PREVIEW: Intrust Super Premiership NSW - 2016 Round 2

NSWRL's Joel Moss takes a full look at all 6 games of the second round in NSW's premier open-age competition, the Intrust Super Premiership.

Mounties v Wyong: Contenders or Pretenders?
GIO Stadium, Saturday 12th March, 12:40pm
Watch LIVE on FOX Sports on Channel 501

One single point: that is what Mounties' minor premiership success in 2015 over the Wyong Roos came down to.

In the FOX Sports Match of the Round, last season's grand-finalists, Wyong, take on Mounties in an anticipated showdown.

While Mounties enjoyed a hard-earned 26-24 win at home over the Penrith Panthers in Round 1, the Roos were left with their tails between their legs, suffering a 28-18 loss to the Wentworthville Magpies that has given coach Rip Taylor much food for thought.

"The boys have had a look at themselves and how they performed in the first 30 minutes," Taylor told NSWRL.com.au. "They understand there are some guys knocking on the door if they don't aim up - it's as simple as that.

"Wenty hit the ground running. We clawed our way back into the game but they were good enough to kick away again. Wenty threw the challenge down to us early and I don't think we were up to it."

Taylor is quickly looking for answers before this weekend's matchup against a talented Mounties side featuring the 2015 Player of the Year Mitch Barnett and captain Glen Buttriss.

You can be sure that behind inspirational captain Mitch Williams and electric stars Omar Slaimankhel, Brendan Elliot and Abraham Papalii, the Roos will be hell bent on a spirited bounce-back performance this weekend.

It's a pivotal contest for Wyong in avoiding failing to a 0-2 record to start their campaign but in front of a home crowd at GIO Stadium, Mounties will be determined to repeat their perfect start to open the season again after claiming victory in their first seven matches in 2015.

Penrith v North Sydney: Bears Weary of Wounded Cats
Pepper Stadium, Saturday 12th March, 3:00pm
Listen LIVE via Hawkesbury Radio on 89.9 FM or at www.‪hawkesburyradio.com.au 

Escaping with a 28-12 comeback win over the defending premiers - the Newcastle Knights - in Round 1, the North Sydney Bears know they cannot repeat their error-filled first half again this weekend against the Penrith Panthers.

"In the Intrust Super Premiership NSW, if you don't have 50 per cent of possession, it's very hard to win games," Bears coach Ben Gardiner told NSWRL.com.au. "At half-time we spoke about getting that possession and the balance right. As a result of that we were able to come up on top in the second half.

"Newcastle played really well. In the first half they held onto the ball and we chose not to for some reason. That's one of the frustrations of the game sometimes."

The Panthers suffered a narrow 26-24 loss on the road to Mounties, with the promising five-eighth Te Maire Martin the standout with a two-try effort.

Preparing for this week, Gardiner is watching all of the Panthers very closely.

"They've got 13 players and four on the bench that are all very high-quality players," Gardiner said. "For us to do our job this week, we have to take care of every single one of them. I watched their game last week and they played extremely well and they were unlucky not to get the win.

"It's not going to be one person to take care of because if we focus our attention on one person, there's 16 others there that could do the job for them. They've got talent across the park, they're quite skilful and they've got the ability to move the ball as well as run hard."

One of the major keys to early-season success is efficiency and execution in attack - something Gardiner fully expects his North Sydney side to understand.

"Playing at this level you don't need to address it (ball control) - the players understand it," Gardiner said. "It's just doing it. It's easier said than done sometimes. Sometimes the more you talk about it, the less you hold it. We try not to go overboard on it. They're professional players and they know what it takes to win footy games. it's just a matter of everyone's on the same page.

"That's the key. If we go into the circumstances that we did at half-time last week, we're going to put undue pressure on ourselves. At this level of footy, you can't do that week in, week out. You have to make sure, in terms of starting the game, we have to start the game better and execute the basics of the game better in the first half and that will give us the opportunity in the second half.

"It's more important to worry about ourselves and make sure our systems are in place. If we take care of ourselves, we don't have to worry about them."

Canterbury v Illawara: Mission for Unbeaten Start
Belmore Sports Ground, Saturday 12th March, 3:00pm
Listen LIVE via Steele Sports Radio at www.steelesports.com.au

You would be forgiven for thinking the Canterbury Bulldogs would have a little extra bite for their match against the Illawarra Cutters following their 16-all draw with the Newtown Jets in Round One.

However, Bulldogs coach Andy Patmore only has glowing praise for his side and their gutsy effort to hold on for the result after leading 16-6 with 13 minutes to play.

"No (disappointment), not at all," Patmore told NSWRL.com.au. "Obviously two points is better than one. In the big schemes of things, we did pretty well in the back end of the game. We had no ball or field position, so we had to hang on.

"The effort was good. We made a couple of mistakes in defence but the effort was great to start the year. We hung on in the end and we were probably lucky to get away with a draw. They came home hard at us. I was pretty happy."

Meanwhile, the Cutters put the Intrust Super Premiership NSW on alert with an emphatic 36-22 triumph over the Warriors. Illawarra cruised to a comfortable 24-4 half-time lead before they relinquished their grip on the game to allow the Warriors back into the contest. The Warriors fought back to trail 30-22 with 18 minutes remaining before the Cutters clinched the win.

The Bulldogs will have to be at their best to take down the Cutters. Behind fast-rising star halfback, Drew Hutchison, Illawarra is shaping as one of the competition's heavyweights this season. Named in the 2014 NYC Team of the Year and playing for the victorious NSW Under-20s side in the same season as his NRL debut last year, Hutchison has a very bright future ahead of him in first grade according to Patmore.

"[Illawarra] certainly have some big boys," Patmore said. "They play directly with good field position. Drew Hutchison is going to be a star. He runs their plays and is very good in the halves. The big blokes and Drew Hutchison, they're a pretty powerful team."

Newcastle v Newtown: Big Guns Set To Fire
Cessnock Sportsground, Saturday 12th March, 3:00pm

Looking for their first win of the season, the Newcastle Knights and Newtown Jets go toe to toe for the two competition points at Cessnock Sportsground.

The defending premiers, Newcastle, will lament their lacklustre effort to open their season last weekend, falling 28-12 to the North Sydney Bears after establishing a handy 12-0 half-time lead.

Similarly, Newtown will be disappointed with their slow start in trailing 12-0 with 20 minutes to play before escaping with a final-minute 16-all draw with the Canterbury Bulldogs.

In a promising start to the season for the Jets, Fa'amanu Brown, Arana Taumatta and Matt Evans provided impressive performances. Moreover, Newtown's much-maligned defence was a significant improvement, holding a powerful Bulldogs side to only 16 points.

Knights coach Matt Lantry will need to find a way to test the Jets and breach their defence for a much-needed win. With Jake Mamo serving first grade duties, Newcastle will rely on Jacob Gagai and Danny Kerr to ignite their attack.

In an interesting side note, Jaline Graham will play off the bench it what could be a devastating weapon against a tiring Knights defence for Jets coach Greg Matterson to utilise.

Denying Newcastle their first win of the season, Newtown will also have the added motivation of marking Matterson's 200th game as head coach with a memorable victory.

Wests Tigers v Warriors: Agile of the Tiger
Leichhardt Oval, Saturday 12th March, 3:30pm
Listen LIVE via Steele Sports Radio at www.steelesports.com.au

Determined to make amends for a disappointing season 2015, Wests Tigers got off to the best possible start with a hugely satisfying 34-16 win over the Manly Sea Eagles in Round One.

Hungry for more success, Wests Tigers coach Paul Stringer is firm about his desire for a repeat performance against a Warriors side reeling from 36-22 loss last weekend, in which they trailed 24-4 at half-time against the Illawarra Cutters.

"If we put in a performance like last week with 80 per cent completion rate or higher, kick to the corners and make them tackle us for most of the game, I'll be very happy - the result will take care of itself," Stringer told NSWRL.com.au.

"[They're] a big strong running forward pack with a lot of youth; they don't have many weaknesses in their side. They've got all of New Zealand to pick from. We just we need to do what we need to do. As I said last week, we just have to worry more about ourselves than the Warriors."

The Warriors travel across the Tasman for their second road game in as many rounds, and a better start is imperative against a slick Wests Tigers side led by halfback Josh Drinkwater. Drinkwater was instrumental in his side's ability to earn the impressive victory after establishing a 6-4 half-time lead.

"'Drinky' (Drinkwater) played a really strong controlled game with no errors and good kicking," Stringer said. "He got our team around the park the way he should."

"It was what we did in the first half which resulted in our second half. It had nothing to do with anything I said at half-time. Nice, relaxed and in control at half-time, we completed our sets including 90 per cent for the game - that's why the game ended up the way it went."

The Warriors are boosted with NRL regulars Konrad Hurrell, Jonathan Wright and Ali Lauitiiti named in the side whom will need to be at their explosive best if they are to steal a valuable road victory and dodge a dreaded 0-2 record to open their season.

Wentworthville v Manly: Battle of the Birds
Ringrose Park, Sunday 13th March, 3:00pm
Broadcast LIVE via 90.5 Alive FM

The Manly Sea Eagles aim to kick-start their season campaign in Round 2against a firing Wentworthville Magpies side that blasted through the gates with an impressive 28-18 win over last season's grand-finalists, Wyong Roos.

Battling to trail 6-4 at half-time last weekend, Manly couldn't overcome the loss of Tim Moltzen and Hugh Pratt in the second half, eventually falling 34-16 at full-time.

"It was huge because we lost him (Moltzen) in the 30th minute and then our hooker (Pratt) at half-time as well," Sea Eagles coach Luke Williamson told NSWRL.com.au. "Losing two key players in key positions altered our second half. Then not completing our sets when we only had three changes in those 40 minutes with the big boys and those conditions certainly hurt us, that's for sure."

Wenty are high on confidence after their stirring victory in front of their home crowd but Williamson is determined to steal victory at Ringrose Park.

"It is pretty vital; every game is vital," Williamson said. "It would be great to get a good win on Sunday.

"It's vital that you have plans B and plans C up your sleeve. Those two injuries last week; we recovered ok. It was just the side itself getting an understanding of what's happening and playing with some relatively new players. Coming into week two, we should be more balanced across the park and with a bit of luck we'll have a clean slate of injuries which will be a big thing.

"Looking at the Wenty team, it's pretty red hot," Williamson said. "Our percentage last week was 62 per cent for the entire game. In any game of football, you need your fair share to be able to win and add the extreme conditions, which will be the same on Sunday.

"We've got to fight and have our fair share of the ball to give ourselves a chance."

Article courtesy NSWRL - www.nswrl.com.au