Round 22 saw a top eight contender confirmed and completely wrote off a former 'contender'. What a week of footy. As always the round of footy threw up plenty of talking points. Here are 20.
1. On Friday night we were treated to a brilliant game between a likely top-four finishing side and a side sitting 15th. The game was won on the bell by a Roosters youngster despite the Broncos looking set for victory. Yet all fans wanted to talk about across social media were two refereeing decisions the refs got right.
2. Sticking with the above, refereeing decisions need to be the same in the 79th minute as they are in the first minute. Ok, the shot was 'weak' but it was a literal high shot. The fact it decided a game doesn't matter, it's a stone-cold penalty. As was the diving at the legs.
3. People are correct to write off Manly as title challengers should Turbo's injury be longer term than the reported two weeks. That said, Manly are still a top-four team even without their superstar fullback. They're just not capable of beating the Storm without him.
4. The Eels copped the dreaded 50 points, which according to meme-culture says they can't win the title. Common sense says we knew they couldn't win the title six weeks ago. They have the talent. They don't have the temperament, nor the leadership.
5. No lawyer or member of the NRL admin can convince me that the obvious Nathan Cleary shoulder charge wasn't a shoulder charge. I'm absolutely ok with him not being suspended, but that should have been a penalty.
6. I am very much against censorship and understand public figures are going to cop criticism but Fox Sports efforts to encourage comments of a negative nature on Friday night were awful.
The @RLPlayers have taken aim at @FOXNRL following last night's tweet targeting Corey Norman's performance for the @NRL_Dragons in #NRLDragonsPanthers, where the network aggregated tweets criticising the five-eighth's performance โฌ๏ธ pic.twitter.com/MCl6LCyJOv
— LeagueUnlimited.com (@LeagueUnlimited) August 14, 2021
7. Jack Bird is a wonderful footballer. I am a huge fan. He is not a fullback. Especially in a side containing Tyrrel Sloan and Matt Dufty.
8. The Hynes against Papenhuyzen question is edging towards an answer. Hughes being injured means Hynes will move into the seven and allow Papenhuyzen to start at fullback this week. I'd say Hynes will return to the bench upon Hughes' return.
9. The fact that two teams will, again, make the finals, despite a losing record says a lot about the gulf in class between the top few and the rest. The Knights have a negative 137 differential. The very definition of fodder.
10. That Manly back three are the very blueprint of the modern-day NRL side. Tall, fast, football intelligence. I'm starting to sound a little like a Manly fanboy (I guarantee you that I'm not) but name a better back three in the competition right now.
Watch as Rugby League Outlaws discuss the talking points of Round 22
11. The Panthers (captain obvious cap firmly on here) look a far better side with Nathan Cleary back. That is no shock to anyone in the world. That said, they miss Brian To'o in a massive way. The way he starts off sets is unmatched across the competition.
12. No one can argue that either Ryan Matterson or Corey Harawira-Naera meant to injure their opposition in the incidents that lead to their respective send-offs. That said, both are set for long stints on the side-lines as both laid on tackles that the NRL are, rightfully, trying to remove from the game.
13. I don't doubt that player reputation comes into it when referees and the judiciary rules. Victor Radley faces a long suspension based on his past rather than his action. The fact remains he, and only he, has put himself in this position. You can't dive at a players legs.
14. REALLY looking forward to seeing Reece Walsh play the Broncos this Sunday afternoon. The youngster the club couldn't lock down against the team that could end his new club's top-eight hopes. Delicious rugby league storytelling.
15. The way David Klemmer has responded to being benched is exactly how big-name players should react to such. He has become an absolute weapon and if rumours of him being shopped are true I have no doubt in the world he will be snapped up very soon. Fans often judge him against an awful Bulldogs contract and not his current form, which is outstanding.
16. Speaking of former overpaid Bulldogs, it looks closer and closer than Aaron Woods will be returning home to the Tigers next season. If they can get him cheap then it's a good move. The Tigers pack is one of very few Woods would improve.
17. I'm not even a fan of the club yet the Titans got my hopes up. Their recent results had me convinced that they'd push the Bunnies this past weekend. Not even close. Perhaps starting your million-dollar prized signing is an option?
18. Sticking with the Bunnies ... drumroll please ... Cody Walker is your 2021 Dally M medallist.
19. One more for Bunnies fans. Josh Mansour's signing has proven a masterstroke. He's slotted in on that left wing and hasn't lost a one-on-one battle yet. He might even shift to the right when Johnston comes back such has been his form. The Panthers are going alright without him but he walks right back into that vacant wing spot.
20. Andrew Fifita is an absolute giant of an individual and is held is such high regard, especially in the Shire. No matter what your personal thoughts of the big man are, the NRL needs to rally around him and his young family in very difficult circumstances.
The decline of Andrew Fifita has been incredible. He would have been the best forward at the Tigers a few years back, now he struggles to get a bench spot for the Sharks