Dylan Napa starred as the Sydney Roosters recorded their first win of the season, a 17-10 effort against a hapless Rabbitohs outfit who looked lost during big parts of proceedings.
Match report: Napa stars in Roosters' first win of the year
You the real MVP, Dylan Napa
Roosters prop Sam Moa approached the media as he was leaving the sheds post-game and offered this: "That was the best individual performance from a front-rower I’ve ever seen".
Of course the man he was referring to was fellow forward Dylan Napa in what was easily the best performance of his 63-game career.
Not only did he last the entire 80 minutes, Napa also left Sam Burgess and many of his Souths teammates reeling on countless occasions.
He ended the game with a try, 151 metres and 51 tackles.
"Not many players can do what he did. It's a credit to him,” Roosters coach Trent Robinson said.
"He decided he was going to have a good game and he did. Some people decide and can't always follow through and he decided and he definitely delivered. "
Rabbitohs looked lost
There are plenty of concerns for South Sydney after handing the Roosters their first win of the year on a silver platter.
The Rabbitohs defence at times was a shambles and they had few answers to quash the Roosters’ momentum – Aidan Guerra's 26th minute try a testament to this.
It also didn't help they were by far the most disorganised they've been in 2016.
"At times there, there were great efforts and other times – which was the majority of the time – where there wasn't," Rabbitohs skipper Greg Inglis said.
"Our defence was not what we wanted, we practiced all week but you have to put that performance in for 80 minutes and we didn't do that."
Jake Friend's gritty captain's knock
The Roosters skipper will sleep well over the coming days knowing the club avoided its poorest start to a season in five decades.
Friend has perhaps been one of the Roosters under the most pressure this season. The hooker has had to go alone with regular halfback Mitchell Pearce stood down and has done so with little hindrance.
Friend was the impetus behind the Roosters' first two tries and while his coach commended his captain's performance he refused to get carried away.
"We had a good game, we won, it was a good performance and it's what we want to see and what we have tried to build our game on. Everyone played well," Robinson said.
"Napa was obviously the stand out but this guy next to me [Friend] and everyone else all stood up."
Quiet night for Burgess twins
George and Tom Burgess are battling to live up to the previous heights they have scaled in seasons past.
The twins only featured for a combined 48 minutes on Friday night. Not even 12 months ago that effort would have proved cannon fodder for each alone.
George lasted 16 minutes before he was subbed off only to return in the final 10 minutes of play. While the 111 metres next to his name look good, a fair chunk of them came while returning Roosters' dropouts.
Tom is just two games back from a knee injury but even then he was held back until after half-time and only produced a mere 35 metres in 21 minutes.
Auva'a blows early Souths chances
Don't be surprised to see Bryson Goodwin return to his preferred centre spot next week after Kirisome Auva'a turned in a mixed display.
South Sydney's seven-point loss may have been a whole different story if Auva'a had only backed his passing ability.
On two occasions in the first 10 minutes Auva'a would have likely sent Goodwin over for two tries if only he had passed. Instead he was a vulnerable target for the Roosters to manipulate.
"We just needed to stick with what was working and we didn't," Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire said post-game.
"We just went away from what was working and we needed to utilise our opportunities as the game went. But we weren't smart enough at times to do that."