After a thrilling opening day of the Nines Premier League competition on the Gold Coast, the Salty Pigs and Southside Dawgs have become the clear favourites.
James Maloney, Matt Bowen, and Isaac Luke were among the many former NRL players that participated in the first two rounds.
And many people went back in time, such as Tyrone Peachey, who hinted to a potential comeback as a former Panther, Tiger, Shark, and Titan.
The RLPA team, which included Matt Moylan, had Peachey as its star player. After dominating the RLPA’s first victory, the 33-year-old won man of the match in their second.
Peachey stated during the live-streamed coverage on Kayo, “Any NRL clubs out there looking for a No. 14 I’m ready to go.”
However, the Salty Pigs were the talk of the town despite having only played 28 NRL games as a team. When they defeated Matakesi to start their campaign, the Pigs put on a show and showed they weren’t there to mess around.
Later, ACTV put them to the test, but they persevered and won 12–10 to advance to Round 3 with a 2-0 record.
The Marschke brothers (Ben and Jesse), who played a few NRL games for the Roosters and Dragons, were the Salty Pigs’ main attraction. They also have Roosters coaches Victor Radley and Brandon Smith on staff.
While the Southside Dawgs defeated PAC in Round 1 with a tournament-high 36 points and then crushed the Knuckle Dusters to support it, RLPA also played well in the first two rounds.
Ben Barba and Blake Austin were among the best players on SC United’s roster, but they were outclassed by the obscure North Coast Marlins in the first half of Round 1, winning 20-0.
However, United’s experience ultimately showed as they scored four consecutive tries in the second half to win 26–20.
United’s man of the match award went to TJ McLean, but Austin stole the show with a fantastic solo try and a sideline conversion.
Legacy easily defeated ACTV 22-0 in Round 1 and brought in some well-known players including Corey Norman and Anthony Milford.
Similar to the Salty Pigs, they lost to Matakesi 11–4 after tiredness set in during Round 2 in the intense heat.
James Maloney, a two-time premiership-winning playmaker, finally returned with the Southern Sharks and started giving instructions on the pitch right away.
A tropical cyclone in Townsville caused Maloney to cancel his preparations to play for the Sharks in the tournament last year.
The Sharks, the back-to-back premiers, defeated CMBT 11-0 in a high-caliber match to get off to a strong start in defending their title. However, the Marlins scored on the buzzer to steal their second victory.
Both former Bulldog Sam Kasiano and Cowboys veteran Matt Bowen played for EZSquad. Kasiano’s smooth talent in the lead-up to a try was impressive. They triumphed over a Knuckle Dusters team that had players like Isaac Luke and Jarrod Wallace.
Reborn backed up their Round 1 win with another when they defeated the Arthur Beetson Foundation, while United also bagged a second win with a 12-0 victory over CMBT.
Barba got man of the match, while David Fifita also shone with a runaway try.
