Don't believe what you hear: Sam Burgess is back and so are the Rabbitohs. Credit:Getty Images Every year the cliche is trotted out that this is the most even competition of all time. I have always held the belief that every now and then the clubs will even out as they all go through their cycles of ups and downs. However, one cannot deny the serious class difference between teams and the quality of football that we witnessed in the opening round of the 2016 season. I know it's only early and there is a long way to go in this premiership race, but judging by what we saw in just one weekend of football, you could probably put the red pen through anything up to 10 teams who have little or no chance of winning this year's premiership. Football is a funny game and no doubt we will see plenty of upsets during the course of the season. We all know that any team can beat any other team on any given day.

But as the season wears on and we emerge from the cold winter months to commence the run to the finals, I expect the cream will rise to the top and there will be a huge difference between the top four and bottom four teams in this competition. This alarming disparity in quality and depth of talent at certain clubs should be of major concern to the game's leaders and they would be sticking their heads in the sand if they didn't acknowledge the obvious. It's one thing to spruik promotion of the game, it's another to properly manage the future of the game and be alert to the trends which emerge. Tackling technique should come under scrutiny I have never been a fan of the "third man in around the legs" tackling style that has developed in our game over the past few seasons.

I wanted it stamped out right from the beginning. Plenty of the current day coaches though defend the action and say it is the safest and most effective way to tackle the bigger and stronger players of today. I will bow to their greater knowledge on this point, however, some of the tackles I witnessed over the weekend were just downright dangerous. I honestly believe the tackler was so aggressive he intended to injure the ball-carrying player who was standing in the tackle. There is no justification whatsoever for defenders to dive in at the lower legs of men standing defenceless in tackles. By all means hit the hips and slide down the legs if you must. But attacking the knees and ankles is not on. Referees need to more vigilante on these tackles.

Leader: Johnathan Thurston was on for - as ever - for North Queensland. Credit:Getty Images The Cowboys are ready It's always interesting to watch the defending premiers as they start the new season in defence of their title. Quite often we see what's referred to as a "grand final hangover" affecting the quality and intensity of their play through the opening rounds. Not so this year with the North Queensland Cowboys. Last year was the club's first premiership success and quite rightly they took the winner's trophy on a journey of celebration all around the state. You could excuse them if they were a little slow out of the blocks with their 2016 campaign. But that certainly hasn't been the case. They were brilliant in the world club challenge final in the UK where they smashed English premiers Leeds.

They presented themselves in perfect order for their round-one clash against the Cronulla Sharks last Saturday night. They were brilliant early in the match and could easily have led 30-0 so dominant was their opening gambit. With 20 minutes to go though, the Sharks had fought their way back into the contest and scores were level. If the Cowboys weren't as well physically and mentally prepared, they would have been beaten by the determined visitors. The Cowboys dug in and class prevailed in the end. They have presented themselves in perfect order for the new season. Mind you, 2015 defending premiers South Sydney were awesome through the first month of football last year before the workload took its toll and they capitulated. It will be interesting to see if the Cowboys can maintain these standards until September. Hard task master: Craig Bellamy watches during the round one NRL match between the Melbourne Storm and the St George Illawarra Dragons at AAMI Park. Credit:Getty Images

Bellamy's signing a great boost for the Storm The news that Craig Bellamy will be with the Melbourne Storm until at least the end of 2018 is a great boost for that club and for rugby league in Melbourne. It gives him the opportunity to coach 400 games at the one club, where he has been in charge since 2003. Since taking over at the Storm, his sides have made the finals in 12 of his 13 seasons, with just 2010 (when the Storm weren't playing for premiership points for most of the season) being the only time they have missed out. He has a winning record of 66 per cent and has helped develop some of the greatest players ever to play the game. The contract extension gives Bellamy the opportunity to prepare the Storm for life without Slater, Smith and Cronk, all of whom would be expected to retire before the start of the 2019 season, and that will be a challenge beyond nearly any other coach except Bellamy. The effect Bellamy has had on the Storm will be felt positively far beyond his tenure in Melbourne. He is a wonderful coach.

Vale Des O'Reilly Rugby league lost one of the really good guys with the passing on Monday of former Roosters and NSW forward Des O'Reilly, aged 61. I didn't know Des well, although I did play against him many times. However, those that did know him well spoke of a highly intelligent and generous man. Des was diagnosed with cancer 10 years ago. At the time doctors gave him two years to live. Just as he played his football back in the '70s and '80s, Des fought courageously against the illness for over a decade. A Clovelly junior, Des played 127 first grade games for the Roosters between 1975 and 1982, including the 1975 grand final, which the Roosters won 38-0 over the Dragons, and the 1980 grand final, when they were beaten by Canterbury. He played one game for NSW in 1981 and finished his career with two seasons at the Sharks. He leaves behind a wife and two children in Brisbane, where he had lived for many years, and a myriad of friends in the rugby league community in Sydney.