All eyes were on the two big derbies in week 1 as Brisbane faced the Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium, and the new look Roosters took on Souths at ANZ Stadium in Sydney.
Brisbane Broncos v North Queensland Cowboys
An absolutely enthralling game of rugby league kicked off the new season as over 48,000 crammed inside Suncorp Stadium to see the Broncos take on their rivals from Townsville.
It was the Cowboys who started the brighter but some superb defence from young fullback Corey Norman kept the visitors scoreless. They would remain scoreless until half time as the Broncos found their feet and took control. First, Israel Folau was given the benefit of the doubt by the video ref to open the scoring in 2010 (just as he did in 2009), before Captain Darren Lockyer went over and a break from Antonio Winterstein was finished off by debutant Matt Gillett. Corey Parker added the conversions plus a penalty to give the home side a 20-0 lead at the break. When Alex Glenn then went over to make it 24 shortly after the break the game looked over. Step forward Johnathan Thurston. The Kangaroos' number seven took charge of the game and it was a mistake by Corey Norman from his kick that allowed Ty Williams to score the first try of the season for the visitors, and after centre Gerard Beale failed to deal with another Thurston kick Ashley Graham grabbed a quick fire second. The Cowboys weren't done there as a blindside break from Aaron Payne allowed Thurston to send Willie Tonga over in the corner before 'JT' stepped over himself from 10 yards out to level the scores.
The Cowboys pressed for what had looked like an unlikely win, but it was Broncos' wingman Donan Kemp who would decide the match with a 50 yard dash. Corey Parker added the extras for a 6 point lead. The Cowboys forced a dropout late on but Steve Rapira's first tackle knock on with 30 seconds to go ended their hopes of golden point and Brisbane got off to a winning start in a truly remarkable advert for the sport.
South Sydney Rabbitoths v Sydney Roosters
The big talking point pre-match at ANZ Stadium was how England star Sam Burgess (superb in the recent All Stars game) would fair in his NRL debut. The former Bradford Bulls forward answered that almost immediately as his first run took him over the gain line and won his side a penalty. Burgess continued to impress throughout the opening half even if his teammates didn't.
After a typically forward orientated opening 10, Mitchell Pearce gave the Roosters the lead after he was given the green light by the video referee. Todd Carney converted to make it 6-0 after 13 minutes. Seven minutes later and those two combined again to send Pearce over but it was pulled back for a forward pass. Sydney did extend their lead soon after though when Shaun Kenny-Dowall took an intercept from Rabbitoths' halfback Chris Sandow before racing 80 yards to out pace both Sandow and Rhys Wesser. Carney again converted to make it 12-0. They almost extended their lead even further when Braith Anasta put Tom Symonds away but the second rower was ankle tapped by Isaac Luke and subsequently stretchered off after being hurled into the air and landing funny on his leg. The score therefore remained 12-0 until the 39th minute when Nathan Merritt touched down from a Sandow kick after the home side had forced a goal-line dropout when they trapped Todd Carney in-goal. Isaac Luke added the extras from the touchline to give Souths hope in the second half at 12-6.
An early penalty from Todd Carney in the second half gave the Roosters an eight point lead before a piece of individual brilliance from Carney (who chased his own kick and knocked it back into the field of play) setup a try for Sam Perrett. The conversion made it 20-12. Nathan Merritt did have the opportunity to close the gap after breaking away but he inexplicably dropped the ball unopposed. Aiden Guerra then went over for the Roosters to end the game as a contest before scores from Pearce and Kenny-Dowall gave them an unassailable 36-6 lead. Nathan Meritt did pull one back in the 78th minute for Souths but it was little too late.
Elsewhere, Premiers Melbourne defeated Cronulla 14-10 at Toyota Park and a Lote Tuquiry try on his NRL return helped Wests to a 26-22 win over Manly whilst the Gold Coast came from behind to beat the Warriors 24-18.
NRL Round One Results
Brisbane Broncos 30 North Queensland Cowboys 24
Paramatta Eels 12 St George Illawarra Dragons 18
Canterbury Bulldogs 16 Newcastle Knights 20
Penrith Panthers 34 Canberra Raiders 16
Cronulla Sharks 10 Melbourne Storm 14
Gold Coast Titans 24 New Zealand Warriors 18
South Sydney Rabbitoths 10 Sydney Roosters 36
Wests Tigers 26 Manly Sea-Eagles 22
Sources: NRL
Adam Conroy - Despite not being an experienced writer, I have had a love of all things sport since a young age. I have travelled both the country and ...
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