For 79 minutes and 45 seconds, the South Sydney Rabbitohs renaissance was alive. They were clearly the better side and deserved the points.
But the National Rugby League has again proved itself as the closest competition in the world with the Sydney Roosters coming from nowhere to beat the Rabbitohs.
John Sutton stood up. Sam Burgess stood taller. Yet, somehow, the Roosters have the two competition points.
Now, the Rabbitohs will face the Melbourne Storm in round two in a huge clash which will test the mettle of Michael Maguire’s men.
The Rabbitohs can bend, but they must not break next weekend.
The Cronulla Sharks almost stole the points from a scratchy Wests Tigers on Sunday at Leichhardt Oval in a golden-point thriller.
A Benji Marshall field goal in extra time and a horrible refereeing blunder were the only differences between the sides. Now the Sharks find themselves in a similar boat to the Rabbitohs.
Cronulla host Newcastle Knights next weekend which shapes as a crunch match for both teams.
Nobody wants to go 0-2 to start the year. Its ridiculous to think we are already using the term ‘crunch match’ and we’ve just completed week one.
You could add the North Queensland Cowboys to the list of teams looking for a win in round two. But after Saturday night’s performance against Gold Coast in Townsville, simply improving would be a start. The Cowboys were beyond atrocious.
St George Illawarra Dragons and Newcastle Knights kicked off the season on Thursday night. The Knights were solid and the Dragons did enough to win, as they usually seem to do.
Steve Price and Wayne Bennett would be very relaxed with where their teams are at.
We may not know until round three where the Brisbane Broncos are really at.
The Broncos took care of business against a morbid Parramatta outfit on Friday night and will face the Cowboys in round two at Suncorp Stadium. The score could be anything if North Queensland give Brisbane the amount of possession they gave the Titans.
In round three Brisbane travel to Newcastle for a Friday night blockbuster with the Knights. This might just be the Broncos’ first test of the year.
Canberra and Canterbury have found themselves true leaders in Terry Campese and Michael Ennis. Campese’s sheer will to win was clearly evident on Saturday afternoon, showing that the 2012 Raiders won’t take a backward step.
Movers: Sea Eagles, Broncos, Dragons
Losers: Cowboys, Eels, Panthers
Curtis Woodward
Expert
True enough .. every team and every fan are going to feel both sides of games like that this year
Pete75
Guest
See this is the thing about blowing up over refs calls that "cost you the game". We all do it, and it's very hard to stomach when it's our team on the receiving end. I've always taken the philosophy that if you're close enough, you're good enough. If you're close enough in the contest that a bad decision from the ref nets you a win, you've been good enough to win. We all tend to remember refereeing errors that have an impact on the game in the last five minutes, while those that regularly occur during the first 70-odd minutes are forgotten.
Curtis Woodward
Expert
Yep that was forward lol
Pete75
Guest
"Those teams that made runs and went deep into September done it because they could do it" That's easy to say in hinsight Curtis. Who would have tipped the Tigers half way through 2005? Or Parramatta half way through 2010? That's just two examples off the top of my head of teams that were written off by all and sundry, yet made it deep into September (or October). On paper, I see absolutely no reason why Cronulla can't make the eight this year, even if they take a few weeks to "gel". They showed enough on the weekend that they will be a much better team this year, and I thoroughly believe that Carney has found his best position at number 7. Anyone who writes off the Cowboys at this stage needs their head read! The Panthers and the Eels are very low on my list to make the eight but, again, if the stars align, there's no reason to believe that they can't this year, We're certainly a hell of a long way from any "crunch" matches Curtis. You've gone off early big fella!
Curtis Woodward
Expert
Those teams that made runs and went deep into September done it because they could do it.. They had the ability to do it.. teams like Cronulla need wins now because they aren't the type of side to make a massive 10 game run at the backend
Curtis Woodward
Expert
I'll have a look .. let you know what I thought
Pete75
Guest
.... the blatant forward pass from Jeremy Smith that lead to the Isaac de Gois try.
Pete75
Guest
Yeah, fair dinkum Curtis. Round One and we're already talking about "crunch" matches? It's a long, long season. History is littered with teams that were coming somewhere near dead last half way through the season and then put on spurts to push deep into the finals. It's great that we're talking about the games though. It was a really exciting weekend of football and, once everyone blows out the cobwebs, we can look forward to a great season and some high quality footy.
Curtis Woodward
Expert
What pass ?
Curtis Woodward
Expert
We are not talking about the Warriors here. They were never mentioned champ. They can go 0-3 and still be good for the Finals. The teams mentioned were Souths, Sharks and Cowboys. All three need to win games now. Not later.
Will Sinclair
Guest
"A Benji Marshall field goal in extra time and a horrible refereeing blunder were the only differences between the sides." You're absolutely right. How the referees missed that forward pass in the Shark's first try, I'll never know. They deserve to spend a week in Reserve Grade.
MG Burbank
Roar Guru
"We" are not using the term 'crunch match'. You are. The Warriors went 0-3 to start last season. Enough said. There are no crunch matches at this point in any season, unless they are sponsored by Nestle's Crunch.