round 15

Trent Robinson's men got the better of the Eels in Magic Round but have lost three of four since that clash, while Parramatta will be reeling after an ambush at the hands of the Bulldogs on Sunday.

There were plenty of positives for the Roosters out of the loss to Melbourne but another concussion for playmaker Luke Keary put a dampener on the night.

The Eels welcomed back Maika Sivo at Accor Stadium but were outplayed and out-enthused by a Bulldogs side which started fast and never took the foot off the throttle.

The Panthers could not have been more impressive in their demolition of Newcastle while the Warriors started well enough against Cronulla but fell away badly in Jones' first game at the helm.

Ivan Cleary's men have lost just one game all season and have positioned themselves perfectly to emulate the Roosters in 2018-19 and collect back-to-back premierships.

If the Warriors are to throw a spanner in the works they will need to get their discipline in check and cut out the simple errors that cost them any chance of victory against the Sharks.

Under new coach Craig Fitzgibbon the Sharks are putting together an impressive campaign although a lack of consistency has become something of a concern with their last eight games reading L-W-L-W-L-W-L-W.

The Titans, meanwhile, would happily settle for such a record having dropped nine of their past 10 games and conceded 282 points in the process.

Brisbane led 16-6 just before halftime but Kiwis halfback Jahrome Hughes laid on a try for Melbourne halves partner Cameron Munster and then crossed himself to level the scores before the home side took control after the interval.

Hughes scored a second try in a five-star performance ahead of next Saturday's homecoming Test in Auckland against Tonga as the Storm dominated the second term. 

Trailing 26-12 just seven minutes from fulltime, the Cowboys mounted a remarkable comeback as Reece Robson, Murray Taulagi and Valentine Holmes crossed in succession to shock the Sea Eagles.

The Cowboys did so after losing Queensland forward Reuben Cotter in the warm-up with a hamstring injury that has him in doubt for next weekend's Origin in Perth and they never really looked like winning until the dying stages.

Todd Payten's men have won five from seven away games in 2022 so a trip to Manly's spiritual home shouldn't faze them, although the loss of young gun Heilum Luki for the season presents a significant challenge after a relatively injury-free run to date.

The Sea Eagles have had their own setbacks with superstar Tom Trbojevic and workhorse Karl Lawton gone for the season but Des Hasler won't be making any excuses if his team misses out on finals for the second time in three years.

In his second season at the Dragons after 260 games at Brisbane and eight in Newcastle, the 32-year-old got through a team-high 37 tackles and made 38 running metres in his milestone match.

The win was the Dragons' seventh of the season and carries them into the top eight for the time being at least.

The signs were bad for the Rabbitohs early when Lachlan Ilias spilled the kick-off and they continued to make errors through the opening 15 minutes as the Dragons took control.

After winning just seven games last season and three the year before, Brisbane have already chalked up nine wins this year on the back of Adam Reynolds' poise and the power of Pat Carrigan and Payne Haas, but they'll have to make do without their skipper at AAMI Park after he injured his ribs against Canberra.

The Storm were pushed all the way by the Roosters on Saturday but found a way to win even with three players backing up from Origin and Xavier Coates sidelined by an ankle injury.

“It was a tough game. They were hungrier for the points. They deserved the victory.

“Our boys didn’t play well. We really need to sit down properly and look at our game heading forward. We’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Marum.

Marum added the absence of captain and five-eighth Ase Boas was not a contributing factor to the loss to the last-placed Seagulls.

“From the start, we didn’t stick to our game plan. It’s not an excuse missing the skipper. We had 13 boys who are all capable of playing.

CEO of the PNG Rugby Football League, Reatau Rau, explained the change of dates, from Sunday to Saturday, was due to high demand from fans in Port Moresby.

“The QRL recently gave its endorsement of our request to play the round 15 game against Tweed Heads Seagulls on a Saturday, with kick off at 5pm. The Seagulls have agreed to this arrangement.

“This follows the success of a Saturday match in Round 9 which the Port Moresby fans thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed at the National Football Stadium,” said Rau.