WESTS TIGERS players won't even bother watching yesterday's record 56-4 win over the embattled Bulldogs as they prepare for Friday night's crucial clash with St George Illawarra at WIN Stadium.

With Canberra crashing 34-6 in Brisbane and the Titans and Warriors also losing at the weekend, the Tigers have moved into eighth place on for-and-against after equalling their biggest winning margin of 52 points (54-2 v the Bulldogs in 2005) and their highest number of points scored in a match (56-6 v South Sydney in 2004), although the Knights can leapfrog them if they beat Parramatta by more than 14 in Newcastle tonight.

The results, coupled with the Dragons 13-12 loss to Cronulla and Manly's 30-10 defeat of Penrith, means both Friday night's grand final rematch between the Sea Eagles and Melbourne and the St George Illawarra-Tigers clash will have a potentially huge bearing on the make-up of the final eight, albeit at opposite ends.

All but out of the running for a top-four finish after their defeat by the Sharks, the Dragons (24 points) would be in danger of dropping out of the top eight on for-and-against if beaten by the Tigers (22), particularly as the Raiders (22) host Penrith (23) on Sunday.

At the top of the ladder, Manly (32) will almost certainly secure the minor premiership if they beat the Storm (30), who would slip to fourth position if Sydney Roosters (30) were to beat the Eels and Cronulla (30) downed South Sydney.

Should the Broncos (27) beat the Warriors, last year's premiers would be in danger of missing the top four altogether.

Apart from Brisbane, the other eight teams still in contention for the remaining four finals berths are vying for places in the bottom half of the eight.

"We haven't got many games left … so the next five games are very, very important," Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens said. "Friday night will determine it. We're [either] back feeling sick and sorry for ourselves like after [losing to] Penrith or we can be saying OK here we are, we've got ourselves a fair dinkum chance.

"Winning won't assure us of a spot in the semi-finals and losing won't mean we won't [make the finals] but at the end of the day if we lose what it does is put us under the pump because there is less options. The more games you haven't got to play the less points are available, so it's just a simple equation."

Asked how much could be read into yesterday's scoreline, given the Bulldogs' situation after losing Sonny Bill Williams, Sheens said: "It's done [and] from our point of view we're already thinking about St George [Illawarra]. We won't review that game, the same as we would do if we got beat by that score. Our mindset now is to start thinking about Saints on Friday."

The Dragons are likely to be without prop Justin Poore (knee) and fullback Brett Morris (AC joint), while skipper Mark Gasnier (quad) and prop Jason Ryles (thigh) are no certainties to return after missing Saturday night's gritty loss to the Sharks.