Warriors storm out of gates
the likes of Johnson, Josh Dugan, Josh Morris and Matt Moylan, the Knights did not break and only conceded a penalty try in the dying stages.
5. Cowboys
Life without Johnathan Thurston started as good as Cowboys’ fans could have hoped for, with a dominant 24-12 win over the Dragons in the far north.
The story in this one was another JT, Jason Taumalolo, who was a one-man wrecking ball in the middle third of the field and finished with a game-high 300m from 21 runs.
6. Tigers
You could be mistaken for thinking it was 2005 on Saturday, as the old firm of Robbie Farah and Benji Marshall turned back the clock to spark a 20-6 win over Manly.
The Tigers looked sharp under new coach Michael Maguire, though it was against a side many pundits are tipping to win the wooden spoon this year in the Sea Eagles.
Still, the Tigers showed that behind the old heads of Farah and Marshall they will be competitive this season.
7. Raiders
Far from a perfect performance, but anytime you can shut a side out in the NRL it’s an impressive effort.
And that’s just what Ricky Stuart’s men managed to do against the Titans on Sunday, 21-0 in horrid conditions on the Gold Coast.
Former Warrior Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad had a mixed debut at the back for the Green Machine, but chimed into the attack when needed and did so effectively.
A few of the club’s new English imports were impressive in their NRL debuts also.
8. Eels
For last year’s wooden spoon winners, the only way was up and that started on Sunday with a solid win over the Penrith Panthers, 20-12.
It’s been a tough old off-season for the Panthers and they showed it, completing a dismal 62 per cent and at times looked completely lost on attack.
On the other side the Eels certainly looked better, but far from world beaters themselves.
Still, off the back of a Michael Jennings double Parramatta did enough to spoil Ivan Cleary’s return to Penrith and start their 2019 campaign with a win.