Round 2

The Titans were electric in the opening 45 minutes against Parramatta and came within an ace of a huge upset, while the Warriors rode the back of some astute Shaun Johnson kicking to push the Dragons all the way at Sunshine Coast Stadium.

The loss of Johnson to a pectoral injury is offset by the return of whiz kid Reece Walsh and hardman Matt Lodge from suspension while the Titans also get a boost with AJ Brimson (groin) back on deck after being a late withdrawal in round one.

With halves Sam Walker and Luke Keary combining brilliantly, the Roosters piled on four first half tries to lead 22-0 at the interval but the Sea Eagles never gave up to ensure a respectable fulltime scoreline.

It was the response Roosters coach Trent Robinson was seeking after last weekend's upset loss to Newcastle but Des Hasler would have been frustrated with a first half performance that mirrored last weekend's heavy defeat by Penrith. 

Fiji secondrower Viliame Kikau was the star of Penrith's win as he celebrated his 100th match with two tries but St George Illawarra were their own worst enemies as they completed just 10 of 19 sets of possession in the first half.

In addition, second-rower Jaydn Su'A and centre Zac Lomax had stints in the sin-bin as ill discipline proved costly for the home team.

The scores were locked at 6-6 when Su'A was given his marching orders in the first half but the Panthers led 20-6 when he returned.

The Roosters kept most of their big guns on ice through the trials, with many of them working back from injury, and it showed in round one with the team struggling for rhythm against an energetic and disciplined Newcastle.

Manly took the opposite path, giving the likes of Tom Trbojevic and Daly Cherry-Evans big minutes in the pre-season but they still had no answers to a dominant Penrith side in round one. 

The Red V didn't have it all their own way in downing the Warriors last week but pulled away at the end while the Panthers looked every bit the grand-final winning outfit despite missing star halfback Nathan Cleary as they easily accounted for fellow heavyweights Manly.

The Dragons enjoyed plenty of positive signs from their emerging young-guns, giving them something to build on into the season, but face a big step up against a Penrith side that were absolutely dominant in round one. 

Leading 14-0 with 12 minutes to play the Storm conceded three quick tries to see their lead cut to two before a booming two-point field goal from 48 metres out by Latrell Mitchell sent the game to golden point.

Ryan Papenhuyzen then stepped up in the 84th minute to nail the field goal which handed the home side the win.

The Storm got the ball rolling in the 11th minute when Jahrome Hughes shrugged off Damian Cook's tackle and unloaded to Harry Grant who kicked across field for Xavier Coates to leap high and score in the corner.

Melbourne's stunning round one record looked in danger as they coped with the absences of Cam Munster and Harry Grant plus injuries to Brandon Smith, George Jennings and Christian Welch, but their class eventually shone through.

The Rabbitohs were lucklustre in their opening loss of the season but it's hardly panic stations given the absence of Latrell Mitchell and game-eve injury to his stand-in Blake Taaffe. 

Expect each side to be better this week as the Storm hunt a 2-0 start to the year and the Bunnies look to open their 2022 account.

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Winners

Warriors superstars Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (90) and Shaun Johnson (68) inspired their team to a win over the Ash Taylor-less Titans and grabbed a lot of Fantasy points in the process, sitting at one and two in the points rankings this week.