Phil Rothfield: 50 things we learnt from the opening round of the 2014 NRL season

PHIL Rothfield reveals the 50 things we learnt from round one. And don’t forget to blog with Buzz all day from 9am onwards.

1) Ben Barba is baaaack and set for an absolutely bumper season.

2) Champion Souths fullback Greg Inglis is without doubt a future immortal.

3) David Gallop showed his old boss John Grant how to fill a stadium.

News_Rich_Media: South Sydney fullback Greg Inglis says his side's forward pack did the hard yards for him after he scored three tries in his sides 28-8 victory over the Sydney Roosters in the 2014 season opener.

4) Face of the game Anthony Minichiello might have played one year too many.

5) ANZ Stadium is killing club football atmosphere and should be strictly saved for Origin and grand finals.

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6) Nothing has changed with Phillip Ronald Gould who is as irritating and annoying as ever.

News_Image_File: Adam Reynolds of the Rabbitohs passes during the round one NRL match between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Sydney Roosters at ANZ Stadium.

7) Adam Reynolds will challenge Mitch Pearce for the Origin No. 7 jersey. Pearce had one run for seven metres.

8) The Dogs still have a big problem with T-Rex’s work ethic. He made only 70 metres and missed three tackles.

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9) Boom Broncos winger Lachlan Maranta should play State of Origin this year.

10) NRL boss Dave Smith won’t answer his mobile phone (reception can’t be all that good in limos or Lucio’s)

11) Brookvale Oval had the best atmosphere of all the weekend games. Long live suburban football.

News_Image_File: Manly fans show their support during the round one NRL match between the Manly Sea Eagles and the Melbourne Storm at Brookvale Oval.

12) The Broncos can’t make the finals with Ben Hunt at half-back and Josh Hoffman at five-eighth.

13) The Roosters desperately missed the strength and fear factor that Luke O’Donnell provided last year.

14) Channel Nine man-of-the-match judges need an appointment at Specsavers. How did Greg Inglis not get the award on Thursday night?

15) Every season opener should be on a Friday night at Allianz Stadium — with a 7.30pm kick-off.

16) The Knights lack direction and can’t win footy games without Jarrod Mullen as playmaker.

News_Rich_Media: Penrith have opened their season with a 22-point win over Newcastle. The Knights limped to the final whistle with injuries to Darius Boyd and Kurt Gidley.

17) Storm have unearthed the perfect replacement for Gareth Widdop — boom playmaker Ben Hampton.

18) Panthers winger Josh Mansour is not just a powerhouse. His second try against the Knights was pure class and magnificent skill.

19) The Sharks have a sensational young hooker in Michael Lichaa who scored three tries in five minutes in NSW Cup. Pity he’s likely to go to the Bulldogs.

20) Brett Stewart should be the NSW State of Origin fullback, even if Josh Dugan is fit.

News_Image_File: Brent Kite of the Panthers celebrates with team mates after a Panthers try during the round one NRL match between the Penrith Panthers and the Newcastle Knights at Sportingbet Stadium on March 8, 2014 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt Blyth/Getty Images)

21) The Panthers’ five-year plan has become a six-month plan. They could make the top four.

22) Manly is already missing the defence strategies that Brad Arthur put in place last year before he left for Parramatta.

23) Golden point should be golden try. It’s still a lottery.

24) Jamie Lyon and Michael Ennis are still the quinella of best whingers in the competition.

25) Cameron Smith still handles pressure better than any other player in the competition, as shown by his calm matchwinning field goal.

News_Rich_Media: Storm skipper, Cameron Smith has emerged the late hero — booting a 20 metre field goal in golden point to hand Melbourne a thrilling 23-22 win against Manly.

26) Ricky Stuart can coach and the Raiders will improve on last season.

27) I didn’t think it was possible, but Johnathan Thurston is getting even better. He so deserves to win a premiership.

28) Cowboy Jason Taumalolo has the ability to become one of the NRL’s most damaging forwards. He made 207 metres and five tackle busts against the Raiders.

29) Tipping winners is getting harder every year. I’m sitting on 1 from 7.

News_Rich_Media: North Queensland have overturned an early deficit against the Canberra Raiders to win their round 1 clash in Townsville 28-22.

30) Stop the presses. Referees survived the weekend without a major blunder, although there is one game to go.

31) Ian Roberts’ brain damage revelations showed why the shoulder charge and punching had to be banned.

32) Kade Snowden is the most over paid player in the game. Props on $450,000 should make more than 75 metres.

33) George Burgess on half his salary made 145 metres in one half against the Roosters.

News_Image_File: George Burgess of the Rabbitohs takes on the defence during the round one NRL match between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Sydney Roosters at ANZ Stadium.

34) Joel Caine has got 10 lengths on Tom Waterhouse as an odds spruiker.

35) The Knights have unearthed a future superstar in 16-year-old Harold Matthews fullback Matt Cooper. He scored SIX tries against the Dragons on Saturday.

36) Tigers rookie Luke Brooks is a wonderful prospect but needs to work on his defence. He missed seven tackles yesterday, a la Benji Marshall.

37) Parramatta’s 21-year-old Fijian flyer Semi Radradra is an extra special talent.

38) So too is second-rower Manu Ma’u who was outstanding last night against the Warriors.

News_Rich_Media: All the highlights from the Parramatta Eels clash against the New Zealand Warriors.

39) Will Hopoate has lost pace in the two years he was out of the game.

40) Mick Potter is under even more pressure at the Wests Tigers.

41) Dragons five-eighth Gareth Widdop is a very early candidate for buy-of-the-year. Yesterday he produced four try-assists and kicked eight from eight.

42) Parramatta don’t have as many fans as the Wanderers.

43) Nothing has changed — the Warriors can’t travel.

44) Nothing has changed with $500,000-a-year Adam Blair who made only 44 metres for the Wests Tigers.

News_Image_File: Gareth Widdop of the Dragons in action during the round one NRL match between the St George Illawarra Dragons and the Wests Tigers at ANZ Stadium.

45) The Roosters not only have the best senior roster in the NRL but also the hottest kids. Their SG Ball side thumped the Cronulla Sharks 60-6.

46) Braith Anasta is a fine media talent and should have retired last season … or even the year before.

47) Wests Tigers against the Dragons should have been shown live on Channel Nine. And it about time David Gyngell showed us the footy in HD.

48) Good luck Triple M … 2GB’s Ray Hadley and Andrew Moore are still the two best rugby league radio callers by the length of a football field.

49) Steve Price can actually coach.

50) The Rabbitohs were clearly the best side we saw in the opening round. The TAB agrees because they have now installed Souths as $4.50 premiership favourites.