2024 NRL: Round 1 Stats Number Crunch

Each week of the National Rugby League, we’ll crunch the numbers and see how your team has fared over the past decade in each round. This week, we take a look at round 1 historical team and player data.

Data collated from NRL.com and covers the competitions from 2014 to 2024. Additional analysis from Shannon Meyer (thegurgler.com).

Teams Number Crunch

Round 1 Total Points

2014 349
2015 305
2016 329
2017 332
2018 337
2019 259
2020 243
2021 323
2022 274
2023 282
Average: 303.3

Round 1 Average Margin

2014 12.63
2015 14.13
2016 13.63
2017 11.5
2018 9.13
2019 14.38
2020 10.63
2021 17.88
2022 9.5
2023 8.75
Average: 12.21

Round 1 Teams Kept Scoreless

Titans (0-21 Vs Raiders, 2019)
Warriors (0-20 Vs Knights, 2020)
Cowboys (0-24 Vs Panthers, 2021)

Round 1 Biggest Wins

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42 Roosters (46-4 Vs Sea Eagles, Sydney Cricket Ground, 13/3/21)
34 Warriors (40-6 Vs Bulldogs, Mount Smart Stadium, 16/3/19)
32 Rabbitohs (42-10 Vs Roosters, Allianz Stadium, 6/3/16)
32 Dragons (42-10 Vs Panthers, Jubilee Oval, 4/3/17)
30 Rabbitohs (36-6 Vs Broncos, Suncorp Stadium, 5/3/15)
30 Eels (42-12 Vs Sea Eagles, Pirtek Stadium, 6/3/15)

Round 1 Highest Aggregate Matches

68 Dragons Vs Tigers (44-24, ANZ Stadium, 9/3/14)
60 Tigers Vs Warriors (34-26, Campbelltown Sports Stadium, 5/3/16)
60 Eels Vs Titans (32-28, CommBank Stadium, 13/3/22)

Round 1 Club Records

Melbourne Storm W 10 L 0 (For: 209, Against: 128). Win Percentage 100%
Dolphins W 1 L 0 (For: 28, Against: 18). Win Percentage 100%
Parramatta Eels W 7 L 3 (For: 212, Against: 155). Win Percentage 70%
South Sydney Rabbitohs W 6 L 4 (For: 241, Against: 179). Win Percentage 60%
Canberra Raiders W 6 L 4 (For: 237, Against: 176). Win Percentage 60%
Penrith Panthers W 6 L 4 (For: 206, Against: 165). Win Percentage 60%
Newcastle Knights W 6 L 4 (For: 183, Against: 168). Win Percentage 60%
Wests Tigers W 6 L 4 (For: 203, Against: 212). Win Percentage 60%
North Queensland Cowboys W 6 L 4 (For: 160, Against: 182). Win Percentage 60%
Brisbane Broncos W 6 L 4 (For: 159, Against: 187). Win Percentage 60%
New Zealand Warriors W 5 L 5 (For: 209, Against: 208). Win Percentage 50%
St George-Illawarra Dragons W 4 L 5 (For: 212, Against: 172). Win Percentage 44.4%
Gold Coast Titans W 4 L 6 (For: 176, Against: 209). Win Percentage 40%
Sydney Roosters W 3 L 7 (For: 186, Against: 200). Win Percentage 30%
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs W 2 L 8 (For: 118, Against: 211). Win Percentage 20%
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks W 1 L 9 (For: 173, Against: 213). Win Percentage 10%
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles W 1 L 9 (For: 121, Against: 250). Win Percentage 10%

2024 Round 1 Fixtures Head-to-Head

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Vs South Sydney Rabbitohs (Allegiant Stadium, Sunday, 3 March 2024)

Last time out: Rabbitohs 13 Sea Eagles 12 (25/3/23, Accor Stadium)
Head-to-Head: Played 15, Sea Eagles 5 (251 points), Rabbitohs 10 (339 points)
At Venue: first meeting at venue
Biggest Win: 40 Rabbitohs 56-16 (22/8/2020, Accor Stadium)
Most Tries: 14 Alex Johnston
Most Points: 112 Adam Reynolds (4 T, 47 G, 2 1pt FG)

• Manly average the lowest points scored for round 1 since 1998 at 14.6. They also average the most points against at 24.6 for the opening round.
• Manly have won 8 of 9 clashes versus South Sydney on a Sunday.
• Manly have also won nine of their last ten Sunday games versus Sydney opposition.

Sydney Roosters Vs Brisbane Broncos (Allegiant Stadium, Sunday, 3 March 2024)

Last time out: Broncos 32 Roosters 10 (27/7/23, The Gabba)
Head-to-Head: Played 18, Roosters 10 (430 points), Broncos 8 (349 points)
At Venue: first meeting at venue
Biggest Win: 59 Roosters 59-0 (4/6/2020, Suncorp Stadium)
Most Tries: 12 Corey Oates
Most Points: 48 Corey Oates (12 T)

• Brisbane’s win rate of 79% against Sydney clubs in 2023 was the best for the season.
• Brisbane lost both of their Sunday games in 2023.

Newcastle Knights Vs Canberra Raiders (McDonald Jones Stadium, Thursday, 7 March 2024)

Last time out: Knights 30 Raiders 28 (10/9/23, McDonald Jones Stadium)
Head-to-Head: Played 17, Knights 8 (425 points), Raiders 8 (408 points), 1 draw
At Venue: Raiders 3, Knights 2
Biggest Win: 22 Knights 28-6 (29/7/23, GIO Stadium), Raiders 44-22 (6/6/15, McDonald Jones Stadium)
Most Tries: 9 Jarrod Croker
Most Points: 138 Jarrod Croker (9 T, 51 G)

• Newcastle have won their last six round 1 games at home.
• Newcastle are on a run of six straight home wins heading into their round 1 clash with Canberra.

New Zealand Warriors Vs Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (Mount Smart Stadium, Friday, 8 March 2024)

Last time out: Warriors 44 Sharks 12 (16/7/23, Go Media Stadium)
Head-to-Head: Played 17, Warriors 6 (292 points), Sharks 11 (419 points)
At Venue: Sharks 3, Warriors 2
Biggest Win: 36 Sharks 46-10 (19/7/20, Industree Group Stadium)
Most Tries: 8 Ronaldo Mulitalo
Most Points: 87 Shaun Johnson (3T, 37G, 1FG)

• Cronulla have won their last five on a Friday.
• Warriors are 1 from 5 versus Cronulla on a Friday.

Melbourne Storm Vs Penrith Panthers (AAMI Park, Friday, 8 March 2024)

Last time out: Panthers 38 Storm 4 (22/9/23, Accor Stadium)
Head-to-Head: Played 18, Storm 10 (355 points), Panthers 8 (276 points)
At Venue: Storm 4, Panthers 1
Biggest Win: 42 Storm 52-10 (17/7/15, AAMI Park)
Most Tries: 9 Brian To’o
Most Points: 88 Cameron Smith (1 T, 42 G)

• Penrith last won a round 1 away from home in 2006. They have played the last six round 1 clashes at home for 4 wins and 2 losses.
• Melbourne have only lost one of their eight games at AAMI Park versus Penrith.

Parramatta Eels Vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (CommBank Stadium, Saturday, 9 March 2024)

Last time out: Eels 34 Bulldogs 12 (12/6/23, Accor Stadium)
Head-to-Head: Played 20, Eels 14 (399 points), Bulldogs 6 (274 points)
At Venue: Eels 4, Bulldogs 1
Biggest Win: 36 Eels 42-6 (20/8/22, CommBank Stadium)
Most Tries: 11 Clint Gutherson
Most Points: 107 Mitch Moses (4 T, 45 G, 1 1pt FG)

• Parramatta have won six in a row on a Friday versus the Bulldogs who last beat the Eels on a Friday in 2005.
• Parramatta have won nine of their ten Saturday games at CommBank Stadium versus all opposition.

Gold Coast Titans Vs St George-Illawarra Dragons (CBUS Super Stadium, Saturday, 9 March 2024)

Last time out: Titans 20 Dragons 18 (9/4/23, CBUS Super Stadium)
Head-to-Head: Played 17, Titans 7 (324 points), Dragons 10 (432 points)
At Venue: Titans 4, Dragons 3
Biggest Win: 46 Titans 54-8 (25/3/18, Clive Berghofer Stadium)
Most Tries: 6 Anthony Don, Ben Hunt
Most Points: 108 Gareth Widdop (3 T, 47 G, 2 1pt FG)

• Gold Coast have won just 1 of 6 versus Dragons at home on a Saturday.
• Gold Coast have won just two of 16 games at home on a Saturday versus Sydney opposition.

Dolphins Vs North Queensland Cowboys (Suncorp Stadium, Sunday, 10 March 2024)

Last time out: Cowboys 34 Dolphins 10 (25/8/23, Suncorp Stadium)
Head-to-Head: Played 2, Dolphins 1 (42 points), Cowboys 1 (56 points)
At Venue: Cowboys 1, Dolphins 0
Biggest Win: 24 Cowboys 34-10 (25/8/23, Suncorp Stadium)
Most Tries (first match 2023): 5 Jamayne Isaako
Most Points (first match 2023): 30 Jamayne Isaako (5 T, 5 G)

• Dolphins were 2 from 3 for home games on a Sunday last season.
• Cowboys have won four of their last five at Suncorp versus various opponents including the Dolphins.

Players Number Crunch

Most Total Points In Round 1

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71 Adam Reynolds (1 T, 33 G, 1 FG)
60 Gareth Widdop (2 T, 26 G)
58 Mitchell Moses (1 T, 27 G)

Most Total Tries In Round 1

8 James Tedesco
7 Jack Wighton
6 Greg Inglis, Semi Radradra, Solomone Kata

Most Points In A Game

minimum 20 points

22 Gareth Widdop (2 T, 7 G), Dragons vs Panthers (Jubilee Oval, 4/3/17)

Most Tries In A Game

minimum 3 tries

3 Daly Cherry-Evans, Sea Eagles vs Bulldogs (4/3/23); Sean Russell, Eels vs Titans (13/3/22); Mikaele Ravalawa, Dragons vs Warriors (12/3/22); Brett Morris, Roosters vs Sea Eagles (13/3/21); James Tedesco, Roosters vs Sea Eagles (13/3/21); Davis Fusitu’a, Warriors vs Knights (5/3/17); Joel Thompson, Dragons vs Panthers (4/3/17); Latrell Mitchell, Roosters vs Titans (4/3/17); Bryson Goodwin, Rabbitohs Vs Tigers (3/3/17); Semi Radradra, Eels vs Sea Eagles (6/3/15); Semi Radradra, Eels vs Warriors (9/3/14); Vai Toutai, Eels vs Warriors (9/3/14); Greg Inglis, Rabbitohs vs Roosters (6/3/14).

First Try Scorers

3 Jack Wighton
2 Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Dane Gagai, Edrick Lee, Jordan Kahu, Justin O’Neill, Ken Maumalo, Mikaele Ravalawa, Semi Radradra

Last Try Scorers

2 Corey Oates, Corey Thompson, Daniel Tupou, Gavin Cooper, Latrell Mitchell

2024 Club Season Previews

Brisbane Broncos, Canberra Raiders, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Dolphins, Gold Coast Titans, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Melbourne Storm, Newcastle Knights, New Zealand Warriors, North Queensland Cowboys, Parramatta Eels, Penrith Panthers, South Sydney Rabbitohs, St George-Illawarra Dragons, Sydney Roosters, Wests Tigers

Related: 2024 NRL Writer Predictions