First tackle: Another Panthers miracle win
The Panthers came through one of the toughest weeks in the club's history and produced another miracle win against the Titans on the Gold Coast. The Panthers have stormed home to win their past three games, after seemingly being well beaten in each. They have the confidence late in games to continue plugging away and finding a way to the tryline.
The problem for the Panthers is they can't expect to do the same thing against the better teams once the finals start. They have the Knights next week, before facing the Warriors and Storm. They will need to have their defence in order against the final two or they'll limp into the finals with all the miracle-working confidence knocked well and truly out of them.
Second tackle: Cowboys wrangle Broncos
The Cowboys have been awful for a large part of the season and in the opening minutes of the Queensland derby a poorly timed Johnathan Thurston pass was put down cold by young five-eighth Jake Clifford. It looked as though the home fans were in for another long night.
These two teams, who have been in some incredibly close battles in recent years, went into this one with the Broncos having everything to play for in the run to the finals. The Cowboys were playing for pride, and were always going to lift at home against Brisbane. As the first half progressed they started to dismantle the visitors, making a mockery of their ladder positions.
The Broncos are in a dangerous downwards spiral and are only two points clear of the charging Tigers. It doesn't get any easier for them either as they face the Roosters, Rabbitohs and Sea Eagles in the next three weeks.
Third tackle: Slater trying too hard?
The Sharks' clash with the Storm had all the big game intensity that the fans were hoping for as the finals approach. As is often the case when two evenly matched teams put everything into winning a crucial game, there were plenty of mistakes made as players pushed passes and their limits.
Storm champion Billy Slater, having announced during the week that he would be retiring at the end of the year, had a first half to forget. He forced a pass on tackle one that ended up with the Sharks; he kicked into the arms of Valentine Homes when he only had to draw and pass to set up a try; he put in a cross-field kick to a winger that dribbled harmlessly into touch and he threw a difficult floating cut-out pass that was knocked on by centre Curtis Scott. All that before the Storm went to the break trailing 13-4.
Slater and the rest of the Melbourne players will be very keen to finish the season holding the premiership trophy aloft. Slater will have to be at his best if they are going to win the big games, and maybe that means dialling back his enthusiasm to ensure the high quality input everyone expects from him.
Fourth tackle: Pulling a Rabbitoh out of the hat
It was one of the more bizarre tries of the year when halfback Adam Reynolds crossed for South Sydney in the 27th minute of their Friday night loss to the Roosters.
Reynolds ran at the line from about 10 metres out before dropping the ball onto his boot as the defence converged. A Roosters defender stuck his leg out, the ball rebounded from it straight into Reynold's chin and despite his best efforts he failed to get a hand to it. The ball dribbled across the line for Reynolds to pounce on it and take the scores to 8-all following his conversion.
It didn't help the Bunnies in the end who were beaten by a Roosters side that is travelling slightly better than them at the moment. Souths will be looking anxiously towards Greg Inglis and his almost healed thumb for the boost in confidence and ability they'll need going into the finals.
Fifth and last: Moses parts the green sea
Moses Mbye has slotted in nicely at the back for the Tigers, who continued their pursuit of an elusive top eight spot with a hard-fought win over the Raiders in Canberra. Mbye, playing his 100th NRL game, set the scene early for the Tigers, scoring a brilliant individual try in the 14th minute.
Working up the middle of the field like a good fullback should, he took an inside pass from lock Matthew Eisenhuth. He then powered and swerved through a couple of flimsy tackles before fooling the Canberra fullback with a dummy to Robbie Farah. He dived over under the posts, with the conversion taking the score to 10-0.
Ten minutes later he threw a nice cut-out pass to David Nofoaluma, who dived over in the corner. The Tigers were forced to do a mountain of tackling in the second half and Mbye's attacking flair was stifled. After leading 20-10 at the break they could only manage a solitary penalty goal in the second half, holding on grimly as the Raiders got within two points by fulltime.
Handover: Hayne Plane brilliant, Dragons plain awful
Jarryd Hayne moved three tries ahead of legend Brett Kenny in the Parramatta try=scoring record book with his hat-trick against the Dragons on Saturday night. Hayne, wearing the inauspicious No. 2 jersey, was on the end of a Mitchell Moses floater to cross in the corner for the first try of the match.
He copped a face full of boot a couple of minutes later and crossed for his second try with his head bandaged up like an Egyptian mummy. He wrapped up the first half with his third and the Eels went to the sheds with an unlikely 22-0 lead. Remember, this was the team sitting last on the ladder towelling up the team desperate for a place in the top four.
In the second half the Eels went on with it to finish 40-4 winners. The Dragons slumped to their fifth loss from their last six games, confirming fans' worst fears that this would be yet another wasted season. There seems to be no way out of the slump they have tumbled into and fans are starting to call for the head of coach Paul McGregor. If Penrith can dump a finals-bound coach this close to season's end, why can't the Dragons dump theirs?