The Manly Sea Eagles handed the North Queensland Cowboys a 42-12 thrashing at Brookvale Oval on Saturday night.
Sea Eagles fullback Tom Trbojevic was instrumental with 234 run metres, two try assists, one line break and three line break assists for good measure.
"With that amount of possession, he's just unstoppable," Mal Meninga said on Fox League's coverage.
AS IT HAPPENED: NRL Saturday
On Trbojevic's solid first half, Cooper Cronk added: "Give him the Dally M already, he looks like he's in red hot form to start the year".
Tom Trbojevic of the Sea Eagles makes a break. Â Cameron Spencer via Getty Images
Haumole Olakau'atu steamrolled over the tryline to open the scoring in the third minute. The giant back-rower benefited from a pinpoint pass from skipper Daly Cherry-Evans before taking three defenders with him to score.
Reuben Garrick missed the conversion but the fast start had Manly setting the tone.
Four minutes later, the Sea Eagles had their second on the right-hand side through Jason Saab and the hosts were quickly in again with Ben Trbojevic before the 10-minute mark.
"We have seen some sides over the last two decades make great starts, but I can't recall a better one," Greg Alexander said in commentary for Fox League.
"They haven't given up the ball; they've been perfect with it."
The Cowboys were penalised for holding Cherry-Evans as he attempted to collect a grubber and run through for a try.
The act was not deemed a professional foul or penalty try but Garrick slotted the penalty kick to push the Sea Eagles' lead out to three converted tries.
The onslaught continued with Trbojevic throwing a dummy at the halfway mark before turning on the turbo boosters and sending Ethan Bullemor over under the posts.
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Manly lead 24-0 at the main break after denying North Queensland even the slightest of look-ins.
Manly dominated possession in the first half with the Cowboys leading the tackles made, 152-53.
"They are crazy numbers," Alexander said regarding the tackle differentiation.
The rout continued in the second half with Toafofoa Sipley muscling his way over in the 49th minute.
Griffine Neame and his Cowboys teammates look stunned during their round-one match against the Sea Eagles. Cameron Spencer via Getty Images
And the pain did not stop as Trbojevic and Saab combined to give the winger space down the shortside. Saab then put in a spectacular grubber for Garrick to score.
"I can't believe what I'm watching. I can't believe how well Manly are playing … this is scintillating football," Alexander said.
Wanting in on the action, Cherry-Evans — in his 15th season opener — dummied and slipped past Jeremiah Nanai to score as Manly notched 40 points.
The Cowboys finally responded with a consolation try from Scott Drinkwater in the 72nd minute. Braidon Burns added a second five minutes later but it made little difference.