What is going on at the Broncos? For a second straight week they have fallen to team near the bottom of the ladder. The Panthers meanwhile put on an absolutely stunning performance against the bewildered Tigers.
We enjoyed a full round of action with all the Origin players available for their teams. Well, "enjoyed" might be too strong a word if you were unfortunate enough to catch the King's Birthday debacle between the Bulldogs and Eels.
Here's whose stocks are up and down after Round 14.
Our footy experts cast their eye over the week's action to find out whose stocks are up -- whether it's a coaching masterstroke or a player having a blinder -- and whose are down.
Brisbane Broncos
Stocks up: It took a while for the Broncos to get out of second gear, but once they did they started to exploit their superiority. Ezra Mam's demotion to the bench appeared to illicit the desired result, the out-of-sorts Origin player back to his dangerous best during a brief 15-minute spell in the first half. Adam Reynolds was at his conniving best, and the Broncos were able to score some good tries.
Stocks down: There has to be some serious behind-the-scenes issues at the Broncos. Mam didn't look too pleased when he was replaced as soon as Duffy was ruled fit to continue after his HIA. Reece Walsh was seen admonishing a teammate after the second Titans' try. And after kicking a field goal to break a 22-22 deadlock, they were unable to stop the Titans from scoring the match-winner. You don't go from winning a premiership to losing to the bottom two teams next season without something being wrong.
- Darren Arthur
Canberra Raiders
Stocks up: The game is over? Is that a positive? There was absolutely nothing to like about Canberra's performance -- at home, against a quality opponent, and you dish up that? There's still plenty of season left for the Raiders to bounce back but it's starting to look like a forgettable year.
Stocks down: It wasn't just that they lost, it was the manner in which it happened. To be honest, the Roosters could have won by more. And much more importantly, it looked easy for the visitors. It's never meant to be easy for the opposition to travel to Canberra in the winter and play the Raiders, but the Roosters were having a lovely old time out there.
- Matt Bungard
Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs
Stocks up: Canterbury desperately needed a win and found one in dramatic fashion. In a game that was tight, scrappy and full of tension, Stephen Crichton again stood up when it mattered most, kicking the late penalty goal that sealed a 14-12 victory. The Bulldogs didn't play their best football, but they defended strongly and found a way to grind out a result when the pressure was highest.
Stocks down: The attack is still a concern. Despite dominating territory for periods, Canterbury struggled to consistently convert opportunities into points, and it's becoming an issue that's following them week to week.
- Isaac Issa
Cronulla Sharks
Stocks up: If you were looking to put a positive spin on a fairly ordinary performance, you could say that the Sharks played the patience game. They waited for the fire to go out of the Dragons and in the second half started to exploit a slow and often fragile defensive line. Once they had the Big Red V backpedalling, Braydon Trindall, William Kennedy, KL Iro and Billy Burns started looking dangerous.
Stocks down: The Sharks made hard work of it in the first half, handling errors and missed tackles saw them trail 12-6 at the break. They can't afford to be failing at the basics against the better teams. The Dragons were full of fight, but really shouldn't be causing that much trouble to a team with premiership aspirations.
- Darren Arthur
Dolphins
Stocks up: The Dolphins are starting to look like one of the competition's hottest teams. They won their fifth straight game, absorbed plenty of pressure, and then completely blew the Cowboys away late. Isaiya Katoa controlled things beautifully, while Selwyn Cobbo and Jamayne Isaako continued their strong form out wide. More than anything, this was a mature performance from a side that didn't panic when momentum briefly swung against them.
Stocks down: If there's a criticism, it's that they allowed North Queensland back into the contest for a period after halftime. Against stronger opposition, those lapses can become much more costly.
Gold Coast Titans
Stocks up: The Titans were fired up to batter their bitter rivals, the Broncos. Their defence was ferocious at times and despite slipping to a 12-0 deficit, they turned the tide either side of the break to take a lead. The Broncos were knocked on their heels and the home crowd hushed as Jayden Campbell tore them apart in the second half. The final match-winning try was simply incredible.
Stocks down: The Titans were able match it with the Broncos for large patches of the game, clawing back from 12-0 down to take a 16-12 lead early in the second half. Their defence up the middle was impressive, but they leaked line breaks on the edges. If they could maintain their focus for the full 80 minutes every week, they'd be winning a lot more games.
Manly Sea Eagles
Stocks up: Being at 'Foz Pines Park' on Thursday night really showed me how much that community has bought into everything Kieran Foran is doing -- there were signs everywhere, the renovated KFC down the road baring his face instead of the Colonel's -- the vibes could not be higher at Brookvale right now and they did enough to secure a win without being fantastic, which is the mark of a good side.
Stocks down: Manly should have been out of sight in this one with how poor the Rabbitohs were, and if not for a very controversial 12-point swing early in the second half we could have been looking at a different result.
- Matt Bungard
Melbourne Storm
Stocks up: Are the Storm back? It's looking more and more possible. This was their biggest win of the season, the spine players all looked dangerous and much more importantly, a few guys who've been struggling for much of the season had their best games of the year.
Stocks down: They still bombed a few tries and the edge defence was still absolutely awful at times. I still don't fully know what to make of this team, they were unwatchably bad for about a month and although they had a couple of wins to break that drought, it's only in the last fortnight where they've looked close to what they were in 2025 and prior.
- Matt Bungard
Newcastle Knights
Stocks up: They may have lost, but there was still some scintillating pointscoring on display. The Knights are the most exciting team to watch in the NRL this year and this game was just another example of why that is. The ability this team has to score long-range tries is so important to what they do, and it constantly has defences in two minds no matter where Newcastle are on the field.
Stocks down: The big concern for this team wasn't the flashy outside backs or the playmaking ability of their central players, it was the forward pack -- and they've mostly exceeded expectations so far this year, but not on Friday. Two tries right through the middle of the field to Trent Loiero and Stefano Utoikamanu? That's not great.
- Matt Bungard
New Zealand Warriors
BYE
North Queensland Cowboys
Stocks up: There was a period in the second half when North Queensland looked capable of turning the game completely. Jake Clifford's kicking sparked them at times, they dominated territory for a long stretch, and the effort certainly wasn't lacking.
Stocks down: The frustrating part is they had all that momentum and barely made the Dolphins pay. After spending nearly 20 minutes applying pressure, they came away with too little, and once the Dolphins weathered the storm, North Queensland conceded three late tries in a 40-14 loss. For a side chasing consistency, it felt like a missed opportunity more than anything.
- Isaac Issa
Parramatta Eels
Stocks up: Parramatta showed plenty of character. Despite their injury issues and the inexperience throughout the squad, they stayed in the fight all night and looked capable of stealing the result deep into the second half. Tallyn da Silva and Joash Papalii both had important moments, and the effort certainly couldn't be questioned.
Stocks down: Unfortunately for the Eels, the little moments went against them. A controversial finish, missed opportunities, and a few costly penalties ultimately left them on the wrong side of another close result. The competitiveness is improving, but they still aren't finding enough wins.
- Isaac Issa
Penrith Panthers
Stocks up: This was Penrith at their ruthless best. They piled on 68 points, never eased up, and looked completely in control from the opening exchanges. Nathan Cleary steered things around effortlessly, the forwards dominated through the middle, and every time the Panthers got an opportunity they seemed to turn it into points. It was the sort of performance that reminds everyone why they're still the benchmark.
Stocks down: There really isn't much to criticise. If anything, the challenge for Penrith is simply maintaining this level as the season progresses and the pressure of another premiership push intensifies.
- Isaac Issa
St George Illawarra Dragons
Stocks up: The Dragons started where they left off against the Broncos a week earlier. Plenty of commitment in defence, rattling the opposition and taking advantage of their chances to lead 12-6 at halftime in their Shark Park derby. They really can match it with the better teams for periods of games.
Stocks down: All the energy, all the commitment, all the focus is useless unless you can maintain the intensity for the full 80 minutes. They simply couldn't keep up with the pace of the Sharks after the break. It's hard to tell whether its a fitness issue or a lack of belief.
- Darren Arthur
South Sydney Rabbitohs
Stocks up: Jye Gray was great, and although some of them were very rusty, they got some key players back from injury. It was a pretty insipid performance but if the Bunnies can somehow stop this ridiculous run of injuries and get most of their team on the field, they should be OK.
Stocks down: Souths had a huge chance to put this game out of reach early on; they were 8-0 ahead, had just been gifted the ball on the Manly goal line, and put together one of the worst sets of six I've ever seen. From there, they somehow managed to get stripped for numbers while their opponents had 12 players, lost the sin bin period 6-2, and never looked like being back in the game again.
- Matt Bungard
Sydney Roosters
Stocks up: This was the best game Sam Walker and Daly Cherry-Evans have played together. There were a few times when one of them overplayed their hand, but that was the confidence that they had that things would work out more often than not. Mark Nawaqanitawase was fantastic on his return from injury, and things are trending up for the tricolours.
Stocks down: Nothing. It was as comprehensive a win as you could ever hope for, on the road against a tough opponent, and you score a bunch of awesome tries and hold them scoreless. What a big statement.
- Matt Bungard
Wests Tigers
Stocks up: Honestly, there aren't many positives to pull from a result like this, although the return of some key players at least gives them something to build around moving forward.
Stocks down: This was a nightmare afternoon. Penrith ran riot in a 68-0 demolition, exposing the Tigers right across the park and handing them one of the heaviest defeats in club history. The worrying part wasn't just the scoreline - it was how quickly the game got away from them. Once Penrith found rhythm, the Tigers looked completely out of answers, continuing a difficult stretch that has seen their defensive standards fall away dramatically.
- Isaac Issa