Tag: Dragons

Rugby League: NRL Round 2 Review

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The NRL continued its early trend of unpredictability in Round 2.

As always, the start of an NRL season is proving an interesting time as new players and coaches come to grips with each other and attempt to implement all of the off-season plans.  The result of which has seen a host of upsets and some dramatic improvement in some of the teams.

Here are the individual results from Round 2:

Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs (32) v Parramatta Eels (12)

The round started off with bruising encounter between the Eels and Bulldogs at ANZ stadium.  The Eels coming off second best with an array of injuries to key personnel throughout the half (Watmough, Radradra, Champion and Sandow), although Watmough and Sandow returned later in the game to battle on.  The Bulldogs took advantage of a make shift left side defence and a tired Eels outfit running away with the game 32-12.  Brett Morris was again superb for the Dogs, while Moses Mbye filled in well for Josh Reynolds, and Michael Lichaa is a candidate for signing of the season so far.

Cronulla Sharks (2) v Brisbane Broncos (10)

Next up, the Broncos v Sharks at Remondis Stadium, two teams struggling for form made worse by severe wet weather.  Both sides were guilty of turning over too much ball in conditions that did not suit expansive rugby league, but both handled themselves solidly on defence throughout.  The Broncos taking the two competition points with a narrow 10-2 win.  Concerns remain over the Anthony Milford / Ben Hunt combination, but Milford’s young, he’s learning and has the talent to pick up a position – he just needs time.  Corey Parker spent less time at hooker, and therefore made a bigger impact in the middle of the park.  For the Sharks, Barba was a little disappointing, he seems to have lost all of his Dally M spark and is not driving any attacking creativity to the Sharks play.

Penrith Panthers (40) v Gold Coast Titans (0)

Perfect conditions at Bathurst played host to the Panthers and Titans in front of a very small crowd (6,240). A relatively error ridden and uneventful first half from both sides saw the Panthers lead by just 8-0.  However, a relentless Penrith turned up in the 2nd half scoring 32 points, mainly orchestrated by their halves, with Idris dotting down three times and Whare twice in a dominant performance.  Panthers head straight to the top of the table, but have to win their next match against the impressive Roosters without Jamie Soward, but with Josh Mansour.

Manly Sea-Eagles (24) v Melbourne Storm (22)

At Brookvale the Sea Eagles hosted the Melbourne Storm.  A first half barrage and excellent execution by the Sea Eagles saw them get up 24-6 at half time.  Daly Cherry-Evans putting the controversy surrounding his Titans deal behind him to play a major part in the first half action.  Many would have expected the Sea Eagles to capitalise on such a lead, however a resilient Storm pushed the Sea Eagles for 40 minutes, keeping their hosts scoreless but falling short by 2 points.  Solid defence from the Sea Eagles late in the dying minutes getting them home.  Melbourne are getting some solid minutes out of Tohu Harris at the moment, and Blake Green looks a good fit in the number 6 jersey (he crossed for two tries), they should continue to improve over the coming weeks.

North Queensland Cowboys (14) v Newcastle Knights (16)

Much like Brookvale, Townsville hosted a game of two halves with the Knights getting up over the Cowboys 16-14.  The Cowboys led 14-4 at half time, but yet another scoreless half from an NRL side allowed the Knights to pull away and register an unlikely win – their second in a row.  The Knights are one of four unbeaten teams after two weeks and easily the least expected of the four.  Jarred Mullen is loving the responsibility under Rick Stone, and Joey Leilua is probably the hardest man to tackle in Rugby League at the moment – just as he was during the Four Nations last year.  One of the major talking points of the match was the Knights borderline illegal targeting of Jonathan Thurston when he was kicking.  Attacking the legs of a kicker is still frowned upon, and the Knights toed the line brilliantly to nullify the threat of JT. The Knights players all escaped judiciary attention too.

South Sydney Rabbitohs (34) v Sydney Roosters (26)

The match of the round at ANZ resulted in the 2014 Premiers once again getting the better of their finals counterparts with a 34-26 victory.  A true spectacle of rugby league saw 5 tries in the first half with the Roosters leading 16-12 at half time.  The Roosters strengthen that advantage and led by as much as 26-18 while Adam Reynolds spend some time on the sideline going through a concussion test.  When he returned, he sparked three tries in the final quarter to demonstrate the Rabbitohs inability to concede defeat.  The set up for Joel Reddy in particular was something truly special.  George Burgess enjoyed his best game of the season; relishing the match-ups with Hargreaves and Napa.

Canberra Raiders (6) v New Zealand Warriors (18)

GIO Stadium hosted the Raiders and Warriors on Sunday afternoon.  An uneventful first half with plenty of errors meant the teams were locked at 6-6 at half-time.  The second half saw these errors continue for the Raiders gifting the Warriors possession twiced inside 5 minutes; both opportunities the Warriors converted through tries to Ryan Hoffman and Solomone Kata.  Shaun Johnson again struggled; this time with an injured forearm compounding his troubles.  He’s run the ball just five times in two games, which is not enough for the Golden Boot (best player in the world) holder.  The Warriors are seeing some incredible returns from Albert Vete and Sam Lisone.  The newbies have been so effective that Origin representative, Jacob Lillyman, has been restricted to just 25 minutes per game.  The Raiders are simply making too many mistakes, but they’ve shown enough in the first two rounds to suggest their much improved from last year.  On the point of signings of the season, throw Sia Soliola in the mix, he’s been incredible.

West Tigers (22) v St George Illawarra Dragons (4)

The last game of the round at Campbeltown was awfully dire.  We caught only the second half but wished we’d spent our time putting pins in our eyes instead of watching.  The second half witnessed just two points, off the boot of Pat Richards, as the Dragons tightened the defence that had been so easily penetrated earlier by young whizz kid, James Tedesco.  Teddy was the key in three tries in the first 27 minutes as the Tigers paved the way for a second straight win.  Worryingly for the Dragons they have mustered just 8 points in their first two games of the season – the least number of points in the first two games of a season for any team in the last 15 seasons.  Adding insult to the loss, were Greg Alexander’s comments during commentary likening their attack to that of a “seven year old’s passing drill”.  Paul McGregor has responded by putting his halves (Marshall and Widdop) on notice.  Improve or head to the Holden Cup.

Rugby League: NRL Round 1 Review

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The first week of NRL action featured plenty of rust, and more than a few surprises.

The Rabbitohs, Roosters and Panthers look head and shoulders over the others in the competition, but it’s unfair to make rash comments like that this early in the season.  It’s not rash to quit Fantasy NRL after one week though.  598 points (including 11 to Milford and 20 to Josh Jackson) warrants quitting.

Here’s how the round played out:

Brisbane Broncos (6) v South Sydney Rabbitohs (36)

The year’s season opener was an unexpected boilover as last years champions eased past a disappointing Brisbane side at Suncorp.  Led by the astute direction and expert goal kicking of Adam Reynolds, the Bunnies were the better side throughout and chalked up their first two points without a hint of fuss.

Glenn Stewart’s ball playing abilities added versatility to an already strong side, indicating that the Rabbits will again be tough to beat.  Test players Dylan Walker and Greg Inglis both got on the scoresheet, while the Broncs were left to rue ill-discipline and a stuttering halves pairing of Ben Hunt and Anthony Milford – desperately lacking cohesion in their first outing together.

Parramatta Eels (42) v Manly Sea Eagles (12)

Anthony Watmough’s grudge match against his old club was not nearly as brutal as experts predicted.  Instead, the Eels overwhelmingly got the better of the injury hit Sea Eagles, who appear to be on the brink of an internal halves crisis with rumours swirling around both Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans.

The enigmatic Chris Sandow was brilliant for the Eels, as was Semi Radradra who bagged the first hat-trick of the season.  Will Hopoate took over from Jarryd Hayne with aplomb; leading raids into Sea Eagles territory often, and showing some positive signs with his defensive reads.

In a word, Manly were, useless.

Newcastle Knights (24) v New Zealand Warriors (14)

More of the same for the frustrating New Zealand outfit.  The Warriors butchered a nice start, and a dominating share of possession to go scoreless in the second half and gift Newcastle two competition points.

The Warriors had positives in the performances of youngsters Kata, Lolohea, and Lisone, but will be dreadfully disappointed with their poor completion rate, poor fifth tackle kicking options and soft one and one defence.

For the Knights, Joey Leilua was dangerous with ball in hand and Tyler Randell played nicely from the bench.  They’ll still feel as though they escaped with points from this one though.

Gold Coast Titans (18) v Wests Tigers (19)

The Titans put to the side and incredibly challenging buildup, and a host of unavailable players to surprise many with a  fighting effort adjacent the West Tigers.  Pat Richards slotted a late field goal to complete a greedy individual haul for him and a win for his side.

Earlier, the James’ were dominating the scoring.  James Roberts had two tries for the Titans,  Ryan James also crossed the line, and walking sick note James Tedesco dotted over for the Tigers.

Robbie Farah and Aaron Woods were in the thick of everything for the visitors, while the Titans just want their players to return from a long pool game.

North Queensland Cowboys (4) v Sydney Roosters (28)

We predicted a Roosters win, but the manner and margin still surprised us.  That’s factoring in many people’s predictions that 2015 is the year of the Cowboys.

The Roosters proved Sonny Bill Williams wasn’t the key to their NRL success, with a complete team performance capped off by a memorable Mitchell Pearce showing.  They still look an excellent side and with Guerra and Cordner picking up the SBW slack, they will go along way.

The Cowboys shouldn’t play this badly again; Jonathan Thurston certainly won’t.  So don’t hit the panic button just yet if you’re a Cowboys fan or have Thurston in your fantasy team.

Penrith Panthers (24) v Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs (18)

Penrith were incredible for 60 minutes; the Bulldogs were good for twenty minutes.  The net result was a close win to the Panthers in a difficult first round match.

After building their squad, their experience and confidence over the past two season under Ivan Clearly, the Panthers are now genuine title contenders, and displayed their credentials in an efficient first 60 minutes.  They’ll be smarting they gave the Bulldogs a sniff but pleased they withheld the fast finishers.

Individually, James Segeyaro has carried on his form from last season’s playoffs; George Jennings justified the hype; and for the Doggies, Brett Morris was impressive in joining his brother at the club.

Cronulla Sharks (20) v Canberra Raiders (24)

Canberra’s win was a little surprising to tell the truth, but thoroughly deserved in a close encounter with the Cronulla Sharks.  Jack Wighton was the star of the show, both for his electric running that led to two tries and his almighty haymaker aimed at Sosaia Feki.  The young fullback was involved in everything, and although lucky to escape sanction for the punch (don’t the NRL have a one punch rule?), his performance suggests he’ll be a Dally M smokey this year.

Fifita and Gallend were excellent for the Sharks as they so often are, however, Ben Barba failed to find opportunities in the number 6 jersey.  The kindest thing we can say about Barba’s performance was that he was on the field.  I’m calling the fullback to number 6 failed experiments – the Lockyer curse.

St George-Illawarra Dragons (4) v Melbourne Storm (12)

Just the 16 points in a pretty dour encounter at Jubilee Oval.

The less said about this game the better.  Although we were pleased for former hotel porter Eto Nabuli crossing for a try on debut.

The statistic that sums up how much of an arm wrestle this match was is the tackle count of the two hookers; Cameron Smith had 48; Mitch Rein had 47.

Don’t expect either of these sides to set your pulse racing this season.

NRL Round 1 Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Welcome to the NRL!

The world’s best Rugby League competition gets underway with a blockbuster opening round.  Check out our Round 1 Preview below with odds taken from Betstar.

Brisbane Broncos v South Sydney Rabbitohs

Broncos – $2.30

Rabbitohs – $1.57

The 2015 NRL season kicks off with the defending champion Rabbitohs against one of the most successful teams in the history of Rugby League.  The Thursday night Suncorp showdown will set the scene for an intriguing season of skill and scandal.  The Rabbitohs have everything going for them heading into the season opener; Premiership rings, Nines titles, and a World Club Challenge win over St Helens.  Therefore, they are favourites to get the better of a Brisbane side looking to remerge as title contenders with prodigal coach Wayne Bennett.  Of interest will be the performances of Anthony Milford, Adam Blair and Glenn Stewart for their new teams.  We expect Stewart to have the biggest impact and the Rabbitohs to win by 13+.

Broncos: 1 Jordan Kahu, 2 Dale Copley, 3 Jack Reed, 4 Justin Hodges (c), 5 Lachlan Maranta, 6 Anthony Milford, 7 Ben Hunt, 8 Josh McGuire, 9 Andrew McCullough, 10 Adam Blair, 11 Alex Glenn, 12 Sam Thaiday, 13 Corey Parker.

Interchange: 14 Mitchell Dodds, 15 James Gavet, 16 Matt Gillett, 17 Aaron Whitchurch.

Rabbitohs: 1 Greg Inglis (c), 2 Alex Johnston, 3 Dylan Walker, 4 Bryson Goodwin, 5 Joel Reddy, 6 Luke Keary, 7 Adam Reynolds, 8 George Burgess, 9 Issac Luke, 10 Dave Tyrrell, 11 Glenn Stewart, 12 John Sutton, 13 Ben Lowe.

Interchange: 14 Chris Grevsmuhl, 15 Jason Clark, 16 Chris McQueen, 17 Thomas Burgess.

Parramatta Eels v Manly Sea Eagles

Eels – $1.92

Sea Eagles – $1.92

The bookmakers are finding it impossible to separate two even sides in the round’s second match.  Consistent top 8 finishers, the Manly Sea Eagles are in the midst of somewhat of an injury crisis with Steve Matai, Jorge Taufua, Jamie Buhrer and Brenton Lawrence all out injured, while the Eels are looking to shake off the loss of Dally M Medal winner Jarryd Hayne to NFL.

Manly’s forward pack look short on experience and class in the one major are of concern for us.  The Eels on the other hand have an exciting blend of youth and experience, but they’ll need Hopoate to provide the spark from the back.

The match shapes as an interesting grudge match for Anthony Watmough who plays against his old side for the first time.  As he exited he commented frequently about the poisonous nature of the Manly club – there will be plenty of players who disagree with his disclosure.  Eagles 1-12.

Eels: 1. Will Hopoate, 2 Semi Radradra, 3 Beau Champion, 4 Brad Takairangi, 5 Reece Robinson, 6 Corey Norman, 7 Chris Sandow, 8 Darcy Lussick, 9 Nathan Peats, 10 Tim Mannah (c), 11 Manu Ma’u, 12 Tepai Moeroa, 13 Anthony Watmough.

Interchange: 14 Isaac De Gois, 15 Joseph Paulo, 16 Junior Paulo, 17 David Gower, 18 Danny Wicks, 19 Pauli Pauli.

Sea Eagles: 1 Brett Stewart, 2 Cheyse Blair, 3 Jamie Lyon (c), 4 Clinton Gutherson, 5 Peta Hiku, 6 Kieran Foran, 7 Daly Cherry-Evans, 8 Willie Mason, 9 Matt Ballin, 10 Brenton Lawrence, 11 Feleti Mateo, 12 Tom Symonds, 13 Dunamis Lui.

Interchange: 14 Jesse Sene-Lefao, 15 Blake Leary, 16 James Hasson, 17 Luke Burgess, 18 Justin Horo.

Newcastle Knights v New Zealand Warriors

Knights – $1.85

Warriors – $2.00

The start of an NRL season is always a hopeful time for New Zealand Warriors fans.  The disappointed of the previous season has worn off, replaced by the excitement of new signings and top 8 finish predictions from those in the know.  Generally, it lasts a couple of games.

Could this season be different?

Ryan Hoffman is the big addition to the Mt Smart based squad and is expected to bring a wealth of experience and a workhorse like defensive load.  Shaun Johnson and Sam Tomkins are both a season more canny so will burden most of the hopes of the nation.

The Knights start a new era under Rick Stone with little hope or expectation.  They may be favourites on Saturday night but we’ll go against the bookies and pick the Warriors 1-12.

Knights: 1 Kurt Gidley (c), 2 James McManus, 3 Dane Gagai, 4 Joseph Leilua, 5 Akuila Uate, 6 Jarrod Mullen, 7 Tyrone Roberts, 8 Kade Snowden, 9 Adam Clydsdale, 10 Korbin Sims, 11 Beau Scott, 12 Robbie Rochow, 13 Jeremy Smith.

Interchange: 14 Tyler Randell, 15 Chris Houston, 16 David Fa’alogo, 17 Jack Stockwell, 18 Sione Mata’utia

Warriors: 1 Sam Tomkins, 2 Tuimoala Lolohea, 3 Konrad Hurrell, 4 Solomone Kata, 5 Manu Vatuvei, 6 Chad Townsend, 7 Shaun Johnson, 8 Jacob Lillyman, 9 Thomas Leuluai, 10 Ben Matulino, 11 Bodene Thompson, 12 Ryan Hoffman, 13 Simon Mannering (c).

Interchange: 14 Nathan Friend, 15 Ben Henry, 16 Sam Lisone, 17 Albert Vete, 18 Suaia Matagi

Gold Coast Titans v Wests Tigers

Titans – $2.55

Tigers – $1.52

Depending on which way you look at it the Titans are either; and absolute rabble with no chance of wining more than five games this year; or a Fantasy NRL gold pot, full of cheapies that will get plenty of game time while Greg Bird, Jaime Dowling and Dave Taylor are stood down.  The Titans may surprise, but we tend to think they’ll struggle big time this year, starting with a loss to the Tigers.

The Tigers have a trio of the most exciting players in Rugby League generally in Tedesco, Moses and Brooks.  We’ll watch with keen interest their development this year.  Tigers 13+.

Titans: 1 William Zillman, 2 Kevin Gordon, 3 James Roberts, 4 Josh Hoffman, 5 David Mead, 6 Aidan Sezer, 7 Daniel Mortimer, 8 Luke Douglas, 9 Kierran Moseley, 10 Edward Pettybourne, 11 Ryan James, 12 Matt Robinson, 13 Nate Myles (c).

Interchange: 14 Agnatius Paasi, 15 Mark Ioane, 16 Lachlan Burr, 17 Matt Srama, 18 Ryan Simpkins.

Tigers: 1 James Tedesco, 2 Kevin Naiqama, 3 Tim Simona, 4 Chris Lawrence, 5 Pat Richards, 6 Mitchell Moses, 7 Luke Brooks, 8 Aaron Woods, 9 Robbie Farah (c), 10 Keith Galloway, 11 Curtis Sironen, 12 Sauaso Sue, 13 Dene Halatau.

Interchange: 14 Ava Seumanufagai, 15 Martin Taupau, 16 Matthew Lodge, 17 Brenden Santi, 18 Kyle Lovett.

North Queensland Cowboys v Sydney Roosters

Cowboys – $1.70

Roosters – $2.20

Two of the favourites to take out this years Proven-Summons trophy meet in Townsville in the match of the round on Saturday night.  After being stitched up for a second straight year in a playoff referee blunder, the Cowboys are hoping 2015 brings slightly better luck.  They have a well settled side that has created success around a big forward pack and the best halfback in the world.  That will be the plan this year again, especially with the amount Jason Taumalolo has come on after his experience with the Kiwis in the Four Nations.

Their opponents are the defending minor premiers, and 2013 champions. They have lost Sonny Bill Williams, and Anthony Minichielio, but gained troublemaker Blake Ferguson. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is given the number one jersey in a major positional switch for 2015, and Aidan Guerra and Boyd Cordner will be asked to assume added responsibility to offset the SBW exit.

Jake Friend’s absence worries us, but not enough to bet against the Roosters. They’ll win by 1-12.

Cowboys: 1 Michael Morgan, 2 Justin O’Neill, 3 Matthew Wright, 4 Kane Linnett, 5 Antonio Winterstein, 6 Johnathan Thurston (c), 7 Robert Lui, 8 Matthew Scott (c), 9 Rory Kostjasyn, 10 Ben Hannant, 11 Gavin Cooper, 12 Ethan Lowe, 13 Jason Taumalolo.

Interchange: 14 Jake Granville, 15 Glenn Hall, 16 Scott Bolton, 17 James Tamou, 18 Kelepi Tanginoa, 19 Ray Thompson.

Roosters: 1 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 2 Daniel Tupou, 3 Michael Jennings, 4 Blake Ferguson, 5 Shaun Kenny-Dowall, 6 James Maloney, 7 Mitchell Pearce (c), 8 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, 9 Matt McIlwrick, 10 Sam Moa, 11 Boyd Cordner, 12 Aidan Guerra, 13 Isaac Liu.

Interchange: 14 Mitchell Aubusson, 15 Dylan Napa, 16 Kane Evans, 17 Sio Siua Taukeiaho, 18 Martin Kennedy, 19 Nene Macdonald.

Penrith Panthers v Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs

Panthers – $1.96

Bulldogs – $1.87

Sundays games feature two of the better coached sides in the competition: The Des Hasler led Bulldogs, and the Ivan Cleary guided Penrith Panthers.  Thus, a tactful match full of structure and discipline is predicted at the freshly named Pepper Stadium.  Penrith have been the competitions big improvers over the past few seasons.  They appear to have flourished under Clearly and Gould, and should again feature in the top 4 when the season wraps up.  Very little by way of recruitment was needed by the Panthers so expect much of the same from their household names.

Hasler’s men disappointed in the Grand Final last year.  They’ll be keen to make amends, starting as early as possible with a win first up.  Losing career grub Michael Ennis is a shame, but James Graham will fill in nicely and is probably the greatest example of leading by example you will ever see.

Bulldogs 1-12 – the toughest pick of the round.

Panthers: 1 Matt Moylan, 2 George Jennings, 3 Dean Whare, 4 Jamal Idris, 5 Dallin Watene Zelezniak, 6 Jamie Soward, 7 Peter Wallace (c), 8 Sam McKendry, 9 James Segeyaro, 10 Brent Kite, 11 Sika Manu, 12 Lewis Brown, 13 Elijah Taylor.

Interchange: 14 Tyrone Peachey, 15 Jeremy Latimore, 16 Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 17 Bryce Cartwright, 18 Isaah Yeo, 19 Apisai Koroisau

Bulldogs: 1 Brett Morris, 2 Curtis Rona, 3 Josh Morris, 4 Timoteo Lafai, 5 Sam Perrett, 6 Josh Reynolds, 7 Trent Hodkinson, 8 Aiden Tolman, 9 Michael Lichaa, 10 James Graham (c), 11 Josh Jackson, 12 Tony Williams, 13 Greg Eastwood.

Interchange: 14 Sam Kasiano, 15 David Klemmer, 16 Frank Pritchard, 17 Tim Browne, 18 Moses Mbye

Cronulla Sharks v Canberra Raiders

Sharks – $1.42

Raiders – $2.90

With respect to the teams I’m about to include in this list, there are some teams that are just not that enjoyable to watch.  I’d put the Knights in the list along with the Titans, the Raiders, and at times the Dragons or Sharks.

Clearly, we’re not predicting a blockbuster.

The Sharks might be better this year without all the talk of peptides. If Fifita, Gallen and Graham stay fit they have an incredibly powerful trio of 80 minute workman who can compete with the best in the business. The Raiders, oh boy, where to start.  The Raiders are poor.  We hope they improve.  But more than likely they’ll just battle it out for the wooden spoon. What price for Ricky Stuart to go mid-season?

Sharks: 1 Michael Gordon, 2 Sosaia Feki, 3 Gerard Beale, 4 Ricky Leutele, 5 Mitch Brown, 6 Ben Barba, 7 Jeff Robson, 8 Andrew Fifita, 9 Michael Ennis, 10 Matt Prior, 11 Jayson Bukuya, 12 Wade Graham, 13 Paul Gallen (c).

Interchange: 14 Chris Heighington, 15 Tinirau Arona, 16 Anthony Tupou, 17 David Fifita, 18 Valentine Holmes, 19 Jack Bird.

Raiders: 1 Jack Wighton, 2 Sisa Waqa, 3 Jarrod Croker (c), 4 Edrick Lee, 5 Jordan Rapana, 6 Blake Austin, 7 Mitchell Cornish, 8 David Shillington, 9 Josh Hodgson, 10 Dane Tilse, 11 Josh Papalii, 12 Sia Soliola, 13 Shaun Fensom.

Interchange: 14 Josh McCrone, 15 Frank-Paul Nuuausala, 16 Paul Vaughan, 17 Shannon Boyd

St George-Illawarra Dragons v Melbourne Storm

Dragons – $2.20

Storm – $1.70

The final match of the round  has the Dragons hosting the Storm on Monday night.  It’s a match that has predominantly been won by the Storm – 20 wins from 29 games – but the Dragons did sneak a win in Round 16 of 2014.  The Dragons are still developing under Paul McGregor.  He deserves some more time to impart his plans, personnel and performance expectations on his side before being more closely scrutinised.  Benji Marshall and Gareth Widdop believe they have the formula for a successful halves pairing, and if Dugan can keep himself off the booze and off the injured list, they could be good for a few upsets this year.  Starting George Rose in week one worries me though.

Cameron Smith has been cleared fit to lead the Storm.  They’ll win on Monday but might not make the Top 8 this year, Shock!

Storm 1-12.

Dragons: 1 Josh Dugan 2 Etonia Nabuli 3 Dane Nielsen 4 Dylan Farrell 5 Jason Nightingale 6 Gareth Widdop 7 Benji Marshall 8 Leeson Ah Mau 9 Mitch Rein 10 George Rose 11 Tyson Frizell 12 Joel Thompson 13 Ben Creagh (c).

Interchange: 14 Rory O’Brien, 15 Trent Merrin, 16 Mike Cooper, 17 Jack de Belin, 18 Jake Marketo 19 Heath L’Estrange

Storm: 1 Billy Slater 2 Young Tonumaipea 3 Will Chambers 4 Kurt Mann 5 Marika Koroibete 6 Blake Green 7 Cooper Cronk 8 Jesse Bromwich 9 Cameron Smith (c) 10 Jordan McLean 11 Kevin Proctor 12 Tohu Harris 13 Dale Finucane.

Interchange: 14 Ryan Hinchcliffe 15 Tim Glasby 16 Dayne Weston17 Felise Kaufusi