Brisbane's Kevin Walters era will kick off tomorrow night when they host Parramatta and if Andrew Johns is on the money it will start in a similar fashion to how the Anthony Seibold era finished.
Speaking to Brad Fittler for Wide World of Sports' Freddy & Joey's Tips, the Eighth Immortal said he expected the Broncos to be breathing fire from kick-off before running out of puff and being blown away.
"The Broncos will come out with so much emotion," Johns said.
"How long that lasts I don't know. To me the Eels win this one and win well. It'll be a fast track, plenty of points."
Johns added that the Eels' first game of the season would double as the announcement of a contender for buy of the year, with bench forward Isaiah Papali'i impressing in the off-season.
The 22-year-old debuted for the Warriors in 2017, making 63-appearances for the Auckland-based outfit before signing with the Eels.
Johns, who is continuing as a consultant on Brad Arthur's coaching staff this season, said he was surprised by Papali'i's skill set.
"Gee he's been impressive in the off-season, really impressive," Johns said.
"Foot work, really big engine; he's one of those 98 kilo sort of forwards, really good foot work. He's going to be a great buy."
Fittler agreed that the Broncos would do it tough to knock over the Eels in Walters' first game as coach but said he was excited about the club's new-look back row.
The NSW coach tipped the Eels to win a close one, adding that Arthur's men had the benefit of being a "settled" combination.
Scroll below for the full Round 1 tips by Johns, Fittler and all Nine's expert tipsters!
Andrew Johns: Storm, Knights, Eels, Warriors, Roosters, Panthers, Raiders, Sharks
Brad Fittler: Rabbitohs, Knights, Eels, Warriors, Roosters, Panthers, Raiders, Sharks
Billy Slater: Storm, Knights, Eels, Warriors, Roosters, Panthers, Raiders, Sharks
Darren Lockyer: Storm, Bulldogs, Broncos, Titans, Roosters, Panthers, Raiders, Sharks
Paul Gallen: Storm, Bulldogs, Eels, Titans, Roosters, Panthers, Raiders, Sharks
Peter Psaltis: Storm, Bulldogs, Eels, Warriors, Roosters, Panthers, Raiders, Sharks
Peter Sterling: Storm, Knights, Eels, Warriors, Roosters, Panthers, Raiders, Sharks
James Bracey: Rabbitohs, Bulldogs, Eels, Warriors, Roosters, Panthers, Raiders, Sharks
Ruan Sims: Storm, Knights, Eels, Warriors, Roosters, Panthers, Raiders, Dragons
Mat Thompson: Storm, Knights, Eels, Warriors, Roosters, Panthers, Raiders, Sharks
The Mole: Rabbitohs, Knights, Eels, Titans, Roosters, Panthers, Raiders, Sharks
Tim Elbra: Storm, Knights, Eels, Warriors, Roosters, Panthers, Raiders, Sharks
Ben Glover: Rabbitohs, Knights, Eels, Titans, Roosters, Panthers, Raiders, Sharks
No comments:
Post a Comment