The Newcastle Knights have caused an upset to defeat the New Zealand Warriors and advance to the preliminary final next week.
It was a close game between the two sides, with Taine Tuaupiki, Kalyn Ponga, and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad leaving the game with Head Injury Assessments.
The Knights' bye in the last round of the season has proved a positive boost as the side with a little amount of expectation to win against the Rabbitohs and the Warriors.
Here is how we ranked every player on the park during Sunday afternoon's semi-final.
- Kalyn Ponga (Newcastle Knights) - Best player on the field other than Leka Halasima. Almost everything he was a part of was executed to perfection.
2. Leka Halasima (New Zealand Warriors) - Impressive performance with his running game, troubling the Knights with every touch of the ball and had an incredible put-down when he scored in the corner.
3. Fletcher Sharpe (Newcastle Knights) - His support play was elite against the Warriors, using his speed when the left edge broke through the line.
4. Mat Croker (Newcastle Knights) - Croker's activity in the middle, ball-playing, and his runs were massive for the Knights. Might go under the radar given Ponga's and Sharpe's attacking flair on display.
5. James Fisher-Harris (New Zealand Warriors) - James Fisher-Harris and Mitchell Barnett played big minutes in the first half. The experienced pack of the Warriors has been the best aspect of the side.
6. Taine Tuaupiki (New Zealand Warriors) - Struggled to unlock the ceiling of the Warriors' attack without his shifty running game in the red zone, but has a lot of carries and yardage out of the backfield.
7. Wayde Egan (New Zealand Warriors) - Much improved around the ruck against the Knights. After the Knights' hot start in the first half, he found rhythm and confidence to get his side shifting the ball.
8. Mitchell Barnett (New Zealand Warriors) - Mitchell Barnett helped provide yardage around the middle of the field for the Warriors to get them into a better kicking position.
9. Erin Clark (New Zealand Warriors) - Played his role as a link man in the middle and provided a good platform for the halves to operate.
10. Phoenix Crossland (Newcastle Knights) - Defended in the middle well, particularly against Tuaupiki's shifty running game. Needed to get involved around the ruck with creativity.
11. Kurt Capewell (New Zealand Warriors) - Quiet in the first 26 minutes, then made a huge line break and yardage in the 27th minute. When he had the ball, he would make plays out of nowhere and provide a huge spark for his side.
12. Te Maire Martin (New Zealand Warriors) - Slow start, but he and Harris-Tavita figured out their tempo, combining together to get early points in the first half.
13. Chanel Harris-Tavita (New Zealand Warriors) - Harris-Tavita's short-ball passing was showcased wonderfully to start the game. Defence was solid throughout, but the delivery of some passes let his side lose momentum.
14. Sandon Smith (Newcastle Knights) - Kicked downfield when necessary and helped build shape with Ponga.
15. Harrison Graham (Newcastle Knights) - Playing off the back of Sharpe's support play stands out for Graham's performance. Kept their attack level while his forwards got a break.
16. Lachlan Crouch (Newcastle Knights) - Crouch produced strong carries when the Knights crossed the halfway mark of the field and defensively showed good anticipation and forced an error in the first half.
17. Bradman Best (Newcastle Knights) - Got shut down offensively to start, but he then made a line break, slicing the Warriors' right edge and took care of his centre matchup.
18. Jermaine McEwen (Newcastle Knights) - Had carries that showed his form against the Rabbitohs was going to continue. Just hasn't had the off-the-ball impact that he had last week.
19. Dominic Young (Newcastle Knights) - When he has been needed in the Knights' attack, he has done his job. Should've had two tries, but at least got one. He struggled defensively against Leka Halasima.
20. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (New Zealand Warriors) - Showcased his experience on the defensive end when the Knights leaned on Ponga's attacking ability.
21. Jacob Laban (New Zealand Warriors) - Had solid runs during the game, but the impact wasn't felt as much as the likes of Halasima.
22. Francis Manuleleua (Newcastle Knights) - Manuleleua's energy played a part in the Knights' confidence during the game. Just didn't get quality ball.
23. Tyson Frizell (Newcastle Knights) - Created activity in the middle with some runs and was solid defensively to help the Knights gain confidence, but the backline activity from the Knights became a huge piece for his side in the second half
24. Greg Marzhew (Newcastle Knights) - Had four errors in the first half. Couldn't get involved with his carries out of the Knights' end until the second half and didn't get under the ball on kicks heading to his corner. However, some of his defensive decisions against the Warriors' right edge were spot on.
25. Charrnze Nicoll-Klokstad (New Zealand Warriors) - Got involved with carries out of his own end and made some good defensive decisions, but his impact wasn't felt. He went off with HIA early in the second half.
26. Demitric Vaimauga (New Zealand Warriors) - Needed to get involved in the running game when Fisher-Harris and Barnett got their rest. Less impact than he needed to have during this match.
27. Pasami Saulo (Newcastle Knights) - Saulo had an error in the first half when he got on the field and didn't get involved in a significant way in his stint during the second half.
28. Tanner Stowers-Smith (New Zealand Warriors) - Made an impact off the bench with his physicality on the defensive end in the first half. In the second, the Knights forward pack levelled out the playing field.
29. Eddie Ieremia-Toeava (New Zealand Warriors) - Forced an error when he came on the field, but the level of defensive consistency didn't continue.
30. Cody Hopwood (Newcastle Knights) - two run metres in 28 minutes in his first-half stint. Hopwood didn't inject himself in the contest. Crouch in fewer minutes has been a more contributing player for the Knights.
31. Dane Gagai (Newcastle Knights) - Forward pass early in the game bombed Dominic Young's try in the corner. Gagai struggled against an aggressive Warriors defence when he got touches off the ball.
32. Ali Leiataua (New Zealand Warriors) - Poor defensive decisions; struggled to execute off really good shifting ball movement. He was nearly sin-binned after a shoulder charge on Kalyn Ponga.
33. Alofiana Khan-Pereira (New Zealand Warriors) - Khan-Pereira had 5 tackle breaks in his second-half performance replacing Nicoll-Klokstad, but didn't provide his try-scoring impact that unlocks his best performance.
34. Dylan Lucas (Newcastle Knights) - Lucas conceded a penalty when he went on the field in the last 15 minutes, and it was hard to make an impact in that short amount of time.
