There was no shortage of talking points from the 2022 NRL season's opening weekend.
From South Sydney's lacklustre display against an Adam Reynolds-less Brisbane, to the Roosters' dour effort against Newcastle, and Penrith jumping out of the blocks in their premiership defence to crush Manly.
Here's what caught our eye over round 1.
Viliame Kikau hasn't checked out despite looming exit
After an off-season drama that saw a photo of him in Bulldogs colours was leaked, Viliame Kikau started his final season at Penrith in style on Thursday night.
The second-rower was booed by Panthers fans during grand final celebrations, after it was revealed he would link up with former assistant coach Trent Barrett at the Bulldogs from 2023 onwards.
But despite his future lying with another NRL club, that didn't stop Kikau from showing Penrith he is fully committed to the cause this season, producing a stellar performance in his side's 28-6 win over Manly.
Kikau finished with 14 runs for 135 metres and showed plenty of aggression, unsettling Morgan Harper early in the clash and carrying the ball with venom for the 57 minutes he spent on the field.
The Fijian international also broke four tackles and produced three offloads, including the final pass for Jarome Luai's crucial try at the start of the second half.
Kikau has often been criticised for being lazy and not getting his hands on the ball enough, but it was the complete opposite of that against the Sea Eagles.
If he can continue this kind of form all season, Penrith will be hard to stop.
Brisbane's cellar-dweller days are behind them
If their performance on Friday night is anything to go by, Brisbane will be closer to the finals than the wooden spoon this season.
Despite missing star recruit Adam Reynolds, front-rower Tom Flegler and utility Kobe Hetherington, they managed to pull off an upset victory over last year's grand finalists South Sydney.
The likes of Patrick Carrigan and Payne Haas took it to a strong Rabbitohs forward pack early in the game and set the tone, laying a nice platform for the Broncos strike-power out wide.
And while the game finished 11-4 in their favour, Brisbane left plenty of points out there, with the lethal right-edge of Kotoni Staggs and Selwyn Cobbo bombing a few opportunities.
With their new halfback in Reynolds to return next round, Brisbane will have that added layer of polish and finesse that will see their attack improve.
Kevin Walters looks to have helped the Broncos find their identity, and this could be the start of a big turnaround.
The Knights can play tough
This Newcastle outfit has at times threatened to consistently challenge the top sides but too often a soft underbelly has been exposed.
While it's only round one, the whole club will get a lift from their performance against the Roosters at the SCG.
Against a pack boasting Origin reps and internationals, Newcastle gave way more than they got, frequently forcing errors and poor decisions, as well as drawing penalties from a frustrated Roosters team.
It wasn't just the big boys throwing themselves around - Dane Gagai and Dominic Young gave the Roosters' left edge nothing, while Bradman Best and Enari Tuala kept the other wing quiet.
In the halves, Jake Clifford cracked in and helped his forwards pressure the opposing halves.
The question now remains whether they can do it when it really counts? On Saturday's evidence, you wouldn't bet against it.
Dragons are a mixed bag... with potential
It wasn't a polished performance, but the fact that the Dragons won a tight opening round match speaks volumes.
A few clumsy errors - notably a Tyrell Sloan clanger that led to a try - could have been costly... but they got the job done.
With such a young core, they will continue to make mistakes.
However, the resilience they showed against the Warriors will give fans of the Red V hope they can grind out more results in their quest for the top 8.
Mikaele Ravalawa will also be key for them this season and showed why with an important hat-trick.
Melbourne Storm don't lose round one games
Despite a lacklustre first-half performance, the Melbourne Storm proved why they don't lose opening round games under Craig Bellamy.
Credit has to go to Wests Tigers for a strong performance that undoubtedly shocked their opposition, but they were ultimately outclassed by a more experienced outfit.
The Storm dug deep - led by Jahrome Hughes - and simply found a way to win.
An athletic try on debut for Xavier Coates secured the result, with Melbourne achieving a typically Melbourne comeback.
Positive signs from Sexton, Campbell despite loss for Titans
Justin Holbrook will have been desperate to start the year off with the two points from a tough away trip to Parramatta, and whilst the Titans couldn't get the win, at the very least he will have been impressed with what his young spine produced.
The Gold Coast's hopes of making the finals again this year will hinge primarily on how well their new-look spine gels together in their first season as a combination.
While Origin star AJ Brimson was ruled out with a groin complaint, Toby Sexton and Jayden Campbell were ultra impressive linking up on the Titans' attacking shapes.
Sexton in particular was the standout for the side, laying on two tries, grabbing two linebreak assists and not missing a beat with his kicking game. It was a mature performance from the 21-year-old.
As the 32-28 loss proved, point scoring has never been the Titans issue, it's their defence that needs cleaning up but there were some very promising signs from their young playmakers.
Eels won't break premiership drought with that defence
Parramatta proved why they're such a strong starting team with the way they shot out of the blocks against the Titans and laid on 28 first-half points.
But as exciting as that would've been for Eels fans to see, the way Brad Arthur's side let the Titans back into the contest was equally concerning.
The Eels key players in Mitch Moses, Clint Gutherson and Reed Mahoney beautifully controlled the side's attack, but as a collective the Eels were very loose around the ruck which left their edges exposed and gifted the Titans some easy scoring opportunities in the first half.
A better defensive performance would've iced this game at half-time for the Eels and while they got away with the win, they can't afford to defend that way against the top sides.
New-look Bulldogs have the foundations, but still lack the finishing touch
It wasn't a pretty win but the fashion in which the Bulldogs secured their two points against the Cowboys deserves applause.
In their first official hit-out with all the new faces, Trent Barrett's side suffered a setback before kick-off when x-factor forward Tevita Pangai Jr was ruled out. They then lost four players mid-game to HIAs, forcing a reshuffle of their backline. Not to mention they spent most of the game behind on the scoreboard in a sweltering hot Townsville.
With all this going against them, Bulldogs sides of the past would've crumbled but this gritty and resolute 6-4 win was a step in the right direction for Barrett and his side's confidence, giving them a solid foundation to build off through the year.
New HIA protocols could become a decisive factor in results this season
Just one week into the season and already the NRL's new head injury assessment system has caused a few raised eyebrows.
Independent doctors, as opposed to those hired by clubs, will now rule on whether a player should be removed from the field to be assessed for concussion.
It saw several delays through the weekend as play was stopped at random occasions for a player to be brought off and checked for a head injury.
In the Sunday night game, play had to be stopped numerous times as four Bulldogs players were sent for head scans and Cowboys coach Todd Payten conceded the constant interferences impacted his side.
“Yeah it hurt us no doubt,” Payten said in his post-match press conference.
“Whether that was deliberate on a couple of occasions I’m unsure, but certainly the game stopped when we had momentum more than a couple of times.”
The new system was brought in to stop coaches from exploiting the use of HIA to stop play when the opposition is in attack.
The Roosters were another side hit by multiple players being removed mid-game to be scanned for head injuries in their shock loss to Newcastle.
While coach Trent Robinson applauded the NRL for taking action on deliberate interferences, he feels the new system needs to be fine-tuned.
"I think it’s right, what they’re trying to put in. But you’ve got to be careful," the Roosters boss said on Saturday.
“It’s frustrating in the moment. They’ve made a call on how to get rid of the cheating of the system, which we all can acknowledge was there.
“They’ve gone to a different system. But they’ve got to also make sure they’re not pulling guys out of games without any symptoms at all.
“We would have lost the game anyway. But let’s get better at that system.”
