Manly were the big winners this weekend totally blitzing the big winners of round one Newcastle this evening 32- Nil. The Knights lost by the same margin they won by last week, instantly killing any for and against advantage they gained.
The win still wasn't enough for Manly to take top spot as the Storm had another convincing win this weekend against the Cowboys 32-10, their second win by twenty points or more.
Out of the other teams with only one win on the board so far, the Titans have the highest spot after their demolition of the Raiders 36-nil, another team in crisis this season.
In other games, Tigers held off the Panthers 28-18 in what can only be described as a rubbish display of football. Roosters edged out a late finishing Warriors outfit 16-14 and the Broncos were pretty solid against a fairly flat Dragons side 22-6.
The round kicked off on Thursday night at ANZ Stadium with the local derby being the Eels vs Bulldogs.
I went out to this game, my first for the year and there was a pretty strong crowd of 25,000 and from my seat it definitely was bogan central, topped only by the Panthers/Tigers crowd today.
The Eels had the better form going into the game but the pairing of Hayne/Sandow was well contained by the Bulldogs defence. In what was a scoreless second half it was still an exciting affair which was only detracted by both teams clearly suffering from the pace it was played.
Another disappointment was the penalty count which people interpret differently but there were some one sided penalties taking place when both sides were guilty of the same offence. I have not checked the stats post-match but I am pretty certain the Eels did not concede a penalty in the second half.
In both of their games this season, the Bulldogs have failed to score a point in the second half. They were trounced in Round one in the second half by the Cowboys but they managed to hang on against the Eels.
Next Thursday sees the Bulldogs playing the Storm in Melbourne in what will be a Grand Final re-match but on paper and on form one can only expect another massacre by Melbourne who should win by 20 points or more. But football is a funny game.
A big game ends Round two tomorrow when the Bunnies take on the Cronulla Question Marks. Both won their first match so one team will join the Storm and Sea Eagles at the top of the table.
I have to say I have been pretty disappointed with the football I have watched on TV so far. The quality of the action to me seems down on that which we were seeing at the beginning of last season. It is a scrappier and dull style of play overall and very few games have been close encounters. To me it feels like most teams are still in trial mode and we might start to see some plays being more successful as April rolls around. Right now I see experimental plays and most are not hitting their mark and the error count is embarrassing.
Also a final comment about Thursday night Football - perhaps you enjoy another night of footy on the TV but let me explain its impact to a spectator who supports a club financially as a member and physically ventures out amongst the scary people who follow football, in particular my team, to view and cheer them on in support.
Thursday is a work night for me and I'm sure the majority of the supporters, and the game is scheduled to start at 805pm. Last year the Friday night Games started at 745pm at the latest and the Monday night games, another work night, start at 7pm. The game last Thursday kicked off at 815pm and finished after 10pm. A crowd of 25000 had to then get home and I was going by Train back to Redfern and I didn't get home until 1130pm.
If its a weekend you don't care but when you have another day of work to get through, and its the end of the week so you're not at your freshest, it really is a terrible time to go to watch football. I think if they insist on Thursday night games, they should not be included in membership prices and you should be able to opt out of it.
But its not about the money, we want to go to the game and watch the football, we don't want to have to watch all the games at home and be subjected to Tom Waterhouse's head every 5 minutes.
Go To http://www.bulldogs.com.au and Vote NO to Thursday Night Games.
The blockbuster Grand Final re-match deserves a better time slot than Thursday Night.
That's my Round two wrap-up
J G S
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