The last week of the NRL season has arrived, and as we await the blockbuster clash between the Panthers and Storm, we look at the Broncos' new coach, whether the Panthers stand to be the greatest team ever, and how the Eels might go next season.
Read on as we tackle some of the big talking points in this week's Real or Not.
Michael Maguire is clearly a better coach than Kevin Walters
NOT REAL: There has been a fair bit of opinion thrown around ever since the Brisbane Broncos decided to end Kevin Walters' reign as head coach and replace him with Michael Maguire. Former Broncos like Shane Webcke and Gordan Tallis are appalled that an icon of the club like Walters could be so easily cast aside for a coach whose record at club level has not been all that impressive.
"I don't think he [Maguire] is better than Kevin," Tallis said on Fox League.
"The people who are running the club -- Wayne Bennett wasn't good enough but he was good enough for Souths. And Peter V'landys wanted him to build a club.
"Seibold, who has done a great job at Manly, he wasn't good enough.
"Kevvie wasn't good enough. They keep on moving on coaches. The club is not going to move forward.
"Jack Gibson said winning starts in the front office."
NRL level coaching is a bit of a dark art really. Every coach has his ideas for defensive schemes, attacking formations, set moves and plays and on how to prepare players for the rigours of the competition. What has become increasingly important for coaches is player management, the massaging of egos and inspiring the players to walk over broken glass for you, figuratively, if not literally.
Maguire has a reputation for driving his players in a sergeant major manner. Plenty of yelling, verbal beratement and hard work. The question on everyone's lips is whether someone like Reece Walsh will respond positively to that kind of tough love. Perhaps Broncos management is sick of the stars of the game being treated as mates of the coach.
At this stage we can't really say that Maguire is better or worse than Walters, but what we can say is that he will definitely be different and maybe something different is just what the Broncos need about now.
Panthers should be regarded as the best rugby league team ever if they win on Sunday
REAL: If the Penrith Panthers overcome Melbourne Storm on Sunday to win their fourth consecutive NRL premiership, they will rightly lay claim to the title of the best team ever.
It is always difficult to compare teams of different eras. The Dragons' teams that won 11-straight premierships in the 50s and 60s were playing a fundamentally different ball game. There were unlimited tackles, the defensive line was allowed to form up near the marker and there were no restrictions on how many star players you could gather at your club. The Dragons were bristling with immortals and internationals and played a perfect style to suit the game as it stood. The NSWRL changed the rules of the game to end their reign and no team has dominated to the same extent since.
Until the Panthers completed the hat-trick last year, the Parramatta Eels of the early 1980s were the only team have won three-straight since the Dragons, and that was before the salary cap was introduced. There have been plenty of teams to have won back-to-back titles, but the fortitude to play in five-straight grand finals and win four straight borders on unbelievable.
The most incredible part of this achievement is that the salary cap has been working, maybe not in leveling the playing field for other clubs, but certainly as far as pruning stars from the best team. During the five-year span the Panthers have continually lost some of their best players. It is a credit to their system that they have found replacements ready to step up to continue their success.
If the Panthers win this weekend they will have set a mark that may not ever be beaten. Unless of course they beat it themselves next year.
The Eels are due for an immediate bounce back
NOT REAL: Jason Ryles has hit the ground running, adding to the Eels roster as he prepares to turn the disappointing club around. This week he signed Sharks bench forward Jack Williams, who will join Zac Lomax, Isaiah Iongi and Dean Hawkins as new faces at the club.
Apart from Lomax, these might not be the biggest names in the game, but similar to what happened to the Bulldogs this year, the Eels are recruiting players based on their work ethic. The Bulldogs proved that in order to turn an underperforming club around you have to clean out the dead wood and hire people who not only want success, but are willing to put in the effort to achieve it.
The Eels might not enjoy instant success, rebuilds take a while, but fans of the club will be happy to see an improvement in attitude and effort. If they can nip at the heels of the Top 8 next year it will be a marked improvement on their battle to avoid the wooden spoon this year.