After watching the rejuvenated Rabbitohs race in 40 points of their own against the Dolphins, it\u2019s safe to say that the Bunnies now have the game\u2019s most lethal left edge.<\/p>\n
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Watch every game of every round of the Premiership Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n In fact, I\u2019d go further and argue it has the potential to be the most dangerous attacking combination we\u2019ve seen play together in the NRL for years.<\/p>\n With Cody Walker pulling the strings, Souths now have David Fifita and Latrell Mitchell playing outside the mercurial five-eighth.<\/p>\n Fifita played the full game up until his late sin binning (which by the way was an absolute joke) to finish with 20 runs for 142m (probably the most work we\u2019ve seen from the former Titan in years).<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Latrell was back to his menacing best in his move to the centres, scoring two tries along with five tackle busts and a line break in his nine runs for 102m.<\/p>\n Add to that Alex Johnston who is now just one try away from equalling Ken Irvine\u2019s all-time record, while pocket rocket Jye Gray was popping up everywhere from fullback.<\/p>\n That\u2019s without even mentioning the impact Cameron Murray\u2019s ball playing will have on the Rabbitohs going forward.<\/p>\n There is no question the Bunnies have room for improvement, especially defensively.<\/p>\n But going on what we saw in the opening round, they are going to be a force in this competition if their big guns stay fit.<\/p>\n As for the Roosters, the jury\u2019s out, because they were nowhere near what most expected when ambushed by the Warriors.<\/p>\n Robbo on controversial 11-2 pen count | 05:58<\/p>\n And it would be especially concerning for Trent Robinson watching some of DCE\u2019s defensive efforts.<\/p>\n While most of the pre-match focus centred on how DCE and Sam Walker would combine in attack, DCE missed two crucial tackles that led to tries, while failing to clean up a kick that led to another.<\/p>\n No doubt the partnership with Walker will grow as the season rolls on.<\/p>\n But the question still needs to be asked if the DCE experiment will ultimately implode on the Roosters?<\/p>\n They are a team that always pride themselves on being tough defensively, but too often in recent years this has been a part of Cherry-Evans\u2019 game that has let him down.<\/p>\n It was always going to be a controversial call bringing in the Manly veteran to take the spot of young local Hugo Savala, who did such a good job last year.<\/p>\n It\u2019s fair to say DCE now has a point to prove when the Roosters take on their arch enemies who will have a target pinned on the 37-year-old.<\/p>\n WHINGING ROOSTERS NEED TO PULL THEIR HEADS IN<\/p>\n Still on the Roosters, and yes, they copped some tough calls in Auckland.<\/p>\n But they also made a stack of mistakes, and it was their discipline and attention to detail that mostly let them down.<\/p>\n Which brings us to the constant whinging led by James Tedesco and Sam Walker relating to 50\/50 calls that dead-set went overboard.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve never seen a ref change his decision once it\u2019s made.<\/p>\n And standing up in their face and complaining usually just makes it worse.<\/p>\n Maybe the Roosters need to cut down on their own mistakes before they start blaming the ref in future.<\/p>\n \u2018STUNK OF A GRAND FINAL HANGOVER\u2019<\/p>\n What the Broncos dished up against the Panthers in front of a packed home crowd at Suncorp should have alarm bells ringing \u2014 because it stunk of a grand final hangover.<\/p>\n And anyone who wants to say it is only round one \u2014 and this is just another unfair bash-up on Michael Maguire \u2014 should go back and watch the game again.<\/p>\n Because the reigning champs played like strangers to be kept scoreless in a 26-0 shutout <\/a>in what can only be described as an embarrassing start to their premiership defence.<\/p>\n And while the club will continue to deny it, the smoke that was billowing a month ago from Payne Haas\u2019 bombshell move to Souths still lingers over the NRL\u2019s biggest brand.<\/p>\n Madge: ‘We had 18 errors!’ | 04:07<\/p>\n And it has the potential to unravel in the weeks ahead if whatever it was that forced Haas to want to leave so soon after winning a premiership is not addressed.<\/p>\n Because after they take on Parramatta this Thursday, the match after that is against the Storm in Melbourne.<\/p>\n And if the Broncos don\u2019t pull up their socks against the Eels, it could get ugly very quickly if they then turn up with the same attitude against the Storm.<\/p>\n While Haas was easily the Broncos\u2019 best again \u2014 churning through 14 runs for 106m (the only Bronco forward to bust the 100m barrier) ) it\u2019s hard to think of many, if any, others who walked away with their reputation intact.<\/p>\n The Broncos only completed at 62 per cent, while they also came up with 38 missed tackles, 16 errors and lost the penalty count 8-2.<\/p>\n In comparison, the Panthers deserve huge credit for what was a classy and clinical performance.<\/p>\n On the back of superb leadership from Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo and Dylan Edwards, the development of some of the Panthers younger guns was also there for all to see.<\/p>\n MADGE MUST STOP MAM MIND GAMES<\/p>\n Maguire should also give himself an uppercut for the bizarre decision to bench Ezra Mam.<\/p>\n While Mam was brilliant playing off the bench in the grand final, he was coming back from a hamstring injury at that point.<\/p>\n But to start Ben Hunt in the halves ahead of Mam this time round was just the perfect example of a coach trying to fix something that wasn\u2019t broken.<\/p>\n By the time Mam got on the field in the 30th minute the Broncos were down 10-0, and the Panthers were never going to let them come charging back like they did in last year\u2019s prelim final.<\/p>\n Why did Ezra Mam come off the bench? | 08:38<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t help that grand final hero Reece Walsh failed to deliver in his head-to-head battle with Edwards.<\/p>\n While Walsh finished with seven runs for 44m, Edwards was enormous clocking up 20 for 198m that included a try.<\/p>\n No one expects Walsh to play every game like he did towards the end of last season.<\/p>\n In saying that, Walsh needs to find a way to reduce the gap between his best and worst, which was the secret to his success late last season.<\/p>\n EELS GUILTY OF READING OWN HYPE<\/p>\n Another side who better stop reading their own hype is Parramatta, and it will be fascinating to see how the Eels respond to their disastrous 52-4 loss to the Storm<\/a>.<\/p>\n They were absolute rubbish in the middle, and on the back of no momentum the new halves combination of Mitchell Moses and Jonah Pezet really struggled.<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t help that they showed no respect for the ball with too many loose turnovers and the inability to get to their kicks making it impossible to go toe-to-toe with a Melbourne outfit who have now won 24 straight round one clashes.<\/p>\n Now Parra take on a Broncos side who themselves will be fired up after a terrible first-up performance.<\/p>\n Eels get ‘schooner of reality’ | 00:26<\/p>\n If the Eels are to have any chance of bouncing back they need Moses to be at his brilliant best against the Broncos.<\/p>\n But for Moses to star, he needs the forwards at least holding their own, while the rest of the team must play with a hell of a lot more discipline and patience.<\/p>\n While I love the free-flowing attack Jason Ryles encourages the Eels to play, history shows that it\u2019s not the type of football that has proven successful early in the season.<\/p>\n You are not going to compete, let alone beat, the better teams with a 67 per cent completion rate.<\/p>\n STORM\u2019S BIG THREE FIRE BACK AT CRITICS<\/p>\n After all the off-season debate about whether back-to-back grand final defeats would have the Storm heading for a fall this season, they have come out and silenced their critics with a phenomenal first round effort.<\/p>\n I was one of many who thought they Storm would struggle to go to the next level this season, while I also had the Eels in my top eight on what they did at the backend of last year, along with their trial form.<\/p>\n But what the Storm showed in one impressive 80-minute performance is that the \u2018Big Three\u2019 of Harry Grant, Jahrome Hughes and Cameron Munster have other ideas.<\/p>\n In particular, Grant\u2019s effort was enormous.<\/p>\n Put all the great hookers of the last 40 years up against what Harry produced in this one and none of them on their best day would have outplayed him here.<\/p>\n Benny Elias, Steve Walters, Danny Buderus, even the Storm\u2019s own Cameron Smith.<\/p>\n Bellamy: ‘Quicker than Cameron Smith!’ | 09:06<\/p>\n While Smith is still the best there\u2019s been, he could never bring a crowd to their feet like Grant can do when he gets going on the back of momentum.<\/p>\n The Storm had plenty of others who impressed.<\/p>\n Jack Howarth was tremendous in the centres, young Sua Fa\u2019alogo looks anything but overawed at the challenge of taking over from Ryan Papenhuyzen, while the big boys in the middle made their mark.<\/p>\n Big Stefano Utoikamanu finished with 19 runs for 203m. Not a bad response after his grand final to forget.<\/p>\n Throw in Joe Chan who gave Jonah Pezet hell to show he can stand up in the absence of the injured Eli Katoa.<\/p>\n While Tui Kamikamica (16 runs for 150m) was big off the bench to make his own statement about why Melbourne won\u2019t miss Nelson Asofa-Solomona as much as most thought they would this year.<\/p>\n SANDERS SHOWS RAIDERS MADE RIGHT CALL <\/p>\n Well, I guess that settles the debate about whether Ethan Sanders is ready to replace Jamal Fogarty this year.<\/p>\n