KEY POINTS:
It's all still too close to call in respect of who will be in the top eight in three weeks.
The top four will definitely come down to the last round. The two competition leaders are clear of everyone else in cementing a home semifinal, but they still have a battle to secure the minor premiership.
Never has the leaderboard been so congested with so many teams still in contention. It's a dream come true for the NRL, showcasing how even the competition is and how the salary cap is providing the same.
Just as important, it's a dream for the teams as low as 14th to still be in the hunt for semifinal football. Even the revitalised Roosters are in the chase for the title and who would have given this team a second thought five weeks ago?
Despite a bias for my beloved team, even I was thinking the wooden spoon was a possibility for 2007.
Eight weeks ago, the doomsayers were predicting an early exit for the Warriors following a string of losses, and now the team is a real possibility of a top-four placing.
How things can change and, yes, it is great that a supporter can still have something to look forward to at this stage of the season, albeit only a mathematical chance of the playoffs for some.
But is it right that such teams should be eligible for the mantle of premiership title holders?
I have been a critic of the top eight format for some time now, as it is purely a revenue-raiser for the NRL, and not a reward to teams for consistent performances throughout a season.
Previously, teams who have lost more games than won have finished in the top eight, collating a minus points differential, yet still have an opportunity to string four wins together and win the title.
How can that be? There is still a chance the Roosters can win it while currently having the worst differential in the competition with - 169; they have had an abysmal season by anyone's viewpoint.
Yet string a few wins together and how quickly a bad season turns into a great turnaround and good finish to the year. I'm sorry, but I would like to see the return to the top five and watch the better teams fight it out for the title of the best, as it is a truer reflection of the consistently high standard required to be known as the best.
To take it a step further, the minor premiership at the end of round robin should declare the best team of the season as in the English Premier League, because it reflects the club that has battled all year to become champions.
The upside to this issue is that the playoffs give more excitement to fans of the sport, and, in particular, those fans of the combatants.
More money is generated from the format from television revenues but unfortunately we are dictated to by the networks and can only watch the grand final here in New Zealand at 10pm on a Sunday.
How times have changed.
