Souths proved victorious connected Sin Bin Sunday - but Cronulla were the large winners aft the brutal elimination last astatine Allianz Stadium.
On Saturday night, the league chatter was that Cronulla volition beryllium shark bait adjacent play aft their 93-minute marathon nonaccomplishment to the Cowboys.
But that each changed connected Sunday aft 1 of the astir ferocious games of the modern epoch arsenic the Roosters and Rabbitohs went to war.
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Souths showed large quality to decorativeness 30-14 winners aft a grounds 7 players were misdeed binned.
But by the clip the NRL judiciary, the doctors and the physios get done with Souths implicit the adjacent fewer days, they could beryllium battling to tract a squad against the Sharks.
Prop Tom Burgess and winger Taane Milne are some definite to beryllium charged for damaging precocious shots and respective different players could besides beryllium successful blistery h2o aft 80 minutes of trench warfare.
The Sharks would person cheered each precocious changeable and each melee arsenic the 2 aged rivals ripped into each other.
Souths were worthy winners, but it was astatine a cost.
As a result, successful my eyes, Cronulla volition commencement arsenic flimsy favourites successful what promises to beryllium different mouth-watering last adjacent weekend.
Roosters weaponry out
The Roosters person been the NRL's HIA kings implicit the past 2 seasons - and it each caught up with them to nonstop them spinning retired of the premiership connected Sunday.
The nonaccomplishment of onslaught players James Tedesco and Angus Crichton successful the archetypal fractional and a bid of different dense knocks KO'd the Roosters successful 1 of the astir brutal games of the modern era.
The Roosters' different downfall was their inability to instrumentality usage of 'power plays' erstwhile Souths had players successful the misdeed bin.
Stream the NRL premiership 2022 unrecorded and escaped connected 9Now
They should person dominated erstwhile it was 13 v 11 successful the archetypal fractional - but kept moving 1 retired and making unforced errors.
In the 2nd half, they had an other antheral again erstwhile Souths had Tevita Tatola and Taane Milne successful the bin on with Rooster Victor Radley - but couldn't marque an impression.
They needed to alteration the crippled program connected the run, flip the shot around, and their nonaccomplishment to bash this yet proved their undoing.
Roosters enforcer binned aft brutal hit
Bittersweet triumph for North Queensland pair
Cowboys heroes Val Holmes and Chad Townsend finished with mixed feelings contempt masterminding their team's epic 32-30 extra-extra clip win implicit Cronulla connected Saturday night.
Townsend led the Cowboys to their archetypal ever location preliminary last successful good style, portion Holmes' towering 45 metre tract extremity successful the 93rd infinitesimal proved the difference.
Both were delighted aft the crippled - but besides felt for their erstwhile club.
"Val and Chad some person a precise brushed spot for Cronulla," the pair's manager Gavin Orr told Wide World of Sports aft the game.
"They started their careers there… they won a comp unneurotic there… they lived determination for years and inactive person galore mates there.
"So determination was plentifulness of emotion for them connected the nighttime and they felt for their aged mates."
Holmes magic seals epic final
Tapine's monster performance
Joseph Tapine's barnstorming bursts up the mediate paved the mode for the Raiders' upset triumph implicit the Storm - and signifier arsenic the large information to the Eels adjacent weekend.
Tapine stood similar a colossus implicit the archetypal fractional and it was mostly his power that gave the Raiders their 16-8 halftime lead.
Fitter and stronger than astatine immoderate signifier of his career, the lanky mediate guardant played the archetypal 51 minutes consecutive earlier a little rest.
He was backmost successful the fray erstwhile the Raiders powered location successful the last stages of the crippled and racked up an astonishing 216 metres successful the trenches.
Emotional ending for Smith
Brandon Smith was successful tears aft his last lucifer for the Storm successful the daze decision to Canberra, intelligibly upset that his days successful purple are over.
Smith was 1 of respective Storm players disconnected his crippled successful a disappointing squad performance.
A subordinate who usually prides himself connected a precocious work-rate, Smith had conscionable 8 runs for 76 metres, had 3 missed tackles and 3 ineffective tackles.
The powerhouse fastener tin usually beryllium relied upon for immoderate large plays successful unit games - but was uncharacteristically quiescent arsenic the Storm bombed retired of the finals.
Storm players shattered aft loss
Will 36-year drought beryllium extended?
With Mitchell Moses successful sedate uncertainty for adjacent play and his team-mates licking their wounds from the mauling by Penrith, it seems Parramatta's agelong finals drought is acceptable to continue.
The Eels went into the occidental derby with precocious hopes but the nonaccomplishment was their seventh successful their past 9 finals games - a wide motion that the squad struggles successful the pressure-cooker September atmosphere.
Parra's signifier coming into the crippled was solid, but they appeared to spell into their ammunition connected the large night, throwing precise small astatine the Panthers' antiaircraft wall.
They managed conscionable 1 effort successful 80 minutes and I conscionable can't spot them present winning 3 sudden-death games to instrumentality the title.
Moses cops nasty caput knock
Panthers steamroller continues
It didn't look that important astatine the time, but the cardinal infinitesimal - psychologically - of Penrith's triumph implicit Parramatta connected Friday nighttime was Nathan Cleary's tract extremity conscionable earlier halftime.
It broke a 6-all deadlock, sending the Eels to halftime with a slender pb and enabling them to proceed a stunning run.
By fulltime, the Panthers had lodged their 54th consecutive triumph aft starring astatine the break.
The Panthers person recovered this relentless cognition to powerfulness connected to triumph successful the 2nd fractional of games, grinding the Eels into the BlueBet Stadium turf 27-8.
It was the biggest finals triumph successful Penrith's past - and with Nathan Cleary backmost calling the shots successful masterful fashion, they are looking bully things to spell back-to-back.
Cleary nails first-half tract goal
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