2012 NRL Season

NRL season is already underway!

Round 1 Results so far
Newcastle 14
St George/Illawarra 15

Parramatta 6
Brisbane 18

Canberra 19
Melbourne 24

Penrith 14
Canterbury-Bankstown 22

North Queensland 0
Gold Coast 18

New Zealand 20
Manly 26

Wests Tigers v Cronulla is on now, with South Sydney v Sydney on tomorrow night.

Half Time

Wests Tigers 12
Cronulla 4

End of 2nd Half

Wests Tigers 16
Cronulla 16

Game going into golden point extra time

Final Score (ET)

Wests Tigers 17
Cronulla 16

BRING BACK NORTH SYDNEY!! (thinly disguised as Central Coast Bears)

Final score of the Monday night match

South Sydney 20
Sydney 24

All I can say is thank god for Benji what a close game. Losing our full back hurt. Good games so far to begin the year which is what I like to see.

Round 2 Friday Night scores

Manly 22
Wests 18

Brisbane 26
North Queensland 28

Half Time
Gold Coast 12
Canberra 12

Full Time
Gold Coast 12
Canberra 24

Half Time
Canterbury-Bankstown 18
St George/Illawarra 4

Final Score
Canterbury-Bankstown 30
St George/Illawarra 4

Half Time
Cronulla 0
Newcastle 6

Full Time
Cronulla 6
Newcastle 18

Final Score
Sydney 0
Penrith 18

I don't 'barrack' for an NRL team, Bt.

Do you want to give a quick summary of each team (only a few lines, perhaps) to help me decide?

There's some I know I don't want, but I haven't got a favourite.

Get on board the Central Coast Bears R&B! The former North Sydney Bears club are bidding to re-enter the NRL, as a relocated team in Gosford.

They proudly wear red and black and deserve to return!!

If they don't, then the only other team I can recommend is the North Queensland Cowboys.

Not overly familiar with every side but in a nutshell

Cronulla are the North Melbourne of the NRL. Had significant financial issues in the past, poor supporter base and little on-field success.

New Zealand, Brisbane, and Melbourne being the sole team in their markets are always popular regardless of form. Melbourne have rebounded strongly from their salary cap issues of 2010.

North Queensland are popular up in Townsville, but haven't been overly successful.

Gold Coast have struggled in recent years, and are losing market share to the Suns fast.

Canberra, don't know a great deal about them. A single market team with moderate success, but haven't done much in awhile.

Newcastle have captured the hearts of the Hunter Valley. Had quite a bit of success and will always get decent support in Newcastle regardless of form.

So that leaves the myriad of Sydney teams.

South Sydney have been a laughingstock since they rejoined the NRL (and the decade before their expulsion), only making the finals once since their re-entry in 2002 (in 2007 - their previous finals appearance was in 1989). Russell Crowe also owns the team, making them even more repugnant.

There's St George/Illawarra. St George have been one of the most successful sides in the competition, and have continued to do so after their arranged marriage with Illawarra during the NRL's team rationalision era after the Super League War.

The only other Sydney side I'm familiar with is Canterbury-Bankstown, the side that I've started following. Have made Adelaide their second home with matches at Adelaide Oval the past couple of years, and will play another home game in Adelaide this season. Went to the first game they played here in 2010, and they made a brilliant effort in getting the local fans up to speed on the history of the club. After that night, I decided to follow them, and went to the game last year.

Final Score
Melbourne 24
South Sydney 10

Final Score
Parramatta 20
New Zealand 36

Ok my two cents. I am a Wests Tigers Supporter. (Used to Follow Balmain) I go for a merged club of two original teams Balmain and Wests. We have two supporter bases Western Suburbs and Balmain, both get along fine and the merger is working. The tigers have won one premiership 2005 and have one of the most exciting teams in the NRL.

For those that enjoy live NRL coverage - Channel 9 are now providing live coverage of 2/3 of their NRL matches (one Friday night and Sunday) on GEM. The third match (the other Friday night match) is replayed immediately following the first match on Friday night, and well before the usual time it gets on the main channel.

About time. Great move by channel 9 (GEM)