Round 1 of the 2022 season is in the books and wasn't it a pearler.
There were some big upsets, some tight contests and some thrilling, fast attacking footy on display to whet the appetite for the rest of the year.
Here's everything we liked and disliked from the each of the Round 1 matches.
PENRITH PANTHERS 28 - 6 MANLY SEA EAGLES
What we liked: No Cleary, no worries
If you had question marks over how Penrith would survive without Nathan Cleary, you certainly got your answer on Thursday night.
Back in front of their home fans and up against a fellow top-four outfit in Manly, many expected it to be a tough outing for the reigning premiers without their marquee man in the No.7 jumper.
But it was the exact opposite of that, as the hosts ran away with a dominant victory off the back of a hot start in attack and defence. Penrith were energetic, aggressive and never allowed Tom Trbojevic or Daly Cherry-Evans to get into the game.
Viliame Kikau was fantastic on the left-edge, running for over 120 metres, breaking 5 tackles and popping 4 offloads, including a crucial final pass for Jarome Luai's second-half try.
Four out of Penrith's outside backs ran for over 100 metres, with fullback Dylan Edwards cracking 300 metres for the game, while fill-in playmaker Sean O'Sullivan was steady and came up with two try assists.
What we disliked: Manly's back five getting dominated
If the Panthers' back five had a night to remember, Manly's had a night to forget.
Jason Saab was dominated and rag-dolled out of trouble, finishing with a measly 53 metres from 13 carries, with the Penrith halves targeting him all night long and catching him out of position with some classy long and short kicks.
Brad Parker and Morgan Harper both had tough nights as well, with the latter missing six tackles and neither man looking overly dangerous with the ball.
As for their main man Tommy Turbo, he was grounded tonight and well-marked by the Penrith defence, running for an usually-low 155 metres from 19 carries and missing four tackles at the back.
CANBERRA RAIDERS 24 - 19 CRONULLA SHARKS
What we liked: First-round thriller
In just the second game of the season, Cronulla and Canberra have produced a classic contest with a host of momentum swings.
The Raiders took an 18-6 lead into the break at GIO Stadium, but it was the visitors who looked the better side in the second 40 minutes and looked to have secured a victory after a Matt Moylan field goal with only minutes remaining on the clock.
With less than five minutes to go and the Raiders on the attack, they took the risk to run the ball on last tackle instead of taking a shot at a field goal to level scores and it paid off, as second-rower Hudson Young crashed over and Brad Schneider made no mistakes in adding the extras.
Cronulla gave themselves a huge chance of swinging the score back in their favour in the dying stages, as winger Matt Ikuvalu went agonisingly close to scoring with just seconds remaining, but some desperate cover defence from the Green Machine prevented him from getting the ball down.
Ricky Stuart was up and down the sidelines like a cat on a hot tin roof for the final 10 minutes, while we can only imagine how Sharks boss Craig Fitzgibbon was handling the hectic finish from his couch after contracting COVID.
Welcome back, rugba leeg.
What we disliked: Cronulla's last-tackle options
While the new-look Cronulla halves combination of Nicho Hynes and Matt Moylan did get their side back in the contest and almost pulled off a great comeback win, some of their last-play options throughout the 80 minutes were interesting to say the least.
On multiple occasions during the match, Cronulla ran the ball on 5th tackle close to the Raiders' line, including a few short-side plays that never looked like producing points or any kind of favourable result.
Hynes and Moylan are not known for their short-kicking game, while hooker Blayke Brailey isn't either, but they needed to come up with better ends to their sets in good-ball territory.
BRISBANE BRONCOS 11 - 4 SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
What we liked: Carrigan's comeback compliments Haas
After missing the majority of the 2021 season due to an ACL injury, Patrick Carrigan returned in style for Brisbane in the season opener on Friday night and helped them to a shock win over South Sydney.
The lock forward set the tone early for the Broncos in his first stint, and alongside Payne Haas, really took it to a strong Rabbitohs engine room.
Carrigan finished with 16 runs for 164 metres and made 32 tackles without a miss, while Haas was his usual freakish self, running for over 150 metres and producing four offloads.
With a stellar performance from both men in the middle and the likes of Tom Flegler and Brendan Piakura still to return to the forward rotation, it should give the Brisbane backline plenty to play off the back of in 2022.
What we disliked: Josh Mansour's disasterclass
A late inclusion for the Rabbitohs due to the absence of Latrell Mitchell and Blake Taaffe, the veteran winger had a night to forget against the Broncos.
Mansour was turned inside-out by Selwyn Cobbo early in the game, but luckily the Broncos winger bombed a certain try downfield with a poor pass that travelled forward.
Moments later, Mansour rushed in off his wing and allowed Cobbo to cross the line, before the Bunker intervened and ruled a no-try.
Brisbane continually targeted the edge of Mansour and Jaxson Paulo, who was playing his first game in the centres, and consistently looked dangerous. Cobbo and Kotoni Staggs both bombed multiple opportunities, saving the former Panther from any further nightmares.
Mansour did manage to cross for a try, but his night was certainly more rocks than diamonds as the Rabbitohs started their season with a defeat.
As our colleague Tom Naghten described it, Mansour's night was a true disasterclass and his next opportunity in the top grade may not come for quite some time.
SYDNEY ROOSTERS 6 - 20 NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS
What we liked: Knights' team performance
To beat a team like the Roosters, and keep them try-less for more than 75 minutes, you need a big defensive effort across the board and that's exactly what the Knights delivered.
In every position you could find Newcastle players going above and beyond, whether it be intensity in the tackle or coming up with a big defensive play.
Think Kurt Mann's rib-rattling tackles, Dominic Young lowering Daniel Tupou's colours (multiple times) or Tyson Frizell and Lachlan Fitzgibbon giving the Roosters playmakers no space to work in.
Coach Adam O'Brien has spent the past couple of seasons attempting to build the Knights' game around their defence and Saturday's performance at the SCG looked like a turning point.
What we disliked: Roosters still on summer holidays
What we'd give to be a fly on the wall during Trent Robinson's post-match team talk.
The Roosters coach is all about the basics and his team couldn't have been further from the mark on Saturday afternoon.
In near-perfect conditions, the home side never gave themselves a chance, making 12 errors, giving away seven penalties and missing an incredible 35 tackles to Newcastle's 13.
When they did get decent field position, the pressure of the Knights' defence, and the scoreboard as the match went on, saw the Roosters look rushed and make poor decisions.
No one will write them off after 80 minutes and Robinson is unlikely to panic but that performance is going to have some alarm bells ringing.
NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS 16 - 28 ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS
What we liked: Mikaele Ravalawa's hat-trick
The Dragons winger was at his best, scoring three signature tries to help his side to a victory.
He put his deadly combination of speed, skill, and strength on full display, teaming up well with Zac Lomax on the right-hand side.
There is every chance that St George would have lost that game without his contributions, and he will be key for them throughout this season as they push to make the finals.
What we disliked: Tyrell Sloan's brain snap
All things considered, the 19-year-old had a good game at fullback for the Dragons.
However, there was one bizarre moment that overshadowed his performance and handed the Warriors a cheap try.
As the Warriors grubbered a ball into the in-goal, Sloan jumped over it, rather than batting it dead.
This left the ball precariously bouncing, which was quickly grounded by Dallin Watene-Zelezniak to give the home side their first try.
Fortunately for Sloan it didn't cost his side the game, but it will certainly be a wake-up call for the youngster.
WESTS TIGERS 16-26 MELBOURNE STORM
What we liked: A respectable effort from the Tigers
The Wests Tigers were underdogs coming into their match against the Melbourne Storm but flew out of the gates to surprise their opponents.
They lost the match in the end but could have won if it wasn't for such a dogged second-half display from the Storm.
Their second half performance was slightly underwhelming, but overall the Tigers should feel disappointed to have not gotten a result.
Consistency will be key for them this season, but their display against Melbourne was a pleasant surprise.
What we disliked: Three significant injuries for the Storm
It was a bittersweet win for Melbourne, finishing the game without three key players due to injury.
The details and nature of the injuries aren't confirmed yet, but George Jennings (ACL), Brandon Smith (hand), and Christian Welch (Achilles) are all significant blows.
As we've come to know, the Storm under Craig Bellamy adapt to player losses well, but Smith and Welch in particular are key parts of their team.
Time will tell how they fare.
PARRAMATTA EELS 32-28 GOLD COAST TITANS
What we liked: Free-flowing attack
If we needed an exhibition of why rugby league is the greatest and most entertaining game of all, this 'try fest' was all of that and more.
The Eels raced out to a 10 point lead inside the opening seven minutes of the match through a brace to young winger Sean Russell, thanks to some exhilarating attacking football.
But the Titans didn't hang their heads and managed to claw their way back, with young guns Toby Sexton and Jayden Campbell orchestrating a first-half comeback that saw Justin Holbrook's men run in three quick-fire tries before half-time to go into the sheds down by just four.
The second half was no doubt quieter in terms of points, Philip Sami's brilliant try after launching above Clint Gutherson to catch a bomb and cross one minute after the break.
However, both sides demonstrated excellent defensive scramble as the game became a real war of attrition, with three late penalty goals to Parramatta eventually putting the result beyond doubt.
An exciting way to cap off a great first round of the season.
What we disliked: Sean Russell's hospital visit
Exciting young Eels winger Russell scored a brilliant hat trick but his afternoon was brought to an end after copping a nasty injury while diving over for his third four-pointer.
Titans fullback Jayden Campbell could find himself in trouble after diving in with his knees to try and stop a diving Russell in the corner.
Russell was in visible pain on his haunches and took no further part in the match before he was eventually taken straight to hospital with suspected broken ribs.
Providing the injury is confirmed with scans, Russell would likely miss up to six weeks, which will further test the Eels' backline stocks following the departure of Blake Ferguson and the extended absence of Haze Dunster and Maika Sivo.
A devastating end to what was otherwise an exciting night for the 19-year-old winger.
Sean Russell off to hospital with suspected broken ribs, traumatic mechanism with direct contact to his right side. Hospital trip likely to clear any internal damage, fingers crossed that’s the case here. If injury isolated to ribs most players return in 3-6 weeks pic.twitter.com/dck050Q4EJ
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) March 13, 2022
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 4 - 6 CANTERBURY BULLDOGS
What we liked: Bulldogs prove their toughness
The Bulldogs would've known plenty of eyes would've been on their performance in this game after the way they've recruited over the off-season, particularly they were playing one of the teams expected to contend for the wooden spoon.
They were behind, playing away from home, had to reshuffle mid-game due to injuries, and were struggling to convert plenty of chances, so the fact the Bulldogs came back and scored the go-ahead try in the 51st minute, and were rewarded for their resilience, would please Trent Barrett immensley.
There's still plenty of work to do, but a win to start the season is all that matters for the Belmore Boys.
What we disliked: Low-scoring, untidy affair
As good as close encounters are, this was a bludger of a game.
Both sides were untidy with the ball and failed to execute their plays when in good field position, with the short kicking games of both teams particularly off. There were also three disallowed tries, which proved very disruptive to the flow of the game.
The Bulldogs and Cowboys are two teams tipped to be closer to the wooden spoon than the top eight, and this game definitely weighed into that theory.
