhelmingly likely candidates to feature in the Grand Final at the end of September.
"I'll say Melbourne and Penrith are in the box seat to go all the way to the Grand Final at the moment, I'll leave it at that," he said.
Which other NRL teams could challenge for the premiership?
Smith also cast his view on the other teams in the finals, saying he felt the Roosters were previously a good chance to challenge before their horror night against the Raiders on Sunday.
Not only did they lose 14-12, but they lost Sam Walker, Brandon Smith and Victor Radley to serious injuries ruling them out for the rest of the season.
"I'll be honest, I had the Roosters above [the Panthers] heading into the weekend until they just had a horror 80 minutes," Smith admitted.
"[The injuries] are massive given the influence those three players have on their footy side, not just with the way they play but with the confidence that those three players bring to the rest of the team.
"They still are a classy footy side, so I don't want to jump ahead too much and say they are gone."
He was also doubtful of Cronulla's chances of contending for a second premiership: "There's just something about the Sharkies boys, I just haven't been convinced by them all year.
"When it comes to big games, they're just unproven. When it matters, they just can't seem to get the job done.
He also threw in two left-field candidates as potential dark horses if things fall their way.
"I think the Bulldogs and Sea Eagles, if they can get it right on any given day, they can beat those other two teams," Smith said.
