With two weeks left of the regular season, we face a nail-biting finish in the race for the finals.
While the Storm, Panthers and Rabbitohs are all but assured of a top-four spot, the race for fourth spot between the Roosters, Sea Eagles and Eels is set to go down to the wire.
Below them, Cronulla and Newcastle solidified their place in the top eight with wins over the weekend, while the hopes of playing in September for the likes of the Raiders, Titans, Warriors and Dragons took a huge blow as they all endured losses.
Here are all the key takeaways from round 23!
Sam Walker flourishes in new Roosters role
Trent Robinson sprung a selection surprise ahead of Sunday's game against the Dragons by dropping Sam Walker back to the bench in favour of Lachlan Lam.
Robinson said pre-game it was not a performance-based decision, more so that he wanted to free up Walker on the field given the way he's been targeted week-to-week in his first year in the NRL.
And the roaming role he played when brought on in the second half turned out to be a decisive one as the Roosters scuppered a late Dragons fight back.
Having less responsibility on his shoulders allowed Walker to do what he does best, which is play what he sees and create opportunities through the middle and on the edges with his elusiveness.
While Robinson insisted it wasn't a permanent move for Walker, given what he saw on Saturday, playing Walker off the bench proved a real ace up the Roosters' sleeve going into the finals and a ploy that could be hard for opposition sides to plan for.
Daly Cherry-Evans just as important to Manly's success as Tom Trbojevic
Heading into a crucial game in regards to their top four hopes, Manly were without their superstar fullback Tom Trbojevic.
While many were still thinking they could get the job done against Canberra, they were down 12-0 at half-time and their best player was on the sidelines, so there was reason to believe they would go down at Suncorp Stadium.
Enter their captain, Daly Cherry-Evans, who proved crucial in the 19-18 victory.
Not only did DCE nail the field goal late in the game, he set up a try for Curtis Sironen with a pinpoint grubber kick and ran for over 100 metres.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart even applauded Cherry-Evans for his impeccable display in his post-game press conference.
"Cherry-Evans is a handful and he’s a great football player. He makes that whole team a threat," he said.
“Jordan Rapana was unbelievable tonight. I was obviously sitting higher up tonight, and the work he was doing off the football was just extraordinary.
"Why was he doing it? Because that’s what Cherry-Evans makes you do."
Creative options emerge for Cronulla
The Sharks attack appears to be moving in the right direction at right time of the season.
Cronulla slipped into the top eight with a dominant 50-20 win over the Tigers, effectively eliminating one of their rivals for a finals position in the process.
They're still not guaranteed of a spot in the eight, but with the way they played with the footy on Saturday, they could make a few teams nervous ahead of the finals.
With Shaun Johnson done for the season, Cronulla needed to find some creative spark and several options have emerged in his absence.
Halfback Braydon Trindall looks more dangerous every week and starred against the Tigers with four try assists.
Luke Metcalf made his first career start in just his fourth game in the grade and finished with a try and an assist, regularly putting himself in dangerous positions.
Off the bench, Matt Moylan made his first appearance since round 15 and looked lively in his 20-minute cameo, while spare parts man Connor Tracey gives coach Josh Hannay another option.
Behind them all, Will Kennedy continues to grow into the role and, like all good fullbacks, has a knack for bobbing up in the right place at the right time.
They've certainly got points in them.
Okunbor's wonder-try shows Bulldogs are headed in the right direction
It turned out to be only a consolation try but Jayden Okunbor's miracle four-pointer was a great sign of the improvement the Bulldogs have shown in recent weeks.
Okunbor, a player who has struggled for form since his return from injury, somehow managed to claim the ball over the back of Enari Tuala and plant it down before going out.
Most assumed he hadn't got the ball down in time, but when he got up celebrating it was clear he had been able to produce a piece of magic.
Oh WOW, that is outrageous! 🤩#NRLBulldogsKnights #TelstraPremiership pic.twitter.com/prXmhyffbS
— NRL (@NRL) August 21, 2021
Okunbor is one of a number of players who is set to face serious competition for their spots in 2022.
The arrival of Josh Addo-Carr and the return of Nick Cotric from injury means he is likely to fall down the pecking order next season.
It's probably why we've seen a lot of improved individual performances from the Bulldogs' players despite results still not going their way.
"I was really happy for Jayden actually, I thought he carried the ball strongly," Trent Barrett said post-match.
"He's come up with a really good try so I think that'll be good for his confidence.
"There were some good individual performances through there. It doesn't make it any easier in there to get beaten but I thought there were some good performances."
Okunbor finished with 121 run metres and two tackle breaks for the night.
Milford still has a lot to give
Kevin Walters piled on the praise for outgoing playmaker Anthony Milford, who produced what the Broncos coach believes is his best individual display in a "long time" in Sunday's win over the Warriors.
Milford earned a recall to Brisbane's starting lineup for the first time since May this year having been axed on a number of occassions, with the million-dollar playmaker set to depart the club at season's end to take up a cut-price deal with South Sydney.
But he left fans with a parting gift in what was one of his last games in Broncos colours, scoring a vital go-ahead try and laying on two other four-pointers, as well as running for 144 metres an exciting 24-22 win.
The 26-year-old has struggled with the limelight throughout his stay in Brisbane, which has culminated in his departure, but brought back the vintage attacking class that at one stage in his career made him one of the most unstoppable players in the competition.
Walters said he was overjoyed witnessing Milford back to his best.
"It's the best he's played in a long time. He brought his natural game, his defence was really strong, he kicked well and he was always looking quite threatening with the ball," Walters said.
"We've got a great working relationship, Milf and I. I had no hesitation putting him back in the side.
"We know what he can bring. It's been tough for a lot of players this year and Milf is one of those guys, I'm really happy for him."
Asked whether Milford would see out the rest of the year in the starting side to end his Broncos career on a good note, Walters said: "My word he does, particularly on tonight."
Warriors halves call comes back to bite Brown
The Warriors had won three straight games with Sean O'Sullivan filling in at halfback and were chasing a fourth against the Broncos to stay within range of the top eight before Nathan Brown opted to replace him with Chad Townsend.
O'Sullivan has been impressive playing in the halves alongside Chanel Harris-Tevita, the back-up half controlling the side and kicking effectively to ensure the Warriors were still knocking on the door of the top eight at this point in the season.
The decision to break up that mix was staggering and proved costly as the Warriors lacked the precision in attack to break the Broncos open at the crucial stages of the games.
Townsend hasn't fired since landing at the Warriors mid-season, a shoulder injury also disrupting his ability to find some rhythm, and the former Sharks half is still winless at his new club.
It was a big call in the scheme of things as the Warriors' finals hopes were just about written off with the loss to Brisbane.
