Five key points from NRL Round 9

DIVING DOMINATES THE HEADLINES

Staying down to win penalties was a fierce talking point during the week, but Josh Reynolds and Jamie Lyon took it to new extremes.

Bulldogs half Reynolds appeared to be out cold after a high tackle against the Eels, but remained on the field once he won a penalty.

In prime attacking position as a trainer was walking Reynolds off the ground, he miraculously recovered to take part in the ensuing set.

"He's not going off the field, it's time to win the game", a disgusted Greg Alexander said in commentary.

And Sea Eagles skipper Lyon went one better when he fooled the bunker on Saturday night to win an obstruction penalty.

With the Cowboys storming the Sea Eagles' line, Lyon fell theatrically as Kane Linnett ran a decoy and Lachlan Coote crossed over for a try.

Cowboys coach Paul Green said Lyon was worthy of winning an Academy Award, while commentators were in disbelief once replays of the comical dive were shown.

OBSTRUCTION RULE OSTRACISED YET AGAIN

Speaking of obstruction, Dragons fans were left fuming after two tries were overturned in their loss to the Warriors on Sunday.

Gareth Widdop was denied early on before Benji Marshall suffered the same fate late in the second half, a decision that bewildered fans and commentators alike.

Dragons decoy runner Tyson Frizell made contact with Ryan Hoffman, but the Warriors skipper was still in a position to make a tackle on Marshall, the No.7 getting over the line because Hoffman missed a relatively easy one-on-one.

Video referee Luke Patten was reportedly reprimanded during the week for using too much common sense in ruling on tries, but isn't that exactly what the ex-footballer is there for?

IS 2016 THE YEAR OF THE SHARK?

In what felt like a precursor to this year’s State of Origin series, the Sharks edged the Broncos in one of the matches of the season on Sunday arvo.

The Sharks recorded their sixth successive win for the first time since 2012 ahead of the competition's break for the representative round, propelling them to the top rung of the premiership ladder alongside the Broncos, North Queensland and Melbourne.

They could not be better placed after just over a third of the regular season, and coach Shane Flanagan couldn’t be happier.

"If someone said at the start of the year we would have been in this position I would have taken it. We are in a pretty good place but there is still a lot of work to be done."

GALLEN'S TEST JERSEY IN JEOPARDY?

Paul Gallen might have to fight for his Kangaroos jersey at the judiciary after appearing to elbow Test teammate Josh McGuire in the face.

The Sharks skipper upended the Broncos prop before dropping down on him with his elbow in the first half of their clash on Sunday.

The incident slipped past the on-field referees but is sure to come under scrutiny from the match review committee.

With no club games before the Anzac Test on Friday night, any suspension would rule Gallen out.

PENRITH'S PERILOUSLY CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

The Panthers' 19-18 victory over Canberra on Saturday continued an extraordinary run of close matches.

All nine of their games this season have been decided in the final five minutes, and they were lucky to come out on top in Bathurst.

Canberra coach Ricky Stuart was fuming with the decision to allow Peter Wallace's game-winning field goal, and it looked like he had a point.

Paul Vaughan appeared to be hindered from getting to Wallace by a blocking defender, but once again the bunker saw it differently.

"There's a new rule this year in place where you're not allowed to have blockers to impede a player that's chasing down the kicker of a field goal. We had a player who was impeded by two blockers," he said.

with AAP