Penrith broke a seven-year drought with victory in the derby and have caused many other sides problems in the first half of the season as they look for sustainable improvement. Loose forward Mathew Faoagali takes us through the campaign so far, and the expectations for the rest of the year as their biggest challenge looms off the field…

An impressive 2020 seemed to set a resurgent Randwick up for even better things this season. But it hasn’t quite gone to plan so far, and they are left with an uphill climb if they want to taste finals footy once more. Skipper Mitch Short runs his rule over the campaign so far.

Flanker Harry Bergelin has been a stalwart of the Manly club for almost a decade. So who better to run Behind the Ruck through the Marlins difficult season so far, and how they turn the corner…