The Dolphins season has crumbled to an end at home on Friday evening, falling well short against the Sydney Roosters in a preliminary final where they never seemed to get off the bus.
The Roosters ran away with the contest in the second half, blowing out the scoreline to book their spot in the grand final next week against either the Penrith Panthers or Newcastle Knights.
Here are the big talking points from the first preliminary final for the weekend.
Dolphins simply too inconsistent, but will be better for the finals experience
The Dolphins biggest problem all year was their level of consistency. They just fell short too often to think they were going to be able to march through the finals without a problem.
The signs of worry were there during their game against the Warriors in Week 1. They got out of jail there with a very strong comeback, but they have relied on those small bursts of point-scoring all year.
That's not to say they aren't a very good football side - you don't make this stage of the competition without being one.
But they have flaws in their game that have been covered up in many ways by the pace of play this year.
The Dolphins will be better for their finals run next year, of that there is no doubt, but the club will need to find some real starch in defence, and in the middle third more broadly, if they are going to compete.
They will also need to limit errors, which have a tendency to pile up on their bad days.
Sam Walker's return risk pays off
Sam Walker's return looked to be the riskiest call of the year for the Roosters, coming back from a syndesmosis in less than four weeks.
As if to say he wasn't exactly sure, Trent Robinson even moved Hugo Savala to the bench, knowing he would be there to cover if things went pear-shaped.
Robinson then played the game with three bench players, something he was able to do given just how far the Roosters were on top, before Savala was introduced to give Walker an early shower with ten minutes to go.
But the risk paid off.
Walker was, almost without a doubt, in the top three, or maybe top five if you wanted to argue, players on the field.
He was in everything too. Kicked well, ran well, tested his ankle out on multiple occassions, and stepped up to the mark in defence to his usual level.
It's clear he has made the recovery, but even then, you would have expected some match fitness issues.
There was nothing of the sort.
Lindsay Collins is one of the NRL's best big-game players
Lindsay Collins is an almost run of the mill front rower for much of the season.
Not average, but not all that far above it. He certainly doesn't enter the conversation alongside the likes of Payne Haas, Joseph Tapine, Addin Fonua-Blake, James Fisher-Harris and Keaon Koloamatangi as the best prop in the game.
But then an Origin rolls around, or in this case, the finals, and he might as well be on that level.
He led from the front for the Roosters on Friday night, probably putting together his best game of the season to date, which followed two more excellent performances over the last fortnight.
He has a track record for it in big games, and will need to be at his best again next week.
Kristian Woolf's bench rotation was all wrong
What Kristian Woolf was doing in the coaches box as the game got away from the Dolphins down the stretch is a question no one will be able to answer.
Morgan Knowles and Tom Gilbert were the two most aggressive of the Dolphins forwards during the first stint, but then, for some reason, with the Roosters looking to play that physical game, the duo sat on the bench until there was less than 13 minutes left.
It just didn't make sense.
Did Thomas Flegler just lose a Kangaroos jersey?
Thomas Flegler played 39 minutes on Friday night.
He made 5 runs and had just 34 metres.
His season has been pretty solid returning from a shoulder injury, and there is a real argument to suggest he should be in the mix for a Kangaroos jersey.
But after Friday night, you'd have to question that, if it's a close-run thing, he drops down the pecking order more than a little bit in Kevin Walters' mind.
Mark Nawaqanitawase is not replaceable
It's not often a player is simply unreplacable - even more rare when that player is a winger.
But that is exactly what Nawaqanitawase is to the Sydney Roosters.
The freakish winger was at his best again on Friday evening, running for more than 300 metres and coming up with some jaw-dropping attack.
It's not as if we should be surprised at this point. He has been in the top couple of players on the park in each of the Roosters two finals games before this one.
You can certainly understand why rugby union wants him back, and the Roosters again after that stint is done.
As for next year - the Roosters will miss a step without him on the park.
