Penrith downed the Knights after a brutal shot saw Newcastle forward Mitch Barnett sent from the field, Parramatta scored an incredible golden point upset over the Storm and Canberra stormed home against the Titans in an incredible night of NRL action.
Check out all the scores, stats and news from a crazy day in rugby league below.
Eels 28 def Storm 24
Parramatta have continued to be a thorn in Melbourne's side, upsetting the Storm 28-24 in golden point in a pulsating NRL clash at AAMI Park.
Lock Ray Stone was the unlikely hero, scoring twice with his second the matchwinner two minutes into extra time when he pounced on an attempted field goal by Mitch Moses that hit the upright.
Stone had previously only scored two tries in his five seasons in the NRL.
The Eels beat the Storm twice last season, their round 24 victory ending Melbourne's chance to set a record 20 successive NRL wins.
And they maintained that dominance in an epic contest that was played with finals-like intensity, serving up Melbourne's first loss of the year.
Stone also crossed in the 70th minute to break a 18-18 deadlock when he attempted to catch a Moses bomb that bobbled off a Storm player and back into his hands.
But Melbourne took momentum into golden point when Brandon Smith and Cameron Munster combined to put Ryan Papenhuyzen away in the 75th minute, with the fullback adding the extras to lock up the scoreboard at 24-24.
Melbourne started strongly with two tries disallowed by the bunker in the opening seven minutes however Smith, who made an early return from a broken hand made no mistake in the 11th minute.
The nuggety hooker collected an offload from Josh King and burrowed over the line, with Papenhuyzen adding the extras for the 6-0 lead.
The Storm dominated territory and possession early but the Eels defence held firm and they responded with a try in the 18th minute through fullback Clint Gutherson after a Dylan Brown break.
The Parramatta five-eighth then sent a long ball to Waqa Blake and the winger steamrolled Papenhuyzen, sending the lightweight fullback flying back into the in-goal.
Nick Meaney, who was a late replacement for injured winger Xavier Coates crossed twice — his first in the 37th minute and then added a second in the 43rd to split the 12-12 halftime scoreline.
But again the Eels hit back, with Moses putting up a bomb for centre Tom Opacic and the halfback squared up the ledger with his conversion.
The heavyweights continued to go toe to toe before Moses and Stone stood up to leave the Storm shattered yet again.
Team stats
Raiders 24 def Titans 22
Canberra have pulled off a stunning NRL comeback, scoring four tries in the second half to overturn a 22-point deficit against Gold Coast.
Effectively dead and buried trailing the Titans 22-0 after 39 minutes, the Raiders roared into life and completed the comeback in the 75th minute via Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.
The fullback gathered a Brad Schneider grubber and planted it down inches inside the dead-ball line just minutes from time before Schneider slotted the conversion.
They sealed the win with a monumental hit from Semi Valemei, who flattened AJ Brimson to force a last-minute knock-on.
The 24-22 victory tied the Raiders' club record for biggest ever comeback, remarkably the third time they've come from 22-0 down to win in the last seven years.
It was their second home thriller to start the NRL season, having scored in the 79th minute to beat Cronulla in round one.
After falling to the huge deficit, they found their first points in the shadows of halftime via Valemei, while Matt Timoko was next to cross early in the second half via an inch-perfect Jack Wighton grubber.
With his side suddenly looking full of life, Timoko made it two tries in four minutes as he capped an exceptional zig-zagging run from Tom Starling for 22-14, while the margin was just four on the hour after a Schneider cut-out ball found Seb Kris in the corner.
They'd dug themselves a hole with poor ball security and lax defending, with Titans second-rower Beau Fermor making his presence felt early, tapping a clever Brian Kelly grubber back to the centre to score.
He then powered across for a try of his own on the half-hour for 16-0.
Phillip Sami had earlier opened the scoring on 14 minutes after benefiting from a divine Brimson assist to find the corner.
Their huge start was wrapped with a trademark run from captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, plunging over from close range for 22-0.
Timoko was exceptional with his two tries, 131 total metres and 52 post-contact metres, while star forwards Josh Papali'i and Joe Tapine were as strong as ever.
For the Titans, who will certainly be questioning how they managed to throw away such a strong position, Fa'asuamaleaui had 120m in the first half alone, with fellow forward David Fifita carrying for 168m.
Team stats
Panthers 38 def Knights 20
Penrith have assumed their now-customary position atop the NRL ladder after putting under-manned Newcastle to the sword 38-20 in Bathurst.
Newcastle led the depleted premiers late in the first half at Carrington Park before a brain explosion from Knights second-rower Mitch Barnett turned Saturday's top-of-the-table clash on its head.
Barnett was sent off for an off-the-ball elbow to the head of Penrith forward Chris Smith that even had retired hardman Steve Roach shaking his head in disbelief.
Commentating on Fox Sports, Roach said he thought such acts of old-school foul play were a thing of the past and tipped a lengthy suspension for Barnett.
"That's a bad one. He'll be sitting on the sidelines for a fair while," the former Test prop said.
"That'll be hard to defend, that one."
With Smith failing a HIA following the ugly incident, Penrith were forced to activate their 18th man and introduce Lindsay Smith for the duration of the match.
The premiers were already missing more than half their 2021 grand final-winning line-up after James Fisher-Harris (shoulder), Liam Martin (leg) and Brian To'o (knee) joined skipper Nathan Cleary in the casualty ward.
The quartet's absence followed the off-season departures of Paul Momirovski, Matt Burton, Kurt Capewell and Tyrone May's sacking.
And despite Kaylan Ponga's late withdrawal, the Knights threatened an upset when they led the baby Panthers 6-4 until the 33rd minute.
But Barnett's marching orders sparked a point-scoring blitz from Penrith.
Stephen Crichton levelled the scores from the ensuing penalty before Taylan May, proving worthy cover for To'o, grabbed his second try of the afternoon in the shadows of halftime to give Penrith the lead.
Izack Tago's second-half double and further tries to Crichton, Charlie Stains and May's third three minutes from fulltime extended the Panthers' unbeaten start to 2022 and consigned Newcastle to their first defeat of the season.
Penrith return home to BlueBet Stadium to host South Sydney in a grand final rematch on Friday night, while Newcastle will look to rebound against Cronulla in round four.
