Manu madness, golden point thrillers and a hard truth for fans: 20 thoughts from NRL Round 6

Last week I commented that this may be the most enjoyable start to the season in memory. I'm here to double down on that following Round 6.

We had two golden point thrillers, a host of coaches further proving a point I made on Saturday and some brilliant rugby league.

Jumping right in, here are 20 random thoughts from Round 6.

1. I simply cannot believe that there wasn't a club willing to pay Joseph Manu $1.2 million to play fullback. Manu must either have decided he was going to play Rugby, or it was Roosters fullback spot or bust. He is far too good to be leaving the NRL.

2. Judging by social media I may be in the minority, but I love the chaos of Golden Point. I am on record as wanting to see Golden Try introduced, but for now the 10 minutes of non stop action is incredible fun. One error can decide a game. The pressure, the theatre! Delightful.

3. On Saturday I wrote that blaming the referees was lazy and I am here to double down on this. Sunday night's clash between the Raiders and Titans had both coaches complaining about officials. Both teams had multiple chances to win that game. Stop with the nonsense.

4. Yes, the refereeing ranks aren't great right now but for every horror decision we're seeing 30 minor things made fusses off. I am so sick of fans screaming about lop sided penalty counts, as if they need to be even. Both sets of fans, in every single game this weekend, complained they were held down in the ruck. Both sets of fanbases, in every single game complained. It's official, the refs are bias against everyone whilst being in the pocket of everyone.

5. Someone needs to take Taylan May's social media accounts away from him. For his own good. The same can be said about numerous players but young Taylan really needs to put the phone down.

6. Ronaldo Mulitalo should be leading the Dally M race right now. See you in the comments!

7. Just wraps to Jason Demetriou for how he handled this past week. For the record, I would have absolutely walked out of the press conference just as he did. The level of speculation this week was ridiculous and it's all on a South Sydney outfit who have no idea what they're doing.

8. How about Mal Meninga openly issuing a "come and get me" for a job that hadn't even been officially decided upon yet!? Either he went into business for himself if Souths haven't made contact yet. Either way, this situation is as comical as when Wayne Bennett hid behind cars to avoid cameras while exiting Brisbane.

9. AJ Brimson needs to be selfish and try and leave the Titans, for his own sake. He dragged his side back into the competition on Sunday night. He made the break that should have set up the match winner only for Foran to fail to land the chip shot field goal. The way Brimson has been shifted around, despite being the club's best attacking player, would make a lesser players head spin.

10. I will always side with the doctor when it comes to head knocks but Jack Bird being ruled out via a category one concussion sure looked harsh. The Dragons actually lodged an in game appeal but were shot down. Player safety must come first but the Dragons were right to ask.

11. Speaking on which, can we please use some common sense and activate the replacement player as soon as a player is ruled out? There is no reason why South Sydney couldn't use Jacob Gagai following Cameron Murray's failed HIA on Saturday night.

12. What was Josh Aloiai thinking on Saturday afternoon? The rule is clear as it could be. Do not make contact with a kicker's legs. Yet Aloiai rushed out and collided with Shaun Johnson despite the fact SJ was trying to land a field goal from almost 50 metres out. The odds were never in SJ's favour. Aloiai has only himself to blame.

13. Josh Schuster is going to have to do it the hard way, but he has the talent. With 16 NRL clubs reportedly saying "thanks but no thanks" to the youngster, he has two options. Either look to England or accept a NSW Cup deal, tear up the competition and start a bidding war. Both are a long way from his $800,000 contract but if he's serious, it won't be long until he's back in the NRL.

14. A few weeks back we were arguing if suspensions should stop Lachlan Galvin from winning Rookie of the Year honours. Ethan Strange is playing at a level that may render that question completely moot. What a blockbuster start from the youngster!

15. The Roosters quietly completed a massive re-signing over the past 48 hours in announcing Terrell May has extended with the club. He is very quickly becoming one of the game's most fearsome forwards. There should have been ten NRL clubs chasing his signature. Well done to the Chooks!

16. Question for the comments section: Is Jamal Fogarty the cleanest striker of an NRL ball right now? Matt Burton and Adam Reynolds are the other two that come to mind but right now the Canberra halfback seems to have cement in his boot.

17. Can someone please ask members of the Storm roster if they've been instructed to only win games late on? Their biggest win of the season has been eight points, with three of their four wins coming via late tries. Sign of a good side when you can win from anywhere, but surely Melbourne fans are due an easier evening in the stands.

18. The disruptor rule is the most ridiculous in rugby league. Catch the ball!

19. Origin speculation is now in full swing. I dare say the NSW Blues side is going to be very different from last year.

20. This weekend we enjoyed the debut of two future stars of the game in Chevy Stewart and Jye Gray. Both played exceptionally well, in difficult circumstances. I'm very much looking forward to seeing what both can produce.