Nicho Hynes' State of Origin case is fast becoming irresistible after the Cronulla halfback starred in a 38-30 defeat of the Sydney Roosters, whose five-eighth Luke Keary suffered another head knock.
Saturday night's clash lived up to its billing as a Magic Round blockbuster, with a see-sawing battle of two presumptive NRL finalists unfolding at Suncorp Stadium.
But of the many superstars on both sides, Hynes stood tallest on return from a minor calf injury to help solidify his chances of earning a recall for injury-hit NSW for the series opener on June 5.
With their second defeat of a premiership heavyweight in as many weeks, the ladder-leading Sharks are now surely on the cusp of shaking their tag as flat-track bullies.
Next week's clash against triple reigning premiers Penrith looks set to be the ultimate test.
In the opening minute of the game, Hynes triggered the bold last-tackle play that produced the Sharks' first try; his one-two with Briton Nikora down the right edge laid the platform for Will Kennedy to score once Dom Young fumbled Jesse Ramien's chip kick.
As the sides continued to swap tries, Hynes caught James Tedesco napping with as precise a 40/20 kick you will see and then sent Teig Wilton over for a four-pointer with a well-placed flat pass.
The scoring dried up from both sides after a 24-18 first half, but Hynes' penalty goal gave the Sharks a buffer midway through the period.
Hynes sealed the deal by throwing the last pass to Tom Hazelton, the cult hero prop barging over to seal the result in the last two minutes.
The Roosters were in the fight right up until Hazelton's try; they did well to punish Cronulla's errors and flaunt silky second-phase play in the first half.
Wallaby-in-waiting Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii had a night to remember and continues to press his own case for an Origin debut, sending Young over for his first try with a flick pass and later putting Nat Butcher into space with an offload.
Suaalii went to the sin bin for a professional foul in the first half, though.
All eyes were on off-contract second-rower Angus Crichton after David Fifita left the Roosters at the altar this week, but the in-form Rooster had an off night.
He lost the ball in the ruck just after halftime, inviting the Sharks to draw level through Siosifa Talakai, and then came up with another error while the Roosters were on the attack down 26-24.
Keary suffered only a cut to his face and not the latest in a string of head knocks, said Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson.
Teammate Lindsay Collins accidentally struck Keary as the pair attempted a two-man tackle on Cam McInnes in the final minutes.
Keary clutched at his head on the ground but made it to his feet, with medical staff attending to the bleeding above his left eye.
The 32-year-old left the field for a head injury assessment and did not return as fewer than four minutes remained in the Magic-Round clash.
The sight of Keary on the turf was enough to send a scare around Suncorp Stadium given the veteran's history of head knocks.
He suffered five concussions between January 2018 and May 2019, missed more than a month of the 2022 season after another blow to the head and went down again in the round-two loss to Manly in March.
But Keary, who is retiring at the end of the season, spoke to Robinson in the Roosters change rooms at fulltime to reassure him there were no concerns this time.
"I walked in and saw him and he said, 'I'm fine'," Robinson said.
"He's always been honest about where he's at. He walked back in and said he was fine. You can see the cut above his eye."
Keary passed his head injury assessment and will be available for next Saturday's clash against Canberra.
Robinson wants to see tighter defence and fewer errors coming out of trouble in that game.
"You shouldn't ever leak 38 points, that was really disappointing," he said.
"Our game at the moment, you cannot offer opportunities coming out of your own end, as many as what we did.
"It's such a big part of our game and we just opened the door a lot in that second half."