Round 2 is officially in the books, with some thrilling clashes across the weekend of footy.
Melbourne and South Sydney went to golden-point, with both fullbacks in Latrell Mitchell and Ryan Papenhuyzen nailing field-goals, while the Dragons took it to reigning premiers Penrith on Friday night.
Brisbane and Canterbury both proved why they are clubs on the up, but the same can't be said for the Tigers, who were awful in their defeat to Newcastle.
Here's what we learned from Round 2.
The big teams aren't immune to early season rust
Whether it was Souths' inability to get anything going in attack or Melbourne's failure to put the game to bed, the coaches of both teams would have had more than a few moments of frustration on Thursday night.
Between the two sides, they completed just 58 of 89 sets on a dry night at AAMI Park. The Storm missed an uncharacteristic 39 tackles while the Bunnies edged the error count, 19-18.
Without superboot Adam Reynolds in 2022, Souths went 0/3 from conversions, while Melbourne weren't much better (1/3) as regular goalkicker Ryan Papenhuyzen is eased back from an ankle injury.
Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou will have to work out how to get more from his halves - experienced playmaker Cody Walker is yet to hit his straps without Reynolds by his side.
If not for the dramatic finish, this one would have been considered a certified bludger of a match.
Pressure on Hunt to steer the ship
Dragons halfback Ben Hunt was blunt in his assessment of his own performance during his side's Friday night loss to Penrith.
"I was pretty disappointed, I felt like I let the team down a bit tonight with my attack, made a few poor decisions and probably wasn't loud enough," he said after the match.
"That's something that myself and the rest of the spine have definitely got to get right.
"Definitely still learning to play with some of them (young teammates) but that's no excuse. I've been playing for a long time now and I need to be better than what I was tonight."
If the Dragons are to contend in 2022, Hunt knows he needs to perform each week while the talented youngsters around him learn to play consistently at NRL level.
Hunt's halves partner, Talatau Amone, and fullback, Tyrell Sloan, have a combined 20 games of first grade to their names, while experienced hooker Andrew McCullough looks like being sidelined following a dislocated elbow.
If the young guns are having a quiet week, that's an awful lot of slack for Hunt to pick up.
Tom Trbojevic is human
If round one was an anomaly, what was round two? For the second week in a row, the superstar Manly fullback has been well held by the opposition and his side were fairly comprehensively beaten.
We're not about the put a line through Tommy Turbo, but after putting together one of the all-time great seasons in 2021, the opening two rounds have served as a reminder that he can be stopped.
After the game, Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler denied the number one was carrying an injury.
“He is 100 per cent and I said last week and it is not just Tom, it is our whole attack,” Hasler said.
“It is clunky and it suffers on the back of constantly having to defend repeat sets tonight.
“They built really good pressure the Roosters and that fatigues you when you are coming out of your own end all the time.”
There's no doubt he'll be back to his dominating best, but 0-2 Manly will hoping it's sooner rather than later.
Titans and Warriors need to tidy up errors if they are to beat tougher sides
The early Saturday match between the Titans and Warriors was an exciting contest from a neutral perspective, but far from easygoing from a fan perspective.
34 points were scored in the first half, before both sides struggled to execute in the second half, only notching up a combined four points.
Opportunities were there for both teams, but neither of them seemed to be able to find the finishing touch to secure the result.
The Titans made 11 errors whilst the Warriors made 12 in what was a sloppy match.
Most of the mistakes made were relatively unforced, which is a worrying sign for when these two teams play higher-ranked opposition.
As was displayed in the first-half, both sides have the attacking threats needed to have a strong campaign this year, but their carelessness will need to be fixed if they are to challenge for the top eight.
Nicho Hynes will be just fine
Nicho Hynes did more than enough last year at the Storm to prove he's a quality footballer, but plenty of players have left the Storm and never reached the same heights.
Whether it's the system in Melbourne or being surrounded by good players, there's always a chance a recruit picked up from the Storm struggles at their new club.
Fortunately for Cronulla, their new halfback appears to be settling in just fine.
Hynes was, along with halves partner Matt Moylan, among the Sharks' best as they recorded their first win of the season, as well as a first victory for new coach Craig Fitzgibbon.
With a try assist and six tackle breaks, as well as the match-winning conversion (having gone 0/3 prior), Hynes will have put any fears around his recruitment to bed.
Special mention to his former Storm teammate Dale Finucane who was impressive at lock, finishing with 120 run metres and 45 tackles.
Jason Taumalolo ain't done yet
Few players will have had as much written over their on-field performance over the last 12 months but when your contract is as big as Jason Taumalolo's, that scrutiny is to be expected.
While it wasn't a massive 200+ metre performance he became famous for, there were a lot of positives in the performance of the North Queensland lock on Saturday night.
The 28-year-old ran for 161 metres, 70 of the them post-contact, in 55 minutes in the 26-6 win over the Raiders.
Taumalolo said he wants to build on the performance.
"Tonight, I felt a lot better and obviously with the outside noise, it was a bit of a poke-the-bear moment for me," he said post-match.
"We’re still in round two. Still got a long season ahead. Hopefully I can improve with every round."
Don't write off the champ just yet.
Michael Maguire's time is almost up
The performance from the Wests Tigers on Sunday afternoon against Newcastle was utterly shambolic - and it's going to add plenty of pressure to Michael Maguire and his coaching future.
An ugly 17 errors and 37 missed tackles, a sin-bin for Tyrone Peachey and clear lack of attacking fluidity were the lowlights for the Tigers, as they went down 26-4 against the Knights.
Jackson Hastings tried hard but his combination with Luke Brooks was almost non-existent at times. The forwards and outside backs for the Tigers also struggled to handle the likes of Tyson Frizell and Dane Gagai, who both had stellar displays for the hosts.
With games against the Warriors and Titans in the next fortnight, Maguire needs a win desperately. If his side can't find one for him, his days at Concord are seriously numbered.
Brisbane, Canterbury are on the up
If the aforementioned Tigers are struggling again in 2022, Brisbane and Canterbury showed on Sunday night that they are both heading in the right direction.
Canterbury may have only crossed for two tries, but they created chances throughout the 80 minutes and kept themselves in the game through grit and determination. Matt Burton's towering bombs and the speed of Matt Dufty and Josh Addo-Carr were on display at different stages, which are all positive signs.
Across from them, Kevin Walters looks to have the Broncos primed for a much-improved season, claiming two wins in the first two rounds.
Herbie Farnworth was electric with the ball, Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan laid a platform in the middle, while Adam Reynolds added that touch of class that Brisbane will need to fight for a top-eight spot this year.
After both sides registered wooden spoons in the past two years, it was great to see them both involved in an entertaining affair that went down to the wire.
