Tackle 1: A rugby league tragedy

Seeing Darren Lockyer watching helplessly from the sideline last Friday night as Manly comfortably handled the Broncos to end Brisbane's season and Lockyer's career was one of the saddest sights of the season and was no way for a champion to leave the game. Selflessly, Lockyer withdrew from the preliminary final last Wednesday despite a clear desire on his part to play after undergoing facial surgery. He withdrew knowing full well that he had likely played his last game. After 355 games with the Broncos, an outstanding club career is now over. Hopefully he can recover in time to lead Australia out for a farewell Test run next month.

Tackle 2: A major boost

The Warriors' victory over the Melbourne Storm on Saturday night was the biggest win in the club's history and a major boost for the sport in rugby-mad New Zealand. Deep in the throes of a rugby World Cup, there will be plenty of attention given to rugby league over the next week in New Zealand with the Warriors now in their second Grand Final and if Ivan Cleary's men happen to win the premiership decider, the attention on the Warriors will last much longer. Rugby League in New Zealand is making significant inroads and this will do the game wonders.

Tackle 3: Penrith on a winner

Phil Gould needed to change the culture at Penrith and he has taken the best step possible in hiring Warriors coach Ivan Cleary. Cleary has done a magnificent job in Auckland. In six seasons, Cleary has led the Warriors to the finals on four occasions, finishing with a 12-12 record or better five times (with the only failure coming in the season following the tragic death of Sonny Fai). He may also leave the club with a premiership. More importantly though, he has excelled at both player development and in instilling discipline and both have assisted the Warriors in getting to this year's premiership decider. The rise of the likes of Shaun Johnson, Kevin Locke and James Maloney has been astonishing while the move away from carefree football to a more structured, less offload-reliant game plan has been the most important cultural shift in the history of the Warriors. The Panthers will again be a powerhouse with Cleary at the helm.

Tackle 4: The importance of Daly Cherry-Evans

The re-emergence of Manly as a premiership force after two years where they appeared to be making up the finals numbers cannot solely be put down to the rise of Daly Cherry-Evans but the young halfback has been the most important influence. Cherry-Evans has invigorated an aging Manly team, adding new life to a tired looking team that added no new pieces up front and saw only William Hopoate join the backline. In his debut season, Cherry-Evans scored six tries and had 14 try assists. On Friday night, he was the best player on the field against Brisbane, setting up two tries, kicking beautifully and running the ball with vigour, breaking 10 tackles. If the Warriors are to stand any chance of downing Manly, they need to contain Daly Cherry-Evans.

Tackle 5: Chasing Des

Canterbury chief executive Todd Greenberg should be applauded for attempting to lure Manly coach Des Hasler to the club as a replacement for Kevin Moore. Just as Fremantle managed to pull off a coup in landing Ross Lyon, the Bulldogs have reportedly made a number of covert approaches to Hasler armed with plenty of cash and the promise of a fresh start after Hasler fell out with the front office over the Peter Peters fiasco. Canterbury have a decent young list but they need a quality coach to make something of it and the club should do all it can to find the best out there. Sticking with Jim Dymock would be a mistake with not one caretaker who became a fulltime coach in the last 20 years taking that club to a Grand Final. Someone in the mould of Hasler is what is required.

Tackle 6: Lui done and dusted

Robert Lui will be an extraordinarily lucky man if he does not get fired by the Wests Tigers if he is found guilty of assaulting his girlfriend. It is the second charge in the space of a year that the young halfback has been hit with for domestic assault. Rugby league has done a lot of work over the last decade to make the sport more embracing of women and to allow this kind of alleged behaviour is simply not an option for the Tigers or the NRL. The NRL needs to make an example of Lui if the guilty verdict is delivered though it would seem a fairly simple decision for the Tigers.