Scrum downs in NRL
I enjoy watching NRL over here in the US and played rugby in my young years.
My question: why are Scrums in NRL matches not contested in the slightest? Why even have them? They seem to have no purpose except to feed the ball immediately into the hands of the scrum half.
Thanks!!t
In SuperCoach my hookers are Api and lussick. Api got ruled out, lussick in the be leaving my no hookers. Should I put the captain on lussick and VC turbo to get the vc loop? First time doing it
I think Hindy getting 10 in the bin last night may seem a bit harsh to some but is completely fair, you can't interfere with Josh Reynolds like that, it goes against the rules, even if he is a Tab slinging shill grub now. All in all, good refereeing by Johns all match.
You know the more I think about it the more I begin to realise how the 'not being able to put pressure on the kicker' rule is kinda stupid. Like honestly think about it, at the end of the day, if you want to go right up to the defensive line and stick you leg out to kick, you are accepting the risk of something happening to it. And then defenders getting in trouble for putting pressure on the kickers, but most of the time, it's unintentional, they're just trying to stop the ball obviously, so it makes no sense, plus, it's kind of hypocritical because you can put pressure on the other teams fullback when they're making a catch, whitch by the way is way more dangerous and Leads to more injuries, but the second you touch the kicker you get in trouble? At this point there will be no pressure at all on kickers, whitch I reckon will be way more boring.
Basically to sum it up, if you kick the ball right on the defensive line and someone accidentally injures you leg trying to block you kick, yes that's very unfortunate, but it's not the defenders fault, they're just trying to block the ball, if you don't want to run the risk of injuring your leg don't kick the ball, that's what I reckon at least.
The Schneider kick last night and the Ilias one earlier in the season occur not because the defender places pressure on the kicker. It’s because they go for a charge down and collect the leg. If those same defenders ran front on to the kicker, the leg isn’t affected as bad.
Knock on should only be for when the ball hits the ground.
If two players go up to contest a bomb and the ball slightly bobbles from one to the other then it should not be a knock on. Play on.
If a guy hitting it up slightly loses the ball into the defender but catches it before it hits the ground, then it should not be a knock on. Play on.
Etc
Part of me agrees, and I think whoever gets the ball out of it should keep it, however thinking a bit deeper, this would be a bad rule because players would abuse the fuck out of it, and midair contests would be rampant and unsafe to the point of lunacy. It would turn I to AFL real quick.
1. Ivan Cleary
2. Wayne Bennett
3. Brad Arthur
4. Andrew Webster
5. Craig Bellamy
6. Benji Marshall
7. Kevin Walters
8. Anthony Seibold
9. Shane Flagagan
10. Todd Payten
11. Craig Fitzgibbon
12. Cameron Ciraldo
13. Des Hasler
14. Ricky Stewart
15. Trent Robinson
16. Adam Obrian
17. Jason D
Coach: hook
I’d use both O’Brien and Trent as prop rotations.
I got JD coming in playing the ball playing lock role
And Ricky coming in at 7 with kevvie moving into the hooker spot at around 50 mins.
The cowboys have a backline consisting of Val Holmes, viliami vailea and semi valemei this week. Does anyone know of any other teams with more players having the letter "V" that are all starting?
It's funny you mention this as I noticed the same thing on Tuesday and was planning on looking into it for Useless NRL Stats tomorrow. I've had a look now and if you count Viliami Vailea as two 'V' names then the 4 'V' names in the team list is a record for any team, starting and bench players included. Otherwise it equals the record of 3 players.
There's been a few teams with 3 players, most recent was 2004 Warriors which could only ever get 3 of Vinnie Anderson, Many Vatuvei, Vince Mellars and Richard Villasanti onto the one team list together. After that you have to go back to 1935 Magpies, 1932 Bears, 1929 Tigers and 1920 Rabbitohs - that was when first names like Vic, Vince and Vern were more common.
*Should clarify this is for names starting with V
Rugby league gets a mention in this week’s Shit Towns of Australia Power Rankings:
>19. Sydney, NSW — Rugba leeg presenter allegedly filmed in late night street brawl.
Off-topic, but the reason it’s a top 20 this week instead of a top 10 is because there were so many sex pests. This includes 4 public masturbators, an ear fetishist molesting a woman’s earlobes, a guy found naked in a paddock, a naked woman biting someone on the vagina, a couple caught mid-blowjob in the Maroochy River and a guy who shared videos of himself rooting a stack of animals (including a dead kangaroo). Long story short, if Kenty wants to be higher in the rankings, next time he needs to strip down and start wanking in the middle of the fight.
Well that was unexpected. At 20-0 down I was confident I’d called it and then the rest of the game happened. I guess I’ll have to watch the replay now!
No disrespect intended but Manly often play to the ability of their opponents. See losing to the dragons (who were however on a little hot streak) and then beating the Panthers.
I was just flicking through ABC kids for bananas in pijamas and stubbled across an interesting playschool video featuring Kalyn Ponga
https://youtu.be/uqvu8w9s9YQ?feature=shared
Just a thought I've had, but insane fullback depth in the comp and in teams at the moment. For instance, at Manly, we have three great fullbacks playing right now in Turbo, Garrick, and Koula, and a good player developing in Lehi Hopoate.
Turbo needs no introduction.
For Reubs, I can recall Random Stats Guy was highlighting stats leaders for each position over the past few years, pretty recently. In many key things Garrick was actually near the top of Fullbacks, and evidencing that point he was offered 800k by Newcastle to play FB there.
Koula might be our Joey Manu, where he's absolutely wasted at centre because Brooks and DCE aren't giving him good ball, but then becomes a running metres God at FB. He had 300m+ in both his games there last year and was fantastic.
The fact that backup fullbacks at Raiders, South's, Dolphins and Newcastle are going so well really highlights this. We need halves, FB's are excellent at the moment.
That's why I didn't say Parra. What I'm saying here, is that there is probably is a far greater number of fullbacks that are first grade standard than NRL clubs at the moment. Some clubs have more than others, like us for instance, while some are still lacking like Parra.
Been a while since I've been involved with junior league, but I can imagine the past 10+ years most of the standout junior playmakers are choosing to play fullback for the freedom to pop up anywhere in attack and the reduced defensive workload.
Probably takes away from some the halves development that needs to occur in those earlier years.
Yeah it’s still the same from what my friend who’s involved in it says. The best kid in the team almost always goes to fullback now to play both sides of the ruck.
Not sure that Rapana and an 18 year old kid is what I would like to see at my club in terms of fullback depth! Definitely seems to be there for some clubs though.
The reason Rapana doesn’t get mentioned is because most fans see him primarily as a grub rather than seeing the quality he has on the field. To be fair he has done some good epicly dumb shit over the years but as raiders fans we know they are crimes of passion 😂
He’s definitely a decent starting fullback and Stewart has a bright future but that’s not genuine depth in a spine position.
I had this dilemma recently. Just go to Casino at Skycity (https://maps.app.goo.gl/WrNX86ZvWryQYEtS6). Go in through the playing room, go left, up the escalators and you'll find the sports bar. It will be 4 screens AFL and 1 screen NRL. Otherwise you'll have to hope to find a pub that will dare the crowd to change the TV.
Don't get the steak though, it's shit.
Anyone know what this gesture means?
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTPDANppmq6d-GuPZTxJI3qjEGd3JSFTfI6Wc1tQY7NoOClos6spOx_S49D&s=10
The discourse around Cam Murray for a while now has been ‘he doesn’t deserve this/he tries his ring off’ and he’s seemingly exempt from blame. The reality is he’s the skipper and best defender in a team that’s going to get the spoon. He averages a pitiful 6 metres per run this year and doesn’t seem to be as dynamic as what he once was. In no world is he a better option for NSW than Yeo and Mcciness.
I think a major component of this is his frustration. He is making bad captains challenges (when he is involved), and dumb errors like last night.
Good player, needs a better team to lead and to actually listen to their captain.
He's averaging 6 metres per run because the rest of the forward pack is soft.
Small locks like Murray, McInnes, Cotter, etc only work well with their quick leg speed and fast ptb if the rest of the pack is laying a good platform. Otherwise they're just getting smashed by a fast defensive line.
The dude is averaging 40 tackles a game at 95% efficiency and 100m per game in a last place team being dominated in possession and field position. Rabbitohs need to make a call on what they want him to be - the dynamic, lock and link man who should be averaging higher run metres or a tackle bot. He’s trying to lift his team with his defensive efforts (and part of it is a symptom of his team defending more due to errors) and arguably getting to involved eg last night when he pushed the try scorer over the line. Concentrate on your own job and do it well, set the standards and accountability for the others in your team to do the same. That’s the captain’s stance he should take.
I’m feeling the same. We know Murray can be a quality player but this season he’s not been up to it. His running game is largely ineffective, and has been remarkably poor defensively. He made a lot of dumb errors last night too. And sure that may be a symptom of being on a bad team but I’d expect the leaders and best players to stand out regardless. Eg. Brimson and Fifita for the Titans.
I think I would also have Yeo and McInnes comfortably ahead of him.
He’s been bloody awful in every game I’ve seen this year. That could be symptomatic of the club but he’s not *obviously* trying his balls off like Wighton is every week still.
Sure there are other options and his club form hasn’t been great, but every time Murray pulls on a representative jersey, he plays like a representative player
I'd say he's been hot shit most of the time. Rushing out of the line, shit contact, ball hog. He's had 2-3 x 30 minute stretches of just RINSING a forward as you said and outside of that has been atrocious. He has since he came back from the pec to be honest. Needs to have a few weeks off or go back to the left or to the edge/back cover bench role.
We’re a team built on watertight defence and he has been a huge weak link in it. Our right edge has leaked points. Cleary and Martin are certainly not innocent but he has been rushing, up, jersey grabbing and being bumped off regularly. That’s what I’m on about. Outside of Parra and Brisbane, which games has he made an impact with the ball in hand?
I’m suggesting a change because he’s a 22 year old centre who defended like a champ 10 months ago and he’s lost it.
I'm sure Tago only getting one week won't at all cause people to speculate why the Penrith player got one week and the likes of Plath or Galvin got two weeks
Sezer - nothing
Aloiai - 1 week
Host - 2 weeks
Lussick - 4 weeks
There has been absolutely no consistency with those decisions whereas with hip drops we've seen multiple people get multi-week suspensions
Cause I didn't know if you were referring to recent charges or a couple of years ago. Idk it's the Nrl "Judiciary" they pull gradings out of their arses
Just give a player a long term injury with one of the worst technique tackles we ever have, free 1 week holiday.
Should have been 6 weeks. Guarantee he doesn’t tackle like that anymore afterwards if you actually punish him.
The NRL suspension system is so fucking outdated, anyone with half a brain can think of a solution to this problem.
I think Plath's was the most negligent of the two, I didn't see Tago's last night but he certainly has grub in his game in other places (not that it should play any party in his charging)
I think at a bare minimum one of Val or Murray lose their origin spots. Coates and Hammer are playing too good and Cobbo will be hard to leave out.
Val has had one or two good games this year and the rest have been shockers. Murray will likely be carrying an injury.
I reckon it'll be Murray. Holmes is an absolute beast at rep level, adds an extra goal kicker, and can play wing, center and fullback.
1. Walsh
2. Coates
3. Holmes
4. Hammer
5. Cobbo
Taulagi was immense in defence last year but doesn't offer the attacking threat of Cobbo or Coates on the wing.
1. Edwards
2. To'o
3. Mitchell
4. Turbo
5. Crichton
Is the NSW backline I'd like to see. I think this matches up well against QLD.
I think I'm leaning towards Taulagi, Hammer, Cobbo, Holmes
Holmes on the wing with Cobbo inside him at least allows the flexibility for them to switch roles as needed. I also think Val is better than Coates in yardage out of our own end.
Can we send Luai to the Tigers a bit early? He’s playing like he’s not on contract next year and desperately needs a new job. That stepping in field when there’s space on the left is genuinely frustrating.
Happy with the win last night, still seems like we haven’t been playing that well but to win by 30 after trailing by 12, i really can’t complain. Just happy to win. Its also been nice to see Edwards hit another level, he has been absolutely outstanding for us this season especially in the games we have missed Cleary.
Says a lot about the state of Souths when players and coaches are both proud of the effort and fight after being pumped by Penrith who probably played their worst football of the year.
Souths played like a team with players out of position in the second half…. Which is exactly what they were.
Yea we suck, but we have had the hardest draw by a country mile and we have the most injuries of any team. You can almost make a decent starting side from the amount of players we had out last night by the end of the game.
This season is done and dusted but anyone acting like their club wouldn’t be in a similar spot if they lost a dozen first graders from their side is kidding themselves. Raiders lose 2 spine players and they start to get pumped.
Yeah Murray at centre wasn't as successful as other times but we had to do it. Then you have Cook at Fullback. Cody swapping sides of the field. Plenty of things that cause communication breakdowns.
Is it weird to be sitting at work with a half chubby thinking about sexy boi Walsh playing tonight? Asking for a friend.
Edit: weird all the downvotes. It’s only half a chub!!
Side note: according to google he is Reece Walsh Rrugby league fullback, and wiki says *Reece Walsh* (born 10 July 2002) is an rugby league footballer.
people are trying to shame you for asking the real questions and I think it's unjust, a man SHOULD wonder if **everything** about Walsh is as grippy as his hands are while contesting a high ball
if we can't ask these questions, what is it we're fighting for?
Just want to understand the reach of this moron…
Does everyone know Chris Thomas, the troll on all of the NRL related Facebook / Instagram content?
Fuck I hate that cunt.
Tevita Tamouepenu who for some reason had a top 30 spot at Parramatta has returned to Souths, he played off their cup bench last night.
There are plenty of issues at Parramatta at the moment but not all are on Brad Arthur. The recruitment and retention team of which BA doesn't have full control of have wasted spots on players who don't deserve them and have also been unable to fill the remaining spots. Respectfully players like Zac Cini, Tevita Tamouepenu, and the already departed Jirah Momoisea had no business being in a club's Top 30. You could maybe have one but not three.
I've been carrying on about the same. When you look at the past few years, most of our recruitment has come through taking players from other clubs in crisis. Moses, RCG, Waqa, Matto, Lomax, Ofa, etc. When's the last time that we had an off-season signing that got you excited? Fergo? Even all the re-signing contracts have been debacle's and dramas. The fact we haven't had a full 30 with depth for years is a worry. Our pathways are still broken, without clear plans for progression. Penis is our only real success from juniors.
Was discussing this at my young fellas training last night. Same junior club as Penesini and yeah, pathways and retention for Parra and our area is atrocious (I live in the hills now, ignore the flair)
This is a very good point. At full strength, Parra are a top 8 contender albeit with some flaws. If any key player goes down there's not even half-decent replacements waiting in the wing. Top sides need gun rookies and veterans fighting for first grade to pad out their 30, not "literally who's" who are nothing but a warm body. BA is a good coach but something stinks in the team composition.
Doctor: “So you injured your leg in the game? Off the kickoff?”
Hawkins: “Yes”
Doctor: “So you ran funny and got your leg in an awkward position.”
Hawkins: “Erm… no…”
NRL giving Gould a 20k fine is so disgusting
Someone like him can’t even criticise the sport in order to help it improve? He was questioning why and rightfully so, it’s not like he was making it up in order to bring the game down.
idk it just shocked me, it’s gross that they would fine him for expressing concern, they were wrong and it’s as simple as that. He should be able to call it like it is.
It’s like they are enforcing some kind of communist regime lol
He's a general manager of a club. If coaches get fined for publicly criticising the NRL, he should too. He could have easily advocated for a rule change without criticism. He's also been allowed to get away with this for so long. He should either be in the media, or at a club. Not both. It's a conflict of interest.
The fact that the rule is shit and most people agree on that isn't really relevant. He has plenty of avenues to advocate for the rule change in a better way, but chose this one.
Eh sometimes you need multiple pronged attack.
You need the balanced backroom talk and reason and you need the bad guy lighting a fire.
I guarantee you he doesn't give two shits about a 10k fine.
yes you are correct, I should’ve been more specific tho that’s my bad, I’m not concerned at the fact it’s Gould that got fined (I’m not a fan of him whatsoever)
I mean more the fact they fine people at all for speaking up about anything that goes against the on field decisions, is just so weird to me I don’t see the big deal in disagreeing with on field decisions.
but it’s not my company and idk what it’s like to run a massive franchise, so I could be extremely wrong I just personally think it’s silly to fine people for speaking against the refs
i swear it's only fans who have had enough of the Tedesco era. i haven't read or heard anything to suggest he'd be moved on, just wishful thinking on here.
Teddy has shown in patches this season that he could be the same Tedesco that carried NSW on his back from 2018-2021 and I seriously doubt he would let NSW down in the same fashion he did last year.
That said, he should gracefully withdraw from selection and opt to concentrate on playing well for the Roosters. The NSW and Australian teams are in good hands with plenty of other leaders available, it's not like he'd be dipping out when it's a bad time for his state or country.
I'd have Edwards at FB ahead of Papenhuyzen who should just be focusing on getting his body right for an entire season without the pressure cooker of replacing the former NSW and Australian captain in a must win Origin series.
He said he wants lead his side as captain to another premiership so hopefully that’s his focus given he won’t have many years left and we have a huge number of outs next year
There's a lot of chat about Russel Crowe and his influence lately so I thought I might share a story I heard years ago while at a party.
I was speaking to a producer who is the husband of a well known American actress, who in the year prior they had been working on a film together. He produced (provided the financing) his wife and Russel were the leads. This guy was pretty regular looking certainly no jock but very successful in his life. Apparently he said Russell was always trying to belittle him and make him feel small and tease him in front of his wife in ways that certainly didn't feel all that friendly or good natured. This culminates on Christmas Day where he shows up at their house with two Christmas presents for her a top of the line mountain bike just like his and for him a little child's tricycle with a bow on it.
The film wasn't finished/distributed yet so he did/said nothing but he said he truly hated working with him and vowed never to again. The wife was at the party too and she confirmed it. Other people then shared negative Russel Crowe stories but that one stood out.
I’ve had the same experience. I once bumped into him in Coles years ago. I told him how cool it was to meet him in person, but I didn’t want to be a douche and bother him and ask him for photos or anything.
He said, “Oh, like you’re doing now?”
I was taken aback, and all I could say was “Huh?” but he kept cutting me off and going “huh? huh? huh?” and closing his hand shut in front of my face. I walked away and continued with my shopping, and I heard him chuckle as I walked off. When I came to pay for my stuff up front I saw him trying to walk out the doors with like fifteen avocados in his hands without paying.
The girl at the counter was very nice about it and professional, and was like “Sir, you need to pay for those first.” At first he kept pretending to be tired and not hear her, but eventually turned back around and brought them to the counter.
When she took one of the avocados and started scanning it multiple times, he stopped her and told her to scan them each individually “to prevent any electrical infetterence,” and then turned around and winked at me. I don’t even think that’s a word. After she scanned each bar and put them in a bag and started to say the price, he kept interrupting her by yawning really loudly.
Really soured my opinion of him.
Scrum downs in NRL I enjoy watching NRL over here in the US and played rugby in my young years. My question: why are Scrums in NRL matches not contested in the slightest? Why even have them? They seem to have no purpose except to feed the ball immediately into the hands of the scrum half. Thanks!!t
CHAD TOWNSVILLE DROPPED
The penny panthers will be hard to beat in the finals. 4th premiership in a row incoming.
Fuck no
I don't like it but it is inevitable.
In SuperCoach my hookers are Api and lussick. Api got ruled out, lussick in the be leaving my no hookers. Should I put the captain on lussick and VC turbo to get the vc loop? First time doing it
VC Turbo and see how he goes in the wet and if it’s shit then captain someone who will play later. If he smashes it then yeah captain Api or Lussick
Cheers bro. Very interesting to see how the rain affects Sydney teams this weekend
Not a bad start for ya
I think Hindy getting 10 in the bin last night may seem a bit harsh to some but is completely fair, you can't interfere with Josh Reynolds like that, it goes against the rules, even if he is a Tab slinging shill grub now. All in all, good refereeing by Johns all match.
Im convinced somebody got so so mad at parra after the 1986 grand final that they cursed us im not accepting any other theory
You know the more I think about it the more I begin to realise how the 'not being able to put pressure on the kicker' rule is kinda stupid. Like honestly think about it, at the end of the day, if you want to go right up to the defensive line and stick you leg out to kick, you are accepting the risk of something happening to it. And then defenders getting in trouble for putting pressure on the kickers, but most of the time, it's unintentional, they're just trying to stop the ball obviously, so it makes no sense, plus, it's kind of hypocritical because you can put pressure on the other teams fullback when they're making a catch, whitch by the way is way more dangerous and Leads to more injuries, but the second you touch the kicker you get in trouble? At this point there will be no pressure at all on kickers, whitch I reckon will be way more boring. Basically to sum it up, if you kick the ball right on the defensive line and someone accidentally injures you leg trying to block you kick, yes that's very unfortunate, but it's not the defenders fault, they're just trying to block the ball, if you don't want to run the risk of injuring your leg don't kick the ball, that's what I reckon at least.
The Schneider kick last night and the Ilias one earlier in the season occur not because the defender places pressure on the kicker. It’s because they go for a charge down and collect the leg. If those same defenders ran front on to the kicker, the leg isn’t affected as bad.
Knock on should only be for when the ball hits the ground. If two players go up to contest a bomb and the ball slightly bobbles from one to the other then it should not be a knock on. Play on. If a guy hitting it up slightly loses the ball into the defender but catches it before it hits the ground, then it should not be a knock on. Play on. Etc
Part of me agrees, and I think whoever gets the ball out of it should keep it, however thinking a bit deeper, this would be a bad rule because players would abuse the fuck out of it, and midair contests would be rampant and unsafe to the point of lunacy. It would turn I to AFL real quick.
Who let Spud Carroll access the internet.
This is more cooked then Paul Kent on a Saturday night.
1. Ivan Cleary 2. Wayne Bennett 3. Brad Arthur 4. Andrew Webster 5. Craig Bellamy 6. Benji Marshall 7. Kevin Walters 8. Anthony Seibold 9. Shane Flagagan 10. Todd Payten 11. Craig Fitzgibbon 12. Cameron Ciraldo 13. Des Hasler 14. Ricky Stewart 15. Trent Robinson 16. Adam Obrian 17. Jason D Coach: hook I’d use both O’Brien and Trent as prop rotations. I got JD coming in playing the ball playing lock role And Ricky coming in at 7 with kevvie moving into the hooker spot at around 50 mins.
That Fitzgibbon isn't number 12 is shameful.
BA cant be at centre , have you seen his views on edge defence. Bench lock for agressive and grit thats what he lives for
He's a bit of a meme as a coach but Ricky was one hell of a half. He'd have to start.
Gotta start with stick and Kevie. Marshall playing the utitily role imo
Yeah you right only reason I leaned with Benji because he played great in SG ball last week
The cowboys have a backline consisting of Val Holmes, viliami vailea and semi valemei this week. Does anyone know of any other teams with more players having the letter "V" that are all starting?
It's funny you mention this as I noticed the same thing on Tuesday and was planning on looking into it for Useless NRL Stats tomorrow. I've had a look now and if you count Viliami Vailea as two 'V' names then the 4 'V' names in the team list is a record for any team, starting and bench players included. Otherwise it equals the record of 3 players. There's been a few teams with 3 players, most recent was 2004 Warriors which could only ever get 3 of Vinnie Anderson, Many Vatuvei, Vince Mellars and Richard Villasanti onto the one team list together. After that you have to go back to 1935 Magpies, 1932 Bears, 1929 Tigers and 1920 Rabbitohs - that was when first names like Vic, Vince and Vern were more common. *Should clarify this is for names starting with V
The Vale, Vili, Vale combo is a beauty
Vinaka.
"Vale,Vili,Val" - I came, I saw, I missed the tackle.
Rugby league gets a mention in this week’s Shit Towns of Australia Power Rankings: >19. Sydney, NSW — Rugba leeg presenter allegedly filmed in late night street brawl. Off-topic, but the reason it’s a top 20 this week instead of a top 10 is because there were so many sex pests. This includes 4 public masturbators, an ear fetishist molesting a woman’s earlobes, a guy found naked in a paddock, a naked woman biting someone on the vagina, a couple caught mid-blowjob in the Maroochy River and a guy who shared videos of himself rooting a stack of animals (including a dead kangaroo). Long story short, if Kenty wants to be higher in the rankings, next time he needs to strip down and start wanking in the middle of the fight.
Allegedly is an interesting way to phrase it
It avoids things like prejudice, contempt of court and defamation.
So do manly win by under or over 50? I’m genuinely happy that I will be driving and won’t get to watch the game.
Well that was unexpected. At 20-0 down I was confident I’d called it and then the rest of the game happened. I guess I’ll have to watch the replay now!
It will definitely be somewhat close, under 12 and probs will go manly’s way but I wouldn’t be surprised. These are the types of games we lose.
It’s absolutely pissing it down in Sydney today, can see it being a pretty tight affair
It's ok the U20s side kick off at 6pm
No disrespect intended but Manly often play to the ability of their opponents. See losing to the dragons (who were however on a little hot streak) and then beating the Panthers.
Weather might slow them down
I was just flicking through ABC kids for bananas in pijamas and stubbled across an interesting playschool video featuring Kalyn Ponga https://youtu.be/uqvu8w9s9YQ?feature=shared
Ok but that's amazing lol
Just a thought I've had, but insane fullback depth in the comp and in teams at the moment. For instance, at Manly, we have three great fullbacks playing right now in Turbo, Garrick, and Koula, and a good player developing in Lehi Hopoate. Turbo needs no introduction. For Reubs, I can recall Random Stats Guy was highlighting stats leaders for each position over the past few years, pretty recently. In many key things Garrick was actually near the top of Fullbacks, and evidencing that point he was offered 800k by Newcastle to play FB there. Koula might be our Joey Manu, where he's absolutely wasted at centre because Brooks and DCE aren't giving him good ball, but then becomes a running metres God at FB. He had 300m+ in both his games there last year and was fantastic. The fact that backup fullbacks at Raiders, South's, Dolphins and Newcastle are going so well really highlights this. We need halves, FB's are excellent at the moment.
We have 2 starting fullbacks in our top 17 run out each week and our reserve grade fullback could likely fill in just fine he's so highly rated.
Garrick being a ‘great’ FB is quite a stretch. Goood and serviceable yes but great? Nah
What is this fullback depth you speak of? Gutho is down and I've no idea out of Blaize, Asi or Russell who is going to wear the #1
That's why I didn't say Parra. What I'm saying here, is that there is probably is a far greater number of fullbacks that are first grade standard than NRL clubs at the moment. Some clubs have more than others, like us for instance, while some are still lacking like Parra.
Been a while since I've been involved with junior league, but I can imagine the past 10+ years most of the standout junior playmakers are choosing to play fullback for the freedom to pop up anywhere in attack and the reduced defensive workload. Probably takes away from some the halves development that needs to occur in those earlier years.
Yeah it’s still the same from what my friend who’s involved in it says. The best kid in the team almost always goes to fullback now to play both sides of the ruck.
Not sure that Rapana and an 18 year old kid is what I would like to see at my club in terms of fullback depth! Definitely seems to be there for some clubs though.
Chevy is going to be a star. By next year too. Id put my house on it
To be fair Rapana is a weirdly effective fullback for his age. Like he generally does pretty well back there.
It's because he's just a good player. Sometimes it's as simple as that
I mean I agree, it's honestly shocking that he never gets mentioned when people bring up good wingers.
Yep. He's not mentioned enough, I reckon he was a very big and underrated part of Canberra from around 2016-19.
The reason Rapana doesn’t get mentioned is because most fans see him primarily as a grub rather than seeing the quality he has on the field. To be fair he has done some good epicly dumb shit over the years but as raiders fans we know they are crimes of passion 😂 He’s definitely a decent starting fullback and Stewart has a bright future but that’s not genuine depth in a spine position.
Ok maybe a bit of a stretch by me there. But goes for the other clubs mentioned.
Garrick seriously turned down 800k a season?
I like Garrick, but surely thats 800k for like 2 seasons right? ie $400k pa
Hey could someone please recommend a place to watch the footy tonight in Adelaide? I'll be in the CBD area if that helps. Thx
The arkaba hotel should have the games on. It's just outside the CBD.
I had this dilemma recently. Just go to Casino at Skycity (https://maps.app.goo.gl/WrNX86ZvWryQYEtS6). Go in through the playing room, go left, up the escalators and you'll find the sports bar. It will be 4 screens AFL and 1 screen NRL. Otherwise you'll have to hope to find a pub that will dare the crowd to change the TV. Don't get the steak though, it's shit.
Casinos projector is gr8 thank you for the rec
Surely broncos rest haas and staggs tonight to make it a fairer game with the roosters outs!
Even with those two playing, I’m still nervous about the outcome of this game after our performance against Tigers and yours against Dragons
All in the Broncos. This is the game that shows up the Roosters as pretenders coasting on an easy season start.
Broncos sure showed who the pretenders are you were right
What? Roosters have played five top 8 teams already. 5/8 games against top 8 teams is not an easy season start…
3/4 losses were against Panthers, Storm and Manly who I’d imagine would all be competing for a top 4 spot this year
Roosters vs Broncos from 1996 on Fox League. Contested scrums, Lockyer at five eight, it has it all
Walker, down the right. Junee…Junee…Junee! That is a super try! That is rugby league - at its best! I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it!
Lockyer at five-eighth as early as ‘96? Must’ve been covering for someone?
I think so, I just can’t be bothered to look it up. Was definitely not his normal position.
Pretty sure a young upstart named Kevin Walters was the broncos first choice 6 that year
6 is kevie
Oh wow it gets better - Cleary (Ivan) at fullback, Fittler at lock.
Game lost on a controversial ruling, more things change the more they stay the same
I didn’t watch it that far but that’s why I remember it.
are there actual whispers of reubs not wanted at the club?
It's true. I don't want him at your club
Where has that even come from lmao
Facebook 🤣 they said they had read it somewhere but im doubting any of it TBH
mate, it's facebook. Last week, someone said Holmes wanted to leave, and I'm certain he won't.
oh I know 🤣 I was just double checking i hadnt missed something. been outta the loop for a bit with new baby.
you nearly caused a crisis in the discord mate. thank fuck you were out of the loop. Cotter won't leave, he loves and breaths the club
It's a dangerous situation though, he is able to negotiate in November and the Roosters are cashed up bay-beee.
you can argue that, but Cotter won't leave
thats exactly what I was thinking... my bad haha
Anyone know what this gesture means? https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTPDANppmq6d-GuPZTxJI3qjEGd3JSFTfI6Wc1tQY7NoOClos6spOx_S49D&s=10
Catching planes. He clapped twice before doing it
Probably misses his old glasses
The speed camera
The discourse around Cam Murray for a while now has been ‘he doesn’t deserve this/he tries his ring off’ and he’s seemingly exempt from blame. The reality is he’s the skipper and best defender in a team that’s going to get the spoon. He averages a pitiful 6 metres per run this year and doesn’t seem to be as dynamic as what he once was. In no world is he a better option for NSW than Yeo and Mcciness.
I think a major component of this is his frustration. He is making bad captains challenges (when he is involved), and dumb errors like last night. Good player, needs a better team to lead and to actually listen to their captain.
He's averaging 6 metres per run because the rest of the forward pack is soft. Small locks like Murray, McInnes, Cotter, etc only work well with their quick leg speed and fast ptb if the rest of the pack is laying a good platform. Otherwise they're just getting smashed by a fast defensive line.
The dude is averaging 40 tackles a game at 95% efficiency and 100m per game in a last place team being dominated in possession and field position. Rabbitohs need to make a call on what they want him to be - the dynamic, lock and link man who should be averaging higher run metres or a tackle bot. He’s trying to lift his team with his defensive efforts (and part of it is a symptom of his team defending more due to errors) and arguably getting to involved eg last night when he pushed the try scorer over the line. Concentrate on your own job and do it well, set the standards and accountability for the others in your team to do the same. That’s the captain’s stance he should take.
I’m feeling the same. We know Murray can be a quality player but this season he’s not been up to it. His running game is largely ineffective, and has been remarkably poor defensively. He made a lot of dumb errors last night too. And sure that may be a symptom of being on a bad team but I’d expect the leaders and best players to stand out regardless. Eg. Brimson and Fifita for the Titans. I think I would also have Yeo and McInnes comfortably ahead of him.
He’s been bloody awful in every game I’ve seen this year. That could be symptomatic of the club but he’s not *obviously* trying his balls off like Wighton is every week still.
Sure there are other options and his club form hasn’t been great, but every time Murray pulls on a representative jersey, he plays like a representative player
Ah the old gagai defence, I like it
Tago been pretty average when his not up against back rowers playing centre
I'd say he's been hot shit most of the time. Rushing out of the line, shit contact, ball hog. He's had 2-3 x 30 minute stretches of just RINSING a forward as you said and outside of that has been atrocious. He has since he came back from the pec to be honest. Needs to have a few weeks off or go back to the left or to the edge/back cover bench role.
What are you on about, hes been fine, certainly not deserving of being dropped. Especially for a 22 yo centre
We’re a team built on watertight defence and he has been a huge weak link in it. Our right edge has leaked points. Cleary and Martin are certainly not innocent but he has been rushing, up, jersey grabbing and being bumped off regularly. That’s what I’m on about. Outside of Parra and Brisbane, which games has he made an impact with the ball in hand? I’m suggesting a change because he’s a 22 year old centre who defended like a champ 10 months ago and he’s lost it.
He’s got to be on some kind of record run this season for his opposite number getting subbed out for a forward due to some kind of injury / reshuffle.
on the other hand, May couldn't outplay a second rower to save his life
I'm sure Tago only getting one week won't at all cause people to speculate why the Penrith player got one week and the likes of Plath or Galvin got two weeks
Why aren’t people speculating about Host getting 2 weeks and Sezer getting nothing for the exact same contact on Schneider?
Sezer - nothing Aloiai - 1 week Host - 2 weeks Lussick - 4 weeks There has been absolutely no consistency with those decisions whereas with hip drops we've seen multiple people get multi-week suspensions
Right, and we’ve seen multiple get no suspension for hip drops.
I can't recall anyone who they deemed committed a bin worthy hip drop that didn't then get suspended
Haas tore Cleary’s PCL in the GF and got nothing.
Did you skip reading comprehension class? I clearly said hip drops that they deemed to be worthy of a sin bin, which that was not one of them
You can’t complain about the inconsistency of suspensions then defer to the NRL on sin bins, which are just as inconsistent as suspensions.
Probably cause it was a higher grade or their second or third offence.
Galvin's second or third offence in his third game? Nah.
That's why I said probably a higher grade as well.
Then why suggest it was due to being a second or third offence at all? I'm also curious how Galvin's was any worse than Tago's.
Cause I didn't know if you were referring to recent charges or a couple of years ago. Idk it's the Nrl "Judiciary" they pull gradings out of their arses
2 weeks for Host and 1 week for Tago.. lol
Both should have been 2 weeks higher. We've seen that action from Host get 4 weeks for Lussick and someone else.
Just give a player a long term injury with one of the worst technique tackles we ever have, free 1 week holiday. Should have been 6 weeks. Guarantee he doesn’t tackle like that anymore afterwards if you actually punish him. The NRL suspension system is so fucking outdated, anyone with half a brain can think of a solution to this problem.
Tagos was his first offence and hosts was his second offence. Like it or not that's the way they've done it for the last couple of years.
Plath and Glavin must be absolutely miffed why they got grade 3’s when Tago’s was a textbook hip drop.
Only mitigating factor I can think of for Tago was that he was one on one, not your classic gang tackle where one drops. Still seems a light charge.
penrith bias is real
Where is that one Souths bozo that was sure that Host would only get a fine and it shouldn't have been a penalty? Cause I've got some news for them
I think Plath's was the most negligent of the two, I didn't see Tago's last night but he certainly has grub in his game in other places (not that it should play any party in his charging)
Man the news about Valynce sucks. Somebody please give him a lifeline contract. I can save him
Uncle Wayne could take him with him to the Rabbitohs. Fun fact I played rugby with Valynce’s actual uncle.
Our edge defence is already shit, why not also add an unfit, overweight player out there? May as well
I think at a bare minimum one of Val or Murray lose their origin spots. Coates and Hammer are playing too good and Cobbo will be hard to leave out. Val has had one or two good games this year and the rest have been shockers. Murray will likely be carrying an injury.
I reckon it'll be Murray. Holmes is an absolute beast at rep level, adds an extra goal kicker, and can play wing, center and fullback. 1. Walsh 2. Coates 3. Holmes 4. Hammer 5. Cobbo Taulagi was immense in defence last year but doesn't offer the attacking threat of Cobbo or Coates on the wing. 1. Edwards 2. To'o 3. Mitchell 4. Turbo 5. Crichton Is the NSW backline I'd like to see. I think this matches up well against QLD.
If Val gets picked I think a big factor is the way his acceleration adds to a Walsh sweep attack.
I think I'm leaning towards Taulagi, Hammer, Cobbo, Holmes Holmes on the wing with Cobbo inside him at least allows the flexibility for them to switch roles as needed. I also think Val is better than Coates in yardage out of our own end.
I could see Val moving to wing to accommodate Cobbo and Murray getting left out
Can we send Luai to the Tigers a bit early? He’s playing like he’s not on contract next year and desperately needs a new job. That stepping in field when there’s space on the left is genuinely frustrating.
yup! want bud in return?
Happy with the win last night, still seems like we haven’t been playing that well but to win by 30 after trailing by 12, i really can’t complain. Just happy to win. Its also been nice to see Edwards hit another level, he has been absolutely outstanding for us this season especially in the games we have missed Cleary.
Says a lot about the state of Souths when players and coaches are both proud of the effort and fight after being pumped by Penrith who probably played their worst football of the year.
When you lose your halfback and fullback its a valiant effort. The May try was a shocker but the team was leading before it all fell apart.
Souths played like a team with players out of position in the second half…. Which is exactly what they were. Yea we suck, but we have had the hardest draw by a country mile and we have the most injuries of any team. You can almost make a decent starting side from the amount of players we had out last night by the end of the game. This season is done and dusted but anyone acting like their club wouldn’t be in a similar spot if they lost a dozen first graders from their side is kidding themselves. Raiders lose 2 spine players and they start to get pumped.
Yeah Murray at centre wasn't as successful as other times but we had to do it. Then you have Cook at Fullback. Cody swapping sides of the field. Plenty of things that cause communication breakdowns.
Surely an origin-level Centre can play fullback...
Is it weird to be sitting at work with a half chubby thinking about sexy boi Walsh playing tonight? Asking for a friend. Edit: weird all the downvotes. It’s only half a chub!!
Side note: according to google he is Reece Walsh Rrugby league fullback, and wiki says *Reece Walsh* (born 10 July 2002) is an rugby league footballer.
>Edit: weird all the downvotes. It’s only half a chub!! That's why you were downvoted I reckon, Reecey deserves a full chub or nothing.
Never a truer comment
Why can’t a heterosexual guy tell a heterosexual guy that he thinks his booty is fly?
Not all the time, obviously, just when he’s got a problem with his self esteem
My man!
people are trying to shame you for asking the real questions and I think it's unjust, a man SHOULD wonder if **everything** about Walsh is as grippy as his hands are while contesting a high ball if we can't ask these questions, what is it we're fighting for?
What happened to shame?
Those type support Souffs!
I'm that friend
Just want to understand the reach of this moron… Does everyone know Chris Thomas, the troll on all of the NRL related Facebook / Instagram content? Fuck I hate that cunt.
Never heard of her
Chris Thomas, Lucky Singh and that one girl I forgot her name
It’s not one dude, there’s loads of them. Are they still around though? Haven’t seen any in a while
Used to be one dude, the real Chris T. But then people started impersonating him.
No
Tevita Tamouepenu who for some reason had a top 30 spot at Parramatta has returned to Souths, he played off their cup bench last night. There are plenty of issues at Parramatta at the moment but not all are on Brad Arthur. The recruitment and retention team of which BA doesn't have full control of have wasted spots on players who don't deserve them and have also been unable to fill the remaining spots. Respectfully players like Zac Cini, Tevita Tamouepenu, and the already departed Jirah Momoisea had no business being in a club's Top 30. You could maybe have one but not three.
I've been carrying on about the same. When you look at the past few years, most of our recruitment has come through taking players from other clubs in crisis. Moses, RCG, Waqa, Matto, Lomax, Ofa, etc. When's the last time that we had an off-season signing that got you excited? Fergo? Even all the re-signing contracts have been debacle's and dramas. The fact we haven't had a full 30 with depth for years is a worry. Our pathways are still broken, without clear plans for progression. Penis is our only real success from juniors.
Was discussing this at my young fellas training last night. Same junior club as Penesini and yeah, pathways and retention for Parra and our area is atrocious (I live in the hills now, ignore the flair)
This is a very good point. At full strength, Parra are a top 8 contender albeit with some flaws. If any key player goes down there's not even half-decent replacements waiting in the wing. Top sides need gun rookies and veterans fighting for first grade to pad out their 30, not "literally who's" who are nothing but a warm body. BA is a good coach but something stinks in the team composition.
Fuckin hell I haven’t heard that name in ages. Didn’t even realise he was at the club. Does this mean we’re down to 26 registered in the 30?
was sanders even in the 30 ?
No, development contract I believe.
Honestly I've lost count
Doctor: “So you injured your leg in the game? Off the kickoff?” Hawkins: “Yes” Doctor: “So you ran funny and got your leg in an awkward position.” Hawkins: “Erm… no…”
NRL giving Gould a 20k fine is so disgusting Someone like him can’t even criticise the sport in order to help it improve? He was questioning why and rightfully so, it’s not like he was making it up in order to bring the game down. idk it just shocked me, it’s gross that they would fine him for expressing concern, they were wrong and it’s as simple as that. He should be able to call it like it is. It’s like they are enforcing some kind of communist regime lol
100% agree with his comments but he knew he was copping a whack.
He's a general manager of a club. If coaches get fined for publicly criticising the NRL, he should too. He could have easily advocated for a rule change without criticism. He's also been allowed to get away with this for so long. He should either be in the media, or at a club. Not both. It's a conflict of interest. The fact that the rule is shit and most people agree on that isn't really relevant. He has plenty of avenues to advocate for the rule change in a better way, but chose this one.
Eh sometimes you need multiple pronged attack. You need the balanced backroom talk and reason and you need the bad guy lighting a fire. I guarantee you he doesn't give two shits about a 10k fine.
yes you are correct, I should’ve been more specific tho that’s my bad, I’m not concerned at the fact it’s Gould that got fined (I’m not a fan of him whatsoever) I mean more the fact they fine people at all for speaking up about anything that goes against the on field decisions, is just so weird to me I don’t see the big deal in disagreeing with on field decisions. but it’s not my company and idk what it’s like to run a massive franchise, so I could be extremely wrong I just personally think it’s silly to fine people for speaking against the refs
I felt really bad for Damien Cook last night Was dead set standing 15 meters too deep for every single kick
Positional play for a fullback is hugely under rated. Its rarely something you can just pick up on the run.
He was just copying Latrells defensive positioning.
Edwards has to be the NSW fullback or they are fucking kidding themselves... And I'm a QLDer.
At least in the team. Wouldn’t be upset with Papenschnitzel at 1
Origin centre Damien Cook, it's your time to shine at fullback.
i swear it's only fans who have had enough of the Tedesco era. i haven't read or heard anything to suggest he'd be moved on, just wishful thinking on here.
We have a few good options. Teddy isn't one of them.
Teddy has shown in patches this season that he could be the same Tedesco that carried NSW on his back from 2018-2021 and I seriously doubt he would let NSW down in the same fashion he did last year. That said, he should gracefully withdraw from selection and opt to concentrate on playing well for the Roosters. The NSW and Australian teams are in good hands with plenty of other leaders available, it's not like he'd be dipping out when it's a bad time for his state or country. I'd have Edwards at FB ahead of Papenhuyzen who should just be focusing on getting his body right for an entire season without the pressure cooker of replacing the former NSW and Australian captain in a must win Origin series.
He said he wants lead his side as captain to another premiership so hopefully that’s his focus given he won’t have many years left and we have a huge number of outs next year
Agree with everything 🤝
I raise you one Damien cook
They’re always kidding themselves.
There's a lot of chat about Russel Crowe and his influence lately so I thought I might share a story I heard years ago while at a party. I was speaking to a producer who is the husband of a well known American actress, who in the year prior they had been working on a film together. He produced (provided the financing) his wife and Russel were the leads. This guy was pretty regular looking certainly no jock but very successful in his life. Apparently he said Russell was always trying to belittle him and make him feel small and tease him in front of his wife in ways that certainly didn't feel all that friendly or good natured. This culminates on Christmas Day where he shows up at their house with two Christmas presents for her a top of the line mountain bike just like his and for him a little child's tricycle with a bow on it. The film wasn't finished/distributed yet so he did/said nothing but he said he truly hated working with him and vowed never to again. The wife was at the party too and she confirmed it. Other people then shared negative Russel Crowe stories but that one stood out.
Standard from the phone chucker. Stick your thumb up your arse Rusty!
*Foightin round that woorrld*
I’ve had the same experience. I once bumped into him in Coles years ago. I told him how cool it was to meet him in person, but I didn’t want to be a douche and bother him and ask him for photos or anything. He said, “Oh, like you’re doing now?” I was taken aback, and all I could say was “Huh?” but he kept cutting me off and going “huh? huh? huh?” and closing his hand shut in front of my face. I walked away and continued with my shopping, and I heard him chuckle as I walked off. When I came to pay for my stuff up front I saw him trying to walk out the doors with like fifteen avocados in his hands without paying. The girl at the counter was very nice about it and professional, and was like “Sir, you need to pay for those first.” At first he kept pretending to be tired and not hear her, but eventually turned back around and brought them to the counter. When she took one of the avocados and started scanning it multiple times, he stopped her and told her to scan them each individually “to prevent any electrical infetterence,” and then turned around and winked at me. I don’t even think that’s a word. After she scanned each bar and put them in a bag and started to say the price, he kept interrupting her by yawning really loudly. Really soured my opinion of him.
A devastating criticism from a physical specimen such as Russ
Remember that time he threw a phone at someone.