Andrew Voss gives his thoughts on the winners and losers from the opening round of the NRL Telstra Premiership and more in this week's Six Again.
Who was the most impressive winner in Round 1?
For mine it was the Roosters.
To have a trip to Townsville first up in the heat and humidity probably gives a side a ready-made excuse to not be at their best.
To the contrary, I thought the Roosters were superb, and 28-4 was a true reflection of their dominance.
However the sapping conditions may take a toll in backing up for Sunday's blockbuster. Souths will have had an extra 48 hours to prepare and rest as well. Only time will tell.
I thought the Rabbitohs, Panthers and Eels were the other impressive winners from round one.
Which side has the biggest problems after Round 1?
I see plenty of questions raised from the opening weekend of the NRL.
Will Anthony Milford play No.6 for Brisbane all season?
Will Ben Barba last in the same number at Cronulla?
Have off-field dramas finally cracked Manly?
Can the Dragons attack threaten other sides enough to be a finals contender?
Is a round one loss a sign of another bad season start coming up for the Warriors?
No side has ever won a premiership obviously after one week, nor sealed a berth in the finals. But unanswered questions and a poor first month can make things awfully hard to be a genuine hope.
Should two players always go to the sin bin when there's a fight?
No no no no no!
I can't agree with referees boss Tony Archer this week that the correct decision was made to send Sharks winger Sosaia Feki to the bin after copping a couple of blows from Canberra's Jack Wighton.
I said so in commentary on the night, and after viewing a number of replays nothing has changed my mind.
Feki appears to try and throw some punches in response to being hit twice in the head, but fails. So what was his offence?
At the very least, such an incident gives greater weight to the argument that we should have two different time penalties for the sin bin.
In this case the aggressor, Wighton, would get 10 minutes, and if Feki, in attempting to defend himself, had to spend any time off the field it should only have to be five minutes.
What do you reckon?
Is the Warriors point-scoring streak against the Raiders a record?
Three straight half centuries totaling 158 points. It's a big stat!
However that's the story heading into Sunday night's game at GIO Stadium.
The run started in Round 25, 2013 when the Warriors won at Mount Smart Stadium 50-16. Then last year it continued with a 54-12 win at Eden Park in Round 9, followed by a 54-18 thumping in Canberra in Round 21.
In the most recent clash, the Raiders only posted their points when the Warriors elected to play out the final minutes of the game one man short!
However based on round one form, I wouldn't be backing the Warriors to score 50 this time, and Canberra showed plenty of determination to come up with a win last Sunday night against Cronulla.
But if it was to happen, let's just say they might turn the lights off early at the stadium!
Is country rugby league struggling?
Take a look at the Newcastle competition this year.
Due to the Port Stephens Sharks inability to field a team in 2015, the competition last Friday was confirmed to run just 14 rounds this season.
There will be just eight teams, kicking off on April 11, but with half a dozen rest weekends scheduled during the year and a split round.
I think most of us view the Newcastle league as one of our strongest and proudest nurseries, so to think just 14 rounds will be played this season is a real setback.
Who is Tim Roby?
He's an English Super League referee and he is on his way to Australia.
I found this story a curious one this week, with 25-year-old Roby announcing via Twitter that he had quit his role with the Super League refs effective immediately, four rounds into their season.
Roby stated it was to take up a role in the NRL. He has handled 75 top grade games in his short career, but that is still quite a tally given his age.
We've had an increase in players from the UK coming to Australia in recent times, but surely the same won't happen with the officials.
Enjoy your weekend of footy folks. I've got a Bathurst-Canberra roadtrip calling the action for Fox Sports.
Giddy Up!
Twitter: @AndrewVossy
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of the NRL or NRL.com.
