The Deadly Equation That Could See The Panthers Miss Finals Footy

North Queensland's defeat on Thursday means the Panthers need to lose by an unlikely 37 points or more against the Sea Eagles to allow St George Illawarra to sneak into the top eight, with a win over Canterbury.

The critics are assuming the Dragons will just beat Canterbury, but Triple M's Wendell Sailor is not so sure.

“The Bulldogs beat them earlier this year and the Dogs have got a bit of pride to play for,” said Wendell Sailor, on Triple M NRL.

“Also, they love playing against the Dragons. It’s always a tough game.” Listen to the full audio below from the 7-minute mark.

A loss for the Sea Eagles opens the door for the Dragons to leapfrog them into eighth spot, giving the Panthers yet another challenge heading towards the finals.

"We've been in positions like this all along the last eight weeks," Griffin said.

"We had to go down to Canberra and beat them and we've had teams coming at us for the last eight weeks, (Gold Coast, Canterbury), all playing for their season.

"And it's been something that our group's really handled well.

"It's not going to be anything new to us, but it's obviously going to be a real pressure-cooker atmosphere over there tomorrow."

Griffin also said he would give skipper Matt Moylan until kickoff to come back from a hamstring injury despite failing to train during Friday's captain's run.

The Panthers five-eighth had initially been ruled out until the finals but was included in the extended squad when the team was named on Tuesday.

"We'll give him every chance. I'll go and check him out now, he did some more running this morning," Griffin said.

- Additional reporting AAP

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