The Mole: Finger of blame pointed in one direction as Melbourne falls to 14-year worst

The finger of blame for the Storm's worst slump in over a decade can squarely be pointed at the club's forwards.

Melbourne's 26-22 defeat in Canberra on Friday night was their fifth in a row - something that hasn't happened since 2012.

The Storm's backline scored some impressive tries, with fullback Sualauvi Faalogo outstanding.

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But up front, for the second week in a row, not one Storm forward was able to break the ton in running metres.

As a result, the Storm's normally well-oiled machine stuttered through the 80 minutes, rarely got on a roll and gun halves Cam Munster and Jahrome Hughes got little time and space to work their magic.

The loss of Eli Katoa - as good as any back-rower in the league world last season, has hit the Storm hard, as well as Tui Kamikamica, while the departure of giant Nelson Asofa-Solomona has diminished the fear factor up front.

Not sure where Craig Bellamy goes from here but the one ray of sunshine - back in 2012 he somehow managed to get the team back on track… and the Storm won the comp.

It was a vital win for the Raiders, who have been having problems of their own, and the manner in which they stifled the Storm will do wonders for their confidence.

FORAN MUST BE IN LINE FOR HUGE GONG

Can an interim coach be named coach of the year?

The question has to be asked in the wake of Manly's 38-6 defeat of the Cowboys on Thursday night - the team's third straight victory under stand-in boss Kieran Foran.

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The former Sea Eagles favourite has taken the team from last spot to inside the top eight in less than a month in an amazing turnaround since succeeding the luckless Anthony Seibold.

Manly are suddenly playing with confidence and character again after the players appeared to give up on Seibold in the opening three games of the year.

If they go and and make the finals - and they are giving every indication they will - it will be one of the biggest stories of 2026.

And not only will it guarantee Foran is given the job on a full-time basis for the next few seasons, he will also be hard to beat as coach of the year, having been thrown in the deep end with no coaching experience and producing such amazing results.

TITLE THAT ROOSTERS ARE OWNING

A third of the way into the season, the Roosters can lay claim to be the fittest team in the NRL after back-to-back epic second half comebacks.

On Sunday they looked in all sorts of trouble against the improved Knights side, trailing 24-12 at half-time before storming home to finish impressive 38-24 winners.

It comes a week after they found themselves behind 22-12 against the Sharks, only to hit the 'go' button in the second half to win 34-22.

That's 48-0 in the two second halves - and a clear statement to the rest of the NRL that the Roosters are never beaten.

Trent Robinson won't be happy at giving up two big leads but will be delighted at the fighting spirit his troops have shown against two quality teams.

James Tedesco continued his push to regain the Blues fullback throne with a brilliant game at the back.

The elusive veteran was the catalyst for the Roosters' fightback and is putting the pressure right on Penrith's incumbent Dylan Edwards.

HAAS REPLACEMENT STARING BRONCOS IN THE FACE

The Broncos have known for years that Xavier Willison was the next big thing - but the giant lock came of age in the brave win over the Tigers in Campbelltown on Saturday night.

With Pat Carrigan and several others missing and Payne Haas succumbing to injury during the battle, the Broncos needed to find a forward leader and quickly against the rampaging Tigers.

Enter the 23-year-old colossus, who took on the Tigers pack and inspired the Broncos to a fine upset win.

Willison showed he has a remarkable motor for a big man - much like Haas - topping both the run metres and tackles for the Broncos in a remarkable display.

Without him, there's no way the Broncos would have carved out their memorable 21-20 win against a revved up Tigers team and hostile Campbelltown crowd.

The Broncos have never lost at the Tigers' far western base and as well as Willison, have skipper Adam Reynolds and centre Kotoni Staggs to thank for keeping their unbeaten record.

ONE MAN MAROONS SHOULD BE FEARING

The countdown to Origin is on … and Latrell Mitchell has struck fear into the hearts of the Maroons.

Latrell went into his most devastating 'beast mode' in Souths' impressive 30-12 win over the Dragons on Saturday night, producing without doubt the best display by a centre all season.

The powerhouse centre scored four tries - all with simple brute force through the flimsy Dragons defence - to lead Souths to their comfortable win.

Throw in 14 tackle breaks, four line breaks and 131 run metres and you get the full picture of just how unstoppable the big centre was.

It was another forgettable night for the poor Dragons, with back-rower Jaydn Su'A's becoming the first player sent off in 2026.

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To add to the misery, former Dragon Matt Dufty, sent packing by the club, scored a try and ran for a career best 325 metres.

Star centre Val Holmes was embarrassing for the Dragons, missing 13 tackles and being made to look second rate by Latrell.

DID THE TITANS MAKE A BIG MISTAKE?

Alofiana Khan-Pereira scored 53 tries in his 54 games for the Titans - an outstanding strike rate considering the team struggled to win games.

That's why I couldn't believe the Titans told the wing flyer he was free to leave at the end of last season.

The Warriors snapped up Khan-Pereira - and he came back to haunt his old mates in his first game against the Titans on Saturday.

The speedster made three line breaks - the most in the game - and bagged two tries with his electric acceleration.

When you consider the final score was 28-20 to the Warriors, it shows just how vital Khan-Pereira's double was in the context of the match.

Sure, he misses the odd tackle - but a guy who can average a try a game is worth keeping on the books.

On the end of a hot Warriors backline, standby for plenty more tries by the flying flanker in coming weeks and months.

PANTHERS TREND THAT HAS RIVALS STRUGGLING

Penrith are playing a game of "catch us if you can" in their bid to win the title in 2026.

While many clubs come out playing cautious football in the first half to get into their groove, the Panthers are flying out of the blocks.

Remarkably, Ivan Cleary's men have led at half-time by 18 points or more in all six of their victories this season.

On Friday night in steamy Darwin, they led the Dolphins 18-0 at the break and it looked enough.

But the Dolphins, with the strike power of Herbie Farnworth and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, ran them down, before a late try to the freakish Tom Jenkins and a golden point field goal to 'Ice Man' Nathan Cleary saved the day for the Panthers.

So Penrith have thrown down the gauntlet to their rivals - stop us if you can in the first half because if you aren't up to it, we will rack up a big lead.