Photo: Panthers Media
LAST Friday night we witnessed one of the most spine-tingling moments our great game has ever delivered. South Sydney’s modest flyer Alex Johnstone broke a 53-year record to produce a double, and in turn break Ken Irvine’s long standing most tries scored record of 212. That record has stood since 1973, the year he retired. The scenes that followed had every rugby league lover on their feet cheering the momentous achievement as thousands in attendance stormed the field to celebrate the prolific milestone.
Even as the giant LED screen at Allianz read “DO NOT ENTER THE FIELD OF PLAY!” Good luck with that. Even the PM strode onto the field as both Rabbits and Roosters fans celebrated something perhaps we’ll never see in our lives again! The game was delayed by 16 minutes and my only concern was that I wasn’t there to see it live!
What a moment, what a memorable, mythical, and historic night it was for our game. The gold number 2 that he swapped while awaiting the restart of the game was a fantastic touch.
Elsewhere around the grounds for round 2, the Parramatta Eels showed they will win more games than they lose this year, with a gritty comeback against the premiers Brisbane, who are struggling early. The Warriors put on a second half clinic against the Raiders with an early crow here. Warriors prop Jackson Ford could find himself in an origin jersey this year!
At Leichhardt Oval (8th wonder of the world) on Saturday, Benji Marshall’s men, the Wests Tigers stampeded an out of sorts Cowboys outfit with ex Panther Jarome Luai starring. Down in the Gong the Storm proved too powerful for the Dragons with livewire fullback Sua Fa’alogo scoring 3 tries in 12 minutes to put the Storm on top of the ladder (points differential) after two rounds.
The Panthers turned their sights to Bathurst where their impenetrable defence was on full display. Conceding only 6 points after two games against the Broncos and Sharks would be the most pleasing aspect for coach Ivan Cleary.
Sunday was a day straight from heaven. Sun shining, no rain, around 27 degrees, perfect for open running rugby league. Only nobody told Manly, who were in a word: WOEFUL against the injury-ravaged Newcastle Knights who lost Kayln Ponga and Dylan Brown, their two best attacking weapons, in the first half. The Brookvale faithful deserved better.
And finally, the last game of the round was a dour struggle between two Queensland teams in the Dolphins against the Titans. The Dolphins got the chocolates thanks to the ‘Hammer’ Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, who lit up in the final 20 minutes, but it was far from a game to write home about.
All in all, round two of the NRL 2026 will be remembered for the history making efforts of Alex Johnstone, a player who deserves every accolade that comes his way….
MG (random Westie) OAM
