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.

Gold Coast Titans

Grade: D-
Current record: 15th place, 3 wins, 9 losses, 2 byes, - 83 F/A, 10 points
Run home: Tigers (a), Panthers (h), Bulldogs (h), Bye, Storm (a), Sea Eagles (h), Dragons (a), Warriors (h), Cowboys (h), Knights (a), Sharks (h), Rabbitohs (h), Dolphins (h)

The Titans really haven't been good enough this year. If you were assessing the two regimes under new coaching, they are comfortably behind the Knights.

Some will point to the roster, but the truth is there is enough talent on the coast for things to be going better than they are.

Not many would have had them pegged for a top eight spot, but right now, they seem to be the only team who might mount an unwated challenge against the Dragons for the wooden spoon.

The Titans need to sort their roster and consistency out in a hurry to avoid that, and to start turning things around for next year.

Their only saving grace may be having five of their last six at home. Just maybe they can mount a run of wins then, but it'll of course be too little and too late to salvage anything this year.

Best player: Keano Kini
Zero Tackle MVP leader: Keano Kini, 34th place, 50 votes
Prediction: 16th