NRL Weekly Wrap: Reviewing Round 1

Raiders stun Knights in the Hunter

The Raiders came away with an upset win against the Knights 28-12 in Thursday Night Football at McDonald Jones Stadium.

New recruit Zac Hosking went over for the Green Machine 25 minutes in after a sloppy opening before a Hudson Young sin bin paved the way for veteran back rower Tyson Frizell to storm over.

Danny Levi burrowed his way over to extend the Canberra lead on the other side of the break before Xavier Savage, Jordan Rapana, and Young all crossed to seal an ambush win for Ricky Stuart’s men.

Rapana was strong at the back for the visitors scoring a try and running for a team-high 186 metres whilst Englishman Morgan Smithies ran for 108 metres and made a team-high 46 tackles in his NRL debut.

For the hosts, Dane Gagai ran for a game-high 210 metres with five tackle breaks and made 14 tackles without a miss whilst Kalyn Ponga ran for 190 metres with four tackle breaks.

Gritty Sharks outlast Warriors in NZ

The Sharks overcame a rampaging Warriors start to run out 16-12 winners at Go Media Stadium on Friday evening.

The Warriors leapt out to a 12-0 lead early behind tries to Addin Fonua-Blake and Luke Metcalf before Jesse Ramien snagged one for the visitors just shy of the break.

Ronaldo Mulitalo scored the Sharks’ second shortly after halftime before Siosifa Talakai notched the eventual match-winner just shy of the hour-mark.

Talakai scored a try, assisted on another, and ran for a team-high 161 metres whilst Toby Rudolf and Tom Hazelton combined for 254 metres and 36 tackles off the bench.

For the Warriors, Fonua-Blake and Tohu Harris ran for a combined 457 metres and made 60 tackles without a miss whilst Roger Tuivasa-Sheck ran for 173 metres with five tackle breaks in his NRL return.

Storm slug out win vs. defending champs

A dogged affair at AAMI Park resulted in the Storm knocking off the Panthers 8-0 to continue their unbeaten Round 1 streak on Friday night.

The hosts took a 2-0 lead into the sheds with a Nick Meaney penalty goal the only points of what was a scrappy opening stanza.

Reimis Smith crossed 49 minutes in for what proved to be the contest’s only four-pointer as the Storm shut out the defending premiers for the second time in three seasons.

Xavier Coates assisted on a try, ran for 158 metres, and came up with several big defensive stops for the Storm whilst Eliesa Katoa ran for 122 metres and made 36 tackles on the edge.

For Penrith, Taylan May ran for 157 metres with seven tackle breaks and two line breaks in his first game back since missing last season with an ACL tear whilst Isaah Yeo ran for 175 metres with five tackle breaks and made 32 tackles.

Eels too strong for revamped Dogs at CommBank

The Eels kicked off their 2024 season in strong fashion with a 26-8 win over the Bulldogs at CommBank Stadium on Saturday evening.

Tries to Morgan Harper and Bryce Cartwright saw the Eels take a 14-0 lead into the sheds.

Cartwright grabbed a second on the other side of halftime to stretch the lead further before a couple of late Bulldogs tries improved the final score for the Dogs.

Cartwright scored two, ran for 114 metres, and made 22 tackles for the Eels whilst Harper scored a try, assisted on another, and ran for 124 metres in his club debut.

Blake Wilson scored a try and ran for 148 metres with four tackle breaks for Canterbury.

Dragons kick-off Flanagan Era with Gold Coast statement

The Dragons came away with a big 28-4 win over the Titans at Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday night to usher in the Shane Flanagan Era.

Tyrell Sloan crossed for the Red V just two minutes in before an error-riddled period saw the hosts claim their first points through Alofiana Khan-Pereira just shy of the break.

The second half was all the Dragons however with Kyle Flanagan and Zac Lomax both nabbing tries along with another two for Sloan as he notched the first hat-trick of his NRL career.

Sloan scored three and ran for 107 metres with five tackle breaks whilst Lomax scored a try and ran for a game-high 266 metres.

For the Titans, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui ran for 197 metres from 23 carries and made 28 tackles.

Cowboys run through lacklustre Dolphins at Suncorp

The Cowboys rocketed atop the competition ladder with a 43-18 win over the Dolphins at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

A back-and-forth opening half saw the Cowboys take a 31-12 edge into the break with tries to Zac Laybutt, Tom Dearden, Jeremiah Nanai, Kyle Feldt and Murray Taulagi.

Heilum Luki crossed after the half and Laybutt grabbed a second to seal the win for the visitors.

Laybutt scored a try, assisted on another, and ran for 175 metres with five tackle breaks whilst Dearden scored a try, ran for 96 metres with four tackle breaks, and made 22 tackles.

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