There is a seismic shift happening in the NRL and it has thrown up a blockbuster round-10 clash that doesn't feature any of the competition heavyweights of recent years in Penrith, Melbourne and Brisbane.
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Canberra v Canterbury on Saturday afternoon is as real as it gets in terms of two teams that are capable of winning the premiership.
Back at the start of the season I wrote there were only three teams that could win the competition - the Panthers, Storm and Broncos. I might still turn out to be right, but I'm not remotely as confident now as I was then.
Sometimes, the face of the game changes for no reason other than it thinks it's a good time for a change and this is one of those times.
The top three on the competition table after nine rounds was Canterbury, Canberra and the Warriors, but that isn't reflected in the premiership betting.
The Bulldogs are second favourites at odds of about $5.50, but you can still get odds in the mid-teens about the Raiders and the mid-20s about the Warriors.
The market is being framed largely on reputation and that is always the fallback position of bookmakers when they don't trust the form.
Canterbury are the genuine favourites on form, which means they are still value at their second-favourite odds.
We had to wait to see if they could build on the enormous promise they displayed last season and the answer has been an emphatic yes.
They are the new Penrith, which is obviously no shock considering the fact they are coached by Cameron Ciraldo, who developed as an assistant coach under Ivan Cleary at the Panthers, and have several very influential former Penrith players.
The Bulldogs are going to win a premiership or premierships, it's just a matter of when.
They are still learning what it takes to do that, but they are learning so quickly you can see it happen within games, let alone from week to week.
Back in round eight they were smashed 42-18 by the Broncos, but the key takeaway was what happened after the Broncos had made sure of the win by leading 34-0 at halftime.
The Bulldogs used the break very intelligently by pulling themselves together, taking stock of what had gone wrong and fixing it.
The result may have been out of reach, but the response was still important and by approaching the second half as a game within the game and winning it 18-8 they had already recovered from the defeat before the defeat had become final.
Now their relentless physical approach has gotten them into trouble with suspensions. They will fine-tune that, but in the meantime it's enough for them to be slight outsiders against Canberra.
The Raiders have built their rise around a tough, physical approach as well, with forwards like Corey Horsburgh and Hudson Young both destined to play State of Origin this season.
They're a team of mostly younger, promising players being steered by a hard core of still-hungry veterans and are irresistible to watch.
Halfback Jamal Fogarty is the perfect example of their attitude. He is leaving Canberra to join Manly next season, but his commitment to the Raiders in the meantime is unquestioned. He has already proven that on the field.
This is exactly the sort of game that will tell us how real Canberra's chances of winning the premiership are.
HUNT PICKED WRONG HORSE?
BEN Hunt probably thought his chances of playing for Queensland again in State of Origin this year would've been boosted by his switch to Brisbane. At the least, he certainly wouldn't have thought the move could do his chances any harm.
But as it turns out his chances may have been better had he stayed at St George Illawarra, where he was the stand-out player in an average side.
MORE RUGBY LEAGUE
The fluctuating form of the Broncos is a worry for that organisation and it inevitably doesn't reflect well on their most experienced players whose responsibility it is to drive consistency on the field.
That may seem harsh on those top players like Hunt, but it's the way it is.
Meanwhile, Queensland coach Billy Slater has a likely spine of Kalyn Ponga at fullback, Cameron Munster and Daly Cherry-Evans in the halves and Harry Grant at hooker, which leaves a bench utility spot.
And Hunt is losing out to North Queensland five-eighth Tom Dearden for that at the moment.
WONKY STORM MEET EYE OF TIGER
Wow, that's potentially a hell of a game we've got between Melbourne and Wests Tigers on Sunday.
The Storm have been a bit wonky recently. The absence of hooker Harry Grant has hurt them enormously and he's still not back for this game.
The Tigers are still very much a work in progress, but if they can avoid being the victims of a typical Storm burst out of the gates at home and hang in there through to the second half you never know what might happen.
After all, Melbourne haven't finished games off well recently and have lost two out of their last three.
