Round 3: It's difficult to be consistent: Instalment I (or how I learned to stop worrying about form and love playing at home)

In the parity-obsessed NRL, putting a series of wins - or even a series of strong performances - together can be a very difficult task.

The ongoing stability in the salary cap (further widening the disparity between wages in the NRL and England/Rugby Union), years of rules changes favouring the combination of improved speed, strength and endurance in NRL players (thus resulting in more injuries and early retirements) and the addition of the Gold Coast Titans have combined to remove between 3 and 5 players from most NRL squads in recent years.

Most of these players fit into the veteran category (as those players nearing the end of their career are more likely to chase $$$ in England or be forced out of the game due to insufficient size/ speed or the wear and tear of injuries), meaning younger - and usually more inconsistent - players are thrust into positions of importance before their time.

As a result, most teams have thinner depth and less experience than in previous eras and even the very best teams can look inferior with just a few injuries.

So playing consistently in today's NRL is difficult enough. But when you're forced to back up after one of the most intense games in recent years, playing at a level near your best is nigh on impossible. Just ask Melbourne and Cronulla.

On Easter Sunday, Cronulla, emboldened by their win at Brookvale in Round 1, travelled to Melbourne and dominated Melbourne in the early minutes. The proud Storm responded in kind after falling behind 14-0 and the semi-final levels of intensity continued throughout the game.

However, the Storm's failure to win this game, despite repeated opportunities, was put down, in part, to the fatigue resulting from Cronulla's early assault.

Given this outcome, the last team Melbourne would have wanted to play in Round 3 was the Roosters. The Roosters may not be the most skilful team in the NRL, but they are among the largest and most intense.

The Roosters' credibility in the Fittler era was established with a thrashing of Melbourne in late 2007; they knew how to play to defeat Melbourne. Like the 2007 game, the Roosters dominated the early minutes, thanks to strong forward play and a lack of errors which gave Melbourne very little to work with (in terms of field position).

However, some excellent last-ditch Melbourne defence and a bit of bad luck meant the Roosters only posted one try during this time. As a result, the game was still up for grabs after the hour mark, when Melbourne finally got some penalties and some significant attacking field position.

They finally crossed the line and remarkably had a chance to win the game (directly due to a refereeing mistake) but the Roosters held on. The lingering effects of Easter Sunday and the size, strength and possession advantage of the Roosters meant it was too difficult for the Storm to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time in 2 years.

Cronulla's task on Saturday night was probably not as difficult as Melbourne's, but they were missing two key forwards from a squad not blessed with the depth of the big-name teams and were coming off tough wins over last year's grand finalists. The Gold Coast was coming off a Monday night game - so just a 5-day turnaround - and looked rather lifeless against the Dragons, but returning home gave a boost to their game.

Their forward pack - considered somewhat understrength by many - gave an excellent account of themselves, but it was the typically top-shelf kicking game of Scott Prince and ill-discipline and poor ball control by Cronulla which saw the Coast dominate possession for most of the game.

Cronulla did very well to keep the Coast scoreless to half-time and also to convert a rare opportunity and take a 4-nil lead to the break, but once former Shark Mat Rogers scored the Coast's first try, Cronulla's resistance gave way quickly.

Gold Coast would have been very happy to defeat a highly-ranked opponent, but the challenge for them is to play more like this each week. Or alternatively, to post a significant win away from Robina.

After making back to back preliminary finals in 2005 and 2006, the St George Illawarra Dragons have struggled mightily for consistency. They won back to back games only once in 2007 (from 9 opportunities) despite having some of the best players in the game and defeating preliminary finalists Manly and Parramatta.

Their performance against the Gold Coast last Monday night was not far off their optimum, despite the inclement conditions, and they started their Saturday night game in Canberra in a similar fashion. The Dragons have some of the best kick plays in the NRL: the cross kick for Jason Nightingale early in the tackle count caught Canberra off guard and meant a fast start for the Dragons. Another kick for Nightingale resulted in another try and a 14-6 lead late in the first half.

But Canberra, while not of the same skill level as most teams they play, are usually more committed than their opponents and that was the case in this game. More often than not they took advantage of Dragons' mistakes or penalties and their 2 first-half tries were more due to effort (and some lazy Dragons' defence) than brilliance or execution.

With the game up for grabs early in the second half, Canberra, as they often do at home, continued to grind their way towards a win. They smartly attacked Dragons' halfback Jamie Soward in the defensive line and came away with two fairly soft tries early in the second half to take a 20-14 lead.

While a young team like Canberra is also prone to inconsistency, they were fortunate enough to win in Penrith last week (despite playing poorly for much of the game) but also to be playing at home for the first time in 2008. They had chances to put the Dragons away earlier, but finally did so in the last two minutes.

The Dragons have now won just 2 of their last 11 games against Canberra and lost their last 6 games at Bruce Stadium. Dragons' supporters must wish Canberra could show at least some inconsistency against their team.

Much like how Canberra backed up a sloppy win with victory over a high-flying opponent, the Bulldogs disposed of the Wests Tigers on Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs looked extremely vulnerable for long periods against the hapless Bunnies on Good Friday, but finished with what can now be viewed as a morale-boosting win.

Despite trailing at half time and having only a 2-point lead with about 25 minutes left, the Bulldogs looked far better than the listless Tigers. The Tigers stayed close due to a solid effort, but a combination of being out of sync, having difficulty backing up after a very good win in steamy Townsville and the Bulldogs' persistence in attack and defence meant a 3rd win to start the season was always quite unlikely.

That said, most of the game's breaks seemed to fall the Bulldogs' way. Getting limbs in the way of grubber kicks can lead to a wide variety of outcomes, but for Sonny Bill Williams, his two grubber-kick stops led to important Bulldogs' possession and a long-range try respectively. Also, one of the many Tigers' mistakes deep in attack - a dropped ball by Todd Payten - fell fortuitously to Andrew Ryan, who returned the ball back over half-way.

Bulldogs' supporters, in response, would probably point to a long-range try being called back for a questionable forward pass, repeated Daniel Holdsworth dropped ball and the usually reliable Hazem El Masri missing 2 shots at goal.

In the end, the Bulldogs were deserved winners. A matchup against the Roosters will provide a further test for them, but the Tigers will be left wondering what might have been, after they systematically dismantled a much-stronger Bulldogs lineup in 2007. Brett Hodgson and Robbie Farah's less than 100% status probably didn't help here, but Tim Sheens would have loved an experienced mind (and body) to guide his team around on Sunday and remind them of how they achieved past success against the Bulldogs.

Experience in the playmaking positions didn't seem to count for much in Brisbane on Friday night, where suddenly-young Broncos (minus Karmichael Hunt and Darren Lockyer) took on the Cowbores and their established playmaking partnership on Feral Thurston and Matt Bowen.

The Cowbores enjoyed some significant attacking possession in the first 20 minutes or so of this game, but desperate and intense Brisbane defence (featuring the possibly stupid but very brave Ben Hannant) kept them to just 2 points.

From here, Brisbane - guided around by the 23-game veteran Peter Wallace - took control. Wallace's kicking game provided field position, a repeat set and then the first try. This was apparently enough for the Cowbores, who capitulated, but Brisbane deserve much credit for their brilliant performance without their two best attacking players.

It is a shame we won't get to see how the 2008 Broncos evolve, as the departure of Wayne Bennett at season's end and the probable departure of a number of fringe or up-and-coming players (to facilitate the salary of newly-signed Israel Folau) will mean a much different look from 2009 onwards. Still, there are 23 rounds plus the finals series to watch on and admire what could be perhaps the best Wayne Bennett coaching job.

Friday night's other game featured another coach who could be in the early stages of a rebuilding job (with similar eventual success) as Bennett. Brian Smith came under significant pressure last season - from the media, fans and even his own players - for his unsubtle gutting of the Newcastle Knights' playing roster. But 3 games into the season and Newcastle now looks a team on the rise, despite the absence of hard-working veteran Steve Simpson.

That said, Newcastle is now a much younger team and this was seen on Friday as they took on Parramatta, especially on the defensive end, where Parramatta - whenever they had their minds on the job - looked very dangerous.

But the slow-starting Eels were almost as bad without the ball. Eric Grothe was caught out a number of times incorrectly choosing his moment to come in off his wing. Who says experience makes for smarter plays and a higher standard of play??? Despite having been in the NRL since 1999, Grothe looks like he could play until he's 50 and still not understand the basics of defending on the wing.

This game could have almost had a basketball or AFL scoreline were it not for handling errors and some desperate last-ditch defence, but while Newcastle was unable to stop Parramatta, Parramatta seemed disinterested in stopping Newcastle at times. Michael Hagan suggested the tough game against the Warriors last Sunday made this a difficult contest for them, but after years of slow season starts by the Eels, it's hard to give his theory too much credence.

Even when Newcastle took a deserved 22-20 lead late on, Parramatta's play showed few signs of intensity. They equalised via a penalty, before Newcastle took the lead again with a field goal.

After the scoreboard knotted, Newcastle seemingly had the edge: their impressive young halves combination of Mullen and Dureau are both more than adequate field goal kickers, but in the end they were shown up by...Nathan Cayless?! His left-foot special not surprisingly was unexpected by Newcastle and tied the game again.

Finally, Newcastle showed their age, as they executed another field goal attempt poorly and failed to get a shot at all from the ensuing dropout. Then, a simple dropped ball from a curious Parramatta kick gave Parramatta the chance to win the game.

It was an opportunity lost for Newcastle, but Brian Smith would have budgeted for his young team to do some learning as this season progresses. Michael Hagan on the other hand... well, he would give a measured response and decide to keep things the same as his predecessor had them.

Despite enjoying a strong reputation in the NRL coaching fraternity prior to arriving at Penrith, Matthew Elliott risks being tarred with a similar brush. In the latter years of John Lang's tenure at Penrith, rampant inconsistency (and significant potential) made Penrith an increasingly frustrating venture for supporters and tipsters alike. Elliott was supposed to be a fresh face, a new voice who would put life into the players and bring the 2003 premiers back into contention.

Instead, if anything, Elliott has taken the Panthers backwards. A team with the potential of Penrith should have thrashed the injury-hit Raiders in Round 2. For 20 minutes or so, they dominated, but putting back to back 20 minute periods, let alone halves or games, is too much for Penrith.

With the arrival of the struggling Souths, surely Penrith couldn't blow it again and in doing so lose their ELEVENTH consecutive game as favourites with the bookmakers? They did give it their best shot - to win and to lose. Perhaps the best example of wasted potential on the Panthers, Frank Pritchard, teased supporters again by tearing up Souths' right-side defence and being primarily responsible for their 22-6 halftime lead.

Then came the inevitable letdown. Another mistake-riddled second half let Souths back into the game, but Penrith did just enough (or didn't do just enough, depending on your perspective). Souths showed signs of their 2007 play, but some untimely errors and penalties allowed a Penrith escape.

Penrith is sure to be outsiders with the bookmakers for their Round 4 clash with the Tigers, but this can often be the best time to tip them. Watch as they will likely give a much better account of themselves when few expect them to perform well.

After Manly's unusually slow start to the season, expectations were high that they'd record their first win last night against the Warriors, but not perhaps as high as they should have been. Some seriously thought Manly could be 0 wins and 3 losses, with 2 losses at Brookvale.

New Zealand started somewhat promisingly, but the injury to David Vaealiki was a blessing in disguise for Manly, as it meant a move back to his natural position (centre) for Jamie Lyon. Lyon was far more effective than in previous weeks, but his move nearer to the perimeter of the field was joined by a much more aggressive Manly attack. Orford turned back the clock and took on the defence with his running game, Stewart got much more involved from the back while Watmough caused problems on the edges of the Warriors' defence.

It took over 15 minutes, but Stewart's first try from a well-worked scrum play was quickly joined by two tries from winger Michael Robertson (after excellent work from Orford and Lyon respectively). Robertson went on to score a third try in the second half. One can only imagine the celebrations in Manly dressing rooms after the game. Let's hope, for the kids out there, that these celebrations aren't uploaded to YouTube...

With their long-lost confidence back, Manly went on to smash the Warriors, who most likely suffered from playing their first two games against difficult opponents and in very warm conditions.

So that brings an end to Round 3, where early season inconsistency was widely seen, but also where the home teams won every game (for only the 4th time since 2002). Obviously, there is a fairly strong link between early season inconsistency and playing at home, but to expect this link to remain consistent for too much longer is probably asking a bit much of many teams.

See you next week.

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What's wrong with (insert name of 2007 preliminary finalist)?

Melbourne, Manly, North Queensland and Parramatta: each of these teams played on the last weekend in September in 2007 and has been amongst the upper echelon teams in the NRL over the last 3 years. So why is it that these teams have a combined two wins thus far in 2008?

Let's start with Manly. The departure of Michael Monaghan - with the less skilful (in attack) Matt Ballin as his replacement - has been pointed to by most as a key reason behind Manly's winless record thus far, especially given their relatively meagre points scored tally.

But a glance at the stats reveals Manly's attack was never really that potent. Over the last 3 seasons, Manly has scored under 20 points in 10, 12 and 10 games respectively. So even when Matt Orford came to the club in 2006 (giving an extra attacking option), the number of games where Manly scored under 20 points actually increased.

Manly's defence improved significantly in 2007. Whereas they had only 8 and 10 games where they conceded under 20 points in 2005 and 2006 respectively, they had sixteen sub 20 point games in 2007 - and won ALL of them.

In 6 of these games, Manly also scored under 20 points. So, in 2007, Manly had a perfect 6 wins and 0 losses in games where both they and their opponent scored under 20 points (their controversial win over Newcastle in late 2006 meant Manly had a 7-game winning streak in games where both teams scored under 20 points prior to Round 1 2008).

So why have Manly lost their first 2 games in 2008, two tight low-scoring games which they thrived in last year? The loss of Monaghan is certainly a factor, but not nearly as important as many would have you believe.

A reason behind Manly's success over the last 3 years was simply that they worked harder than other teams. This was part of the legacy of the great Ben Kennedy, but also due to the club's emphasis on fitness (with the infusion of Delmege money allowing them to experience improved training infrastructure facilitating this). Often, Manly would be involved in a tough, even game but their superior strength, fitness, endurance or desire would be enough to get them home.

But in the first 2 rounds of this season, Manly seems to have come back to the pack in this area. There could be several reasons behind this, including the completion of their transition from the hunter to the hunted (and hence the motivation to work extremely hard on fitness being more difficult to maintain), the combination of the new interchange rules and the relatively lumpy nature of several Manly forwards, but also that they came up against two very motivated teams.

Manly's efforts have usually been good enough against similarly motivated teams in the past, but it's difficult in the parity-obsessed NRL to maintain such dominance over an extended period. In addition to Monaghan, Manly lost Chris Hicks, Travis Burns and are without Steve Matai at present.

Still....they really should have beaten Newcastle on Saturday night, despite Newcastle dominating possession for much of the game and Newcastle's persistent effort and intensity. Manly was somewhat unlucky to have several tries disallowed, but their approach to attack in this game was too conservative (despite the slippery conditions). Sightings of Brett Stewart, Anthony Watmough or Steve Menzies with the ball near the try-line were very infrequent.

Nevertheless, their defence was very solid and they had a 10-point lead inside the final 20 minutes. Former Newcastle sloth Josh Perry gave his former team two chances to tie the game late, first with a headbutt in a scrum, then with a dropped ball/overrun.

Even after Newcastle's Richard Fa'aoso tied the game, Manly had other chances to feast on Newcastle's inexperience and poor decision-making. Newcastle's option to run the ball on the last tackle in Golden Point could very well have blown up in their face, but Matt Orford's strip of the ball from Mullen gave Newcastle field position to win the game.

While adjusting to life without a second main attacking option will continue, Manly are not far away from their 2007 form. So long as they can maintain their intensity, their main point of emphasis in coming weeks should be for an attacking scheme with more variation and to also emphasise the proven threats of Stewart, Watmough and Menzies.

In contrast, North Queensland's defence has been absymal in 2008. Even compared to the final 18 games of last season, when their backrow was being held together by little more than Paddle Pop sticks and glue, they conceded more than 30 points only 5 times in their final 18 games. So conceding over 30 points in the season's first 2 games with their backrow back is...concerning (especially given that the Cowbores are usually fast starters to a season).

But their loss to the Tigers on Saturday night also featured a rather anaemic attacking effort. Feral Thurston had a solid game, but Matt Bowen only just outplayed Brett Hodgson (the heavily concussed version). The Cowbores were crying out for an attacking spark, but Bowen was nowhere to be found. Travis Burns tried hard but received very little ball, but almost every Cowbore contributed to a massive error count. To compound matters, most of these dropped balls or penalties whilst in possession (yes, I'm looking at you Luke "Slapper" O'Donnell) occurred near the Tigers' line.

The Cowbores dominated possession for much of the game, but scored only two tries altogether, then allowed the injury-hit Tigers to score with relative ease. Even when the Tigers were one man down in the aftermath of Slapper's stupid act, the Cowbores failed to trouble the scorer and surrendered meekly. Liam Fulton's re-enactment of Brett Kenny's match-sealing 1981 Grand Final try ended a miserable night for the Cowbores. They are the 2007 preliminary finalist with the most work to do.

Melbourne lost their first game at Olympic Park since late 2006 (and only the 12th time in 149 games in the team's history where they've lost while conceding less than 20 points) on Sunday afternoon. While they've had to endure a similar number of player losses as Manly, the players Melbourne lost during the off-season were not as important and their replacements are of a better quality (compared to Manly's).

Instead, Melbourne's problems are with injuries and with the aforementioned problem of sustaining a dominant performance becoming more difficult with each year in the parity-obsessed NRL. Cronulla gave the Storm their best shot - both figuratively (with the ball) and literally (with some hard-hitting defence) - and shocked the Storm to lead 14-0 early on.

Melbourne managed to come back to level the scores, but couldn't finish the job. Their composure and ability to win the close games - so good in 2006 and 2007 - faltered here. They failed to execute in a number of easy field-goal situations, whereas Cronulla - the close-game loss kings of 2007 - converted a field goal on their first attempt.

The very high level in intensity for much of this game - in addition to the almost-certain suspension of Brett White for his taking the law into his own hands (or fists) - could impact upon Melbourne over the next few weeks, but as they recover and get players such as Inglis, Crocker and Kaufusi back, they should be fine.

Of the 2007 preliminary finalists, Parramatta would feel the best at present. They are slow starters and usually capitulate under pressure, but their comeback win over the Bulldogs and a promising effort (despite what the scoreboard said) against the Warriors on Sunday are good signs for the year ahead.

They were without Nathan Hindmarsh on Sunday. A poor performance usually follows any announcement of his absence, but the team largely played well. Their main fault was a number of errors or plays giving the Warriors extra possession, usually in good field position, but most of these were the result of bad luck or good Warriors play.

In just his 2nd game at 5/8th, Feleti Mateo directed traffic, set up a try, came close to setting up several others, kicked well and looked like a veteran in the halves, while Jarryd Hayne had an excellent first game of the season. Some of the ball movement and athleticism (following very quick play-the-balls) was almost scary, but the Warriors are a difficult prospect in Auckland on a sunny Sunday afternoon. As Parramatta get their injured players back and move towards better and more consistent play, a successful season beckons.

The same can probably be said for the Roosters and Brisbane, traditional Good Friday night combatants. While the Roosters easily accounted for Souths last week, Brisbane was unlikely to be similarly swept aside. The Roosters' size and strength won the first half but they were a touch unlucky not to be further than 6 points in front, while Braith Anasta's unfortunate stumble in Karmichael Hunt's shoulder significantly reduced his impact on the remainder of the game.

But it was Brisbane's composure, structure and excellent gameplan which saw them control the second half. In contrast, the Roosters were put off by an opponent who didn't submit to their power: they appeared not to have a fall-back option in attack. Their effort was gallant, but they played as if they were far more than just 6 points behind. Brisbane skilfully utilised their quick players, to tire the Roosters' huge forward pack whilst gaining metres, then used their bigger men selectively. This was topped off by an excellent kicking game and general display of leadership from Peter Wallace.

In contrast, South Sydney and the Bulldogs served up a tight but poor-quality game across town on Friday night. These two teams look set for a difficult early 2008, although for quite different reasons. Souths dominated most of the first half but only had 12 points to show for it. Matt Utai's late try cut the lead to 6, but his injury-induced exit from the game eliminated an avenue for South Sydney points (his sternum injury made his usual weakness under the high ball an outright liability).

The Bulldogs' comeback continued, but it was hardly award-winning attack. However, the ongoing absence of Souths' solid 2007 defence (although Souths' unusual interchange pattern may have had something to do with this) saw the Bulldogs catch then overtake Souths, but any time Souths attacked, they looked a chance against the immobile Bulldogs' defence. The Dogs held on, summoning their experience, but it was an unconvincing game all round.

Luckily for these two teams, Penrith and Canberra were far worse in the early Saturday game. These two teams, on their day, are capable of far more than Souths or the Bulldogs, but the incredible amount of inconsistency, poor play and mistakes... Penrith played roughly 20 minutes of solid rugby league in this game and probably should have led 22-12 at the end of it. Brash youngster Jarrod Sammut continued the impressive start to his NRL career, this time at half-back, driving the Panthers' attack.

Two bone-headed plays by Paul Aiton cost Penrith Sammut's excellent try and a late penalty, so a 10-point lead was instead just a 2-point lead. But the 2nd half...it was bone-headed plays galore. Penrith rarely ventured out of their own half due to self-induced mistakes, while Canberra could only convert this glut of quality field position into one try. The slippery conditions and more Canberra injuries contributed somewhat to this mess of a game, but most players involved should deny involvement in this game if ever questioned about it.

Further embarrassment was heaped upon Penrith and Canberra players after the Dragons and Titans played in far worse conditions on Monday night but recorded far fewer mistakes. But surely the greatest shock of the night was the Dragons playing at a level nearing their potential for much of this game. For once, their gameplan was mostly executed, their plays were run well (especially in their kicking game) and it was the opponent who was ill-disciplined and gave away silly penalties.

While this rare display of excellent play from the Dragons will provide immediate satisfaction for supporters, job security for coach Nathan Brown and a basis for future weeks, in reality this is the NRL's version of the poisoned chalice. Despite ever-increasing resources being devoted to improving the level of play around the league, the number of teams exhibiting sustained consistent play remains roughly the same and is being pressured by the feasible but low salary cap, the continued growth in the speed and intensity of the game (and the impact of these on premature career ends) and the relative attractiveness of England and Rugby Union.

On those rare occasions when a highly talented but mentally unstable team (the best examples of which are the Dragons, Panthers, Warriors and, to a lesser extent, Parramatta, but almost all teams bar Melbourne and Brisbane suffer from this phenomenon at some point) performs near its best, this only leads to frustration when subsequent displays are not near this level. Frustration from players, supporters, administrators, but most importantly tipsters. There are many tipsters hurting badly after Round 2, as their visions of highly rated teams performing well were almost all not realised.

How difficult can it be to tip in recent years? Despite winning the wooden spoon last year and being thrashed in Round 1, Penrith's loss on Saturday night made it TEN consecutive games (back to late 2006) where they've lost despite favouritism with the bookies.

Frustration is more evident amongst the 2007 preliminary finalists than it has been for some time, but their fortunes should improve from here. North Queensland are in the worst position amongst the four: their trip to Suncorp Stadium on Friday could even be a season-determining game. Stay tuned...

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Round 1: New Season, New Players, Same Old Issues

While Round 1 of the 2008 NRL season provided us with some examples of teams who clearly put their off-season to good use, or teams with a solid and well established structure who continue to perform at a high level, more teams seemed further away than ever from overcoming significant barriers to any form of success.

The worst offender here - which shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone familiar with early-season play since the turn of the millennium - was the St. George Illawarra Dragons.

Some Dragons' supporters pay scant attention to their team's form before Round 5 or 6 in any given season, such is their tendency to start slowly.

But their slow starts were less of an issue when they had a higher quality playing roster and better depth. The 2008 Dragons appears to be a shadow of previous Dragons' sides, but judging from Sunday's largely inept display against the Tigers, they seem to be at least a match when it comes to bone-headed play.

Mistakes were seen on both sides of the ball and throughout much of the game, giving the Tigers a significant advantage in possession, which was converted into field position and then points.

While the Tigers had the edge in quickness and ball skills in most positions (which they used to attack the size advantage of the Dragons), they showed little ability to cope with the Dragons' size during any sustained Dragons' attacking period. Fortunately for the Tigers, the Dragons' generally poor play and poor decision-making with the ball meant their patchy defence was asked few difficult questions.

Still.. the Dragons lost by just 8 points. It was an incredibly frustrating afternoon for new and old Dragons alike, as this photo of Trent Barrett as he was watching the game shows.



But it was hardly a day of celebration for the Tigers. While they did well to win despite losing Benji Marshall very early on, there was plenty of room for improvement, especially on the defensive end.

Another much-maligned team from 2007 - the Penrith Panthers - also took the field on Sunday afternoon. While the Dragons went with largely the same team from last season, Penrith made some major signings, aimed mostly at filling their rather large gulf in the areas of experience and on-field leadership. Therefore, they would have expected to be competitive with Brisbane.

While the final 48-12 scoreline in Brisbane's favour would suggest a black day for Penrith, they were very much in the game for most of the first half. A try incorrectly awarded to Brisbane's Ben Hannant (clearly offside) and an intercept return just before half time made the margin a somewhat unrepresentative 16 points to Brisbane at the half. Most teams would have surrendered to persistent Brisbane pressure like the Panthers did in the second half.

However, Penrith's tendency to concede unnecessary and ill-timed penalties - a feature of their 2007 season - was back in this game, as was their historical penchant for letting good players sign elsewhere during periods of little success.

Facing up to Penrith on Sunday afternoon was Peter Wallace, a young halfback who was very impressive for Brisbane, but also showed significant potential for Penrith in previous years. Letting Wallace and Craig Gower leave and signing only Joe Williams to replace them could ruin Penrith's season, much like allowing Brad Drew to leave in 2000 (he went on to play a pivotal role in Parramatta's attacking juggernaut in 2001) helped to consign Penrith to several years in the NRL wilderness in the early 2000s.

That said, Penrith won a premiership in 2003 and there is talk of some highly talented halves still to emerge through the junior ranks for the Panthers.

But Brisbane are surely very happy to have signed such a potentially great halfback to play next to the best five-eighth in the game and in one of the best systems in the NRL. Brisbane has always felt much wrath from supporters of other teams due to the near-monopoly they have for any players wanting to play in Qld, as well as consistent suspicions of salary cap cheating. But these feelings have eased somewhat, as other clubs have shared in top-shelf Qld talent and salary cap concerns saw a host of star players leave at the end of last season.

Despite these departures, as well as the return from injury of Darren Lockyer, the new-look Broncos played as though they had been together for many years. They may not have the depth or the quality to win the competition this year, but could 2008 finally be the year Wayne Bennett's setup in Brisbane gets the respect it deserves?

The emergence of the Cowbores and the (re)introduction of a team on the Gold Coast have played a major role in reducing the influence of the Broncos in Qld: these teams squared off in an entertaining game on Friday night. The shock return from injury of Feral Thurston saw the Cowbores almost move into favouritism for this game, but their still-patchy defence and over-reliance on Thurston for attacking spark meant they were always struggling in this game. Their porous defence from last season was seen again in this game, despite the return of their usually strong defensive back-rowers (O'Donnell and Southern).

But the Cowbores would have beaten a fair number of NRL teams with their display here: they were unfortunate to run into a Titans team close to the top of their game. The Titans were very impressive in their debut match last season and were even better in this game. Scott Prince gave Tigers' fans more 'What might have been' with a brilliant game (we can only hope the traitor's wife is happy), while the seemingly tireless Luke Bailey must be relishing every day since he left the Dragons.

While the Titans and Cowbores provided an entertaining and high-quality game, the same couldn't be said for the first game on Friday night, where the Roosters took on traditional rivals Souths. This loomed as a potentially very interesting game, with the size, size and more size of the Roosters against the defensive grit and speed of Souths. The new interchange rules and a humid night figured to give Souths an edge in the latter minutes of both halves as long as they could absorb what was bound to be an onslaught from the Roosters.

Instead the game was largely a non-event. We'll never know if Souths' lack of resistance was significantly influenced by Craig Wing's injury. Whatever the cause, the stingy Souths' defence of 2007 was a distant memory. The Roosters' forwards and some nice attacking options were impressive, but their match-winning lead came far too easy.

On Saturday afternoon, also at Homebush, Bulldogs' supporters were probably thinking their 20-nil lead over Parramatta was a match-winning one and that it came quite easily. It seemed Parramatta's bad habit from 2007 of taking lowly rated teams far too easily was back again. While Parramatta always seem capable, their 2nd half efforts after poor first halves in 2007 suggested a sizeable Bulldogs' victory looked the only outcome in this one.

Instead, this was a landmark game for Parramatta. They didn't panic and try to catch up the 20-point deficit straight away. They built slowly, completing their sets and getting the edge in field position. They then attacked the short Bulldogs' wingers and crept back into the game. The large Bulldogs' forward pack tired as Parramatta came back into the game, creating more opportunities.

A stalemate was reached as Parramatta came to within 2 points of the Bulldogs, but the next try was always going to be enough and a fortuitous Mateo try sealed the win in the last minute.

It was difficult to fault the Bulldogs: they don't appear to have the talent or the mobility in the forwards to contend with a lot of teams this season, but Steve Folkes probably erred somewhat in keeping Michael Sullivan on the bench for so long. Folkes probably thought they didn't need points, they needed Corey Hughes' leadership and defence at 20-nil up. But Sullivan's speed could well have taken the Bulldogs' lead to an unapproachable level.

It appeared as though Newcastle was about to suffer the same fate as the Bulldogs in the late Saturday game. Their solid lead over the gritty (but injury-hit.. for yet another season it seems) Raiders was evaporating quickly late in the game. While the Knights are now a significantly different team than they were when Brian Smith first took over as coach, they still seem to possess an ability to grind out wins at home. It is only Round 1 of course, but these 2 teams look set for tough seasons.

The same cannot be said for the remaining four teams. Manly and Cronulla look set for positive seasons, although it appears Manly may have to follow Cronulla's low-scoring path to victory more often than they have in previous years. The departure of Michael Monaghan and Travis Burns means Matt Orford is now responsible for creating most of Manly's attacking options. The foundation of Manly's success in recent years has been their relentless intensity, but their versatility in also being able to compete (and more often than not win) in high-scoring contests took them to a grand-final last season. They may get back there this season, but unless they can unearth someone to take the pressure off Matt Orford, scores like 16-10 may become much more common for Manly.

Cronulla could probably also use a Michael Monaghan. They are clearly capable at winning the low-scoring grind, but it is extremely difficult to bring this level of defensive intensity each week. They need to find some points for those games where the intensity is not quite there: Cronulla surely doesn't need any more reminding of their lengthy losing streak last season, when teams more or less matched their intensity, but had a few more points in them. Still, it looks like if Cronulla can have more luck with injuries, they should have a much better year than in 2007.

It took 5 years into Craig Bellamy's reign as coach of the Melbourne Storm, but in 2007, they finally figured out how to channel their intensity to win games when they needed to. They never really had Cronulla's point-scoring problems, but they did struggle when teams matched their intensity (usually folding like deckchairs) then they discovered they just couldn't maintain their intensity all season long (in 2006).

But now, despite the salary-cap induced departures of a number of key players as well as some significant players missing through injury, they've rarely looked better. Not so much in their play against the Warriors (they let the Warriors back into the game late in the first half) but that their team structure is stronger than ever. Each of the new/young players for Melbourne in last night's game clearly knew his role and performed strongly.

In the end, Melbourne won well. After an impressive first half in the heat, the Warriors made life significantly easier for Melbourne in the second half: 3 kickoffs soaring across the dead-ball line is truly Scarecrow-ish play. The Warriors' predicament was perhaps best exemplified by winger Manu "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" Vatuvei. When he is asked by the opposition to perform complex tasks such as catching, he is often made to look foolish, but with ball in hand and momentum increasing, there is perhaps not a scarier sight for a defender.

This combination of awesome potential and a tendency for the most basic of mistakes would make Vatuvei feel right at home outside Gasnier (or maybe Cooper)...

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