A Storm star has made late surge into Origin contention, while Daly Cherry-Evans’ contract saga is haunting Manly and the Broncos season is at a major crossroads.
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Read on for the biggest NRL talking points to come out of Round 10.
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PAPENHUYZEN’S BLUES AUDITION IN RECORD POINT HAUL
The Blues are not short on fullback options, but Ryan Papenhuyzen has put himself right in the frame if injuries strike and he could even nab a bench spot.
Papenhuyzen broke the NRL era record of Matt Geyer (34 in 1999) with 36 points in a match from four tries and 10 goals in the Storm’s record 64-0 win over the Tigers.
Papenhuyzen also had 175 run metres, seven tackle busts, two linebreaks and a linebreak assist to put himself firmly in the frame for an Origin debut.
Craig Bellamy, who is a NSW adviser this season, believes Papenhuyzen would be ready to do a job if called upon by Laurie Daley.
“He was outstanding, I can’t remember too many players scoring three tries in that quick succession of time, especially at the start of the game,” Bellamy said.
“He was certainly on the ball today and got some real rewards for him and the team.
“That’s something for the selectors to decide, but at the end of the day he’s never going to let anyone down, without a doubt.
“But having said that, there’s a lot of good fullbacks around and there probably has been for the last 20 years in Origin for both teams to be quite honest.
“It will be interesting because he’s in red hot form at the moment, so if NSW decides to go that way he won’t let anyone down.”
Bellamy used Papenhuyzen as a bench player early in his career and believes he could do that job for his State.
“I think so if you look at him in that role,” Bellamy said.
“Usually these days that fourth bench player can play dummy-half and then probably in the halves a little bit as well, so I think he could do that well if he had to.
“At the end of the day it’ll be up to the selectors on what they think, but if he did get picked whatever role they’d like him to play he’s not going to let them down or let himself down.”
Regardless of whether he plays for the Blues, Bellamy marvelled at Papenhuyzen’s ability to overcome some horrendous injuries to get back to his best for the Storm.
“With all due respect when he when he came back after probably the last one was 12 months you think having that many serious injuries, it’d be really hard for him to get back to what we know he’s capable of,” Bellamy said.
“I thought some of those injuries would drag him back physically, but they don’t seem to have done that. If it has he would have been one hell of a player if he hadn’t got injured.
“But he had some horrific injuries and a lot in a short amount of time to come back how he has and to play at the standard that he’s played, it’s been pretty remarkable.
“I don’t think I’ve seen anyone in my time in the game as a player or a coach have that many bad injuries and still be able to play at that level.”
– Mark St John
Benji’s strong words after big loss” | 03:41
DCE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM HAUNTING MANLY’S SEASON
The ongoing Daly Cherry-Evans contract saga has Manly’s season in danger of imploding after a disappointing 30-14 home loss to the Sharks saw them slip to on the verge of dropping out of the top eight.
Cherry-Evans had 19 run metres, two tackle busts, zero try involvements, an error and three missed tackles against the Sharks as Nicho Hynes outplayed his former Origin rival.
Matty Johns believes the Cherry-Evans’ uncertain future amid links to the Roosters is affecting the Manly side and the players.
“On Manly, the DCE thing you can’t help but think it is serving as a distraction,” Johns said on Sunday Night with Matty Johns.
“Them at Brookvale are very hard to beat and I expected them to come out of the sheds just blazing and playing sideline to sideline.”
Bryan Fletcher noted how poor Manly have been since Cherry-Evans made the call to leave the club at the end of the season.
“No doubt,” Fletcher said.
“They have only won one game after he announced he was going to be leaving.
“Whether or not the other players have come out and said anything, but it would be something on their mind because they don’t look like the team we saw in Round 1 when they just put the Cowboys to the sword.
“It just seems to me that there is something on their mind and they are hesitant. They used to shift the ball coming out of their own end, but it just looks like they have lost all confidence.”
Fletcher implored Cherry-Evans to just come out and say where he is going in 2026 to end the constant speculation.
“Do you think he should just come out and announce it?” Fletcher said.
“I think it will make a difference because everyone is talking about it anyway. It is all the scuttlebutt.”
However, Nathan Hindmarsh implored Manly to get back to playing off their big edge players, including Haumole Olakau’atu.
“The games they have won they have used their big men well,” Hindmarsh said.
“They have got their two big men on the edge smacking them and they have gone away from doing that.”
Johns agreed Olakau’atu was thinking pass first against the Sharks, which was a mistake.
“Haumole has a lot of power and watching him against the Sharks there was a lot of flick passes and passing before the line,” Johns said.
“That’s not his game.”
Manly now face a tough road trip to face the resurgent Cowboys in a must win game or they will drop out of the top eight on the eve of the Origin series.
– Mark St John
Sharks snatch away win against Manly | 03:06
BRONCOS’ WOES CONTINUE
The Panthers bested the Broncos a week earlier and many expected Michael Maguire’s side to bounce back in a big way against the Rabbitohs.
Instead, they delivered a performance that left those same people scratching their head.
A Latrell Mitchell field goal, after a strong first half performance, left Brisbane with two losses on the trot after arguably their best performance of the year in a win over the Bulldogs.
To add to their woes, Ben Hunt has suffered a hamstring injury which is set to keep him on the sidelines for an extended period.
Lucky for Michael Maguire, he has a ready-made five-eighth waiting in the wings in Ezra Mam, who was available for Round 10 after serving a suspension.
League legend Kevin Walters, who is the Broncos former coach, knows the impact Mam can have on a side more than most.
However, he warned that the gun five-eighth wasn’t going to solve Brisbane’s problems.
In fact, he couldn’t even put a finger on how the Broncos were able to fade away in the second half and lose against South Sydney.
“Ezra Mam has to come into the equation now… he’s not the end solution but he’s going to help things,” Walters said on Fox League.
“Not many clubs have the ability to lose Ben Hunt and roll Ezra Mam in. He can’t fix all of their problems, there’s something not quite right.
“It is early days but they will be bitterly disappointed with their performance tonight.
“They just looked a different team in the second half, maybe it’s a confidence thing. I’m not sure, I’m not there.”
Meanwhile, English league icon James Graham highlighted one moment that proves the Broncos have lost their way.
To start the second half, Rabbitohs hooker Siliva Havili barged his way over from dummy-half.
It was a play that it seemed everyone, but the Broncos, could see coming and Graham was of the belief it signified they’d lost focus.
Brisbane came into the second half with a 14-0 lead, but that four-pointer sparked a monumental turnaround of momentum.
“Look at the start to the second half, in wet conditions… you’ve got to be expecting a barge-over try,” Graham said.
“You wonder if their head was in the contest in that second half, maybe they thought they had got the job done?”
– Tom Sargeant
Latrell lifts Souths to heroic victory! | 04:04
KATOA KILLING IT
After Isaiya Katoa outmanoeuvred Mitchell Moses to lead the Dolphins to victory on Thursday day night, Matty Johns declared the 21-year-old Dolphins halfback has what it takes to become the best player in the game.
Katoa had a hand in two tries in the 20-16 win while also running for 51 metres from seven carries that produced three tackle busts.
But it was the opening try of the match that caught the attention of former Blues and Kangaroos half Johns.
“You do not see better ball-playing than this, young Isaiya Katoa, by telling a lie with the football, going out, back in then back out again, that is, honestly, that is so difficult to do,” Johns said.
“The amount of time that kid has because he has beautiful hands, that’s just great football, that’s ball-playing from a bloke in his 30s.
“He’s very good at reacting to the defence, obviously his football IQ is sky high.
“I think he’s got the capability to be the best player in the game.”
NRL premiership winner Byran Fletcher echoed the sentiment.
“He’s been doing this since he first came into first grade, so he must have been, as a kid, he must have worked really hard on his game,” Fletcher said.
“Because when he came into first grade he was doing this sort of stuff and he got them out of this tonight.
“His kicking game got them back into the game in the second half, he’s a marvel. He’s a 21-year-old with 15 more years in front of him, he’s going to be special.”
– Eamonn Tiernan
Woolf on the nail-biting final moments | 03:04
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE KNIGHTS?
Knights coach Adam O’Brien couldn’t believe what he was seeing as the Titans ran down his side in a dismal second half display.
He went as far to label Newcastle’s performance “embarrassing” before putting his players on notice, with changes looming.
“I don’t know how many options we do have in some of the areas,” he said.
“First thing I’ll do is go home and watch it and look at the part that I played in it and how I can help the ones that are there before I go executing them now.
“If there’s better options there we have the guys playing in NSW Cup tomorrow. If there’s a better option there, I’m at the point now I may need to (make a change).”
The Knights made 11 errors, conceded seven line breaks and gave away six penalties in an ill-disciplined display that left Kevin Walters confused as to where things went wrong.
“They were disappointing in that second half, the errors, the lack of energy that they played with,” Walters said.
“Plenty to work on for the Knights.”
O’Brien, meanwhile, placed the blame back on himself.
“We completed 55% in the second half. It’s ridiculous,” he said.
“I’ll put my hand up. I’ve got to get it out of us. No doubt, regarding some of the fundamentals, certain individuals need to hold themselves to account because it’s not about being outlandish with the ball.
“The errors are coming from out wide. The outside backs are making all the errors and it’s costing out middle a bit.
“There’s enough evidence there to suggest that if we just get it out of our game, there’s some pretty good footy there.
“At the end of the day, the buck stops with me.“If we thought the game last week had fixed those problems that had been there all year are not out of us yet so I have to find the answer.”
So where do the Knights’ issues stem from?
The Titans recorded 21 offloads, creating multiple second chance opportunities which left Newcastle’s middle forwards scrambling.
In turn, they missed 29 tackles and had less possession, while also being tackled only 16 times when reaching their opponent’s 20 metre zone.
Adding to the equation, only a singular Knights forward tallied more than 120 running metres, with Jacob Saifiti recording 196 from 21 carries.
He had eight more than any of his pack, while four Titans players carried the ball for more than 120 metres.
The Titans were simply able to roll off the back of their pack’s dominance in the middle.
Furthermore, Newcastle’s bench tallied a total of 92 running metres in total, taking the ball into the line only 12 times.
So should Newcastle want to give their outside backs better positions to attack, their forward pack needs to stand up.
– Tom Sargeant
Adam O’Brien loses it over blown lead | 01:19
BULLDOGS OVERCOME ADVERSITY IN SCARY WARNING TO REST OF NRL
With eight wins from nine games this season, there isn’t much the Bulldogs have done wrong.
However, heading into Round 10, if there was one question mark over them, it was that they have yet to show what they’re made of when under adversity.
Before the Raiders clash, in all seven of their wins, the Dogs led at half time and never relinquished the lead the rest of the way. Things have mostly been on their terms.
In their sole loss to Brisbane, they were blown out of the gates by the Broncos and failed to recover, although there were some good signs in that second half.
Much like they faced at Suncorp, the Bulldogs had their backs against the wall when trailing 20-0 in the nation’s capital on Saturday afternoon. How would they respond?
It was the perfect answer coming out of the sheds, with the Dogs scoring 32 unanswered points in the second half to move four points clear atop the ladder.
Importantly, they proved to the rest of the competition that when things are tough and going against them, they can overcome it.
Not only that, but they managed to mount such a comeback in one of the toughest venues for away teams to win at.
Captain Stephen Crichton was the catalyst in the second half, setting up a try and scoring a try in the space of a few minutes to get his side back into the contest.
Crichton was asked by Fox League’s Lara Pitt post-game if wins like the one over the Raiders are important to boost the Bulldogs’ premiership credentials.
“Very important,” Crichton said.
“The way we bounced back from 20-0 is the type of team we want to be.
“We played the long game. We stuck in the game for the second half.”
Coach Cameron Ciraldo said his team learned some hard lessons from the loss to the Broncos which they were able to apply when facing a similar scenario.
“Just the way they came out in the second half, to have all that possession against us in the first half, sort of hold on for different times and then come out in the second half and get our game on and actually go after it and get the result, I am just so proud of the way they did it,” he said.
– Daniel Nuttall
Ciraldo talks 20-point comeback victory | 04:33
‘FUTURE SUPERSTAR’ A RARE BRIGHT SPOT FOR LAST-PLACED EELS
The Eels are parked at the bottom of the NRL ladder with finals unlikely this season, but there is plenty that Parramatta fans should be excited about.
At the top of that list is young fullback Isaiah Iongi, who has been one of the recruits of the season.
The former Panther was given the nod at fullback by new coach Jason Ryles to fill the enormous shoes left by former skipper Clint Gutherson.
While Gutherson’s leadership and experience has been missed, all Eels fans should be on pretty good terms with themselves that Iongi is in the No. 1 jersey.
In what is his rookie season, Iongi has been one of the rare bright lights and more consistent Eels in 2025.
Against the Dolphins on Thursday, there was a moment he would have liked back when knocking the ball on right before the tryline, but other than that faux pas, Iongi was terrific.
Not only is he a tough ball runner, he has the skills of a half.
That was on display on Thursday, with Iongi setting up two tries. He also had 93 running metres and eight tackle busts.
Fox League’s Matty Johns labelled Iongi a “future superstar”.
“I tell ya, since Mitch Moses has come back, he’s been great. He’s a future superstar,” Johns said.
“He’s a very good footballer.”
“Even under the high ball tonight. They tested him early and he swallowed them all up,” former Eels great Nathan Hindmarsh added.
Iongi is under contract until 2027, but given the recent recruitment blunders, it’d be wise for the Eels brass to lock down the exciting fullback on a lengthy deal.
– Daniel Nuttall
Phins hold off Eels in thrilling clash | 02:33
METCALF LAUDS MENTORS DCE AND SHAUN JOHNSON
Warriors halfback Luke Metcalf once again played a starring role for his team, guiding them to a thrilling 15-14 win over the Dragons at WIN Stadium on Saturday night.
Metcalf has credited Daly Cherry-Evans and Shaun Johnson with helping him along his journey.
“When I was at Manly I was so lucky to have Daly Cherry-Evans there to be a real good mentor for me,” Metcalf said.
“Then going to Cronulla and to the Warriors and having Shaun Johnson.
“Those two guys have sort of showed me what it takes to be a starting halfback in the NRL.
“Having those two guys as mentors, and I’m 26 this year, and stepping into that role, I knew I was ready.”
The 26-year-old scored a try, kicked the match-winning field goal, kicked three goals, and also had a try assist, a line break, and a line break assist in the Warriors’ win.
Metcalf said it was teammate Kurt Capewell who gave him the idea to go for the field goal, even though there were still 10 minutes before full-time.
“Kurt Capewell actually put the thought in my head and I was a bit like, ‘Oh, I’m not too sure,’” Metcalf said.
“But then I sort of thought, if I step up here, and no one puts kick pressure on me, I think I might just have a hit.
“I didn’t really get kick pressured so I struck it and it went over but I thought we had to have really good resilience there to not let them get a crack. It worked out being the difference in the end.”
– Daniel Ramus
Wahs move to 2nd after Metcalf FG winner | 00:51
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