The Storm now have to overcome two "never before seen" scenarios if they are to contend again, plus the Tigers, Titans and Cowboys enjoy strong form.
We look at all the key numbers from another fascinating weekend.
Storm critical
Melbourne slumped to a fourth straight defeat in their heavy loss to the Warriors this weekend, marking just the 2nd time in 11 years that they have dropped four on the bounce.
It is also the highest combined number of points they conceded in a four match stretch (132) since 2001.
The 86 points surrended in the past fortnight is also the highest in a two-game stretch during the Bellamy reign.
No side has ever won a premiership after conceding 50 points in a game, as the Storm did last week, and no team in the modern NRL era has won a premiership after losing four games in a row during a season.
The mighty dynasty is on life support.
On the plus side for the Warriors though, this was their highest ever score against the Storm and snapped a horror 17 game run against Melbourne.
Panthers are human
They usually get a positive reference each week, but their shock loss to the Bulldogs marked the highest score they've conceded since Round 2 of last year when the Roosters put on 38 against them.
It is also the Bulldogs highest score against Penrith since 2013.
Good Tiger omens
Since 2022, only two sides that have sat in the top four after six rounds have gone on to miss the finals. And about 75% of them have remained in the top four at season's end.
Last year the top four at this stage of the year was the Bulldogs, Storm, Raiders and Broncos. That would ultimately be the top four come the end of the home and away season.
Odds are favouring a return to finals for the rampaging Tigers, and perhaps they can do a bit more than that?
Titans smash the Eels
The Titans have shown some glimpses of the way forward in the early part of 2026, without translating that into results. This week might have changed all that though with a 52-10 monstering of the Eels.
It represents both their highest score ever in an away game and their biggest victory in an away game. It also sits second overall in both of those categories factoring in home games as well.
For the Eels it is a different story. They have now conceded 50+ twice this year and are 44 points worse off defensively than any other side this year. The promise shown in the Round 2 Broncos win has since evaporated.
Where to for the Dragons?
The Dragons were certainly “up” for their clash with Manly on the weekend after a tough few days in the spotlight. The end result though was the same with a frustrating 18-28 defeat.
The 0-6 start is the worst recorded start to a season in the St George Illawarra history.
St George in their original form only fell to 0-6 once, and that was in their maiden season of 1922.
Illawarra did it in 1983 and 1989 en route to wooden spoons.
Cowboys are flying
The North Queensland Cowboys looked in a world of trouble across the opening fortnight, but the response has been brilliant. They have put up 125 points in their last four matches to make them the highest scoring team in the competition over that time.
