The Butchers led 26-0 at the break with the Tigers reduced to 12 men following halfback Russell Aitken's send off for tripping in the 25th minute with his side trailing 10-0.

It proved the key moment in the clash, with the Butchers running in three more tries to effectively out the match to bed by halftime.

The Tigers showed plenty of heart to win the second half 10-6 while a man down but the damage had been done, with Thirroul bucking a recent trend of slow starts.

"We started really well, even before the send-off," Butchers coach Jarrod Costello said.

"We knew it was their Old Boys' Day and the best way to take any advantage they had away was to start fast, no errors, no penalties and kick deep into corners which we did. I was really pleased with the first half, it was probably the best start we've had to a game since the first three or four weeks of the comp so I'm rapt with that.

"The send-off was a bit of a pivotal moment unfortunately but that's the way it goes. It's hard to measure the impact of that but we only had 12 sets with the footy in the second half and they had the ball 26 times so defensively we had to get through a fair bit of work.

"They're a proud club and they came back in the second half and played with a lot of passion. We had some guys get some quality minutes in the middle so it was a good afternoon for us."

The Devils once again leapfrogged the Butchers into top spot on for and against with a 68-4 win over Corrimal at Ziems Park. It contributes to a three-team logjam on 20 points at the top of the ladder with Collegians having the bye.

It sets up the most pivotal match of the season between sides one and two, with the winner likely to claim the minor premiership and loser possibly slipping to third and a sudden-death final in week one of the post-season

The Devils claimed bragging right in their first meeting at Gibson Park earlier this year and Costello said the Butchers are determined to get one back at Parrish Park next weekend.

"You don't want to lose at home and that was a disappointing afternoon for us," Costello said.

"To go to Wests, it's a ground we've had pretty good performances at the last couple of years so we're looking forward to going there and getting it done.

"They're a really good side and we'll need to be a lot better than we were today but that's our challenge and we'll really know where we're at after playing them. I still feel they're the benchmark so we'll have a good indication of where we are.

"It's a semi a couple of weeks early really when you look at the context of the competition and how tight it is. There's a lot on the line, there's plenty at stake, probably a top-two finish so I'm sure it'll be a ripper."

The Butchers started strongly with tries to Ryan Fletcher and Jay Gallagher to open up a 10-0 lead. Aitken's send-off saw the floodgates open, with Blake Higgins, Hayden Crosland and Damian Sironen all getting on the sheet before the break.

The game lacked intensity after the resumption thought the Tigers found something in a try to Neihana Walters off a neat kick from Mitch McCrae. The Butchers hit back through young-gun Aaron Schoupp to put the result well beyond doubt before Kurt Atkinson got across late for a crucial try in a tight battle for fourth spot.

That plot thickened on Saturday, with Dapto coming from 10-4 down at halftime to edge out Berkeley 18-16 and draw level with the Tigers on 10 competition points. The Canaries have a bye next week while the Tigers take on Berkeley in a clash that's must-win for their finals hopes.

Tigers coach Gavin Lennon said there's plenty to take out of the second-half effort against their northern neighbour, though he was left baffled by his halfback getting his marching orders.

"I thought we came back well after that send-off, once we got in the sheds at halftime and gave the boys a bit of a rev up," Lennon said.

"We said we couldn't let that define the game. Unfortunately, once it happened, we did that for that 20-minute period before halftime. Once we got back to what we do well, just tackling, working for each other it turned a bit for us. One thing we don't lack is ticker, that's who the Burgh are, we just lacked a bit of finesse.

"With how inconsistent we've been the last two seasons, we have to make sure we take that second half down to Berkeley next weekend because it's all on the line. We know within ourselves that if we get to the finals we can put in an effort that gives us a shot at knocking one of those [top three] sides off.

"That second half showed that we can do it, it's just a matter of actually doing it for 80 minutes, they're two different things."