Maitland are the minor premiers in waiting and Central won't drop any lower than second but Cessnock, Macquarie and Souths will now battle it out for the remaining three semi-final spots over the last week of the regular season.
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On an action-packed Sunday afternoon, Newcastle Rugby League followers were treated to four games at the same time but it was Maitland and Central who walked away victorious from top-four clashes.
The Pickers rallied to beat Macquarie at Maitland Sportsground, coming from 10 points down at half-time and scoring three converted tries in the closing 22 minutes to prevail 18-10.
The Butcher Boys were never headed by Cessnock at St John Oval, leading from start to finish for a 22-0 win having absorbed plenty of defensive pressure in the second half.
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Results from round 17 mean Maitland (29 points) stay two ahead of Central (27) on the competition ladder with one match left.
Barring any extraordinary scores this coming weekend, the Pickers will collect first spot regardless of how they fare against the Goannas at Cessnock Sportsground because of their superior for-and-against record.
Maitland (+300) have a points differential 134 ahead of Central (+166).
The Butcher Boys play at home on Friday night against sixth-placed Entrance, who had a 20-20 draw with visiting Lakes on Sunday and can no longer make the top five.
Souths, who snapped a four-game losing streak when they overcame Wests 34-16 at Harker Oval on Sunday, now join Macquarie (20) in equal fourth while Cessnock (22) remain third.
There's only eight points between Cessnock (+138) and Macquarie (+146) in terms of for-and-against records while Souths (+11) only just returned from the negatives.
However, adding another element to the 2022 finals race, Macquarie have a game in hand and travel to meet Wests in Wednesday's midweek catch-up fixture before finishing with Lakes at Cahill Oval.
Scorpions pair Bayden Searle and Connor Kirkwood were both put on report.
Souths, who piled on 24 unanswered points in Sunday's second half after trailing by as many as eight, conclude with a trip to Kurri to tackle wooden spooners the Bulldogs.
Elsewhere in the penultimate round, Cooper Bigeni nabbed a double on debut as Wyong accounted for Kurri 38-12 at Morry Breen Oval on Saturday.
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Josh Callinan
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
