After not having played rugby league for almost 2 years, to stroll off the bench and into an NRL match to have the type of impact Hayne had on the weekend is nothing short of extraordinary. Given that everyone would expect he can only get better over the coming weeks with more game time under his belt, it's scary that his first appearance has been so good.

The Titans have been playing great football of late. They looked a little jaded on the weekend following their marathon 90-minute performance to draw with competition leaders Cronulla Sharks the Monday night prior. Confirmation of this theory is the fact the Sharks also looked flat and didn't rise to the occasion when beaten comprehensively by the Canberra Raiders just five days later.

I have no doubt the Titans will freshen up this week for the big clash against the West Tigers. I'm also extremely confident that Hayne will have a huge impact both in the short and long term for this club.

2.Tedesco terrific

What an exciting young player James Tedesco has become. His solo try in the dying minutes of the West Tigers' brilliant victory over the North Queensland Cowboys on the weekend was so reminiscent of the magic we saw from Hayne back in season 2009, when he almost single-handedly lifted Parramatta to the grand final.

With speed and footwork Tedesco just kept beating player after player and somehow found a way to the try line. The reaction from the home crowd was explosive. He is a huge favourite with the fans and you can feel everybody lift in anticipation whenever he is close to the ball. He is an outstanding support player. He is always looming up looking for an offload from his teammates. They can't always get the ball to him, but you can tell they trust he is there in the vicinity as they try to get the off-load away.

His combination with five-eighth Mitchell Moses will go a long way to determining just how far the Tigers go in this year's competition. More importantly though, I see this partnership producing many great results for the Tigers in years to come.

3. Melbourne's lead is built on defence 

Cool under pressure: Cameron Smith. Photo: Getty Images

The Melbourne Storm  grabbed the outright premiership lead from the Sharks with a golden-point victory over the Rabbitohs at the weekend. The Storm's No.1 position on the  ladder is the culmination of a season built on one of the best defensive records in the modern era. Conceding 11.5 points a match, the Storm are a chance to beat the all-time NRL defensive record set by their 2007 team, which finished the home and away season, conceding just 11.54 points a game.

They have won all 17 matches in which they have scored 12 points or more and have conceded more than 18 points just once all season, the night when they were beaten away from home by the Dragons 20-10 without Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk, Will Chambers, Cameron Munster, Blake Green, Tim Glasby and of course, Billy Slater. Only Smith, Cronk, Chambers, Jesse Bromwich and Kevin Proctor survive from the Storm's 2012 premiership side, but judging by the manner in which they have iced a number of close wins this year, this won't be a side that will crack under pressure when the finals roll along next month.

4. Raiders can take one giant step this Monday

The Canberra Raiders can just about secure a top-four spot if they can topple the Melbourne Storm in the match of the round on Monday night in Canberra. The competition's best attacking side, the Raiders, who average 27.1 points a match, take on the competition's best defensive side, the Melbourne Storm, who concede an average of just 11.5 points.

On 15 occasions this season, the Raiders have scored more than 18 points in a match – while the Storm have conceded more than 18 just once. The Raiders have restricted their opposition to under 12 points twice this season, which they may have to do a third time to beat the Storm, given the Storm's record of 17 from 17 in 2016 when scoring more 12 or more. The Raiders have scored more than 20 points in a match 13 times this season and haven't been beaten when going beyond that total number of points.

The Storm have won 12 of their last 14 at Canberra Stadium and 21 of the last 26 overall, but the Raiders have won their last six matches and became the first team this season to beat the Sharks at SCG Stadium last Saturday. The Raiders will be missing winger Edrick Lee and bench hooker Kurt Baptiste whilst the Storm will again be without champion fullback Billy Slater and prop Jordan McLean. It promises to be a fascinating contest and maybe a great indicator for the bigger matches to come.

5. Likely just one finals spot up for grabs 

James Tedesco's Tigers are battling for one finals spot. Photo: Getty Images

It would appear that the Tigers, Panthers and Titans are fighting for just one remaining finals spot. Following the Warriors' victory over the Titans on the weekend, the New Zealand boys now look like certainties to be joining the Storm, Sharks, Raiders, Bulldogs, Cowboys and Broncos in this year's finals series.

Currently sitting in seventh spot, the Warriors play three of their last four matches at home, all against teams below them on the ladder. Two wins from those three should get the Warriors into the finals for the first time since 2011. The Warriors have not been beaten in regulation time since May, winning five matches in normal time, one in golden point and losing their other three games in extra time. Currently without Test hooker Issac Luke, the Warriors have done exceptionally well to be so highly placed this late in the season, given they won just four  of their first 11 matches and lost star recruit Roger Tuivasa-Sheck for the season after just seven matches.

The Warriors are a serious football team. The scary thing is that despite this great run over the past two months, you feel the Warriors have yet to hit peak form. I'm also sure their star half Shaun Johnson, while playing brilliantly in patches, is capable of so much more as this season unfolds. If he does manage to strike his best form, the Warriors have lots of improvement ahead of them and could prove a headache for their prospective finals opponents.

6.The next month is crucial for title hopefuls

The Cronulla Sharks have hit something of a flat spot over the last couple of weeks. The Raiders handed them the loss they probably had to have on Saturday night. The Cowboys were given a reality check on Sunday against the Wests Tigers. No one really saw that one coming. The Storm, while winning in golden point against South Sydney, looked anything but premiership favourites. Last year's grand finalists the Broncos are trying to scratch and claw their way out of a slump. They did manage to win against the Dragons with a grinding, conservative style of football last Thursday night, but they are nowhere near back to their early-season form.

These four teams have pretty much dominated premiership betting all year, but right at the moment, they are well short of premiership winning form. The next month is really important in this regard. There would certainly be no panic in any of these camps at this stage. I also suspect all four teams are probably in a heavy training cycle at present to prepare them for the rigours of finals football in September. Of the four, I still favour the Sharks and the Cowboys to contest the decider.

Phil Gould is the general manager of football at the Penrith Panthers

the Sharks and the Cowboys to contest the decider.