Newcastle’s rise from spoon to prelim is remarkable. But the Panthers are the big winners

OpinionJournalist, author and columnistSeptember 21, 2026 — 11:45amSeptember 21, 2026 — 11:45amThe winners of the Sunday smash-up in Auckland were undoubtedly Penrith, kicking back and watching next week’s opponents belt each other senseless.Even though the Warriors were their own worst enemy in the 12-10 loss to the Knights, succumbing to the pressure of the Eden Park occasion and panicking their way to defeat, Newcastle’s rise from wooden spoon to preliminary final is fabulous.Nobody gets juiced on underdoggery like the Knights. They are the envy of the Tigers, Dragons, Titans and Eels, who remain stuck in the cellar and who, if they’re smart, will study closely everything the Knights have done this year.It’s difficult to manufacture team spirit, happiness and harmony without winning first, but under Justin Holbrook the Knights have produced the egg without needing the chicken.Newcastle will be rank outsiders on Sunday – but they were rank outsiders in New Zealand, too.Ref justice for WahsMake it make sense!Not that it was the reason the Warriors lost, but the non-penalty call on Newcastle’s Tyson Frizell in the final minute, when he clearly blocked Warriors kick chasers, shows what a rabbit hole the video officiating system has descended into.Throughout the match, every bunker call turned into a philosophical discussion of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.To their credit, the bunker officials avoided making absolute howlers.The absolute howler came when referee Ashley Klein missed Frizell’s infringement, which should have given the Warriors a shot at a penalty goal from right in front and a chance at extra time (in which, the way they were playing, they would surely have lost).The Warriors had lost their challenge on a fingertip call a few minutes earlier. So, do we want to eliminate technology and go back to crucial on-field refereeing mistakes like this? Clearly not. But the tech-assisted challenge system hasn’t stopped it happening either.And nobody understands why the bunker can intrude on the game unprompted and correct many referee rulings or take a player out due to a head knock, but not correct a glaring error like this.My brain hurts even thinking about it.Rugby league is a simple game played by simple people, refereed by an overcomplicated Rube Goldberg machine.Tyson Frizell and the Knights celebrate a stunning win in Auckland. But it came amid plenty of controversy.Getty ImagesWhen NRL supremo Peter V’landys sits down with his rules officials in the summer, item one has to be unpicking this tangle of wires and knobs.The end result is what matters, and the end result on Sunday was a shower of bottles and other projectiles raining from the stands onto the referee – just like before we had video technology.Even in victory, Robbo’s still not happyOn Saturday, the Roosters’ win over Cronulla echoed their win in the corresponding match two years ago over Manly.Nicho Hynes after the head knock that forced him out of Saturday night’s heavy loss to the Roosters.NRL PhotosThen, Jake Trbojevic and Tolu Koula were knocked out in the opening minutes, and it was game over.This time, it was an early exit for Cronulla’s Nicho Hynes, whose concussion at least absolves him from the usual blame for another Sharks finals loss.Two years ago, the Roosters followed their thumping semi-final win with a heavy loss in Melbourne.The Dolphins in Brisbane may not have the same aura as the Storm of 2024, and the Roosters have a fighting chance this Friday. But an NRL week wouldn’t be complete without the squeaky wheel of Trent Robinson needing some oil.Daly Cherry-Evans will get one last visit to Suncorp Stadium before moving to the Super League.Getty ImagesA handsome 46-10 win didn’t quite fill the hole. This week’s complaint-but-not-a-complaint was about the six-day turnaround before the preliminary final.“It’s a little bit surprising that this has happened. I wouldn’t say it’s happened too often,” Robinson said of his team having two six-day turnarounds during the finals.Several sharp intakes of breath, pregnant pauses, the squelch of a bitten tongue … but not whingeing again, right?All power to PVLThe centralisation of rugby league power in the person of Peter V’landys has always seemed as inevitable as the outcome of a democratic election in a one-party state, and so it has come to pass.An ARL Commission director is set to be appointed as a kind of agony aunt for stakeholders when they want to complain about the boss.The position, selected from members of V’landys’ own board, is meant to be an independent “guardrail” on his authority.In case you’re wondering why they would bother, remember that autarchs never win 100 per cent of the vote. It’s always 98 per cent or 99 per cent, just so you know it’s not some kind of fait accompli handed down from above.From our partners