State of Origin time has officially arrived. Much more on that later.
Round 11 saw a number of players press their claim for rep selection, a try-of-the-season contender, a massive upset in Brisbane and much more.
Unfortunately, a series of disgusting refereeing decisions dominated social media but the Origin selections seem to have pushed them to the back a little.
Let's dive right into the good, the bad and the ridiculous from the past week.
Below are 20 thoughts from Round 11:
1. We'll discuss the Origin teams below but the obvious talking point this week will be the omission of Terrell May. He has been, by a large margin, far better than Spencer Leniu and Stefano Utoikamanu yet has been overlooked. You cannot convince me there isn't something more to this story. It's got nothing to do with this ridiculous "lateral defence" nonsense someone has cooked up.
2. One argument I've been presented against May is that he plays too many minutes and won't have an impact. This is ridiculous. He played 80 minutes last night, made 60 tackles and didn't miss one. If you want more impact, play him in shorter stints off the bench. I want a player capable of playing 80 running out for 25 minutes rather than a bloke who can only play for 25 minutes.
3. Another argument I've seen is that he wasn't picked due to comments he made on a stream. Firstly, he was already made aware of his not being selected, hence the comment. Secondly, if you believe an obvious joke while talking to mates and fans is enough to drop a bloke, then rugby league ceases to exist. There are players in both Origin camps with multiple times worst incidents than this who were picked.
4. I have to say though, other than May's absence, I love the Blues side. This will sound horrible but I feel as though injuries to certain players actually ended up in a better side being announced. There will be contentions regarding Robson vs Api and the like but overall it's a strong 17.
5. The one selection I did see panned was that Haumole Olakau'atu was overlooked. Truthfully I'm not sure where he gets in given the form of Hudson Young and the Origin efforts of Liam Martin in the past. Keaon Koloamatangi is the one I feel for. He is far more versatile and should have been that last player picked.
6. I know better than to bag any Queensland side so I will choose my words here carefully. The Blues should start big favourites for both Game One and the series. I won't give them any more ammunition than that as QLD have won series from way worse positions than this.
7. The amount of players hurt this weekend, costing them Origin selection was insane. Murray Taulagi and Selwyn Cobbo both miss out while Jake Trbojevic and Jacob Saifiti were both set to be selected. It does open the door for Robert Toia and Max King. Payne Haas and Stephen Crichton are both under injury clouds also.
8. As good as the Origin series is, and it's the big money earner, the next few weeks are going to be painful for league fans. Not only do we lose multiple games a week but those remaining are heavily watered down. It's the great equaliser but it's supremely unfair.
9. Can we just admit that league fans don't want characters, They want robots. I said it last week and got yelled down. Well, Ronaldo Mulitalo smiles at Xavier Coates and celebrates a try and the league community want him hung out to dry. Mulitalo is great for the game and beloved by the Sharks fan base. As the great man would say "Shh!"
10. There's tremendous irony in the fact that the Tigers best performing half last night was wearing a Rabbitohs jersey. Jayden Sullivan, on loan for the year from the Tigers, were brilliant for the Bunnies.
11. Again, I am here most weeks defending referees. The run of the mill decisions, whatever. There will be errors. This week we saw three disgusting moments that make me believe these referees aren't paying attention. Sutton's horror show to allow the Queenslanders try in the Women's Origin was the worst decision I'd ever seen until Roger Tuivasa-Sheck knocked the ball two metres forward with no knock on awarded. Making it worse, an offside Warrior collected the ball. That is unforgivable. The third was the Ezra Mam pass that went three metres forward while the side line official was several metres out of position.
12. Possibly the worst moment of the weekend came when young Dylan Egan lay prone on the ground in agony, and play was allowed to continue. This despite the fact that Broncos attackers were set BEHIND the injured player. The ball went back and actually hit Egan, leading to a re-play of the last tackle. There is no common sense being applied anymore. If there was, the referee would have seen the very real possibility the Broncos would shift the ball to where Egan was, given the backline was set. Dumb!
13. I'm not sure how I feel about the non Sin Bin of Ryan Papenhuyzen on Saturday night. Referee Adam Gee ruled that as the game was over, Paps wouldn't be binned. The swinging arm was as clear a Sin Bin as you'll ever see but marching him would have been literally useless. My Supercoach score thanks Gee but the fact is an act of foul play happened before the Full Time whistle. It should have been a Sin Bin. As much as that wouldn't have mattered.
14. The blow-up over some tongue-in-cheek comments made by James Maloney over the weekend have ... well not shocked me. For those who missed it, the Sharks premiership winner commented that then coach Shane Flanagan didn't teach him anything. I'm paraphrasing of course as I can't print the comment. He was talking it up and joking in front of a crowd. Maloney is a showman and even if he didn't learn anything from Flanagan, he hardly hung him out to try as has been suggested.
15. How bout the who's who of contenders for the incoming Bears coaching gig. Mal Meninga and Kevin Walters have put their hands up to join Brad Arthur and Sam Burgess. Just fold the club now. Burgess I can understand, he wasn't sacked from his last gig for being terrible.
16. Shaun Johnson is 110% a future NRL coach. I'd appoint him over any of the candidates listed above. He has taken to his media career like a fish to water. If he decides his future is in coaching, he'll get a gig with zero stress.
17. Mark Nawaqanitawase scored one of the all-time, individual tries this past Friday night. If you haven't seen it, read the below three remaining thoughts then head straight over to the highlights. I've never seen anything like it!
18. I was shocked to log into Social Media on Friday night to see some fans insist that Robert Toia scored that try. This is despite the fact he clearly lost the ball and never got near retaining it. "It was a try 30 years ago" was the reason, I guess. Come on, there's enough to get upset about (see above) without making stuff up.
19. Clint Gutherson now holds the record for the best performance/worst Captain's challenge in one game. The King was breathtaking in a 9.5/10 performance against Brisbane. His being convinced to challenge a Dragons knock on when the player volleyball spiked the ball forward sees him lose 0.5 of a point.
20. Corey Horsburgh and Xavier Savage can count themselves unlucky to miss selection for Queensland. Robert Toia and Trent Loiero were curious selections to say the least.
