NRL 2016 season: Round 1 results, highlights and Round 2 fixtures

NRL

The National Rugby League 2016 season is in full swing as clubs battle to establish their spots in the winning column.

Round 1 may have already determined the strong class of this year’s NRL Telstra Premiership, with seven clubs staging convincing wins over their rivals in the league’s season-opener last week. The Brisbane Broncos kicked off the new season on a high note, defeating the Parramatta Eels 17-4 on Thursday, followed by a 28-6 thrashing from the Canterbury Bulldogs over Manly Sea Eagles the next day.

Centre Jordan Kahu, winger Corey Oates and five-eighth Anthony Milford each scored a try for the Broncos, overwhelming a depleted Eels side, which saw the preseason withdrawal of Kieran Foran and an in-game injury of playmaker Corey Norman, who left the game before halftime.

The Bulldogs, on the other hand, served up the new-look Manly with a crushing 28-6 defeat through the efforts of halves Josh Reynolds and Moses Mbye, who combined for four try assists. Canterbury coach Des Hasler was happy to earn their first win of the season on a huge margin.

"It's always good to get that first win," Hasler said, reports NRL’s official website. "It gives our players a bit of confidence as well.”

The weekend matchup results looked exactly the same as the first two games of the year, with the Canberra Raiders, Wests Tigers, North Queensland Cowboys, South Sydney Rabbitohs and Gold Coast Titans all winning their matches on convincing notes.

South Sydney came up with the most lopsided victory this weekend, dismantling the Sydney Roosters 42-10 at Allianz Stadium. However, the win was costly for the Rabbitohs, who lost star playmaker Adam Reynolds to a suspected broken jaw.

John Sutton also joined the growing list of Roosters’ injured players with a left pectoral muscle problem and is expected to miss 16 weeks of NRL action, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

The only remaining game in Round 1 of the NRL 2016 season is between the Melbourne Storm and St George Illawarra Dragons on Monday at AAMI Park.

Match results (NRL.com)

Broncos def. Eels 17-4

Bulldogs def. Sea Eagles 28-6

Raiders def. Panthers 30-22

Tigers def. Warriors 34-26

Cowboys def. Sharks 20-14

Rabbitohs def. Roosters 42-10

Titans def. Knights 30-12

Round 2 fixtures (Fox Sports AU)

Mar. 10, Thursday – Panthers vs Bulldogs

Mar. 11, Friday – Broncos vs Warriors