From Manly's remarkable turnaround to the Knights and Tigers impressive starts.
We take a look at what the stats are telling us and the burning questions we can take out of it.
A week is a long time
Manly endured a difficult week in the aftermath of the sacking of coach Anthony Seibold. The whirlwind few days around the appointment of interim coach Keiran Foran culminated with a clash against the Dolphins.
The result was a 52-18 victory, which was the highest score ever recorded by a team the week after sacking a coach. It is also just the third time a team has scored 50+ in a coach's first game in charge.
What a start!
Speaking of 50…
The Melbourne Storm endured a third straight defeat in their 50-10 mauling at the hands of Penrith.
It is the first time they've lost three games in a row since the middle of 2022, and significantly it is the first time they've conceded 50 points in a game since 2003.
They have only once conceded a higher score in their highly successful history.
The famous stat that sits around teams dropping 50 in a game having never won a premiership in that same season will be getting a run…Can Bellamy and his men break that curse?
Knights and Tigers marching on
Round 6 throws up what at the start of the season would have been a very unlikely blockbuster.
Few matches this season will have attracted the level of interest that Sunday's meeting between the Newcastle Knights and the Wests Tigers will receive.
Both sides are sitting at 4-1 and are entrenched in the top four.
The Tigers haven't been in this position since 2018, and the Knights haven't begun a season this well since 2015.
The last time they both were 4-1 or better at the same time? 1998. When the Tigers were still “Balmain.
The Raiders woes
The Canberra Raiders slumped to 1-4 with their heavy defeat to Newcastle at the weekend, and they are entering unwanted territory.
It is already the worst start by a minor premier in a decade, with the Roosters 2016 start on par with this.
The worst season recorded by a minor premier was the Roosters again in 2004, who recorded just three victories.
Canberra look likely to be better than that, but their own 2006 season where they won nine games coming off a minor premiership might be in danger.
The Dragons hole deepens
The Dragons have slipped to 0-5, and in the process have extended their overall losing streak to a club record of nine matches dating back to Round 23 of last year.
The proud club started the season with promise in a brave defeat to the Bulldogs in Las Vegas, followed by a somewhat spirited showing against the Melbourne Storm, but the wheels have fallen off quickly.
The weekend's 32-0 loss to the Cowboys (who had averaged 28 points against per week for the season) will heap further pressure on embattled coach Shane Flanagan.
Where are the Bulldogs at?
The Bulldogs spent much of 2025 as the competition's pace setters, and despite a late fadeout the expectation was that they would again be around the mark.
A closer look at the numbers does produce some concerns though.
Since the middle of May last year, so roughly 11 months ago, the Bulldogs have only beaten two top eight sides. One was the Warriors in Round 23 who had begun their injury impacted slide by that point, and the other was the Panthers in Round 26 who had rested the majority of their best side.
They have now lost eight of their last ten matches.
During the first 22 games of last season, they only conceded a score of 24 points or higher four times. They have done it six times in their last ten matches, with their average points per game dropping by seven in that same time.
