THIS has been a week where a Mad Dog had the last laugh over Big Del at a packed suburban ground, and the little general Stacey Jones masterminded a 16-point comeback with a hand in every one of his side’s tries. A night where I’ve just come back from a game out at Leichhardt with a thunderous crowd braving the elements to get the side home in a stirring occasion.

Sure, Monday night at Leichhardt versus the Storm is no Sunday arvo against the Bunnies – but it’s better than a morgue out at ANZ Stadium.

All these things – slightly older, slower or stupidly scheduled by the TV networks that run the sport – are a throwback to everything that we used to love about the game and the characters, the flair and the colour that came with it.

That little master Jones must be stewing over a representative comeback – and for the fans, he has to be there in three weeks time when the Kiwis play the Green and Gold. For years, it’s been a tantalising question of what might New Zealand be if they had decent halves.

Benji Marshall & Stacey Jones.

Rugby League needs to see them partnered and leading out a full strength Kiwis side to set up the best looking test match we’ve seen this decade.

No modern half-back has the combination of poise, gall, temperament, skill and vision that Jones has. Even at 33, he’s a step ahead of his mind-numb robot contemporaries.

On the other side of the fence, he needs to be pitted against Scott Prince.

The old Rugby League mantra of ‘incumbency’ should get thrown out the window because the incumbents lost the unlosable World Cup! JT proved he’s on the way up, but against a stinker of a Sharks side. Prince deserves a go.

He should be the face of the modern game. He’s the one that struts around with a bag of magic tricks, and in an era lacking the great playmakers of the past, Prince needs to fly the flag.

Even more so when you look back on another week where another player, this time from Penrith, got in trouble for hitting the turps on the weekend. The perfect way to let off some steam, except this bunch of perennial buffoons can’t seem to do so without ending up with some sort of affray or assault charge. Penrith might be a pretty infuriating team to play in, but please…

In the meantime, we’ve turned past six rounds of a competition where the Dragons have made a stirring ascent to Premiership favouritism based on the most rudimentary game-plan seen in recent memory. Can they carve out a premiership off Jamie Soward’s prodigious boot and a diet of one-percenters?

While we can look back at past seasons and define them by a style of play (Tigers ’05) or a dominant force (Broncos 98-00, Eels 01, Roosters 02-04; Storm 06-08), this year looks like being the Steven Bradbury Premiership.

With no team standing out, which team will be the last man standing?

Manly were the un-back-ables, but you can’t bet your house on what seems to be a one-man band.

So you’ve got the entertainers, the Titans, the Knights. Then you’ve got the ‘inconsistent powerhouses’, the Broncos, Warriors, Melbourne – who after tonight’s performance and 13 tries all season, look a shadow of their best. Surely the Cowboys will improve if they let JT actually play, rather than confine him to a rigid structure? Souths will burst, the Raiders will pester, the Panthers will infuriate, the Tigers showed tonight that maybe, just maybe, they can defend, and the rest of the sides leave a lot to be desired.

Except the Dogs. They’re more Beagle than Bulldog with their current Mr Nice Guy roster, but with two of the cleverest schemers in the league running a less-fractured ship, they might just be the smoky to take out the 2009 Premiership. It’s an early call, but you never know.

Team of the First Quarter:

1. Kurt Gidley

2. Antonio Winterstein

3. Michael Jennings

4. Jamal Idris

5. Manu Vatuvai

6. Terry Campese

7. Stacey Jones

8. Ben Hannant

9. Michael Ennis

10. Keith Galloway

11. Matt Prior

12. Bronson Harrison

13. Luke Lewis

14. Jamie Soward

15. Justin Poore

16. Sam Rapira

17. Chris Heignington