Round 1 Discussion

[Big Pete]

Melbourne Storm vs. South Sydney Rabbitohs
AAMI Park, Thursday 11 March 2021
Kick Off: 7:05pm (AEST)

MELBOURNE STORM

1. Ryan Papenhuyzen 2. George Jennings 3. Reimis Smith 4. Justin Olam 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Brandon Smith 10. Christian Welch 11. Felise Kaufusi 12. Kenneath Bromwich 13. Nelson Asofa-Solomona

14. Chris Lewis 15. Tui Kamikamica 16. Tom Eisenhuth 17. Nicholas Hynes

18. Darryn Schonig 19. Cooper Johns 20. Trent Loiero 21. Tyson Smoothy

SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS

1. Latrell Mitchell 2. Alex Johnston 3. Dane Gagai 4. Campbell Graham 5. Josh Mansour 6. Cody Walker 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Thomas Burgess 9. Damien Cook 10. Tevita Tatola 11. Jacob Host 12. Jaydn Su'A 13. Cameron Murray

14. Benji Marshall 15. Mark Nicholls 16. Keaon Koloamatangi 17. Jai Arrow

18. Patrick Mago 19. Jaxson Paulo 20. Tautau Moga 21. Troy Dargan

Newcastle Knights vs. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
McDonald Jones Stadium, Friday 12 March 2021
Kick Off 5:00pm (AEST)

NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS

1. Tex Hoy 2. Starford To'a 3. Enari Tuala 4. Bradman Best 5. Gehamat Shibasaki 6. Kurt Mann 7. Mitchell Pearce 8. David Klemmer 9. Jayden Brailey 10. Daniel Saifiti 11. Tyson Frizell 12. Mitchell Barnett 13. Connor Watson

14. Sauaso Sue 15. Jacob Saifiti 16. Josh King 17. Brodie Jones

18. Hymel Hunt 19. Pasami Saulo 20. Jack Johns 21. Simi Sasagi

CANTEBURY BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS

1. Corey Allan 2. Nick Meaney 3. Will Hopoate 4. Nick Cotric 5. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 6. Jake Averillo 7. Kyle Flanagan 8. Ofahiki Ogden 9. Sione Katoa 10. Jack Hetherington 11. Adam Elliott 12. Corey Waddell 13. Josh Jackson

14. Bradley Deitz 15. Renouf Atoni 16. Raymond Faitala-Mariner 17. Dylan Napa

19. Tuipulotu Katoa 20. Chris Smith 21. Brandon Wakeham 22. Ava Seumanufagai

Brisbane Broncos vs. Parramatta Eels
Suncorp Stadium, Friday 12 March 2021
Kick Off: 7:05pm (AEST)

BRISBANE BRONCOS

1. Jamayne Isaako 2. Xavier Coates 3. Herbie Farnworth 4. Tesi Niu 5. David Mead 6. Anthony Milford 7. Brodie Croft 8. Tevita Pangai Junior 9. Jake Turpin 10. Matthew Lodge 11. Alex Glenn 12. Jordan Riki 13. Patrick Carrigan

14. John Asiata 15. Thomas Flegler 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Ben Te'o

18. Tom Dearden 19. Rhys Kennedy 20. Richard Kennar 21. Cory Paix

PARRAMATTA EELS

1. Clinton Gutherson 2. Maika Sivo 3. Tom Opacic 4. Waqa Blake 5. Blake Ferguson 6. Dylan Brown 7. Mitchell Moses 8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Junior Paulo 11. Shaun Lane 12. Ryan Matterson 13. Nathan Brown

14. Oregon Kaufusi 15. Isaiah Papali'i 16. Keegan Hipgrave 17. Will Smith

18. Haze Dunster 19. Joey Lussick 20. Jordan Rankin 21. David Hollis

Warriors vs. Gold Coast Titans
Central Coast Stadium, Saturday 13 March 2021
Kick Off: 2:00pm (AEST)

NZ WARRIORS

1. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 2. David Fusitu'a 3. Euan Aitken 4. Peta Hiku 5. Ken Maumalo 6. Kodi Nikorima 7. Chanel Harris-Tavita 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Wayde Egan 10. Jamayne Taunoa-Brown 11. Eliesa Katoa 12. Bayley Sironen 13. Tohu Harris

14. Jazz Tevaga 15. Ben Murdoch-Masila 16. Leeson Ah Mau 17. Bunty Afoa

18. Adam Pompey 20. Sean O’Sullivan 21. Tom Ale 22. Josh Curran

GOLD COAST TITANS

1. AJ Brimson 2. Corey Thompson 3. Brian Kelly 4. Patrick Herbert 5. Anthony Don 6. Ashley Taylor 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Jarrod Wallace 9. Mitch Rein 10. Moeaki Fotuaika 11. Kevin Proctor 12. David Fifita 13. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui

14. Tyrone Peachey 15. Sam Lisone 16. Jaimin Jolliffe 17. Erin Clark

18. Phillip Sami 19. Beau Fermor 20. Herman Ese'ese 21. Sam McIntyre

Sydney Roosters vs. Manly Sea Eagles
Sydney Cricket Ground, Saturday 13 March 2021
Kick Off: 4:30pm (AEST)

SYDNEY ROOSTERS

1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Josh Morris 4. Joseph Manu 5. Brett Morris 6. Lachlan Lam 7. Luke Keary 8. Lindsay Collins 9. Jake Friend 10. Siosiua Taukeiaho 11. Angus Crichton 12. Sitili Tupouniua 13. Isaac Liu

14. Adam Keighran 15. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 16. Nat Butcher 17. Daniel Suluka-fifita

18. Matt Ikuvalu 19. Fletcher Baker 20. Freddy Lussick 21. Sam Walker

MANLY SEA EAGLES

1. Dylan Walker 2. Jason Saab 3. Brad Parker 4. Moses Suli 5. Reuben Garrick 6. Kieran Foran 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Josh Aloiai 9. Lachlan Croker 10. Martin Taupau 11. Jack Gosiewski 12. Curtis Sironen 13. Jake Trbojevic

14. Tevita Funa 15. Andrew Davey 16. Morgan Boyle 17. Taniela Paseka

18. Josh Schuster 19. Sean Keppie 20. Toafofoa Sipley 21. Morgan Harper

Penrith Panthers vs. North Queensland Cowboys
Panthers Stadium, Saturday 13 March 2021
Kick Off: 6:30pm (AEST)

PENRITH PANTHERS

1. Dylan Edwards 2. Charlie Staines 3. Paul Momirovski 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Brian To'o 6. Jarome Luai 7. Nathan Cleary 8. Moses Leota 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. James Fisher-Harris 11. Viliame Kikau 12. Kurt Capewell 13. Isaah Yeo

14. Tyrone May 15. Spencer Leniu 16. Matthew Eisenhuth 17. Liam Martin

18. J'maine Hopgood 19. Matt Burton 20. Robert Jennings 21. Mitch Kenny

NORTH QLD COWBOYS

1. Scott Drinkwater 2. Kyle Feldt 3. Esan Marsters 4. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 5. Valentine Holmes 6. Michael Morgan 7. Jake Clifford 8. Francis Molo 9. Reece Robson 10. Jordan McLean 11. Mitchell Dunn 12. Coen Hess 13. Jason Taumalolo

14. Jake Granville 15. Josh Mcguire 16. Corey Jensen 17. Lachlan Burr

18. Shane Wright 19. Reuben Cotter 20. Murray Taulagi 21. Ben Hampton

Canberra Raiders vs. Wests Tigers
GIO Stadium, Sunday 14 March 2021
Kick Off: 3:05pm (AEST)

CANBERRA RAIDERS

1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Bailey Simonsson 3. Sebastian Kris 4. Curtis Scott 5. Jordan Rapana 6. Jack Wighton 7. George Williams 8. Josh Papali'i 9. Josh Hodgson 10. Dunamis Lui 11. Hudson Young 12. Elliott Whitehead 13. Joseph Tapine

14. Siliva Havili 15. Ryan Sutton 16. Iosia Soliola 17. Ryan James

18. Sam Williams 19. Tom Starling 20. Emre Guler 21. Harley Smith-Shields

WESTS TIGERS

1. Daine Laurie 2. David Nofoaluma 3. James Roberts 4. Joseph Leilua 5. Asu Kepaoa 6. Moses Mbye 7. Luke Brooks 8. James Tamou 9. Jacob Liddle 10. Joe Ofahengaue 11. Luke Garner 12. Luciano Leilua 13. Alex Twal

14. Tommy Talau 15. Thomas Mikaele 16. Stefano Utoikamanu 17. Russell Packer

18. Jock Madden 19. Michael Chee-Kam 20. Tukimihia Simpkins 21. Alex Seyfarth

St George Illawarra Dragons vs. Cronulla Sharks
Nestrata Jubilee Stadium, Sunday 14 March 2021
Kick Off: 5:15pm (AEST)

ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS

1. Matthew Dufty 2. Cody Ramsey 3. Jack Bird 4. Zac Lomax 5. Mikaele Ravalawa 6. Adam Clune 7. Ben Hunt 8. Blake Lawrie 9. Andrew McCullough 10. Paul Vaughan 11. Josh Kerr 12. Tariq Sims 13. Tyrell Fuimaono

14. Poasa Faamausili 15. Trent Merrin 16. Daniel Alvaro 17. Brayden Wiliame

18. Jackson Ford 19. Kaide Ellis 20. Jordan Pereira 21. Max Feagai

CRONULLA SHARKS

1. Will Kennedy 2. Sione Katoa 3. Josh Dugan 4. Jesse Ramien 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo 6. Matt Moylan 7. Chad Townsend 8. Braden Hamlin-Uele 9. Blayke Brailey 10. Aaron Woods 11. Briton Nikora 12. Wade Graham 13. Toby Rudolf

14. Connor Tracey 15. Aiden Tolman 16. Jack Williams 17. Billy Magoulias

18. Mawene Hiroti 19. Teig Wilton 20. Andrew Fifita 21. Braydon Trindall

 

[Financeguy]

Really looking forward to the Thu night game and of course the Broncos on Friday night.

The Knights backline looks suspect, i like the Dogs in that game if they can start well.

Titans have one of the 'easier' assignments against the Warriors and suspect they will start with a win and continue to be a media darling whilst the Broncos and Cowboys struggle for wins.

Tigers v Raiders is always pretty entertaining but throw in the brain explosions of Leilua and Roberts and it makes good viewing for a neutral fan, imagine Raiders class will get them home in the end.

Normally i would snooze through the Dragons v Sharks game but quite interested to see if the Griffin era Dragons are as bad as i expect them to be and Sharks aren't getting a lot of love with experts but imagine like usual they will make teams work hard to beat them.

Great to have the footy back!

 

[Big Pete]

As always with these Round 1 teams, my eyes are drawn to the surprise picks. They likely won't play a big role in the proceedings but players like Seb Kris, Brad Deitz and Tyson Smoothy are names I didn't expect to see come Round 1 but they're the type of bolters that make this round such a lottery.

Melbourne-Souths should be a fantastic way to open the season. Usually, I'm not an advocate for having your two best teams face off in the opening round but with Bellamy's immaculate Round 1 record on the line I can see this living up to the billing.

There's some extra intrigue as well because the home side goes into the game understrength. The loss of Dale Finucane, Harry Grant and Brenko Lee has knocked Melbourne down another peg and they look skinny on paper. The selection of both Lewis and Eisenhuth on the bench intrigues me. They're very similar players and I've only seen them as bench players. Either this is a smokescreen from Bellamy and there will be some adjustments later in the week or he may re-arrange his pack in the middle of the game. Or even Option C Bellamy views Isaah Yeo as the perfect mould for what a new lock should look like and is trying to get Eisenhuth ready to fit that role.

Nice to see another old BHQ (or at least @BroncosAlways) favourite get a start in a big game. It felt like he was going to fall between the cracks at one stage Jennings, but he was a handy player for the Warriors when they desperately needed players and he could provide that workhorse role for the Storm. That leaves Reimis Smith who is one of my favourites for break-out player of the year. A couple of years back he was one of the form players in the competition as he helped the Bulldogs avoid the wooden spoon in 2018. He's had his moments since but has never had the opportunity to stand out at a fairly rudderless club. Now in the Storm system, I'm curious to see what Bellamy can do.

However the biggest storyline for Melbourne will be the #9 position. How much of an impact will the loss of Cameron Smith have on the Storm and can Brandon Smith step up to the mark? Melbourne won't find a better replacement (except for Harry Grant, who they also have) but it's still such a tall order and the few times we've seen 'Cheese' in the role it's altered the Storm's attacking gameplans dramatically. It's Round 1 so Melbourne shouldn't have to rely too heavily on creativity, but in the big moments, can Brandon come up with the right play for his team mates?

On the back of the Mitchell-Walker-Reynolds-Cook-Murray combination I have Souths figuring in very heavily come the finals, but can they be as classy as the Dragons were in 2009-10? To me that's the biggest question marks and I have my doubts on whether Bennett can get Souths to buy into that level of commitment, especially since he and a few other marquee talent have one foot out the door. They should still find themselves in the Top 4 when it's all said and done, but I can't help but think there's some complacency about this side.

I don't think they'll have any problems scoring points, it's their defence that I'm worried about. If Melbourne can sucker them into the grind, I get the feeling they'll frustrate the South Sydney pack into submission and walk away with a fairly convincing victory. Players like Tom Burgess and Jaydn Su'A can be very effective with the football and in the case of Su'A can pull off the odd hit but they can also be very loose as well. Host is an unknown entity at this stage, he could mature into a solid edge backrow or he could be just another edge forward that gets thrown to the heap.

The Marshall selection also seems very odd. He wasn't the worst player to have at the Broncos in 2017 when the halves were Milford/Nikorima but when it's Walker/Reynolds it seems entirely unnecessary. I don't think he'd be a bad player to have against a Newcastle Knights or Gold Coast Titans where the game can open up and you might need some extra options but against Melbourne it just seems to be asking for trouble.

I just get the impression that Melbourne will race to a quick 10-0 lead off of the few usual suspects and then coast for the majority of the second half as Souths fail to mount a comeback. Fans will whinge about things Melbourne did over a decade ago, a few journalists will blame Latrell and really all it will amount to is a slog of a Round 1 game.

 

[1910]

How good of a story is Smoothy? Just boggles the mind- Two ISC in two years. MOTM in the Colts GF win in 2019. Let go by Penrith 12 months ago. 18 NYC games for Brisbane.

Something about him but just looked like one of those Mick Roberts types that intrigued you but clearly NRL clubs didn't see it or care.

6 weeks on a train and trial deal at Melbourne and ends up named on the bench for round one.

 

[broncsgoat]

I have never been less excited that the footy is starting.

Wooden spoon hangover I guess

 

[BroncosAlways]

@Big Pete I kid you not, I thought of you the moment I saw his name in the team list.
You really do have a remarkable memory mate!

This Jennings kid is going places I tell you, even if I was 5-6 years premature.

 

[Big Pete]

It just keeps happening.

I'm sure Hodgey will be like a proud dad tonight.

Tyson was one of the brighter prospects coming through the Broncos NYC team when the competition was disbanded. He played for the Broncos affiliates the Dolphins but failed to make their first grade side and found himself playing at lock forward. He was quietly let go and made the move to the Falcons where he was one of the stand out players in their Hastings Deering's side. He would have played more first grade for the Falcons if they didn't have Harry Grant who took that entire competition by storm.

I was surprised he was only offered a train and trial by the Panthers, I would have presumed he would have walked straight into the Storm set-up and prosper. It took him a year, but here he is.

He's from the same Sunshine Falcons side as Braydon Trindall who played in the 2015 CC Grand Final. I'm keen to see how he plays, I just wish it had have been in a Broncos jersey.

 

[ningnangnong]

Pretty much a perfect opening set from the Storm, bar a try at the end.

 

[Twbapony]

Not sure how the Bunnies are going to last 80 minutes, lackluster comes to mind.

 

[ningnangnong]

Four minutes into the new season, the Storm look just as fucking good as ever.

 

[broncsgoat]

Good try after that pressure but that tackle by Sua was a cracker and they waived 6 more. Fucking pus

 

[I bleed Maroon]

Can already see Melbourne intentionally forcing the 6 again on the first or 2nd tackle. Bellyache must have a team of scientists looking for loopholes in rules.

 

[Sproj]

That was Broncos '15 like.

 

[Kimlo]

What a BS penalty. Totola can't disappear.

 

[Viti]

That was a deliberate drop on Munster everyday of the week

 

[Twbapony]

Didn't he tackle himself, penalty to Bunnies. It was what racing would call a racing incident, no penalty play on.

 

[Sproj]

The Rabbits attack like Brisbane last year so far, no one moving.

 

[Midean]

Goddamn Melbourne look so dangerous everywhere.

edit: that haircut is abysmal.