EVERY NRL player enjoys their holidays at the end of the long, hard season, but by the same token, it was tough last weekend sitting back and watching the first round of the finals.
The goal at the start of pre-season is to be involved in the play-offs, and when you miss out, it makes you feel pretty jealous of those teams who are still alive and kicking.
From what I saw of those games last weekend, Penrith are obviously the team to beat, but anything can happen in games like these.
It only takes one injury, or maybe a sin-binning, and suddenly a side can get a bit rattled and lose their way, especially given the intensity and pressure of sudden-death footy.
The Panthers are a really classy outfit and have been there and done it all before, so they know exactly what is required.
In saying that, I rate North Queensland as a genuine chance, given what they showed in their golden-point win against Cronulla.
I just like the brand of footy the Cowboys have been playing all season.
They've got some young goers in their side and big Jason Taumalolo really stepped up last weekend. He was awesome and when he's in that sort of mood, it's almost impossible to contain him.
The game between the Roosters and the Rabbitohs on Sunday seemed to cause a lot of controversy but the big crowd obviously loved it, and so did I.
It was fiery and emotional and that's probably why seven blokes ended up in the sin bin. Maybe it got a bit undisciplined, but that was because both teams knew it was do or die.
When your whole season is riding on the result, players go as hard as they can, and sometimes that leads to penalties and sin-binnings.
It was the type of game I reckon most players would love to have been a part of.
Unfortunately for the Knights, like seven other clubs, our season ended a week earlier.
The flip side of that is that I get some family time and a chance to freshen up before resuming training in mid-November.
At the end of every season, I usually take a week or 10 days where I just take a complete break from exercise to give my body time to recover.
You can't do it for the whole six or eight weeks of the off-season, because then you'll suffer once we get back for pre-season.
So I've enjoyed the rest, but also I'm looking forward to blowing the cobwebs out in the near future.
Our season wrapped up last week with a few reviews and then the presentation night, at which Tyson Frizell was deservedly named player of the year.
I was lucky enough the receive the players' player award, and to be recognised by my teammates is something I'll always cherish.
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