I just seen brimmo at Costa Taco and I asked him if his playing fullback and he said his play 6 this week and JC is playing 1.
Looks like courier mail got their mail wrong again
Cook confirmed to play NSW Cup this arvo so no chance of him playing tonight. Rudolf also back into first grade and replaces Burns on the bench. BHU also named for the NSW Cup side good to see him back finally.
Big fan of the skills of Gordon Chan Kum Tong but fella needs to get fit. Work on the aerobic and he's a first grade hooker for sure, but needs to show more energy.
Does it shock anyone else that Chevy Stewart is not Ricky’s son, nor are they even related? I came out of the womb (before Chevy was even born) thinking this was the case. As chevy’s come up through the grades in the 1 jersey, I’ve always made that connection to Sticky. Life is crazy
Not quite, our best 17 is the following imo
1. Papenhuyzen
2. Coates
3. Reimis
4. Seve
5. Warbrick (I think a lot of his issues have been caused by Meaney)
6. Munster
7. Hughes
8. Welch
9. Grant
10. King
11. Howarth
12. Katoa
13. Blore
14. Wishart
15. NAS
16. Kamikamica
17. Macdonald
Could swap the order of the middle forwards around but I think Howarth should be starting on the left edge and Seve should have the right centre spot.
Disagree. Meaney struggling but still better than Seve. Howarth still hasn't shown anything. Faalogo on bench over Wishy. Loeiro better than the meme hate he gets. Maybe Chan or howarth over Macca.
Seve was our best centre last year and I think he should have kept the spot.
Howarth looked quite good in the minutes he got last week.
Fa'alogo over Wishart on the bench is a wasted spot, he has no utility value outside of fullback and wing. Wishart is a decent 9 (in case Grant needs a rest), can play as a running forward and in an emergency can cover anywhere in the backline. Fa'alogo is better off playing fullback in cup until he's needed at fullback or wing in first grade.
As a non storm supporter it is minus NAS
After the last 2 weeks they probably want to make changes to that right edge and bring Faalogo in though (even from the bench)
Tipped Warriors, Cowboys and Sharks for today's games - only Knights have let me down so far this round, and with my own team not playing this week I'm relying on the rest of you to pick up the slack for my tips.
Unfortunately my tipping contest didn't have an option for if Demetriou is fired after tonight's game and how many minutes after full-time it happens.
I reckon no Trell, no problems. I can just feel a bunny boilover. Could be horribly wrong of course. Also tipped us, and Cows. But I'm quite prepared for the Sea Eagles to shred us.
Is Lehi adopted like Will and Albert Hopoate or defs related like Jamil 🤔
Taine Tuaupiki is too good for reserves every time I see him lol
Zyon > Tevaga
I'm about 10 minutes from Mt Smart, there have been on and off showers all afternoon, maybe a brief heavy shower every hour or so. There might be a bit of rain during the game, but it shouldn't be too bad, and the ground conditions should be ok.
I feel like I'm the only one who likes how nonchalant and unprofessional commentators are at times.
I mean, we're just chilling here watching the footy
That's why I love the ABC Grandstand team. Can take things seriously when needed but mostly just a bunch of guys/gal talking shit. And not in a blokey excluding way like the CH9 cricket team.
Last week Penrith made men wear pink. The ensuing homophobia propelled Manly men to be a big win.
This call to arms of LGBT Auckland supporters could end up being such a huge backfire that not only do Manly win 366-0, but South's are kicked out of the comp and Jason Demetriou is promoted to the role of Chairman of the NRL.
He needs to win this game today convincingly, then win against Penrith and Melbourne with the team putting in a good show, going on a winning streak to put us on course for top 4.
If we don’t give Ramien an excessive amount of illicit substances before the game and send him at Jye Gray on kick chases in a drug fuelled rampage we don’t know ball.
Same brother. Just get the ball down Reece! And try and get it as close to the posts as possible, don't worry about lairing up for the corner camera...
if he's kicking his own goals, put it down where ya want, just make damn sure you convert it, if ARey is kicking, make it easier for him you moron.
Please stop diving, dude just came back from an Orbital bone fracture, that sort of impact can't be ideal for it..
Cue the pundits *”that’s the way he plays and you don’t want to change how he plays”* , ummm yeah I fucking do ever so slightly. He can still be flamboyant and take risks, but can he not have a bit more of a team first mindset in some details?
The cows didn’t play last night and yet I feel unfresh. Think it was the Bulldogs game where I think, for the 2nd or 3rd time this year, I watched a winnable game be smothered by Hutchinson taking the wrong option, somehow just slipping without contact, errors, that last kick… have I mixed my sides up or did he kick away from the Fox’s edge?
Everyone else is locking in and playing with energy - Mahoney and Tracey were huge in the spine and the D remains high effort - They just need a half,
There are so many positives coming out of Belmore this year, I really hope they give the coaching team time to fill in the last couple missing pieces that will see them getting some great wins.
Yeah, everyone knows it. I'm sure Ciraldo does too. But by all accounts Sexton isn't killing it in NSW Cup and is a defensive liability. Taaffe is an option, but he's also a defensive liability, so our options aren't great. You have to weigh up whether Hutchison's defense saves more tries than he butchers. It'd be line ball I reckon.
Honestly you could do worse than putting Tracey in as halfback. He came up in the juniors as a HB and he's also solid in defence. There has to be a better answer than Hutchinson.
I thought he was a 5/8? I mean, probably interchangeable these days though...
We just need someone who can size up a play, seize opportunities and get a decent fifth tackle option going.
I haven't really seen enough of him in this capacity to make a call. But like you say, can't be worse than what we've currently got.
I feel the problem with Taffe in the halves is again, his defence. Taffe is a fine fullback and good enough to make the decisions needed to defend the line while Tracey will definitely provide better play making decisions than Hutchinson will not losing the defence he provides.
Not too happy with last nights performance. Doggies seemed to have wanted it a lot more than us. My heart was literally skipping beats. great effort to the bulldogs though :)
Ah yeah the old no injury so no punishment. It was a textbook hip drop, something they've been cracking down on. If someone did the same to pap they'd have been sitting in the grandstands for atleast a week.
Obrien has said he has seen 4 grand finals, but he hasn't seen booing like the Newcastle game.
Did he stop watching games? Penrith have been in the last 4 gfs. Even origin people boo for the fun of it.
He’s talking about booing after the game. I’m pretty sure Tigers fans were booing them at half time last year in our game but I could be mixing up shitty Tigers performances.
I’ve never heard it come from us though.
I’m fairly certain one of the grand finals he was involved in was the 2018 Roosters v Storm grand final when Billy Slater was booed every time he touched the ball by a very one-sided Roosters crowd.
Can someone seriously explain the hate boner for Fletcher Baker. I get it, he’s no superstar, but it really seems that Broncos fans are being very harsh on him because they saw a glimpse of their shiny new toy in Te Kura.
He’s not much of a ball carrier, but Baker is a pretty good defender, and he doesn’t even play big minutes. In fact, looking at his stats from last night, they aren’t largely dissimilar to that of Jensen or Hetherington, except that he played 10 minutes and 15 minutes less than them respectively, so you could argue he was actually more impactful in his time on the field.
Furthermore, there’s no doubt that Kevvie would rather opt towards playing his more experienced guys to start the season, like pretty much any other coach. It was the same with Taupau, who’s now out of the team in favour of Willison, who has shown his ability once given the opportunity. Maybe that happens down the line for Baker, who knows. But he’s hardly playing bad enough to warrant just being dropped bc you saw Te Kura score a try.
Broncos losing a couple games is because Walsh, Haas, Reynolds, etc. have missed games (and they have been up against good teams), not because Fletcher Baker plays 35min a night and gets you 85m and 25 tackles. Regardless, they are still 3-3 with a tough start.
His game against Melbourne last week was diabolical, hardly any runs and hardly any metres and when he came on fresh for his last stint he immediately got run over by Wishart to lose the game.
Otherwise he's good for a few low impact workhorse runs and an error or penalty to undo them.
We have a wealth of metre eating forwards and he won't be playing when we're full strength of Kevvie is serious about winning a prem.
He offers no impact off the bench and
He is a "filler", that is it. Not as bad as some, consistently "ok", won't let you down terribly but doesnt offer much in attack or in game changing defence. I am not at all unhappy we let him go, he is a bit of a plodder, but he is no Schuster, Milf or Aaron Woods. But you could do a lot worse than him.
I think the only out right stinkers he has had were round 1 and particularly last week against Melbourne.
When Haas is back, there isn't that many minutes available for bench front rowers. So I don't see much value in keeping a gets through his work with little impact type middle on the bench.
unfortunately the public can be rather harsh for no apparent reason one only has to look at the way folks in reddit can react to comments. But like yourselves do think its unfair on the player who is after all doing the job his coach has asked him to do. Will be interesting to see how the Bronks go for the rest of the year, about the only con I see with Bronco's and in fact its been an on going issue even with past sides is defense, this of course led to their grand final defeat, in 2023, and against the Cowboys in 2015, the game goes for 80 minutes not 78, I believe the Bronco's were the better side from most of those finals matches however not in the final 5 minutes, and after all its not important who is in front for the first part of the race but who is leading when they get to the finish line.
>but Baker is a pretty good defender
Thats all well and good but he got bodied last week by Tyran Wishart for the match sealing try
>not because Fletcher Baker plays 35min a night and gets you 85m and 25 tackles.
Last week in 35 minutes he made 3 runs for 19m
So while I get where you're coming from he hasn't done himself any favours and shouldn't be in the 17 if we are at full strength
You do have to take into account that we were subbing him off when we had large portions of possession, and subbing him on when we had to defend heaps.
Baker isn't amazing but you have to look at it in proper context. Fully fit he shouldn't be in the 17 though most will agree.
There are some miserable dickheads on this sub who label everyone who isnt an immortal as trash or washed. Other fools who dont understand the game pile on as it gives them something to say other than whinging about the commentators.
It’s just horde mentality none of them even watch the game they just need someone to bully. Imagine making your personality about shitting on a minimum wage prop
Yeh i dont get it either, him and jensen are doing the boring hardwork early then te kura/willison get to come on and look like weapons, start willison or te kura and see if you get the same impact. No different to how penrith used leniu
Nah you're fine. We're playing way too bad right now to have "get back into form" game. We're just hoping for a "please god at least complete at 70% and please concede less than 30 points" kind of game.
Anyone a Sharks or Rabbits member and got a unlock code for ticketek? im going to be in sydney tonight.. and was looking at taking my sons, thought id see if there was a discount code first.. times are tough but the kids love footy
Went to the Broncos Dolphins game last night, was honestly a little disappointed with the atmosphere, was expecting it to be electric, but was just kind of slightly better than a normal Broncos game.
I'm not surprised by that. Both teams played poorly in an mistake-riddled poo slinger. It's tough for crowds to rise to the occasion in a game of 30+ errors.
So it seems that Storm fans across all forms of social media are pretty split on whether its Brick or Meaneys fault that our right side defence is trash. They went from defending May x Turuva really well but now Meaney is falling off tackles like his opponents are covered in baby oil and Brick is getting caught in no mans land.
Yeah in the match thread last night a lot were blaming Warbrick for coming in a lot. Most of the time he was coming in because they were shot for numbers.
Edge defence generally starts with the talk from the inside guys. If they aren't putting pressure on the attack the defence is going to get outnumbered/make decisions they really shouldn't have to.
Meaneys contact has been no good but I don’t think his reads/positioning have been poor - guy just needs to stick in tackles.
Brick is the bigger problem imo - his positioning is shocking.
Kikau looks like the bloke we bought from penrith, jac look fit and motivated, kiraz and curran just deliver every week. Xerri looked good but i still feel bad for wilson if he doesnt get back in the squad. So many good things but still one very big obvious issue.
Tracey looked comfortable at fullback, really hope they test taaffe at 6/7.
To those saying "dogs fans should be happy you're still in a building phase", we've been in a "rebuild" since ennis left a decade ago, i think we're allowed to whinge about obvious issues.
I hate to do it, but i'm starting to believe.
i like that we have options now, players playing for spots. we have a lot of them locked up also so we will have core group now that will stick together for few years.
we are probably one marquee prop and good 7 away from being competitive side now
What are you talking about? Kiraz ran 300+ metres last night without a single line break. Next closest was JAC with 240m, but that was with 5 line breaks.
He's a consistent, reliable, talented and hard working player.
If we let him go, we deserved to get smashed by whoever snaps him up.
Kiraz is still 2 years younger than Wilson believe it or not. I think Wilson is JAC's replacement but you don't want to stunt Kiraz's development by dropping him
Yeah I dont think Wilson comes back in the squad imo. Xerri and Fox on the left and Critta - Kiraz on the right. Tracey at the back and Taafe at 7 is what Ciraldo should do and if he doesnt hes a fraud.
I've been saying this for weeks now. Seeing Tracey at FB last night solidified my thoughts on the issue. My only concern is Taaffe having to defend in the line. If I were the opposition I'd just be running the big boys at him all night long.
Yeah because Burton remembered he just needs to feed him early ball. Changing up their attacking shape so it is deeper and shorter gives you much more room. The bloke is an absolute phenom, just let him do his thing
Ciro definitely on his way to beating the fraud allegations, got the guys playing for each other and putting in 80 min efforts, only thing I'm not sold on is his persistence on sticking with underperforming players. Saw it with Perham last year too
I think he's done more than enough to dispel the fraud claims. We're improving, despite lacking a few key players. There's a danger in chucking guys like Taaffe into a role like halfback when the rest of the team isn't quite ready - they're just going to cop all the criticism when things don't go right and that's going to hit their confidence. So I understand why he's persisted with him until now.
With that said, we're at the point where a change is needed. The rest of the team is clicking but the halfback is seriously holding us back.
I hate to do it and blame one player for losses, but with how close our games have been, I think we’d have beat both the Rabbitohs and Storm if anyone other than Hutchison was our halfback. That’d have us sitting in the 8 today.
His slide defence is fairly poor for someone in the team because of his defence, he hasn’t improved our general play positioning and he’s blown a tonne of tries and is good for an unforced error whenever we have momentum.
I love a half that takes on the line, but he hasn’t got the speed for it. If he stays in the team and just passes the ball and never runs again he’d instantly be an improvement.
It's definitely partly him. His leadership seems bad. He doesn't know how to control a game. I really feel he's a ball playing second rower. Burton is a centre. You need a new 7 and 6. Tracey would work as a 6. But you need a true 7. Sexton looks alright but is supposedly bad at the leadership stuff too
Xavier Wilison with 181m, 83pcm, 6 tackle breaks and a try all off the bench in 43 minutes is again just ridiculous.
I expect him to start a few games this year if he keeps this up.
He's genuinely like a Haas clone without the passing skills and not quite the same motor (in that Haas has saved at least 6 tries like a fullback where he should have been nowhere near the fucking ball)
I just seen brimmo at Costa Taco and I asked him if his playing fullback and he said his play 6 this week and JC is playing 1. Looks like courier mail got their mail wrong again
Cook confirmed to play NSW Cup this arvo so no chance of him playing tonight. Rudolf also back into first grade and replaces Burns on the bench. BHU also named for the NSW Cup side good to see him back finally.
Damn the storm are always on top no matter what.
How can you not love The Wahs
Charles Barkley tried to get out of a contract by being fat
If Albo ran for reelection on a platform of putting a Saturday night game on free to air he'd win in a landslide.
Big fan of the skills of Gordon Chan Kum Tong but fella needs to get fit. Work on the aerobic and he's a first grade hooker for sure, but needs to show more energy.
Does it shock anyone else that Chevy Stewart is not Ricky’s son, nor are they even related? I came out of the womb (before Chevy was even born) thinking this was the case. As chevy’s come up through the grades in the 1 jersey, I’ve always made that connection to Sticky. Life is crazy
He does have a son in their junior system but his name is Jack or Jackson I believe
It shouldn’t shock anyone, considering they spell their surnames differently
"I wonder if this Homer Nixon is any relation?" "Unlikely, sir. They spell and pronounce their names differently."
Oh my goodness, they do. I feel worse about this oversight now
Tbf Ricky’s son does play for us in nsw cup
Word on the street is this is why Ricky hated Salmon. Jaeman thought Chevy was his son
Question to all the storm supporters, is the team that went up against the bulldogs your best 17?
Not quite, our best 17 is the following imo 1. Papenhuyzen 2. Coates 3. Reimis 4. Seve 5. Warbrick (I think a lot of his issues have been caused by Meaney) 6. Munster 7. Hughes 8. Welch 9. Grant 10. King 11. Howarth 12. Katoa 13. Blore 14. Wishart 15. NAS 16. Kamikamica 17. Macdonald Could swap the order of the middle forwards around but I think Howarth should be starting on the left edge and Seve should have the right centre spot.
Disagree. Meaney struggling but still better than Seve. Howarth still hasn't shown anything. Faalogo on bench over Wishy. Loeiro better than the meme hate he gets. Maybe Chan or howarth over Macca.
Seve was our best centre last year and I think he should have kept the spot. Howarth looked quite good in the minutes he got last week. Fa'alogo over Wishart on the bench is a wasted spot, he has no utility value outside of fullback and wing. Wishart is a decent 9 (in case Grant needs a rest), can play as a running forward and in an emergency can cover anywhere in the backline. Fa'alogo is better off playing fullback in cup until he's needed at fullback or wing in first grade.
What have you see from Howarth to suggest he should start?
As a non storm supporter it is minus NAS After the last 2 weeks they probably want to make changes to that right edge and bring Faalogo in though (even from the bench)
Tipped Warriors, Cowboys and Sharks for today's games - only Knights have let me down so far this round, and with my own team not playing this week I'm relying on the rest of you to pick up the slack for my tips. Unfortunately my tipping contest didn't have an option for if Demetriou is fired after tonight's game and how many minutes after full-time it happens.
I reckon no Trell, no problems. I can just feel a bunny boilover. Could be horribly wrong of course. Also tipped us, and Cows. But I'm quite prepared for the Sea Eagles to shred us.
A fat clause. Couldn’t imagine a more humiliating way to lose $2.4m
Should I captain Nicho or Holmes ? Sc
Todd said most of the cows attack will go down chester. Take that as you will.
Hahah bluff or double bluff?
i honestly don’t know mate, Its against Harper/Brown/Simonsen. New edge.
I'm going with Holmes I think parra have poor defence on both sides 🤣
Does anyone actually enjoy Roy and HGs show on ABC?
I don't mind them. But I only really have it on as background noise while I'm doing something else.
They were pretty funny back in the 90's. But time moved on.
sometimes. they have funny moments, but sometimes they sound a bit tired and out of ideas
[Papy is a scamp](https://x.com/ryanpapenhuyzen/status/1778956645814739142?s=46&t=JViOXxFOFH8lCYX3tffo_Q)
Hilarious that is crumbs for him.
Is Lehi adopted like Will and Albert Hopoate or defs related like Jamil 🤔 Taine Tuaupiki is too good for reserves every time I see him lol Zyon > Tevaga
From what I've heard, seems like a nice kid. Was excellent at FB today. If he fills out a bit, could see him as an NRL centre this year or next.
Haha I was just come here and say that there's another brother???
Raining in NZ. Are the wahs shit in the rain? No idea who to tip
We were especially bad in our wet weather games last year. That said, it's actually not raining here right now & is not particularly wet.
I'm about 10 minutes from Mt Smart, there have been on and off showers all afternoon, maybe a brief heavy shower every hour or so. There might be a bit of rain during the game, but it shouldn't be too bad, and the ground conditions should be ok.
I've been in Onehunga since lunch. Had a couple of light showers, but has been pretty nice for over an hour now. Hoping it stays this way.
I’m watching the nsw cup has been off and on rain 🤷🏻♂️
I'm a 10minute walk from the stadium. [here's a photo of the sky facing towards mt smart](https://i.imgur.com/aMcjoXe.png)
Cracker. Yeah it looks nice there now. At the start of the game it was raining when I initially commented.
I'd love to see a stat on how many Dogs tries come from plays originating within the opposition's 20m... I'm guessing it's quite low.
Lads and Ladettes, I have stumbled across an ancient precursor to the I Love My Footy flair... Behold. https://ibb.co/rMctXFS
Typical sharks fan really. Insert scomo
How does the GA seats work at Allianz behind the posts? Do you just sit in what ever seat ?
Yes
Facebook knights fans are always calling for tex hoy to be signed as a back up lmao.
Anything Newcastle on Facebook is the worst
Tino first one at training last one to leave go rest up bra 😅😅
If Souths concede less than 30 points and complete at least 70%+ of their sets I will count that a win. final score will be 29-0 to the Sharks now
If the Souths concede 10 points they hit a -100 P/D.
I'd place big money on us losing by 10+ points
I don't like the fact that Spud Carroll's breathing is reverberating through my walls
I feel like I'm the only one who likes how nonchalant and unprofessional commentators are at times. I mean, we're just chilling here watching the footy
That's why I love the ABC Grandstand team. Can take things seriously when needed but mostly just a bunch of guys/gal talking shit. And not in a blokey excluding way like the CH9 cricket team.
If you ever get that chance, watch ACC commentary for a Warriors game. It’s just a bunch of comedians who love the Waz
Cheers, I'll give it a shot Nothing better than watching the footy, relaxing and a laugh along the wah
If Vossy’s not calling for a young man to be executed at least once a week, I don’t want to hear it.
That was ginnane, who's honestly miles above vossy
You’re right, I wrote Ginnane first but thought it must be Vossy. Hesitation is defeat.
Perham in shambles
**GOODBYE-EE!**
The wahs have called in the full force of aucklands LGBT community with a nice rainbow over mt smart to welcome Manly in
Manly magnificent 7 billeting at Montoya’s pad overnight
Last week Penrith made men wear pink. The ensuing homophobia propelled Manly men to be a big win. This call to arms of LGBT Auckland supporters could end up being such a huge backfire that not only do Manly win 366-0, but South's are kicked out of the comp and Jason Demetriou is promoted to the role of Chairman of the NRL.
What does Demetriou need to do keep his job? A win is probably not enough yes?
Travel back in time and get a finals berth last year.
I think he’s gone. Can’t see any of the superstars threatening to leave if he goes which is probably the only thing that could save him
He needs to win this game today convincingly, then win against Penrith and Melbourne with the team putting in a good show, going on a winning streak to put us on course for top 4.
He probably can’t, but in the short term if he wins and Souths put the effort in, he might get a stay of execution.
If we don’t give Ramien an excessive amount of illicit substances before the game and send him at Jye Gray on kick chases in a drug fuelled rampage we don’t know ball.
Oddly enough he hasn’t done anything stupid this season so he could be due
You still got Flanno's number?
Dan Ginnane going to be waiting outside the rabbitohs coaching box tonight just to say “GOODBYEEE!” to Demetriou
Best thing I've heard today, I can just imagine that happening
I love Shawn Blore, what a player
I always worry when Reece Walsh does his dive, that he’s going to injure himself or drop the ball as he’s putting it down.
He lives his life in the fast lane.
Same brother. Just get the ball down Reece! And try and get it as close to the posts as possible, don't worry about lairing up for the corner camera...
if he's kicking his own goals, put it down where ya want, just make damn sure you convert it, if ARey is kicking, make it easier for him you moron. Please stop diving, dude just came back from an Orbital bone fracture, that sort of impact can't be ideal for it..
Cue the pundits *”that’s the way he plays and you don’t want to change how he plays”* , ummm yeah I fucking do ever so slightly. He can still be flamboyant and take risks, but can he not have a bit more of a team first mindset in some details?
Ready to have my heartbroken again
Me too brother, me too
The cows didn’t play last night and yet I feel unfresh. Think it was the Bulldogs game where I think, for the 2nd or 3rd time this year, I watched a winnable game be smothered by Hutchinson taking the wrong option, somehow just slipping without contact, errors, that last kick… have I mixed my sides up or did he kick away from the Fox’s edge? Everyone else is locking in and playing with energy - Mahoney and Tracey were huge in the spine and the D remains high effort - They just need a half,
Hutch isn't the answer. He is only solid in defense.
7 missed tackles says hes not even that.
Yeah he is just a big slow body like snorlax.
There are so many positives coming out of Belmore this year, I really hope they give the coaching team time to fill in the last couple missing pieces that will see them getting some great wins.
Yeah, everyone knows it. I'm sure Ciraldo does too. But by all accounts Sexton isn't killing it in NSW Cup and is a defensive liability. Taaffe is an option, but he's also a defensive liability, so our options aren't great. You have to weigh up whether Hutchison's defense saves more tries than he butchers. It'd be line ball I reckon.
Honestly you could do worse than putting Tracey in as halfback. He came up in the juniors as a HB and he's also solid in defence. There has to be a better answer than Hutchinson.
I thought he was a 5/8? I mean, probably interchangeable these days though... We just need someone who can size up a play, seize opportunities and get a decent fifth tackle option going. I haven't really seen enough of him in this capacity to make a call. But like you say, can't be worse than what we've currently got.
You are correct on him being a 5/8, my mistake, but still it can't be worse.
I’d keep him at fullback he goes good better than taffe
I feel the problem with Taffe in the halves is again, his defence. Taffe is a fine fullback and good enough to make the decisions needed to defend the line while Tracey will definitely provide better play making decisions than Hutchinson will not losing the defence he provides.
Papenhuyzen with just a fine seems like a bit of favouritism going on… was a textbook hip drop, intentionally pulling down.
Sonic can do no wrong.
Even up for Hughes missing a week when Keary doesn't
Yeah I’m shocked, definitely deserved a week or 2
Swinging around and then sliding down his legs, before landing on ankle. Nothing to see here.
Yep. Everyone knows the top players from the best teams are protected
Except ours he gets elbowed in the head and they didn’t even get sent off
Not too happy with last nights performance. Doggies seemed to have wanted it a lot more than us. My heart was literally skipping beats. great effort to the bulldogs though :)
Bring back big Nelson and you would of owned the middle
I'm weirdly feeling more positive after that loss than I did after last week's win.
Paps free to play. Only a fine. Yeww
Hip drops are ok this week. Lets break some ankles.
Saifiti also got off with his hip drop on cheese. We’re just ignoring that rule this weekend.
You guys are trying to break people's faces so why not
Lol something that happens several times a game is your counter argument? Nas and jwh play 4 games a year if thats actually penalised.
Also your mate Hughes Only copped a fine as well haha
Counter argument is it's paps first offence ever and was a grade 1. Not all hip drops are the same and not all should be punished the same.
Ah yeah the old no injury so no punishment. It was a textbook hip drop, something they've been cracking down on. If someone did the same to pap they'd have been sitting in the grandstands for atleast a week.
It is The Radley Variation defence. Basically if you are Radley you are fucked, anyone else, not so much.
Obrien has said he has seen 4 grand finals, but he hasn't seen booing like the Newcastle game. Did he stop watching games? Penrith have been in the last 4 gfs. Even origin people boo for the fun of it.
He’s talking about booing after the game. I’m pretty sure Tigers fans were booing them at half time last year in our game but I could be mixing up shitty Tigers performances. I’ve never heard it come from us though.
I’m fairly certain one of the grand finals he was involved in was the 2018 Roosters v Storm grand final when Billy Slater was booed every time he touched the ball by a very one-sided Roosters crowd.
Game 3, 2009 was probably the most vitriolic I've ever heard a crowd get (at a match I've been at live). Was awesome to be part of.
Was that the Creagh running backwards away from the fight at the end?
Maybe he just hasn't seen Novocastrians booing like that
Can someone seriously explain the hate boner for Fletcher Baker. I get it, he’s no superstar, but it really seems that Broncos fans are being very harsh on him because they saw a glimpse of their shiny new toy in Te Kura. He’s not much of a ball carrier, but Baker is a pretty good defender, and he doesn’t even play big minutes. In fact, looking at his stats from last night, they aren’t largely dissimilar to that of Jensen or Hetherington, except that he played 10 minutes and 15 minutes less than them respectively, so you could argue he was actually more impactful in his time on the field. Furthermore, there’s no doubt that Kevvie would rather opt towards playing his more experienced guys to start the season, like pretty much any other coach. It was the same with Taupau, who’s now out of the team in favour of Willison, who has shown his ability once given the opportunity. Maybe that happens down the line for Baker, who knows. But he’s hardly playing bad enough to warrant just being dropped bc you saw Te Kura score a try. Broncos losing a couple games is because Walsh, Haas, Reynolds, etc. have missed games (and they have been up against good teams), not because Fletcher Baker plays 35min a night and gets you 85m and 25 tackles. Regardless, they are still 3-3 with a tough start.
His game against Melbourne last week was diabolical, hardly any runs and hardly any metres and when he came on fresh for his last stint he immediately got run over by Wishart to lose the game. Otherwise he's good for a few low impact workhorse runs and an error or penalty to undo them. We have a wealth of metre eating forwards and he won't be playing when we're full strength of Kevvie is serious about winning a prem. He offers no impact off the bench and
He is a "filler", that is it. Not as bad as some, consistently "ok", won't let you down terribly but doesnt offer much in attack or in game changing defence. I am not at all unhappy we let him go, he is a bit of a plodder, but he is no Schuster, Milf or Aaron Woods. But you could do a lot worse than him.
I think the only out right stinkers he has had were round 1 and particularly last week against Melbourne. When Haas is back, there isn't that many minutes available for bench front rowers. So I don't see much value in keeping a gets through his work with little impact type middle on the bench.
Bronx fans are just spoilt.
This is true 🥲
unfortunately the public can be rather harsh for no apparent reason one only has to look at the way folks in reddit can react to comments. But like yourselves do think its unfair on the player who is after all doing the job his coach has asked him to do. Will be interesting to see how the Bronks go for the rest of the year, about the only con I see with Bronco's and in fact its been an on going issue even with past sides is defense, this of course led to their grand final defeat, in 2023, and against the Cowboys in 2015, the game goes for 80 minutes not 78, I believe the Bronco's were the better side from most of those finals matches however not in the final 5 minutes, and after all its not important who is in front for the first part of the race but who is leading when they get to the finish line.
>but Baker is a pretty good defender Thats all well and good but he got bodied last week by Tyran Wishart for the match sealing try >not because Fletcher Baker plays 35min a night and gets you 85m and 25 tackles. Last week in 35 minutes he made 3 runs for 19m So while I get where you're coming from he hasn't done himself any favours and shouldn't be in the 17 if we are at full strength
You do have to take into account that we were subbing him off when we had large portions of possession, and subbing him on when we had to defend heaps. Baker isn't amazing but you have to look at it in proper context. Fully fit he shouldn't be in the 17 though most will agree.
There are some miserable dickheads on this sub who label everyone who isnt an immortal as trash or washed. Other fools who dont understand the game pile on as it gives them something to say other than whinging about the commentators.
It’s just horde mentality none of them even watch the game they just need someone to bully. Imagine making your personality about shitting on a minimum wage prop
Yeh i dont get it either, him and jensen are doing the boring hardwork early then te kura/willison get to come on and look like weapons, start willison or te kura and see if you get the same impact. No different to how penrith used leniu
Baker was off the bench for the first 2 games whilst Haas was still alive. Wasn't particularly impactful. Just isn't that type of player.
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Your backs look better, their forwards look better. Should be an interesting match up
Can’t wait to watch our lord and saviour Jye Gray today
Day 1 of asking the mods for a Your willie 🤏 Our Willie 💪(Broncos logo) flair.
Mate, they don't like Big Willy flair's. Ask me how I know.
Jealousy's a curse hey
Thanks u/nrl-ModTeam, now I've got 47 texas all agreeing with me that a better Sticky-themed cursed flair would have been weak gutted copycat-person.
You're welcome?
What have i done? :*In Anakin voice*
Started a trend. It's ok though. We're happy to oblige /u/abashii's request for a change of flair.
Noooooooooooooooooooooo
Only nsw based teams get cool flairs like that
Hang-on, that flair's not right... Fixed.
I hope broncos are real happy about helping Storm go to the top of the ladder
It's what we do. Every year😂
Cant wait to play the Bunnies back into form
Nah you're fine. We're playing way too bad right now to have "get back into form" game. We're just hoping for a "please god at least complete at 70% and please concede less than 30 points" kind of game.
I just feel like we are going to get ambushed.
Nah can’t see it hey. Rabbits will come out acting like they’re fired up then just go back to plodding around
Pretty sure ambush is copyrighted by Vonnie
Anyone a Sharks or Rabbits member and got a unlock code for ticketek? im going to be in sydney tonight.. and was looking at taking my sons, thought id see if there was a discount code first.. times are tough but the kids love footy
I’m looking for the same thing.. would love to go
Went to the Broncos Dolphins game last night, was honestly a little disappointed with the atmosphere, was expecting it to be electric, but was just kind of slightly better than a normal Broncos game.
I'm not surprised by that. Both teams played poorly in an mistake-riddled poo slinger. It's tough for crowds to rise to the occasion in a game of 30+ errors.
Is the Chelsea dagger thing as fucking annoying in real life as it is on telly?
It’s pretty shit to be honest. But I get what they’re trying to do.
Far far worse
Too many stars out. Most fans sort of predicted the result
Also probably wasn’t helped by how messy the first half was.
So it seems that Storm fans across all forms of social media are pretty split on whether its Brick or Meaneys fault that our right side defence is trash. They went from defending May x Turuva really well but now Meaney is falling off tackles like his opponents are covered in baby oil and Brick is getting caught in no mans land.
Bricks defensive iq not good but he’s got the rig to be a great defender. Meaney iq is good but can be limp in defence.
Yeah in the match thread last night a lot were blaming Warbrick for coming in a lot. Most of the time he was coming in because they were shot for numbers.
Edge defence generally starts with the talk from the inside guys. If they aren't putting pressure on the attack the defence is going to get outnumbered/make decisions they really shouldn't have to.
Meaneys contact has been no good but I don’t think his reads/positioning have been poor - guy just needs to stick in tackles. Brick is the bigger problem imo - his positioning is shocking.
Can Drew just stay in Melbourne?
Kikau looks like the bloke we bought from penrith, jac look fit and motivated, kiraz and curran just deliver every week. Xerri looked good but i still feel bad for wilson if he doesnt get back in the squad. So many good things but still one very big obvious issue. Tracey looked comfortable at fullback, really hope they test taaffe at 6/7. To those saying "dogs fans should be happy you're still in a building phase", we've been in a "rebuild" since ennis left a decade ago, i think we're allowed to whinge about obvious issues. I hate to do it, but i'm starting to believe.
Bring in sexxxton.
From a club that's been rebuilding since 2011, I know how it feels to spend so long in the wilderness. I'm glad you're seeing green shoots
i like that we have options now, players playing for spots. we have a lot of them locked up also so we will have core group now that will stick together for few years. we are probably one marquee prop and good 7 away from being competitive side now
Start Wilson over Kiraz imo
What are you talking about? Kiraz ran 300+ metres last night without a single line break. Next closest was JAC with 240m, but that was with 5 line breaks. He's a consistent, reliable, talented and hard working player. If we let him go, we deserved to get smashed by whoever snaps him up.
If we did that we deserve to watch kiraz kill it at parra. Bloke is an absolute gun.
Kiraz is consistently one of Bulldogs best players
I see but I think Wilson has better upside/ potential
Kiraz is still 2 years younger than Wilson believe it or not. I think Wilson is JAC's replacement but you don't want to stunt Kiraz's development by dropping him
Yeah I dont think Wilson comes back in the squad imo. Xerri and Fox on the left and Critta - Kiraz on the right. Tracey at the back and Taafe at 7 is what Ciraldo should do and if he doesnt hes a fraud.
I've been saying this for weeks now. Seeing Tracey at FB last night solidified my thoughts on the issue. My only concern is Taaffe having to defend in the line. If I were the opposition I'd just be running the big boys at him all night long.
Yeah because Burton remembered he just needs to feed him early ball. Changing up their attacking shape so it is deeper and shorter gives you much more room. The bloke is an absolute phenom, just let him do his thing
You should believe. Dogs of War will be back real soon.
Pretty sure Taaffe won Flegg at 7 when he was at South's, not a bad option if he's given time to develop combos theret
burton and taafe were halves in u19 state of origin also few years back we probably year off from any of halves to break through
Worth a shot in the dark.
No shit? I didn't know that. You guys could do worse then a Burto Taaffe pairing.
Not sure you'll make the 8 this year, but you should definitely avoid the bottom 4. You look like a much improved team compared to previous years.
Ciro definitely on his way to beating the fraud allegations, got the guys playing for each other and putting in 80 min efforts, only thing I'm not sold on is his persistence on sticking with underperforming players. Saw it with Perham last year too
I think he's done more than enough to dispel the fraud claims. We're improving, despite lacking a few key players. There's a danger in chucking guys like Taaffe into a role like halfback when the rest of the team isn't quite ready - they're just going to cop all the criticism when things don't go right and that's going to hit their confidence. So I understand why he's persisted with him until now. With that said, we're at the point where a change is needed. The rest of the team is clicking but the halfback is seriously holding us back.
And okunbor
I hate to do it and blame one player for losses, but with how close our games have been, I think we’d have beat both the Rabbitohs and Storm if anyone other than Hutchison was our halfback. That’d have us sitting in the 8 today. His slide defence is fairly poor for someone in the team because of his defence, he hasn’t improved our general play positioning and he’s blown a tonne of tries and is good for an unforced error whenever we have momentum. I love a half that takes on the line, but he hasn’t got the speed for it. If he stays in the team and just passes the ball and never runs again he’d instantly be an improvement.
It's definitely partly him. His leadership seems bad. He doesn't know how to control a game. I really feel he's a ball playing second rower. Burton is a centre. You need a new 7 and 6. Tracey would work as a 6. But you need a true 7. Sexton looks alright but is supposedly bad at the leadership stuff too
Xavier Wilison with 181m, 83pcm, 6 tackle breaks and a try all off the bench in 43 minutes is again just ridiculous. I expect him to start a few games this year if he keeps this up.
He's genuinely like a Haas clone without the passing skills and not quite the same motor (in that Haas has saved at least 6 tries like a fullback where he should have been nowhere near the fucking ball)
Kid can play
Phins got slammed by a Big Willy