The Mole: Benji Marshall 'skating on thin ice' with referee spray amid NRL crackdown

Benji Marshall faces the prospect of a fine, or at the very least a warning, letter from the NRL after his post-match rant against the officials in Sunday's emotion-charged loss to Penrith.

A couple of crucial calls went against the Tigers - and ultimately may have cost them a tight win.

With the NRL on the war path against coaches criticising referees and the Bunker, Marshall was skating on thin ice.

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"I honestly thought we were the better side tonight," Marshall said afterwards.

"The game is so hard and demanding, and I actually feel sorry for our players, because they didn't actually get to decide tonight.

"I thought two calls - the first one on Jarome (Luai) making a tackle on Lags (Blaize Talagi) - I thought it was outrageous, that decision. Took them to 12-10.

"And the second one he got done for an escort, which I thought was bad, too. And then they scored off the back of that set."

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary had no sympathy for his opposite coach.

"I don't know," Cleary said. "I would've liked seven yardage penalties. We only got one."

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He only played 24 minutes, but Lachlan Galvin may well have unlocked the key to the Bulldogs' premiership aspirations at Accor Stadium on Monday.

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

The Eels were still in the hunt when the much-hyped new boy took the field, before two late tries - the final one scored by Galvin - ensured the Dogs took the points against the Eels.

Galvin came into the halves alongside man of the match Matt Burton, with Toby Sexton moving to Reed Mahoney's hooking role.

Suddenly Cameron Ciraldo has so many options at his disposal. He's likely to start Galvin with Burton controlling play with the ball, with either Mahoney or Sexton at hooker and the other on the bench.

It brings a new dimension to the Bulldogs' attack - and gives their title opponents one more thing to fear.

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There won't be a better fairytale in 2025 than Josh Papali'i's record-breaking afternoon for Canberra against Souths on Sunday.

The Raiders trailed 12-0 early and the milestone match looked set to be a fizzer.

But a half time blast from Ricky Stuart got the Green Machine back on track and they put on 36 straight points to delight the capacity crowd.

Best of all, Papali'i scored a try double for the first time in nine years and cooly booted a conversion for good measure.

The stuff of which legends are made.

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Reece Walsh didn't quite get a recall to the Maroons squad - but he did earn plenty of bonus points from coach Billy Slater for his effort in the 44-14 demolition of the Titans.

Walsh reinjured his troublesom knee midway through the second half and many expected him to leave the field with the Broncos well in command.

But the classy fullback toughed it out, and somehow scored two late tries on one leg to add to the Titans' humiliation.

The Walsh of a year or two ago may not have shown such mental resilience - and those close to the Maroons camp tell me his courage did not go unnoticed.

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Plenty of critics - myself included - couldn't believe it when Chanel Harris-Tavita walked away from the game at the age of 24 a couple of years ago to travel the world.

But after getting the travel bug out of his system, Harris-Tavita is back better than ever and played one of his finest hands in the Warriors' big win over Cronulla on Saturday night.

The elusive five-eighth scored two tries and set up two more as the Wahs romped to a 40-10 win at Shark Park.

With Luke Metcalf also in great form at halfback, they are looking in great shape for the second half of the season.

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The smart coaches in the NRL are starting to fear the Dolphins - even though they are no certainties to make the finals.

In their opening two seasons, the Phins started strongly before running out of puff.

This year under Kristian Woolf they began disastrously, losing their first four games but are now firing on all cylinders.

The Redcliffe boys have scored 100 points in their past two matches and conceded just 14.

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Jamayne Isaako, Herbie Farnworth, Jake Averillo and Jack Bostock - who all ran for over 150 metres in the thrashing of the dreadful Dragons - are the equal of any back five in the league.

The Phins have speed across the park - so much so that they may well be the fastest team in the NRL and play an attractive brand of football.

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Champions always bounce back and after a couple of below-par games, Harry Grant roared back to his best in the Storm's 38-14 defeat of the Cowboys on Friday night.

Grant had a hand in two tries, topped the tackle count and had his old zip around the rucks, causing the Cowboys' defence no end of trouble.

No one would have enjoyed his performance more than Queensland coach Billy Slater - the Maroons need a huge game from Harry in Perth to level the Origin series on Wednesday week in Perth.

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The Newcastle crowd can take a lot of the credit for the Knights' amazing 26-22 comeback win over the Sea Eagles at McDonald Jones Stadium on Thursday night.

Rated among the most loyal fans in the rugby league world, the fans decided enough was enough after their team produced a scoreless first half for the eighth time in 13 games this season.

The crowd gave the players both barrels - booing them roundly as they left the field at the break down 16-0.

And the looks om the faces of the players as they left the field showed that the hostile reception really hit them hard.

After a listless first 40 minutes, they came out a different team in the second as a result, winning back their fans with a whole-hearted display that led to a deserved golden point win.