Yes I agree with you, but what about the Knights? They've done a Bradbury to make the finals, purely from the teams around them faltering near the finish line (most notably, the Dragons). As a Knights fan myself, I honestly couldn't be upset if they didn't make the finals because I'll admit that they've performed WELL below par for most of the season.
Since the top 8 finals format was first used in 1995, out of all the teams that have finished in the top 8 at the end of the final round of the regular season, the Knights must now (after today) hold the record for the most number of rounds a team that ended up qualifying for the finals has stayed outside of the top 8 during the season.
Leading up to the final round, there were only TWO out of TWENTY-SIX rounds throughout this season where the Knights were in the top 8 at the end of the round (Rounds 11 and 12). In terms of the number of tries scored during the season, within the space of 12 months, they have gone from having the best attack in the competition last year (114 tries) to the worst this year (yes, even the the Wests Tigers scored more tries than the Knights!). Their attack has been disjointed and very frustrating to watch for most of this season.