Round 1, the best week ever?

Well here we are Monday night and a great weekend of Rugby League was to be had by all.

First of all I would just like to say how great it is to see the attendance figures for the first round topping 200,000!! That is absolutely fantastic news for supporters of the game and builds a solid foundation for the season ahead.

In cast you missed it, the results for the first round were as follows:

Roosters 40 over Rabbitohs 29
Cowboys 16 over Broncos 14
Eels 24 over Warriors 18
Storm 18 Manly 6
St. George 25 Titans 16
Raiders 40 Sharks 12
Knights 42 Panthers 8
Bulldogs 24 West Tigers 14

Unless you were a Panthers or Sharks supporter I think that you would have been reasonable happy with the way that your team started the first round. Each game was a battle to the finish and gave the fans who attended the spectacle that they deserved.

In the Dragons Titans game there was some controversy over William Zillmans collision with Phil Haine. On this one I  agree with Bill Harrigan. It is an unfortunate thing for a collision with a referee to occur, but players need to be mindful that the refs are on the field to do a job and they can't be impeded. The simple fact of the matter is that the ref couldn't see Zillman, the Dragons did nothing other than catch the ball, so can't be penalised and Zillman should have anticipated the referees movements.

Souths Sydney were also fined $15,000 due to having 14 players on the field against the Roosters. This was purely bad discipline from the Rabbitohs bench. Surely teams shouldn't be making those kinds of mistakes in today's game. There needs to be better communication between players and their management.

It was also refreshing to see teams penalised for being in front of the kicker on kick offs and for kicking over the try line on drop outs. Once again teams were warned before the season started, so it comes back to poor discipline. I think though that clawing back on little infringements like these make the game a far better product to watch and leaves less to interpretation.

So after the first round has anyone done a bit of a back flip on who they think will be in the top eight?

For me the Storm, Dragons, Roosters, Raiders, Eels, Knights and the Bulldogs looked great and I think as the rounds progress they will only get better.

I personally thought that the Eagles and Storm game was scrappy, with plenty of dropped ball. Storm in the end though, looked like they had it together more than Manly and were able to capitalise when it counted.

The Warriors were a little disappointing and will be without Manu Vatuvei after injuring his knee during the match. They may also be without James Maloney after a high shot on Jarrod Hayne.

The Titans were unlucky and will get a huge boost once they get players back from injury. I also think that once the Broncos get Hodges and Hannant back from injury they will be far more brutal in attack.

Penrith were riddled with mistakes and seemed to give up in defence and attack to a more polished outfit in the Newcastle Knights. If the Panthers think that signing Tamana Tahu will be the answer to saving their season, then they are surely mistaken. I think that if they do sign Tahu they will end up regretting it. Surely their are better centres in the game with far less baggage.

The Raiders looked great and as I anticipated they hammered the Sharks. Their forward pack is going to test a lot of teams this year and when they get Duggan, Orford and Campese back on the field they will be a force to be reckoned with. It was also good to see a bit of fire between Blake Fergusson and his old team mates. I think the Broncos will have to be right on their game this Friday night, especially if Duggan is back.

So the first round for me? I thought it was tops. There were record crowds, there was anticipation and excitement and there were some great, close games. Everyone can feel the level of excitement amongst the fans and if this is the start, I can't wait for the finals.

Hopefully round 2 can be just as good.

So tell us your thoughts. Was this weeks round the best you've seen in a while? What were the highlights for you?  and Is the NRL doing a great job?