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When the final whistle went on Sunday night last week, signaling the end of an unlikely yet inspirational run for the finals from the Warriors, it seemed that the next two weeks would be a box-ticking exercise for the team and then a long-awaited return to New Zealand.
Round 15 of the NRL is in the books and the top eight is looking more and more certain.
When the referees suspended the Utah Jazz vs Oklahoma Thunder game just prior to tip-off earlier this week, no one at that time would have thought that the ramifications would be felt as far as Australasia so quickly.
Michael Clarke may not be keen on a March Chappell-Hadlee series, but this is a chance for the Black Caps to make a statement.
With the start of the NRL season every team looks forward to with high hopes but different levels of expectations, especially in terms of holding aloft the Provan-Summons Trophy in October.
The recently completed Test series between the Black Caps and Australia was as one-sided as it could possibly be.
Round 5 had grey uniforms, grey games and grey clouds, but there were still many things over an excellent Easter weekend that caught the eye.
Round 4 of the NRL offered some really good contests, and some average football.
Six times New Zealand has been to the World Cup semi-finals and hit the semi-final wall. The closest was a nine-run loss to England in 1979.
With the group stage done and dusted and the lesser teams going home (looking at you England), the big boys will now get down to the knockout stage of the Cricket World Cup.
With the NRL season underway, already some teams are looking good for finals football, while others may be either hoping Round 1 was an aberration.
The Black Caps and Australia World Cup group stage match may have only counted for two points, but there was some real point-scoring by both teams.
The decision by the ICC not to use Hot Spot at the 2015 Cricket World Cup is both frustrating and unusual.
The Australia-New Zealand Test cricket rivalry has fallen by the wayside in recent years, largely as a result of mismatched oppositions. New Zealand cricket’s recent re-emergence means that now is the perfect time to resurrect this once-fierce rivalry.
For most long-suffering Black Caps supporters the only consistent part of the team has been their inconsistency.
With Round 21 well in the bag, some teams are looking more like playing finals football, while others are beginning to look to 2015.
“We don’t like Manly either Watmough” read a Warriors fan’s sign at Mt Smart. Unfortunately for the fan, love ‘em or hate ‘em the Manly juggernaut keeps on rolling.
If the Warriors had become dark horses and a dangerous team to play over the past few weeks, Saturday night was something of a setback.
The latest NRL round coincided with the end of State of Origin and the start of the run to the finals.
State of Origin is finished for another year, and some players have enhanced their reputations, while others may not be seen in the Origin cauldron again.
Should scrap the round 13 rule. How can teams build for another season when they don’t know until round 13 if they the player will honour the contract.
Have a straight transfer system so players move then and there.
SMITHY: The NRL has become a scene out of Trading Places