Johnathan Thurston said he treasured his Rugby League Players' Association medals above other honours because they were voted on by his peers. However, the North Queensland co-captain's emotional reaction after winning his record fourth Dally M medal suggests the latter award remains relevant to the current generation of stars. There was a general consensus that the judges got the majority of the awards spot on. However, the biggest talking point afterwards was the poor polling by Roger Tuivasa-Sheck - the Roosters fullback broke metre-eating records but managed to only finish equal eighth, 16 points behind Thurston. Rabbitohs land Cook We wrote last week that South Sydney were after Canterbury hooker Damien Cook - and we can now reveal the Rabbitohs have their man. Cook has agreed to terms to a two-year deal to shift to Redfern and will compete with Cameron McIness for the No.9 jersey. The Bulldogs were keen to keep the 24-year-old and there were also lucrative offers to join the English Super League. However, the opportunity to continue his NRL career at a premiership contender was too good to refuse.

Cook was a relative unknown before stepping in for injured Canterbury rake Michael Lichaa in the lead-up to the finals, but his strong performances caught the eye of Souths coach Michael Maguire. Cook's signing, which is likely to be trumpeted this week, adds to the already healthy rivalry between the 2014 grand finalists. Eels look to offload Folau Parramatta centre John Folau is being shopped to rival clubs just six months after the club re-signed him. Folau, the younger brother of Wallabies superstar Israel, made a barnstorming start to his NRL career earlier this season. After a series of impressive performances, the Eels extended his contract for a further two seasons, until the end of 2017. But the 21-year-old, who scored four tries in seven first-grade appearances, has fallen out of favour and is being offered to rivals. The development further clouds Parramatta's centre stocks - Will Hopoate is taking the club to the Supreme Court after it allegedly reneged on a lucrative contract extension.

Parramatta came within a whisker of securing Israel Folau before he switched to rugby, but the dithering of the NRL at the time practically gifted him to the 15-man code. John's presence in the junior ranks was one of the reasons Izzy wanted to wear blue and gold, but it appears neither will be there in the future. Scalping reduced in scope The average price of resold grand final tickets is down 28 per cent on last year. Online secondary ticketing company Viagogo reports that 67 per cent of buyers are from Queensland as banana-benders descend on the first Cowboys-Broncos decider. Last year the figure was just 8 per cent, with 85 per cent from NSW and the rest flying in from non-heartland states or New Zealand. Total tickets traded have increased 15 per cent, which is 32 per cent year on year in the sales cycle. Those figures, coupled with the increase in XXXX beer sales in recent days, will result in a very Queensland flavour to Sydney's biggest day. Teams to be named later

NRL teams will be named a day later - on Wednesdays - as part of a raft of integrity measures brought in for next season. At the moment teams that run out on game day can bear little resemblance to the ones named by clubs early in the week. However, the governing body is attempting to lessen the disparity because such information can have a big effect on wagering. The change means Big League magazine, the official program that has always carried team lists, will no longer be able to do so. Carney misses American dream Jarryd Hayne is the first NRL star to impose himself on the NFL, but that may not have been the case had Todd Carney followed through on his American opportunity. On one of the many times Carney's career was at the crossroads - on this occasion back in 2009 - Australian-based NFL scouts OzPunt organised trials for the playmaker in the United States. We even captured this pic of the then-clubless Carney posing with a gridiron ball.

"I haven't got anything on at the moment so I thought I'd check it out," he told us at the time. It was one of those Sliding Doors moments and we can only wonder where he'd be now if he'd attempted the transition. There's another NRL star lamenting he never got to switch to the NFL. Willie Mason was offered contracts to join the New York Jets and New York Giants after impressing in a series of trials, but couldn't get a release from Canterbury. "I'm disappointed they wouldn't let me out," Mason said. "I was only 25 or 26 and wanted one crack at it. If I didn't make it I would have come back and played the rest of my career with the Dogs. I was sitting in a hotel room with an NFL contract in front of me, it was like the one Jarryd Hayne signed on. "I would have had a decent crack at it as a defensive end or something. I excelled at all that Combine stuff and defensive players don't have it as hard as what Jarryd Hayne is doing with punt returns and that. All they do is get to the quarterback and smash the shit out of him."

Broncos looking at Pangai Brisbane are eyeing off promising Canberra forward Tevita Pangai. Having already lost Anthony Milford to the Broncos, the Raiders won't want to lose the Junior Kangaroo, who was named in the under 20s team of the year. Grand final given flexibility Given the NRL has taken control of scheduling from the networks in the next broadcast deal, the governing body will have the power to stage the grand final during the day. Despite calls from fans and players - who reckon you get a faster game in dry, daylight conditions - to do so, the governing body is planning to retain the twilight timeslot. Ma'u turns life around

Manu Ma'u has turned his life around and is now helping others to do likewise. The Parramatta forward returned to the prison he once occupied as a guest speaker to tell inmates they too can live their dreams if they get on the straight and narrow. Thank you and goodnight That's it for Sin Bin for another year. Thanks to those who read or contributed and hopefully we'll be back for another crack in 2016. Do svidaniya.