DAVID Klemmer's run of 14 consecutive Origin appearances for NSW looks set to be broken after he was a notable omission from the players added on Sunday to the Blues' extended squad.
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NSW coach Brad Fittler named six players on Sunday to train on for the end-of-season Origin series - Payne Haas (Brisbane), Jake Trbojevic (Manly), Tyson Frizell, Zac Lomax and Cameron McInnes (all St George Illawarra) and Daniel Saifiti (Knights) - but no Klemmer.
Klemmer debuted for NSW in 2015 and has helped them win the past two series.
Despite apparently being overlooked, the Newcastle Herald understands Klemmer could yet receive a belated call-up from Fittler, depending on what happens to other players in his position over the course of the finals.
The same goes for another proven representative player who was not named, Cronulla skipper Wade Graham.
Knights skipper Mitchell Pearce, who helped win the Origin series decider last year, is another surprising omission from Fittler's train-on list. Saifiti in an incumbent, having played in two games of last series.
Meanwhile, AAP reports, records were smashed across the NRL in the first week of the finals after South Sydney's 46-20 demolition of Newcastle on Sunday.
Not only was it the most points Souths had scored in a finals match in their 112-year history, it made for the biggest weekend of points in week one of the finals in the NRL era.
The 11 tries scored on Sunday bumped up the total, with a conversion from retiring Knights forward Aidan Guerra on full-time taking the tally to 235 points for the weekend.
It is also the first time in history each team has scored 20 or more points in week one of the finals.
Just two weeks ago the 414 points scored in round 19 was the third highest scoring round since the competition went to eight games a week in 2007, and the biggest weekend of points in 13 years.
Rabbitohs star Damien Cook could not pinpoint why the NRL has found new life in the finals, but he knows why Souths have.
"Everyone is just doing their job," he said of Souths' red-hot form. "We lay a good platform and the halves are just taking over now and doing a great job.
"We've got a great backline, and Cody [Walker] and Reno [Adam Reynolds] together ... I know Cody is getting a lot of the credit and scoring the tries, but Reno is putting him in space. They're an unbelievable combination."
It sets up a blockbuster second week of finals including the 2019 grand-final rematch between Sydney Roosters and Canberra at the SCG.
The Raiders stormed to a 32-20 victory over Cronulla in Canberra on Saturday, earning the right to face their grand final foes on Friday night.
The Rabbitohs are now on a collision course with Parramatta at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday night after beating the Eels 38-0 just five weeks ago.
The Eels are set to be without star wingers Blake Ferguson and Maika Sivo who both copped injuries in their 36-24 loss to Melbourne in Brisbane on Saturday.
Sivo's season is over with a suspected MCL injury, which comes as a huge blow considering his strike record at home.
The 27-year-old has scored 24 tries in 23 games at Bankwest Stadium across two seasons, the venue for the Eels' next game.
The winner of that game will go on to play Penrith in the preliminary final at either Bankwest or ANZ Stadium in a fortnight.
Meanwhile, Panthers second-rower Viliame Kikau will front the judiciary on Tuesday for the right to play the preliminary final after he was charged with a dangerous throw in their win against the Roosters.
The Panthers have a free shot at beating the charge given Kikau is set to face a week on the sidelines regardless of his plea.
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A busted Damien Cook led South Sydney to glory against Newcastle on Sunday, fighting back from a 14-0 deficit to score 46 consecutive points in the NRL elimination final.
The Rabbitohs are now 80 minutes away from their third preliminary final in as many seasons after the scrappy 46-20 win at ANZ Stadium.
Cook's 75-metre sprint for the final try of the afternoon was rugby league poetry and capped off a brilliant but tough performance.
The NSW hooker made seven tackle breaks and set up a try at the end of both halves for Souths, but stayed down after each contact in the final 40 minutes.
His ailment is unknown, but after playing 21 games this season and 19 straight, he's like many in the NRL finals playing busted.
The 30 tackles he made against the Knights would not have helped his personal cause.
In a scrappy game where Souths made nine errors in the first half, they simply had the patience to finish off the game with Junior Tatola and Alex Johnston both scoring doubles.
The win booked them a date with Parramatta at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday night, where the winner will play Penrith in a preliminary final in Sydney the following week.
The Knights followed a trend that endured the weekend where the loser of each final scored first.
But they bucked another trend.
It was the first match in nine games this season where they have scored first and lost.
Full of energy from the kick off, the Knights raced out to a 12-0 lead after seven minutes.
Sending danger signs early, fullback Kalyn Ponga shot a bullet pass out to the right edge for Hymel Hunt to score in the opening minute.
A cut out pass from Mitchell Pearce to second-rower Lachlan Fitzgibbon gave Bradman Best the space to charge through for the Knights' second, and a penalty soon after had them up 14-0.
Souths hit back with three consecutive tries in eight minutes to level the scores at 14-all before they found a second gear.
The Knights made the fatal mistake of leaving space at marker and Cook put the burners on to cut through, setting up Cameron Murray under the posts.
And from there, Souths did not concede again until the final minute when Hunt scored his second of the afternoon.
In front of a healthy crowd of 17,212, the Knights were overrun in their first finals match since 2013.