The Salty Pigs and Southside Dawgs have emerged as hot favourites following an exciting first day of the Nines Premier League tournament on the Gold Coast.
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A stack of ex-NRL players featured in the opening two rounds including James Maloney, Matt Bowen and Isaac Luke.
And there were plenty who turned back the clock including Tyrone Peachey with the former Panther, Tiger, Shark and Titan hinting he’s open to a comeback.
Peachey starred for the RLPA team, which also featured Matt Moylan. The 33-year-old ran amok in the RLPA’s first win and then claimed man of the match honours in their second.
“Any NRL clubs out there looking for a No. 14, I’m ready to go,” Peachey said on the coverage, which was streamed live on Kayo.
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But it was the Salty Pigs, who had just 28 games worth of NRL experience in the team, that were the talk of the town. The Pigs weren’t there to muck around as they produced a statement performance in their win over Matakesi to open their campaign.
They were later put to the test by ACTV but held on to escape with a 12-10 win to go into Round 3 with a 2-0 record.
The Salty Pigs were headlined by the Marschke twins (Ben and Jesse), who played a handful of NRL games for the Roosters and Dragons, while they also have Roosters duo Victor Radley and Brandon Smith on the coaching staff.
RLPA also put on a strong performance in the first two rounds, while the Southside Dawgs produced a tournament-high of 36 points to defeat PAC in Round 1 and then backed it up by smashing the Knuckle Dusters.
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SC United fielded a star-studded side which included Ben Barba and Blake Austin, but they were shown up in the first half of Round 1 by the little-known North Coast Marlins, who ran out to a 20-0 lead.
United, however, scored four unanswered tries in the second half to snatch a 26-20 win with their experience finally shining through.
TJ McLean got man of the match for United, but Austin dazzled with a great solo try before backing it up with a sideline conversion.
Legacy also wheeled out some big-name players like Corey Norman and Anthony Milford and were too good for ACTV, cruising to a 22-0 win in Round 1.
Like the Salty Pigs, fatigue set in by Round 2 in the sweltering heat and they went down to Matakesi 11-4.
Two-time premiership-winning playmaker James Maloney made his long-awaited comeback with the Southern Sharks and was immediately barking orders on the field.
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Maloney was set to play for the Sharks in last year’s tournament but a tropical cyclone in Townsville forced him to throw those plans out.
The Sharks, who are the back-to-back premiers, had a solid start to defending their title with an 11-0 win over CMBT in what was a quality game. But had their second win stolen from them when the Marlins scored on the buzzer.
Cowboys legend Matt Bowen suited up for EZSquad, as did former Bulldog Sam Kasiano, who stunned with some slick skill in the lead-up to a try. They defeated a Knuckle Dusters squad which had the likes of Jarrod Wallace and Isaac Luke in it.
Reborn backed up their Round 1 win with another when they defeated the Arthur Beetson Foundation, while United also bagged a second win with a 12-0 victory over CMBT.
Barba got man of the match, while David Fifita also shone with a runaway try.
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