MELBOURNE STORM 40 def. NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS 12

THE GOOD: Storm fullback Billy Slater sent a powerful message to Origin selectors after they left him out of the series opener. The second of his tries was beautiful; he ran off a Cooper Cronk inside ball to dart 30m through traffic and score under the posts.

THE BAD: Approaching halftime, the Knights’ Lachlan Fitzgibbon was marched to the bin for ten minutes after his side was warned repeatedly for delaying tactics in the ruck. That’s all Newcastle needed, hey?

THE UGLY: It took the Knights the best part of three quarters of the match to have a play-the-ball inside the Storm’s 20m zone. To say they were shut out by the Storm would be the understatement of all time …

PARRAMATTA EELS 32 def. NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS 24

THE GOOD: Semi Radradra hit top speed eight minutes out from the break, racing 80m off a dreadful kick from Warriors half Shaun Johnson to score untouched, apart from a feeble tackle attempt from RTS.

THE BAD: The Warriors’ errors. It’s the only constant in their game, apart from their inconsistency.

THE UGLY: Mitchell Moses’ defence at times, particularly in the 19th minute when Simon Mannering ran past him as if the new Parra half was bolted to the floor.

ST.GEORGE-IILAWARRA DRAGONS 16 def. WESTS TIGERS 12

THE GOOD: The way the players backed up from Origin across both sides was classy: Josh Dugan, Aaron Woods, James Tedesco and Tyson Frizell all performed well in a pressure match.

THE BAD: Dugan scored what looked like the ad-lib try of the year, but it was disallowed because the Drags’ Jack De Belin didn’t retreat behind the play-the-ball back at the start of the movement. Terrible rule.

THE UGLY: Too many empty seats at ANZ Stadium – not enough to give the respect this thrilling match deserved, anyway …

SYDNEY ROOSTERS 18 def. BRISBANE BRONCOS 16

THE GOOD: The Roosters’ inspirational captain Boyd Cordner topped off a brilliant week, backing up his debut win as Origin captain with a magnificent two-try performance.

THE BAD: Broncos winger Jordan Kahu got the horror bounce of the century from a Roosters kick. Vice versa for Cordner, who pounced on the spilt ball for his second meat pie.

THE UGLY: Roosters winger Daniel Tupou had feet for hands mid-way through the first half, bombing a certain try in the corner after a tap-on from his team-mates.

NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 20 def. GOLD COAST TITANS 8

THE GOOD: Cowboys young gun Coen Hess had his sledgehammer out, bashing on the door of the Queensland selectors’ office.

THE BAD: Cows’ fullback Lachlan Coote was run over by Titans steamroller Konrad Hurrell early in the second half. Has anyone checked on Coote to see if he’s okay?

THE UGLY: The Titans were penalised after taking too long to take a drop out with 11 minutes remaining in the match. The booming sound of the shot clock alarm going off will haunt them for the rest of the season.

MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 21 def. CANBERRA RAIDERS 20

THE GOOD: Manly is just trolling its 1987 grand final rivals this season. That’s two nail-biting wins in a row now over the blokes from the capital.

THE BAD: Watching the Raiders’ forward pack trying to stop Manly hardman Marty Taupau though …

THE UGLY: Wasn’t a very happy afternoon for Raiders prop Shannon Boyd, who suffered a head-clash with a team-mate and was then flipped base over apex in a dizzying tackle … all in the opening three minutes!

PENRITH PANTHERS 38 def. CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS 0.

THE GOOD: The Panthers are officially back, scoring their third win in a row. On the back of last week’s bye, they’ve collected eight points on the trot to suddenly be on the doorstep of the eight after a dreadful opening two months of the season.

THE BAD: Canterbury’s attack. It wasn’t bad, just ineffective. They asked no question of the young Panthers’ defence.

THE UGLY: Well, not ugly … more beautiful. In fact, the running battle between Bulldogs big bopper Sam Kasiano and Panthers prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard was old-school-brilliant.

(Header image by Getty Images)