We are just one round into the new season and it would not surprise you that it’s the Penrith Panthers who sit on top of the ladder after kicking off their premiership defence in style last Thursday night.

Even without halfback Nathan Cleary, who will not return until Round 4 at the earliest, the mountain men continued their premiership party with a huge win over the Sea Eagles, but now face a potentially tough test against the Dragons at Kogarah Oval on Friday night.

Both the Roosters and Sea Eagles will want to hit back after disappointing Round 1 defeats, while a Gold Coast double-header sees the first NRLW Queensland derby take place before the Titans’ men’s side take on the Warriors in the afternoon.

After two seasons based at Kogarah Oval, the Sharks finally return home for a date against the Parramatta Eels, while Knights fans in Newcastle will be treated to seeing both their men’s and women’s sides in action on Sunday.

To round off proceedings, two new-look sides in the Bulldogs and Broncos go head to head at Accor Stadium, which will be sporting a brand new video screen at its southern end.

Here is your preview to Round 2 in the men’s, and Round 4 in the women’s.

Storm versus Rabbitohs
Having rather unexpectedly lost their opening match against the Broncos in Brisbane, the Rabbitohs face falling to an 0-2 start when they travel to Melbourne – a city that has proven to be a graveyard for the club – to face the Storm to kick off Round 2.

The Bunnies learnt the hard way what life is like following the departures of Wayne Bennett, Adam Reynolds and Dane Gagai. Their poor decision was a main factor in their 11-4 loss to the Broncos with Josh Mansour scoring their only try in the first half.

Now they must prepare for the trip to the Victorian capital, where the closest they’ve come to breaking their duck was when they lost a qualifying final heartbreaker 29-28 in 2018.

It will also be the first time Souths face the Storm since they suffered a humiliating 50-0 loss at Accor Stadium in Round 9 last season, in which since-departed Storm winger Josh Addo-Carr became the first player since 1950 to score six tries in a first-grade rugby league match in Australia.

But while the Bunnies will get Latrell Mitchell back from his lengthy suspension this Thursday night, it will not be enough against a Storm side that came back to beat a spirited Wests Tigers side at Commbank Stadium last Saturday night despite several players suffering serious injuries.

In a brutal evening, the Storm lost George Jennings and Christian Welch to season-ending ACL and Achilles injuries, respectively, while Brandon Smith also suffered a hand injury, which could see him sidelined for at least a month.

The Melburnians have eyed unwanted Dragons forward Tariq Sims as a potential short-term solution to their injury woes, and he can’t come quite quickly enough as the club battles to stay afloat in season 2022, even after only one round.

Thursday night’s match will mark Craig Bellamy’s 500th game in charge of the club, and so there will be an incentive for the Storm to win in what will also be their first home game for the season, going head-to-head with the Carlton versus Richmond AFL match over the bridge at the MCG.

Prediction: Storm by 18 points.

Dragons versus Panthers
After suffering a humiliating trial match defeat against Parramatta last month, and with co-captain Nathan Cleary sidelined due to a shoulder injury, many feared of a potential premiership hangover at the foot of the mountains.

However, when the going got tough, the Panthers returned to top form in their season opener last week, defeating the Sea Eagles by 28-6 and finishing the round on top of the ladder as their pursuit of back-to-back titles began in style.

Without Cleary for a second consecutive week, the mountain men make the cross-town trip to Kogarah Oval for what stands to be an emotional evening as the Dragons, playing their first home game of the season, pay tribute to the late club legend Norm Provan.

The club has announced that the number nine guernsey will be retired for this clash, meaning veteran hooker Andrew McCullough will don the 19 guernsey for the Red V. The Dragons enjoyed an impressive 28-16 win over the Warriors on the Sunshine Coast last Saturday night.

Anthony Griffin’s side picked up where they left off in the pre-season, with winger Mikaele Ravalawa scoring a hat-trick and ex-Wests Tigers captain Moses Mbye scoring under the posts in his debut game for the club.

Experienced heads Jaydn Su’A, Aaron Woods and Francis Molo were the other debutants, and this experience could see the Dragons continue their push up the ladder, despite pre-season predictions of another dire campaign for the Red V.

While the Dragons should present a genuine challenge to the Panthers, the reigning premiers’ class should win out in the end.

Prediction: Panthers by eight points.

Roosters versus Sea Eagles
Two sides coming off contrasting disappointing performances come face-to-face at the SCG for the first time since their semi-final clash in Mackay last year.

An error-riddled performance from the Roosters saw them lose 20-6 to the Knights, thus losing to the men from the city of steel at home for the first time since 2009.

Only a try to returning centre Paul Momirovski with less than five minutes remaining saved them from the embarrassment of being held tryless, but it will have coach Trent Robinson scratching his head as to how his side could’ve produced such an inept first-up effort.

It wasn’t the ideal start to the season for the side many are expecting to feature at the pointy end of the season, but it must be noted that in each of the Roosters’ three title-winning seasons under Robinson (2013, 2018 and 2019), they did lose the opening game.

Thus, it’s not the end of the world for the Chooks, nor will it be for the Sea Eagles, who were unfortunate to have copped the short straw in being the spectators of the Panthers’ premiership homecoming last Thursday night.

The Silvertails could consider themselves lucky to only be down by 12-6 at the break after new recruit Ethan Bullemor pegged back a try on the half-time siren, but fell apart as the mountain men ran riot thereafter to start their premiership defence.

Last year’s Dally M Medallist Tom Trbojevic, and veteran halfback Daly Cherry-Evans were both shut out of the match as the Sea Eagles lost in Round 1 for the ninth year in a row.

Thus, the onus would be on the two of them, as well as the rest of the side, to hit back hard this Friday night. And they’ll have to do it at the venue where they copped a 46-4 hiding in Round 1 last season, though the Silvertails did win their finals encounter in Mackay last September.

It’s not like the Roosters to put together two bad performances in a row and at home for the second consecutive week, they should hit back.

Prediction: Roosters by 14 points.

Titans versus Warriors
NRLW: Titans versus Broncos
A huge double header awaits Gold Coast sporting fans on Saturday, with the Titans and Broncos going head to head in the first NRLW Queensland derby in the afternoon, before the Titans’ men’s team face the Sunshine Coast-based Warriors in a derby of sorts.

The Titans took the challenge right up to the more experienced and talented Eels at CommBank Stadium last Sunday, being level at 10-all at half-time, before going down 24-14.

Meantime, the Broncos were stretched to their limits against the Dragons but managed to find their way out of trouble with Hagiga Mosby scoring the match-winning try with five minutes remaining to protect their undefeated start to the season.

But they did concede 18 points, making this the most points they’ve conceded in a single match in the NRLW’s short history.

The first true NRLW derby comes as the Cowboys prepare their bid to enter the expanded competition in 2023, following the news that the league would expand to ten teams by 2024.

Following this, the Titans’ men’s team will look to put behind their frustrating loss to the Eels behind them when they face the Warriors, who will remain based on the Sunshine Coast for at least the first half of the season while they remain shut out of their home country.

An entertaining first half saw nine tries scored – five to the Eels and four to the Titans – and while Phillip Sami scored the only try after half-time, some ill-discipline saw Justin Holbrook’s side go down by 32-28 thanks to three penalty goals from Mitchell Moses.

The men from the holiday strip will start favourites against the Warriors, who are coming off a 28-16 defeat to the Dragons, which was compounded by injuries to key players including returning halfback Shaun Johnson and winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.

Both are expected to miss at least a month, which is unwelcome news to coach Nathan Brown who is already starting to feel the pump with his side facing the prospect of a third consecutive season based in Australia, with New Zealand’s full border reopening plans still unclear.

They did manage to take the lead 16-14 shortly after half-time, but capitulated to go down by 12 points, leaving them in 14th place on the ladder.

Now they face a side to whom they lost their final match of last season by 44-0, and another defeat of that nature could leave them reeling for the remainder of the season.

Prediction: Titans by six points.

Sharks versus Eels
After two seasons of having to play out of Kogarah Oval, the Cronulla Sharks will finally return home to Shark Park when they welcome the Parramatta Eels in their first true home game in the Shire since 2019.

While there were no major redevelopment works at their spiritual ground, those at the neighbouring leagues club has seen the ground’s capacity reduced by roughly 40 per cent – from 20,000 down to 12,000.

Last Friday night, the Sharks suffered last-minute heartbreak against the Raiders in Canberra, going down 24-19 after having a try denied at the death after one of their players was held up, shortly after Matt Moylan had kicked a field goal to put them up by 19-18 minutes earlier.

It would have been Craig Fitzgibbon’s first match as coach, only for a COVID diagnosis to keep him out of the coaches box on game day, meaning this Saturday night’s clash against the Eels will officially mark his NRL coaching debut.

The pre-season fancies began their quest to smash their 35-year premiership hoodoo – the longest of any side excluding the title-less Titans and Warriors – with an entertaining 32-28 win over the Titans at Commbank Stadium last Sunday.

Among the five tries they scored in the first half included a hat trick to Sean Russell, but after they led 26-22 at half-time, their only points thereafter came via three penalty goals to Mitchell Moses, enough to see them hold off the Gold Coasters at home.

Brad Arthur’s side will now start favourites to ruin the Sharks’ homecoming, which would see them start the season 2-0 and continue to build nicely as the season progresses.

Prediction: Eels by six points.

Cowboys versus Raiders
A disallowed try to Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow denied the Cowboys victory against the Bulldogs last Sunday but they will get the chance to put it behind them when they stay in the tropics for another week, this time hosting the Canberra Raiders.

It was a tough first season for coach Todd Payten as the club continues to learn to play in the post-Johnathan Thurston era, but you could not question the effort of the players as they pushed hard for a season-opening victory in front of their fans.

In fact, they led 4-0 at half-time after Tom Gilbert scored the only try of the first half, before falling behind ten minutes after the resumption.

Then, with two minutes remaining, Tabuai-Fidow thought he’d won it for the northerners only for the bunker to intervene and red-light the try after replays showed he was marginally offside when Chad Townsend put up the bomb to set up the try that ended up not being so.

They will fancy themselves against a Raiders side that is buzzing following their last-gasp win over the Sharks at home, after which coach Ricky Stuart was at his typically animated best as he tries to deliver a premiership to the nation’s capital for the first time in 28 years.

Despite losing veteran forward Josh Hodgson to a knee injury, which turned out not to be as serious as first thought, the Green Machine shot out to an early lead against the Sharks, only to then fall behind by 19-18 entering the final five minutes of the match.

In the end, it was Hudson Young who scored the match-winning try as the Raiders toasted Jack Wighton in his 200th game, but not before another major scare when some epic defence on the line prevented a Sharks try right at the death.

Stuart’s side now return to the scene of their Round 7 collapse from last season, whereby they led 24-6 before an epic comeback from the Cowboys saw them storm home for a 26-24 win.

After last week’s heartbreaker, I think the Cowboys will hit back and win it in front of their home fans.

Prediction: Cowboys by six points.

Knights versus Wests Tigers
NRLW: Eels versus Roosters, Knights versus Dragons
A huge triple-header in Newcastle sees two NRLW matches take place in the early afternoon before the Knights look to build on their season-opening upset win over the Roosters when they tackle the Wests Tigers at 4:00pm.

At 12:00pm it is the third-placed Eels up against the fifth-placed Roosters, with the latter team in particular needing a win if they are to remain in finals contention and level their season ledger with one round to play after this weekend.

The Eels were ultra impressive against the Titans in front of their fans last Sunday, with Botille Vette-Welsh a clear best-on-ground as they won by 24-14, putting the previous week’s shutout loss at the hands of the Dragons behind them in the process.

Meantime, the Roosters were simply too strong for the Knights, winning 28-12 with Jessica Sergis shaking off an injury concern to be among her side’s best players.

The Novocastrians are the only side yet to get off the mark and will face a daunting task against the Dragons, who despite being ravaged by injuries and suspension managed to push the Broncos all the way before losing to the premiership favourites by 22-18.

In a major boost to the Red V’s premiership bid, Kodi House and Madison Bartlett will both return after serving one-match suspensions last week while Kezie Apps is a chance to return after missing two matches due to a broken hand.

Despite the setbacks, the Dragons have been surprisingly competitive under coach Jamie Soward and while they will start favourites on Sunday, they will be wary of a Knights side keen to break their duck in front of their fans.

In the men’s match, the Knights will look to make it a 2-0 start to the season against the Wests Tigers, who put up a spirited showing against the Melbourne Storm before losing 26-16.

It was a vast improvement on their previous meeting against the Storm, where they suffered a humiliating 66-16 defeat, which had coach Michael Maguire on the brink of being sacked, before he won a stay of execution last September.

The Tigers can take heart that they did beat the Knights in both meetings last year, including in their previous visit to Newcastle in Round 4 last season.

For the Knights, last week’s upset win over the Roosters at the SCG, which marked their first ever win at the venue, will count for nothing if they don’t back it up in front of their home fans this Sunday.

Prediction: Knights by 12 points.

Bulldogs versus Broncos
The final match of the round pits together the past two wooden spooners, who both enter with a chance to go 2-0 on the season.

While the new-look Broncos impressed in their 11-4 win over the Rabbitohs at home, the Bulldogs, who won only three games last season but did win their final match by 38-0 against the Wests Tigers, grounded out a gritty 6-4 win over the Cowboys in Townsville.

After being ruled out of the opening round due to a COVID-19 diagnosis, Adam Reynolds is set to finally make his club debut and it will come against the side he and his old club the Rabbitohs beat to win the premiership eight years ago.

In his absence, it was another high-profile recruit, Kurt Capewell, who stepped up to boot an important field goal – something Reynolds has done many times – to give the men from Red Hill their first Round 1 win at Suncorp Stadium since 2010.

While Reynolds’ experience will be valuable to the Broncos, they’ll want to back up their win over the Rabbitohs with a win over the Bulldogs, who lost four players to HIA injuries yet still managed to outlast the Cowboys in a low-scoring slugfest in the tropics.

New recruits Josh Addo-Carr, Matt Dufty, Paul Vaughan and Matt Burton all debuted for the club as the pressure on second-year coach Trent Barrett was alleviated for now. The club has not played finals since 2016 nor won a post-season match since 2015.

This will be the first match for the season to be played at the newly-renamed Accor Stadium, which has unveiled a brand new, long, high-definition screen at its southern end – though it will be put in use for the first time at the previous night’s AFL Sydney derby between the GWS Giants and Sydney Swans.

While both the Bulldogs and Broncos will look to impress, Adam Reynolds and co will marshal the men from Red Hill to a 2-0 start to the season.

Prediction: Broncos by 14 points.