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Message: [QUOTE="Big Pete, post: 3121881, member: 1899"] I'm a little rusty, mods please move this to Live Discussion. 😄 The footy is back! Finally something else to look forward to other than documentaries and old television series. Considering what they're up against, I have to hand it to V'landys to get the competition up and running. He's been transparent with the media and the fans from the start and he's followed through so far. It remains to be seen how the switch to one referee will go, but after the referees threatened to go on strike, I have to give him credit for getting them back on board. That's going to be one of the more interesting changes heading into the season. It was one thing to switch back to one referee, but to introduce a revolutionary rule change like the six again call for minor infringements should have major ramifications on the competition. Melbourne/Canberra in particular will make for a very interesting spectacle. Before the change, I would have considered that game a slog but now it should open up. [B]Brisbane/Eels[/B] - Brisbane impressed me in their opening two games with their attitude. Before the season started, I found it difficult to wrap my head around their new look spine but I saw plenty of intent with the football which was promising to see. The Eels started slowly and they appeared to be in some trouble with the injury to Mahoney. He was their best player in the opening two rounds and the Eels are light on dummy half options. He remains a chance to play in this game, but if he doesn't it will even up the game substantially. [B]Cowboys/Titans[/B] - I feel sorry for Holbrook and the Gold Coast. Before a ball is even kicked, they lose their captain and their main strike weapon in Brimson. It's going to take Holbrook some time to weed out the unnecessary players and actually build a team. It's a good opportunity for Clifford to press his claims. It's important for both him, the Cowboys and Paul Green he starts playing good footy as the Cowboys are getting a negative reputation for their player development. I would like to think Taulagi and Gilbert aren't too far from a call-up either. [B]Roosters/Rabbitohs[/B] - It's shaping as an important game for the Roosters. They weren't bad in their opening two weeks, they just came up against good opposition and were missing some strike. The return of Cordner and the signing of Josh Morris should go some way to rectifying that, but they cannot afford a slow start. There's definitely a touch of a premiership hangover in play, but they still have the cattle to go on a run. The Rabbitohs have found themselves in the headlines for the wrong reasons during this Covid-19 break and it'll be interesting to see how the players will respond. We know that Walker will miss the next two matches, but Roberts is also a touch and go prospect and it remains to be seen whether Latrell is in the right head space. Before Covid-19, they were looking brittle in the forwards so they'll one of their young guns to step up. [B]Warriors/Dragons[/B] - When the Warriors signed Blake Green and Adam Blair, it was a good short-term deal that gave them qualities they have been sorely lacking. Unfortunately for them, the only way to entice them over was with long term contracts and now they're paying the price. With injuries stacking up and their make-shift camp in Australia, 2020 shapes up as a long year. The Dragons actually have a very forgiving draw to open the new season with clashes against the Warriors, Bulldogs and Titans. It's a good opportunity for them to find their footing, build their combinations and gain some consistensy which was lacking in their patchy performances against the Tigers and Panthers. [B]Sharks/Tigers[/B] - Of all the teams that needed a break, Cronulla were well and truly on top of the list. Their injury toll was mounting, they had key players looking at other clubs and their key players weren't playing good football. Despite this, they nearly beat two of the better teams in the competition. With Moylan, Xerri, Dugan, Nikora etc. on board they have a great opportunity to regroup. One change they need to make is their 13. Williams was struggling big time in the starting role and they should give Magoulias his opportunity. Otherwise, I liked what I saw of Brailey, I think Cronulla were looking very dangerous around the middle and if Johnson can simplify his role, they could still be thereabouts. Wests went into the break with some indifferent form, but they've gained a very good prospect in Grant. He should be able to give them some potency around the ruck which should help Doueihi's game. I'm very interested to see how Leilua responds after a very poor performance against the Knights. [B]Storm/Raiders[/B] - Melbourne welcome back Brandon Smith who was a big loss for them in the middle. He was such an important piece in their run towards the minor premiership last year and I expect Melbourne to trouble a lot more teams with him back. Despite that, it appeared to be business as usual for Melbourne for the break. Far too composed and professional for their opposition. They were 2/2 against opposition that usually give them a hard time, can they complete the hat-trick against Canberra who beat them in their last two games? Canberra started the season red-hot and produced the best half of football against the poor Gold Coast Titans. It was difficult to get a good read on them afterwards due to the quality of their opposition, it seemed like against the Warriors in particular they coasted to a very comfortable win. This will be their first real test and they welcome back Rapana who decided to give Japanese Rugby a miss after all. It will be interesting to see where he fits in and whether he'll or Simonsson will come from the bench. [B]Panthers/Knights[/B] - Penrith will be without Cleary after Nathan accepted a two week suspension, which should see Burton called into the 6. Matt was promising on debut and looks like a quality prospect so that should soften the blow. Before the break, it appeared Penrith were back to their 2016-18 form where they would have shocking passages but then they'd put on a couple of quick tries to snare victory from the jaws of defeat. Newcastle lost Jayden Brailey which threatened to derail their season, but they've picked up a very similar style of player in Andrew McCullough. Macca should compliment their style of play which appears to be extremely structured and based around a few pet plays. This should be a great match up just to see where these two teams are at. [B]Sea Eagles/Bulldogs[/B] - It appeared as if Manly picked up mostly where they left off. They were clearly missing the energy Koroisau and Fainu brought from dummy half, but they still had the tenacity we've come to expect from Hasler coached teams. They had a tough couple of assignments to start the season and by rights should be 0-2, but they came up with some fantastic try-savers, Tommy Turbo on Keary definitely needs to be added to the scrap book and shown to any up and comer about playing to the whistle. Canterbury can't take a trick this season. They lost their star player during the rep season, CHN and Okunbor both had their contracts torn up and one of their new recruits suffered a season ending injury. Still, they didn't roll over and if a team dares to take it easy on them, they'll eat them up. Before the season was put on hold, I like what I saw of Wakeham and Averillo, I think Pay was onto something there and he needs to get behind these fresh faces. He also needs to get more out of DWZ who is capable but just has these lapses in his game. [/QUOTE]

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