Luke Brooks led the Tigers to a fantastic victory over the Panthers. (Getty Images: Mark Metcalfe )
Wests Tigers scored an incredible upset victory over Penrith, the Titans outlasted Manly and Canberra snuck home against the Dolphins in another big day of NRL action.
Check out all the live scores and stats below.
Wests Tigers 12 def Penrith Panthers 8
Much-maligned halfback Luke Brooks and ex-Panther Api Koroisau have combined to help the last-placed Wests Tigers wage the biggest NRL upset in recent memory — a 12-8 defeat of two-time reigning premiers Penrith.
The win in Bathurst officially halts the previously winless Tigers' losing streak after seven losses to begin the season and five to end 2022.
It also intensifies pressure on an admittedly undermanned Panthers side that has now begun their premiership defence with four wins and four losses.
Penrith were stilted and error-prone in torrential rain on Saturday night but mostly fell victim to a polished Tigers side that finally delivered on the potential shown this month.
Without injured halves partner Adam Doueihi, Brooks rose to the challenge of booting the Tigers into momentum.
The Tigers' two tries both came directly after Brooks 40/20 kicks, the first of which was in the first set of the night.
After his first pinpoint kick, Brooks threaded a grubber through the defence to give Brandon Wakeham the opening try of the night — all before the reigning premiers had touched the ball.
Hooker Koirisau had his best game since leaving the Panthers last year and was the Tigers' general in the middle of the park.
He came within inches of scoring a try from his own grubber in the first half and just after halftime, tore through the defence on a line break that could have given the Tigers a second try if he had support.
The performance would not have gone unnoticed by NSW coach Brad Fittler, who is set to choose between Koroisau and Damien Cook when he names his team for State of Origin I.
But penalties cost the Tigers; they conceded three in the space of eight minutes in the first half and on the back of a high tackle from Brooks, the Panthers marched upfield to score their only try through Tyrone Peachey.
Team stats
The Tigers did well to avoid conceding points while centre Brent Naden was in the sin bin for laying a shoulder charge on Zac Hosking.
The ex-Panther had only just made his return from a shoulder injury but can expect to spend more time on the sidelines.
Down 12-8, Penrith looked to have equalised when Nathan Cleary burst through the defence but the ball bounced free of his grasp in slippery conditions as rookie fullback Jahream Bula slid over in cover defence.
It was one of 11 errors for the Panthers, many of which came in good territory.
Referee Adam Gee pulled the play back to sin-bin Penrith interchange hooker Soni Luke for a hip-drop tackle on Alex Twal as the final ten minutes approached and the Tigers held on.
Injury continues to ravage the Panthers' middle forward rotation, with Matt Eisenhuth set to join James Fisher-Harris and Spencer Leniu on the sidelines after picking up a game-ending shoulder complaint in the 15th minute.
Gold Coast Titans 26 def Manly Sea Eagles 10
The Titans beat Manly to the punch at Brookvale Oval. (Getty Images: Matt King)
David Fifita has returned to his monstering best to lead Gold Coast to a 26-10 upset NRL win over a Manly side desperately missing Tom Trbojevic.
On a wet night in Sydney, Fifita entered beast mode to score one try and have a hand in another as the Titans posted their first win in three weeks.
But it didn't come easy, with Gold Coast needing to starve off a brief second-half comeback a week after giving up a 26-point lead to the Dolphins.
The result left the Sea Eagles' record without Trbojevic at 18 from 54 without the superstar fullback since the start of 2019.
With his fitness questioned all season, it was made abundantly clear how important Trbojevic is to Manly's attack as they played without impetus.
The Sea Eagles lacked finish on the Titans line and couldn't threaten out of their own end, as young replacement Kaeo Weekes failed to have an impact in the Sea Eagles' third loss of the year.
Trbojevic will return from his groin injury on Friday night against Brisbane, but Manly are at risk of losing powerhouse second-rower Haumole Olakau'atu to suspension after he was put on report for a crusher tackle and head slam.
Fellow forward Toff Sipley could also find himself in trouble, after he was sin-binned for a crusher tackle on Phillip Sami in the first half.
The Titans didn't emerge unscathed either, with AJ Brimson suffering a second hamstring injury in the past five weeks early in the second half.
But still, with pressure mounting on coach Justin Holbrook, they will walk away from 4 Pines Park relieved.
Fifita was easily their best, after his fast hands put winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira across for the Titans' first after Kieran dug into the line.
Another first-half try came when Fifita carried three men across and just got the ball to ground, before he finished with 153 metres and three tackle busts.
Team stats
Foran also had a happy return to his old home ground, as his and Fifita's left-edge did the job on Manly in only his second match at Brookvale as an away player.
Fellow former Sea Eagle Brian Kelly laid on another try, when he grubber-kicked for Khan-Pereira just before the break for what threatened to be a knockout blow at 16-6.
Then, the Titans would have had fears of a repeat of last Sunday's second-half nightmare.
Daly Cherry-Evans put Manly on the front foot with a 40-20, put Sean Keppie over two plays later before the margin went down to six points following a 55th-minute penalty goal.
But when Olakau'atu was penalised for a crusher tackle on Tino Fa'asuamaleaui and Tanah Boyd kicked for Sami to score moments later, those fears were extinguished before a late Jayden Campbell try sealed the match.
Canberra Raiders 31 def Dolphins 30
Wighton put a controversial week behind him to help lead Canberra to victory. (Getty Images: Mark Nolan)
Jamal Fogarty's 84th-minute field goal has helped Canberra avoid a disastrous defeat and beat the Dolphins 31-30 in NRL golden point in Wagga Wagga.
Jack Wighton capped his week in the headlines with a stunning display to help the Raiders lead 18-0 before the never-say-die Dolphins fought their way back to force a 30-30 draw after 80 minutes.
The Raiders were camped deep in Dolphins' territory late in regulation time but remarkably didn't attempt a field goal.
They repeatedly threatened but couldn't break the opposition's stubborn line before halfback Fogarty sprayed a field goal attempt wide, forcing the match into extra time.
Fogarty quickly redeemed himself for a third straight win for the Raiders, seeing them square the ledger at 4-4 for the season.
Days after signing with South Sydney from next season, star five-eighth Wighton took just six minutes to score and put on a rugby league clinic in a 22-minute blitz that helped the Raiders take control of the game.
Wayne Bennett's men were powerless to stop Wighton's early onslaught.
Wighton scored a try and provided an assist to complement five tackle busts, two line break assists and a forced dropout as the Dolphins fell three converted tries behind.
The Dolphins were outrun by 400m and missed 13 tackles before they finally fired a shot with back-to-back tries for Euan Aitken and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to give themselves a chance of another famous comeback win.
Canberra veteran Jarrod Croker capped a brilliant opening set with his 134th career try before Wighton and Jordan Rapana helped the Raiders pinch a handy break.
Team stats
Raiders No.1 Seb Kris restored a 10-point advantage before halftime with a 50m line break courtesy of Wighton's assist.
A week after coming from 26 points down to beat Gold Coast, the Dolphins again found themselves chasing the game and struggled to get the match on their terms.
But their gritty attitude saw them find a way back from a hole that could have buried them.
Down 24-12 with 22 minutes to play, two tries in four minutes for powerful second-rower Connelly Lemuelu got the Dolphins level but Fogarty had the answer, crossing thanks to a perfect Corey Harawira-Naera offload.
Dolphins prop Jesse Bromwich crashed over with seven minutes left to set up a grandstand finish.
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