Round 2 of the Intrust Super Premiership NSW rolled around last weekend and a number of early contenders for the title emerged; the Bulldogs, Roos, Panthers, Bears and Mounties all experienced good wins and all five remain undefeated in 2017. As the opening two rounds of the NRL saw more than 720 points scored - the most in that competition since 1999 - the lower grade was similarly attacking-based with 340 points posted across the six Round 2 games.
Unsurprisingly, the Penrith Panthers were leaders in many key areas after their 52-12 anihillation of the Wests Tigers: they had the greatest share of possession (62 per cent), the most run metres (1,804), most line-breaks (10), fewest missed tackles (19), fewest errors (three), equal-fewest penalties conceded (seven, alongside the Wests Tigers) and were made to make the equal-fewest tackles (222, alongside the Bears). Add in that their Sunday opponents had the most missed tackles (52) and fewest metres (804) of the weekend and it's clear that this was a very lopsided contest - reflected on the final scoreboard.
Individually, Blacktown's Brendan Attwood and Rod Griffin were equal leaders in tackles made (48), while Illawarra's Kalifa Faifai Loa (197 metres), the Warriors' James Gavet (195) and Penrith's Lachlan Stein (192) and Moses Leota (195) were the round's best in metres gained. All six players were recognised with selections in the Round 2 Team of the Week.
At times, statistics didn't reflect the final result; the Bulldogs, for example, appeared better than the Warriors despite losing 36 points to 22. The visitors outplayed the Warriors in almost every key statistical area: greater possession (52 per cent) and run metres (1,271 to 1,230) but fewer tackles (264 to 273), missed tackles (31 to 36), errors (nine to 10) and penalties conceded (eight to 10). That was thanks to a second-half resurgence for Canterbury-Bankstown, but it wasn't enough to overcome a 30-4 half-time deficit. Similarly, Mounties and Newtown were roughly on par statistically, but a horror run with injuries eventually cruelled the Jets' chances as they went down 46-28.
Illawarra and Wentworthville also had similar stats in defence from their 80 minutes in Wollongong, but one key difference was the home side's increased metres from dummy-half. That suggests a slightly safer approach and it paid dividends, allowing them to hold the ball for a Round 2-high completion rate of 82 per cent. From there they could dominate possession and win a tight contest 24-16.
View the full stats reports from each of the games below - and view the Round 2 Team of the Week, with all statistics taken into account.
