A 27-round season means there is no official halfway point of the 2026 NRL season, but 14 rounds completed seems as good a time as any to call it officially the downhill run.
As the State of Origin period rolls on, and the ladder becomes a distorted mess (just look at the teams who are yet to have a bye), the run to the finals still has plenty of wiggle room, but some times have shone against pre-season expectations, and others have flopped.
When we checked in after seven weeks in our quarter season report, two coaches had already been sacked.
That carnage has come to an end, and with every team now having at least one win, the idea of a team going winsless is over.
Plenty has changed through the middle of the ladder over the last seven weeks, but it's still the Penrith Panthers proving they are the NRL's dominant force.
Here is every team's grade, best players and ladder predictions as we hit half of the 2026 NRL season played.
Canterbury Bulldogs
Grade: D
Current record: 13th place, 5 wins, 8 losses, 1 bye, - 97 F/A, 12 points
Run home: Bye, Sea Eagles (h), Titans (a), Bye, Raiders (h), Tigers (h), Warriors (h), Storm (a), Roosters (a), Rabbitohs (a), Dragons (a), Panthers (a), Broncos (h)
The fall from grace for the Bulldogs was predicted by some, but all the internal noise around the club was that they expected to improve on last year if anything.
Unfortunately, they have one of the NRL's most uninspired attacks, and their defence hasn't been able to hold up to the faster pace of play at all.
The fall down the ladder will leave significant questions of Canterbury's coaching and recruitment, and with good reason.
They aren't out of finals contention yet, but will need to find wins in a hurry. Based on the way they are playing, that's hard to see happening.
Best player: Sitili Tupouniua
Zero Tackle MVP leader: Jacob Kiraz, 24th place, 60 votes
Prediction: 14th
