Round 18 of the 2026 NRL season saw plenty of highlights and lowlights, headlined by the Dragons securing their second win of this year’s campaign.
DRAGONS SECURE SECOND WIN OF SEASON
The St George Illawarra Dragons have secured their second win of this year’s campaign, defeating the Wests Tigers by 14 points (24-10) as they try to fight their way off the bottom of the NRL ladder with only a couple of months to go in the season.
The Tigers headed into the final ten minutes with the lead, but after co-captain Apisai Koroisau left the field with a pec injury, the home side managed to take control with Valentine Holmes bagging a double in three minutes and Mathew Feagai putting the icing on the victory in the final five minutes.
While the Red V will celebrate their victory, the Tigers have all but ended their finals hopes and are unlikely to end their 15-year drought.
“We got exactly what we deserved today,” Tigers coach Benji Marshall said.
“Our discipline, attention to detail and care wasn’t good enough… we were poor. We let them out of yardage with penalty after penalty, and they capitalised.
“I need to look at the preparation we had… that starts and stops with me. We’ve gone backwards.”
Holmes grabs his double! ✌ #NRL
Telstra Moment of the Match pic.twitter.com/mUmsMKrfVV
— NRL (@NRL) July 4, 2026
EELS STUN SEA EAGLES
The Parramatta Eels completely stunned the Manly Sea Eagles over the weekend as they leapfrogged the Broncos on the ladder with a 23-14 victory without captain and star halfback Mitchell Moses, who was unavailable due to Origin responsibilities.
The halves pairing of Ronald Volkman and Jonah Pezet led from the front in attack, but it was veteran utility Dylan Walker who stole the show with a ‘Pass of the Year’ contender to help hand the win to the home side.
Meanwhile, the Sea Eagles are set to be without outside back Clayton Faulalol for an extended period of time after he re-aggravated a hamstring injury.
“It was a tough watch,” Manly Sea Eagles coach Kieran Foran said.
“We were way off. The inconsistency in our performances at the moment is something we need to fix, and that’s my job to work that out.
“I haven’t loved what I’ve seen the last six weeks in terms of being up one week and then down the next, bounce back the next week and then down again.”
Something in the water at CommBank. Eels back-rowers just can't stop throwing no-look dimes.
Who did it better: Dylan Walker today or Bryce Cartwright in 2022? #NRL #ParraDise #RugbyLeague pic.twitter.com/1xTUjDFDf8
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) July 5, 2026
CODY WALKER IN STRIFE
South Sydney Rabbitohs star five-eighth Cody Walker found himself in strife in Round 18 after he was sent to the sin-bin for kicking Jack Cogger as the Cardinal and Myrtle fell to a 36-14 loss to the Penrith Panthers on Friday evening.
Described as a moment of madness by the playmaker, the first-half incident controlled the news cycle as the Panthers remained on top of the ladder with another decisive victory which saw winger Thomas Jenkins cross for a hat-trick of tries.
“It just wasn’t good enough,” Walker said after the game.
“As a senior player, I’ve just got to be better in those moments and not let my aggression get the better of me. I let my teammates down, and I’m really sorry about that.
“I spoke to Jack after the game and apologised to him. My emotions got the better of me. It wasn’t good enough as a senior player. It’s not on. I let the team down massively.”
'I've never seen ANYTHING like this!' 😮
The Fox League panel dissects Cody Walker's brain explosion in the #NRLPanthersSouths game. pic.twitter.com/oBFK5JscAm
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) July 3, 2026