Round 2 had plenty of action to digest as a few sides kept up their good form, some had us wondering if it was a mirage and others had us wondering if they knew the season started.
From a punting perspective it was a great weekend to back the favourites and there were a couple of bad beats that will have everyone going “yep, been there!”
The good news is that not everything we learned in Round 1 was a false dawn and some things have carried over the opening fortnight of the season.
Of course there’s still a long way to go and plenty more twists and turns ahead but these are the things we were able to take away from Round 2 of the NRL season.
1 – The Favourites Take Charge
It was another winning week for the favourites in the NRL with all bar one of the games going the way of the favoured side.
The only underdog to win was the Panthers, but we’ll have more on that later.
It’s been a good start to the season for favourites all up, with those sides going 12/16 both head to head and against the spread.
So far this season every line has been in single digits, while the average winning margin is in double digits.
In all 16 games of the NRL season, the line has been in single digits with the biggest number coming in the Sharks-Titans game where Cronulla was an 8 point favourite.
Over the weekend the average winning margin was 14.875 points per game with six of the eight games being decided by double digits.
Next weekend, one line has opened at over two tries and that is the Rabbitohs-Titans game on Sunday evening but for the most part, if things follow their current pattern, backing the favourites at the line might be a profitable strategy.
2 – Broncos Brutal Under
The final ten minutes of the Broncos-Cowboys game had a few people on the edge of their seat, even though the home side were cruising to the win.
With a comfortable lead, the Broncos were also set to cover the line but punters who had backed the total points market experienced a very tense ending to the game.
When Justin O’Neill crossed in the 70th minute to make it 28-10, it looked like the game would clear the line of 39.5, so long as Jordan Kahu could make his conversion.
As the kick sailed wide, those punters had a nervous final ten minutes as both sides had their chances to score another try.
On the Broncos’ final possession, Anthony Milford drilled a close range field goal to get some practice for later in the season, which also kept the game under.
In case you were wondering, the points line for Thursday’s Broncos-Dragons game is currently at 37.5.
3 – Maloney’s Moment
We promised it earlier and now here’s a bit of praise for the lone underdog winner on the weekend the Penrith Panthers, in particular their sudden defensive stalwart James Maloney.
Ok maybe that is a little bit of exaggeration, but his two late tackles capped an excellent day for Penrith.
Not only was there a contender for try of the year, but they bounced back from a Round 1 loss in the best possible fashion.
Maloney did something not many people can do, stopping Edrick Lee from close range, a few minutes after hitting Connor Watson to knock the ball out of his hands.
Great defence is not something usually associated with the playmaker but on Saturday afternoon he came through in a big way for his team here.
Next week the Panthers find themselves as slight underdogs despite being at home, probably because they are playing the Storm.
4 – Scoring Leads the Way
They say Round 1 is too early to read anything off for the season, but after Round 2, these grand proclamations are good to go, so here is one: if you want to succeed in the NRL this year, you need to be able to control scoring at one end of the park.
Four teams are unbeaten so far and the points tally is a pretty good indicator of why they are at the top.
The Tigers, Eels and Rabbitohs have all built their success on scoring plenty of points with those three being the only ones to score over 50 points on the season so far.
Melbourne is the other unbeaten side and while they have a (by comparison) meagre 44 points scored, their success is on the back of a stifling defence that is averaging 11 points per game, the second best number in the NRL.
Only Cronulla has a lower points against number but with only 28 points themselves, they sit in seventh spot.
Next week the Tigers have a chance to improve their points differential when they take on a Bulldogs side that has conceded 76 points in two games so far.
5 – Upcoming Eels Test
A season after finishing with the wooden spoon, you can’t help but be impressed with the way the Eels have started so far.
Back to back wins over the Panthers and Bulldogs might not have fans dreaming of a Grand Final appearance just yet, but at least things are off to a smoother start than last season where they lost their first six, including a 54-0 blanketing at the hands of Manly in Round 2.
Up next is a big test when they take on the Roosters and go into this game as pretty big underdogs and you will get an idea of the sort of team we might have in Parramatta this season.