As it happened: Sea Eagles Turbo-charged; Bulldogs hold out Dragons

Next week: Manly travel to New Zealand to face the Warriors who will be keen to improve after their poor Round 1 loss in Las Vegas. The Cowboys will be at home in Townsville and will need to regroup against a Cronulla outfit who lost no fans despite going down to the Panthers in their opening match, also in Vegas.

Full-time: The Sea Eagles start their season with a bang, taking down the Cowboys in a dominant 42-12 win in front of a rabid home crowd. They were unstoppable early, rocketing out to a three-try lead within the opening nine minutes, with experienced stars Tom Trbojevic and Daly Cherry-Evans in the thick of the action. The Cowboys, who have lost a lot of experience in the off season, were shellshocked before fighting back late in the second half to get on the scoreboard. 

77th min: Some joy for the Cowboys near the end of the match, going in for back-to-back tries thanks to Braidon Burns who steps his way through after a bust from centre Viliami Vailea. Drinkwater converts for a 42-12 scoreline. 

72nd min: Scott Drinkwater finally gets the Cowboys on the board. Despite being thoroughly outplayed, the side have tried tonight and in the second half especially to switch up their fortunes and have been able to force a few more errors from the Sea Eagles. Their try comes after a turnover from Manly, with the Cowboys fullback running through after scooping up the ball. Debutant Tom Duffy has his first NRL points after kicking the conversion to trail 42-6. 

54th min: Tired of setting up his teammates, Cherry-Evans goes over for his own try and the points keep coming at 4 Pines Park. Garrick's kick is successful for a 42-0 lead. 

51st min: And they go back-to-back with a run down the righthand short side from their fullback Turbo who flicks a pass to Saab who sprints down the sideline before kicking inside for Garrick to pick up a bounce from heaven to score. He adds the extras for a 36-0 lead.

49th min: An action-packed, but until now scoreless start to the second half for the Sea Eagles sees them break through the Cowboys defence again with big man Toafofoa Sipley doing well to keep his ball-carrying arm off the ground on his way to grounding the ball.

Half-time: The home side head into the sheds with a healthy 24-0 lead after a Turbo-charged opening 10 minutes saw them cross for three tries. Fullback Tom Trbojevic and skipper Daly Cherry-Evans have steered the ship in the opening half. The Cowboys had no answers early, but did manage to stem the bleeding as the half progressed - thanks mostly to the efforts of co-captain Tom Dearden with some try-saving tackles and determination to get to any loose balls. 

The stats at the break tell much of the story with Manly enjoying 66 percent of the possession, with a 21/23 completion rate compared to only 10/13 for the Cowboys. The Sea Eagles have made a whooping 1065 run metres compared to 452 for North Queensland, who have also done a heap of defence with 204 tackles. Manly have been forced to only make 108.

26th min: Forward Ethan Bullemor goes over under the posts for Manly's fourth try, running in support of Tom Trbojevic who busts through the Cowboys defence before bursting down field. An easy conversion for Garrick and Manly are in front 24-0.

25th min: Although the Sea Eagles have been relentless in their attack, they opt to go ahead with a penalty goal to lead 18-0.

20th min: The game has settled somewhat to the relief of the Cowboys, with the Sea Eagles also being denied a try due to a forward pass, allowing the visitors a moment with the ball. Manly are not taking their foot off the pedal however and seemed buoyed by the energy of the sold out crowd and are keen to turn on their attack. 

9th min: And the Sea Eagles are in again - this time with Ben Trbojevic running in after some impressive work from Lehi Hopoate to outleap Scott Drinkwater and gather a kick and pass back to his second rower. Garrick slots the conversion for 16-0 lead. The Cowboys are shell-shocked and have been starved of any ball early. 

7th min: Manly are in again down the right side with Jason Saab strolling over. The Sea Eagles are looking crisp and a beat ahead of the Cowboys, with halfback Daly Cherry-Evans and fullback Tom Trbojevic showing some silky passing skills to help set up the early tries. Garrick is success with his second attempt for a 10-0 lead. 

3rd min: The Sea Eagles are in for the first try with Haumole Olakau'atu streaming through out wide to score the opener after the home side were the beneficiaries of back-to-back penalties. Reuben Garrick's conversion attempt is unsuccessful, with Manly up 4-0. 

Late Mail

Sea Eagles: No late changes for Manly. Taniela Paseka (shoulder) and winger Jason Saab (ankle) are good to go but Lachlan Croker (knee) faces another 3-4 weeks out. Superstar fullback Tom Trbojevic has scored a try in six consecutive games at 4 Pines and will look to keep that streak going. Former Warrior Jazz Tevaga starts at hooker while another new recruit Siosiua Taukeiaho will start at prop in his first NRL appearance since 2022. Clayton Faulalo is 18th man.

Cowboys: Todd Payten's side is 1-17 with no late changes. Young gun Tom Duffy makes his NRL debut and will partner Tom Dearden in the halves. New signing John Bateman comes straight into the starting second row position, with Heilum Luki out for the season, while fellow club newcomer Karl Lawton will come from the bench against his former club. Kai O'Donnell is 18th man. The Cowboys have won their past two games at 4 Pines Park.

Dragons v Bulldogs at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium

Next week: The Bulldogs will host the Titans in the Gold Coast's first game of the season at Belmore, while the Dragons are home at Wollongong to take on the Bunnies who are likely to be without Jack Wighton who faces a suspension for a careless high tackle. They will also be missing Ryan Couchman with his suspected ACL injury.

Full-time: The Bulldogs hold on against a fast-finishing Dragons to post a 28-20 win, despite a Christian Tuipulotu hat-trick. The home side will rue too many errors in the first half to give up a 16-6 lead at half-time, but they didn't give up, providing plenty of entertainment in the second half to give their fans hope of an improved 2025 season. The Dogs showed plenty of grit in defence and intent in a physical encounter to claim the away win. New signing Sitili Tupouniua impressed for the Bulldogs with two quick-fire tries.  

Some injury concerns for both sides with Dragons forward Ryan Couchman suffering a suspected ACL injury, while Bulldogs captain Stephen Crichton battled cramps and failed to finish the match.

72nd min: Tuipulotu has a hat-trick and Dragons fans are up and about after an exciting try. Liddle has been outstanding off the bench and firstly gets the ball back for his side after forcing the ball free from Reed Mahoney before playing his part in helping get the ball down field and out to the left sideline for the powerful winger. Holmes however shanks the conversion attempt and the Dragons have work to do with time running out trailing 28-20. 

67th min: A Liddle bit of magic for a try! Jacob Liddle goes over for a dream,  taking a quick tap from just over the halfway and running straight up the middle of the field to score. Holmes gets the conversion and the spark returns to the home side who trail 28-16. 

63rd min: Guler goes on report for a hip drop tackle on Jacob Preston, with the resulting penalty seeing the Bulldogs go on the attack, but the Dragons lift in defence and force the ball free from Toby Sexton who was attacking just out from the tryline. 

55th min: And now Tuipulotu has two, clawing one back for the Dragons after running through to the line despite the best efforts of Tracey to bring him down. Holmes misses the kick from the sideline, with the Dragons trailing 28-10.

51st min: Two for Tupouniua! Another hard run onto a short ball sees the new recruit go over under the posts for another try. Burton once again slots the conversion from in front and the score has blown out to 28-6 in favour of the visitors. 

45th min: The Bulldogs have continued their momentum to start the second half with Sitili Tupouniua the next of the Canterbury players to score after producing a powerful run to the line. Burton converts again for a 22-6 lead.

Injury update: Dragons interchange forward Ryan Couchman hobbled from the field with a knee injury midway through the first half and is reported to have suffered an ACL injury. More details at Cas Ward. 

Half-time: The Bulldogs head into the sheds with a 16-6 lead after getting the better of the Dragons in a fast and fiery first half of football. There's plenty of feeling between the two teams and bound to be more exciting action to come in th second half. Dragons signings Clint Gutherson, Damien Cook and Valentine Holmes have been keeping busy in their first outing, while the Bulldogs have kept up their high 2024 season level of defence. 

The stats at the break sees Bulldogs with 51 percent of possession and a 13/18 completion rate compared to 12/17 for the Dragons. The visitors have made four line breaks to three and 799 run metres to St George Illawarra's 544. Dragons have made 16 tackle breaks compared to 14 for the Bulldogs and 151 tackles to Canterbury's 139. 

38th min: Dragons are successful with a Captain's Challenge and go close to scoring, but the Bulldogs defence holds strong, with players swarming to keep the powerful Tuipulotu from getting his second.

34th min: Back-to-back tries for the Bulldogs, with Connor Tracey fighting all the way to juuust dot down the ball despite the attention of the Dragons defenders. Burton's kick is true again and the visitors extend their lead to 16-6. 

30th min: Bulldogs go back in front with winger Blake Wilson getting the job done for the visitors who capitalised on an error from the Dragons who knocked on when attempting to take a high kick. Matt Burton's conversion is successful to put the Dogs up 10-6. 

25th min: Hamish Stewart comes on in his debut game for Ryan Couchman, who appears to be hampered by a leg injury, going straight up the tunnel with Dragons staff.

16th min: A bit of controversy as the Dragons hit back with Christian Tuipulotu going over after the home side pounced on an Montoya error. The match officials awarded a penalty try with Stephen Crichton put on report for the use of his knees as he dislodged the ball when the winger was attempting to score. Valentine Holmes slots the conversion and the Dragons lead 6-4. 

13th min: Returning Bulldog Marcelo Montoya crosses for the first points of the day, punishing the Dragons for back-to-back errors. 

3rd min: And the Dragons force one straight back, with Guler involved in a big tackle that sees danger man Viliame Kikau lose the ball. Hectic start to the game with plenty of feeling already on show. 

1st min: The Bulldogs have the perfect start to the match, forcing an error from the Dragons in their first carry from the kick-off, with determined defence proving too much for Emre Guler.

Around the grounds: In heartwarming news for Dragons fans, Cody Ramsey’s first official rugby league match in two-and-half years was a successful one, with returning fullback putting in a strong performance in the The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup to help lead the Dragons to a 34-26 over Canterbury in their season opener. Corey Allan, who was playing his first official rugby league game since suffering a torn ACL last preseason, also bagged a needed four-pointer in his return. Full report at the NSWRL website.

Late mail

Dragons: Just the one change to the starting side that beat the Rabbitohs in Mudgee with powerhouse winger Christian Tuipulotu back on deck after a hamstring injury. Hooker Jacob Liddle comes in on the bench for Connor Muhleisen while local product Hamish Stewart makes his NRL debut off the bench. Tyrell Sloan played on the wing in NSW Cup, in a side that also featured fullback Cody Ramsey in his first official game in over two-and-a-half years. Dylan Egan remains in the NRL squad as 18th man one hour from kick off.

Bulldogs: In a late change, Kurt Mann moves to the bench, bringing in Jaeman Salmon to start at lock. Blake Taafe is the 18th player. Former Roosters and Rabbitohs prop Daniel Suluka-Fifita has been called up to start in his debut for the Bulldogs, replacing Sam Hughes. Back at Canterbury after four seasons as a Warrior, Marcelo Montoya starts on the wing while former Rooster Sitili Tupouniua plays his first game for the club off the bench. Josh Curran (suspension) is available for the Round 2 clash with the Titans.