The games on Thursday and Friday were all very entertaining and today and tomorrow has a few gems as well. Let's get into the remainder of the Round 2 games in the NRL.
Saturday:
Warriors at Roosters
New Zealand had a very solid win in Round 1 led by a revitalised Charnze Nickoll-Klokstad playing great on the backend. The Roosters were embarrassed by the upstart Dolphins and will be looking for a bounce back win. I think they will pick it up, with the Rooster's depth and class across the park showing up. Look for Teddy T to have a monster game and Joey Manu cashing in with multiple tries against his countrymen in a walk away victory for the Chooks.
Rooster 34 over Warriors 14
Raiders at Dolphins
Canberra was spirited in their close loss to the Cowboys, and will be looking to carry some positives from the game into Brisbane. The Dolphins had an incredible debut, showing spirit rarely seen in Round 1. Their veterans played great, and the young guns will develop quickly under legendary coach Bennett. I can see a close, defensive battle with the Raiders using opportunistic attacking football to pull out a close victory on the road.
Raiders 16 over Dolphins 12
Bulldogs at Storm
The Doggies have made a number of bigtime signings over the last few years, but early returns are not good. They are a disparate collection of talented parts without the glue to hold them together. The Storm, on the other hand, have lost many bolted-on names to free agency, but keep a core led by Hughes, Grant and Munster (currently injured) that ensures they are in every game. Watch for Melbourne to suffocate the Bulldogs with early kicks and defensive pressure. The attack for the Storm will suffer without their star in Munster, but they won't need many points to get the victory.
Storm 18 over Bulldogs 4
Sunday:
Knights at Wests Tigers
Two wooden spoon contenders, this might be a situation of first team to score wins. Hard to believe that this is the televised game, and will be a snooze fest. That's all I have to say about that.
Knights 12 over Wests 6
Titans at Dragons
The Dragons had a strange off-season, with a strange round 1 bye to start off the regular season. I'm not sure what to make of St George, but the Titans will be looking to take another step towards finals football, and I can see them getting their second win in as many rounds this week. Look for the Titans to lean on their athletic forward pack, and exert their will against the Dragons, who seem to have a leadership problem at the moment. If the Titans can force some early errors, I can see St George crumbling.
Titans 24 over Dragons 14
It is still too early to pick finals contenders, but so far, we have had some great football. Remember to check out our podcast previewing this week, and share with any NRL fans you know!
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