By IAN HOWE
The 2022 NRL season will no doubt start with a bang this week for what will be the 115th season of professional Rugby League in Australia and the 25th season to be run by the National Rugby League.
The lineup of 16 teams will remain unchanged for the 16th consecutive year.
And the game has rarely looked in better financial health, with the NRL and its clubs having survived the Covid pandemic better than most other sports in Australia.
Now that the Covid restrictions have been largely lifted, the fans are looking forward to getting back into the stadiums for the new season, which starts this Thursday when the 2021 Premiers, the Penrith Panthers, play host to the Manly Sea Eagles.
Three games from the opening round will feature on Sky Sports this week.
But although everything in the garden looks rosy, there are some underlying concerns about this year’s competition.
One is the growing imbalance between the top and bottom teams and another is the lingering influence of the pandemic, with players still in danger of missing matches because of Covid outbreaks.
Last season saw the greatest number of blowout scores in many years. On one Super Saturday, for example, the three matches had a combined scoreline of 148-6 and with all three games shown on Fox Sports, inevitably the viewing figures are affected when games are so one-sided.
The six-again rule has played a major part in exacerbating those differences but the rule will remain in place for the 2022 season.
The Panthers will go into Thursday’s opener now knowing that their Clive Churchill Medallist Nathan Cleary will miss the first three games of the season after close-season shoulder surgery. Cleary didn’t play in any of the Panthers’ trial games and, even if he had been able to face the Sea Eagles, his lack of match preparation might have told against him.
Retaining the Premiership is a tough ask, which has only been done once in the NRL era.
Cleary is at the heart of everything that Penrith does and is probably the only player they can’t replace. And on Thursday his absence will mean that Dally M Medal winner Tom Trbojevic will have the chance to grab the limelight in the Manly team that travels to PointsBet Stadium.
But the Sea Eagles will be missing two of their most important players on the edges of the ruck, with second-rowers Josh Schuster and Haumole Olakau’atu sidelined the first few rounds with knee and elbow problems respectively.
Meanwhile Covid-stricken Broncos skipper Adam Reynolds has backed former Hull KR and Hull FC star Albert Kelly to help solve Brisbane’s scrumbase crisis, comparing Kelly to his former Souths partner Cody Walker.
Reynolds, who was a major signing for the Broncos from South Sydney, will miss Friday’s game against the Rabbitohs, with Kelly and Billy Walters featuring at halfback.
Kelly himself was cleared for full training only last Monday after he contracted Covid on the eve of Brisbane’s trial against the Cowboys eight days ago.
“There’s not many guys left in the halves, but we’ll make do with what we’ve got,” Reynolds said.
“Alby didn’t play last week because of Covid, but he’s another guy who can fill the role and he plays a bit like Cody Walker.
“At training, we call him the paramedic because he is always first on the scene, backing up the ball.
“How teams deal with Covid will test their depth this season. It’s not ideal, but every club is in the same situation so we have to get on with life.
“There’s a few questions with our halves to answer over the next few days.”
Broncos coach Kevin Walters insists he is not concerned about his scrumbase options, despite Brisbane’s halves having struggled in the pre-season after a 26-all draw with the Titans and a 26-6 loss to the Cowboys.
NRL Round 1 fixtures:
Thursday 10th March (GMT times shown)
Penrith Panthers vs Manly Sea Eagles, BlueBet Stadium (9.05am) (Sky Sports Arena)
Friday 12th March
Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks, GIO Stadium (7.00am)
Brisbane Broncos vs South Sydney Rabbitohs, Suncorp Stadium (9.05am) (Sky Sports Arena)
Saturday 13th March
Sydney Roosters vs Newcastle Knights, SCG (4.00amm)
New Zealand Warriors vs St George Illawarra Dragons, Sunshine Coast Stadium (6.30am)
Wests Tigers vs Melbourne Storm, CommBank Stadium (8.35am) (Sky Sports Arena)
Sunday 14th March
Parramatta Eels vs Gold Coast Titans, CommBank Stadium (5.05am)
North Queensland Cowboys vs Canterbury Bulldogs, QCB Stadium (7.15am)
