Ryan Hoffman played his 300th NRL match against the Titans. Photo / Getty Images
Ryan Hoffman played his 300th NRL match against the Titans. Photo / Getty Images
The leading seven teams opened up a gap over the chasing sides during round 14 of the NRL season.
The Storm, Roosters, Sharks, Dragons, Broncos, Sea Eagles and Cowboys are now four points clear of the field and look to have one hand in the playoffs already.
The Warriors enjoyed a convincing win over the Gold Coast Titans - to register their first away win of the season. It keeps Stephen Kearney's side in the hunt but there is still a lot of work to do to make sure they are playing in September.
Former skipper Ryan Hoffman celebrated his 300th career game.
Martin Taupau has been in great form. Photo / Getty Images
Kiwi Watch Manly's Martin Taupau continues to play at a very high level - he has been one of the form props in the competition and turned in another powerful display against the Knights in terrible conditions on Friday night.
Fellow prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was strong for the Roosters while former Warrior Konrad Hurrell did well in a losing cause against his former teammates. Kieran Foran limped off with a leg injury, which will concern the Warriors.
Tui Lolohea scored a nice try for the Tigers in their loss to the Roosters but faded badly as the game went on.
The Storm flexed their muscles against the Sharks. Photo / Getty Images
Best Performance It had to Melbourne. The Storm rested halfback Cooper Cronk yet didn't miss a beat in knocking over the defending premiers in a replay of last year's Grand Final. Cameron Smith controlled the game from hooker while Billy Slater and Cameron Munster were threatening with the ball.
Standout Player Taupau ran close in his powerful game but returning superstar Johnathan Thurston gets the nod this week. The future immortal showed no sign of his injured shoulder as he helped inspire the Cowboys to a win over the Parramatta Eels in Darwin. Thurston proved his fitness in the last chance to push his case for State of Origin inclusion and had a hand in three of the side's tries.
Johnathan Thurston returned with a bang. Photo / Getty Images
Key Moment Ash Taylor made a bad error 10 minutes into the Titans' clash with the Warriors on the Gold Coast. The talented young halfback kicked the ball out on the full, which turned the early momentum away from his side and gave the Warriors a free set in Titans territory. That sparked the Warriors to life, who powered away and banked two vital competition points.
Controversy The most dramatic moment of the weekend came in the Sea Eagles v Knights match where Manly prevailed by four points. However the on-field referees had a shocker when they awarded winger Akuila Uate a try against his former side. Replays clearly showed the Fijian lose the ball, prompting many to question why the decision wasn't sent to the bunker or why the bunker didn't get involved.
