PLAYER OF THE ROUND: Daly Cherry-Evans - someone should tell the Manly skipper you're supposed to slow down when you reach 34. The halfback set up a try, scored one himself and kicked seven goals in the 54-12 win over Wests Tigers. His performances for a struggling Manly and Queensland should ensure he's pushing Nathan Cleary for the Kangaroos No. 7 jersey.
QUOTE OF THE ROUND: "We'll keep swinging with the right amount of grip on the club" - Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson likens his side's surge into the finals as a golfer breaking the yips. The Roosters have made it five straight ahead of an elimination final against Cronulla.
TALKING POINT: What do South Sydney do to recover from their season of hell? Dumped out of the finals by the Roosters after weeks of in-fighting and drama, the Bunnies face a difficult summer as they try to explain how they completed the most spectacular collapse in NRL history. Jack Wighton is the only recognised recruit arriving at the club, and it'll take more than that to ensure they return to premiership contention.
MAGIC MOMENT: Ryan Papenhuyzen's busted kneecap took more than 15 months to heal and the Storm fullback put his troubles behind him against Brisbane. As well as scoring his first try since his return, the electric No.1 set up rookie Sua Fa'alogo for his debut Storm try.
STATS THAT MATTER: Canberra became the first team to qualify for the NRL series with a positive winning record and a points differential worse than -100. The Raiders finished the regular season 13-10 with a for-and-against of -119, which came as a result of heavy losses to Newcastle, Melbourne, Warriors, Penrith and Manly.
UNDER PRESSURE: Cameron Ciraldo. Despite great expectations, the Canterbury coach finishes his maiden year with a 7-17 record and questions over his coaching practices after an unnamed player walked out on training after being made to wrestle teammates as punishment for turning up late. The oft-volatile club has elections next year and Ciraldo will be under the microscope to start 2024 strongly.
