Sydney Roosters held on to secure an 18-14 victory over South Sydney Rabbitohs that lifted them above their arch rivals to the summit of the NRL standings.
The Roosters led 18-10 at ANZ Stadium with 17 minutes remaining but were hanging on at the end, with Sam Burgess losing possession of the ball as the Rabbitohs sought a try that would have levelled the score.
It was the Roosters' fifth victory in a row since their bye week and it moved them ahead of their rivals to the top of the table with three fixtures to go before the NRL Finals.
South Sydney had gone ahead with a third-minute Adam Reynolds penalty after Siosiua Taukeiaho made an error straight from kick-off, though the Rabbitohs were forced into an early change when Alex Johnston went off injured.
James Tedesco scored the Roosters' first points with a try that Latrell Mitchell added the extras to and two Mitchell penalties either side of Reynolds' fortuitous try meant Sydney led 10-8 at the half.
The Rabbitohs were level through a Reynolds penalty only for South Sydney to quickly hit back through Joseph Manu's brilliant try, as the New Zealander burst through two tackles and touched down in the corner to finish off a run that started near halfway.
Another Mitchell conversion and a further penalty extended the lead to eight and, though Hymel Hunt's score brought the Rabbitohs within touching distance, the Roosters held on.
New Zealand Warriors snapped a four-game winless streak at home with a 20-4 victory over Newcastle Knights as winger David Fusitu'a celebrated his new five-year deal with a try.
The Knights had led 11 minutes in when Ken Sio picked up a bouncing ball and showed immense strength to hold off a series of would-be tacklers to go over.
Yet the Warriors had turned the game on its head before half-time when Adam Blair and Fusitu'a crossed, the latter scoring his 16th try in 19 games to show why the Warriors made a long-term commitment to him.
Blake Green touched down after the interval too, with Shaun Johnson adding all three conversions and a late penalty to secure a comprehensive victory for the Warriors that saw them rise to sixth in the standings.
