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.
Cronulla Sharks
Grade: B
Current record: 7 wins, 5 losses, 2 byes, +62 F/A, 18 points
Run home: Warriors (a), Roosters (a), Bye, Broncos (a), Dolphins (a), Knights (h), Sea Eagles (a), Rabbitohs (h), Dragons (a), Raiders (h), Titans (a), Eels (a), Storm (h)
Craig Fitzgibbon's side have been, frankly, inconsistent so far in 2026.
For a team who should be challenging the top, they have looked slow at times, and not as if they are about to push on with a run into the finals.
They have been left behind by the new rules, and while they are starting to adapt, it's tough to see them challenging the competition heavyweights at the end of the campaign.
It's a tricky run home too. Four straight away games coming up, and games against the Rabbitohs and Storm beyond that. They have enough winnable games to keep them in the top eight, but mounting much of a challenge beyond that may be a bridge too far for a side in desperate need of transformation heading into 2027.
Best player: Braydon Trindall
Zero Tackle MVP leader: Nicho Hynes, 13th place, 78 votes
Prediction: 7th
