Opinion
Rugby league has a knack of telling some of the best stories. Here are three examples.
The New Zealand Warriors are defying every prediction or opinion on them before the beginning of the season, as they’ve become the favourite story so far.
The Warriors have won four of their opening five matches this campaign and are currently on a three-game win streak.
Anyone who thought they had a couple strokes of luck, was proved wrong on the weekend.
The Warriors looked to be back, as they were down 20-0 at one point during the second half, however they made an unbelievable comeback and squared the game up at thirty a piece.
Shaun Johnson kicked a penalty goal in the final minute, before Nicho Hynes missing his attempt to send the game into golden point. This win is a representation of the Warriors season so far. Their strongest asset has been their defence, especially in key moments.
Despite allowing the Sharks to score easier than a Sunday stroll, their defence turned around in the second half and conceded just four points in that period.
The Warriors held an average of just fifteen points scored against them before the high scoring clash in the Shire. In previous years, many have thought of this team as a side which just makes up the numbers and like myself thought they’d hit rock bottom this season.
I understand it has only been five weeks of footy and they could easily find themselves at the bottom of the table later in the year, however they perform the best out of the teams which don’t look as good as others on paper. New Zealand have an important stretch of games coming up.
They face North Queensland, Melbourne, Roosters, Panthers and Broncos all in the next eight weeks. It’s fair to say that the Warriors is a popular second favourite team and plenty of neutrals may hop on the train if they continue this strong form.
Marata Niukore and Shaun Johnson celebrate. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
The first ever ‘battle of Brisbane’ fixture delivered oh so sweetly, as it felt like an Origin atmosphere and both teams were playing like it was a Grand Final.
A premiership wasn’t at stake, however early dominance over the city was certainly being played for. Southeast Queensland feels electric at the moment, especially with Broncos sitting at the top of the table and the Dolphins surprising everyone.
The NRL’s new toy began the season 3-0, however have fell back down to Earth, as they now face the reality of no depth, as any team which was stupidly given just eighteen months to prepare would.
Halfback, Sean O’Sullivan’s devastating peck injury has placed a huge dint in their strong start to the season, although Wayne Bennet’s side has already proved enough and there’s no reason to be disappointed as a phins fan.
These two teams battle it out again in round eighteen, instead this time being hosted at the Gabba, due to the Women’s FIFA World Cup being held at Suncorp during that period.
Hopefully, that fixture can deliver as well as the first did. These two sides have the ability to become one of the biggest rivalries in world sports and isn’t as historic as Roosters vs Rabbitohs, however could be close to as big of a rivalry in decades time.
The Newcastle knights are one of the biggest surprise packages to begin the season and the pressure has been laid off coach, Adam O’Brien.
Newcastle currently holds a .500 record, including a draw on the weekend against Manly. This game represented Newcastle’s mindset this season to never give up, despite the way the momentum looks to be going.
Their two losses have come in a fairly close affair against the in-form Warriors and a try fest against the Dolphins in round three. Since then, they haven’t conceded a game and were a field goal away from being on a three-game win streak.
I must admit, I was a huge doubter of the Knights before seasons kick-off, as I predicted them to win the wooden spoon. I stand by my prediction, as we’re only five rounds in and they could easily have a diabolical season and finish last, maybe even fall further than the poor old tigers.
They haven’t beaten a top tier team yet and I think a game to mark on the calendar as a Knights fan would be in two rounds time against Penrith. This will give a good idea of where they truly are as a footy team.
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All the team list information for Round 9.
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Whether it is for his football form or comments around his Aboriginal heritage, Mitchell may just be the most talked about player in the history of the game.
