Newcastle Knights 14 defeated by St George Illawarra Dragons 15 at Hunter Stadium
Not too much has changed with St George Illawarra in their structure since the departure of Wayne Bennett. Completion rate is very important still at the Dragons, although I think theyre trying to be more expansive with their attack. Theyve had a small variation where Soward and Hornby play from both sides of the field which is great, but I think thats come on the back of Darius Boyd leaving the Dragons. Newcastle had a chance to win but didnt take it because the Dragons were brilliant defensively. They were really good and very desperate to win against their old coach.
Parramatta Eels 6 defeated by Brisbane Broncos 18 at Parramatta Stadium
It was a bit of a disappointing first 40 minutes at Parramatta Stadium with a poor completion rate from both sides. The more the game went on, the more I started to believe that life without Darren Lockyer is going to be OK for the Brisbane Broncos. Corey Norman started to run the ball towards the end of the game, Justin Hodges is fit and Josh Hoffman had a great second half. Theyre just a wonderful side. I think it could be another long, long year for Parramatta.
Canberra Raiders 19 defeated by Melbourne Storm 24 at Canberra Stadium
It was a wonderful game of football in horrible conditions. The Storm got off to a wonderful start with two quick tries and you could have forgiven the Raiders for giving up early on the back of their season last year. Terry Campese back in their squad gives them a bit of confidence. I would like to see a few more passes strung together from the Canberra forwards two years ago they played with a lot of passes and a lot of tip-ons but nowadays they just seem to want to use their size which I dont think is overly smart in the modern game. There was certainly an opportunity for the Raiders to win the football game but the big three for Melbourne were brilliant. Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater came up with the big plays that won the game. The Storm are well-drilled, I think theyre going to be better than they were last year and for mine, Melbourne are favourites for this years competition.
Penrith Panthers 14 defeated by Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 22 at Centrebet Stadium
Horrible news for Michael Gordon. I think he was certainly going to be a NSW player somewhere but unfortunately hell be out for the majority of the year. Penrith had everything to play for, they had a new coach and a lot of field position, but I think nothing has changed with their inability to score points. They didnt look like breaking the Bulldogs line. You saw an indication of what Des Haslers done for the Bulldogs in the gritty way they managed to grind out a win. There was plenty of desperation on the try-line. James Graham looked outstanding with his fitness levels, his agility, and his ability to pass and promote the football which I think the modern game calls for. The Dogs were good enough to scrape home with an ugly win but the more football Canterbury got, the more you saw of Haslers impact and theyll get even better.
North Queensland Cowboys 0 defeated by Gold Coast Titans 18 at Dairy Farmers Stadium
I wish I knew what happened to the Cowboys on Saturday night. They were very, very poor for a side that I was expecting so much from this year. You cant go zero from 11 in your completion rate in the NRL and expect to win a game. Im not a huge fan of Johnathan Thurston at five-eighth; I think hes too far away from the football and cant control the Cowboys how he would like to. The Cowboys were horrible, but theyve helped Gold Coast Titans win a game. Jamal Idris and Beau Champion are going to help Scotty Princes game because he now has guys to run onto the football of him. Prince will wake up today with a fair bit of confidence and I think thats wonderful news for the Titans.
Warriors 20 defeated by Manly Sea Eagles 26 at Eden Park
I think nothing has changed too much at Manly with Geoff Toovey as coach; theyve retained their structure and have the same players as last year and theyve still got their ability to grind out a win. The Warriors would have wanted to have beaten Manly for a little bit of payback from last years grand final but once again Manly got their measure. The Warriors showed some promise and they are going to be thereabouts but certainly with a new coach you dont know how much discipline theyre going to have now that Brian McClennan is there and not Ivan Cleary.
Wests Tigers 17 defeated Cronulla Sharks 16 at Leichhardt Oval
It was a wonderful game and I love the concept of golden point. Both sides had an opportunity to win the game in the second half. The heat was enormous with players from both sides going down with cramp and their ability to keep going beyond 80 minutes was huge. Benji Marshall kicked one of the ugliest field goals I have ever seen but it doesnt matter what they look like if they go over. The horrible news out of the game is James Tedesco the young Tigers fullback who made his debut and looked better and better with every touch unfortunately it looks like he will be out for the whole season with a knee reconstruction. It was a game of footy Sharks fans should be excited about, while Tigers fans will be happy with the win but disappointed to lose what looked like a boom kid.
