It's fair to say that Round 20 produced plenty of talking points. Both good and bad!
We had an equal mix of brilliant rugby league that will live in our minds and refereeing howlers that will haunt our dreams.
I try to stay positive here but there seems to be an effort by the game's officials to ruin that. We shall try all the same.
Below are 20 thoughts from Round 20:
1. There needs to be a new game plan for saving your Captain's Challenge. If it's close late, just take your challenge. Odds are the Bunker will invent and find something. This weekend, we witnessed a series of moments that decided matches, which arose from random challenges and the smallest of incidents. More below.
2. OK, you could argue that Jackson Hastings wasn't square when penalised. I'd also argue that the ball player walked two metres off the mark. That is a new bugbear of mine. Players are walking off the mark and then wanting penalties for markers being square. How are they meant to be square? That should have been called dead before the penalty even eventuated.
3. Harry Grant should know better that follow through but, again, that was the smallest of margins and the penalty only came about due to a Captain's Challenge. I was less annoyed by this one but that was incidental contact of the smallest order. Grant has to wear it but I didn't agree when he was sinbinned against Cronulla for similar and I don't agree with this one now.
4. The worst decision of the weekend though was one to award Jacob Kiraz a penalty for ruck interference despite the obvious ball plant. It hasn't been ruled this way all season, yet somehow the Bunker found a penalty that wasn't there. No wonder Shane Flanagan blew up in the post-match press conference. He had every right to.
5. Speaking of which, the NRL needs to spend less time fining players for jokes and coaches for pointing out errors and focus on ensuring their officials each know the rules. I joked in this very column weeks ago that some officials didn't know the rules. I don't think I'm joking anymore ...
6. If you'd told me that a NSW Origin hooker was playing in Friday night's 6pm game, I'd absolutely believe you. Hint: It wasn't Conor Watson. I don't think any player has ever made me look sillier than Blayke Brailey. Long may it continue.
7. Speaking of Brailey, the fact that he was not only penalised but then charged for that textbook tackle on Billy Smith is insulting. There were 60 tackles like it in that half of football, let alone the hundreds upon hundreds across the weekend. The difference? Smith fell awkwardly and hit his head. A head injury caused by incidental contact was penalised I hear you say? Ok, sure, then why not Naufahu Whyte's incidental contact on Briton Nikora? No wonder fans get so upset.
8. The Storm have the best spine in the game, that is almost undisputed. Their backline is pretty good also. What is becoming a huge issue, though, is their forward pack. I posted what I believed would land me in hot water, saying that the Storm's pack is the worst of the contenders. Seems everyone else agrees. Katoa is a genius, but otherwise, they're not even close to the others at the pointy end of the table.
9. Explain to me how Nelson Asofa-Solomona stayed on the park after deliberately elbowing a bloke in the head? Isn't that the very definition of a send-off? Why does the fact that he had the ball save him from the obvious punishment? A two-match suspension says the NRL deemed it not ok, why did the officials ignore it?
10. I am convinced at this point that Des Hasler is trying to get a payout. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui left the game early due to injury. The game was close. David Fifita was reduced to 18 minutes. Alofiana Khan-Pereira has 53 tries in his 53 NRL appearances. He sat on the bench for 80 minutes. Two attacking weapons played a combined 18 minutes. How!?
11. Speaking of Des Hasler and the Titans, is Reagan Campbell-Gillard the worst value signing of the last few seasons? 44 minutes saw the former Origin prop post less than 90 run metres. He also had four missed tackles, a drop ball, a penalty and a ruck infringement.
12. I'm going to call a spade a spade here. Kevin Walters being appointed as coach of the Kangaroos, even in the short term, shows how little the post matters now. Walters was sacked after a mixed tenure at the Broncos. He should have celebrated a Grand Final win, but he also led them to their worst season of all time. He and Brad Fittler shouldn't have even been in discussions.
13. Chris Vea'ila's amazing debut for the Sharks on Friday night seems to have come 12 months later than it should have. I'm torn here. Did Craig Fitzgibbon time it well, or was he over-cautious in naming other options previously? My feeling is the youngster should have five or six games to his name by now. The same question goes for KL Iro, who was the most destructive centre in the NSW Cup for 24 months before seeing his name called by Fitzgibbon.
14. Roosters fans seem to be turning on Trent Robinson in a big way. I'm not above heaping on the officials when they've had a shocker but his insistence that his team is always on the wrong end of decisions seems to be have upset his fan base. Naming Chad Townsend went down like a lead balloon. I'd lean more toward that costing his side than a split-second screen grab.
15. Why do teams not game plan for Daniel Tupou? I fully understand you can't upset a full side of the field to cover one player but the Sharks have three wingers in their ranks. Two tall wingers and a tiny winger. Guess which marked up against the giant? The same thing happened against Melbourne when Xavier Coates tore Daniel Atkinson apart in the air before the call to switch was finally made.
16. Another question: what's going on with the short dropouts? If you're leading by a try or less with little time remaining, bang it as long as possible and back your defence. QLD invited NSW back into both Origin two and three with this tactic. The Dragons didn't back their defence and lost on the bell against the Dogs too.
17. There are plenty of young playmakers putting their hands up to take over the NSW spots if Laurie Daley decides to move on from the tried and tested options of the past few years. Ethan Strange is getting better and better with every passing week. Isaiya Katoa is absolutely magnificent and has Origin in his future. Blayke Brailey is the form nine of the competition right now too if there's a change there also.
18. Did Souths officials walk under 500 ladders while chasing black cats, to try and break some mirrors? The Bunnies sure do have a lot of luck with injuries. All of it is bad!
19. What a Sunday of rugby league we were treated too yesterday. The first game, in front of a packed hill at Leichhardt Oval, was an almighty slog to get through, but saw an almighty finish. The second game saw about eight momentum shifts in the final minutes alone. Leka Halasima's last-second try was one of the highlights of the season.
20. Just quietly, how good was the call from Brenton Speed on that last play? The excitement matched the moment. It's not often you can say that. I hope he gets some more massive games as that was brilliant.
Favourite of the round – the look on Dane Gagai’s face after he got away with passing the ball off the ground, leading to a try.
I’ve been b****ing about Craig Fitzgibbon’s antipathy to choosing anyone fresh.
He may habe shot himself in the foot over Chris Vailea.
Mr Firtzgibbon has been playing Sifa Talakai at centre. Sifa is a bulked up second-rower. Excellent middle coming off the bench for impact. Too slow for a centre, these days. He has been playing Jesse Ramien, whose form has been down all season, as the other centre.
How, he has let Vailea into the size, just a few weeks before the finals, and just before he becomes a free agent, able to negotiate for 2027. If I were R&R for the Perth Bears, I’d be ringing up Vailea’s agent and enquiring whether his client wants a guaranteed starting spot in Perth for season 2027.