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What worked well
Starting in the left second-row position usually occupied by the sidelined Boyd Cordner, Angus Crichton appears set for a bumper season as he maintained his strong State of Origin form. Canberra hooker Josh Hodgson didn’t miss a beat as he returned from a knee injury.
Match Highlights: Raiders v Roosters
What needs work
Raiders prop Corey Horsburgh must fine-tune his aggression. The Roosters were largely outgunned through the middle by Canberra when both teams were at full-strength in the first half.
Storm v Knights
What worked well
The Storm may have a ready-made replacement for winger Suliasi Vunivalu, with Melbourne-born rookie Dean Ieremia firming for a round one starting berth with an impressive showing, while the Knights will be buoyed by the form of towering English back Dominic Young who also hit the scoresheet in Albury.
Cowboys enforcer Jason Taumalolo wants to increase his explosiveness in 2021 as North Queensland s new co-captain leads the club into a promising new era under rookie coach Todd Payten.
Taumalolo has already scaled rugby league’s greatest heights with a premiership and Dally M Medal but leadership is one area he believes he has room to grow as he joins Michael Morgan as a permanent leader of the team.
Payten clearly wants to extract every ounce of value from his marquee man, planning to reduce his game time in a quality-over-quantity philosophy whilst also pushing the 27-year-old out of his shy comfort zone into a position of authority within the team.