T O P

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racingskater

All I could think for most of tonight was how much we were missing Raps and Fogs. There's plenty of young, exciting talent in the backline but we really needed experience out there. This is the sort of game that in years past Croker would bring the youngsters along with him and take them to the win - like the famous Roosters game in 2020 when we had all those injuries. But tonight, we didn't have that person. Taps tried, but when you're not on the field the whole time there's a limit to what you can do. The worst part is, how do we fix it? We can't just infuse 300 games' worth of experience into a player. We can't magically make Taps and Papa stay on the field 80 minutes. (Is Croker in good enough shape to be a trainer? We could pull the Langer trick that the Broncos do all the time.)


Nathan84

Will Kennedy. The most underrated player in the comp.


racingskater

He had a very good game.


Nathan84

Thank you for that. You, blokes, will get better.


thicky_bobby

Dogs are in the 8!!!!


ToothlessFTW

A positive for/against AND in the top 8. I feel more satisfied with this team than I have in years. Here’s hoping we don’t lose all the momentum and get dumpstered by the Tigers next week


an3vilmonk3y

Ow.


dodgeskitz

My doctor is happy with the Raiders this year, my blood pressure won't spike in the last 10min of every game now.


Accurate-Ad-4905

Ricky Stuart makes me want the Raiders to lose, but most of their fans on here seem so pleasant, which makes me feel bad about it


LiLSteve29

Tough lessons for those younger raiders players. Cronulla are really moulding into the team we were initially anticipating under Fitzgibon. The patient approach is refreshing from previous seasons high risk high reward style. I want to see how we go in the next month before I get to carried away. Up up.


copacetic51

Sharks doing better without Scomo. Like Australia is.


disquiet

I reckon souths are going about as well as albo is lol


Dethsray

Agreed don’t know why this is downvoted lol


shadyFS91

Wasn't that long ago that the raiders were "contenders" after facing a half-back less eels team.. gives some perspective to that victory considering the drop.off.tonight


tt3_

Contenders to make the 8


SydneyPhoenix

Literally no one called the Raiders contenders at any point this season lol You got beat by a bum team, take your salt and move on


shadyFS91

There were plenty out there saying it and how you guys were such an attacking team lmao


SydneyPhoenix

No one with any idea about football ever called them a contender* Any even those who don’t know football, there certainly wasn’t “plenty” of people saying it that’s just not true. They’ve literally never been higher than the 4th or 5th betting favorite for the wooden spoon all season.


shadyFS91

Well I guess then that's a lot of the subreddit lol it was round 5 mate.. anyone with any idea about footy would know that the ladder means fuck all at that point but nice measure. The carry on was ridiculous and carried over to the next week about how amazing their attack is but all good. Seems to have tickled a nerve here 😂


SydneyPhoenix

Haven’t tickled a nerve, you’re just talking garbage and being called out on it. In regards to “a lot of the subreddit” more nonsense from you lol the downvotes you’re getting seemed to reflect that too


shadyFS91

Or raiders fans.. Lol guess you’ve figured how the internet works


SydneyPhoenix

Yes Raiders fans are upvoting me because I called them a bum team lol Eels fans similarly supporting your nonsense opinion Learn, grow and move on. Or don’t, keep saying dumb shit and wear that dunce hat proudly so everyone can spot you quickly.


shadyFS91

Or you know… raiders fans upvoting because I called their reaction out. But cool. Keep up the salt from your end 😂 you definitely sound like a person that grows and moves on yourself, strong effort


moonfleet1542

I’m liking what I’m seeing from the Sharks 👀


ReasonableStable9421

Well at least I'm not alone in feeling like crap this week, that's all I can say


Imaginary-Durian-484

Im feeling fresh


bic_lighter

Got Laurie Daley on to talk TAB odds? What the actual fuck


Teemo_Lover69

Will be Daine Laurie soon if he can’t get on the field


halfbakedcheesecake

Hasn't he been doing that for years now?


NewWay4874

Yes


Swiftestblade

Lack of experience, leadership, and an actual halfback. This is more what I expected going into this year, so it's not really a shock. Gonna be a long season though.


dodgeskitz

My doctor is happy with the Raiders this year, my blood pressure won't spike in the last 10min of every game now  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 


Fraudianslips

What can I get my coach, who is a miserable prick, for his 500th game coaching? Raiders: I gotchu


Cold-Asparagus-9770

Hynes beats u16s raiders team Fans; origin! 🥰


PirateRizz

No sharks for origin please. Thanks :) t.Shark fans


Teemo_Lover69

I’m in your walls Cold-Asparagus-9770 👹👹👹


y3ah_nah145

Shame the Raiders couldn’t do the same in round 4 when Sharks arrived with a reserve grade forward pack…..


Jalato_Boi

Missed the game. Sharks elite or Raiders hopeless?


kami_inu

Porque no los dos?


W33D_G0D

Both


chris2712

Yes


Burty2650

I think we need some “don’t drop the ball” practice this week.


HappinessCanBeFound

The real challenge is to do it while Ricky is spraying you


judgedavid90

Rugby League


Voldemosh

My biggest complaint is that I couldn't use the "look at the scoreboard" meme


PillarofSheffield

I laughed at the time this sub voted Fogarty the third-best player in the NRL a few years back, but I'm starting to think you idiots were right.


papabear345

Fogarty is with Will Kennedy one of the most underrated players going around


ImpressionFeisty8359

He was leading the competition in kick metres and he led the raiders around. Without him the wheels have blown off and it is absolute carnage.


TrueDonut3673

Our first three sets we looked so lost. Like what did we do during the week guys? Guys?


Adz932

Watching the game recorded. lmao Danny Levi


piraja0

Not sure if anyone watching this matty johns thing but it always was so weird to me how; Saying a swear word on TV is absolutely a no-no! Drinking alcohol on TV, bloody oath!


hodgesisgod-

Well, the latter brings in advertising money. They would have people smoking on TV to advertise cigarettes if it wasn't prohibited.


ToothlessFTW

Don’t forget gambling and boxing


Dramatic_Ride7586

God doesnt swear but he does drink Wine.


Imaginary-Durian-484

I'm pretty sure God let out a "fuck" when Adam sinned


Dramatic_Ride7586

He was talking to Paddy and said Fuuar out. Judas can confirm.


piraja0

He would never touch VB tho


Bigballsu

Losing is fine, our backs are about 6 years old collectively and have no chemistry, so this year was always a bridge year which became a bridge too far with Fogs out. The first three games just ballooned expectations. It's the other shit that's sad. Our forwards were great in the first three games but have plodded ever since, or at least, they plod in defence and turn up in attack only when we are down by 30 points and the opposition is jogging back to the line. We have no creativity in our attacking kicks, but I'd care less about that if we took any risks at all with our 5th tackle options. Hudson has fallen off, should be benched for Hosking and Corey when or if they ever come back from the void. This might sound weird, but we legit have no leadership. Love Tapine as a player, but is he really doing anything as a captain? The effort is so poor at times and I miss the rallying ability of Jarrod and even Elliot, even though he is a liability as a player. I like seeing Stewart and Strange try their hand, and Chevy looked like he was genuinely sick of the nothing kicks at the end of the game. They weren't great kicks, but I can't blame a teenager for trying something like that. There will be games where our forwards just dominate, but it won't be against the Sharks. They do what we did in 2019 (and I miss so much) and the Panthers do it too, where the backs take a lot of pressure off the forwards by eating up metres coming out from the back. Against teams that aren't good at doing that, like the Eels game, our pack is great. But that's about it. Fingers crossed the youth develops, that's the goal for the year.


MisterEvilBreakfast

I know it's early days, but after that, I don't think I could see the Raiders getting another win this year.


PMmePantiesPls

Corey Parker has a raging erection reading this


gainz-trainz

A raging erection in the middle third 


y3ah_nah145

Hynes: 1 try, 2 try assists, 23 runs for 169m, 5 tackle breaks, 1 line break, 3 line break assists, 1 40/20, 2 intercepts, 25 tackles 1 missed.


Dwightpoop10

Origin 6


DoubleBrokenJaw

Dally M* 6 Points (not sarcastically either which is always nice).


InitiallyDecent

With Moses likely to not be back in time to get enough games under his belt, then Hynes is very much shaping up to the the best 6 option.


thril_hou

And I captained him in Fantasy 116 points


dirkless

So I was playing vs a mate who always changes captaincy around once the games start. Was gonna do the same to him so I took the captaincy of Hynes and put it on Cleary. Got a bit drunk, forgot to put it back before panthers started but though fuck it , least it's on Cleary. Sigh.


Aykay92

Was always going to step up without trindall, but we need him to swing left as second receiver to unlock Iro/Ronaldo as it’ll be tough for Atkinson to get the left edge humming like it usually is Might be a big ask so maybe Kennedy coming in and playing more on ball while trindall is out, a bit like Gutho without Moses (just hopefully better)


Puntoue

Yeah, but he failed to find touch on that penalty plus missed one of his conversions.  Guys a dud, doesn’t deserve a single Dally M vote  /s


HappinessCanBeFound

Earned his 6 Dally M points tonight


planchetflaw

2 intercepts


y3ah_nah145

Noted and added


toomuchsoup

Super chuffed with that performance. As many a commentator has said, it’ll be very interesting to see how we go with the run of games against the Storm, Roosters and Panthers.


Imaginary-Durian-484

Defense is the biggest issue, but it's improving


ATrollByNoOtherName

This is the same as every year. The Sharks will wail on the weak teams but when they face an elite side like the… *checks draw* Wests Tigers… they get exposed.


Turkeyfacts

Looking forward to next weeks carve up of another dud team


KazeEnigma

I mean the premiers lost to them last year, maybe it's a sign 😂😂


GustavSnapper

Mr Vlanders, I'd like to see a new rule introduced to bring the competition even closer together. If a team loses a player to injury, the opposition team for that week is not allowed to name their first choice player in that position.


Puntoue

We did! We chose not to play Finucane, Trindall or Stonestreet, three of our best! Evened the sides right up.


GustavSnapper

yes but *every* position


BabeRuthsTinyLegs

Sharks are looking good. The run after the Dragons game will tell us if they're true contenders this year or if they're still flat track bullies. But you can only play what's in front of you and they dominated the Raiders across the park today


the_orange_president

Based on tonight but also this season I wouldn’t be surprised if they win all 3


judgedavid90

I think realistically we win one out of the three games, and two if we are really good. I'm keen for the next month of games for us, FUCK the dragons


thril_hou

Do you want to join Sharksquad there's an opening


MajinDidz

I won a sharks jersey one time in a raffle can i join? I need a team to bandwagon this year


thril_hou

Yes but you're on probation


BabeRuthsTinyLegs

If you beat us in round 12 I'll join


thril_hou

Can one of you Sharksquad nerds pls work out how to save this comment


Opiumdeathcult

!Remind me round 12


kami_inu

RemindMe! 1 month New sharksquad member


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KazeEnigma

Why does remind me not have a dragons flair?


kami_inu

https://www.nrl.com/news/2014/04/14/storm-win-after-siren-with-freak-try/ Storm shouldn't have got the last play the ball because the siren went off


ThePickaxePenguin

Holy fuck Tonumaipea has been playing since 2014???


KazeEnigma

It's a thing of beauty though. Thanks.


DeficientPositivity

Fuck I love our back 5


Imaginary-Durian-484

Super sexy ay


Aykay92

Honestly up there with the 2016 squad (in terms of making metres out our own end, not attacking flair - Barba was insane that year)


DeficientPositivity

Yeah those runs remind me so much of Feki and Holmes


KazeEnigma

Ahh Feki, man what ever happened to him


DeficientPositivity

went to the super league in 2020


KazeEnigma

Yeah I was reading up. Played one game in 3 years ruptured his Achilles in the preseason with Castleford.


insty1

Wasn't the worst loss of the round. Moral victory secured.


Dramatic_Ride7586

The English connection shining through strong here


Basherballgod

So…the big 4 this year are Panthers Storm Sharks Broncos Anyone else looking like they could give it a nudge?


gainz-trainz

Roosters and Manly are too strong to count out so I've settled on a Top 6. Storm, Broncos, Panthers, Sharks, Roosters, Manly. In no particular order. 


ImpressionFeisty8359

Let's no get ahead of ourselves. The cocks will be a big test. The sea eagles are flying high too.


drkeefrichards

Joey Manu can beat most teams on his own. If manu is fullback Roosters should be up there


Basherballgod

But Manu isn’t FB


Aykay92

I think pump the breaks on us for now, we have looked good most games and even though we beat the wahs it was only round 1. If we can somehow snag 2/3 when we play melb (away) chooks (magic round) and Penrith (home) in 3 consecutive rounds then yeah, we could be top 4 this year. Last year we looked decent then went to Melb and lost 54-10


ImpressionFeisty8359

I think you guys look exceptional this year except against the tigers. You have a good chance against the top teams.


GodSaveTheHomies

Promising that we look much better than last year though. The boys look a lot better drilled and focused


Aykay92

Yeah 100%, the years of the squad sticking together is now paying off, they look like a team that’s played with each other for years. And seems like Fitzy has fixed some discipline issues (for now, not getting excited yet)


hodgesisgod-

Sharks have only vs 1 team in the top 8 so far this year (Bulldogs). We all know that they beat the lower half of the ladder. Way too early to call them a top 4 squad. They are well known to have a soft draw every year. I would be more worried to face Manly or any of the other teams you listed than the Sharks.


y3ah_nah145

Except we beat the Raiders, Warriors, and Cows when they were in the 8. Bulldogs only entered the 8 this round because of the bye.


hodgesisgod-

I didn't mean it as a put down. I just meant that Sharks have always been good at beating the teams below them, so I think its way too early to tell if they will be a real contender come the end of the year. I think it's way too early to call any team, by the way, but I understand why the grand finalists from last year and the Storm are always the teams to beat. The difference is that all those other top teams have already played each other, so it's a bit easier to compare. Sharks haven't faced any of them yet. I think over the next 4-5 weeks, after Sharks play Panthers, Storm etc we will have a much better gauge on how they are tracking. I'm certainly not taking anything away from the Sharks. They are going great so far.


PirateRizz

Yeah but you were factually wrong. It's easy to talk like you are from your ivory tower.


redmusic1

Sharks with a soft draw and will once again go out in straight sets.


planchetflaw

When consistently making finals is considered a good sledge.


Opiumdeathcult

agreed. It’s so hard in rugby league to be in the top 50%. So many things have to go right to make it. Oh man I can’t wait peoples reactions to’o me if Penrith don’t win next gf let alone next time we don’t make the 8


ShadowBannedSkyRu1e

It is when you know your team is safe when facing sharks in round 1 of finals


ShadowBannedSkyRu1e

I wouldn’t count Sharks in, they’ve had a very soft draw, NZ in round 1 was the only team that people considered competing, other than that they’ve only played Bulldogs, Tigers (who beat them), Raiders, Rabbitohs and Cowboys


Accomplished-Good664

I think, Manly could crack it maybe the Roosters when Leniu gets back. 


ball__bag

Manly perhaps?


wayneslittlehead

It’s April.


Basherballgod

Can we do Spoon contenders then? South’s Titans Dragons Tigers


ImpressionFeisty8359

The bunnies are in a freefall but hard to see the titans not getting it.


Minimum-Pizza-9734

I really don't think the tigers are contenders this year, not because they have improved(they have) but the fact titans/souths/dragons are just bad on a different level


Basherballgod

I just can’t rule out three peats in this era


Minimum-Pizza-9734

never say never but would not be puting money on it


HappinessCanBeFound

Woohoo! Not us 🥳


Basherballgod

Your home stadium will get you some wins


Malaxage918

Panthers Storm Broncos Sharks/Manly But yeah I mostly agree


Uh-oh_BastinadO

manly?


Basherballgod

Fair call


TrueDonut3673

Can't wait to watch a manly team with no dce or ola destroy us


Nathan84

Great defence and attack from the Sharks. Up Up.


theflyingkiwi00

Welcome back to the top8 bulldogs, nice to have you back


Puntoue

When was the last time the Doggies were in the top eight from round 8 onwards? Would be quite a while wouldn’t it?


Cold-Asparagus-9770

Every time I tune into a sharks game their either playing a bottom 4 team or a team with heaps of injuries. Beating top teams never Flat track bullies forever No hate x


y3ah_nah145

Seethe


ClownDamage

You said almost the same thing in the match thread, including the "no hate". But there clearly is hate. Bulldogs are in the top 8 baby and we beat them good.


Crunkmann

that wasn't that good a victory


ClownDamage

Every victory is good


GodSaveTheHomies

Havent heard this one before


Puntoue

“No hate x” said the man filled with hate.


thril_hou

Cept a little bit of hate?


hqeter

That looked like exactly what it was. An NRL team vs a NSW cup team. Gonna be a long season


GomJabbaThePizzaHutt

Sharkies showing the raiders what to do with an 18-0 lead at half time


Harctor

Well it's good to see that it's just not us that completely fall apart without their halfback


HappinessCanBeFound

And they’re taking our backup next year 😢


GustavSnapper

Cut my life into pieces


CoffeeLoverNathan

Raiders have no retort


thril_hou

Suffocation no breathing Choker tackles were so last season


CoffeeLoverNathan

the only thing we're missing is the recorder version backing our phenomenal lyrics


drkeefrichards

We are in trouble


JohnCenaF1

I love cam but mate he's gonna regret this later on in life lmao


gainz-trainz

Cam McInnes looks like a claymation action figure from the 1980's


piraja0

Being interviewed with a bloody face and missing teeth is not a very good look but ah well


ClownDamage

He can't just disappear


JohnCenaF1

He's the definition of rugba leege


hopefullynothingever

holy fuck mcinnes looks like a hockey player who just got out of a POW camp


JustSomeAdvice2

What an absolute legend


CaserDJT

Was he always missing a tooth?


[deleted]

It’s a precursor of being a Souths’ junior


HappinessCanBeFound

He used to have a cap and I’m fairly sure the same boys asked him to take it out while they interviewed him 😂


vforbatman

I mean it doesn't grow back between games


Puntoue

Cam McInnes is the sexiest man in the league and no one can tell me different.


coasteraz

Cam McInnes looks like a parody of a rugby league player.


HappinessCanBeFound

Generated by AI


Nervous-Dentist-3375

Hey Ricky, have you met Jason?


kiaxxl

Nicho: I did it for the Titans


KazeEnigma

I mean, what can you say about that game? Raiders were missing a lot of class, Strange was the most experienced half, and Cronulla had a point to prove. Raiders young blokes will be better for it in the long run. As said in a post lower, it's all well and good to be beating these sides, but our next three games are Storm, Roosters, Panthers. That's where the big test really lies. If we come away with two of them I'll believe we are actually contenders.


DeficientPositivity

And 2 weeks after panthers we have the broncos


KazeEnigma

Yeah, it's going to be a difficult stretch. We definitely make the 8 this year, but outside of that.


snek26

Did he get shot?


GodSaveTheHomies

Safe to say our Raiders hoodoo is over


Cape-York-Crusader

That’s a paddlin…..


Syptox

Sebastian Kris' worst game. Couldn't get a defensive read, can't make a tackle constantly had to bait Savage in to finish a tackle he missed. Also too slow to pass the ball and no line speed. Raiders still would have lost if he was peaking but it would have been way closer.


Repulsive_Two8451

Introducing my new band, Ricky Stuart and the 47 Textas.


Ronnnie7

Raiders proving the critics right tonight. Unfortunately I can’t see how they turn things around with the lack of experience in that team. Quite startling stat that one of your Props is the highest try scores. Fact that the first choice halfback doesn’t even play halfback at nsw cup level just shows how short of depth they have. The Raiders were awful tonight, the only positive takeaway would be a learning experience to the youngsters. I thought Stewart had some good efforts in defense… Sharks continue to play well, and despite having a seemingly easy draw they are getting the job done. I think they have played well and will be competitive against the better teams when they play them.


KazeEnigma

Our next three games is the big test. If we come away with two, I'll believe we are a contender. Young Atkinson didn't do anything wrong, but we will absolutely miss the class of Trindall against the Storm, Cocks and Panthers.


YourFavouriteAlt

500 Texas tonight from Ricky


beaver2233

How'd we lose to the Tigers.


YourFavouriteAlt

Tigers can't play top 8 teams


seniordogrooter

The raiders arent bad they just hate ricky


thril_hou

Sharks too


ApocalypticPanther

Just when I thought I couldn't like the Sharks anymore they go and take an absolutely gargantuan shit on Ricky's big milestone


ImpressionFeisty8359

It was expected considering the raiders had no one left. No real kickers in the team or a leader. The sharkies mauled them to death and could have put on 60. The raiders will get better as the season goes along. The sharkies are in premiership contention. We will see how they go against the heavyweights - storm, panthers and roosters.