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Message: [QUOTE="Big Pete, post: 2840646, member: 1899"] I almost feel like these weeks aren't worth talking about until Thursday, such is the nature of Origin and the impact it can have on these games. However, initial impressions can always be fun, so without further ado... The round kicks off in what should be a one-sided affair to Melbourne. Whether it plays out like that though remains to be seen, I'm not sure what it is about Newcastle, but they've always had a decent record against Melbourne and even when they don't win, they usually push Melbourne a lot further than you'd expect. I could easily see this being a tight first half, perhaps with Newcastle going into the break with their tails up but that Melbourne bench is awesome. Jordan McLean, Joe Stimson, Kenneath Bromwich & Nelson Asofa-Solomona is the bench of nightmares and up against the fairly inexperienced Newcastle Knights line up they should run over the top of them in the second half. One change I'd be keen to see is Brandom Smith for Cameron Smith, the young Kiwi hooker has earned rave reviews from BHQ's very own 1910 and I must say he was the best dummy half I saw in the Holden Cup in 2015. With a bit of that Queensland Cup seasoning, I could see him becoming a mainstay, not just in the NRL but also for the Kiwis which will be awesome because Issac Luke has been past it for a few years. Speaking of the Kiwis, they travel to ANZ Stadium to take on Parramatta in what will be a season defining game for both teams. Both sides come off impressive performances and could really separate themselves from the pack with a result here. It's just a matter of who rocks up on the night, if the Warriors play like we know they can, they should have too many points for the Eels. I always like a game that keeps me guessing and I'm genuinely looking forward to this clash. Saturday kicks off with Lolohea's debut for the Wests Tigers. Lolohea reminds me a lot of another young half by the name of Carlos Tuimavave who was a clearly talented ball-runner but couldn't quite find himself as an NRL player. They've even found themselves in a similar place in regards to their overseas move, except while Tuimavave found himself at the Knights who were going off the rails, Lolohea has found himself at the Tigers. Hopefully he finds his feet under Cleary because he has the potential to be a real fan favourite, but at this stage it definitely appears to be at long odds. The impression I get is that he's going to struggle this weekend behind a well beaten pack and the Dragons will continue their impressive 2017 campaign with another gritty hard fought win. If Woods plays, expect a big performance from Paul Vaughan and about half a dozen posts in this thread questioning why he wasn't at Suncorp on Wednesday night. The Gold Coast Titans have a lot to answer for after their non-show against Manly. They were utterly disappointing last start and really fell back down to earth after impressive showings against Brisbane, Cronulla & Melbourne. I think they'll be a lot better here, but against the North Queensland Cowboys I fear they'll give up too much of a start and the Cows will draw on their experience to see themselves through. Once again, Coen Hess will give Kane Elgey plenty of nightmares as the Cows keep themselves in the running for a top 4 spot. I'm really looking forward to Sunday, two big season defining games, why does Origin have to be a factor again? Manly & Canberra is a real toss of the coin, whoever shows up on the day type affair while the Bulldogs/Panthers certainly has my interest. For years, Panthers fans have called for Matt Moylan to play at five-eighth and they've got their wish against a Canterbury side that is slowly but surely destroying whatever enjoyment I get out of their game. Generally whenever Hook made changes like this, it usually resulted in a good performance and I hope it's the same here with Penrith going 3 from 3 and starting their own surge up the ladder. Of course these spikes were always short lived, so if you know any Penrith fans, just let them enjoy their little run, don't go ahead and spoil how the experiments usually turned out. [/QUOTE]

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