“G’day Jonathan or should that be howdy?” Harry Sachar, always a pleasure.

“Great opening weekend to the NRL season. Two cracking games,” indeed they were. “Unfortunately my Bunnies couldn’t match it with the Daly Cherry-Evans led Manly who were simply much too good in that last 30 minutes.”

Two upset wins, of sorts, to open the season. DCE looked in his element on the big stage yet again, and with Luke Brooks now alongside him, and Tom Trbojevic fit to start, Manly loom as a serious threat if they can build up some momentum.

As for the Broncos, they struggled. There were errors in and out of possession. There was an absence of goal-line pressure and an inability to force repeat sets. The kicking game was off.

From midway through the opening half they looked ragged and relying on individual brilliance to keep them in it. Individual brilliance is, of course, something they have plenty of, but even Reece Walsh can only do so much.

To my eye they looked short of grunt in the absence of Tom Flegler and Kurt Capewell. And if that becomes a pattern, that could become a major issue because you have all the talent in the world in the backline but if they don’t have territory or possession they can only do so much.

Words like professional, efficient, and disciplined, can come across a little bloodless, but considering the opposition and occasion, they are enormous compliments for a Sydney side that failed to turn up in 2023.

Resolute in defence and safe with ball in hand, they took an eight-point lead into the break courtesy of a penalty kick and an Ezra Mam error. As the game opened up in the second half Joey Manu and James Tedesco showed their class to put the contest to bed.

Tedesco was superb throughout, as was Sam Walker, who comprehensively out-kicked Adam Reynolds. Credit also to Lindsay Collins and Victor Radley who led a defensive unit that were fast off the line and showed plenty of hustle in tight when the contest was in its establishing phases.

79 mins: Arthars spills a high kick under pressure from Manu. The Broncos are not coming back.

78 mins: Brisbane earn a line drop-out but the Roosters are first to Keary’s short kick.

76 mins: It’s hard to see this result changing now. Easts have been the better team and deserve the win.

75 mins: … no. The attack is unstructured and aside from Reynolds almost showing and going through a gap there’s no pattern to speak of. The Roosters have defended well all game and stand resolute.

74 mins: Walters claims the restart off hands 20m out. Can Brisbane hit back straight away?

72 mins: Walsh loses possession in contact 40m out from his own line. The Broncos are starting to look ragged.

70 mins: Tempers are rising as we enter the final ten minutes. Mam is put on report for a disagreement with Leniu. Wong is off with a leg injury. And now Cobbo loses the ball on the left wing trying to run out of defence. Brisbane will only have themselves to blame if they lose tonight. Too sloppy too often.

69 mins: A feature of Brisbane’s game tonight has been Reynolds’ bombs only carrying 20-30m in the air, not penetrating deep into Sydney territory. If it’s an attacking ploy, it has yet to pay dividends. It’s also played neatly into Sydney’s hands as they haven’t had to over exert themselves to establish territory.

67 mins: Walsh concedes a needless ruck penalty in Sydney territory. A bunch of players come together for some half-hearted wrestling, but everyone’s too tired to care.

Apropos of nothing, the camera pans to Lachlan Murdoch looking at his phone in a corporate box. Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany tossed the coin before the opening match of the day. Is that what Jack Donaghy calls vertical integration?

66 mins: The game is still being played at a fearsome intensity. You’d expect more scores in the closing stages as bodies tire and gaps emerge.

64 mins: From cruising to halfway the Roosters go up a gear and have the overlap on the left but Suaalii can’t find the final pass and gets hauled down. Brisbane can only run to 40m before Reynolds is forced to kick.

63 mins: Brisbane kick to attacking 30. Baker drives forcefully through the middle. Reynolds almost feeds Riki through the line in the right centre position. Then on tackle four the grubber is overhit and the attack fizzles out. The Broncos have made that mistake time and again tonight and instead of concerted pressure the Roosters are suddenly on halfway and out of jail.

61 mins: Tedesco’s restart is out on the full.

60 mins: Tedesco gathers the Reynolds grubber under the posts and his Roosters drive forcefully to the 40m line before Walker kicks to Walsh inside his own 10m zone. Easts have been super effective all night, never allowing Brisbane repeat sets in dangerous territory.

58 mins: Sydney continue to make good ground sniping from the ruck, as they have all night, and Sandon Smith buys some ground to set up another Walker bomb. It looks dangerous in the air but Suaalii clumsily makes contact with Mariner mid-air and Brisbane get a relieving penalty.

56 mins: This is when Brisbane could do with a Capewell or a Flegler to control the middle of the park. All that attacking flair is meaningless with territory or possession.

54 mins: For the first time tonight the Roosters capitalise on some improvised footy. If they can add that to their arsenal consistently they will finish higher than seventh this year. Everything else about their game is in very good order.

51 mins: Excellent proactive defensive effort from the Roosters for four tackles but Mam relieves the pressure with a linebreak. It’s all got a bit scrappy as fatigue sets in.

49 mins: Brisbane build from A1 field position. Walsh has a dart down the left. Smoothy chips away centrally. The Easts defence holds firm and the Broncos handover without attempting a kick.

The crowd is announced as 40,796. That’s a solid number, but it’s not earth-shattering. Also lower than promoted earlier in the week. I’m sure it will be sold back to us as the greatest result in the history of Australian sport.

47 mins: Now Brisbane get a penalty with Mam stripped unnecessarily on the ground on halfway.

46 mins: But Tedesco doesn’t like what he saw from Walsh. Were there any arms involved? He challenges – and the TMO agrees that it was a shoulder-charge. That was a line-ball call that could have gone either way. As it is, it’s only a penalty, not a penalty try, and almost immediately from the restart Collins coughs up possession.

46 mins: From hero to zero for Arthars, who gets turned around by Brandon Smith’s early kick and can only palm the ball into touch. Golden opportunity for the Roosters. And they go early, carving to the left side and Tupou has the corner in sight. At serious pace. Along comes Walsh. Can he lay the covering tackle? Yes! Incredible action.

44 mins: Better front-foot defence from Brisbane but Walker clears any building danger with a magnificent long kick to the left corner that almost becomes a 40/20. The Broncos again look to Walsh for some magic, but instead it’s the leaping Arthars, who climbs all over Pauga, who almost opens the door but after hauling down the bomb he can’t get back to his feet quickly enough.

42 mins: The Roosters start on the front foot with an early offload allowing Tedesco to skip to the 40m line. Mariner does well under the resulting bomb on the last and the counter becomes dangerous after Walsh slips Staggs into space on the left. On the last the grubber towards the posts is smothered by Collins.

The teams are back out for the second half.

Whether these matches prove to be of any consequence in growing the NRL remains to be seen, but there can be no criticising the product on display. All three halves so far have lived up to the billing, full of fast, heavy-hitting rugby league.

40 mins: With time running out on the half, Walker has acres of space 30m out dead in front, and he dabs over a simple point. BUT THE FIELD GOAL IS OVERTURNED by the TMO for Radley and Collins screening their halfback, denying Brisbane clear sight for the chargedown.

40 mins: Brisbane commit a penalty with 40 seconds of the half remaining. Sydney kick to the 40m line.

39 mins: WOW! The line drop-out carries about 30m, straight up the guts, and it becomes a one-on-one marking contest between Tedesco and Mam, each heading at speed and launching into the air for the grab. And Tedesco comes out on top! Incredible from the NSW skipper. Not only does he claim the mark, Mam is battered for good measure.

39 mins: Brisbane needed that score, and they needed that break in play. Run off their feet and second best all half, they now have a foothold in the game.

And the bounce of the ball is going their way too with Pauga failing to defuse a swirly Reynolds bomb, inviting a line drop-out.

36 mins: Finally Brisbane have some field position, reinforced by back-to-back set restarts… You know what comes next.

35 mins: Nearly another intercept! Brisbane again throw a pass begging to be cut out and Walker pretty much does, only to be collected in a massive shot by Mam. That was a huge moment in this game.

34 mins: Brisbane are running through treacle coming out of defence. Four tackles get them nowhere – but they they’re gifted a penalty on the ground! Huge let off.

32 mins: It’s all happening. The Roosters move from right to left but Collins loses possession, Brisbane hack the ball off the ground, and somehow recover it 20m out. A couple of tackles later the Steeden’s back in blue hands after a one-on-one strip! On the last the long high crossfield kick is plucked out of the sky by Tupou near the left corner, but Brisbane have enough defenders around him to hold him up before he can touch down.

30 mins: The Roosters look like creating an opportunity every time they go forward. They just don’t look comfortable in broken play or inviting the chaos required to unlock the Brisbane defence. On the latest occasion Radley has a pass blocked on the left but Easts don’t improvise well. However, they do get another drive in the red zone.

29 mins: Brisbane again lose possession carrying the ball out of defence. Or do they? Payne Haas challenges the decision and the TMO agrees! The drive continues, but not for long, as Walsh is penalised for offloading after the tackle.

28 mins: The Roosters look clearly the fitter, sharper, and more well drilled of the two sides. Again they eat up the metres and in dangerous territory Manu offloads to Butcher on his inside down the right. One more pass and Sydney could be in, but the No 16 holds onto possession. The kick on the last bobbles through the in-goal.

26 mins: For the first time since kick-off Brisbane execute a good kick-chase and send down three tackles full of hustle. Keary is forced to kick from range for the first time in a while. But the Broncos can’t string anything together in attack and Walsh also has to kick from deep. He goes for the 40-20 and it is a brilliant effort, just bouncing into touch the wrong side of the corner flag.

24 mins: From the scrum 40m out, Tedesco has a dart on the inside-left channel, forcing the Broncos to scramble. Brisbane recover well in the middle so Easts go again to the left with Tedesco’s quick hands freeing Tupou. But there’s no room inside the narrow field, or outside it, with the NSW winger pounded into the wall forming the base of the stand by Staggs.

22 mins: The Roosters are attacking with more zip and defending with more aggression. After Radley clatters into Walsh chasing the long kick, Hetherington is punched out of possession in midfield to set up Easts with a golden opportunity.

20 mins: The Broncos get to work under the posts with Reynolds feeding runners on either side right up the guts. The Roosters defend superbly though and Brisbane have to concede the handover after running on the last.

In other news, Piakura fails his HIA – so Brisbane will be a man short on the bench for the majority of the game.

18 mins: Another efficient drive from the Roosters from the restart takes them to 10/10 sets for the match. Brisbane need to string some sets together and establish some field position. That will help – Arthars plucking a high mark from the sky and returning it 30m on the burst. The Broncos make sensible decisions thereafter and earn a penalty on the last when Reynolds milks a soft one, making the most of some minor contact with Collins’ lazy high left arm.

15 mins: Easts are dominating possession and territory. The Broncos line is slow to respond to the intensity with Walker and Smith pinching yards from the ruck at will. A risk-free drive reaches Brisbane’s 20m line and there’s an infringement on the ground. A very kickable penalty opportunity.

13 mins: Leniu with a lovely drive, drawing tacklers to him in the middle, creating space outside for Tedesco to exploit. He’s tackled, but Suaalii gets another look close to the line. Promising signs for the Roosters.

11 mins: The Roosters are building nicely. Keary feeds Suaalii through the line on the left and a couple of tackles later they have a set restart in the left corner. The Brisbane defence holds firm as the ball is shifted incrementally to the right, but their first carry out of their in-goal is repelled fiercely by Collins.

9 mins: Easts have been solid so far, minimising risk, completing sets. Brisbane are more helter-skelter, but that of course carries risk. After Walsh kicked long earlier, Mariner follows suit on the right and the Roosters have a good platform for their next set.

7 mins: A factor in that Brisbane error was the positioning of Pat Carrigan. He was slightly out of position to accommodate the loss of Brendan Piakura to an HIA. Corey Jensen is off the bench early.

4 mins: So close for Brisbane! On the last tackle around 30m out the ball bobbles into broken field where Walsh scoops it up and glides to top gear in that effortless style of his. He arcs towards the left corner, jabs a kick forward, but it’s a fraction too heavy for Arthars to gather.

2 mins: They’re not hanging around in Vegas, presumably Allegiant Stadium is being rented by the hour. Nothing much to report in the opening couple of sets, but it’s worth pointing out the Roosters are in their traditional tricolour uniform, the Broncos in their change strip of white jerseys, maroon shorts.

Final thoughts

Well, that was a lot of fun. Chaos, but fun. Trying to figure out a new sport on the fly is daunting, but I’ve learned a lot. NRL may not be your thing, but if you don’t respect the talent on that field as a sports fan, then you’re not a real sports fan, because these teams put on a great performance. If this game came to New York, and they didn’t price gouge me out of the place, I’d go and watch, no question.

Thank you all for sticking with a rookie on his first and probably last NRL blog! Now, for the real deal: here’s Jonathan Howcroft, a real, live Australian, who will take you through to the second game of this historic doubleheader! Bye!

Post-game

Interviews: Evans says something about it being special to play in front of this crowd.

Brooks says he thinks it’s cool to play on the pitch where the Super Bowl was.

True dat!

36 mins: Manly 30-20 Souths

Croker kicks Manly’s Mitchell, and that’s not allowed. It’s getting chippy now. No wonder they’re playing the theme from Rocky in the stadium.

33 mins: Manly 30-20 Souths

Nathan Brown gets called for some kind of infraction, messing with someones face? It’s the first penalty awarded to Souths this game, and rather late.

Souths have way too much work to do.

31 mins: Manly 30-20 Souths

There’s a penalty on Souths. I think it’s offsides. So Manly kick it deep, and I guess this is just part of the territorial chess match that happens in NRL. I get it now!

28 mins: Manly 30-20 Souths

More from Saab! He gets another shot at leaping and making a catch off a kick and this time makes it inside the 10 meter mark. But then there’s a knock on which ends that scoring attempt for Manly.

26 mins: Manly 30-20 Souths

Saab, who is my man of the match and my first ever favorite NRL player because of the excitement he’s brought, almost catches a mark for a try, but can’t quite handle it.

Time is ticking on Souths.

Overtime?

Here’s how it works. Thank you!

Also, this:

Thanks for sticking with us!

15 mins: Manly 24-20 Souths

Souths need a timeout to talk it over, but there’s no timeouts! So what do you do when you get crushed and you need to stop the momentum? I guess just try and get it together on the fly.

Yikes!

Ties?

What happens if the score is tied at the end of the game? Is there overtime, or is that it? Asking for a friend.

Mr David takes me to school

I am being given some advice. A fumble is a knock-on, and I must not call the Rabbits, “Bunnies”. I was enjoying calling them that, but if I am going to school I need to learn, so deal! From here on out, it’s Souths.

38 mins: Manly 12-10 Bunnies

The extra points are good, and it looks like Manly will take a lead into the half. That was pretty cool I have to say. Saab has an earlier run similar to that but fell short. Not this time!

36 mins: Manly 6-10 Bunnies

Tom Trbojevic looks like he’s going to score for Manly, he’s close to the line, but it they called a block on Ben Trbojevic.

But they’re reviewing it, and it seems like the obstruction is called off. Tom is ruled to be short of the try line, or not in possession. I can’t tell. There’s a lot of subtlety to this!

35 mins: Manly 6-10 Bunnies

There’s a penalty on the Bunnies, so then a Manly player takes the ball and kicks it away. I don’t get that. What do you get for a penalty?

30 mins: Manly 6-6 Bunnies

Check that – I think it was Garrick who made that run for Manly.

Meanwhile, Luke Brooks looks like he will score, he has to score! But he comes up just short of the line!

29 mins: Manly 6-6 Bunnies

Jai Arrow of the Bunnies (what a name) destroys someones face, and again, nobody seems to mind. Manly seem to have the momentum now, and in fact here’s Richard Kennar, in space, making them miss! He has a head of steam on him and now Manly are in great position to score!

20 mins: Manly 0-6 Bunnies

Well, there’s a lot of action. The Bunnies are just outside the 10!. Then Murray gets super close to a score but, FUMBLE! Jason Saab has the ball is away and sprinting down the far sideline! He looks like he will score, but is tacked at the last moment! A try saving play by the Bunnies keeps Manly from tying the score!

13 mins: Manly 0-6 Bunnies

A Bunny player called Braith is already bleeding and the trainer comes out to help sort out the cut which he does well and Braith stays on.

Now another player is being treated with blood all over his face, this time it’s Manly’s no5 Paulo Jaxson.

Wait…

ANOTHER player is bleeding! Is this normal? Croker Lachlan is really banged up.

This is like human cockfighting. But they play on! Jesus.

11 mins: Manly 0-6 Bunnies

One of the Bunnies chokes a Manly player, but this seems to be fine. Nobody seemed to get too upset about it. Meanwhile, this game goes extremely fast. And these folks are hitting extremely hard. It’s impressive.

We have picture!

I am looking live at the Bunnies, who I am rooting for, and Manly! They shifted the game to FS2. Let’s go!

2nd minute: Manly almost over! Jake Trbojevic ran it on the last and Souths managed to hold him up just short of the line. Richie Kennar makes a hit and gets Souths inside the Manly half. They put it high on the last and Junior Tatola buries his man with a massive hit.

1st minute: Manly kick off and Tom Burgess, in his final season with Souths, charges in for the first hit-up of the day. Jai Arrow is immediately injured, looks like an ankle strain. Souths kick on the fifth and Jackson Paul, an ex-Bunny barrels back. Good yardage by the Sea Eagles.

The Rabbitohs are on the field and the Sea Eagles are running out…

NRL not on American screens, yet…

OK, there’s just under six minutes to go in regulation of this college basketball game – Georgetown are up by four if you must know. But there’s no way the game will be over by kickoff in Vegas. Zero chance. Will Fox Sports boot the basketball off? Or will we be denied our live NRL! We’ll know if just a few minutes!

The desert wind!

Apparently the crowds are light because the wind is howling on the streets of Sin City and it’s causing some of the crowd to arrive late to safe, secure and indoor Allegiant Stadium. How windy is it? This was the scene at the nearby NASCAR racing event at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. A bit more than a breeze.

What’s up with the field?

OK, I was told that the matchup today is Souths v Manly, but at least according to the field markings I saw earlier, it looks like KFC are the home team, since their logo is in both end zones. Which team is KFC? Assuming it’s the Sea Eagles since they’re closest to chickens.

I’ve also learned that the distances are marked in meters, not yards, so already we have a problem. Luckily I have an app that can help with this.

Our man in Vegas

Here’s a video of some American guy in an NRL jersey. Not sure which one, but he sets the scene for us as to the vibe on the city streets. Oh, and he’s not really our man, he’s just a guy I found on twitter, or x, or whatever it’s called.

Update

So all of you down there are apparently watching the coin toss, the national anthems, the pomp, the circumstance, etc. Me? In Brooklyn? I’m tuned into Xavier and Georgetown, a Big East men’s college basketball game. Why? Because Fox Sports 1 in the US has no NRL pregame coverage at all! On the schedule, the game starts at 2130 on the East Coast of the United States. But what happens if the basketball game isn’t done? Will I miss the kickoff? That would kind of suck, considering I am providing you with live coverage! Don’t worry, if that happens, the Guardian team in OZ have you covered and will fill you in. Meanwhile, It’s Georgetown by five with 9:53 left in the second half! Hurry up guys!

As the boys from Human Nature kick into an eerie rendition of the Australian anthem before what appears to be a half-full Allegiant stadium, Angus Fontaine sends this reminder of the game within the game today…

For those who came in late, here’s our Stateside preview of today’s grand rugby league experiment…

Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans has won the toss and will run towards Caesars Palace. Souths skipper Cameron Murray will lead his side in the direction of the Palazzo.

Here are the team line-ups for today’s historic Round One fixture at Allegiant Stadium.

Sea Eagles team: 1. Tom Trbojevic 2. Jason Saab 3. Tolutau Koula 4. Reuben Garrick 5. Jaxson Paulo 6. Luke Brooks 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Taniela Paseka 9. Lachlan Croker 10. Josh Aloiai 11. Haumole Olakau’atu 12. Ben Trbojevic 13. Jake Trbojevic 14. Karl Lawton 15. Corey Waddell 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Nathan Brown 18. Jakob Arthur

Rabbitohs team: 1. Latrell Mitchell 2. Alex Johnston 3. Isaiah Tass 4. Richard Kennar 5. Jacob Gagai 6. Cody Walker 7. Lachlan Ilias 8. Tevita Tatola 9. Damien Cook 10. Sean Keppie 11. Keaon Koloamatangi 12. Jai Arrow 13. Cameron Murray 14. Siliva Havili 15. Jacob Host 16. Davvy Moale 17. Thomas Burgess 24. Dean Hawkins