The Titans outlined their potential as NRL finalists last night with this defeat of Manly.

An emotional Shane Flanagan has been reinstated as Cronulla coach, but the four other football staff members sacked by the besieged NRL club won't be getting their jobs back.

The Warriors might have hoped Cronulla could be a little vulnerable on Sunday, given the emotional drain of the past month with the drugs investigation across the Tasman, but all of that will go out the window if Shane Flanagan is back on deck.

Warriors fans who are a little deflated by the fact their team are in the middle of a club-record 10-game losing streak should try to keep things in perspective.

The Warriors are keeping a watching brief on Todd Carney's movements and could attempt to lure him to Mt Smart if things don't work out at Cronulla.

Self-doubt is crippling the Warriors from what I observed in the round one game against Parramatta.

Cronulla standoff Todd Carney says the Sharks need the drug crisis engulfing the club resolved as soon as possible, admitting the side can't play on emotion all season.

Penrith coach Ivan Cleary has admitted to second-guessing himself as he attempts to build the Panthers from the ground up.

Rugby League Players' Association chief David Garnsey says anti-doping authorities shouldn't punish players for taking performance-enhancing drugs if they were unwittingly sanctioned by clubs.

The NRL have lined up yet another combustible first-round clash. The Broncos are desperate to start their season on a winning note, as talk echoes around Queensland about their long premiership "drought".

Stephen Kearney admits the departure of Darren Lockyer in 2012 left a bigger than expected hole at the Broncos.

The Kiwis produced one of their best performances in recent times in a one-off test against the Kangaroos, however they still came up short.

There's no room for underachievers in Stephen Kearney's Kiwis test squad.

As league's international eligibility war becomes increasingly bloody, it appears giant Bulldogs prop Sam Kasiano could be named in both the Kiwis and Kangaroos squads.

Blockbusting Canberra back-rower Josh Papalii has turned his back on New Zealand by pledging his representative allegiance to Queensland and Australia.