The big winners of Round 18 were...
Brisbane Broncos for their second win over former league leaders Canterbury Bulldogs of 2025, which more importantly helped them move to within two victories of the top-four albeit having played one more game than fourth-placed Warriors.
Michael Maguire's men have now won three of their four starts as underdogs and two of them came against the Bulldogs, and this one came with a remarkable second-half comeback.
Captain Adam Reynolds revealed during the post-game press conference that the players all believed amongst themselves at half-time that a win from a 16-0 deficit was possible and that it was successfully executed thanks to a change in tactics from Maguire in which they attacked the wings rather than the middle of the park.
"Believe it or not, I actually did (think we could win)," Maguire said after the game.
“I knew it was going to be a challenge but the players at half-time spoke really well amongst each other and they went out and delivered exactly what they said, so that was really pleasing.
“They needed to stick to their plan and they did that so I'm really happy for them.”
Their four-game winning streak includes scalps Canterbury and NZ Warriors, following a four-game losing run against the likes of lowly St George Illawarra and South Sydney, and it has seen them jump ahead of Penrith in the Premiership betting market.
Honourable mention: The three Fainu brothers - Samuela, Latu and Sione - for becoming the first trio of siblings to all score tries in the same NRL game.
The big losers of Round 18 were...
Sydney Roosters, who blew a golden opportunity to join the Broncos on 22 points with one fewer game played and get themselves into an even better position.
The promises of their duo of wins against the Cowboys and Knights was followed up with a poor showing against Wests Tigers in which they lost despite scoring five tries to four.
It was their third loss from six games as favourites this year and, in contrast with regular occurrences this year of getting out to an early lead only to squander it, they found themselves 20 points down prior to half-time.
The medium-term form overall has been encouraging - their last ten games haven't featured a pair of back-to-back losses despite the loss of many players to Origin duties - but they can't afford to continue slipping up particularly when their run home features two games to come against bogey team Melbourne Storm.
Bulldogs' exodus continues
After the infamous Lachlan Galvin saga finally came to a close, and the dust settled on halfback Tony Sexton's imminent move to French club Catalan Dragons next year, star hooker Reed Mahoney is off to Townsville.
The NQ Cowboys announced with great delight on Sunday morning that Mahoney has signed a three-year contract, praising his passing as "good as any dummy-half in the NRL".
"Hooker is a critical position on the rugby league field (as) they touch the ball more than any other player," said Cowboys' general football manager Micheal Luck.
"(They) set the tone of your attack and are a key member of your defensive intent, which is why we are thrilled to be able to secure Reed on a long-term deal.”
"He has craft in his game through a good sleight of hand, he’s a threat close to the line and has one of the better kicking games of the hookers in our competition."
Whilst it's going to make for an interesting off-season at Belmore, it could hardly come at a worse time for the Bulldogs after back-to-back losses threatened to put their campaign in peril.
Ken Irvine Medal Leaderboard
With his double in the Roosters' narrow 30-28 loss to Wests Tigers on Sunday, Mark Nawaqanitawase moved to outright second in the try scoring race for 2025.
Try of the Week: Round 18
Has this coast-to-coast sprint from Canberra's Kaeo Weekes overtaken Mark Nawaqanitawase's corner chip and chase for 'try of the year', or did an insipid Dragons defence make it look better than it should have? You be the judge.