Round 9 is officially in the books, with some fantastic performances and some sides who will be searching for answers.
Adam Reynolds got one over on his old side South Sydney to open the weekend, before Parramatta caused a huge upset and became the first side to defeat Penrith this year.
James Tedesco produced his best game of the year against the Titans on Saturday, while a 12-man Sharks outfit showed how classy and brave they are with a win over the Warriors to close the round.
Here's everything we liked and disliked from round nine.
Brisbane Broncos 32 - 12 South Sydney Rabbitohs
What we liked: The return of Adam Reynolds
When former Souths star Adam Reynolds imagined how the first meeting with his boyhood club would go during the week, even he wouldn't have pictured that.
The halfback completely controlled proceedings and haunted Souths. He scored a try, as well as setting up another two in Brisbane's upset victory. It was the type of performance - along with last week's win over Cronulla - that announced the Broncos as a top eight contender.
It wasn't just Reynolds' attacking output that caught the eye. In defence, he constantly set the standard with his line speed. He used his inside knowledge of the Rabbitohs attack to shut down plays and then put the Broncos on the front foot.
What we disliked: Everything about the Rabbitohs' performance
What the Bunnies dished up on Thursday night was shambolic.
Their problems with ball control reared its ugly head again (69 % completion), their attack struggled to turn territorial advantage into points (43 tackles in the opposition 20m zone) and their pack provided minimal presence through the middle. In fact, only interchange player Siliva Havili ran for over 100m out of all of their forwards.
It left their coach, Jason Demetriou, seething in his post-match press conference, where he made it clear that type of performance wouldn't be tolerated anymore.
Canberra Raiders 14 - 4 Canterbury Bulldogs
What we liked: Matt Frawley's silky try
Matt Frawley was the lucky man to replace the suspended Jack Wighton in the Raiders side but he made the most of his chance in first grade with a moment of class in the first half.
The Canberra playmaker showed left before stepping through the line, leaving just fullback Matt Dufty to bear.
Frawley then through a dummy to the right, allowing him to glide past Dufty for the four-pointer under the post.
To be honest, this could have just as easily been our dislike for Dufty's effort.
Frawley was significantly in front of any teammates and essentially threw a dummy to no one, but Dufty appeared set on making the highlight play rather than putting his body on the line for the one-on-one tackle.
The dummy and run from Frawley 🤩#WeAreRaiders pic.twitter.com/iw1FXqhECD
— Canberra Raiders (@RaidersCanberra) May 6, 2022
What we disliked: Jarrod Croker goes down
Former Canberra skipper Jarrod Croker is one of the game's genuine good guys and few would begrudge the veteran centre chalking up his 300th game later this year.
Croker had stem cell surgery on his knee over the off-season and has had to fight his way back to first grade via the reserves but he looked like he hadn't missed a beat at NRL level on Friday evening.
The 31-year-old made several crucial effort plays while Nick Cotric played one his best games in several seasons outside Croker.
Unfortunately for the fan favourite, one of those effort plays proved his undoing as he injured his shoulder when denying Dufty a try late in the match.
Let's hope he can get back out there for at least eight more games to notch up the milestone.
Parramatta Eels 22 - 20 Penrith Panthers
What we liked: Parra rise to the occasion
The Eels had been talking tough after getting belted by North Queensland in Darwin last week and they delivered.
We had to check that it was indeed May and not September as some of the collisions in the middle of the field had a distinctly finals like feel to them.
While Penrith looked a step off their best, Parramatta had to be on their game to ensure the star-studded Panthers didn't run over the top of them.
Special mention to their forwards, particularly Isaiah Papali'i (eight tackle breaks), Junior Paulo (194 run metres) and Ryan Matterson (four offloads and a try).
Penrith is a tough place to go at the best of times, least of all when the home side is on a 21-match winning run at the venue, but Parramatta took it them and came away with the two points.
What we disliked: How did they miss this?
Some officiating errors are understandable, this one wasn't.
Panthers backrower Viliame Kikau dropped the ball cold late in the first half and the referee somehow missed it.
NRL great Johnathan Thurston said it best on Channel Nine.
“There’s two touch judges, a referee and a bunker," Thurston said.
"We cannot be missing that in big games. It can’t happen. This is the NRL. We’re better than that."
Take a look for yourself. A real head-scratcher.
"THIS IS THE NRL, WE'RE BETTER THAN THAT!" 🤬🗯
— NRL on Nine (@NRLonNine) May 6, 2022
JT is seeing red after this absolute howler. 😨
📺 #NRLPanthersEels | LIVE on @Channel9 and @9Now#9WWOS #NRL pic.twitter.com/j0kb57m8Ww
Manly Sea Eagles 36 - 22 Wests Tigers
What we liked: DCE ageing like fine wine
A cheeky short kick-off by Daly Cherry-Evans set the tone for the Sea Eagles, with their veteran halfback at the heart of their strong performance on Saturday.
The 33-year-old's first-half try was a thing of beauty too, craftily evading Daine Laurie who was acting as the Tigers' last line of defence.
With reports that Kieran Foran will leave the club next year, it is promising for Sea Eagles fans to see that the other member of their halves is still capable of producing top-class footy.
What we disliked: Tigers being their own worst enemy
It has become clear that the Tigers have the right ingredients to win footy matches, and this game could have been there for the taking if they focused better during key moments.
When Tyrone Peachey scored in the 53rd minute, the momentum had seemingly shifted in the visitors' favour. But a knock-on in the first tackle following the kick-off was a major blow, with Manly scoring in the following set.
They made nine errors - compared to their opponent's ten - but it was the timing of these errors that proved costly.
There's no doubting that the Sea Eagles were the better side on the day, but the Tigers definitely had their chances and will be disappointed looking back at the game.
Sydney Roosters 44 - 16 Gold Coast Titans
What we liked: Tedesco's captain's knock
James Tedesco has been under some pressure to get his team over the line this year after a few quieter performances in what's been a slow start to the year for the Roosters as a whole.
However, against the Titans, he was back to his unstoppable best.
While the Gold Coast's defence didn't lay much of a challenge, Tedesco weaved his way to the try line with ease to pick up a hattrick, as well as running for 226 metres and breaking 10 tackles.
It was a huge step in the right direction for the Roosters and all of their spine, but particularly Tedesco.
Special mention should also be paid to Luke Keary, who looked much more at home on the ball and set up three of the Roosters' eight tries.
What we disliked: No heart from the Titans
The Titans are just all over the shop, and it was apparent right from the start of the match they weren't up for this contest.
Despite scoring first and being gifted a huge opportunity not long after with Lindsay Collins sin-binned for a shoulder charge in the 19th minute, Justin Holbrooks' side failed to take advantage in the first half. In fact, they capitulated.
The Roosters, who weren't playing anywhere near their best, scored two tries in the period Collins was off, then ran in another two minutes after the front-rower returned.
There were remnants of a minor fightback early in the second half after Holbrook's side had the early momentum after half-time and scored through Herman Ese'ese in the 42nd minute, but it quickly withered away as the Roosters scored three quick tries in response.
With their season entering a critical phase after just two wins and pressure quickly mounting, you'd think the Gold Coast would've come to this game with the intent to give it to the Roosters, but they were anything but desperate – they were passive.
North Queensland Cowboys 36 - 16 Newcastle Knights
What we liked: Cowboys' youngsters light up the edges
There was a lot to like about the Cowboys on Saturday. Chad Townsend was brilliant, Jason Taumalolo was unstoppable and Scott Drinkwater continues to fire.
But we're going to focus on young back rowers Jeremiah Nanai and Heilum Luki.
Nanai is quickly proving to be one of the NRL's biggest x-factors with the skills and speed he has, while his ability to score off high kicks has become a virtually unstoppable pet play for the Cowboys. The 19-year-old has now scored the most tries of any forward in the competition this season.
Luki also highlighted his explosiveness and skill, snatching a Townsend bomb to score a stunning try late in the second half.
The Cowboys have strike all across the park but what Nanai and Luki provide on the edges is a big factor in this stunning run Todd Payten's side is on.
What we disliked: Ball security ruins Knights effort
This was definitely a step in the right direction from Newcastle but discipline really let them down.
Injuries have left the Knights heavily depleted but they shot out of the blocks against the Cowboys to score three first-half tries.
The effort in the middle from Newcastle's forwards in particular, after being embarrassed by Melbourne last week, was also impressive.
But as the game went on, discipline with the ball took away any chance the Knights had to build momentum, and conversely handed the Cowboys the game on a platter as they scored four unanswered second-half tries.
It was undoubtedly Newcastle's most impressive performance from a dire three weeks of heavy losses, but a lack of respect for the ball let them down.
Melbourne Storm 42 - 6 St George-Illawarra Dragons
What we liked: Storm's razzle-dazzle
Melbourne produced some truly special tries in this clash.
Nick Meaney finished off a runaway four-pointer before the break, before a hobbling Ryan Papenhuyzen finished off another long-range try in the 48th minute.
THE PACE! 🤯🤯🤯#NRLStormDragons pic.twitter.com/HEVVTW6xTG
— NRL (@NRL) May 8, 2022
Cameron Munster, Harry Grant and Jahrome Hughes simply toyed with a tiring Dragons outfit who had been forced to defend for a lot of the game. Justin Olam and Brandon Smith used their power game to make easy metres and set up big moments.
Storm barely looked to get out of first gear for some of their tries and the big win sets up a huge clash on Magic Round Saturday against the reigning premiers in Penrith.
What we disliked: Dragons shoot themselves in the foot
For a large chunk of the first-half, St George Illawarra were right in this game of football.
That might sound a bit far-fetched when you look at the final score, but there's reason to believe the Dragons could have really taken it to the Storm.
Unfortunately, they opted to shoot themselves in the foot on multiple occasions.
It all started in the 31st minute, when second-rower Jack Bird went the short-side and offloaded to nobody, allowing Melbourne to run the length of the field and score to make it a 12-0 deficit heading into the break.
From there, Anthony Griffin's side continued to make silly errors and give away dumb penalties. It's hard to win games of footy with 40 per-cent of possession, and the Red V certainly couldn't afford to do it against a side like the Storm.
Cronulla Sharks 29 - 10 New Zealand Warriors
What we liked: Sharks are as smart as they are brave
Nicho Hynes, take a bow.
After a send off in the first-half and a sin-bin in the second-half, it shouldn't have been Cronulla's day against the Warriors.
But their halfback stood up and produced a skilful performance. Hynes finished with one try, one try assist, over 150 running metres and five tackle breaks.
The 25-year-old also showed his footy smarts, kicking the Warriors to death with four forced dropouts and over 450 kick metres. It was a sublime showing of game-management from a player in his first full year as a halfback.
Hynes was able to ice the game with six minutes remaining, slotting a field-goal to give Cronulla a 13-point lead.
What we disliked: Warriors somehow let it slip
If there was ever a game that the Warriors simply had to win, it was against the Sharks on Sunday afternoon.
After fullback Will Kennedy was sent off in the 16th minute, Nathan Brown's side scored two tries almost instantly and it appeared as though it would be a win they perhaps didn't expect.
Cronulla hit back and took a 16-10 lead early in the second-half, but after Jesse Ramien was sin-binned in the 53rd minute, surely the Warriors would capitalise with a 13-on-11 advantage.
Surely not. Cronulla held on and managed to come up with points after Ramien returned to the field, dashing any hopes of a Warriors' win.
Shaun Johnson failed to provide the same game-management that his opposing No.7 was able to, while some silly errors and penalties allowed the Sharks to hold and extend their lead.
If poor old Browny had any hair left, it would have been all gone by the end of this game.
