Wests Tigers

but captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui faces a nervous wait after being placed on report for contact on Tigers skipper Api Koroisau.

Koroisau suffered a broken jaw as he attempted to make a tackle on Fa'asuamaleaui with the incident potentially having ramifications for both State of Origin teams. 

The match itself - while entertaining - did have a number of errors, with the Tigers especially culpable with 14 errors and three penalties conceded.

The joint venture may have breathed a sigh of relief when Raiders coach Ricky Stuart decided to rest veteran Jarrod Croker, with the Green Machine guaranteed to have put it all on the field for their favourite son in what would have been his 300th game.

How in-form young guns Junior Tupou, Jahream Bula and Starford To'a rise to the occasion at Campbelltown Stadium on Friday will determine if the Wests Tigers can claim their fourth win of the season and continue their rise up the ladder.

Watched on by family, friends and former team-mates, including Mitchell Moses and Josh Reynolds, Brooks was at his attacking best; running 213 metres with the ball and laying on two tries as Wests Tigers romped to their third win in four weeks.

The win was the first in the history of Wests Tigers or the 1908 foundation clubs who formed the joint venture in 2000, Balmain or Western Suburbs, in which they had scored 66 points.

The 48-point margin was also the heaviest defeat by a Cowboys team since North Queensland joined the premiership in 1995.

The Rabbitohs have now won six on the trot, the best streak by any team in 2023, and move to the top of the NRL ladder courtesy of a superior points differential to the Broncos.

On the back of a six-again call Latrell Mitchell earned a repeat set with a neat grubber and the Rabbitohs threatened to open the scoring but Tommy Talau flew high to defuse a bomb and the Tigers kept their line intact.

Talau then aimed up in defence with a big hit on Michael Chee Kam to force an error but the Tigers lost their way in attack and failed to capitalise.

The Rabbitohs are the hottest team in the NRL with five wins on the bounce and they will fancy their chances of making it six when they host Wests Tigers at Accor Stadium.

The last time the Rabbitohs won five straight was late in the 2021 season as they marched towards the grand final and with their big guns firing on all cylinders their form looks every bit as ominous in 2023.

The drought-breaking win over defending premiers Penrith sets up a chance to chase back-to-back wins for the joint venture - a feat not achieved by the club for over 12 months. 

St George Illawarra have dropped their past four games by a total of 11 points, indicating while they're not getting the victories Anthony Griffin and his side need, they're certainly not being blown off the park. 

Dragons captain Ben Hunt will share the dummy half duties with Moses Mbye after former Wests Tigers hooker Jacob Liddle was dropped.

The reigning premier Panthers and winless Wests Tigers are a total mis-match on paper but both head to Bathurst in Round 9 reeling from heart-breaking losses last week. 

Having taken an in-form Sea Eagles side to the wire last week, the Tigers should be walking that little bit taller despite their 0-8 start, but meeting Ivan Cleary's Panthers off the back of a last-gasp loss to the Rabbitohs is a tough ask for Tim Sheens' men.

The last time Brisbane started a season 5-0 was 1998, when they went on to win the inaugural NRL premiership with current coach Kevin Walters calling the shots in the halves alongside Allan Langer.

Playing in his 50th NRL game, Jordan Riki got the scoring started for the Broncos when he stepped past Luke Brooks to dot down for the ninth try of his career.

Reeling at the bottom of the NRL ladder, nobody was tipping the Tigers to defeat the red-hot Broncos in 2022 and few will be backing them this week but there were signs of improvement against the Storm and Sheens will look to build on those.

New recruits John Bateman and Api Koroisau did their best to lift Wests Tigers back from the Storm's early lead on Friday but errors in possession errors and some poor defence consigned them to a fourth straight loss.

After shock losses to the Bulldogs and Titans in Munster's absence, Craig Bellamy's men got back on track with a disciplined first half that laid the platform for their first home win since Round 21 last year. 

An offside penalty against the Tigers gave Melbourne the chance to open the scoring in the sixth minute through a Nick Meaney penalty goal.

On the back of a six-again call the Storm worked their way downfield and a couple of handy offloads by Josh King and Jonah Pezet opened the door for Will Warbrick to cross for his first NRL try in the 19th minute.