The Mole exclusive, Newcastle Knights loss to Wests Tigers; Dylan Brown; Canberra Raiders; Jahrome Hughes injury

The question has to be asked - does Dylan Brown have a get-out clause in his rich 10-year deal with Newcastle?

The Knights were horrible in a 20-4 loss to the Tigers on Sunday, showing no urgency in defence and fumbling and bumbling their way with ball in hand.

After being held scoreless by the Bulldogs the previous week, the Knights managed a lone try - a scrambling effort in the final minute.

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For a team with attacking forces like Kalyn Ponga and Bradman Best, it wasn't good enough and the capacity home ground sat through much of the game in stunned silence.

Newcastle reacts after conceding a try against the Tigers. Getty

If Brown was watching on TV - after his Eels conceded 50 points the previous night to the Raiders - he would have been nursing an awful headache.

The Knights have never scored less points in their history after six rounds, while the Tigers are looking more and more like a finals chance.

PREMIERSHIP CONTENDER EMERGES

The Canberra Raiders haven't won a comp since big Mal Meninga's final game way back in 1994 but have assembled a squad that looks capable of going all the way this season.

With Penrith all but out of play, it's an open comp and the Raiders have a team that, on their day, can tick all the boxes.

They put half a century of points on the Eels in horribly hot and humid conditions in Darwin on Saturday night and are one of the few teams that looks capable of worrying the Storm.

Their forwards, led by Corey Horsburgh and Hudson Young, are aggressive and talented and Englishman Matty Nicholson gets better by the game.

Halfback Jamal Fogarty isn't a world-beater but has a smart football brain and a superb kicking game and his match management is first class.

Out wide they have tryscoring aces like Seb Kris, Kaeo Weekes, Matt Timoko and Xavier Savage while five-eighth Ethan Strange is a real jack in the box.

STORM'S GRIM REALISATION

On the Storm, and Sunday's defeat of the Warriors showed again just how much they rely on classy halfback Jahrome Hughes.

Jahrome Hughes reacts during the Storm's win against the Warriors. Robert Cianflone via Getty Images

With Hughes calling the shots, the Storm cruised to a 36-0 half time lead.

Watch the 2025 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and 9Now.

But when Hughes failed to return after the break due to a shoulder problem, things changed drastically.

The Warriors, down and out in the first 40 minutes, actually won the second half, with the final score 46-14.

Storm coach Craig Bellamy will be praying scans today don't show Hughes has suffered any major damage.

ORIGIN COACH'S ULTIMATUM PAYS OFF

Blues coach Laurie Daley sent a message via the media to incumbent Blues hooker Reece Robson that he might need to lift his game to earn selection again in this year's series.

And Robson showed he got the message loud and clear with his best display of the season in the win over Souths on Saturday night.

Robson, who was told he needs to run more, made 140 metres and came up with a try assist to really push his claims for Origin I.

FITZY'S MESSAGE RINGS TRUE

Craig Fitzgibbon demanded his players get over their second half 'blues' - and the Sharks responded in Perth.

After scoring just one try in their last three second halves, Cronulla went on with the job against Manly.

Leading 8-0 at the break, the Sharks piled on three tries in the second session in Perth to finish 24-18 winners.

Against a Manly team that has little trouble scoring points, it's just as well the Sharks found their tryscoring clout, otherwise they would have been in danger of tumbling to a third straight defeat.

Fullback Will Kennedy was outstanding for the Sharks, scoring a spectacular solo try and having another 90-metre effort disallowed.

ROOSTERS' UNSUNG HERO

Superstars win you games, but you need great clubmen to hold a team together.

And Nat Butcher, in his 10th season as a Rooster, certainly fits into that category.

The 27-year-old is a specialist wide-running back-rower, but when the injury-plagued Roosters lost Lindsay Collins from last week, coach Trent Robinson had no hesitation in switching Butcher to the middle.

In only his fifth game as prop, Butcher scored a vital try in the upset win in Brisbane, tackled himself non-stop and made the hard yards to play a key role in a stunning upset.

THE TITLE HAMMER MAY HAVE SECURED

Is Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow the fastest fullback rugby league has ever seen?

You have to wonder after his scorching hat-trick against premiers Penrith - in which he barely got out of first gear.

Tabuai-Fidow just seemed to lope past defender after defender as he charged for over 200 metres and three tries, sending the Panthers to their fifth straight loss.

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow of the Dolphins. Getty

The game has seen some great speedsters at fullback in recent years - the likes of Brett Mullins and Matt Seers.

But 'The Hammer' looks to have them covered and if he ever puts the pedal all the way to the floor, it's frightening to think how quick he could really get.

NEW ROLE FOR DRAGONS' BIG MAN

Luciano Leilua appears to have found his role at the Dragons in 2025 - as a super sub.

The bulky back-rower played a major role in the Dragons' scrappy 38-16 defeat of a terrible Titans outfit on Friday evening in Wollongong.

Both teams were as bad as each other until the big man was injected into the fray and he was too hot for The Titans to handle, playing a role in two tries and putting the Dragons en route to what ultimately proved an easy win.

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