It took a while, but Round 1 of the 2024 NRL season is in the books and ended up as a nightmare for tipsters and underdogs dominated.
Upset Round
The opening rounds of an NRL season often come down more to effort and basics than it does to flashy plays and superstar players. It’s clunky. Despite a summer of training together, cohesion in a game is different and something that can only develop on weekends.
At its best, the NRL is the closest professional sporting competition in the world, and Round 1 showed exactly why. What happened in Vegas didn’t stay in Vegas as the upsets continued.
Ricky Stuart’s Canberra Raiders, who many tipped to run last, upset a Newcastle Knights side that flew home to finish the 2023 NRL season. The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks came back to beat the New Zealand Warriors at a packed Mt Smart Stadium while the Melbourne Storm extended their incredible Round 1 run with a win over the Penrith Panthers.
As expected by many, the Parramatta Eels made relatively light work of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 26-8 at CommBank Stadium. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the round, the St George-Illawarra Dragons thrashed the Gold Coast Titans 28-4 on the road.
My coach 😤 @FOXNRL #redv pic.twitter.com/DTbXV6Etf8
— Red V Podcast (@RedVPodcast1) March 9, 2024
To wrap up the round, the North Queensland Cowboys handed the Dolphins a bit of a reality check in their 43-18 win at Suncorp Stadium.
In the build-up, it felt like this season would be a close one. There is a long way to go, and it might still all end with the Penrith Panthers winning it. But most teams appear to be in a better position to start this season than they ended the last, with every team, right now, circling a spot in the Top 8.
Player Spotlight: Kalyn Ponga
Kalyn Ponga controversially ended the 2023 NRL season with the Dally M Medal around his neck but got off to a patchy start in 2024.
Some commentary compared his Round 1 performance to his spells in the halves. That is a little bit harsh given the half-chances he was part of but he didn’t quite execute.
He should have had a try assist after breaking into the backfield and sending Tyson Gamble over, only to be called back for an obstruction. Down the left edge late, he pushed up around his backrower but couldn’t reel in an offload that should have ended in points.
"He's massive.. He's pretty imposing and has great skills.. He has an offload like @SonnyBWilliams.. He'll be playing on the left with Kalyn Ponga so KP with KPP"@BarryToohey on @NRLKnights recruit Kai Pearce-Paul@SENLeague | #NRLKnightsRaiders pic.twitter.com/sXl1McishN
— The Run Home with Joel & Fletch (@JoelFletchSEN) March 7, 2024
Should’a, could’a, would’a, didn’t.
But that doesn’t mean he won’t.
Ponga popped up in dangerous positions. He also took possession in some slightly different ways from last season. Physically, the 25-year-old looked as big and strong as he ever has, and it showed in the way he returned the football.
The Knights were clunky overall. Gamble and Jackson Hastings struggled to provide him with clean ball at times. Still, Ponga looked dangerous in limited opportunities and will only look better in the coming weeks.
NRL Team of Round 1: St George Illawarra Dragons
It’s not always the ‘best’ performing that is named Team of the Round. In this case, it’s the St George-Illawarra Dragons for exceeding expectations and breathing fire on the Gold Coast Titans.
The general consensus is for the Dragons to finish with the wooden spoon. Little changed from last year from a team list perspective. Instead, the major adjustment came in the coaches box where Shane Flanagan has taken over. Naturally, he has signed his son to play in the halves alongside Ben Hunt.
If there is ever a time to preface an NRL take with “it’s only Round 1”, the Red V’s win over the Titans is it.
They looked great with the ball. The attack threw some nice shapes at the defence; Tyrell Sloan found a lot of success backing up through the middle, with Zac Lomax, Moses Suli and Jack Bird doing a good job to make up for his deficiencies in yardage. With the Molo brothers churning out 100+ metres, the Dragons ran for over 250 more metres than the Titans. An impressive feat against a pack boasting Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Moeaki Fotuaika.
The key for the Dragons now is to back it up against the Dolphins in Round 2.
The Highlight Reel
Defence remains a concern for Tyrell Sloan, but he wasn’t asked to make many tackles in Round 1. Instead, he dominated the Titans through classic fullback play to score three tries while running for 107 metres and breaking five tackles.
Match Highlights 🎥 – #NRLTitansDragons
A Tyrell Sloan hat-trick led the Dragons to a statement win over the Titans! pic.twitter.com/nkSprSxa6b
— NRL (@NRL) March 9, 2024
The Numbers Game
Each week, we will try to pick out some of the most impressive numbers from the round that was…
Phoenix Crossland has come under fire for his overall performance against the Raiders on Thursday night, but his effort can’t be faulted while leading the round with 59 tackles. He had plenty of opportunities to pile up his numbers as the Knights played with only 45% possession. Ricky Stuart knows exactly what it takes to win early-round games and had his team complete at 90% in this one.
Tohu Harris is the definition of a Warrior: 80 minutes, 237 running metres, 37 tackles, 0 missed.
Even more so than Stuart, Craig Bellamy is a Round 1 wizard. He extended his winning streak in season openers with a hearty 8-0 win over the defending premier Panthers. Unlike the Raiders, the Storm completed only 68% of their sets but managed to win possession and, as is often the case early on in an NRL season, win the game.
No team has ever been kept scoreless in Round 1 and won the comp 🥴 #NRL #penrithpanthers pic.twitter.com/MPDhACVeUq
— Random Stats Guy (@randostatsguy) March 10, 2024
Offload Watch will be a feature for the Parramatta Eels early on. They’re constantly in the Top 2 for offloads per game and let go of 16 in this one. Worryingly for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the perception of their forward pack, they managed only 1,190 running metres.
The result didn’t go the Titans’ way. Their attack struggled for only one line break. Always one of the most exciting attacking teams regardless of their ladder position, line breaks are something to keep an eye on against the Bulldogs in Round 3.
It had been a long wait since Round 1 officially kicked off, but the North Queensland Cowboys came out firing. Yardage is crucial early in the season. Maintaining possession and putting the opposition in tough spots on the field often translates into competition points. In this case, the Cowboys clocked up 2,078 running metres, spent five more minutes with the ball than the Dolphins, and sit at the top of the NRL ladder following their 43-18 win.