NRL Kiwi Watch: Jason Taumalolo paves way in Cowboys thriller

Jason Taumalolo of the Cowboys takes on the defence against the Brisbane Broncos.Photo/Getty Images

Cowboys wrecking ball Jason Taumalolo was the stand-out Kiwi performer from NRL Round Two, after turning in another top-drawer performance in his side's thrilling 21-20 golden point win over Brisbane on Friday.

The reigning Dally M medallist ran for a game-high 231 metres (following up his 295-metre Round One effort against Canberra), but saved his best for the extra-time period to underline his value to North Queensland's premiership hopes.

The 23-year-old twice managed to charge down Anthony Milford's attempted field goals, before making two surging runs and quick play-the-balls in the final set to provide captain Johnathan Thurston with room to bang over the match-winning one-pointer.

However, Taumalolo faces a one-match ban that could see him miss Saturday's clash against Manly, after the NRL's match review committee cited him for a shoulder charge on fellow Kiwis forward Alex Glenn.

Several Kiwis were involved in Penrith's 36-2 mauling of Wests Tigers on Sunday, with Dean Whare scoring a double to continue his strong return from a knee construction that restricted him to just one appearance last season.

Young five-eighth Te Maire Martin had a solid game, despite losing the ball as he dived over the try-line early in the first half. The Kiwis playmaker hoisted a towering bomb for Leilani Latu to take on the full on his way to scoring their fourth try and combined well throughout with halfback Nathan Cleary.

Northland product James Fisher-Harris also impressed, flattening both Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses with thundering tackles, while Elijah Taylor never stopped trying for Tigers.

Kiwis prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves topped the metres for the Sydney Roosters (157) in Thursday's round-opening 28-24 victory over Canterbury Bulldogs.

Wing Shaun Kenny-Dowall made a costly error that led to Canterbury's second try to Josh Morris, but made amends early in the second-half by leaping to take a high ball and pass infield in the one motion for Blake Fergusson to dive over.

For the NZ Warriors, vice-captain Simon Mannering was leading the way for his side in Friday's 26-10 loss to Melbourne, making 148 metres from 22 runs and 43 tackles, before earning an early reprieve six minutes from fulltime.

Left wing Ken Maumalo led the metres gained with 159 from 17 runs, after racking up similar numbers in last week's win over Newcastle.

Halfback Shaun Johnson had an off-night with his kicking game, and despite running well to score a try and surpass Stacey Jones' club scoring record, could not match last week's strong showing against the Knights.

Gold Coast co-captain and Kiwis back-rower Kevin Proctor couldn't inspire his team past a tenacious Newcastle side, when they were beaten 34-26 on Saturday.

Proctor and Konrad Hurrell handled in the lead-up to one of the best tries of the season so far to Joe Greenwood, and the former Warriors centre finished with his fourth career double, but was also guilty of forcing an offload that resulted in an error.

After re-signing with Canberra for two more years last week, Kiwis wing Jordan Rapana crossed for his side's second try, before Cronulla went on a second-half scoring spree to thrash the home side 42-16 on Saturday night.

The weekend's final game saw Manu Ma'u, Suaia Matagi, Josh Hoffman and former Kiwis back-rower Frank Pritchard feature in Parramatta's 34-16 win over the Dragons.

Jason Nightingale and Russell Packer were in action for the Red V, and the latter made his presence felt physically, but also coughed up two handling errors.