Round 15 may have been one of the best rounds of footy we have seen this season.
The Dragons almost beat the Knights on the bell on Friday night, Saturday produced back to back field-goal decided contests and Sunday tossed up one of the all time seesaw contests.
During the week the Maroons kept the Origin series alive, leaving all in sky blue very fearful of the Decider.
We've also had discussions around the 20th (and hopefully final) NRL team entering the competition and roughly 17,276 predicted teams for Origin Three.
Here are 20 thoughts from Round 16 and beyond:
1. The lack of success enjoyed by the NSW Blues is absolutely starting to effect the legacies of certain players. Nathan Cleary is, undoubtedly, the best club halfback we've ever seen. Right now though he can't be seen anywhere near the likes of Andrew Johns, Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk. So too Isaah Yeo, who is the best modern day lock I've seen, yet is yet to dominant the rep scene.
2. As a Blues fan I am absolutely over the excuses constantly offered up. The coach, the forwards, the referee, the crowds. NSW have won 28 minutes of the current series. 18 of those came against 12 men. You simply cannot offer up any excuses other than QLD are just better. Same as last year. The Blues will, somehow, enter the Decide as betting favorites but we all know the Blues are rank outsiders under the current regime.
3. The biggest question in all of this is how was Laurie Daley ever even considered to return to the coaching role. One win in six series, and no serious coaching since. What about that suggests he should even have been spoken to? The Blues could win the Decider 50-0 and Daley will still go down as the worst coach in Origin history. There simply aren't enough words to break down the shear incompetence involved here.
4. All's I've heard all week is how much Laurie Daley loves NSW. If he does, he should step down, today! The NSWRL have shown they don't have any idea, it's up to Daley now to step down. Andrew Johns should step in for Game Three and maybe next year until Ivan Cleary saves the state for the next decade. This absolutely won't happen but that is how desperate we are south of the border now.
5. I feel terrible for Dylan Lucas. The kid was absolutely stitched up. Thrown in, on debut, out of position, he was targeted and torn to shreds by a well drilled QLD outfit. It didn't help that Kotoni Staggs decided to turn in one of the all time great Origin shockers beside him. Why Daley thought he needed to drop Haumole Olakau'atu is beyond comprehension.
6. On the other side of the ledger, Selwyn Cobbo could very well be in line for Man of the Series honours. He has been near perfect across both games now. Sam Walker is probably the closest rival. The series should be sewn up by now and Walker could have two official MOM awards. Cobbo was my best on ground in Game Two for the record.
7. You know what I'm really, really sick of? Ratbags being referred to as "Origin players". They aren't. Origin players are the best players. Ratbags are no longer a bit part of the Origin game. There's no longer niggling and punch ups but instead penalties and six-agains. Victor Radley gave away a series of costly penalties and shouldn't even be close to Origin 3 consideration.
8. The Cronulla Sharks continue to be so good, yet so far from the top of the brass. A very, very difficult decision is coming for Craig Fitzgbibbon but I don't know if he can have the chat with both of his halves. To come out and say, multiple years into a halves combination, that they're still "developing" is an insult to Sharks fans. They are too alike, and too slow. More on this later in the week.
9. Everyone in the world, and beyond, knew Mark Nawaqanitawase would fly high against the Sharks wingers. The Roosters set it up every set and Marky Mark dominated Ronaldo Mulitalo. If only the Sharks had a winger who was taller and faster than the cross code superstar. If only they had a winger who gets hands on every single contest in the air, and wins far more often than not. Oh, they do? Meanwhile Samuel Stonestreet set up a try from a cross field kick and won multiple short drop out leaps in the NSW Cup.
10. Jarome Luai was pretty good on Saturday afternoon but a week after shooshing his own fans after beating the lowly Titans, I don't blame Tigers supporters for clapping back.
11. It's funny, or not, depending on which side you're on, how when the chips are down that things just continue to go wrong. Valentine Holmes missed a kick that any kid playing park footy over the weekend would have nailed then the ball just simply wouldn't drop for Kyle Flanagan late on.
12. Why did the Cowboys rush to re-sign Todd Payten? Nine wins and 15 losses last year isn't good enough and despite a solid start to the season, they've fallen back off. Scott Drinkwater, the club's best player, was allowed to leave and the signings made are headscratchers at best.
13. The Cowboys have signed Sione Katoa and Jesse Ramien, two players that Sharks fans have actively celebrated leaving the club. Every time Katoa is named, it shocks me to the core, while Ramien is the personification of hot and cold. I'm not sure rushing to re-sign the coach responsible, who had no one else fighting for his services, was a premiership-winning move.
14. Speaking of coaching appointments, the Dragons look locked in a two man battle for their next coach. Dean Young and Ben Hornby are the two candidates, but again I cannot stress enough how badly the Red V need to move on from the boys club. Matt Ballin is right there.
15. Clayton Faulalo, who has been magnificent all season, has re-signed for Manly. With Reuben Garrick moving to the Roosters, I'd suggest a move back into the centres for Tom Trbojevic might be in the future. Turbo looked ok on return but has lost the ridiculous speed he has early in his career. Meanwhile Faulalo was blistering at the back in Turbo's absence.
16. The Dolphins are almost certainly on track to make their finals debut at the end of the season. Seven wins in a row, the second highest points scored across the season and a brilliant away record .. it's all adding up nicely.
17. I'm sure someone will name worse but are the Canberra Raiders the worst defending minor premiers of recent times? They are lucky the Dragons exist as they're playing like wooden spooners. Leading 16-0 in Melbourne, they looked on track for a commanding win. The fact they ended up losing by 22 points is simply unfathomable.
18. It's good to see Cameron Ciraldo taking a risk. Shifting Stephen Crichton into the halves and moving Matt Burton to the centres ended up being a game winning switch. To be any chance of finals footy, the Dogs need to get the best out of their two main men. I'm not sure it will be a long-term move but to see a coach take a risk is nice.
19. I spoke highly of Wyatt Raymond a few weeks ago, only for him to totally ignore a clear Taine Tuaupiki knock on leading to a Warriors try. You could hear my audible sigh from many streets away. I try, so hard, to be positive here but every time I do ...
20. Any discussion about the NRL's 20th team ended over the weekend. It needs to be a second New Zealand team. A South Island based team playing out of One NZ Stadium in Christchurch. It will be a shame to split the Warriors fan base but I have no doubt it will attract a huge base of new fans. It also sets up a mouth watering Kiwi derby twice a season. Plus it worked wonders in the A League. Discussion over, decision made!
I was almost expecting you to recommend Craig Fitgibbon does a deal with Ricky Stuart to take one of Cronulla’s halves. Seems like the Raiders problems are down to having sold their #7 at the end of last year.