Now three weeks into the season, we're starting to get a better idea of how things might play out in 2019.

Not everything that has happened in the first 240 minutes of the year means something, but it doesn't necessarily mean nothing either. 

There are telltale signs of things to come, even this early in the year.

The Knights, in particular, can attest to that. 

Ponga's Return To The Back

"The talk around Kalyn Ponga's switch to five-eighth is likely to keep going around in circles until it's either accepted that he is now a half, or, Nathan Brown moves him back to fullback."

That was from this time last week after Ponga had little influence on Newcastle's loss to Penrith.

The numbers behind every good part of his game are down so far this season, but there's hope. It's being widely reported that Brown has bit the bullet and is moving Ponga to fullback.

In a move that everybody outside of the Hunter Valley saw coming, Newcastle's most dangerous attacking player is back in the best position for him to attack from. 

Ponga's 2018 stats as a fullback:

• 142.6 running metres per game. 6th of all fullbacks in the NRL.
• 7 tackle breaks per game. 1st in the NRL.
• 12 total linebreaks for the season. 7th of all fullbacks.
• 11 total try assists. 4th of all fullbacks.
• 990 total kick return metres. 5th in the NRL.

Ponga's premature move to the halves for three weeks now means nothing, but those numbers as a fullback are something, though.

Perhaps we will soon see the gun Knights team so many people talked about throughout the preseason. 

Up until now, they've not looked anything like the Top 8 certainty they were touted to be.

Ponga's ineffectiveness in the halves has been a large reason for that. 

Titans Left Edge 

Ash Taylor, Tyrone Roberts and Nathan Peats all missed the Gold Coast's 28-20 loss to South Sydney on Sunday night. To keep so close to a genuine NRL Premiership contender is a fair effort for a side missing three-quarters of their spine. However, that isn't why they lost this one, and their return won't fix one of the Titans' most glaring issues.

Their left edge defence is a turnstile. Here, they get caught out by the simplest of block plays:

It starts with Tyrone Peachey making the wrong decision and turning his shoulders. Reacting to his inside man, Dale Copley flys out of the line to cover the sweeper which allows Adam Reynolds to make a simple pass to the unmarked Corey Allan.

There are times where the outside backs have no choice but to fly out. It's not uncommon for the defence to break down a tackle earlier with too little time to make the numbers back up.

This isn't one of those times.

It wouldn't be such a problem if it wasn't happening to the Titans weekly. Eight of the 11 tries they've conceded in 2019 have come through the left edge.

Almost a carbon copy a week earlier, the only difference here is Shaun Johnson hits the sweeper who shovels it on to the winger to score. The cause of the try is all but the same, it's only how the opposition executed it that is different.

Peats has been ruled out for three months, but Taylor and Roberts are flying to New Zealand for their Round 4 match against the Warriors. It's more than likely this leaky edge defence is still something even with the Titans spine close to full-strength.

Premiership Quarter

The Roosters were doing it tough against the Eels on Friday night.

The 2018 wooden spooners held an 18-14 lead over the defending NRL Premiers heading into the final quarter of the match. Blue and gold fans had started to allow themselves to consider the potential of a monumental upset.

Then: the champions turned up when champions tend to turn up.

Running in 18 points in 13 minutes, the Roosters turned the game on its head with the 32-18 final scoreline looking quite comfortable in the end.

After a relatively unconvincing first 220 minutes of the season, a 13-minute flurry was enough for the Roosters to re-announce themselves as NRL Premiership favourites. With their backs against the wall and pressure building, they stuck to their process. 

They executed when it mattered, and in the end, never looked flustered.

Those are the signs of an elite team ready to become the first in the NRL era to win back-to-back premierships.

The 24.7 points (3rd in the NRL), 4.3 tries (1st), 3.7 try assists (2nd), 4.7 linebreaks (3rd) and 23 missed tackles (3rd-fewest) are pretty good signs too.

Changes Pay Off For Bulldogs

Dean Pay wielded the axe and rung the changes for Canterbury's clash against Wests on Sunday. They worked a treat with the Bulldogs recording their first win of the season.

The new faces in the 17 had a significant impact on the improvements.

Jayden Okunbor ran for a game-high 214 metres on debut, while gun goal-kicker Rhyse Martin returned to first-grade rugby league to slot three of his four attempts, run for 104 metres and make 38 tackles. Nick Meaney looked great for his 139 running metres from fullback too.

However, it was the relatively minor change of starting Adam Elliot on the bench and putting Corey Harawira-Naera in the number 12 jersey that made really influenced things.

The Bulldogs had been leaking points when Elliot, Dylan Napa and Aidan Tolman went to the bench in the opening two rounds. With the bench not up to scratch, that 30 minutes their first-choice middles had a rest killed any chances Canterbury had at victory.

Bringing Elliot off the bench changes that.

He still played 47 minutes despite starting on the pine. In that time, he scored a try and ran for 168 metres. But most importantly, the Bulldogs only conceded four points while Elliot was off the field. They'd conceded 52 with him on the bench across the first two games.

Now, this change in the centre-third throughout the middle of the match isn't going to turn this team from probable wooden spooners into a Top 8 roster. There are still plenty of flaws in this Bulldogs side and Sunday was more of an ambush than a sign of things to come.

It is, however, something to monitor as this team improves and rebuilds over the next 22 rounds.

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