Round 3

The Tigers found the scoreboard early, making the most of some early field position to score through centre Bernard Gregorius.

The Hunters responded well, applying pressure with their defence and working upfield effectively through the middle. On the back of this, in the 17th minute and in his debut appearance for the Hunters, halfback Jamie Mavoko orchestrated PNG’s first points with a perfectly weighted grubber kick that Rodick Tai would fall on to score.

A hat-trick to Cowboys forward Jeremiah Nanai and five-star performances from Valentine Holmes and former Bronco Tom Dearden led the visitors, who set up a 14-6 lead in the first half before going on with the game in the second.

It was a sweet homecoming in his second game against the Broncos for Dearden, who scored a try and set up three to outplay Broncos halfback Adam Reynolds.

Reynolds' first match at home was a mixed bag with the former Rabbitohs kicking the ball out twice on the full in the minutes leading up to Holmes' try in the 45th minute.

In a scrappy contest, the Bulldogs levelled the scores with nine minutes to go before Cherry-Evans took advantage of a Braidon Burns error late in the match to slot home a one-pointer from 22 metres out.

On a night the Sea Eagles paid tribute to the late Bob Fulton with the unveiling of the northern grandstand named in his honour, it was the visitors who shocked the home crowd early with two tries inside 14 minutes to take an 8-0 lead.

Bulldogs halfback Brandon Wakeham, a late inclusion for the side, regathered his own kick to opening the scoring in the first minute.

The arrival of Adam Reynolds and Kurt Capewell has the Broncos buzzing and their influence has been clear for all to see in the first two games.

Further north and the Cowboys have their own star recruits in Chad Townsend and Peta Hiku, two experienced campaigners who bring composure and class to a proud club crying out for a return to the glory days of 2015 and the gutsy days of 2017.

There is no better setting than Suncorp Stadium on a Sunday afternoon for the latest instalment in a rivalry which has been going strong since 1995 and rarely fails to deliver.

After last year's horror 0-4 start, the Sea Eagles would not have been expecting the early stages of this year to pan out in similar fashion, especially with star fullback Tom Trbojevic fit to start the season - although they have faced two of the competition's most heavily-fancied sides.

The Bulldogs are 1-1 and arguably unlucky not to be 2-0, but are still very much a work in progress. If coach Trent Barrett can help his current club add more early-season pain onto his former club it will go a long way to building a confident platform for the rest of their 2022 campaign.

Canberra trailed 22-0 five minutes before halftime but piled on five unanswered tries to snatch a remarkable win, with five-eighth Jack Wighton leading the way.

It was a complete turnaround from the first half when the Titans were in total control but a try on the stroke of halftime to centre Semi Valemei gave Canberra fans some hope.

Wighton and hooker Tom Starling sparked the comeback, while Valemei and fellow centre Matt Timoko had strong second half performances in both attack and defence.

Stone scored his second try of the match when he chased after a long range Mitchell Moses field goal attempt that bounced off the right upright and picked up the ball before diving over for the winning try.

The scores had been level at 12-12 at halftime and 24-24 at fulltime as both teams refused to let the other get on top in a contest worthy of a finals match rather than a round three clash.

Stone was only called on in the 58th minute after winger Bailey Simonsson suffered a head knock and he scored two tries playing at right centre to twice put the Eels ahead.

Barnett's elbow to the jaw of Panther Chris Smith in the 33rd minute was both late and high and left referee Peter Gough with no option but to march him.

The Knights were leading 6-4 at the time courtesy of Dominic Young's converted try in the 19th minute which answered Taylan May's early strike but the numerical advantage soon told.

Four minutes after Barnett exited, May had a second try thanks to a pinpoint grubber from Izack Tago.

The opening game of round three is packed with intriguing storylines and WIN Stadum is sure to come alive as Fityz's Sharks and Anthony Griffin's Dragons both go in search of a second win for the season.

The Sharks have played in two thrillers - going down to Canberra at the death in round one and then snatching victory in the final minute against the Eels in round two.

The Dragons followed an impressive opening win over the Warriors with a gutsy performance against the premiers, copping some tough calls on their way to a 20-16 loss at Netstrata Jubilee.

Naiqama, who has joined the Roosters after returning home from England with three consecutive Super League premierships for St Helens, reflected on the growth in the number of Fijian stars in the NRL ahead of this weekend’s Multi-Cultural Round.

“I remember when I was a young kid, Petero Civoniceva and Lote Tuqiri were literally the only two big names, but now there is Viliame Kikau, Maika Sivo and so many other Fijians playing in the NRL,” Naiqama said.