Wins have been hard to come by for the Bulldogs and Knights with both sides losing four of their past five matches.
The finals already look to have slipped away for 2023 but finishing the year strong will be a priority for Cameron Ciraldo at the Bulldogs and Adam O'Brien in Newcastle.
The Knights had a golden opportunity to knock off a Panthers side missing five Origin stars in Round 17 but were unable to get the job done and now find themselves five points outside the top eight with games against the Storm, Raiders, Rabbitohs and Sharks still to come.