Richie Barnett: Hard play, attractive footy - that's NRL

Opinion

The NRL is back - and I'm picking it to come back with a boom. There's every chance the first-round 2007 attendance record of 180,000 fans will be smashed this weekend.

Both St George and Souths have hit the 10,000 membership mark, which is where they ended last season.

So, despite all the off-field dramas last year, it looks like the brilliant on-field product is over-riding any disappointment with the actions of some players. There is a real buzz out there about the sport.

It was interesting that during the trial games many of the clubs seemed to be in lockdown mode. The Roosters and Manly were very strict when they came here to play the Warriors. Players weren't allowed to leave their hotels and they weren't allowed to drink.

That's a reflection of the sponsorship environment. The clubs can't afford to lose their sponsors so players have been put on notice.

One of my former clubs, the Roosters, had a terrible year with player behaviour last season. They had an absolute shocker, those boys. The club is lucky that it has got some key people with financial muscle who can attract sponsors.

But there's only so far you can drag a club down before those sponsors end up leaving. So hopefully we'll see a big change this year.

There's no doubt the All Star game has helped get this season off to a flying start. I was surprised and disappointed with some of the criticism of the match.

I thought it was a fantastic, truly exciting game. After three months of waiting, it gave people a snippet of what we are about to get. The players all played hard, everyone was put under pressure and there was a lot of attractive football. That's what we wanted to see. It was intense. That is what league's all about.

I'm picking the Gold Coast Titans as the team to beat this year. They have a lot of speed and a lot of experience - two of the key requirements in the modern game.

They play a really attractive style, right at the advantage line, and they have a real X-factor in their side. Their backrowers - Mark Minichiello, Anthony Laffranchi and Ashley Harrison - are archetypal modern players perfectly suited to where the game is heading.

The Warriors will be tested all over the field at Skilled Park on Sunday. They will have to deal with the creativity of Scott Prince, Greg Bird and Nathan Friend, while on the fringes the Titans have players who always run the type of lines that ask serious questions of defences.

Origin representative Bird in particular should make a difference to a Titans side that at times lacked depth last season.

Then you've got the electrifying pace of Preston Campbell, Joseph Tomane, David Mead and Kevin Gordon. The Titans really are a scary beast.

Sunday's encounter is definitely going to be a tough start for the Warriors.