We’re two Rounds into the NRL season and the ladder is slowly beginning to take shape.
An unfamiliar shape, to be fair, as the Sea Eagles, Dolphins and Dragons; clubs who many expected to be languishing towards the bottom all season, currently lead the way.
The Sea Eagles are fresh from a bye and back in action first-up against the struggling Eels on Thursday night, before another quality Friday slate is headlined by another meeting between historic rivals the Roosters and Rabbitohs.
The Panthers are on the bye, but there are eight matches to sink our teeth into in Round 3 of the NRL Premiership season!
Are Manly actually good in 2023?
Probably far too early to make that call, but one thing that does look pretty clear: the Eels are not.
Look away #PARRAdise fans… again! 😬
The Eels are winless this season, and @JharalYowYeh5 & @JaredTimms think they could go 0-5! Are they still in hunt for the 2023 #NRL Premiership? pic.twitter.com/S9L8yMyBIc— Neds (@NedsAus) March 13, 2023
In all seriousness, the Eels should be beating understrength opponents like the Sharks if they are any chance of going one better than last season’s Grand Final loss, and early signs suggest they will fall down the ladder in 2023.
The Sea Eagles really don’t have a lot to lose, and I thought that was underlined by a tight effort in Round 7.
Given that their Round 1 opponents, Canterbury, have since come out and beaten the Storm comfortably in Melbourne, the form looks good for another win in Round 3.
The Knights recorded their first win of the season in Round 2, but they’ll need to go to another level to overcome the undefeated Dolphins in the Hunter on Friday evening.
They looked one-dimensional, lacking of fitness and overall skill in their Round 1 loss to the Warriors, but to their credit, the Knights looked an improved side against the Tigers last week.
That win, while tight, was made more impressive given they were forced to go most of the way without Kalyn Ponga, while also being reduced to twelve men for the final 15 minutes of play.
What will the toll of that physical game be, however, and will they be able to do it without key players again this week?
How about the Dolphins?
They simply could not have asked for a better start to the season, and understandably, they have opened favourites for the first time ahead of this Round 3 clash.
Felise Kaufusi is arguably in career-best form, but there is something to like about what nearly every player is bringing to the table.
I could go on for a while, but I think they’ll be winning what is arguably their easiest assignment to date, and win well.
Betting suggests that the match of the round will materialise between the Roosters and Rabbitohs in Friday primetime, and it isn’t too hard to see why.
The Roosters were stunned by the Dolphins in Round 1, but given all the factors rolled into that game, I don’t actually think it was as shocking as first thought.
The Roosters themselves clearly needed the run, they needed an early wake up call, and it all seemed to have worked when they came out in Round 2 and recorded a tough win over Round 1 winners the Warriors.
I’m confident they’ll take further improvement for that hit-out, and everything does look to be falling back into place in the Eastern Suburbs.
The Bunnies were too strong for the Sharks in Round 1, but they were muscled out of their Round 2 contest with the reigning premiers, despite competing for the full eighty minutes.
They too with take further improvement into this clash, while they always seem to find their best against the Roosters, particularly recently in winning three of their last four meetings.
I’m anticipating a real arm-wrestle this week and ultimately, defence to prove the difference, and that is echoed in my tip.
Saturday’s three-game slate kicks off with an intriguing clash between the Titans and the Storm on the Gold Coast.
Intriguing IF the Titans bring their best and obviously, that is a big if.
I thought that there was a lot to like about their effort and win in Round 1, and it went a long way towards bolstering my confidence in them making the Top 8 this season; my ‘bold prediction’ from Episode 1 of the Neds NRL Punting Podcast.
That confidence was shot down a bit in Round 2, however, when they were quite comfortably beaten by the Dragons.
The Storm meanwhile were too good for the Eels first-up, but they too came crashing back down to earth when finding themselves on the receiving end of a comfortable loss at home and TO THE BULLDOGS. Wot.
This game is intriguing because clearly, the Storm aren’t at anything close to their best.
That being said, it is hard imagining the Storm not responding to last week’s effort, and they probably do just win this.
The action heads back to Townsville later on Saturday afternoon, and both the Cowboys and Warriors will be eager to bounce back from Round 2 losses.
The Cowboys just snuck past the Raiders in Round 1 after going to sleep in the second forty of that clash, before suffering a rather handy defeat to fierce rivals the Broncos in Round 2.
I thought that the scoreline in that game (28-16) was probably a little flattering to the Cows as well, and it could have very easily been a lot worse.
The Warriors warmed into their Round 1 clash with the Knights before ultimately icing the result, while I thought that there were still things to like about their Round 2 clash with the Roosters despite losing.
Fitter third-up and without a lot expected of them this week (if the market is to be believed), I think that the ambush actually could be on here.
That being said, I am taking the safer option of them covering a 9.5-point line as outsiders.
While betting suggests otherwise, I personally think that one of, if not the match of the week will occur between the Broncos and Dragons in Brisbane on Saturday night.
The Broncos step out in Week 3 undefeated and following another confidence-boosting win over the Cowboys.
Things look to be good at Red Hill, but to be fair, they actually were for a good portion of the 2022 season before it all went to s**t late in the picture. The task for Kevin Walters and the entire Broncos operation this season is having it last all the way through to September.
The Dragons had the bye in Week 1, before coming out and delivering the Titans a comfortable defeat in Round 2, who themselves had been in winning form.
Do I think that the Dragons are a finals-quality side in 2023? No. But I also didn’t expect them to play as well as they did first-up, and I think they’ll only improve for it.
Same Game Multi selections:
- Over 43.5 Points
- Herbie Farnworth Anytime Try
Sunday kicks off in Sydney’s west with what now shapes as a decent derby between the Bulldogs and the Tigers.
The Dogs’ performance against Manly left plenty to the imagination and understandably, they were given virtually no chance of competing with the Storm in Melbourne, in Round 2.
In what could very well have been one of the biggest immediate turns in form for many seasons though, they rallied to record a win, and a dominant win at that.
The Tigers do remain winless through the first two weeks of the competition, but they haven’t been destroyed in either game by any stretch of the imagination, and they do look to be (slowly) finding their feet.
The Bulldogs have been so bad for so long that I really need to see them perform like they did in Round 2 a few times in succession before I believe them.
One of the better Super League rivalries will be reignited in the nation’s capital on Sunday afternoon.
To their credit, the Raiders have been in both of their matches this season for the full eighty minutes, but to their detriment, they’ve lost both of them.
I still have them finishing in the bottom four this season because clearly, they don’t quite know how to win yet, but they have been more competitive than I previously anticipated.
The Sharks meanwhile remain a top four side in my books, and that has only been strengthen by their performances against the Bunnies and the Eels without key players.
A repeat of either of their first two performances would be enough to win this, and I think that it looms as a bit of an open and shut case.