Des Hasler has been a part of top-flight rugby league for over 30 years and the four-time premiership winner believes this seasons race is one of the tightest hes been involved with.Results over the last two NRL rounds have thrown title fight wide open with the hopes of Cronulla and North Queensland taking a battering while Canberra, Canterbury, Brisbane and Penrith have had theirs ressucitated.There are 12 teams still in the finals hunt with three rounds to play and the final make-up of the top eight set to go down to the wire in round 26.Haslers Bulldogs travel to Brisbane to face the Broncos in the opening match of round 24 on Thursday in a game that will have a significant bearing on the top eight.The usual cut-off point for the final eight, 28 points, might not be enough to make the playoffs in 2016.Wayne Bennetts side can move onto 30 points and confirm a finals berth with a victory.Meanwhile, the Bulldogs need to win two of their last three games against last years grand finalists Brisbane, North Queensland and South Sydney to make the all-important top four.The top-four spot is always an advantage, said Hasler, who won the 1987 and 1996 premierships as a player with Manly and coached the club to title wins in 2008 and 2011.As long as I can remember this had been one of the closest competitions.Teams are really coming into their own and there were an assortment of results last weekend (that showed that).And with semi-final football it goes to another level again.You need any advantage you can take in those last eight places and being in the top four seems to be one of those.Cowboys coach Paul Green said after Sundays loss to Sydney Roosters, the premiers third defeat in a row, that the competition can be won from outside the top four for the first time since 1995.Fifth-placed North Queensland might have to do that. they sit four points adrift of the Dogs in fourth.The Cowboys host the ninth-placed Warriors in Townsville on Saturday in another match that will have an important influence on finals positions.A win for the hosts will seal a finals spot in the bottom half of the eight.Melbourne can wrap up a top-two spot and a home final in week one of the playoffs against Manly at Brookvale on Saturday, after suffering defeat to Canberra for just the fourth time this season on Monday night.The Raiders can seal a surprise top four berth against Parramatta in the nations capital on Sunday.St George Illawarra slim finals chances will be killed off with a loss to the Roosters on Sunday.Gold Coast should be able to hold onto eighth place when they travel to Newcastle to face the hapless Knights on Saturday.Wests Tigers can join Penrith on 26 premiership points if they defeat the seventh-placed Panthers at Pepper Stadium on Friday. 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Bjorn, who had a 36-hole total of 8-under 134, made a testing six-foot putt to save par on the 16th and a birdie on the 17th before bogeying the final hole after a misjudged approach shot. American Kevin Streelman was in second place after shooting a 69. HELSINKI, Finland -- Russia got two late goals to beat the United States 5-3 in a hard fought game at the ice hockey world championships. The Americans gave the defending champions their toughest test yet at this years tournament, leading 3-2 after two goals from captain Paul Stastny and a slapshot from the blue line by Matt Hunwick. Russian defenceman Yevgeni Medvedev took a loose puck from in front of a crowded goal to put Russia ahead for good with 6:25 left, and Kirill Petrov then combined with Ilya Kovalchuk to set up Alexander Radulov for another score two minutes later. Kovalchuk put in Russias second goal -- his fifth of the tournament -- and Anton Belov and Alexej Tereshenko also scored. Ben Bishop finished with 25 saves for the U.S., while Ilya Bryzgalov had 19 for Russia. "It was a good game," Stastny said. "A good learning experience, a measure for us to see where we are. We have played better and better. This was one of the top teams in the tournament, and we played well against them. We were in it for 55 minutes, but when you play a team like that you have to be ready every shift.dddddddddddd When you turn it over theyre so skilled that they can put the puck away." The U.S. (2-1) plays co-host Finland (3-0) on Wednesday. "Finland is always good and plays with grit," Stastny said. "They have the whole crowd in front of them, which makes it fun for us. Its always fun to play for a big crowd. Like as the Russians were here today in a sold-out arena. We know how its going to be, but even harder." In other games Tuesday, Morten Green scored in overtime to give Denmark a 3-2 win over Slovenia and newcomer Austria beat Latvia 6-3. Denmark and Austria earned their first victories, while Slovenia and Latvia fell to 0-3. Russia leads the Helsinki "H" group with nine points from three games. Finland has eight, and the U.S. and Slovakia six. Switzerland surprisingly leads the Stockholm "S" group with eight points, with Canada (7) second. Sweden and Norway each have six, the Czech Republic and Belarus three, Denmark two and Slovenia one. ' ' '