Heroes and villains of NRL Round 1

With Round 1 in the books, we can look back and see which players had positive and negative impacts on their team.

These players may not necessarily have been the best or worst on the field but there is no doubt their performance made a difference to the end result.

Heroes of the week
Greg Inglis: Though Sam Burgess won the man-of-the-match award, Inglis deserves special mention for achieving a hat-trick in the season opener.

He was quick to the ball in defence, didn’t miss any tackles and with three line breaks to complement his tries, he couldn’t be stopped offensively.

Daniel Vidot and Lachlan Maranta: Maranta was somewhat of a surprise selection but he had one of his best ever Brisbane games, while his wing partner Vidot was also dangerous.

A try apiece but more importantly, they both showed some impressive defensive positioning and overall effort.

Peter Wallace: With Jamie Soward apparently injured, Wallace stepped up for Penrith and looked confident guiding the squad around the park.

He kicked well and consistently put the Panthers in dangerous attacking positions, complementing his game with a perfect conversion rate of 4/4.

Cameron Smith: Melbourne weren’t at their best but after Smith kicked his first NRL field goal in extra-time, he quickly became the hero for Storm fans.

With a try assist and a stout 97% tackle percentage, Melbourne’s captain was a lead figure in their impressive comeback.

Johnathan Thurston: Another great performance from one of the best in the NRL. He was all over the field for North Queensland and controlled their comeback effort.

Multiple assists with a diverse kicking game, he was dynamic in attack, as emphasised by his quick tap long-range try.

Just don’t mention his defence.

Gareth Widdop: The star of Round 1, the Tigers simply could not handle Widdop’s debut for the Dragons.

Involved in the lead-up to four tries, he aided his offensive output with a perfect 8/8 on conversions.

Taking on the bulk of the St George playmaking and kicking responsibilities, he may lessen a lot of those wooden spoon predictions.

Semi Radradra and Vai Toutai: The second wing pairing featured in the ‘heroes’ section was unstoppable against the Warriors. The Parramatta duo had a hat-trick each and propelled the Eels to victory.

Their defence wasn’t perfect but six tries made up for any mistakes in this game.

Radradra merits particular mention for the constant running threat he posed throughout the game.

Albert Kelly: Among the most exciting players in the league, the Titans halfback was instrumental in their road victory.

A long-range intercept try with a try assist and numerous tackle breaks were too much for the Cronulla outfit.

Considering he also controlled the Gold Coast kicking game, he is quickly emerging as one of the better halfbacks in the NRL.

Villains of the week
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Sam Moa: Four penalties together, only two less than the entire Rabbitohs squad. Barely 100 metres combined, less than either South Sydney prop.

The trouble started up front for the Roosters as their props failed to fire and give some much-needed room to the backs.

Sam Perrett: Though Josh Reynolds was underwhelming, the play of Perrett quickly became a concern for the Bulldogs.

A disastrous first touch didn’t see much improvement as he was often out of position in defence and offered very little in support play.

He needed to show more in his first game. Canterbury has playmaking issues and Perrett rarely provided satisfactory assistance to his halves.

Injuries: Already missing Jarrod Mullen, the Knights managed to lose the rest of their spine in their opening game.

Tyrone Roberts, Kurt Gidley and Darius Boyd were all knocked out of the clash which devastated Newcastle’s chance for victory.

It’s been an unlucky start to the season for the Knights.

Daly Cherry-Evans: He may have even been one of the best for Manly but his extra-time error brings him onto this list.

Despite having four tackles in hand, his short ball to Dunamis Lui went to ground and was followed by a game-winning set from Melbourne.

He played well but that disappointment was the final blow for the Sea Eagles.

Jack Wighton: In his debut at five-eighth, Wighton disappeared against the might of his opposite Thurston.

There was minimal effectiveness from his running and kicking games and he didn’t create enough attacking opportunities for his teammates.

Canberra must hope that’s the worst they’ll see from Wighton.

Defence: Mick Potter talked about improving the Tigers defence throughout the offseason. After giving up 44 to a Dragons team with two new halves and no Josh Dugan, it doesn’t seem like his message got through.

St George wanted to target Luke Brooks in defence but in the end they could target almost any player they wanted. Just a really poor defensive effort.

Carlos Tuimavave and Manu Vatuvei: The left centre-wing pairing was atrocious in defence and were constantly caught out of position.

Whether it was incorrectly rushing up off the line or allowing opposition backs to get on their outside, the duo was a huge weakness for the Warriors.

With another poor defender in Konrad Hurrell waiting in the reserves, the left-side defence is frightening.

Andrew Fifita: In a week of contract talks, Fifita submitted a dreadful performance for Cronulla.

A squad beset by injuries needed him to step up. Instead, he was error-prone and committed four penalties.

By averaging less than 6.5 metres per carry on 20 runs, he was among the least effective players in week one.

Hopefully it won’t start a trend of uninspiring efforts.