Magic Round produced plenty of storylines as upsets and ladder-shifting results lit up the NRL's showpiece weekend.
Hosts Brisbane set the tone for an enthralling weekend, pulling apart Manly on Friday night to solidify themselves as genuine finals fancies, while the Rabbitohs.
Meanwhile, Penrith more than flexed their premiership muscle by blowing away an albeit weakened Storm outfit to put Craig Bellamy's side back a pace.
Here's what we learned in round 10.
Broncos are the real deal
They've beaten South Sydney twice, Cronulla once and took the Roosters to their limit.
But on Friday night, at their home ground of Suncorp Stadium for Magic Round, Brisbane announced themselves as a genuine threat in this competition with a 38-0 win over Manly in wet conditions.
Adam Reynolds and Selwyn Cobbo combined for two tries, with the gun halfback landing a couple of pinpoint kicks for his speedy winger to score untouched.
But it was the individual moments from the pair that brought the Broncos fans to their feet, as Reynolds pulled out a solo chip-and-chase try before half-time, before Cobbo took an intercept and ran 100 metres to score in the second-half.
Patrick Carrigan was elite in the middle of the park, setting the tone early in the game and running for almost 189 metres in just 55 minutes, while the career resurgence of Corey Oates continued with another two tries.
The defence of Brisbane was also a highlight. There's not many times that a team including Daly Cherry-Evans, Tom Trbojevic and Kieran Foran is held to nil - but that's exactly what the Broncos were able to do.
Kevin Walters recruited well with Reynolds and Kurt Capewell, and with a great mix of youth, experience and skill, his side now look among the best in the NRL this year.
Cody Walker is unstoppable when at his best
Cody Walker put on an absolute clinic against the Warriors, notching an assist in each of the Rabbitohs' first three tries. Everything he touched in the first half seemingly turned to gold.
When he orchestrates play as well as he did on Saturday, there aren't too many teams that would be able to put up much of a fight.
He also worked effortlessly with Lachlan Ilias in the halves, with the pair getting their passes off accurately and efficiently. As a duo, they appear to be getting better every week.
Walker - along with the entire Rabittohs team - fell off in the second half, but the damage was already done.
Titans show they're not done yet
Six points from 10 matches is far from ideal, but the Titans are beginning to show flashes of what they're capable of. Their victory over the Dragons in a topsy turvy game showed their character and their ability to hold their nerve when it mattered most.
They could have easily lost that game, but their gritty desire to snatch the two points was impressive.
Reaching the top eight may seem like a stretch at this stage, but the season is still relatively young. Give the young core - including Jayden Campbell, Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, and Toby Sexton - some time, and they could surprise some people.
Penrith are still number one
Melbourne's blistering start to the season tipped over into historic levels last week when it was announced, across the opening nine rounds, they'd scored more points than any other team ever at that stage.
Ryan Papenhuyzen is a cheat code, Cam Munster is in career best form, Harry Grant is like a puppet master at dummy-half always tugging on the correct string and Xavier Coates seemed to be notching hattricks every week.
And now couple this with the fact the Panthers were beaten by their arch rivals Parramatta in the last round.
Yet all that mattered very little, as Penrith screamed out of the gates with two quick tries, before asserting their dominance with the type of battering you rarely see dished out to a Craig Bellamy outfit.
Nathan Cleary kicked the Storm into the corners and wore away their confidence and energy-levels, before the Panthers piled on the points.
They are still the yardstick in which any club wanting to win the premiership must measure themselves against.
Fitzgibbon learns a harsh lesson
Many doubted the move to shift Nicho Hynes to fullback to cover the suspended Will Kennedy and it might have been the difference in Cronulla's loss to Canberra.
Hynes has been up there among the most in-form players in the NRL orchestrating the attack at halfback for the Sharks this season and without him in the front line against the Raiders, the Sharks looked almost an entirely different outfit.
Fitzgibbon's men were clunky in attack without their link man in Hynes getting his hands on the footy, as Matt Moylan struggled with the responsibility of playing the chief playmaker role.
Hynes blew the competition away playing fullback at the Storm in 2021, so the decision to move him there on Sunday wasn't without its merit.
But the notion that you should never weaken a position to strengthen another held true for Fitzgibbon and his men, in what will stand out as a harsh lesson for the first-year coach.
With the Sharks still without Kennedy next week, it'll be staggering to see Hynes named at fullback again next week given what impact it had on the side this weekend.
Suaalii's breakthrough on the big stage
Teenage superstar Joseph Suaalii has officially arrived.
The Roosters winger has been building slowly on the right edge for the Tricolours but much like the rest of his team has struggled to piece together a full 80-minute performance.
However, in Sunday's brave win over fellow title heavyweights the Eels, the former rugby union prodigy had arguably his best game in the NRL since his highly anticipated debut last season.
Suaalii scored a pair of tries, crashing over shortly after halt-time on the end of a slick play from Luke Keary and Joey Manu on his inside. However, his 62nd-minute effort will feature on the highlight reel for the rest of the season.
Suaalii soared high above Hayze Perham to latch onto a Keary crossfield kick, taking a genuine hanger on his opponent's back and then twisting his body to plant the ball down in the corner.
Joseph Suaalii FLIES in #NRLMagic Round ✨#NRLRoostersEels #NRLMagic pic.twitter.com/bg8gR1TPhw
— NRL (@NRL) May 15, 2022
Not only was it spectacular, the try meant everything for Trent Robinson's side as they stopped a run of tries from Parramatta and went on to seal the result 31-24.
Aside from his impressive acrobatics, he also made 18 runs for 155 metres, two linebreaks and four tackle breaks in a pivotal performance that will have Roosters fans' tongues wagging.
