NRL 2020 season restart: Sydney Roosters v South Sydney Rabbitohs in Round 3 – live!

12 mins: Souths get to halfway before a penalty gifts them decent attacking territory for the first time tonight. They probe down the left before handing debutant Dargan kicking duties on the last tackle but his grubber is hoovered up by the silky Tedesco and the Roosters regroup.

10 mins: Knock-on against the Roosters as they try to pick their way down the right edge on the second tackle around 20m out. The Rabbitohs need some controlled possession.

9 mins: Keary’s kicking game is on point tonight so far. After the Roosters marched 80m downfield he found a cute space behind the defensive line but in front of fullback Mitchell to allow his chasers to force a line drop-out.

7 mins: The Roosters restart with a solid set, forcing the Rabbitohs to build from their own line. They advance a long way though, helped by a repeat set for a ruck infringement, before a sloppy grubber goes dead and Easts clear their lines.

… and not on Nine.

3 mins: First penalty of the night goes to the Roosters after Knight went in high as the third man on Waerea-Hargreaves in midfield. That leads to the first decent attacking opportunity of the match and the premiers take full advantage. Patient build up for four tackles ends with Luke Keary kicking precisely to the left corner where the leaping Daniel Tupou times his jump to perfection to clutch the mark and land safely over the line with green jerseys hanging off him. The touchline conversion from Kyle Flanagan is good.

2 mins: Solid, unspectacular opening sets from both sides. I’m following this on C9 where the piped noise does not appear to be part of the broadcast, giving the match that eerie preseason feel.

Here we go! 112 years since these clubs first went at it, they do battle in perhaps the oddest circumstances yet.

The players are making their way out into the middle of Bankwest Stadium. We’ll be underway shortly.

Conditions are perfect at the deserted Bankwest Stadium. It’s cool, dry and still in Western Sydney, ideal for such a massive contest.

We’re only ten minutes or so away from kick-off, but time to plough through this bit of fun from Gavin Willacy about the history of rugby league broadcasting in the UK.

As a public service, if you’re unfamiliar with Richard Madeley, who is featured in the story above, here’s an insight into his unironic Alan Partridge stylings.

The NRL, like sporting competitions around the world, are having to innovate while crowds are unable to attend matches in person. Mike Hytner has peeked behind the curtain to see how matchdays are being made to look as realistic as possible.

One late change for Souths with Tom Amone completing the interchange bench in place of Patrick Mago. Plenty of attention on 22-year-old debutant Troy Dargan who partners skipper Adam Reynolds in the halves, not to mention the numero uno.

1. Latrell Mitchell 2. Dane Gagai 3. Campbell Graham 4. Braidon Burns 5. Alex Johnston 6. Troy Dargan 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Tevita Tatola 9. Damien Cook 10. Thomas Burgess 11. Jaydn Su’A 12. Cameron Murray 13. Liam Knight. INT: 14. Mark Nicholls 15. Ethan Lowe 16. Bayley Sironen 19. Tom Amone

For the Roosters, captain Boyd Cordner will make his first appearance of 2020, while Josh Morris will make his club debut at left centre. Only one late change to report with Lindsay Collins and the now benched Isaac Liu trading places.

1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Josh Morris 4. Joseph Manu 5. Brett Morris 6. Luke Keary 7. Kyle Flanagan 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9. Jake Friend 17. Lindsay Collins 11. Boyd Cordner 12. Angus Crichton 13. Victor Radley. INT: 10. Isaac Liu 14. Sam Verrills 15. Sitili Tupouniua 16. Nat Butcher

The NRL has behaved in a very NRL way en route to resuming the season, and for all its inelegance and brass neck it has worked a charm, as Nick Tedeschi explains.

The league has endured: organisational inertia at NRL HQ; outspoken opposition in the corridors of power; broadcasters who wouldn’t pay; players who baulked at a pay cut; referees who threatened industrial action; players who flouted social distancing rules; anti-vaxxers who had the potential to stop a return; and the typical rugby league bickering that has felled so many in the past. Yet the NRL will on Thursday become the first major Australian sports league to resume since the coronavirus shutdown. And the game is not where it is today because it flowed with the current of the worldwide pandemic; it is where it is today largely, if not solely, due to one man – Peter V’landys.

But the impact of Covid-19 will still be felt on the on-field product, as Larissa O’Connor outlines.

The game will be adjudicated by a single referee for the first time since 2008; an adjustment welcomed by many fans and one that will net savings for the cash-strapped NRL… New to the NRL rule book is the awarding of six additional tackles for ruck infringements. The change was trialled back in 2012 in a high-scoring Indigenous All Stars game, but shelved ever since. For current players, the new law is virtually untested and teams would be well advised to watch the early games this round to gauge how the rule will be enforced, how it may open up attacking opportunities and to what extend it could wear down defending sides, particularly in the latter stages of a game.

For all the afterglow of the return of live sport, it nearly ended in disaster for Brodie Croft who was on the verge of missing out in accordance with Covid-19 protocols.

The young halfback twice recorded temperatures above the permitted limit of 37.2C when he arrived at Suncorp Stadium, threatening to throw the Broncos’ preparations for the round three game against Parramatta into chaos. Croft was put in a holding room where he waited 15 minutes before taking a third test, which he passed. The NRL’s strict new biosecurity rules require all players to have their temperature taken upon entry; if they fail the test, they will not be allowed to play.

Nick Tedeschi liked what he saw.

It was 67 days since the last NRL match was played. The world has changed due to Covid-19, and so has rugby league. The game looked different, felt different and sounded different. It was no less engaging though. Its essence – brute force the showcasing of speed and skill and athleticism – remained the same.

In case you missed last night’s curtain re-raiser, the Eels thumped the Broncos.