A summary of Redcliffe vs Easts

So Round 1 has come and gone, the Storm’s Round 1 streak makes it to 22 years, crowds and ratings are up by double figure percentages, and much to my surprise I actually got 5/8 instead of 4/8, as it turns out I did indeed pick Souths instead of Cronulla, so I was on for a 7/8 instead of a 6/8 before the upsets to the Queenslanders on Sunday left me with the time-honoured 5/8.

After sitting top following Round 1, Manly get the bye this week, and there’s a couple of unique matchups in Round 2, as there are every damn week:

-It’s lowly Penrith against Souths on Thursday night in a 2021 Grand Final + 2022 Prelim Final royal rumble rematch, as Penrith come to terms with Spencer Lenui describing Easts as the “Pinnacle of the NRL” after signing with them, despite the fact he’s leaving the club that have won the last 2 premierships.

-Parramatta vs Cronulla in the 6pm Friday game, as Cronulla prepare to write off 2023 and turn their attention to getting the Sutherland Sharks FC into Football Australia’s national 2nd Division league in 2024… Unless Nico Hynes plays this week, which at the moment is a NO.

-A good-old fashioned pineapple grapple between the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys on Friday night in the feature timeslot at Lang Park, with one of these teams due to become the first Queensland-based team to lose a game this season.

-The Roosters play their first game at the rebuilt Allianz Stadium against a team that isn’t South Sydney, with the New Zealand Warriors being the guests at Moore Park.

-The murderous Redcliffe Dolphins play their inaugural game in Redcliffe against the Raiders during the Saturday twilight slot, and after getting 32,000 for their inaugural NRL game at Lang Park, their inaugural game at Dolphin/Kayo Stadium is now a confirmed sellout of somewhere around 11,000:

-After the golden point win on Thursday, the Storm play the Bulldogs, who became the first team since the 1999 Western Suburbs Magpies to finish a round in 17th position, and if history is any guide, the Bulldogs are going to get merged out of First Grade

-A classic case of a cripple fight on Sunday afternoon on national television between Wests and Newcastle at Leichhardt, as the Eighth Wonder of the World plays host to a team doing their best to recreate the Silly Walks sketch from Monty Python’s Flying Circus

-And the last game of the weekend features St George-Illawarra in their first game of 2023 against the Gold Coast Titans… A team of rank amateurs against the Titans.

Now, here are my Succinct Tips for Round 2:

Round 1 Score = 5/8, Progress Score = 5/8 (62.5%)

And now, the Round 2 LOCK OF THE WEEK, and we started with a very rare win as the Cowboys managed to fall into victory 19-18 after being 18-0 up….

6pm Friday night, the place to be in Sydney will be EEL-ECTRIC AVENUE, as the Eels celebrate Eddy Grant’s 75th birthday!