Cronulla Sharks extended their lead at the top of the NRL table when they downed the Penrith Panthers 26-10 on Sunday.
On a weekend with only four fixtures due to the third State of Origin clash on Wednesday, the Sharks moved four points clear of the Melbourne Storm and eight in front of the North Queensland Cowboys.
The Cowboys have the chance to close the gap on Monday night when they travel to Canberra to take on the fifth placed Raiders.
Sharks full-back Ben Barba starred for a Cronulla side missing their five Origin stars Paul Gallen, Andrew Fifita, Jack Bird, James Maloney and Wade Graham.
Barba scored two tries in the first half, the first coming in the 23rd minute to open the scoring.
He was in again 10 minutes later when he swooped on a loose ball and held off opposite number Zak Hardaker to touch down.
The Panthers finally put points on the board in the 37th minute when Peter Wallace put prop Leilani Latu over with a cut-out pass, but the Panthers led 8-6 at the break.
Mitch Brown, playing his first NRL game in over a year, extended the Sharks' lead in the 50th minute when he powered his way through some soft Panthers defence.
Three minutes later Joseph Paulo was in for Cronulla and Luke Lewis sealed the points when he crossed in the 69th minute.
Isaah Yeo crossed seven minutes before full-time for a Panthers consolation try.
Canterbury moved to fourth on the ladder when they beat the Wests Tigers 32-22 while on Friday Parramatta downed the Sydney Roosters 22-18, a day before being docked 12 points for breaches of the salary cap, virtually assuring they will miss the finals series.