It is that time on the NRL calendar where teams are doing one of three things.

A small group are certainties for the finals and attempting to have their ducks in a row heading into the all-important month. A smaller group, this time the Sea Eagles, Roosters and Dolphins, are whacking away in a dog-fight to qualify for the top eight and the remainder sit adrift and thinking of future seasons.

Injuries and inconsistency have killed the Rabbitohs, the Titans appear to be just starting to get going and the Eels, well, based on some recent form, they should be asking themselves how they sit so lowly on the ladder.

The Knights have huffed and puffed to little effect, the Cowboys leak points like a busted downpipe and the Dragons can talk all they like about close losses and misfortune. In reality, they could hardly have hoped for another better than a one week appearance in the finals had they made it.

The bottom seven, those now with eyes firmly fixed on 2026, also includes the Tigers. Despite some number crunching suggesting they are in the race for a spot in the finals action, the reality is that even a Round 23 bye and four straight wins to finish the season might not be enough to scrape into eighth place.

More important for Wests, is that coach Benji Marshall sits back and reflects on a campaign that produced solid wins against the Dolphins, Sharks, Roosters and Bulldogs, mixed with some utter rubbish elsewhere, where the game plan employed by the coach appeared to have been ditched by the players early on.

The Broncos, Storm, Sea Eagles, Panthers and Warriors towelled up the Tigers handily and those results fly in the face of the brave and gutsy effort we witnessed against the Bulldogs last weekend.

If there ever was an example of a team still playing hard for the coach and fighting all the way to the finish line, it was the way Wests took the battle to a quality Canterbury team. They used a little added motivation with Lachie Galvin on the opposite side of the ball and beat the Dogs at their own defensive game in utterly appalling conditions.

It has been a tough season for the Tigers, yet they remain together and fighting hard all the way to the finish line. (Photo by Mike Owen/Getty Images)

It is hard to see too much of a 2026 upside in most of the teams on the outside looking in. Souths will be better considering their injury concerns, yet still have gaps in the squad that will be exposed by the better teams.

The Titans, as always, will have their wins next season. Yet personnel wise it looks like more of the same under a potentially new coach. The Eels have added Jack de Belin for 2026, with some of the newly acquired youth potentially doing far more for the clubs chances of improving rather than his arrival.

The Knights have a host of players likely to leave come season’s end, another period of rebuild looming and the weight of the world falling on the shoulders of Dylan Brown. Forget the Cowboys for season 2026, unless something is finally done about their inability to defend against the best.

Reed Mahoney is not exactly the signing to instill instant hope in the hearts of North Queensland’s suffering fans, with his competitiveness an addition but Todd Payten challenged by a host of problems elsewhere.

The Dragons are kidding themselves in backing the current half-back. Another season of Kyle Flanagan will be another missed top eight.

It all means the Tigers are the team with the most upside for 2026. The bulk of the key men are contracted for next season, with Adam Doueihi the important signature still required.

Brisbane’s Jock Madden and returning Souths half Jayden Sullivan are good additions, fullback Jahream Bula has significant upside based on what we have seen across 2025 and Marshall has the experience of Api Koroisau and Jarome Luai on which to build.

Jarome Luai (right) celebrates with his Tiger team mates.(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

As we saw against the Dogs, the toilers in the pack show plenty of spirit. Alex Seyfarth was ill-disciplined but along with Alex Twal, Royce Hunt, Sione Fainu and Fonua Pole, provides Marshall with the basis of a pack that can match most with both effort and power.

There is x-factor in Terrell May but young playmaker Latu Fainu might well hold the most significant of keys for the Tigers going forward.

Still 20, his game will develop and alongside Luai in an effective and well developed partnership, the Tigers would have a unique and explosive weapon.

Whilst Wests fans will not be singing from the rooftops about their chances in 2026 just yet, however, for the first time in a long while, the horizon does hold some real hope. To grasp that hope without Galvin would be a real win for club, culture and team over individual aspirations.

In the cellar for so long, Wests look to be a team on the rise. The question of whether Marshall is the man to get the best from the squad is still real and fair.

A winning run to end the season would go a long way towards confirming in people’s minds that he is.