NRL set of six: Game of the week

Paul Gallen didn't mind his dad impersonating him in tweets. Photo / Getty Images

1. Game(s) of the Week

Melbourne's visit to Manly on Saturday night is one of the most tantalising of the season but the real interest is in the race for the top eight. There are a few games which will have an influence on this, like the Broncos against the Knights and the Warriors and Canberra, but the Cowboys' trip to play the Sharks is top of the list. The Cowboys have been on the charge over the past four weeks and now hold their destiny in their own hands - win their last two and they are in. What they achieve over the next fortnight will also have a significant impact, with seven teams chasing two spots in the playoffs. The Sharks go into the match after an impressive 32-22 defeat of the Roosters which has reinvigorated the race for the minor premiership.

2. Cap doesn't fit

Transfer windows and loan systems are on the agenda as the NRL contemplates a shake up of the salary cap for the first time in 15 years. One of the biggest points of contention with the system is that clubs aren't properly compensated when a player leaves or wants to leave even though they are under contract. NRL chief operating officer Jim Doyle wants to have a new arrangement in place by November and said the NRL was considering a transfer window when players who want to break a contract could move, but that there would be financial implications. Other things being considered are the removal of the second-tier cap as well as a loan system for when clubs are hit by injuries.

3. Star-spangled Bhana

Back-rower and under-20s captain David Bhana is the only Warriors player to make this year's Holden Cup Team of the Year, becoming the seventh Warriors player to make the grade since the National Youth Competition contest was introduced in 2008. Others have included Ben Matulino (2008), Konrad Hurrell (2011), Russell Packer (2008) and Carlos Tuimavave (2011 and 2012). John Ackland was selected as coach in 2011 when the Warriors won their second NYC competition. Bhana, who won a place on the Holden Cup interchange bench, was last year's NYC Warriors Player of the Year.

4. Making a hashtag of it

The Lets Gone Warriors sign seen during the Warriors' 56-18 hammering of the Broncos in Brisbane has spawned a lot of things this year, not least of them tweets. Since the start of the season, more than 135,000 tweets using the hashtags #LetsGoneWarriors, #WarriorNation, #TrueWarriors and #NZWarriors have appeared in the Twittersphere.

5. The Gallen of it

Paul Gallen has made a habit of getting offside with people, and it seems he's a chip off the old block. Gallen's father, Garry, got hold of his son's phone and reacted to provocative tweets from former Eels and Roosters coach Brian Smith, who accused Paul of running scared of Roosters' prop Dylan Napa and made reference to the peptide saga he is embroiled in. Initially Garry impersonated his son, saying things such as "u couldn't play couldn't coach" before admitting it was him tweeting. Paul didn't seem fussed, saying family stuck together, while abusing the "typewriter terrorists".

6. The power of two

The Roosters and Rabbitohs are on the verge of occupying the top two spots on the first-grade ladder for the first time since 1937. In those days they were known by their more traditional names Eastern Suburbs and South Sydney. It was an era that also featured teams such as Newtown, Balmain, North Sydney, Western Suburbs and University. Easts topped the standings thanks to a stiff defence that conceded only 56 points in eight games. University, on the other hand, scored only 41 points and shipped 309.