WHILE one grand finalist from last year may have turned a corner, another semi finalist plummeted to a new low.

Here’s my verdict on the four games in round 13 … and a prediction for the Origin opener.

Sea Eagles v Cowboys: Solid performance from the Cowboys for just their fourth win of the season, but still massive room for improvement. The Manly side minus the Trbojevic brothers and Dylan Walker were always going to struggle in attack and looked limited, however it wasn’t until the final quarter of the game that the Cowboys pulled away.

Round 20

Rabbitohs v Sharks: Impressive stuff from the Rabbitohs again despite having four stars on Origin duty and another key attacker in Alex Johnston sidelined. Barring the last 5-10 minutes, the Rabbitohs looked in control all night. Led up front by the Burgess twins, Souths were too strong for a full strength Sharks pack.

LIVE Stream every game of every round of the 2018 NRL Telstra Premiership on FOX SPORTS. SIGN UP NOW >

Eels v Knights: Good to see the Knights bounce back after some mediocre performances recently. Nathan Brown’s men played positive throughout and showed little mercy to their struggling opposition. I have no idea what Brad Arthur could have said to his team after the game.

Roosters v Tigers: What a tussle this was with some crazy moments scattered across 80 minutes. The Tigers just couldn’t get there noses in front. Daniel Tupou’s trysaving tackle on Corey Thompson in the dying minutes was one of the biggest moments in the Roosters season so far. One other point … Josh Reynolds has to start for the Tigers next week and it doesn’t matter what number is on his back.

State of Origin opener: I am a ‘bruised and battered’ tipster in 2018. My confidence has rarely been lower. And now you throw an Origin like this at me.

How can anyone predict with absolutely certainly what will unfold at the MCG given the changing of the guard with Queensland, and so many new faces for New South Wales?

When in doubt … go Golden Point! Queensland by 1.

LISTEN: Reporters from inside both Origin camps - The Splash podcast

LIKES

Jason Taumalolo: One of the ‘other’ J.T’s best performances of the season. Absolutely led from the front. Too big. Too strong.

Robbie Farah: Welcome back to the NRL, Robbie. I don’t know what’s ahead for the former Origin star and international but it’s clear he is a professional. He looked fit. He went the distance and still played with plenty of his trademark guile.

Sione Katoa: The young Sharks winger has got something special. What a way to score your first NRL try in only your second game. It was a sensational leap that we have almost come to take for granted from the modern day winger.

Anthony Seibold: It is shaping as a decent race for coach of the year, but Seibold’s role in the transformation of the Souths team into one of the best sides to watch in the competition has been incredible. If the competition stopped now I’d have Seibold ahead of the Dragons’ Paul McGregor.

Victor Radley: Just gets better and better every week. Played a huge role in the Roosters’ win in both attack and defence. You could throw him an Origin jumper this week and know he wouldn’t let anyone down.

DISLIKES

Parramatta’s season: Can it get any worse? Players dealing with off field dramas. Injuries on it. Another big loss. And rock bottom on the ladder. I can’t think of a single positive to share with the Eels fans.

Canterbury: Just refer back to my piece in the dislikes column last week. The drums are beating Moses Mbye will be allowed to leave before June 30. The Sunday papers suggested Aaron Woods could do the same. What sort of business are they running? Meantime the terms of the season ticket holder remain unconditional.

The dumping of Matt Cecchin: I admit to not knowing the intricacies of assessing referee’s performances in the NRL, but if Cecchin isn’t in the top eight currently in the game then I’m a Dutch astronaut!

Split rounds: I don’t have the solution, but I know I never like a round of just four games. This is the middle of the rugby league season. You want a full dose of action every week.

Jack Gosiewski’s late shot on Johnathan Thurston: Allow me to join the chorus of those condemning the tackle. I thought Jack’s was actually worse than the one from Melbourne’s Sam Kasiano the previous week and this should have been reflected by a longer stint on the sidelines.

***

We have another big episode of THE FAN coming up at 7.30 on Tuesday night on Fox League.

This week, we look at the life of an NRL mascot with Bluey and Miss Moo from the Cowboys.

Also among my guests will be the Tigers Benji Marshall; we take another trip to the rugby league antiques roadshow, and Dragons ace Gareth Widdop gives us his goalkicking secrets.

Twitter: @AndrewVossy