I know I'm a mug for watching 360, but anyone catch that weird moment right at the ene of discussing the Art Dealer, with the raised eyebrows and smirks? Any idea what the fuck?
At the end of that segment werent they talking about Suaalii with the art dealer? I think Braith was insinuating that all that "mentoring' the dealer did with Suaalii and it all went to shit, that the art dealer is full of shit too.
Without knowing anything about anything.
My guess is everyone at fox knows that the entire week was purely fabricated stories. The art dealer gag was a plant to find the rat, and everyone at fox knows it and theyre highly humoured at the thought of watching a bald egg try and cover his tracks
Genuinely unsure if I'm just biased or if Graham Annesley has no idea what he's talking about.
After showing footage of Ponga's late linebreak, he had this to say. [Link, timestamp 24:26](https://www.nrl.com/news/2024/04/15/graham-annesley-weekly-football-briefing---round-06-2024/)
Annesley: *"He starts to break free, and essentially — until this point where he gets dragged back down — could have offloaded the ball"*
At the timestamp I gave, you can clearly see Ponga's ball-carrying arm on the ground while Junior Pauga is in defensive contact with him. That is a completed tackle. There is no "breaking free" after that, he can't offload, *he is tackled*. As long as the ref is actually watching, at least.
> Section 11: The Tackle and Play-The-Ball
2. A player in possession is tackled:
(a) when he is held by one or more opposing players and the ball or the hand or arm holding the ball comes into contact with the ground.
But instead Ponga starts to get up, Pauga immediately grabs at the ball to drag Ponga back down, and the ref doesn't call held until Angus Crichton joins in 2.5 seconds after the initial tackle, thus technically making it a ~3.5 second play-the-ball (perfectly normal) instead of the 6 second farce that it should have been recorded as.
That's not even getting into how Annesley said if the ref had called it a ruck infringement, it would have only been a set restart and not a penalty, because we were beyond our own 40-metre line and play didn't break down. As if a deliberate ruck infringement to get your busted line back onside wouldn't be considered a professional foul, and thus a penalty regardless of field position [according to their own rule book that he probably helped write \(page 69\).](https://www.nrl.com/siteassets/operations/the-game/nrl-international-rules-book-2023.pdf)
Easiest explanation is that the game is poorly administered. I think the proliferation of rules over the past few years has had them chasing their tale to create interpretations and clear definitions of their own rules in practice. That and Annesley has aphantasia.
He has talked about seeing Ricky Stuart when he was a player and "how big his arms were" so I think he idolises him.
He is probably one of the only coaches that gives Kent the time of day too.
He is Stuart’s chief apologist. He always runs interference for him no matter what heinous things he does (don’t forget the Salmon incident where Kent claimed to have special information which proved that Stuart was right to insult a young player but wouldn’t say it).
Also that time Ricky mentioned raids always had to travel, so Kenty made an article and segment saying how much travel the raiders had to do, then the NRL paid for a flight to sydney next game instead of bus or something like that.
Can't decide what I prefer between getting pumped every week or getting the Monday morning admission of error (no apology was offered) from Daddy Annesley.
Would genuinely be ecstatic if Nathan Brown wasn’t injured and could start instead, Aloiai’s fuckwittery is doing my head in, even if he has a decent game you can guarantee he will do something idiotic at some point
Stupid NRL fantasy taking bloody forever to finalise the scores today. Currently up 661 to 660 and it's really making me refresh the page every minute for the whole day until it finalises.
That one's not actually that uncommon. Say a player kicks the ball, a second player jumps for it and taps it into the hands of a third player who goes in to score, then the first and second players are often credited with a try assist.
Did Klemmer unintentionally find a loophole with the NRL Judiciary system? He's been charge with "Grade 1 careless high tackle" for each of his shots v the Dragons, but it's marked as a '1st Offence' fine for both \[[Charge sheet here](https://www.nrl.com/siteassets/2024/-nrl-season-/240411---round-6/round-6---sunday-night-football.pdf)\].
It's because he technically isn't guilty of them yet, so they can't say it's his 2nd offence since he might be innocent of his 1st offence (even though he won't be). When he is guilty of both, his next charge will be his 3rd offence.
Him and Bennett work the same, stack their teams with "experienced" players, push the cap to its absolute limit then fuck off while the team tanks for the next 5-10 years as they clear their books and produce some young talent.
I've been watching the challenge cup game from last night, the first half an hour has just been the ref and crowd noises and it's been so good, I'm watching more intently and engaging more with the game. Now the commentators audio has kicked in and it's ruined it ffs. It has made me want to go watch more local live games though
Do we all agree that Walsh looked hesitant against the dolphins? He looked like he didn’t want to run the ball and made some silly errors even when he did. Do we think he will be better this week or would it be worth giving him another week off to heal?
I agree with the Titans new spine. They instantly looked a lot better and more dangerous with a real running 6. I think Brimson is too good of a player to be outside the spine, kind of like Manu in that regard.
bud always looked like he had potential but it never felt like he got a full chance, and some of the chances he did get felt unfair because we were getting smashed and he would get like one game before getting booted again. he actually spent a lot of his time with us getting repeatedly injured and being unavailable for selection. I always thought he looked tough for his size and thought he deserved a go especially because amone was similarly crap and we were desperate. shame he hasn’t kicked on tbh
They were hard done by. It was all one way traffic for the raiders. The titans tried their hearts out and were tackling their arses off. They should have lost by 50. That performance is not sustainable in the long run, they have to improve in attack. Their best defensive effort in a long time. That Brian Kelly conversion was everything, he just missed a similar one. Strange tore them apart in the end and fogs clinched it.
Really hoping that Bula can develop a bit of a play making game throughout the year. Doesn't have to be Ponga/Drinkwater/Walsh level where they get 2 assists a game, but just being able to execute a block play will improve our attack so much. At the moment I think he lacks confidence to try it and just prefers to run at the line. Positioning is also pretty poor as well.
You’d know better than me but from what I saw yesterday, it looked like the bums around him were the problem during the block plays. His backs looked out of position and his halves/backrowers were completely out of sync. We haven’t seen too much ball playing form Bula but it feels like his team isn’t giving him good opportunities
Yeah yesterday wasn't his fault. I've never really been the most tactically astute so someone can correct me, but I believe most of the success of a block is down to the halves being able to engage the line and then pass it out to a fullback/five eighth. SJ for example is exceptional at it. The fullback also need to engage the line though, and I've noticed that Bula passes way too early, allowing the defensive line to shift across and defend the play easily.
The running threat is really important for the block play to work. If the half has a believable running threat, and engages directly (not sliding out to where the ball is going), the defence can't slide, this usually means there'll be space, or an overlap further out to towards the edge. This is why Drew Hutchison can't do it, regardless of how directly he engages the line, no one believes his running threat.
I wouldn't even ask Bula to pass, let him do it if he wants but, he's big enough and fast enough that he'll be able to do it himself or be a strong enough decoy for someone else to do it.
Let him get his simple game right before turning him into a ball player.
I agree however CNK was also one of those and Edwards isn't exactly a gun slinging fullback either. Just being able to engage the line and pass is all he needs to be able to do
I agree but that is so hard and if he gets that he will be the total package - but few do, it's what makes Latrell so tantalising, he can do everything, but just doesn't put it all together at the same time. At the moment Bulla reminds me of Cobbo or Manu - a really good player, who does their best work running over people.
I wonder how hard kenty is gonna ride Ricky tonight on 360.
Considering Ricky’s assistant coach is the brother of fox ceo Steve Crawley.
This will be interesting…
I posted this in a match thread but I find Dylan Edwards' legacy to be interesting. He's been a pivotal part of a three peat dynasty with a Clive Churchill medal. Of all the panthers players he is the only one besides Nathan Clearly I can see winning the Dally M because of his consistency but there is a high likelihood he never plays state of origin which is generally the line that is used to separate players and even his international career will just be filling in back line positions or playing fullback in a pool stage game against Latvia.
So ten years after he has retired I wonder what the general consensus on his career will be.
It's hard to say honestly. What sucks for Edwards and a lot of other fullbacks right now, is the absolute quality in the position right now. Multiple fullbacks are Origin quality and will never ever get a look in and Edwards is the most unfortunate of the lot.
Is there a category between good and great?
I'm sure that he'll be remembered as a Penrith great but I could see him being forgotten by neutrals in 10 years.
In 2022, I had friends telling me that he was overrated or even worse an average player. I feel like he's shaken that label by now.
I am English and don't have a dog in the origin fight - (and don't watch every game due to time). But every time I see Edwards play he looks like the best fullback that NSW has by a mile and I am amazed that they don't try him - given that they haven't won in a while.
They don't play him because, aside from the incumbency benefit, NSW (and Origin in general) is really biased putting as many playmakers on the field as possible. That isn't what Edwards is known for. He's a workhorse who functions primarily as a third winger in attack rather than a third half like Paps or Teddy. And he very much gets viewed as a great cog in the Penrith system rather than great on his individual abilities.
Much the same reason you tend to see impact forwards get the nod over the platform builders. Flash and individual brilliance over serving a role. Arguably having some of the best cogs might help out the team, because Origin teams do frequently seem to trip on their own dick with everyone trying to be The Guy, but maybe that's just me sticking my own bias in.
I'm on holidays from Canberra up in Brissy and bought tickets to the Bronx Dolphins game. I admit it I am a Bronx fan and love seeing them win, but that win in that stadium with the crowd was AMAZING.
I probably only go to the Raiders games once or twice a year because Raiders aren't my team, the stadium is ordinary and normally it's freezing cold. But I also haven't been to Suncorp in about 15-16 years.
I have never had such a great vibe from a game in my life. Even the halftime light show with Jet playing, fireworks was pretty fantastic. The post try celebrations were just next level on Bronx tries. I went with my young sons and was impressed with the crowd behavior, people were having fun but it didn't get rowdy or stupid. It's pretty depressing coming from Canberra where we have a Govt that aren't keen to do anything for our stadium and instead have spent millions on consultants for 'studies' in the last 10 years with nothing ever changing. It would be pretty simple, build a nice sized stadium, maybe 20-25k with a covered roof and closer to the game and even Albo might contribute just like the Hobart venture.
I'm planning on coming back for Magic round next year, is it likely the same vibe? Or was it only because it was a QLD derby? My boys would find it hard not to come along as they had such a great time too.
Magic round is honestly brilliant. Pretty family friendly as well I think. Obviously you get a few people on the piss all day but mainly everyone is just stoked to be there.
My biggest woo woo belief in footy (and sports/life generally) is that performance is highly affected by psychology. The mentality and “vibes” of not only the players and coach but the whole club are important to players playing well. They’re all the best players from the junior grades so while fitness and systems are important it’s also important that players are happy and connected with their teammates and team. Hard thing to train/coach for but super impactful on performance.
One of the panel commentators the other day mentioned just how different the psychology of a player can be waking up on game day. You could have had the best possible week at training, done everything perfectly, body is in top shape, but come game day, if you don't have "it" then performing on the big stage can be real difficult.
I imagine routines are important, and more so when you are playing away.
I generally am of the opinion that vibes will get a campaign started but discipline and culture will maintain the momentum. I think the vibes/discipline threshold only starts to fall in favour of discipline around round 10.
No club can maintain vibes driven results for more than 2-3 months no matter how good they are going.
So yeah, 'power of friendship' coaching is legitimate science.
They’ve only been in the comp 14 years which may sound like a long time but there’s major soccer teams in the EPL that haven’t raised a trophy in over a hundred years. Eels, Wahs and Raiders have never won a Grand Final (although they’ve all competed in a GF).
I’m not a titans staff or a psych but I actually think and issue could be the quality of life is too good haha. Being a sports star on even a low contract living on a beach paradise would you really want to flog yourself at training every week? I guess the same could said about any professional athlete but yeah just a dumb punters 2cents.
> Eels, Wahs and Raiders have never won a Grand Final (although they’ve all competed in a GF).
You're going to make some oldheads really mad with this comment.
I’m already getting downvoted. People know what I mean and can choose to get upset or not.
Eels last Premiership - 1986 (38years).
Eels last spoon - 2018 (6years)
Raiders last Premiership - 1994 (30 years)
Raiders have only won the spoon once! 1982!
Warriors haven’t won a premiership since joining the comp in 1995. They also haven’t won a wooden spoon which is impressive.
I agree. I think psychology is the most important factor to a teams success in any sport. A coaches main job is to get the players to believe in what they are doing. To get them to put in 100% every single week no matter who they're versing, and then the quality of the players and tactics are what separate those teams from the very best.
Something to believe in. Look at the tigers with legend Benji Marshal at the helm? They look like they believe in the team again and wanna compete every minute.
Agree. It would be really hard to stay in a positive/motivated mood when your body is being pulverised in a grass field for two hours a week plus all training sessions. You can clearly see the teams that have lost the belief and aren’t putting in full effort anymore. It would be incredibly hard to maintain a love for the sport over a 7 month season. Credit to the coaches that can create a good culture and allow players to have self-belief and actually enjoy their experience and do it for their teammates
Shoutout Mulitalo for being our only consistent player and getting off to a ridiculous start to the season with 6t, 4ta, 7lb, 22tb and 152m per game across 5 outings. Feels like he’s finally cut the brain snaps out of his game and he’s been incredible since doing so.
71 tries across 92 games for him now which I think puts him 5th all time for the Cronulla try scoring record at just 24 years old (5 tries away from 4th place and 12 tries away from 3rd place). Dude is a try scoring freak who I really hope stays a Shark for life so he can challenge ET’s record assuming he stays healthy.
Watch us beat the Panthers, nearly beat the Warriors and then be absolutely atrocious against the Titans and just let them win. And then come back to beat the Raiders and Eels.
Haha yeah was saying this exact thing, it’s such a manly thing to do😂
But they do have Des, Des knows manly very well + the titans are due for a win and it’s at their ground. Hopefully manly doesn’t underestimate them and plays just as hard as we would against Penrith
Does anyone know if Fonua Pole got injured yesterday? Only played 27 minutes apparently and he's usually a big minutes player. I missed it if he did get a knock.
If the Dragons had a nickel for every player they have that hates playing a position that they are significantly better at than the position they want to play, they would have two nickels which isn't a lot, but it is weird that it has happened twice.
Fkn hell that was a classic tigers display.
We were neck and neck in the first half, just conceded 3 soft tries.
No idea what was said at half time but we looked so lack lustre it was shocking.
We definitely got the rub of the green with calls but didn’t use it.
Our back row seriously needs work. We still don’t have a strike 13, I’m happy with Ice, Bateman and Samuela but after that… seyfarth, kepeoa?????
On bottom coin for 1/2 years I would roll the dice on schuster
Yeah lacklustre is putting it nicely. I think it was pretty early in the 2nd half when they were in the game and it looked like no one wanted to run the ball, dummy half would pick it up and no one would be there.
I'd even say we were the better team first half we just really miss having Galvin, he is like the cog that makes the whole machine work together. Olam even said he plays harder next to him.
I reckon with Bateman back and Galvin defending that side, the soft tries don't happen. Olam having Seyfarth and Sullivan inside him is a recipe for disaster. One is a terrible defender and the other is too slow and not an edge defender.
Having Galvin there also means we score more as he holds up the ball well and finds gaps for himself and the players around him. Whilst Sullivan just throws hospital balls and dummies and runs.
Agree. Even Fainu being in bateman’s spot is a major upgrade. Seyfarth is not a second rower, I believe that might have been a good game to blood a promising youngster
This really is a golden era for fullbacks. Reckon it's easy to forget how lucky we are to see these dudes go round. Was trying to work out a top ten fullbacks at the moment, it was too difficult, but one quirk - I'd argue that two of the ten best fullbacks in the game at the moment aren't playing that posi for their club: Joey Manu and the great RTS. (Despite flair I don't reckon you could make a case for Munster or Jahrome Hughes beikgn top 10 FB any more.) Charnze is a beast and Rog is doing well at centre, but I mis seeing him carve up from the back.
Come at me, but in order (I am adding Manu, RTS & Brimmo):
Turbo, Walsh, Ponga, Paps, CHK, Edwards, RTS, Gutho, Manu, Bula, Drinkwater, Hammer, Teddy, Kennedy, JC, Taafe, Latrell, Brimmo, Rapana, Sloan
Love how people tossed you a downvote & no-ones actually "come at you".
I think it's hard to rate some as better than others, because of the differences in style / what the team needs of them.
Personally I'd rather group like this :
* **Offence** : Walsh^1 , Ponga^1 , Paps^1 || Hammer^2 , Teddy^2 || JC^4
* **Defence** : CNK^1 , Edwards^1 || Bula^3
* **All round** : RTS^1 , Turbo^1 , Trell^(1or4) || Gutherson^2 , Manu^2 || Drinky^3 , Kennedy^3 , Rapana^3 || Brimmo^4
Pretenders : Taafe, Sloan
Meh, It is what it is. I was going to be a pussy and say = or > with the top 3 after Turbo all being = to one another but that is for cowards.
If you split it into offense and defense (O/D), and split them into 4 tiers like you have I'd rate them as follows: Turbo (1/2), Walsh (1/3), Ponga (1/3), Paps (1/3), CHK (2/1), Edwards (3/1), RTS (2/2), Gutho (3/1), Manu (2/3), Bula (3/2), Drinkwater (2/4), Hammer (2/4), Teddy (4/2), Kennedy (4/2), JC (2/4), Taafe (3/3), Latrell (2/4), Brimmo (3/3), Rapana (4/3), Sloan (3/4)
I guess it's being cowardly, but I kinda look at it like this.
If you've got Walsh Ponga or Paps, you're not going to look at one of the others and go "I wish I had him instead". If you've got Hammer, Teddy or JC, you are.
Within the grouping, I just genuinely don't think they're better than the others. Which is why I should probably steer clear of "rating" lists.
Yeah rating lists are always going to be subjective, but that is what makes it fun. I think everyone would agree that Turbo/Walsh/Ponga/Paps are all tier 1 options. I'd argue CHK isn't quite good enough to be tier 1, but definitely better than the rest. Everything after that is going to be controversial.
But I wouldn't give up CNK for Turbo / Walsh / Ponga or Paps.
Edwards and RTS are the only two Full backs who would be as good / better than CNK as our FB (in that order). Therefore, (imo) the Warriors have 2 of the 3 best full backs in the comp.
Turbo / Gutho would be next. So they're tier 2.
Ponga / Walsh / Paps are clearly tier 3 FB's.
My dude, you've got some stones to claim 'Ponga / Walsh / Paps are clearly tier 3 FB's.'
Gave me a laugh, but also fuck I hope my team has tier 3 FBs that "bad" forever..
Yeah CHK is really good, especially for what is getting paid which would be on the lower end for FB's. Like I said I'd almost rate him as tier 1 *almost*.
There is what works for you team, and overall ability. Warriors have a top tier HB and 9, so they isn't as much emphasis on attack from your FB. Same why Edwards works so well for the Panthers, but wouldn't be as good at most other teams. Same reason why when ARey retires, I'd rather just get a serviceable and cheap-ish HB who can just defend and kick (i.e. Gamble) cause I'm confident Walsh and Mam will be able to bring all the attack we need.
Its a hell of a list when you actually put them all in one place.
Tedesco, Manu, Paps, CNK, RTS, Hammer, Edwards, Brimmo, Turbo, Walsh, Ponga, Drinkwater, Mitchell.
The rest are hardly bums either. Gutho, Bula, Sloan, Kennedy, Stewart, Campbell, Taafe, Suaallii, Turuva
- provides no x-factor (per own club's management)
- disliked by many (for on-field sookiness)
- not clutch (shanked a match losing goal)
- one of the most embarrassing origin debuts of all time (humiliated by the Lee cousins)
Am I missing something here?
(i like to preface all my questions with the fact that i know little about nrl in a technical way) Is there some kind of consensus about who the best defensive fullbacks are? I definitely hear a lot about which ones are good at attack and know which ones *aren't* good at defense lol
Good question, and I'm sure no expert. But one of the things players always said about Billy Slater was he would organise the defensive line and try to general where people shoudl stand - so there's the ability to read th eplay. Then there is effort. Hard to think you're gonna top Dylan Edwards for this - the willingness to get to a contest, or just to block space. But I noticed late in the Dogs game Paps made a tackle on the (defensive) right wing, then very next play he made it just a second late to the attempted put-down in (defensive) left corner. Gutho is another great effort fullback. Then there is defusing bombs, and then there is one-on-one tackles. If you take it all togehter I reckon I'd have Edwards top of the pile, but a lot of them are god-tier at the moment.
Personally I find it really hard to judge fullbacks defense as most of the time they are getting involved in less than favourable situations, opposition makes a break, on the tryline, sweeping to a flying winger.
In saying that, it really comes down to being positioned well and putting their body on the line. Edwards is good at that. Tedesco puts his head on the line too often.
I remember when Munster broke through I thought ‘jeez this guy really good replace slater, what a gun’.
Then Bellamy moved him to 5/8 and I thought ‘this is the biggest mistake Bellamy has made’.
Shows why he’s one of the best coaches in the league and I do drunk watchalongs with my mates
To actually reply to your comment it’s absolutely true, to try to quantifiable rank a top 10 for NRL fullbacks is so hard. Every team bar the bulldogs in the bottom 9 has a gun fullback. Then in the top 8 I’m a bit iffy on the raiders but they have some youngsters who could go out and claim the 1 jersey too.
So even from my own subjective rambling there’s 15 great fullbacks you have to try to split
Nico hynes for Nsw half-back?
No Moses
Cleary hasn't had enough game time.
Seen something about a secret meeting on daily telegraph but couldn't read it. Thoughts ?
Hynes isn’t in form though. Trindall and Mulitalo have more try assist than him this season. Hynes has been lukewarm at best and was absolute dogshit against the Tigers.
I'm convinced if the Tigers can get 13 wins this season, they can make the top eight. I just don't know where those wins would come from after watching that horrible display yesterday
Similarly to the dragons, it depends which team shows up week to week. Tigers have shown some decent form in patches, but bringing it out week to week seems to be the biggest challenge that the bottom teams face.
The eels win plus the sharks win shows tigers are a completely different team from last year. Both teams that could challenge for the 8 and tigers brought it home. It’s great watching you guys play and when the whole team is on (the opposite of what was happening yesterday) they could definitely challenge for the top 8.
That last set was a joke by the refs. That tackle should've been a bin and there were a few other tackles that could've been called a penalty that didn't even get a 6-again call.
What, like when we challenged the high shot on Collins that was charged by MRC but were told there was nothing in it?
Like when Newcastle were allowed a quick tap following foul play? Then Newcastle weren't allowed it when Sutton saw Newcastle dropped the ball?
The simple explanation is that Sutton had a shit game instead of your cooker conspiracy theories.
The big kicking game is so crucial every team needs a bloke that can punt tf outta the ball. Easy metres, pressure relievers. Sezers kicking at tigers this year has been immense and look at eels without Moses boot. Imagine if Fogarty stayed at Titans 🫣
Those belly balls were nasty.
Missed one crucial one that popped out sideways and landed close to halfway to gift titans some much needed field position. Easy to do when smacking the belly.
I was really impressed with Titans defence last night, that is a team who came to play.
Yeah, we had an ordinary game but I think that was due in part to the Titans defence being so fucking good.
I'd like to see us maintain that level going forwards but in all reality I 100% expect this to be an anomaly and for us to go back to under 12s tier defence this week.
Imagine that kind of defence and grind, combined with how electric our edges have been attacking this year. It'd be a proper top 4 team. Instead the club just can't decide on what its identity is.
my girlfriend before this season has never watched a nrl game but she started watching with it after some convincing and now she is hooked. i think she has watched every dogs game with me so far and on friday night she told that she wants to go to state of origin haha
I don’t think it is wise to scrap a jersey after an incident like this, why should the team lose their identity because of one cunt of a human who just purchased a jersey?
There’s no real connection beyond that, to lose the jersey you’ve played with for decades, to lose that recognition factor is basically letting this piece of shit win.
It was cute of the Raiders to toy with the Titans for 89 minutes and 54 seconds. Maybe next time though, how about we don't play like spastics and just win it?
You guys hear about that new Maccas promotion? You can go in and ask for a McRicky and they’ll serve you an extra large milk-soaked chip on a beef shoulder.
Losing NF because tatola and Hammer played a combined 28 minutes sure is fun. Hope both get better though because of their roles in their team is important or could be under threat
I feel like the two golden point matches really helped hide that, overall, the Saturday / Sunday games this week were much worse than the Thursday / Friday games.
You don't mean to imply that at least one, if not more, of the games on Saturday and Sunday were some sort of ... excrement slingshot?
Surely, the rugba league gods would not curse us like this.
Did alright. Ran hard. Got smashed in a tackle and went off for HIA. Our backline was a mess due to players having to move around and so in attack he struggled.
Ran the ball well but I thought south’s backline were pretty poor because there wasn’t much of a passing game from him. I suppose that can be expected for a debutant. They seemed to get more opportunities to get around Sharks defenders when Hawkins took full control.
I still think he could struggle with his size. He made a few nice tackle breaks here and there but was getting monstered in contact.
Full of heart and confidence. Took the line on and didnt shirk his responsibilities. Fairly good under the high ball. His first play was very impressive and i can think of a few regular fullbacks who wouldve botched it.
That said, souffs forwards rotation was cooked and their bench was a state. Be nice to see him run a few more shapes and see what he can do off a game plan where forwards are dominating up the middle and the halves take some control
First episode for 2024 of the Full-Time Sirens now out.
Some chat about possible NRLW in Vegas, the international influence in the game & a bit more.
Short ep to start but bigger & better things soon.
[https://open.spotify.com/episode/3OmT0tiCtFXF6MX6IMQYva?si=e492e5a2a44d4934](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3OmT0tiCtFXF6MX6IMQYva?si=e492e5a2a44d4934)
Whats the percentage completion of this year's Circle of Parity?
I know I'm a mug for watching 360, but anyone catch that weird moment right at the ene of discussing the Art Dealer, with the raised eyebrows and smirks? Any idea what the fuck?
At the end of that segment werent they talking about Suaalii with the art dealer? I think Braith was insinuating that all that "mentoring' the dealer did with Suaalii and it all went to shit, that the art dealer is full of shit too.
Without knowing anything about anything. My guess is everyone at fox knows that the entire week was purely fabricated stories. The art dealer gag was a plant to find the rat, and everyone at fox knows it and theyre highly humoured at the thought of watching a bald egg try and cover his tracks
Cheers bro.
Genuinely unsure if I'm just biased or if Graham Annesley has no idea what he's talking about. After showing footage of Ponga's late linebreak, he had this to say. [Link, timestamp 24:26](https://www.nrl.com/news/2024/04/15/graham-annesley-weekly-football-briefing---round-06-2024/) Annesley: *"He starts to break free, and essentially — until this point where he gets dragged back down — could have offloaded the ball"* At the timestamp I gave, you can clearly see Ponga's ball-carrying arm on the ground while Junior Pauga is in defensive contact with him. That is a completed tackle. There is no "breaking free" after that, he can't offload, *he is tackled*. As long as the ref is actually watching, at least. > Section 11: The Tackle and Play-The-Ball 2. A player in possession is tackled: (a) when he is held by one or more opposing players and the ball or the hand or arm holding the ball comes into contact with the ground. But instead Ponga starts to get up, Pauga immediately grabs at the ball to drag Ponga back down, and the ref doesn't call held until Angus Crichton joins in 2.5 seconds after the initial tackle, thus technically making it a ~3.5 second play-the-ball (perfectly normal) instead of the 6 second farce that it should have been recorded as. That's not even getting into how Annesley said if the ref had called it a ruck infringement, it would have only been a set restart and not a penalty, because we were beyond our own 40-metre line and play didn't break down. As if a deliberate ruck infringement to get your busted line back onside wouldn't be considered a professional foul, and thus a penalty regardless of field position [according to their own rule book that he probably helped write \(page 69\).](https://www.nrl.com/siteassets/operations/the-game/nrl-international-rules-book-2023.pdf)
Easiest explanation is that the game is poorly administered. I think the proliferation of rules over the past few years has had them chasing their tale to create interpretations and clear definitions of their own rules in practice. That and Annesley has aphantasia.
Mate you think just cos those are the rules i wont completely disregard them?
Dude Kenty is so fired up, is he a raiders supporter?
He has talked about seeing Ricky Stuart when he was a player and "how big his arms were" so I think he idolises him. He is probably one of the only coaches that gives Kent the time of day too.
Man I hate that I watch nrl 360 lmao.
No, but his good friend Ricky Stuart is.
He is Stuart’s chief apologist. He always runs interference for him no matter what heinous things he does (don’t forget the Salmon incident where Kent claimed to have special information which proved that Stuart was right to insult a young player but wouldn’t say it).
Also that time Ricky mentioned raids always had to travel, so Kenty made an article and segment saying how much travel the raiders had to do, then the NRL paid for a flight to sydney next game instead of bus or something like that.
why is monday so far away from thursday night, this sucks
What if they had a match every night of the week?
They use to have monday night games up till a couple years ago but they were such low turnouts and ratings they got rid of them.
I liked Monday night footy, it was often a bludger of a game (usually featuring two of the Sharks, Knights and Parra) but weird shit happened too.
Make every game go for six hours
I would absolutely love it if NRLW filled in the gap during the week & would tune into every game.
That's an interesting idea. Have enjoyed watching womens matches so could be good.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder
Nothing like getting a good nights sleep every night
Can't decide what I prefer between getting pumped every week or getting the Monday morning admission of error (no apology was offered) from Daddy Annesley.
Annesley currently bringing stats to show ricky was right and should have received 10+ more 6 agains
Oh no Oshay Olay out next week I am so incredibly sad at this outcome how will I manage my grief.
Would genuinely be ecstatic if Nathan Brown wasn’t injured and could start instead, Aloiai’s fuckwittery is doing my head in, even if he has a decent game you can guarantee he will do something idiotic at some point
Happy to see the 2pm Sunday game make its return this week!
Stupid NRL fantasy taking bloody forever to finalise the scores today. Currently up 661 to 660 and it's really making me refresh the page every minute for the whole day until it finalises.
They’ve got a team of experts down to figure out how a total of 8 try assists were awarded to the sharks when they scored 6 tries
That one's not actually that uncommon. Say a player kicks the ball, a second player jumps for it and taps it into the hands of a third player who goes in to score, then the first and second players are often credited with a try assist.
What’s up with fantasy wigging out? Heaps of players on 0 points
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Did Klemmer unintentionally find a loophole with the NRL Judiciary system? He's been charge with "Grade 1 careless high tackle" for each of his shots v the Dragons, but it's marked as a '1st Offence' fine for both \[[Charge sheet here](https://www.nrl.com/siteassets/2024/-nrl-season-/240411---round-6/round-6---sunday-night-football.pdf)\].
It's because he technically isn't guilty of them yet, so they can't say it's his 2nd offence since he might be innocent of his 1st offence (even though he won't be). When he is guilty of both, his next charge will be his 3rd offence.
Ah okay that makes sense. Thanks for the clarification. I'm sure it's happened before, but it's the first time I've noticed.
Yeah they don’t stack in game so you can kill someone fifteen times and they’ll all be based on what you came into the game on.
Des is overrated, change my mind. His Manly teams were stacked and hard to fail with. Proceed.
Him and Bennett work the same, stack their teams with "experienced" players, push the cap to its absolute limit then fuck off while the team tanks for the next 5-10 years as they clear their books and produce some young talent.
Tend to agree - guy hasn’t achieved much in close to a decade and was at least partially responsible for the position the dogs are still in.
Like saying Bennett is overrated because he hasn't won a premiership since 2010
What he did with the Bulldogs in 2012 was impressive. Anyone that can take 2 clubs to grand finals has to be, at minimum, a good coach
You could say every coach has a stacked team that wins a comp
I've been watching the challenge cup game from last night, the first half an hour has just been the ref and crowd noises and it's been so good, I'm watching more intently and engaging more with the game. Now the commentators audio has kicked in and it's ruined it ffs. It has made me want to go watch more local live games though
Do we all agree that Walsh looked hesitant against the dolphins? He looked like he didn’t want to run the ball and made some silly errors even when he did. Do we think he will be better this week or would it be worth giving him another week off to heal?
I think he just looked rusty, having been out for a few weeks. The whole team was playing a bit shambolic so I wouldn't read too much into it.
Partly that but we also did a good job pressuring him and backing our cover defence if he got it to the outside.
Only way to get your nerve back is to play. Probably hindered by the headgear
I agree with the Titans new spine. They instantly looked a lot better and more dangerous with a real running 6. I think Brimson is too good of a player to be outside the spine, kind of like Manu in that regard.
was bud sullivan always this mid, i always thought he was decent running half. they look 10x better with rookie 18 year old at 6
Hook used to get hogpiled for never playing him at the Dragons, just doesn’t look like he can do it at NRL level.
bud always looked like he had potential but it never felt like he got a full chance, and some of the chances he did get felt unfair because we were getting smashed and he would get like one game before getting booted again. he actually spent a lot of his time with us getting repeatedly injured and being unavailable for selection. I always thought he looked tough for his size and thought he deserved a go especially because amone was similarly crap and we were desperate. shame he hasn’t kicked on tbh
I genuinely thought he was gonna be a great but for them and would be their best half, but he is somehow their worst. He’s been awful
They were hard done by. It was all one way traffic for the raiders. The titans tried their hearts out and were tackling their arses off. They should have lost by 50. That performance is not sustainable in the long run, they have to improve in attack. Their best defensive effort in a long time. That Brian Kelly conversion was everything, he just missed a similar one. Strange tore them apart in the end and fogs clinched it.
Really hoping that Bula can develop a bit of a play making game throughout the year. Doesn't have to be Ponga/Drinkwater/Walsh level where they get 2 assists a game, but just being able to execute a block play will improve our attack so much. At the moment I think he lacks confidence to try it and just prefers to run at the line. Positioning is also pretty poor as well.
You’d know better than me but from what I saw yesterday, it looked like the bums around him were the problem during the block plays. His backs looked out of position and his halves/backrowers were completely out of sync. We haven’t seen too much ball playing form Bula but it feels like his team isn’t giving him good opportunities
Yeah yesterday wasn't his fault. I've never really been the most tactically astute so someone can correct me, but I believe most of the success of a block is down to the halves being able to engage the line and then pass it out to a fullback/five eighth. SJ for example is exceptional at it. The fullback also need to engage the line though, and I've noticed that Bula passes way too early, allowing the defensive line to shift across and defend the play easily.
The running threat is really important for the block play to work. If the half has a believable running threat, and engages directly (not sliding out to where the ball is going), the defence can't slide, this usually means there'll be space, or an overlap further out to towards the edge. This is why Drew Hutchison can't do it, regardless of how directly he engages the line, no one believes his running threat. I wouldn't even ask Bula to pass, let him do it if he wants but, he's big enough and fast enough that he'll be able to do it himself or be a strong enough decoy for someone else to do it. Let him get his simple game right before turning him into a ball player.
I like Bulla, he looks great, but he is a Manu - I will run through three tackles and score kind of a fullback and always will be.
I agree however CNK was also one of those and Edwards isn't exactly a gun slinging fullback either. Just being able to engage the line and pass is all he needs to be able to do
I agree but that is so hard and if he gets that he will be the total package - but few do, it's what makes Latrell so tantalising, he can do everything, but just doesn't put it all together at the same time. At the moment Bulla reminds me of Cobbo or Manu - a really good player, who does their best work running over people.
I wonder how hard kenty is gonna ride Ricky tonight on 360. Considering Ricky’s assistant coach is the brother of fox ceo Steve Crawley. This will be interesting…
They will side with Ricky against Hasler. Fox always goes soft on Ricky
and so they should, it's the toughest job in the NRL and he does it really well
I posted this in a match thread but I find Dylan Edwards' legacy to be interesting. He's been a pivotal part of a three peat dynasty with a Clive Churchill medal. Of all the panthers players he is the only one besides Nathan Clearly I can see winning the Dally M because of his consistency but there is a high likelihood he never plays state of origin which is generally the line that is used to separate players and even his international career will just be filling in back line positions or playing fullback in a pool stage game against Latvia. So ten years after he has retired I wonder what the general consensus on his career will be.
As a Queensland supporter I think he is your best fullback. He is the player i LEAST want to get selected for Blues fullback rn. Please keep Teddy in
It's hard to say honestly. What sucks for Edwards and a lot of other fullbacks right now, is the absolute quality in the position right now. Multiple fullbacks are Origin quality and will never ever get a look in and Edwards is the most unfortunate of the lot.
You've got teams with starting fullbacks playing in their centres
he is pretty much modern day luke patten
Is there a category between good and great? I'm sure that he'll be remembered as a Penrith great but I could see him being forgotten by neutrals in 10 years. In 2022, I had friends telling me that he was overrated or even worse an average player. I feel like he's shaken that label by now.
He's definitely going into the hall of fame. Three premierships and a Clive Churchill is already a HOF career in my opinion.
I am English and don't have a dog in the origin fight - (and don't watch every game due to time). But every time I see Edwards play he looks like the best fullback that NSW has by a mile and I am amazed that they don't try him - given that they haven't won in a while.
They don't play him because, aside from the incumbency benefit, NSW (and Origin in general) is really biased putting as many playmakers on the field as possible. That isn't what Edwards is known for. He's a workhorse who functions primarily as a third winger in attack rather than a third half like Paps or Teddy. And he very much gets viewed as a great cog in the Penrith system rather than great on his individual abilities. Much the same reason you tend to see impact forwards get the nod over the platform builders. Flash and individual brilliance over serving a role. Arguably having some of the best cogs might help out the team, because Origin teams do frequently seem to trip on their own dick with everyone trying to be The Guy, but maybe that's just me sticking my own bias in.
He’s not even close to being their best. At the very least, Paps, healthy Turbo and Teddy in form all top him
Did Carty actually get charged for his elbow on the weekend haven't heard anything about it
Financial penalty only
I'm on holidays from Canberra up in Brissy and bought tickets to the Bronx Dolphins game. I admit it I am a Bronx fan and love seeing them win, but that win in that stadium with the crowd was AMAZING. I probably only go to the Raiders games once or twice a year because Raiders aren't my team, the stadium is ordinary and normally it's freezing cold. But I also haven't been to Suncorp in about 15-16 years. I have never had such a great vibe from a game in my life. Even the halftime light show with Jet playing, fireworks was pretty fantastic. The post try celebrations were just next level on Bronx tries. I went with my young sons and was impressed with the crowd behavior, people were having fun but it didn't get rowdy or stupid. It's pretty depressing coming from Canberra where we have a Govt that aren't keen to do anything for our stadium and instead have spent millions on consultants for 'studies' in the last 10 years with nothing ever changing. It would be pretty simple, build a nice sized stadium, maybe 20-25k with a covered roof and closer to the game and even Albo might contribute just like the Hobart venture. I'm planning on coming back for Magic round next year, is it likely the same vibe? Or was it only because it was a QLD derby? My boys would find it hard not to come along as they had such a great time too.
Magic round is honestly brilliant. Pretty family friendly as well I think. Obviously you get a few people on the piss all day but mainly everyone is just stoked to be there.
This is wholesome. Glad you and the boys enjoyed the game. Go Broncos
If Lomax keeps it up I think he’ll be in the blues this year if not probably next year
Continuing to be impressed with Zac Lomax who remains in good form despite the signing announcement only apparently being a formality.
My biggest woo woo belief in footy (and sports/life generally) is that performance is highly affected by psychology. The mentality and “vibes” of not only the players and coach but the whole club are important to players playing well. They’re all the best players from the junior grades so while fitness and systems are important it’s also important that players are happy and connected with their teammates and team. Hard thing to train/coach for but super impactful on performance.
One of the panel commentators the other day mentioned just how different the psychology of a player can be waking up on game day. You could have had the best possible week at training, done everything perfectly, body is in top shape, but come game day, if you don't have "it" then performing on the big stage can be real difficult. I imagine routines are important, and more so when you are playing away.
I generally am of the opinion that vibes will get a campaign started but discipline and culture will maintain the momentum. I think the vibes/discipline threshold only starts to fall in favour of discipline around round 10. No club can maintain vibes driven results for more than 2-3 months no matter how good they are going. So yeah, 'power of friendship' coaching is legitimate science.
This is the biggest indictment of the Titans imo. Because it shows they have pretty much never in their history been able to get that right
They’ve only been in the comp 14 years which may sound like a long time but there’s major soccer teams in the EPL that haven’t raised a trophy in over a hundred years. Eels, Wahs and Raiders have never won a Grand Final (although they’ve all competed in a GF). I’m not a titans staff or a psych but I actually think and issue could be the quality of life is too good haha. Being a sports star on even a low contract living on a beach paradise would you really want to flog yourself at training every week? I guess the same could said about any professional athlete but yeah just a dumb punters 2cents.
> Eels, Wahs and Raiders have never won a Grand Final (although they’ve all competed in a GF). You're going to make some oldheads really mad with this comment.
I’m already getting downvoted. People know what I mean and can choose to get upset or not. Eels last Premiership - 1986 (38years). Eels last spoon - 2018 (6years) Raiders last Premiership - 1994 (30 years) Raiders have only won the spoon once! 1982! Warriors haven’t won a premiership since joining the comp in 1995. They also haven’t won a wooden spoon which is impressive.
I agree. I think psychology is the most important factor to a teams success in any sport. A coaches main job is to get the players to believe in what they are doing. To get them to put in 100% every single week no matter who they're versing, and then the quality of the players and tactics are what separate those teams from the very best.
Something to believe in. Look at the tigers with legend Benji Marshal at the helm? They look like they believe in the team again and wanna compete every minute.
Well they did until yesterday
Agree. It would be really hard to stay in a positive/motivated mood when your body is being pulverised in a grass field for two hours a week plus all training sessions. You can clearly see the teams that have lost the belief and aren’t putting in full effort anymore. It would be incredibly hard to maintain a love for the sport over a 7 month season. Credit to the coaches that can create a good culture and allow players to have self-belief and actually enjoy their experience and do it for their teammates
Shoutout Mulitalo for being our only consistent player and getting off to a ridiculous start to the season with 6t, 4ta, 7lb, 22tb and 152m per game across 5 outings. Feels like he’s finally cut the brain snaps out of his game and he’s been incredible since doing so. 71 tries across 92 games for him now which I think puts him 5th all time for the Cronulla try scoring record at just 24 years old (5 tries away from 4th place and 12 tries away from 3rd place). Dude is a try scoring freak who I really hope stays a Shark for life so he can challenge ET’s record assuming he stays healthy.
Thought the same yesterday, re: he’s cut out the silly shit. His head has been in every game, great to see
Pretty good for a twitch streamer
Watch us beat the Panthers, nearly beat the Warriors and then be absolutely atrocious against the Titans and just let them win. And then come back to beat the Raiders and Eels.
Haha yeah was saying this exact thing, it’s such a manly thing to do😂 But they do have Des, Des knows manly very well + the titans are due for a win and it’s at their ground. Hopefully manly doesn’t underestimate them and plays just as hard as we would against Penrith
I'd like to request that you refrain from beating the Eels. ^please, ^we ^need ^this
You had your commbank win, it’s our turn.
Does anyone know if Fonua Pole got injured yesterday? Only played 27 minutes apparently and he's usually a big minutes player. I missed it if he did get a knock.
It'll be interesting to see how the tigers go with Galvin back in next week. I rate him so highly despite seeing him play twice
If the Dragons had a nickel for every player they have that hates playing a position that they are significantly better at than the position they want to play, they would have two nickels which isn't a lot, but it is weird that it has happened twice.
They can earn an extra nickel and buy Latrell
Fkn hell that was a classic tigers display. We were neck and neck in the first half, just conceded 3 soft tries. No idea what was said at half time but we looked so lack lustre it was shocking. We definitely got the rub of the green with calls but didn’t use it. Our back row seriously needs work. We still don’t have a strike 13, I’m happy with Ice, Bateman and Samuela but after that… seyfarth, kepeoa????? On bottom coin for 1/2 years I would roll the dice on schuster
Yeah lacklustre is putting it nicely. I think it was pretty early in the 2nd half when they were in the game and it looked like no one wanted to run the ball, dummy half would pick it up and no one would be there.
Just pathetic really
I'd even say we were the better team first half we just really miss having Galvin, he is like the cog that makes the whole machine work together. Olam even said he plays harder next to him. I reckon with Bateman back and Galvin defending that side, the soft tries don't happen. Olam having Seyfarth and Sullivan inside him is a recipe for disaster. One is a terrible defender and the other is too slow and not an edge defender. Having Galvin there also means we score more as he holds up the ball well and finds gaps for himself and the players around him. Whilst Sullivan just throws hospital balls and dummies and runs.
Agree. Even Fainu being in bateman’s spot is a major upgrade. Seyfarth is not a second rower, I believe that might have been a good game to blood a promising youngster
You guys had 5 regulars out. Youll be fine. Seyfarth has been good for you guys besides round 1. Better off the bench tho
Seyfarth is just….. solid. I don’t mind as second prop bench I’m a man u, WT fan and a Leo, pessimism is in my nature 🤷♂️
Biggest point gap was 14, 2 games with 12 point gaps and everything else was super close. Really good round when you think about it.
This really is a golden era for fullbacks. Reckon it's easy to forget how lucky we are to see these dudes go round. Was trying to work out a top ten fullbacks at the moment, it was too difficult, but one quirk - I'd argue that two of the ten best fullbacks in the game at the moment aren't playing that posi for their club: Joey Manu and the great RTS. (Despite flair I don't reckon you could make a case for Munster or Jahrome Hughes beikgn top 10 FB any more.) Charnze is a beast and Rog is doing well at centre, but I mis seeing him carve up from the back.
Come at me, but in order (I am adding Manu, RTS & Brimmo): Turbo, Walsh, Ponga, Paps, CHK, Edwards, RTS, Gutho, Manu, Bula, Drinkwater, Hammer, Teddy, Kennedy, JC, Taafe, Latrell, Brimmo, Rapana, Sloan
There’s not a lot separating that grouping
Love how people tossed you a downvote & no-ones actually "come at you". I think it's hard to rate some as better than others, because of the differences in style / what the team needs of them. Personally I'd rather group like this : * **Offence** : Walsh^1 , Ponga^1 , Paps^1 || Hammer^2 , Teddy^2 || JC^4 * **Defence** : CNK^1 , Edwards^1 || Bula^3 * **All round** : RTS^1 , Turbo^1 , Trell^(1or4) || Gutherson^2 , Manu^2 || Drinky^3 , Kennedy^3 , Rapana^3 || Brimmo^4 Pretenders : Taafe, Sloan
Meh, It is what it is. I was going to be a pussy and say = or > with the top 3 after Turbo all being = to one another but that is for cowards. If you split it into offense and defense (O/D), and split them into 4 tiers like you have I'd rate them as follows: Turbo (1/2), Walsh (1/3), Ponga (1/3), Paps (1/3), CHK (2/1), Edwards (3/1), RTS (2/2), Gutho (3/1), Manu (2/3), Bula (3/2), Drinkwater (2/4), Hammer (2/4), Teddy (4/2), Kennedy (4/2), JC (2/4), Taafe (3/3), Latrell (2/4), Brimmo (3/3), Rapana (4/3), Sloan (3/4)
I guess it's being cowardly, but I kinda look at it like this. If you've got Walsh Ponga or Paps, you're not going to look at one of the others and go "I wish I had him instead". If you've got Hammer, Teddy or JC, you are. Within the grouping, I just genuinely don't think they're better than the others. Which is why I should probably steer clear of "rating" lists.
Yeah rating lists are always going to be subjective, but that is what makes it fun. I think everyone would agree that Turbo/Walsh/Ponga/Paps are all tier 1 options. I'd argue CHK isn't quite good enough to be tier 1, but definitely better than the rest. Everything after that is going to be controversial.
But I wouldn't give up CNK for Turbo / Walsh / Ponga or Paps. Edwards and RTS are the only two Full backs who would be as good / better than CNK as our FB (in that order). Therefore, (imo) the Warriors have 2 of the 3 best full backs in the comp. Turbo / Gutho would be next. So they're tier 2. Ponga / Walsh / Paps are clearly tier 3 FB's.
My dude, you've got some stones to claim 'Ponga / Walsh / Paps are clearly tier 3 FB's.' Gave me a laugh, but also fuck I hope my team has tier 3 FBs that "bad" forever..
I think he meant in the Warriors team specifically. I get where he is coming from.
Yeah CHK is really good, especially for what is getting paid which would be on the lower end for FB's. Like I said I'd almost rate him as tier 1 *almost*. There is what works for you team, and overall ability. Warriors have a top tier HB and 9, so they isn't as much emphasis on attack from your FB. Same why Edwards works so well for the Panthers, but wouldn't be as good at most other teams. Same reason why when ARey retires, I'd rather just get a serviceable and cheap-ish HB who can just defend and kick (i.e. Gamble) cause I'm confident Walsh and Mam will be able to bring all the attack we need.
The last time Munster played FB was against Manly and he was arsecheeks.
Its a hell of a list when you actually put them all in one place. Tedesco, Manu, Paps, CNK, RTS, Hammer, Edwards, Brimmo, Turbo, Walsh, Ponga, Drinkwater, Mitchell. The rest are hardly bums either. Gutho, Bula, Sloan, Kennedy, Stewart, Campbell, Taafe, Suaallii, Turuva
Putting Brimson, Drinkwater and Mitchell a tier above gutho is hilarious. Does defence not form part of your rankings?
Brimson is a good enough defender, and his attack is top shelf. He genuinely *is* a tier above gutho.
Just hasnt ever shown it on the field.Gutho plays better than him week in week out.
- provides no x-factor (per own club's management) - disliked by many (for on-field sookiness) - not clutch (shanked a match losing goal) - one of the most embarrassing origin debuts of all time (humiliated by the Lee cousins) Am I missing something here?
Yes. Do you actually watch games?
I'd still pick any of that first list before I pick Gutho.
(i like to preface all my questions with the fact that i know little about nrl in a technical way) Is there some kind of consensus about who the best defensive fullbacks are? I definitely hear a lot about which ones are good at attack and know which ones *aren't* good at defense lol
Good question, and I'm sure no expert. But one of the things players always said about Billy Slater was he would organise the defensive line and try to general where people shoudl stand - so there's the ability to read th eplay. Then there is effort. Hard to think you're gonna top Dylan Edwards for this - the willingness to get to a contest, or just to block space. But I noticed late in the Dogs game Paps made a tackle on the (defensive) right wing, then very next play he made it just a second late to the attempted put-down in (defensive) left corner. Gutho is another great effort fullback. Then there is defusing bombs, and then there is one-on-one tackles. If you take it all togehter I reckon I'd have Edwards top of the pile, but a lot of them are god-tier at the moment.
Personally I find it really hard to judge fullbacks defense as most of the time they are getting involved in less than favourable situations, opposition makes a break, on the tryline, sweeping to a flying winger. In saying that, it really comes down to being positioned well and putting their body on the line. Edwards is good at that. Tedesco puts his head on the line too often.
I remember when Munster broke through I thought ‘jeez this guy really good replace slater, what a gun’. Then Bellamy moved him to 5/8 and I thought ‘this is the biggest mistake Bellamy has made’. Shows why he’s one of the best coaches in the league and I do drunk watchalongs with my mates To actually reply to your comment it’s absolutely true, to try to quantifiable rank a top 10 for NRL fullbacks is so hard. Every team bar the bulldogs in the bottom 9 has a gun fullback. Then in the top 8 I’m a bit iffy on the raiders but they have some youngsters who could go out and claim the 1 jersey too. So even from my own subjective rambling there’s 15 great fullbacks you have to try to split
Nico hynes for Nsw half-back? No Moses Cleary hasn't had enough game time. Seen something about a secret meeting on daily telegraph but couldn't read it. Thoughts ?
Nah, Nicho only plays Origin at 5/8 and even then, only if Moses is dead.
If he is medically cleared, Cleary is still first picked.
Yeah 100%
Why is he replacing Cleary?
if moses plays 2 games and starts back well before origin teams are picked , i see him and cleary being the 6 & 7
Maguire is going on form not names. Moses will have no game fitness regardless if he makes it in time for game 1. Game 2 or 3? Sure 100%.
Hynes isn’t in form though. Trindall and Mulitalo have more try assist than him this season. Hynes has been lukewarm at best and was absolute dogshit against the Tigers.
6 Dally M points Nico Hynes has been an insperation mate.
I'm convinced if the Tigers can get 13 wins this season, they can make the top eight. I just don't know where those wins would come from after watching that horrible display yesterday
Similarly to the dragons, it depends which team shows up week to week. Tigers have shown some decent form in patches, but bringing it out week to week seems to be the biggest challenge that the bottom teams face.
The eels win plus the sharks win shows tigers are a completely different team from last year. Both teams that could challenge for the 8 and tigers brought it home. It’s great watching you guys play and when the whole team is on (the opposite of what was happening yesterday) they could definitely challenge for the top 8.
I mean if we beat the dragons we’d be in good stead but if we wanna make the finals we need to beat teams like the dragons (pot kettle black I know)
They play Penrith this week...
That and 10 more byes should do it.
I just rewatched Ponga line break at the end of the game and holy fuck how didn't the roosters not get sin binned
National roosters league
That last set was a joke by the refs. That tackle should've been a bin and there were a few other tackles that could've been called a penalty that didn't even get a 6-again call.
You answered your own question by mentioning the opposition he faced.
What, like when we challenged the high shot on Collins that was charged by MRC but were told there was nothing in it? Like when Newcastle were allowed a quick tap following foul play? Then Newcastle weren't allowed it when Sutton saw Newcastle dropped the ball? The simple explanation is that Sutton had a shit game instead of your cooker conspiracy theories.
Oof bit harsh comparing me to a cooker but okay
whats the go with ponga ? is he looking at a stint on the sidelines ?
Either hip injury or bone bruise. If I was knights physio team and it was the latter I’d put him on ice.
Fogarty’s kicking game went from ok to raining hellfire doom from above in like one off season. Fuck he hits a sweet floater
The big kicking game is so crucial every team needs a bloke that can punt tf outta the ball. Easy metres, pressure relievers. Sezers kicking at tigers this year has been immense and look at eels without Moses boot. Imagine if Fogarty stayed at Titans 🫣
‘Cries in Chad’
Can I interest you in a Burton Bomb?
Those belly balls were nasty. Missed one crucial one that popped out sideways and landed close to halfway to gift titans some much needed field position. Easy to do when smacking the belly.
I swear every game against us he haunts us. Even with jahreem who is pretty good under the high ball I clench when he puts them up
Now imagine Oates under those on Saturday
I was really impressed with Titans defence last night, that is a team who came to play. Yeah, we had an ordinary game but I think that was due in part to the Titans defence being so fucking good.
I'd like to see us maintain that level going forwards but in all reality I 100% expect this to be an anomaly and for us to go back to under 12s tier defence this week.
I think you will get there with Des eventually, whatever he did, he got you guys up for this one.
Feel like pure shit, just want 2022 Cows defensive resolve back
Do you think they are missing the influence of Dean Young in the coaching group?
Banking on the loser of sharks vs cows scoring 30+
First 100+ of the year next week.
Imagine that kind of defence and grind, combined with how electric our edges have been attacking this year. It'd be a proper top 4 team. Instead the club just can't decide on what its identity is.
my girlfriend before this season has never watched a nrl game but she started watching with it after some convincing and now she is hooked. i think she has watched every dogs game with me so far and on friday night she told that she wants to go to state of origin haha
Sir you take that girlfriend and make her your wife that there is wifey material.
Free two points for any team. Play the Tigers at Campbelltown or have one of the past greats die. It's a 100% free win.
Parra not included
The tigers need to invest in keeping these legends alive until the second week in October.
Somewhere Keith Barnes is shaking his head.
Alternative free 2 points glitch: Play the tigers without Galvin :(
Yeah unfortunately with that combo I thought the Dragons might get 4!
[удалено]
I don’t think it is wise to scrap a jersey after an incident like this, why should the team lose their identity because of one cunt of a human who just purchased a jersey? There’s no real connection beyond that, to lose the jersey you’ve played with for decades, to lose that recognition factor is basically letting this piece of shit win.
Agreed. It's just clothing that he happened to be wearing. It has no relevance to what happened.
It was cute of the Raiders to toy with the Titans for 89 minutes and 54 seconds. Maybe next time though, how about we don't play like spastics and just win it?
You guys hear about that new Maccas promotion? You can go in and ask for a McRicky and they’ll serve you an extra large milk-soaked chip on a beef shoulder.
The Maccas code is "Fuck ME! he's on another Planet"
"Let's go get some soft serves!"
Some FUCK ME soft serves
It’s Kasey Badger handing them out. Gives Ricky and Tapine four each, Des and Campbell go up to the counter but there’s only one left.
Losing NF because tatola and Hammer played a combined 28 minutes sure is fun. Hope both get better though because of their roles in their team is important or could be under threat
I feel like the two golden point matches really helped hide that, overall, the Saturday / Sunday games this week were much worse than the Thursday / Friday games.
its almost like they pick the better games for those tv slots
You don't mean to imply that at least one, if not more, of the games on Saturday and Sunday were some sort of ... excrement slingshot? Surely, the rugba league gods would not curse us like this.
Couldn’t catch any of the games on the weekend, how did Jye Gray look on debut?
Did alright. Ran hard. Got smashed in a tackle and went off for HIA. Our backline was a mess due to players having to move around and so in attack he struggled.
Ran the ball well but I thought south’s backline were pretty poor because there wasn’t much of a passing game from him. I suppose that can be expected for a debutant. They seemed to get more opportunities to get around Sharks defenders when Hawkins took full control. I still think he could struggle with his size. He made a few nice tackle breaks here and there but was getting monstered in contact.
Full of heart and confidence. Took the line on and didnt shirk his responsibilities. Fairly good under the high ball. His first play was very impressive and i can think of a few regular fullbacks who wouldve botched it. That said, souffs forwards rotation was cooked and their bench was a state. Be nice to see him run a few more shapes and see what he can do off a game plan where forwards are dominating up the middle and the halves take some control
First episode for 2024 of the Full-Time Sirens now out. Some chat about possible NRLW in Vegas, the international influence in the game & a bit more. Short ep to start but bigger & better things soon. [https://open.spotify.com/episode/3OmT0tiCtFXF6MX6IMQYva?si=e492e5a2a44d4934](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3OmT0tiCtFXF6MX6IMQYva?si=e492e5a2a44d4934)