Round 25 was everything that I had hoped for, and then some.
Results at both ends of the table ensured a bumper fortnight or rugby league action lays ahead.
The Storm officially captured the Minor Premiership but spots two through eight are still to be decided, while a battle at the bottom has also emerged.
Below are 20 thoughts from the wonderful weekend that was Round 25.
1. Last week I suggested that we take a week off the referee pile on after a series of correct decisions were met with dismay. Well, I'm here to say that I'm sorry for ever trying to defend a broken system. As you were.
2. On a serious note, the errors we have seen over the past week are unforgivable. Again, it is the bunker that produces howler after howler. This despite a multi-million dollar facility being purpose-built, and referees supposedly trained to rule in super high def, slow motion.
3. Tell you what, Liam Kennedy owes Wyatt Raymond a case of beer. The senior Bunker official sold his young refereeing partner up the creek in a big way but failing to instruct him to sin bin Stephen Crichton. That ridiculous error caused a pile on and Raymond has copped the brunt, despite his only error being that he trusted the bloke watching the replays.
4. I'm not shy in voicing my opinion that Graham Annesley and Jarrod Maxwell need to be replaced, so I welcome reports that both are under scrutiny via an end-of-season review. If we can rid the game of those awful Monday afternoon conferences, all the pain will ultimately have been worth it.
5. A month back a Twitter poll I ran had Jack Bostock and Ethan Strange as the standouts for Rookie of the Year honours. Well, I'm here to say Kayal Iro is now the only answer. Argue away in the comments but Iro has become a staple of a Sharks side that is flying. He's routinely topping the stats and has quickly become a weapon out wide.
6. With Brisbane's come-from-behind win over the Eels, it's now confirmed that we will have the biggest game of the season in the final round. Spoon Bowl! A straight shootout to see who avoids finishing last. Two Western rivals, a packed Campbelltown Stadium, two teams desperate to avoid the dreaded 17th-placed finish. Rugby league at its finest!
7. We may have witnessed the best moment of the season on Friday evening when Shaun Johnson walked out into a stadium named after him. That guy means so much to that fanbase, it was the ultimate show of respect and thanks.
8. The NRL is perfectly set up for two weeks of action. So too is the NSW Cup. Three teams can win the Minor Premiership with a round to go, while spots four and five are still to be decided. We are blessed this season. Even Jersey Flegg is far from finalised heading into the final round.
9. Watching the final day chaos of the NSWPL soccer competition makes me appreciate not having promotion and relegation. It was good fun but way too stressful.
10. Alofiana Khan-Pereira may be the favourite for any potential Grand Final day race. He beat Dom Young three times on Sunday afternoon. Young's stride is equal to three of the much smaller AKP's and his still got burned. What a try scoring talent this kid is.
11. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves may have played his final NRL game and he has nobody but himself to blame. Coming off a suspension he looks set for another one. His tackling technique just isn't right for the modern game. I hope he works on it over the offseason before heading to the Super League.
12. Congrats to Luke Brooks for qualifying for the first Finals campaign of his career. It has been a long road indeed.
13. It was just for a moment, but the "disruptor" crept back into the game this past weekend. After being forgotten about for 12 weeks, we saw a random penalty. The moment passed though and luckily we didn't see a dreaded "crackdown".
14. No lead is safe in the modern game. Multiple times across the weekend we saw teams race out to 12 and even 16 point leads, only to be mowed down and even defeated. It's entertaining but I dare say it'll change when the serious stuff starts in a few weeks time.
15. Look, the Dogs had a few decisions go their way on Friday evening, but anyone bagging their fans for celebrating of way off base. You have to take the wins when you get them. It's not the fans, or players fault that decisions went the way they did.
16. Lucky for the officials on Thursday night that their counterparts had such a horror show performance on the Friday because a string of weak sin bins have been quickly forgotten.
17. Plenty will be made about the Storm resting players over the next two weeks. They play the Cowboys, who will benefit from a weaker lineup. If only there were 20+ rounds prior to this to get in a position where things like this wouldn't matter.
18. There will be plenty of fans, myself included, hoping that the Broncos don't squeeze into the eight. With Adam Reynolds back and fully firing, I want no part of them in a sudden death game.
19. I just read a suggestion that Bunker officials be interviewed after games to explain decisions ... I can imagine how that would go; "hey, that decision sucked, explain ...". Absolutely ridiculous areas!
20. James Tedesco is probably going to win the Dally M medal despite being the 10th best player this season. The sooner we revert to an NBA MVP-like way of deciding this award, the better.
