The advertising, tourism and occasionally football-centric extravaganza that is Magic Round is over.

After eight games, 328 points and countless commentary references to the occult, it is back to regularly scheduled programming for round 11.

But, as the magic fades from the streets of Brisbane, let’s look at who leaves town with the fairy dust on them and who would be booed out of an eight-year-old’s birthday party for pulling a headless rabbit out of a hat.

Winner: South Sydney Rabbitohs

On coronation weekend, it seems only fitting that the NRL also anointed a new premiership favourite.

In rounds two, three and five, the Rabbitohs lost to the NRL’s holy trinity from the past seven years — the Panthers, Roosters and Storm, who have appeared in every grand final since 2015.

It was a suggestion that maybe they’d missed their window and were still a tick below the elite of the elite.

But now they’ve beaten the impressive Dolphins, reigning premiers Penrith, the ladder-leading Broncos and the Storm in the past four weeks.

With the Panthers looking mortal, no team is miles ahead of the pack, but in a more traditional NRL season, Souths are looking as good as anyone at the moment.

Loser: Nicho Hynes

The Sharks were so completely dismantled by the Dolphins on Saturday evening, it might have cost Nicho Hynes a State of Origin debut.

It’s debatable if he had his nose in front of Jarome Luai at all, what with the incumbency and the Penrith connection within the NSW side.

But Hynes may have felt the sky blue jersey slip through his grasp as surely as the Steeden burst through his hands on a number of occasions as the Dolphins ran out to a 30-0 lead in the first half-hour.

The Sharks reeled them back in a bit, but likely not enough to impress Blues selectors, who also have Cody Walker to consider.

Winner: Valynce Te Whare

The Māori phrase Te Whare means “The House”, and it’s quite possible there’s never been a more perfect, ready-made nickname for the Dolphins’ 22-year-old debutant.

Not only is Valynce built like a cosy two-bed, one-bath, but the house always wins and, for now at least, Valynce has a 100 per cent winning record.

The rugby convert who only took up league when he came over from New Zealand last year was handed his debut against the Sharks in front of 50,000 fans at Magic Round and made Lang Park his whare.

The winner here is really all of us as we got to watch the unbridled joy of Te Whare took it to the house twice and battled NSW representative centre Sifa Talakai all night in his NRL debut.

He missed some defensive assignments and looked completely gassed at times, but it’s safe to say he won’t be called on to do the groundskeeping at Redcliffe again any time soon.

Speaking of which…

Loser: Amateur groundskeepers

The weather in Brisbane in the week leading up to Magic Round was dry, but the previous week was a bit rainy and cloudy.

Naturally, the NRL media cycle went into crisis mode about the Lang Park surface, which would apparently turn to mud in a manner it hasn’t in the previous three Magic Rounds.