All eyes were on Benji Marshall but it was fellow Kiwi Frank Pritchard who stole the show as Canterbury's aggressive off-season recruitment drive paid immediate dividends in the Bulldogs' 24-14 NRL win over Wests Tigers.
Pritchard proved he was one of the best signings of the off-season with a bullocking second half try putting the Bulldogs ahead 12-8, and another Bulldogs newcomer Kris Keating extended the lead with a runaway try 16 minutes from fulltime.
Benji Marshall showed little effect from his drama filled week as he carried the Tigers to within sight of victory with two superb passes to send in Lote Tuqiri and Chris Lawrence for tries either side of halftime, and he scored one himself 11 minutes from time, dancing past three defenders to score under the posts.
The opening round of the NRL pulled in just over 200-thousand spectators, an all time record for any round of the competition.
