NRL Round 10: Dolphins Run Riot, Eels Edge Cowboys in Golden Point Classic, Marzhew Bags Five

Edward Briggs

Round 10 delivered another wild weekend of NRL action, featuring dominant performances, historic individual displays and one of the strangest golden point finishes in recent memory. The Dolphins and Storm piled on points, Greg Marzhew crossed five times for Newcastle, while Mitchell Moses and the Eels escaped Townsville with a dramatic extra-time win.

Dolphins 44 – 12 Bulldogs

The Dolphins turned an early deficit into a demolition job at Suncorp Stadium, scoring 40 unanswered points to crush Canterbury 44-12.

The Bulldogs started strongly, with Jaeman Salmon crashing over from a Lachlan Galvin short ball before Stephen Crichton added a penalty goal. Canterbury looked in control through possession and field position, but their inability to capitalise proved costly.

Jamayne Isaako sparked the Dolphins revival after a defensive misread from Bronson Xerri opened space down the right edge. Isaako raced away and stepped inside Connor Tracey to score, before the Dolphins completely took over the contest from there.

Canterbury briefly threatened again when Crichton crossed after slick lead-up play involving Sean O’Sullivan and Sitili Tupouniua, but once the Dolphins found momentum, the Bulldogs had no answers as the home side ran away with one of their biggest wins of the season.

Roosters 28 – 12 Titans

The Roosters continued their strong attacking form but were forced to work hard by a determined Gold Coast outfit at Allianz Stadium.

The Titans struck first through Chris Randall after excellent work from Tino Fa’asuamaleaui at the line, while debutant Jenson Taumoepeau came close earlier after chasing a clever grubber from Keano Kini.

Sydney gradually broke through the Titans defence, with Robert Toia scoring a contentious first-half try before James Tedesco crossed off a Daniel Tupou bat-back to hand the Roosters a halftime lead.

The match turned after the break through the damaging running of Siua Wong and the kicking game of Sam Walker. Toia grabbed a second, Tupou scored aerially in the corner, and Hugo Savala grounded a clever grubber from Reece Robson.

Tedesco capped another outstanding display with a late try, while Kini’s late effort after a brilliant AJ Brimson break gave the Titans a deserved consolation. Despite the scoreline, Gold Coast’s defence repeatedly tested the Roosters across the 80 minutes.

Cowboys 30 – 33 Eels (Golden Point)

Parramatta escaped Townsville with a bizarre and unforgettable golden point victory over North Queensland.

The Eels trailed by eight with 14 minutes remaining before storming back through Jordan Samrani and Joash Papali’i to level the scores at 30-all. Mitchell Moses missed both sideline conversions, leaving the match destined for extra time.

Golden point produced chaos almost immediately. Ronald Volkman sliced through the line to put Parramatta in range, before Moses calmly slotted a field goal despite pressure from Scott Drinkwater. Drinkwater clipped Moses’ legs during the kick, prompting the referee to award a penalty after the successful one-pointer.

The result was a rare three-point golden point margin, with Moses adding the penalty goal despite confusion from almost everyone on the field.

The game itself swung wildly throughout. Josh Addo-Carr scored twice, including an intercept effort, while Jake Clifford produced an outstanding display for the Cowboys with a try and flawless goal-kicking. Errors, momentum shifts and late drama defined the contest, but Parramatta’s composure in the final moments proved decisive.

Knights 44 – 10 Dragons

Greg Marzhew produced one of the performances of the season, scoring five tries as Newcastle dismantled St George Illawarra.

The Knights were lethal from anywhere on the field, with Dom Young and Dylan Brown creating the opening try before Marzhew crossed for his first. Young later scored twice himself, while Bradman Best intercepted a pass and sprinted 80 metres to pile further misery on the Dragons.

Kalyn Ponga sliced through the defensive line repeatedly and combined with Dylan Lucas as Newcastle stormed to a 32-0 halftime lead.

The Dragons briefly showed signs of life through Hamish Stewart and Setu Tu, but Marzhew was unstoppable down the left edge, repeatedly punishing defensive errors and poor yardage sets.

His fifth try placed him alongside Edrick Lee as just the second Knights player to score five tries in a single match.

Rabbitohs 36 – 12 Sharks

Alex Johnston continued rewriting the record books as South Sydney comfortably defeated Cronulla at Accor Stadium.

Johnston crossed three times, securing the 17th hat-trick of his career - the most in premiership history - while also becoming the first player to score 100 tries at Accor Stadium.

South Sydney controlled the contest from the outset despite losing Euan Aitken and Edward Kosi temporarily to head injury assessments. Cody Walker and debutant Latrell Siegwalt combined brilliantly in transition to create opportunities, while Jye Gray produced a crucial defensive play to deny the Sharks a certain try.

Cameron Murray’s second-half try sealed the result before late consolation tries to KL Iro and Mawene Hiroti spared Cronulla from being held scoreless. Campbell Graham had the final say in his 150th game, crossing late to complete the 36-12 win.

Sea Eagles 32 – 4 Broncos

Manly celebrated Jake Trbojevic’s 250th game in style, completely outplaying Brisbane at Brookvale.

Young half Joey Walsh starred early, scoring a brilliant solo try before forcing a sin bin through a clever 40/20 and attacking kick. The Broncos briefly responded through Antonio Verhoeven after a superb long ball from Reece Walsh, but their discipline and handling quickly unravelled.

Lehi Hopoate and Siosiua Taukeiaho added further tries, with Taukeiaho courageously scoring despite suffering a fractured leg while grounding the ball.

Manly’s defence frustrated Brisbane all night, while late tries to Tolutau Koula and Reuben Garrick sealed an emphatic 32-4 result in one of the Broncos’ poorest performances of the season.

Storm 44 – 16 Tigers

Melbourne snapped their winless run in emphatic fashion, overwhelming the Tigers at AAMI Park.

The Storm exploded out of the blocks, racing to a 20-0 lead inside 15 minutes through Sua Faalogo, Will Warbrick, Cameron Munster and Jahrome Hughes. Faalogo’s performance was later overshadowed by a category one HIA and concerns over a facial fracture.

Taylan May briefly sparked the Tigers with two tries, while Luke Laulilii also crossed as the visitors threatened a late comeback.

But Melbourne steadied through Harry Grant’s trademark dummy-half running, another Warbrick aerial finish and late tries to Munster and Ativalu Lisati to comfortably close out the contest.

Panthers 30 – 18 Raiders

Penrith closed out Round 10 with a hard-fought win over Canberra at GIO Stadium.

Blaize Talagi crossed twice in the opening stages as the Panthers capitalised on field position and Nathan Cleary’s control. Canberra responded through Ethan Sanders and Sebastian Kris, with Tom Starling and Joseph Tapine heavily involved through the middle.

The Raiders levelled the scores in the second half after a brilliant offload sequence sent Kaeo Weekes over, but Cleary responded almost immediately, backing himself to crash through a poor tackle and restore Penrith’s lead.

The Panthers sealed the game late through rookie Billy Phillips after another towering Cleary bomb created the opportunity. Canberra remained competitive throughout but could not overcome Penrith’s execution in key moments.