It got off to a slow start, but round 4 of the NRL eventually roared into action.
Both the Panthers and Roosters flexed their premiership muscle, before heavyweights Parramatta and Melbourne turned on the afterburners on Sunday.
For the Dragons and Bulldogs, their clashes over the weekend were a massive wake-up call.
Here's what we learned.
Talakai is a genuine option at centre
The Cronulla Sharks utility man put on a show against the Newcastle Knights, scoring a try, as well as racking up 223 run metres and a whopping 17 tackle breaks.
He showcased his speed and strength as he sprinted down the field for his try, making a huge fend along the way.
Having played in the second row last week, Talakai stepped into the centres this round, a position he hasn't featured in regularly since his time at South Sydney five years ago.
Picked up at the start of this season, the 24-year-old will certainly give Craig Fitzgibbon some selection headaches heading forward.
Panthers fullback among the game's best
Blues coach Brad Fittler currently has an embarrassment of riches to select from at fullback.
James Tedesco, Tom Trbojevic, Latrell Mitchell and Clint Gutherson have all played for their state, while only injury has prevented Storm superstar Ryan Papenhuyzen from making his Origin debut.
One player who doesn’t have the same star power as the others is Dylan Edwards, but the Panthers number one has consistently proven himself to be a top-class fullback.
The full range of Edwards’ game was on display on Friday night as the Panthers defeated South Sydney in the grand final rematch.
Edwards ran for a massive 289 metres, including 93 post-contact, while also picking up a try assist in the win.
On the other side of the ball, he showed some serious pace to haul in Souths speedster Alex Johnson and pull off this covering tackle.
"Is that Scott Sattler!?" 🔥
— NRL on Nine (@NRLonNine) April 1, 2022
📺 #NRLPanthersSouths | Live on Channel 9 and 9Now.#NRL #9WWOS pic.twitter.com/WZnr5ieEMl
The current competition means he's unlikely to force his way into representative contention, but we reckon he wouldn't look out of place if he did.
Brisbane are still a long way off
After the first two rounds of 2022, Brisbane looked like a completely different football side.
Defeating last year's grand finalists South Sydney in the season opener, Kevin Walters' side backed it up with a gritty victory over Canterbury a week later.
But in the past fortnight, things have begun to unravel once again and Brisbane look to be back to their old ways.
In their loss to the Warriors on Saturday afternoon, they came up with 13 errors and gave away 10 penalties, with front-rower Tom Flegler having a day to forget.
Walters was honest in his post-game press conference and admitted their ball-handling and discipline needs a lot of work.
"When you continually turn the ball over, particularly in our half, it just opens up the door for the opposition to build the pressure," he said.
"Sooner or later the penny’s got to drop, because last week we did 100 more tackles than the opposition and today would be the same."
Never doubt rugby league's champion players
James Tedesco and Daly Cherry-Evans are two of the best players of the past decade - but both their start to the season has been somewhat underwhelming.
Tedesco was criticised following the loss to South Sydney last weekend, but returned to his very best against the Cowboys on Saturday night.
The superstar fullback finished with over 200 metres, produced two try assists and broke four tackles, setting up the likes of Joseph Manu and Daniel Tupou outside him.
In the earlier game on Saturday evening, Cherry-Evans had his best game of the year and produced an absolute kicking masterclass against the Raiders.
DCE finished with 651 kicking metres, forced two dropouts, kicked a field goal and produced a try assist with the boot.
The 33-year-old's performance earned the praise of rival coach Ricky Stuart, who said the decision to sign Cherry-Evans for 10 years was a masterstroke.
The Eels can play some breathtaking footy
This has been proven in seasons past, but the Parramatta Eels play some electric rugby league when they're at their best.
Their 48-14 win over the Dragons was the definition of dominance.
Mitchell Moses was at his silky best, Clint Gutherson was constantly dangerous, and Waqa Blake starred on the wing.
When all the cogs are in action, it's hard to stop the Eels.
Now, the elusive next step - performing like that when it matters most.
