Off the Wall

With just three rounds of the NRL premiership remaining it is not hard to see that the players - and especially the best players - have stepped up a cog or two.

The performance by Sonny Bill Williams yesterday was pure class. But he was not alone.

In any number of the eight games over the weekend it was not hard to see that we are at the very serious end of the season - and that the race for positions four to eight is as tight as it has ever been since the NRL premiership began.

And what was once widely seen to be a two horse race is now a much more open contest - the form of the Warriors surely makes them a serious Grand Final contender and the Bulldogs are making their run at the right time as well.

Just about every match, perhaps even every point, in the final three rounds will have a bearing on the final eight. At the end of round 25, there will be no