80,814 people, and millions across the nation, saw the Sydney Roosters crowned Premiers on the final day of the NRL season.

The Roosters NRLW team doubled up the title wins earlier that afternoon while the Dolphins upset the Panthers in incredible circumstances.

The three games presented plenty of talking points, while the World Cup squads named over the past 48 hours have set many a cat amongst the pigeons.

Here are 20 thoughts from NRL Grand Final day and beyond:

1. The Sydney Roosters absolutely nailed the Dally Cherry-Evans call. They brought him up, which split the fan base, with the idea of him leading Sam Walker and co. to a title. It was his field goal that ultimately saw his side lift their first Provan-Summons Trophy since 2019.

2. No one is better at the short-term contract than the Roosters. Cooper Cronk delivered two straight Premierships during his short stint in the tri-colours while DCE's hit and run yielded the ultimate result. The Parramatta Eels could learn a thing or two.

3. Sandon Smith could have taken the DCE signing, sulked and fallen away. Especially with being shifted in the early rounds. Instead he took the punt, backed himself and lead his team to a Grand Final. This is a story that should be used by young players across the competition.

4. Can we all come together, in joy, to celebrate the fact we never have to hear this "you can't win the Premiership if you concede 50 points" garbage again? I don't care that it came when the Roosters played a reserve grade team against Souths. It happened, it's over, no more!

5. Shout out to Adam Gee who refereed a near perfect game on Sunday evening. Ok there were moments where a player laid on a tackle a little long or a player jumped the gun, but the fact we're not talking about the officials today is a huge win. I wish Gee would referee that way more often.

6. I am 100% ok with the Grand Final, or State of Origin, being refereed differently. Any other week Kalyn Ponga is sin binned for that high shot. There was a hip drop and a couple of late shots that were let go too, but they would have all been nitpicking. The NRL actively treats suspensions differently in the Finals, they should do this with decisions also.

7. Mark Nawaqanitawase may have only played 47 games at NRL level, two Origins and three Kangaroos games but he leaves the game (for now) as one of the greatest wingers we've ever seen. I know that could be recency bias or hyperbole but I can't name a player that has done what he has done in such a short stint. He will be missed.

8. That live cross to the Paddington Inn on Sunday night was one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen on a rugby league broadcast. The fact that they held the feed for so long, awaiting the response that never came ... pure cinema!

9. That Kangaroos squad caused some chatter (more on that in a minute) but it was almost exactly as expected. There were no massive shocks given the players unavailable. They'll start heavy favourites despite the fact the Kiwis have named an all time great squad.

10. Reuben Cotter seems to be the name most have taken notice of. Tom Trbojevic's name raised a few eyebrows. Selwyn Cobbo's name is missing but it's since come out that he may be a little more injured than first thought. Kotoni Staggs is probably the only name I wasn't expecting to see.

Fletcher Sharpe can probably consider himself a little unlucky. His time will come but he's someone who has had a 9/10 season and can play across multiple positions. Dylan Lucas missing so many weeks through injury looks to have cost him a spot he deserved.

11. It's great to see Robert Toia choose to remain with Tonga for the World Cup rather than shift to the Kangaroos. The competition is much stronger for players opting to represent other nations.

12. David Fifita being selected caps off an incredible redemption arc. He went from being turfed out of the Titans to dominating games at the Bunnies, to earning a World Cup selection. The Fifita shift was a very rare occurrence where a move is good for all involved. The Titans needed to move on, Fifita needed a new environment and the Bunnies have improved because of him.

13. Back to the Roosters, they are the most professional club in the competition. They put on a wonderful fan day, put the phones away and nothing negative has come out ... at time of typing.

14. The Knights put in one of the all time great turnarounds this season. It's usually a cop out to say a team's fans should be proud of their teams efforts but this is the actual year where it's for real. Newcastle were disgustingly bad last year. This year they were two points away from lifting the trophy.

15. Unfortunately the NRLW Grand Final was exactly what we all feared. The Roosters were embarrassingly better than every team they played this year to the point the competition has become a bit of a laughing stock. If you add up all the betting odds of the Roosters across the entire season, they still aren't close to the odds of the Roosters Prelim Final opponents, the Raiders, last weekend.

16. Allie Brigginshaw should absolutely have been sin binned for an awful tackle in that game. Never mind though, she has been cited and suspended for a game she'll never play given she's retiring. Justice served.

17. Harry Grant continues the routine of every player testing the market. There isn't a world in which I see Grant leaving the Storm but the money being thrown around thanks to the two new clubs is well worth testing. The Storm will have to put up to keep the premier number nine in the competition.

18. The Interstate Championship is usually a non event due to the NSW Cup side running riot. This past weekend saw the Redcliff Dolphins destroy the Penrith Panthers 68 points to 14. The Panthers entered as heavy favourites too.

19. The depth at the Dolphins is brilliant right now, as shown by the talent they ran out in the Interstate Cup. That said, Jake Averillo is so far above reserve grade that it's laughable. He is a huge in for the Wests Tigers next season.

20. News just dropped that the Fainu brothers were ruled ineligible to play for Fiji. Meanwhile Dane Gagai has been cleared to play for New Zealand. I'm not going to lie, I have no idea what the Fainu brothers link to Fiji is but is there anything positive coming out of ruling them out for the competition? Just clear them. Don't give me that "oh the integrity of the competition" nonsense either.