Four teams remain. Three games to go. Things are getting very, very real!
We say goodbye to the Warriors and the Sharks after they were beaten by the Knights and Roosters respectively. Both teams would have expected to be there next weekend.
Although there were only two games this past weekend, there was plenty going on. We have refereeing decisions, selections, contract sagas and much more.
Below are 20 thoughts from NRL Finals, Round Two:
1. All everyone is talking about since the full time siren of the Warriors/Knights game is the non-call on Tyson Frizell. That exact same situation has been a lottery all season long. We all knew it would season defining at some stage and here we are. We're into the second weekend of the Finals and still no one can agree on that escort/blocker/wall rule. That has to be addressed once and for all this off-season.
Escort or not on Tyson Frizell?
— Angry Dan (@SuthoDan2) September 20, 2026
2. I am really worried that the decision has provided a loophole for players to be running back to the ball, with their arms out, despite having no intention to catch the ball. Frizell never got close and you cannot convince me he ever said any intention of catching that ball. As he had his eyes on the ball and his arms up though, technically he is a catcher. Dangerous areas.
3. I joked about the Warriors CEO writing a letter/email to the NRL after full-time on Sunday night. It took less than 24 hours for reports to confirm that he did write the NRL for a please explain. I get the emotion and the Warriors are entitled to an explanation but I think it's fair to say the Warriors have benefited across the season when it comes to the officials.
4. Either The Dolphins or the Sydney Roosters will feature in the grand final this year. That means that a team that has copped 50 points it guaranteed to be there for the final game of the season. I really hope whichever team it is wins the game so we can be rid of the most annoying stat in rugby league.
5. Newcastle have the chance to become the first team from outside the Top Four to win the title in the NRL era. If the Knights can beat Penrith, we are guaranteed history to be made in the Grand Final. Penrith will likely ruin it and create their own history. Boring!
6. The post mortem is very much underway in the shire but the reason the Sharks got thumped by the Roosters falls firmly on the shoulders of Craig Fitzgibbon. It's as simple as that. He refused to move off aging, slow players and they got mowed down, easily, at the back end of the season.
7. I've been going on about this for two years. The squad was never good enough to win the competition. No x-factor. Too slow. Fitzgibbon could have pivoted to the lightning fast Sam Stonestreet but he stuck with Sione Katoa. Michael Gabrael is X-Factor personified but only got a token game in the final round of the season. Riley Pollard is twice the player of Niwhai Puru but Fitzgibbon stuck with the six game veteran. This result isn't a shock to anyone who paid any attention.
8. The Sharks are just too slow. Sione Katoa tries hard but can't break a 20 second 100 metre sprint. Both halves are super creative but slow. KL Iro is the slowest centre outside of Mawene Hiroti in the competition. The Sharks make breaks and hardly ever score. That isn't good enough.
9. Speed is the most important trait in 2026's version of rugby league. Look at the Knights. Almost every time they make a break, they score. Dom Young runs round blokes almost every time the Knights create space for him. Fletcher Sharpe is lightning fast. So fast that only his inability to keep up with himself can stop him from scoring tries.
10. I don't mean to turn this into a pile on but if Craig Fitzgibbon really believes that the Sharks aren't far off, he is absolutely kidding himself. Two preliminary finals in a row lead to two thrashings. This year the Sharks were lapped by a Roosters side missing their best half and with their best forward limited to 20 minutes. They're not close.
11. To offer up an excuse, and it is an excuse, that only two teams have won the competition in the past five years is such a cop out to fans. "Penrith are too good for us" is what I heard from that. Can you imagine Craig Bellamy saying that? Ahh well, Penrith are just too good aye, why even bother? Dead set ...
12. I said it when the decision was made, although I fully understand it, but I can't shake the feeling that the Warriors made a huge error in allowing Luke Metcalf to leave the club. His injury concerns are very well known but he's so much better at the position than anyone else on that roster.
13. I think it's time to look at including Finals in the Dally M Coach of the Year award. Andrew Webster will win it but Justin Holbrook should. Holbrook literally oversaw the removal of Webster's Warriors from the Finals. I fully understand how the award is judged so please don't rush to the comments ... I am saying it needs looking at. Player of the Year is completely different for those ready to reply with that.
14. The Dolphins and the Panthers both have teams playing in their respective state competition's Grand Final this weekend. The Redcliff Dolphins are in the QLD Cup Grand Final whilst the Panthers play the NSW Cup decider on Saturday night. Both sides boast tremendous depth, to the surprise of no one.
15. Taine Tuaupiki evidently has a clause to move to the Super League if he wishes to. Why? Why would a player in his prime, in a team capable of amazing things, want to head to the ESL? All the respect etc to those playing over there but I cannot fathom him leaving the fullback role at the Warriors for a gig overseas.
16. Loko Pasifiki Tonga's deal also has a clause I don't understand, or like. He supposedly has a get out clause if Dean Young is removed as coach of the Dragons. I loathe those kinds of clauses. You play for the club and the fans, not the coach. I like the show of loyalty I suppose but those clauses never work.
17. The major sticking point in a potential NRL investment or takeover, whatever it is framed as this week, of the English Super League seems to clubs in the motherland rejecting London's automatic promotion. I'm not usually one to take up camp on the side of the NRL big wigs but I agree here. For the ESL to really do anything of note, they need a team firing in the capital. The NRL don't want a northern league. If they invest they'll do so with the intention to take over. Of course the EPL will never be overtaken in England but a London side is absolutely critical for any efforts.
18. Zane Harrison had a good season at the Titans. His partnership with Jayden Campbell looks a good one. They compliment each other. News suggests he's going to market come November 1st. I get it, and agree with it but I really hope he stays with the Titans. He has a role and a partnership. If he takes a big money move or goes to a bigger club and gets stuck in NSW Cup, it would be a real shame,
19. Tom Trbojevic evidently wants a two year deal at Manly, on a million dollars a season. Manly simply cannot do that. Turbo is one of the elite players in the competition but he can't stay on the park. Just the 14 games for Manly this year and three of those saw him leave early. If he wants to play centre at $700,000 a year, then Manly should act. Anything more though, at this point, is too big a risk.
20. Tom Starling has been linked to Manly. He would be a huge upgrade on their stocks in the number nine role. Evidently their cap is so tight they can't afford to make a move. How!? How in the world can Manly not move on a player that would hardly break the bank? The cap mismanagement at that club needs to be studied.
