Rugby League returned in a big way with the start of the 2010 season. St George tried to atone for their disappointing finals exit with a defeat of the Eels. They had too much firepower for Parramatta and won 18-12. It was a bad loss for the Eels who were hoping to build on last season where they made it as far as the Grand Final.
In the Queensland derby, the Broncos edged past the Cowboys. It was a tight and torrid affair but in the end, the Broncos had too much class for their counterparts.
There were some surprises on the Saturday. The most notable of which was that the Knights were able to rebound from all of their off-season troubles to defeat the Bulldogs. The Knights have had some difficulty with drug related issues and will be over the moon after their gutsy victory. On the other side of the coin, the Bulldogs will be less than thrilled with the way they opened the season.
Penrith ran over the top of Canberra. These two teams haven’t been up there for a while and it’s hard to see that changing after the opening round. The Panthers were ok but the Raiders have plenty to work on.
Melbourne opened up the defence of their premiership with a gritty victory away to Cronulla. The game was never going to be easy, especially when the Sharks were keen to atone for their appalling 2009. In the end, it was the experience of the Storm which got them over the line. Bookmakers had the Storm as favourites but in the end they had to work for it.
The Titans had a tight win over the Warriors in an exciting match. Both of these sides like to entertain and this game was no different. The ball was thrown around a lot which made for some exciting football as well as some errors.
Both sides had much to prove in the local derby between the Roosters and the Rabbitohs. The press had been talking up the Bunnies and they were heavily favoured against a Roosters side which won the wooden spoon last year. You would have thought the two swapped uniforms giving the lesson the Rabbits were handed. The Chooks ran over the top of them for a 36-10 victory.
The round finished in a flourish with the Tigers staging a fantastic comeback against Manly. They looked gone for all money but scored four tries in the final twenty minutes to stage a famous fightback.
Darren Albert writes for this blog. He also writes about live bets as well as other types of sports betting.
