The opening two games of the NRL pre-season challenge are in the books, with juniors impressing, players stamping their authority over Round 1 spots, and questions still looming.

Here are all the talking points from the double-header at Kogarah, where the North Queensland Cowboys beat the Canterbury Bulldogs by four points, and the St George Illawarra Dragons to the better of the Newcastle Knights by ten points.

The Knights are no closer to deciding their halves

Maybe one of the biggest questions over the opening two weeks of the pre-season challenge was going to be watching the Knights shuffle the halves around to try and work out their Round 1 combination.

Justin Holbrook certainly has his work cut out for him.

Dylan Brown didn't play on Saturday evening at Kogarah in a loss to the Dragons, but Fletcher Sharpe and Sandon Smith sure did, while obvious back-up option Tyson Gamble played some minutes off the bench.

Brown sitting out the trial against the Dragons meant Sharpe and Smith could both show what they are made of.

What is clear is that Sharpe is not a halfback. Neither is Brown, for that matter.

Smith is the closest thing the Knights have to a halfback on their roster, and he may well have to play in the seven alongside Brown.

The issue there is that Sharpe is too good to be away from the ball. Name him on the wing, and it'll feel like a waste, and clearly, he can't play at fullback. That is Kalyn Ponga's role.

Retired veteran Kieran Foran, speaking on Fox League's coverage of the game, suggested he could play in the centres. That would shuffle Dane Gagai to the wing and Greg Marzhew possibly out of the side, but it's difficult to see any other alternative unless the Knights run with Smith at dummy half, and sacrifice having a game managing halfback.