NRL Round 22 results and live updates: Wayne Bennett makes huge halves call during Dolphins loss

A signing spree has ushered in Round 22 with various clubs locking down their stars ahead of what promises to be an enthralling weekend of footy. 

Liam Martin, Tyson Frizell and Tevita Tatola have all signed long-term deals to remain at their respective clubs, while Hame Sele is the first piece of the puzzle for Shane Flanagan at the Dragons after he inked a three-year deal to return to the joint-venture. 

Meanwhile, out on the field, Brisbane blew away the Roosters in Thursday's opening game as the Chooks' hopes of playing finals were left in tatters with Patrick Carrigan grabbing the first try of his NRL career. 

Both Melbourne and South Sydney won in convincing fashion on Friday as their respective stars, Latrell Mitchell, Harry Grant and Jahrome Hughes had outstanding performances.

Newcastle continued their impressive recent form with a stylish win over the Raiders in the nation's capital, while Daly Cherry-Evans celebrated his 300-game milestone with a win over the Dragons. 

At the foot of the mountains, Penrith put Cronulla to the sword with a 28-0 victory which had Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai's fingerprints all over it.

Canterbury escaped with a narrow victory over the Dolphins on Sunday afternoon, while the Titans caused a major upset against the Cowboys to finish the round. 

MORE: Keep up to date with all the latest movements on the NRL live ladder

The Sporting News has all the live updates, highlights, analysis and talking points from Round 22 below. 

Kieran Foran winds back the clock in shock Titans victory

There's still plenty of life left in Kieran Foran, with the Titans playmaker orchestrating a shock victory on Sunday night to keep the club's slim finals hopes alive.

The 33-year-old wound back the clock with an impressive display, finishing with 77 run metres, two tackle breaks and a vital 40/20 kick to help Gold Coast to a 22-13 triumph at Cbus Super Stadium. 

Titans interim coach Jim Lenihan revealed a change in mindset for both Foran and Tanah Boyd throughout the week prompted the standout performances.

“The old legs were running today," he said.

"We had a bit of a focus on just trying to run a bit more, instead of trying to pass through shape. It was really nice to have a bit more of a running game from our halves and try create a bit more pressure… it was good."

The 12th-placed Titans will now take on the red-hot Warriors next weekend in a must-win clash.

- Liam O'Loughlin (@ljoloughlin)

Sean O'Sullivan hooked amid Dolphins halves battle

Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett made a huge mid-game decision on Sunday afternoon, with halfback Sean O'Sullivan hooked in favour of Anthony Milford in the 23-22 loss at the hands of the Bulldogs. 

With four players - Milford, O'Sullivan, Kodi Nikorima and Isaiya Katoa - vying for just two spots in the halves, Bennett has trialled multiple different combinations throughout the club's first NRL campaign.

But in the second-half of the Dolphins' Round 22 loss to Canterbury, the decision to take O'Sullivan off the field was a bold one from the legendary coach as the No.7 struggled for cohesion and came up with some costly errors.

O'Sullivan returned later in the half and replaced the injured Euan Aitken, but his mid-game demotion to the bench could perhaps be a sign of a more permanent shift. 

The move from Bennett paid off to an extent as Milford crossed for a double, but it wasn't enough to get the side over the line in a heartbreaking result, likely ending their slim finals hopes. 

Speaking to the media after the game, Bennett was coy on the details surrounding the positional change. 

“I just wanted to get Milford on the field, that’s all... it’s a gut feel a lot of that stuff," he said. 

Katoa on the other hand was forced into 18th man duties this weekend, despite producing a quality first season in the top grade. 

- Liam O'Loughlin (@ljoloughlin)

Tevita Pangai Junior steps up in Bulldogs win

It's been a mixed year for Tevita Pangai Junior, with his State of Origin debut coupled with some indifferent performances at club level for the Bulldogs.

But his display on Sunday afternoon against the Dolphins was a reminder of his undeniable ability, as the 27-year-old helped lead Canterbury to a narrow 23-22 victory in Bundaberg.

Pangai finished with 124 run metres and 12 tackles during his 38 minutes on the field, leading from the front and giving the struggling outfit a much-needed boost.

Speaking to the media after the win, Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo praised the front-rower for his continued efforts despite the adversity on and off the field.

“Tevita cops a lot of heat at different times," he said.

"We know what he can do, and sometimes it’s frustrating that we don’t see it all the time.

"I feel like he’s had a bit of an up and down season for a number of reasons, but today he showed us exactly what he can do and what our team needs him to do... Tevita at his best makes our team better. 

"He will get some accolades for how he went today, but in the background he’s working hard to become a better football player."

- Liam O'Loughlin (@ljoloughlin)

Cameron McInnes breaks all-time NRL tackling record

When Will Kennedy pulled up lame just five minutes into Cronulla's daunting trip to Penrith the writing was already on the wall. 

Their fullback limped off with a hamstring injury which may signal the end of his season, before the Panthers piled on 28 unanswered points in an utterly dominant display. 

The Sharks have been off the pace for a number of weeks now and their continued slide down the ladder always looked inevitable as the Panthers beat their opponents in every facet of the game. 

Apart from tackling, that is. 

Cameron McInnes put in an incredible 80-minute shift to finish with the all-time tackling record of 84 which took him past the previous best of 74 from Canberra Raiders forward Shaun Fensom. 

"That's Cam," Craig Fitzgibbon said post-match. 

"He turns up every day and he is just so consistent - he's always got bark off him everywhere. 

"We were in the box and our analyst made us aware of it, so we thought does he look like he's declining?  He had a couple of slight wobbles, but he looked great. So, we thought let's let him be great today.

"I thought it was a hell of a knock."

-Mark Molyneux

Knights stun Raiders after dominant first half, Ponga suffers HIA scare

The Newcastle Knights have continued their unlikely finals charge, convincingly beating the Canberra Raiders 28-6 at GIO Stadium.

They raced to a 20-0 halftime lead in the early Saturday game, stunning the Raiders' home faithful.

Kalyn Ponga shone in the opening 40 minutes for the visitors, scoring the opening try and nailing his three conversions and penalty goal.

Wingers Greg Marzhew and Dominic Young also contributed with four-pointers of their own, with Tyson Gamble adding another early in the second half.

That now makes it four wins on the trot for the Knights, who have leapfrogged the ninth-placed Parramatta Eels and sit just one point outside the top eight.

Kalyn Ponga gets a haircut for @sportsbetcomau #TryJuly! 💈#NRLRaidersKnights pic.twitter.com/is2HR4k7C6

— NRL (@NRL) July 29, 2023

Knights coach Adam O'Brien was particularly pleased with his side's fast start — something they've struggled with throughout the season.

"We focused on [improving our start] this week, given last week we were 12-0 down pretty quickly," he said.

"I felt we did that — we completed our first nine sets and really set the game up well."

MORE: NRL Judiciary - Koloamatangi fined for shoulder charge

There was a late scare for Newcastle though, with star fullback Ponga suffering a head knock.

His head collided with the knee of Jordan Rapana after making an athletic pass, before he was sent from the field for a HIA.

Fortunately, he passed the test and even returned to the action with seven minutes of play remaining.

- Joshua Mayne

Harry Grant and Jahrome Hughes destroy Parramatta

Grant showed why he is the premier hooker in the competition as he tore through the Eels' middle forwards on Friday night.

With two tries by halftime, Grant would add five tackle-breaks and two line-breaks to his tally in what was an outstanding performance.

Hughes was excellent in his own right — the halfback had five try assists, three line breaks and a try as the Storm responded remarkably after their embarrassing display the week prior.

The pair combined for the play of the game as Grant weaved his way through the middles before finding Hughes in space for a four-pointer.

Hughes splits them 🏃‍♂️ #NRLStormEels pic.twitter.com/VIFyAwRJ23

— NRL (@NRL) July 28, 2023

The Storm have now moved into third on the ladder and will hope to continue their winning ways after struggling with inconsistency all season.

Their coach, Craig Bellamy, was pleased they were able to respond with a victory, particularly with the club celebrating their 25th anniversary.

"Just a win tonight is what we were after," he said.

"We didn't want to be moping around after a loss (on) an occasion like this.

"It was nice to get a win but it was even nicer to play better and more consistently.

"I thought Parramatta out-aggressed (sic) us early on but to our guys' credit they steadied the ship and we got out in front.

"But (in) the second half we really controlled the pace of the game and back to doing what we know works for us so that was very pleasing.

"We just need to make sure we don't lose our way after tonight."

- Kye Kuncoro

Latrell Mitchell leads the way in long-awaited return

Rabbitohs superstar Mitchell returned to the NRL on Friday after being sidelined since Round 12.

HE'S BACK! 👏 #NRLTigersSouths pic.twitter.com/6Yw4GqyNah

— NRL (@NRL) July 28, 2023

The fullback looked like he was back to full fitness as he dominated proceedings with 169 run metres, 11 tackle breaks and three offloads.

His run out of the in-goal area changed the momentum in the second half, as the Bunnies had to hold off a Tigers side who came within two points after trailing by 14 at halftime. 

Mitchell lapped up the applause from the Tamworth faithful hyping up the crowd on multiple occasions.

"He (Latrell) came up with some big plays and big moments," Rabbitohs coach Jason Demitriou said post-game.

"He's one of the best players of the game for a reason."

Alex Johnston would also star, going first all-time for multiple tries scored in a game as he capitalised on some poor Tigers defence to bag a hat-trick.

- Kye Kuncoro

Patrick Carrigan scores his first NRL try in big Broncos win 

Patrick Carrigan’s long wait for his first try in the NRL is finally over after crossing during the first half of Brisbane's comprehensive 32-10 win over the Roosters. 

MORE: Keep up to date with all the latest movements on the NRL live ladder

Finding himself pushed out onto the right edge rather than his customary lock position after Brendan Piakura dropped out of the side through illness, Carrigan crashed over for his first four-pointer in his 78^th appearance for Brisbane. 

The Queensland forward took a short ball off the hip of Adam Reynolds before brushing off an attempted tackle from Luke Keary and crashing over while under the attention of Terrell May.

Carrigan’s try extended Brisbane’s imposing lead in the first stanza at The Gabba to 20-0, with Kevin Walters' men going on with the job in the second half. 

His first try sparked jubilant scenes amongst his teammates who knew only too well about how massive the moment was for the 25-year-old as they all piled in to celebrate.

First #NRL try for Patrick Carrigan! 🥧 #NRLBroncosRoosters pic.twitter.com/tEjbazc2n5

— NRL (@NRL) July 27, 2023

"You could see in the celebration with everyone - it doesn't get spoken about much at training, but everyone was aware Patty was on 78 games, 77 last week, 76 the week before and hadn't scored a try," Kevin Walters said post-match. 

"It was great for him. You saw the elation, not only with players on the field but also on our bench. 

"I'm really happy for Patty - he's got the egg off his back now, so he's away." 

- Mark Molyneux

NRL Round 22 Results