NRL

Even without skipper Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, who was rested after Origin II, the Titans forwards took the game up to the highly touted Broncos pack, laying the foundation for their classy backline to lay on some scintillating tries.

At the end of a tumultuous week in which the club parted ways with coach Justin Holbrook, the players dug deep to register their best win of the season, holding the Broncos to half their season average of 23 points per game.

A double to Alex Johnston and try to NRL debutant Tyrone Munro set up victory for the visitors, who held their nerve to overcome an early deficit and then go on to score 28 unanswered points. 

It wasn't necessarily desperate stages for the Bunnies, who were eighth coming into the match after dropping four of their past five games, but Jason Demetriou's men had to show some grit after conceding over 30 points in each defeat. 

The Storm dominated for 32 minutes to set up a 14-0 lead before the defending premiers made a statement of their own with three tries in eight minutes to take a two-point advantage into half-time.

It was a remarkable turnaround from the competition leaders during the match, who were without Nathan Cleary but had the likes of Origin stars Jarome Luai and Liam Martin stand up in his absence while Izack Tago was enormous in the win. 

Tied on competition points having each picked up 10 wins from 15 games to date, the winner of Friday night's clash is a good chance of finishing Round 18 at the top of the ladder. 

The Panthers have been nothing but impressive through the Origin period so far, toughing out a handful of wins to go with a golden point loss to the Cowboys a fortnight ago, despite the absence of plenty of talent at different stages.

Melbourne too have been tracking well, with wins in their last three games, where their defensive efforts have been standing out.

The New Zealand-based side made light work of the Dragons in Round 17, running in nine tries in a 48-16 victory which lifted them to fifth on the Telstra Premiership ladder. 

On Friday night they'll be boosted by a capacity crowd at Go Media Stadium in Auckland, with the chance to win four in a row for the first time since the 2018 season. 

Their opponents meanwhile are reeling after a heavy loss to the Cowboys last Sunday which followed defeat at the hands of the bottom-placed Dragons in Round 15. 

Cronulla have now won their past seven clashes with the Dragons but they found themselves behind early after a mistake by Briton Nikora invited the Red V into the red zone and Mikaele Ravalawa scored. Zac Lomax converted from the sideline for a 6-0 lead.

The Sharks steadied the ship and hit back in the eighth minute when Nicho Hynes ran a great angle off a Matt Moylan pass and the scores were locked 6-6.

Four minutes later the Sharks got across the line again through Ronaldo Mulitalo but desperation defence from Tyrell Sloan and Lomax denied the winger.

The Dragons find themselves in danger of collecting the first wooden spoon in the history of the joint venture and need a huge lift in defensive intensity if they hope to contain a potent Sharks unit that averages 26.3 points per game.

After showing signs of improvement in wins over the Roosters and Rabbitohs and a close loss to Penrith, the Red V gave up their biggest score of the season on Friday night and will be doing plenty of soul-searching ahead of a clash against a side that put 40 points on them in Round 4.

Bouncing back from a disappointing loss to the Warriors in Round 15, the Raiders rolled out of their bye red-hot on Sunday night, with Jamal Fogarty terrorising James Tedesco with the high ball, setting up two early tries off the boot.

With errors creeping into their game in the second-half, Ricky Stuart's side couldn't convert a try after the 28th minute but thanks to a Jarrod Croker penalty goal, two points was enough to secure the win at Moore Park.

With Justin Holbrook removed as head coach during the week and Jim Lenihan put in as the interim for the rest of the year – ahead of Des Hasler taking charge for 2024 – the Gold Coast had plenty to deal with even before the decision was made to rest captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui prior to kick-off. 

But after footing it with the second-placed Broncos through the first half, the Titans found another gear in the second 40, scoring a pair of converted tries and kicking a penalty goal to earn their first win over Brisbane in five games. 

The Sea Eagles started strongly but the Storm scored 24 unanswered points in the absence of star playmaker Cameron Munster, who wore a medical mask in the coaches box after being ruled out with a virus.

In his place, Pezet stepped up and the 20-year-old combined with halfback Jahrome Hughes to give Melbourne a three-way share of first place along with the Panthers and Broncos, who face the Titans on Sunday.