The NRL's biggest names typically define finals football.
When you think of the finals game breakers, you immediately look at players like James Tedesco, Nathan Cleary and Isaiya Katoa.
But in truth, finals are decided by the players who have been consistent all year, get the job done when it matters and free up the space for the stars to go to work.
Here is the player from each team who will determine exactly how the next month of footy plays out.
Penrith Panthers: Lindsay Smith
Lindsay Smith is the player who may not get the headlines but continues to do the dirty work for the Penrith side.
Smith averages 31 tackles a game, making him an absolute workhorse for the team. Smith's value and position become increasingly significant as Isaah Yeo suffered an injury in the Panthers' clash against the Warriors in Round 22.
Moving from prop to lock, Smith has an enormous job of filling the role that Yeo played for the Panthers. Whilst Yeo did a lot more of the defensive work and received much more of the attention, Smith has quietly made his defensive pressure known.
He averages 97 running metres and has a tackle efficiency of 96% for the season. In a finals series, where the middle becomes an integral part of winning, Smith's ability to consistently provide strong carries and handle the defensive workload could prove to be invaluable, especially with Yeo's absence.
