Week 1 of the NRL finals have come and gone, and it means two more sides have joined the bottom nine who missed on knockout action altogether, now likely en route to Bali.

It might be easy, and obvious to focus on the sides remaining in the competition, but today we're looking to the nine forgotten sides who didn't feature in Week 1 of the finals.

More specifically what went wrong for each of the nine sides now out of contention.

Below is where each team wrong.

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9. Canberra Raiders: Left it too late

Canberra entered the final rounds of the year needing to beat Penrith and the Roosters and win a straight shootout against the Dragons.

The fact that they achieved both yet still missed Finals showed they left it too late.

The Raiders had byes in Rounds 14 and 19. Those byes bookended a string of four straight losses.

It's no shock that this run, as well as a round 22, 23 and 24 loss streak combined to ensure it was too little too late for the Green Machine.

Obviously it doesn't matter when the wins come, as long as they do, but Canberra committed the ultimate rugby league sin by leaving their destiny to other teams.

Newcastle's win on Sunday afternoon meant Canberra missed out.

NRL Rd 18 -  Raiders v Knights
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA - JULY 07: Kaeo Weekes of the Raiders looks dejected following the round 18 NRL match between Canberra Raiders and Newcastle Knights at GIO Stadium on July 07, 2024 in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
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