Under-pressure Canterbury half Josh Reynolds has put in a compelling case for a new contract, firing his side to a 24-9 win over South Sydney at ANZ Stadium on Friday.

Reynolds is off contract at season’s end, however, he proved his reputation as the heartbeat of the club was well deserved as he guided the Bulldogs to their third straight victory.

With Canterbury being linked to the likes of Cooper Cronk and Kieran Foran, Reynolds is far from assured of being at Belmore in 2018. After scoring a try, saving another and setting up Josh Jackson’s second-half four pointer, which gave his side the lead, Reynolds looked every bit the chief of the dogs of war.

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In the shed afterwards, his teammates chanted “sign him up, sign him up” in a not-so-subtle message to coach Des Hasler and CEO Raelene Castle. Hasler described Reynolds’ try-saving tackle on Adam Reynolds as the key moment in the match.

“It was a real big turning point, it came off the back of one of our errors,” Hasler said. “It reflects his determination, our scramble has been good all year. We certainly needed it then.”

It was an at times heated clash with Souths pair Sam and George Burgess facing possible time on the sidelines for separate incidents. Sam was penalised for a shoulder charge on Greg Eastwood and looks set to miss next week’s clash with Brisbane.

George could also be in hot water after appearing to throw a forearm or elbow at Aiden Tolman late in the game, just a week after returning from a two-week suspension for a similar offence.

After Souths led 9-8 at halftime, the game was in the balance heading in to the final quarter before Reynolds came to the fore. He ran down Souths halfback Reynolds just inches from the line before minutes later playing a key role in his side taking the lead. He drifted across field, sent Brenko Lee inside, who popped it to Jackson for the Bulldogs’ go-ahead try to make it 14-9 in the 63rd minute.

Reynolds didn’t have it all his own way. Souths fullback Alex Johnston scored the opening try when he burnt the Bulldogs playmaker for speed to run 55m and cross in the corner. But Reynolds’ reply was swift and five minutes later he grubbered for the in-goal and when Johnston let it bounce, the Bulldogs five-eighth snuck under the Rabbitohs No.1’s guard to ground it.

Hasler looks set to shuffle No7 Moses Mbye between the halves and hooker, after back-up playmaker Matt Frawley was brought on in the 25th minute and combined beautifully with Reynolds. The move raises questions about the future of No.9 Michael Lichaa, after he spent the final 55 minutes on the bench.

Souths were left to lament several missed opportunities - twice they got over the line, however, were denied by the video referees for obstructions. “We were in positions to be able to take the game but it takes every moment of an 80 minutes to capitalise on opportunities,” Souths coach Michael Maguire said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Luke Keary scored the game-breaking try for the Roosters against Newcastle. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Later on Friday, Sydney Roosters five-eighth Luke Keary continued his NRL resurrection with the game-breaking try in his team’s 24-6 win over Newcastle. The Roosters were holding onto a slender 12-6 lead midway through the second half at McDonald Jones Stadium when Keary seized the initiative with an individual try.

After a stampeding run from Boyd Cordner, the South Sydney reject darted blindside and made Mitchell Barnett grab air to silence the crowd of 24,412 – the Knights’ biggest in a year. The win means the Tricolours avoid a three-game losing streak to sit temporarily alongside ladder leaders Melbourne and St George Illawarra on five wins for the season.

But for the bottom-placed Knights, the brave defeat extends their losing streak to five games. It was yet another courageous performance from the perennial battlers, who had a handful of chances to level the scores early in the second half.

However Keary, with three tries in the opening seven games of the season, broke the game open with his decisive 63rd-minute effort. Halves partner Mitchell Pearce sealed the win with a four-pointer of his own 10 minutes later. The Knights also had opportunities to exert early scoreboard pressure when Barnett found himself over the line in the ninth minute, but he was judged to have knocked on in the lead-up.

The home side enjoyed two more plays inside the opposition 20-metre zone in the first half but didn’t have the attacking polish of their opponents. The Roosters had no such difficulties, striking first through Joseph Manu’s wicked right-foot step that sent three defenders the wrong direction in the 18th minute.

They completed a near-flawless first half, completing 18 of 19 sets, on Pearce’s cutout for Michael Gordon to take a 12-0 lead into the break. Newcastle brought the crowd into the contest when Dane Gagai produced a flick pass for Ken Sio soon after the restart, but couldn’t find the breakthrough.

In a sour note for the Roosters, back-rower Ryan Matterson failed to finish the match after coming off with a leg injury in the second half.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Darius Boyd was instrumental in Brisbane’s 24-22 defeat of the Titans. Photograph: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

In the final Good Friday game, skipper Darius Boyd inspired Brisbane to their first back-to-back win of the season as they beat Gold Coast 24-22. The Broncos recorded their sixth straight win over the Titans, but had to do it the hard way. Brisbane trailed for most of the game, but an inspiring series of runs from Boyd early in the second half extended their winning streak to 11 against Gold Coast at Suncorp Stadium.

The Titans started strongly for the first time this season, scoring twice in the opening 14 minutes. So far this season, they have been outscored 56-14 in the first 20 minutes and have conceded more than 28 points in five of six games. They changed the tone in the derby.

Anthony Don put Gold Coast on the board in the 10th minute after Tyronne Roberts-Davis produced a remarkable backhand flick which gave the winger enough room to complete an 80m run down the right sideline. In the 14th minute, Titans co-captain Ryan James gave Gold Coast a 12-point buffer as he scored his 22nd try for the club in his 100th game.

Returning from injury, Nathan Peats was rarely seen without his arms raised directing his teammates into a strong defensive shape. The Broncos’ attack leads the competition in metres gained (1,510m) and tackle busts (33.8) and the Titans witnessed this through a James Roberts try in the 21st minute.

Roberts opened the scoring for the Broncos, giving Boyd his 100th try assist for the club. The Titans extended their lead at the end of the first half, Anthony Don pulling off a breathtaking soccer-style kick to knock the ball back to Chris Gruvsmuhl.

Boyd reignited Brisbane with his running, tallying 187m for the game. Anthony Milford gave the Broncos the lead for the first time in the 63rd minute. This was snatched away by Kane Elgey just seven minutes later to put the Titans back in front. The seesawing continued until Matt Gillett charged down an Elgey clearing kick which put Roberts over for his third try of the match.