vb.net back to back, identical lines: 1 works, 1 doesn't

vb.net back to back, identical lines: 1 works, 1 doesn't

I have these 2 lines of code:
MsgBox(tr.InnerText.Contains("Completed"))
MsgBox(tr.InnerText.Contains("removed"))
They appear right after eachother, in that order (tr is an htmlelement
defined earlier). The first line executes no problem, the second line
returns an object reference not set. What gives gais?