Round 1B started off on Thursday night with the Eels full of optimism for season 2026, however it was very short lived as they were All Shook Up when the Storm absolutely belted them 52 points to 4. The win continues Bellamy and Melbourne’s amazing first up record where they have not lost a Round 1 match for over 24 years. A loss of 50 points has meant the End of the Road for the Eels’ premiership aspirations.
On Friday, the Warriors were especially good when they gave the Roosters a fair touch up winning 42 points to 18. Tanah Boyd who has been much maligned at times had a strong game for the Warriors and it was a very good start by them for their season. The Roosters big off season signing DCE didn’t have the happiest of games but Come What May he will be looking for a better showing this week when he has his first match against the Rabbitohs in Roosters colours. He certainly will have to defend better. The second Friday night game saw the Panthers up against Brisbane. Brisbane and their supporters had high expectations and what was expected to be a classic game didn’t eventuate. Penrith took Brisbane to the cleaners. Brisbane was very poor and were in Trouble early and got pummelled. They will have to improve greatly and cannot rely on Walsh to perform magic to win them games every week. The Panthers were clinical and look as though they will be Double Trouble in 2026 after a tough 2025 season.
Saturday had two games. The first had the Titans up against the Sharks. All the talk from the Titans in the preseason was positive and everything pre kick off seemed to be going well, however their first half performance against the Sharks reset the Beach Boys Blues. It was diabolical – missed tackles, dropped ball, a lack of direction and completions that will certainly be causing Coach Hannay headaches. Cronulla looked very good but I’m just not sure how bad the Titans actually were. The second Saturday night game was a beauty with Manly coming from behind to force the Game into extra time before the Raiders kicked the winning field goal in golden point. Last week I predicted how Coach Stuart would feel if Fogarty kicked the winning field goal and that prediction wasn’t far off, however Ethan Strange booted a magnificent field goal that never looked like missing from the time it left his Big Boot. It certainly made the decision to let Fogarty go the right one and Coach Stuart could only think Oh Happy Days in what was the game of the round.
On Sunday, the Dolphins were up against the Rabbits and I’m sure that Dolphin supporters were disappointed with the way their team played. At the same time, the Rabbits are much closer to full strength and are certainly better than they have been for over a year. They showed that maybe if their players can really gel and Fifita can find some of his old form RITV will be humming to himself If I Can Dream.
Round 2 starts off with a clash between Brisbane and the Eels with both sides coming off poor losses from last week. I am going to the match with a diehard Eels supporter who is talking it up at the moment but I think there will be A Little Less Conversation come half time. It is hard to see Brisbane losing to an Eel’sside that were so poor last week that a turnaround seems impossible. I can not understand why Hunt is not the starting hooker. Interestingly Brisbane’s long term future half back – Pezet- is going to be the target for Brisbane attack in this match. Interesting.
On Friday there are two matches where the first one has the Warriors at home to the Raiders. The Warriors were very good at home last week and surprised in their win over the Roosters. Meanwhile the Raiders just managed to get a win over Manly at Brookvale which is always a tough place to win. This should be a very close game and maybe the Raiders will be Goin Home empty handed. Warriors at home in a close one. The second match is the traditional clash between the Roosters and the Rabbits which is always a battle. Let’s Forget About the Stars as all eyes will be on Alex Johnson as he attempts to break Ken Irvines 53 year old try scoring record. He has been an ornament to the game – never seeking Fame and Fortune and even penning a letter to the club when they tried to sack him. The Roosters were very poor last week and the Rabbits showed enough for you to think that they may be a lot stronger this year than the weakened unit that played last year. I’m tipping Souths in this one.
Saturday has three matches with the West Tigers at their spiritual home of Leichhardt Oval up against the Cowboys who were dreadful in Las Vegas. It’s Now or Never for the Cowboys and their Coach. The Tigers are coming off the bye and they will be hoping to put on a big show in front of their fanatical Leichhardt crowd. Once again there seems to be boardroom drama at the West Tigers and they’re The Devil in Disguise in terms of the club seeing clean air. Hopefully, this won’t be impacting on the players. The second game has the Dragons up against the Storm. The Dragons were good over in Las Vegas but I can’t see them being any match for the Storm. They were simply outstanding against Parramatta and won’t go backwards this week. The third Saturday game has the Panthers at home to the Sharks. If we’re judging by last week’s form, and we add the return of Martin to the back row, Penrith will be too clinical and too strong for the Sharks.
On Sunday, the Sea Eagles are at home to the Knights. I think Manly will be too strong in this match and the Knights will be on the Long Lonely Highway at about 5pm. The final game of the Round is 5pm on Sunday at Lang Park. The clash of the two Queensland sides at least means Queensland clubs will at least have one win by the end of Round 2! Both sides were poor last week, and they both have to improve their defence. Patch it Up would be the call of the coaches at training. The Dolphins were poor and the Titans were worse against the Sharks last week so it’s hard to tip either. I’m taking the Dolphins and as I said at least one Queensland team will be Going Home with a win this round.
Last week’s embedded music cue was of course Elvis (who else for Vegas?) where I placed Viva Las Vegas on the front line. Elvis of course was the King and his recordings are incredible, however he never wrote a single song and he couldn’t read music! He was sometimes named as the co-author but that was only for royalties. His favourite food was the Fools Gold Loaf – a loaf of bread, a pound of bacon with peanut paste and jelly!
Elvis First 13
1 Ethan King 2 Johnny King 3 Matt King 4 Andrew King 5 Bennet King 6 The King 7 Lyhkam King-Togia 8 Max King 9 Jeremy Marshall- King 10 Jason King 11 Chris King 12 Cameron King 13 Josh King Coach King Henry
Team Song – From Jack to a King
Round 2 Tips
Broncos, Raiders, Souths, Wests, Storm, Panthers, Manly, Dolphins
I beat the Prop Tipping Comp Leaderboard
1 Gerry (7), 2 Tim Robbo (6), 3 Souffs (6), Flying Mattress (5)
By way of information, a couple of thousand people picked the perfect round! To pay your $10 go to Marlarkey Publications BSB 633000 Acc 154103428
My Pre Season Top Eight
1 Melbourne 2 Cronulla 3 Penrith 6 Souths 7 Canterbury 8 Raiders 14 Roosters 16 Brisbane
Odd Fact
I think the Titans are setting a record this week with 6 of their starting players having the letter F as the first letter of their surname. 9943 men have played in the competition since 1908 and only 201 players have had the letter F to start their surname. 6 are on the paddock this weekend for the Titans and Redcliffe have another 4 so, in total, 5% of the total players with the surname starting with F are playing at Fang Park this week, and there is not one Fitzgerald!
Rugby League is no longer on Vacation- It is a Quest
You gotta love footy!
To read more by Prop by the Sea click here.
To read our library of rugby league stories click HERE.
To return to our Footy Almanac home page click HERE.
To see the full 2026 season draw for the NRL click HERE.
To see the full 2026 season draw for the NRLW click HERE.
To see the details for State of Origin in 2026 click HERE.
Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.
Do you enjoy the Almanac concept?
And want to ensure it continues in its current form, and better? To help things keep ticking over please consider making your own contribution.
Become an Almanac (annual) member – CLICK HERE.
Hey Prop.
Great report however……
Raiders have created a reporters nightmare by having Ethan Strange at 5/8th and Ethan Sanders at 1/2 back.
It would seem a great shame if Ethan Sanders excellent golden point field goal for the Raiders, after gaining the 1/2 back spot with Fogarty going to Manly, was not rectified in your report.
Yes – he only kicked 4 goals as well so I need to apologise although it’s not on the same scale as leaving GL out of the Blondie 13 so he won’t get a full write up – nevertheless it was a magnificent field goal!!
Shame on you Prop. St Patrick’s Day on Monday and you missed the opportunity to have a Celtic theme. Green not Orange! I am tipping Patty Carrigan to go hard and play like the “Wild Rover” until he owns “The Fields of Athenry”. If that happens he will put some “Whiskey in the Jar” and be out having a Guinness in “The Dirty Old Town” and singing “Danny Boy” to “Molly Malone” until the “Dawning of the Day”. Butcher
Good read
Great stuff Butcher – if you can make the trip I’ll be at the D’Arcy Arms kissing the Blarney on Tuesday!
no humming “if I can dream” at this stage, Prop!
South Sydney need to tighten their defence, and I will keep saying/asking it: why do Souths rarely contest the high ball?! Alex Johnston, on the cusp of passing Irvine, typifies what I am referring to!
I’d love to know the rationale
The End of the Road may be not just the theme for next week’s music immersion, but also the headline for coach Payten if the Cowboys are as poor this week as they were in Vegas. It is very hard to know what to expect from the Tigers due to this being their first in-season match, so that game at The Eighth Wonder is also a very interesting and hard-to-pick game. Cowboys have no form but their record against Wests-Tigers is surprisingly solid. This is another great weekend of NRL match-ups and your report is good prep while your odd fact is superb.