The big winners last weekend were the Swifts, who upset the competition leaders and solidified their hold on fourth spot. The race for the finals appears to have boiled down already to six contenders, with the Firebirds and Magic (each of whom have won their past two games by double digit margins) currently on the outside looking in. On the punting front, Three Feet Radio’s own Ben Carbonaro split his two recommended bets last week to progress to a very impressive 12-4 against the spread in 2012. He returns to give his thoughts on Round 8.

The Bombers notched another win bolstering their top four aspirations. The Blues blew their chance to hold top spot after Rd 7 for the first time since Moses wore shorts. Adelaide belted the Cats and the Hawks wayward ways let a percentage boost go begging. Brad Scott was clearly frustrated by the umpires interpretation of Jack Zeibell’s slide and Taylor Walker fronts the judiciary again. We’ll take a look at the highs and lows of Rd 7.

The Total and Utter Clusterfuck That is New South Wales Selection: Oh, where to start. Ricky Stuart and Bob Fulton could not have picked a worse New South Wales team if they tried. If I was in charge of the NSWRL, I would fire Stuart and Fulton now. I'd lock Fulton in a darkened underground one-man cell and never let him influence anybody in rugby league again. Stuart should be charged and imprisoned for fraud. He has destroyed any semblance of hope New South Welshmen should have.

So let's break this down, let's see why Ricky Stuart has made a mockery of the Blue jersey, his hypocrisy and his stupidity, along with the fantastic contribution of Bob Fulton, who has done so much to set back the NSW Origin team through his politicking and partisanship.

By Michael Adams

THE ORIGIN CONUNDRUM

Well, it’s finally here. The jewel in the crown of Rugby League, but the scourge of fantasy competition, State Of Origin season is upon us. I guess it adds another layer of intrigue and makes the strategy just that more difficult for fantasy players, but in no other sport do fantasy leagues have to deal with having a third of the season so profoundly disrupted. And this applies equally in real life, as the miles of column inches devoted to solving the Origin conundrum last season demonstrated. Teams such as the Broncos and the Storm have their seasons routinely disrupted by the representative season, while the wheels fell off completely and irrevocably for the Dragons last year after about half their top squad were picked at various stages over the three games.

THE CONTENDERS

Nine
The current free-to-air rights holder and holder of rugby league rights since 1992. Generally regarded to pay significant unders for the code. Kerry Packer, the former owner of Nine, was a big league man and a big player in the Super League war and used his influence to ensure Nine kept the rights at well below market price. Packer is no longer about with Nine now owned by CVC Asia Pacific, a private equity firm with no emotional investment in rugby league. Nine owns stations along the eastern seaboard but Adelaide and Perth are affiliates and out of direct control. The station is currently saddled with $2.7 billion in debt. Is desperate to retain sole free-to-air rights and may look to boost the number of games covered a week to four. Currently shows three per week and only one live, along with State of Origin and other representative fixtures (which it did not show live this season), but will not pay overs out of some loyalty to the code. Have first and last rights. Also have a relatively tight agreement with Fox Sports to launch a joint bid if first bids are rejected, which they will be. Nine boss David Gyngell is confident, bordering on arrogant, adamant Nine won't lose the rights. "We've got such a strong belief in the product," Gyngell said. "We're fighting to the death for rugby league rights … Nine will not be losing the rights." Has not been seriously challenged for the rights in the past and has effectively abused that stagnation.

Sliding at the contest is still a hot topic around the grounds with Greg Broughton nearly ending David Swallow’s season. The Bombers continue to impress and Karmichael Hunt is making plenty of critics eat their words. Collingwood are still in the winners circle but there must be some concern at the Westpac centre about the form of the pre season fancies. With the Eagles the only undefeated team after six rounds the ladder is starting to take some shape. Also…We wouldn’t mind a cover every now then!  Let’s take a look at the highlights and lowlights of the round that was.