The big winners of Round 11 were...
New Zealand Warriors, whose remarkable runs of results in 2025 continued with a nailbiting 16-12 win over Dolphins extended their winning streak to five matches.
Yes, it was an ugly affair where attacking fluency was tough to come by for both teams, but the Warriors had some pretty poor defensive displays in the second half of 2024 and have been working on that successfully throughout March and April to finish Round 11 with the league's third-best defence, conceding an average of 22.22 points per match (behind Canterbury and Cronulla).
Co-captain Mitch Barnett praised the side's "unreal resilience" in the face of the Dolphins' late comeback after they were held scoreless for the first 70 minutes of the game, telling the post-game broadcast that their consistency is "slowly building".
To add to the good news, veterans-in-waiting Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and James Fisher-Harris made comebacks from injury unscathed, albeit not successfully with RTS struggling under high kicks and JFH's sin-binning opening the door for the Dolphins to crawl back into contention.
Their season record includes four wins from five games as favourites, four wins from five as underdogs, and they're likely to be one of the least impacted clubs by the upcoming State of Origin period with Barnett their only selection. Their next three opponents - Canberra, South Sydney and Cronulla - all promise to be stern tests.
The big losers of Round 11 were...
...the Melbourne Storm after they once again blew a game that they were expected to win.
In the space of five weeks, the Storm have dropped two matches as $1.47 favourites (Cronulla, Canberra) and another as a $1.28 starter (Dolphins) and it appears that the competition is beginning to work out how to get the better of them.
The Raiders and Sharks both brought a bit of niggle and a bit of spice to their victories over the Storm and forced the six-time NRL champions into some costly late-game errors, so long-time Storm coach Craig Bellamy is going to have to find a way to ensure his players maintain their focus when things get heated.
Bellamy is no stronger to losing many of his stars during the Origin period and five Storm players have been selected for the extended 20-man Game 1 squads.
Last year they came back from their Origin bye to begin a seven-game winning streak following a sketchy three-game period where they lost to the Sharks and the Sea Eagles, so having next weekend off could be precisely what they need for a reset. It'll be fascinating to see if other teams follow the successful gameplans of the Raiders and Sharks in particular.
Dally M Medal: Metcalf reclaims the lead
The Warriors halfback Luke Metcalf barely afforded the Dolphins any additional scoring opportunities with just one handling error recorded in an otherwise controlling and efficient performance.
He was one of five men to poll the maximum six votes at the weekend alongside Addin Fonua-Blake (Sharks), Kaeo Weekes (Raiders), Clint Gutherson (Dragons), Addin Fonua-Blake (Sharks) and South Sydney's Keaon Koloamatangi who racked up nearly 50 tackles.
Metcalf has seamlessly slotted into the number seven jersey vacated by Shaun Johnson, telling AAP last week that he knew he was ready to take on the pressure of immediately replacing a club legend and the enormous expectations that comes with it.
Try of the Week: Round 11
Let's be honest - this one had been decided before Super Saturday had even kicked off.
Roosters winger Mark Nawaqanitawase displayed extraordinary finesse and control to give the Roosters a 70th minute lead as part of a game-high 67 NRL fantasy points for the 24-year-old. That performance saw him record at least twice as many tackle breaks (eight) as any other player, though his game-high six errors - many of them under a kick - meant he polled just one Dally M vote for the match.
Let that not take away from this highlight at least for a brief moment.