The Bunnies bounce at the SCG and the Eels claim a slippery win in our summary of round one’s conference clashes.

Wayne Bennett has been in this situation before. In 2015 he returned to the Brisbane Broncos and took on the reigning premiers in his first match back in charge. The scoreline that Friday night four years wasn’t pretty: a rampaging South Sydney Rabbitohs tore Brisbane apart on their way to a 36-6 victory. Some thought Bennett was past it and the Bunnies were on their way to back-to-back titles. Six months later, Souths’ season was done and the Broncos were preparing for their seventh grand final.

Fast forward to 2019 and Bennett faced a similar situation on Friday night. His first match in charge of a new team up against the defending premiers – only this time his team was the Rabbitohs and the defending premiers were NRL East Conference rivals the Sydney Roosters. However, history did not repeat itself as the Bunnies ran out 26-16 victors.

The Rabbitohs were sharp with the ball, retaining much of the lateral movement from their 2018 attacking structures. While they went into halftime 12-10 down, they broke the Roosters apart in a 20-minute three-try flurry. Adam Reynolds controlled the game well, while Cameron Murray was impressive through the middle. It was a performance which demonstrates why Bennett is such a great coach: he doesn’t fix what isn’t broken, works to his team’s strengths and knows what to do to get his players back on track.

There is no need for the Roosters to be too concerned. They executed the small numbers of chances within the Rabbitohs 20m zone well. Three of the Rabbitohs’ five tries came off kicks. And while all the talk after the match was how much they missed Blake Ferguson starting their sets, it’s a moot point when they struggled through the game with a 64 percent completion rate.

The Parramatta Eels had a point to prove in round 1 against the Penrith Panthers. After finishing bottom of the NRL West Conference, anything is an improvement on their horror 2018 season. They showed hunger and determination to hold on against a Panthers side who tried in vain to claim another comeback win. A 60 percent possession rate certainly helped the Eels achieve this.

The loss of Nathan Brown is a big one for Parramatta. However, this opens the door for another forward to step up, lead the way and propel them to further victories.

The Panthers have a lot to improve upon from this result. No amount of talent or comeback ability can consistently overcome poor discipline (10 penalties conceded) and ball control (their 62 percent completion rate was the second-lowest in round 1).

Conferences are never won in March, but the foundations to do so can be forged here. A round one win doesn’t guarantee a finals appearance, nor does a loss nullify the opportunity to play September footy. But after a long off-season, it’s always better to start the season off with a win.