Everybody welcome as NRL Magic Round gets off to triumphant start

Yesterday at 10:18

Forget above the line, Cronulla and Roosters get over the line by defeating the Eels and the Dolphins

If Queensland was a country, there would be no greater trumpet of patriots than Billy Moore. On election eve, high on the western concourse of Suncorp Stadium's level five, without a view of the Sharks's 28-18 victory in the Magic Round opener below, the true voice of the people held court.

In a fading but authentic 1990s Bears jersey, Moore was surrounded by seven men in their 50s. They had just asked for a photo, but the former North Sydney lock forward was in good spirits, so he regaled them about that time he screamed "Queenslander" while running out for a State of Origin match in 1995. "Best four seconds of my fucking life," he told the men, to raucous laughter suggesting the moment was the best four seconds of theirs.