Regardless of whether there was less drama in Magic Round because players were on their best behaviour, or because match officials opted for a more lenient approach, the end result was collective applause from coaches, media and fans.

The eighth Immortal, Andrew Johns, who a week earlier described the high-tackle crackdown as “absolutely farcical”, told the Sunday Footy Show: “Every game has flowed. It’s been high energy. I’ve loved it.”

Other players charged by the match-review panel over the weekend were South Sydney prop Tevita Tatola, Cronulla playmaker Braydon Trindall, Roosters utility Zach Dockar-Clay, Dolphins second-rower Kulikefu Finefeuiaki, Gold Coast prop Moeaki Fotuaika and Canberra centre Sebastian Kris, all of whom are facing fines.

Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon had no issue with Colquhoun’s sin-binning, saying it was an “obvious one” that warranted on-field action.

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“That’s a professional foul every day of the week, so you’ve just got to wear that,” he said.

Fitzgibbon said it was a relief to get through a game without having multiple players sent to the sheds for 10 minutes.

“We don’t want to see people in the bin,” he said. “Who wants to see that?

“We don’t want to see people get smashed in the face, but we don’t want to see them in the bin.

“I thought it was handled well … I thought some of the penalties that weren’t quite high were a little bit not a penalty, but everything else was all right.”