Five key points from NRL round 7

ARE THE TIGERS THE UNLUCKIEST TEAM IN THE NRL?

James Tedesco is in career-best form, young halves Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses are firing on all cylinders, veteran centre Chris Lawrence is rekindling his career in the back-row.

The Wests Tigers are playing some brilliant footy at the moment, but somehow they've lost five in a row and are languishing in 13th place.

How? They've been on the receiving end of some dud calls.

Just one week after a bizarre second ball incident cost them dearly against Newcastle, Jason Taylor's men were again left fuming by a number of controversial decisions in their 19-18 golden point loss to the Storm.

Early in the game they were denied what should have been a penalty try when Lawrence was taken out in the in goal moments before diving on a Robbie Farah grubber. Richie Kennar was sent to the sin bin for foul play, but the Storm were let off with just a penalty.

Then in the second half, in what turned out to be a major turning point, Storm winger Suliasi Vunivalu scored a crucial try just seconds after he should have been penalised.

Vunivalu hit Tedesco with a high shot, picked up the loose ball and streamed down field. He then scored in the corner on the same set of six, capitalising on an overlap created because Tedesco was too concussed to get back in the defensive line.

After the try was awarded, Vunivalu was placed on report and Tedesco was forced off the field for a concussion test. A frustrated Taylor admitted he was upset by incident. "He got hit in the head and the player was put on report. Usually you get something for that."

BAN ON BUNKER BASHING

Taylor was reluctant to comment further on the contentious nature of his side's loss, with the NRL issuing clubs with a reminder that criticism of the referees and video referee bunker would not be tolerated.

It follows weeks of fierce criticism of the NRL's newly introduced officiating technology and is in line with the governing body's regulations banning the bagging of referees.

Roosters coach Trent Robinson believes coaches will cop the crackdown as long as its technology is up to scratch.

"The technology is important, that is the advancement of our game, it was going to happen.

"The only thing that I ask for is that we research the technology so that we address those grey areas in our game, and that is one of them (ruling on offside). Are going to eliminate the grey completely? I don't think so. But if we can narrow the grey with technology then let's go there."

EELS FANS IN FOR A RUDE SHOCK?

Another week, another impressive Parramatta victory.

With each win the excitement of fans and players builds ever so slightly, but a lingering fear hangs over their heads.

That fear is the ongoing salary cap investigation and the threat of competition points being taken away.

Depending on who you ask, it could be two, four or all of their 2016 points.

Either way, the NRL needs to make a decision quickly. It’s not fair on the fans or the players if they are only building false hope.

SHARKS SHOWING THEIR TITLE CREDENTIALS

Just short of the quarter-mark of the season, Cronulla have emerged as genuine premiership contenders on the back of their impressive 40-16 win over Canberra.

It was their fourth win in a row, taking them to 5-2, with the strong start boding well after they limped out of the blocks to be 0-4 last year.

The Sharks are now ensconced in the top four in third spot, only behind last year's grand finalists Brisbane and North Queensland.

The Broncos appear miles ahead of the chasing pack, with Brisbane making a mockery of Newcastle on Saturday night.

It was men against boys as Anthony Milford and Corey Oates both bagged hat-tricks in a 53-0 thrashing.

REYNOLDS IN THE DOG HOUSE AGAIN

Controversial Canterbury five-eighth Josh Reynolds is doing his best to ensure he never plays State of Origin again with another unsavory on-field incident overshadowing his playing performance.

The Bulldogs were trying to get back into their loss against the Warriors when Reynolds spilled a dodgy pass from hooker Michael Lichaa.

Reynolds stood up and angrily pegged the ball back at his unsuspecting teammate.

His actions were sure to draw the attention of NSW coach Laurie Daley. It certainly didn’t go unnoticed on social media:

The incident comes just two weeks after Reynolds was criticised for touching the backside of Canberra Raiders counterpart Aidan Sezer: