It was a record breaking week for Alex Johnston, and the hole grows deeper for the Cowboys.
The Eels and Knights also lay down some early markers as we take a look at all the key numbers from Round 2.
AJ's Day
Alex Johnston's second try in the Rabbitohs Friday night loss to the Roosters sparked magnificent scenes of celebration, with the crowd storming onto the field to celebrate the all-time try scoring record, which had previously stood for 53 years.
Johnston's 245th game produced the 212th and 213th tries of his career, surpassing Ken Irvine's long-standing record.
Johnston has scored 160 times on the left wing, which would rank 11th all-time if you just counted those tries.
In 2021 he became the third player ever to score 30 tries in a season, the following year he became the first player to do it twice.
He has scored in 125 of his 245 games
This was the 58th time he has scored twice in a game.
On 15 occasions he has scored at least three times in a game, and he also has one four try game, and two five try games.
What's in the numbers?
Winning streaks and losing streaks can paint a picture, but digging deeper into the numbers is important.
The Eels stirring win over defending premier Brisbane on Thursday marked their sixth victory in their past nine matches.
It was a fitting response to last week's crushing defeat to the Melbourne Storm, but it also marks the fourth time within that run of victories that they have beaten a top eight side.
They have defeated Brisbane twice in that run, as well as wins over the Roosters and the Warriors. Which makes it all the more encouraging.
Conversely, the Cowboys have had a horror start to the season, with sound defeats at the hands of the Knights in Vegas, and the Tigers this week.
Extending back to 2025, the Cowboys have won just five of 18 matches, with those five wins coming against the Tigers (twice), Titans, Dragons and Knights, all sides in the bottom six on the table at the time of the matches.
It makes for grim reading for the under-siege club.
2-0 and 0-2
The Knights have been an early season surprise with back-to-back wins under new coach Justin Holbrook.
However, this is not unfamiliar territory for the Knights, who have gone 2-0 in six of the past nine seasons including last year.
In 2025, the Knights defeated the Tigers and the Dolphins to start the season before falling away badly to claim the wooden spoon.
Of those previous 2-0 starts, they made the finals on three occasions with one other bottom four finish.
On the flip side, the reigning premiers Brisbane have endured a tough start to their title defence with defeats at the hands of Penrith and the Eels.
It is just the Broncos third 0-2 start this century with the others coming in 2007 and 2021.
In 2007 they went on to play finals anyway.
Panthers and Storm push on
Just behind the Broncos remarkable premiership run last year was a pair of familiar faces. The Panthers and Storm fell at the second last and last hurdles in 2025, but both are setting the early pace as they look for redemption.
In a very high scoring start to the season across the board, the typically frugal Panthers have conceded just one try.
They have now won 14 of their past 18 matches, with losses of two, four and four amongst the defeats.
The Melbourne Storm have opened their season by putting 98 points on the board in a fortnight, their most productive two week stretch since Rounds 7 and 8 of 2022 when they scored 120 in two games.
It is also their highest scoring start to any season in their history.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
