Well, now we have seen it all. The Dragons, who have shown some fight in many of their games this year, have pulled off the biggest upset in rugby league history (a large dose of recency bias thrown in there). The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are rubbish once more, the Storm upset the Roosters, and the Raiders bounced back against the Cowboys.
With State of Origin I out of the way, we were able to get back to the NRL action, with some stars backing up and others having a rest.
Here's whose stocks are up and down after Round 13.
Our footy experts cast their eye over the week's action to find out whose stocks are up -- whether it's a coaching masterstroke or a player having a blinder -- and whose are down.
Brisbane Broncos
Stocks up: Payne Haas was back and took a million carries, especially late in sets when they were on the back foot. The last 15 minutes was scintillating rugby league for the most part, but this is the whole problem -- when they're on there's nobody better, but it's never for more than flashes at a time.
Stocks down: Another truckload of errors -- and another awful start to a game when they just invited pressure time and time again. The Dragons, to their credit, absolutely made them pay but the Broncos are as erratic and shaky as they were this time last year. It turned out alright for them in 2025, but maybe not so much this time around.
- Matt Bungard
Canberra Raiders
Stocks up: Ethan Strange came back from his Origin heroics without missing a beat, and the Raiders turned in their most controlled and composed performance of the year. Their fans have been burned with so many wins turning into losses over the past decade, but that wasn't in their minds at all on Sunday. A great win to get their season back on track.
Stocks down: Really not much to be upset about, but Seb Kris went off late and apparently failed a HIA, ruling him out for next week.
- Matt Bungard
Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs
Stocks up: Canterbury showed plenty of fight in the second half and, despite the hostile atmosphere around Lachlan Galvin's return, never completely folded. Sitili Tupouniua was dangerous whenever he got opportunities, Jacob Kiraz looks ready to earn the fullback role fulltime, and they at least made the Tigers earn the result.
Stocks down: The bigger issue is that they again left themselves too much to do. Errors early put them under pressure, the attack still looks clunky at times, and another loss means what once looked like a top-tier side is now searching for confidence and rhythm again.
- Isaac Issa
Cronulla Sharks
Stocks up: This felt like a really important win for Cronulla because they had to earn it. Manly kept throwing punches, but the Sharks stayed composed, found answers when momentum started shifting and got strong control from their spine, even with the disruption around Origin. More than anything, they looked like a side comfortable playing tight games again.
Stocks down: The concern is they still made life harder than it needed to be. A couple of defensive lapses let Manly hang around deep into the contest, and against the very best sides those periods can quickly become costly.
- Isaac Issa
Dolphins
BYE
Gold Coast Titans
BYE
Manly Sea Eagles
Stocks up: There was plenty to like about Manly's effort. They never really went away, kept finding ways to stay within reach and showed the sort of resilience that has become a feature of their season under Kieran Foran. Even when Cronulla looked ready to pull clear, they kept forcing the Sharks to work.
Stocks down: But they were always just slightly behind the game. A few missed opportunities and errors at key moments meant they spent too much of the night chasing momentum rather than controlling it themselves, which ultimately proved the difference.
- Isaac Issa
Melbourne Storm
Stocks up: The Storm came out early playing expansive football with plenty of ball movement. Defensively they were back to their swarming best, as shown by their efforts to restrict the Roosters to just four points. Origin stars Harry Grant and Cameron Munster led the way, while fullback Sualauvi Faalogo was outstanding.
Stocks down: While this was one of their best performances of the season, they still managed to sprinkle in more errors than Craig Bellamy would have been happy with. Although they did complete at an impressive 91%, their nine errors are something they will be working on.
- Darren Arthur
Newcastle Knights
Stocks up: Newcastle won't care that it wasn't perfect because it was exactly the type of game they would probably have lost last year. Kalyn Ponga looked dangerous, Dylan Lucas continued his strong form and, when Parramatta threatened late, the Knights found enough key defensive plays to hold on. Four straight wins now has them looking like a side building genuine belief.
Stocks down: The frustrating part is they nearly let Parramatta steal it. After building a strong lead, they lost control for periods and invited pressure back onto themselves, leaving the finish far more nervous than it should have been.
- Isaac Issa
New Zealand Warriors
Stocks up: An 80-minute performance from Jackson Ford, who continues to have the season of his life. He led from the front against what was mostly Penrith's full-strength middle, bar Isaah Yeo, and looked every bit the rep player he should be. Can't wait to see these two teams play again!
Stocks down: To be clear; James Fisher-Harris getting in his old teammate's face after an error was awesome. It lit the fuse for an explosive final 20 minutes of the game, and the big prop did absolutely nothing wrong, despite the scolding he got from Gerry Sutton. HOWEVER, after you do that, you have to win the game! It was all the more ironic that Alamoti ended up scoring the winner as well.
- Matt Bungard
North Queensland Cowboys
Stocks up: Heilum Luki was superb once again -- he's a player who should have been in the picture for the Origin squad but was passed up for who knows what reasons. He made sure to show the Queensland selectors what they were missing out on Sunday, clocking over 150 metres and scoring a try.
Stocks down: The point to which the Cowboys are a one-man team is now getting to Latrell Mitchell, Tom Trbojevic or (insert star player from the past) levels. Scott Drinkwater was poor today, and all it takes is a quiet game for him for everything else to fall apart. The forwards were still a handful, but there was no playmaking to speak off, and it was a very clunky and disjointed 80 minutes. It's a huge gamble to let him leave next year, it'll be so interesting to see how it pans out.
- Matt Bungard
Parramatta Eels
Stocks up: There's actually a fair bit to like about the way Parramatta competed. Missing key players and carrying a young side, they still stayed in the fight, kept pushing late and genuinely looked capable of pulling off the comeback. The effort level was far stronger than some of their earlier performances this season.
Stocks down: They still couldn't get over the line. Defensive lapses earlier in the game left them with too much work to do, and despite getting themselves back into the contest, they were again left regretting missed chances in key moments.
- Isaac Issa
Penrith Panthers
Stocks up: Who can stop these guys? They rested three of the best players in the world, were up against a team that has looked close to invincible for two months, and managed to secure a win. It was a close game and well-fought, at a very high standard, but it was only close due to Paul Alamoti slipping over when trying to field a kick.
Stocks down: Liam Martin was very quiet on his return from injury, but he'll be better for the run and I've no doubt a player of his quality will bounce back in a big way.
- Matt Bungard
St George Illawarra Dragons
Stocks up: The Dragons win a game! The Dragons win a game! What a moment for their long-suffering fans, most of whom would have been enjoying the Blues' victory last Wednesday as their first of the season. The young forwards were superb once again, but the veteran players like Damien Cook, Clint Gutherson (despite the intercept) and Val Holmes all turned in arguably their best games of the year.
Stocks down: Let's not try and be negative this week, shall we? It's been such a trying and awful year for Saints fans, but now they'll be daring to dream of the ultimate goal (avoiding the wooden spoon).
- Matt Bungard
South Sydney Rabbitohs
BYE
Sydney Roosters
Stocks up: Faced with an early Melbourne onslaught, the Roosters were able to weather the, well, the Storm, right up until 14 minutes short of halftime. After making 32 tackles inside their 20 metres, Harry Grant finally crashed over for an under 10s dummy-half try.
Stocks down: The Roosters' game was littered with 18 errors, as they allowed themselves to be flustered by the swarming Storm defence. This was a game they really needed to win to cement their premiership credentials. Now it is back to the drawing board ahead of tricky trip to Canberra next weekend.
- Darren Arthur
Wests Tigers
Stocks up: This felt like a really significant response from the Tigers. After a brutal few weeks, they got back to playing the style of footy that had them flying earlier in the season: tough defensively, composed with the ball and willing to stay patient when the game got tight. Api Koroisau and Jahream Bula made a noticeable difference on their return, and there was a resilience about them that had been missing recently.
Stocks down: The only concern is they still allowed Canterbury back into the contest late after controlling large stretches, which shows there's still work to do in closing games out cleanly.
- Isaac Issa