In the second round of the 2026 NRL season, there were plenty of highlights, including Alex Johnston becoming the greatest try scorer of all time and the Tigers returning in a big way.
AJ BREAKS TRY-SCORING RECORD
In scenes that will last forever, South Sydney Rabbitohs winger Alex Johnston has officially broken the NRL’s try-scoring record which was held for more than five decades by Team of the Century winger Ken Irvine.
A minute after half-time in the club’s match against the Sydney Roosters, Johnston crossed the line for his 213th career try and thousands of fans stormed the field to celebrate the feat that is unlikely to ever happen again.
Unfortunately, the Rabbitohs were unable to emerge victorious in the end, but the celebrations continued well and truly into the night.
“There are a lot of emotions, I was trying not to cry when we ran back out, obviously the game didn’t go the way we wanted – it would have been much better with a win – but right now, I don’t know how to feel; it’s still sinking in,” Johnston told Channel Nine after the game.
“I just want to get to my family and give them a big cuddle. We had just run out from half-time and I couldn’t believe it. It was surreal.
“The crowd ran on, obviously the NRL didn’t really want it, but it was awesome for me — it was an unreal experience.
“I couldn’t breathe for a second because there were so many people, and it was getting so hot.”
KNIGHTS DEALT MASSIVE INJURY BLOWS
Entering the season as wooden spooners, the Newcastle Knights have now won their opening two match of the 2026 NRL season but the victory came at a major cost with two star players ruled out for the next few months.
Stunning the Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval with a 36-16 victory, the Knights will now be without stars Dylan Brown (MCL) and Kalyn Ponga (hamstring) after they sustained injuries during the contest.
Brown has been ruled out for up to four weeks while Ponga is set to spend up to eight weeks on the sidelines, subsequently ruling him out of State of Origin selection for Queensland’s opening match of the series.
However, in some positive news, Fletcher Sharpe is slated to make his return to the field after spending Round 2 on the sidelines with an injury he suffered in Las Vegas against the Cowboys.
“Yesterday was a tough, physical contest and the boys showed real grit to come away with a great win at 4 Pines Park,” the club Director of Football Chris James confirmed on Monday morning.
“Injuries are part of our game, and the character our group showed to fight through adversity says everything about the culture we are building.
“Tomorrow Fletcher Sharpe will be named in the team for Round 3, we can’t wait to get back to McDonald Jones Stadium for our first home game of the season and feel the support of our members and fans.”
TIGERS START 2026 WITH A BANG
The Wests Tigers have begun their 2026 NRL campaign in sensational form with a 44-16 win over the North Queensland Cowboys as the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’ in Leichhardt Oval.
It took the club under ten minutes to cross the line for their first through back-rower Samuela Fainu, before five other try-scorers crossed the line including a double to recruit Kai Pearce-Paul and rookie Luke Laulilii.
Meanwhile, superstar five-eighth Jarome Luai was on the best on ground and had a remarkable performance in the halves which saw him earn all six Dally M points as he looks to lead the side to breaking their finals drought.
“This is a new year, so I’m not even thinking about last year,” Marshall said post-match.
“One thing we are conscious of, though, is just week by week you’ve got to prepare each week and be ready to roll, and I’m just lucky I’ve got a good group of leaders who drive that.
“Because things coming from just me, it’s not as effective as coming from these guys, so it’s one of the biggest growth areas.
“I’ve seen in the pre-season was that our leaders were driving everything and pretty happy with the way it went today.”