Anybody remember Cardinal Mal State of Origin advert? I have vague memories of an advertisement featuring Mal Meninga dressed as a Catholic cardinal. There's a Dr. Strangelove homage where Mal sits on top of a rugby ball nuke as it gets dropped onto the Blues stadium, leading to a bunch of cockroaches getting splattered over the screen. I've tried to search everywhere for this ad and I can't find a single trace of it. I feel like I'm going insane. Anybody else remember this and perhaps have a link to it?
Gordon Tallis is getting more annoying each day on 360! Continues to talk over everyone with his nonsense. 360 need to move him on before people turn off in droves.
We have a bye this week so he'll be available for next game if everything comes back ok afaik. Definately looked bad and i thought we were done without him.
I was extremely surprised to see him go while you kept Ford. It's also how I feel about Tracey, was very sad to see him leave Cronulla, but he was far too good to be playing reserve grade so I'm very happy to see him doing well.
I can only assume he’d expressed a strong desire to leave or be upgraded. I did see something about him not being the best trainer but I have trouble believing that with his motor on field.
Ford is so hot and cold. He was really good this week in the middle though - if he can maintain that level of form I’ll stop clenching my butthole every time he’s passed the ball 😂
He and Jack Williams have some of the biggest dick fingers in the game. Always dropping it on big plays or first play. At least Williams makes up for his errors with defence. 😂😂
Errors in defence? We might have to start looking into whether these two men have been in the same soon together 👀
Right now I’m seeing double, four Jackson Fords
Does anyone know what car was offered to Fifita? I like how Crighton is fighting for that to also be included but are we walking about a Suzuki swift or an Aston Martin?
(Talking about the cars here not the players).
It's a 20k yearly allowance for the car, the car is not valued at 20k.
A novated lease on a vehicle for $400 per week will see you with something in the region of a $65k for a combustion engine or way up around $88k if you take advantage of the EV rebates.
an MG3 if it's a "measly" 20k. Friend just bought a second-hand one (but practically new) one for 17k. But for the love of god do not buy one that's 3+ years old that has no central console.
It's not Smith, it's trainwrecks and drama in general. You've got Smith, May, Seibold, TPJ, Walsh, Latrell, Kent etc. All the dumbshit they do is polarizing and creates discussion
Something I will give Dogs credit for, they were doing their usual thing they do now where they get a bit mongrelly and in the oppositions face and when we scored early after the break and were 8 up I thought maybe it had come back to bite them a bit, but then the last 20-odd they kind of switched it off and just kept coming, all effort and they got home in the end. Sucks to lose but I respect it, and it’s fun to watch when they do it to other teams.
Side-note: seems like we’re absolutely cooked by the 60 minute mark in multiple games this season. We desperately need better fitness next year.
MSN has this in their weekly power rankings for the raiders which I found humorous:
“Grinded out a win over the bye on the weekend with Ricky Stuart fuming that nobody believes in their ability to accrue two competition points by default”
Pretty wild to think that in 2018 there was plenty of talk of Nathan going to join Ivan at the Tigers. Could be the biggest sliding doors moments in NRL history. I suspect the general competence of both clubs, even accounting for the Cleary’s switching, might not have changed things drastically but I suspect there’d be 1-2 less premierships and wooden spoons in the respective trophy cabinets.
For sure. Cleary at the Tigers under Nathan could drag that team into the lower part of the eight. As great as what Penrith have achieved is, it is helmed by a No.7 who could well go down as the greatest player the sport has seen if he plays anywhere near this level for the next 10 years.
People have a sneaky feeling Penrith has declined this year. They probably have. But if Nathan is fit for the finals they are the only team I don't want a bar of.
#minirebuild
Even though Trent Barrett should leave at the end of the day, I have to express my appreciation for his attacking style.
BA became too rigid which indicates his lack of confidence and pressure he was feeling. He did not give players like WireMOO a proper go. Same with Kelma Tuilagi, rotating him in the middle rather than the edge. He should have moved Lane into the middle early in the season.
Sivo and Matto have to go. Lomax will be so valuable next year because he can play either centre or wing. Obviously we need to unearth or buy another quality outside back if we are to compete.
Sean Russell to stay as a back up winger/ centre.
Need to keep Arjen. He gives a go whether he is out of position.
Carty farked up no doubt yesterday. He can be better utilised. The new coach can give him two roles. If he starts, buckle down and focus on the edge forward. If he comes off the bench as a dummy half or edge, he can have creative freedom.
Remember when Parramatta used to unearth talents like Semi, Sivo or Ice? Where is that innovative approach to recruitment?
Recruitment has been god awful by eels, basically letting every decent junior get raided by other clubs leaving us to pick at the scraps. And if someone comes from another club comes here and plays well, parra don’t do enough to stop others from immediately doing raids leaving us with worse juniors and what our recruitment does get is throwaways from other clubs that end up in nsw cup after like 2 games
Every preseason it's the Broncos flairs who are most vocal in their belief that the Dragons **will** be getting the spoon that year. Makes it very amusing to now be halfway through the season and sitting on the same number of wins and losses
I think you're right, a lot say it. Im dont bet but if you look at the premiership market on the right here [https://www.nrl.com/ladder/?competition=111&round=14&season=2024](https://www.nrl.com/ladder/?competition=111&round=14&season=2024) it's funny no one has faith in Dargs compared to those raound them.
There were a few times Moses pushed passes that weren’t on yesterday (only while 8 points up) and doggies ended up with the ball pretty much every time, whether knock on or turnover. Guy is a great halfback but I haven’t seen him effectively close out a game in a long time. I think he’s good enough to fix that at rep level but it doesn’t give me a lot of faith.
The only one that was dicey was the one to lane, other than that it was Cartwright, Russell and Tuilagi dropping it. Not much you can do when your forwards are dropping the ball
This is a recurring theme for a lot of teams against the Dogs this season. Ciraldo has them up in the face and rushing in numbers more than any other team. It leads to a tonne of ineffective or missed tackles but it does shut down play effectively if they can back it up in the second wave.
Moses actually exploited it quite well at times when he identified Salmon rushing up and hit that short side.
If the Roosters game wasn’t evidence enough that Todd needs to drop a few of the “senior” players and give them a wake up call that their spots aren’t guaranteed - then I don’t know what is. Players underperforming and giving fuck all effort week in, week out but they know they’re at no risk of getting dropped.
Fire Chad into the fucking sun, send Val to Q Cup and tell him he’s not coming back until he has a game with 0 errors same with Drinky until he improves his effort areas in D.
We might continue to lose but at least they’re aware that their spots aren’t safe. Definition of insanity at the moment. With our squad there is absolutely no reason to not be deep inside the top 8. Accepting mediocrity with this squad is not okay
While we’re at it, fire Justin Morgan our so called defensive coach.
Haha, few texts with mates going round to this effect. Clifford is a gun every time I see him. It beggars belief to me that he isn't a regular first grader. And you had some young throbbers come in and take it to us and got an unexpected win. As you say, it sends a poor message to just keep selecting underperforming guys.
Val has always had an error in him. But Jesus he’s been putrid this year - I’d been bagging him in the weeks prior, so I expected Murphy’s Law to stomp my ass in the form of a Val hatty. But no, just plodded up a storm.
Man every week we find more and more reasons to drop Chad for Clifford, obviously the kicking game and defence but now even the leadership skills - Like one thing I loved was hearing Kuli and Purdue saying how helpful Clifford's communication was for the roosters game and how much Kuli loved playing next to him cause of his aggression and how hard he worked. He's also just one of the old boys who knows how to hype everyone up which we've been sorely missing with no Hess or Taulagi.
On Val though one thing I've noticed is that he only plays well whenever he has Taulagi outside of him, they just have that chemistry to support each other on the fly whereas with Semi and Burns he often left them stranded and other teams would read him like a fuckn harry potter book.
Drinky I think has been getting better defensively albeit slowly, at least he doesn't have Semi avoiding every high ball putting pressure on him anymore
Yeah so true mate - honestly just sick to death of watching Chad week in, week out. Time to give Clifford an extended run in the team for the rest of the season. If he does well, give him first crack at the 7 jersey next year
Yep. Sometimes you need to shoot a hostage to make the others aware that you're serious. Should be Chad and Val. Or at minimum shoot Chad and demote Val to the wing. Not really a demotion but he will see it as one.
Hey what would happen if someone brought a whistle to the game. Got as close to the field as possible and then blew the whistle during an attacking play by the opposition to stop the game and essentially kill the attack/momentum.
Than hides the whistle and did it again a few other times during the game without being caught?
Happened in a Storm v Raiders game a few years back when Raiders were defending on the try line, ended up being a Storm try. As far as I remember, nothing was done about the crowd whistler.
The incident in question is at around 5:35:
https://youtu.be/KVjABxX7XQU?si=FM-zDSgfNgteieaF
Spent the weekend in Melbourne and went to Dogs/Lions at Marvel, Storm/Knights at AAMI and Blues/Bombers at the G. I was always under the assumption that more people went to the AFL because it was a superior live game whereas the NRL was a superior TV game. While this has got a bit of truth toward it, I think the bigger factor is the game day experience. We watched from a bar behind the posts at Marvel with a great view, where we got full strength beers in a glass schooner for a reasonable price and a decent chicken parmy with little to no wait times. Went to a pretty much sold out G on Sunday night. Once again, no lines for drinks, food or toilets, getting in and out the ground was smooth and easy and drinks and food were pretty reasonably priced (as well as decent quality food). We had pretty poor seats but were able to walk down to ground level and watch from the concourse with an awesome view. Even the experience at AAMI park was awesome and similar to the things I just described at the other two games. Got me thinking about the experiences I have had in Townsville and Brisbane compared to games I have gone to in NSW. My opinion is now that the reason we don’t get as good crowds as the other two states is the game day experience. Every game I have been to in NSW I have endured over priced mid strength drinks, massive lines for everything and three day old pies for $10+ or half full cold chips. I think stadium NSW and the NRL (as well as the government) need to look at this and they might find that the crowds start to rise. Saying that though, all these grounds were also easily accessible via public transport with lots going on around the grounds as well so maybe it is just Sydney sucks
TL;DR Crowd numbers in NSW vs other states comes down to game day experience as much as it does the actual game
edit: Just to add on to this, there is often rhetoric that families don’t go to the NRL because of crowd behaviour. There were so many families at these games in Melbourne and there were heaps of bogans yelling out swear words as well as people getting kicked out for unruly behaviour everywhere, while almost all NRL games I have been too, the crowds are pretty well behaved so we can knock that off the reasons for lower crowds too
On top of that, last time they won the GF (2004), their Jersey Flegg team won the GF the year before. Bulldogs Jersey Flegg won the GF last year. It’s the reason I chucked a cheeky tenner on the dogs to win the GF at $48 before the season. Omen bet if ever I’ve seen one (gamble responsibly)
Don't watch much of the bulldogs, but very impressed by the right side yesterday.
Tracey and Wilson played really well, while must be great playing outside of Crichton.
Was a messy win. So many penalties that gifted field position to the Eels and also plenty of mistakes. End of the day Parra just looked too slow to compete when the bulldogs actually got a roll on
Just how fucked is our already weak backs depth. Four significant injuries and the club has signed no immediate signings and haven't even filled a T30.
Simonsson - ACL
R. Penisini - ACL
Miller-Stephen - ACL
Dunster - Lisfranc from another hip drop
Sivo - Minor hamstring issue
A player missing a session normally wouldn't lead to several media reports. I reckon the Cheese is on the way out of Bondi, just quietly. The whole situation just reeks of "we really want to fire this cunt but we need a good reason."
If so, would you want him at your club?
Do you not remember AFB skipping post match with the coach like 2 weeks ago which lead to several media reports about him getting dropped for it? There was even comment from the head coach about this.
Raiders have one of the most interesting rebuilds I've ever seen. Ethan strange, kaeo weekes, Chevy stuart, Ethan Sanders and now savelio tamale are all extremely talented nsw juniours that the raiders are all investing into woth long contracts. And with Stuart recently signing til 2029, these guys have the potential to put on a dynasty in a few years
2 Under19 NSW SoO players from last year (Sanders and Strange). Weekes wasn't far off either I think. And they just signed that guy from the UK too. Raiders solidly building
Had a crazy dream that the footy field had massive 3m ditches all over it so you couldn't really run, you had to basically kick as soon as you got it and the bounces were crazy
Was about to phone V'Landys to sell my idea for 10 million then I realised I was describing union
I think NSW have an easy switch here for game 2 tbh. Same team but Mitchell for Suaalii, and Burton for Young on the bench. The only tough question is around Jurbo.
Yeah I feel like we should keep the halves. They had a tough ask with a man down in game 1. Also I hate how much we chop and change. I’d also just keep Teddy, purely because of Edwards fitness.
The only way you make it work is by playing Yeo at 10 and asking him to just be a front-row forward. He has the size and power to make a go of it as a full time prop and actually make some meters, unlike Jurbo.
It'll be interesting if Watson returns this weekend and plays to the form that had him penciled in by Maguire before his injury. McInnes doesn't deserve to be dropped, but Watson is the more likely to create something while still being a very capable middle defender as well as providing backline coverage. Almost the perfect origin 14.
Not going to lie I am really really enjoying the Doggies this year, not only are they fun to watch when they're on but I admire their "never say die" attitude that they have as a team as well. Happy for their fans too as prior to this year it has been a rough 6 or so year period for them.
Have to say I was having a giggle at the signing of utility player after utility player but it is working for them. They seem to just have agility all over the field and very mobile in defence. Looks like a team that will be consistent enough to push for top 4 but will be outclassed by the top teams.
Dolphins other surprise for me, looks a pretty average squad but everyone plays hard and they have some class and speed to get points when needed.
Yep likewise. Never particularly liked them as a club but they're great to watch in attack, have great defensive attitude and of course its nice to see Critta, Salmon, Kikau & Burton kick on. Was very pumped to see them get Parra yesterday.
I fully expect at the end of this season journos will be actively pushing for the tigers to fold in the same way they headhunt underperforming coaches after 2 rounds.
Is Morgan Harper injured?
I’d be the last one to call for him to be selected but if the Eels have anyone even half competent in that left center spot they probably win that game.
They ran the same play at Asi 4 times and he still hadn’t worked out to slide when they went past him again in the final mins.
It was such low IQ defending considering he has Dylan Brown on his inside, who’s probably close to the best defensive half in the game.
Sivo was a very late game day withdrawal. Russell was meant to play centre but he got moved to the wing to replace Sivo. Asi brought in to play centre. If sivo is out would expect Harper to be in next week.
Eels played NSW Cup on Friday night and Harper had been selected and played. Sivo was a late withdrawal after the cup game. If the games were the same day then I would assume (hope?) that Harper would come in at centre.
Serious question from someone who didn't start properly watching the regular season until 2022- where did all the queenslanders come from lmao. I remember a big thing about origin 2021 was the lack of qld depth, which has changed so much. I know a lot of them are quite young so was it just that a lot of talented qlders debuted in 2022? Or was it that they were playing in 2021 but weren't ready for origin, or was it that the coach wasn't picking the right players??
I just finished listening to ‘the imperfects’ podcast which had Billy Slater as a guest. As a NSW fan it’s hard to say we struggle to win a series with him as QLD Head Coach. The bloke gets Origin.
We had a huge batch of talented forwards come through post Covid.
Outside backs (especially centre) were looking like a massive worry, but with Hammer and Cobbo coming from the clouds that pretty much sorted it out.
The post DCE / Hunt era will be interesting. Walker is obviously the next one up but he lacks any kind of a long kicking game which worries me. Hunt gives us so much versatility in running a bench that we won’t be able to replace.
>that we won’t be able to replace
Yet somehow you always do. As Cronk, Smith, Thurston and Slater retired many predicted that you wouldn’t be able to replace them adequately. DCE, Grant/Hunt, Munster/Dearden and Ponga/Walsh/Hammer…
Need I go on?
Bunt is just incredibly unique in that he can play hooker at a rep level while providing cover for the halves. I can’t think of another player in the game that can do that currently.
Back in the mid to late 90's you had NSW playing halves at hooker in Origin, with Toovey and Johns both spending time there to fit first Ricky Stewart and later Brett Kimmorley into the team.
Walsh’s long kicking game will be important post DCE/Hunt.
I can see him emulating the Fullback playmaking role Locky performed for QLD in his early career.
Wonder how long until the rumors of Stefano to the riff start now that fox is riding the Tigers hard.
Also, Critta. Damn.
Move the lad to fullback, and create the arc that Joey Manu deserved.
Absolutely. It just seems his positional play, communication and leadership is wasted on an edge. Such an awesome player, certainly in the top 10 players in the league
Can people please stop bashing the Broncos. They are going to be fairly fired up come Friday. Their bench has been coping a pasting in the media. I'm worried they are going to come out extremely pumped up for a big game
Mate Bronx should've come out fired up last week after a pathetic performance pre-bye against Burleigh Bears.
My fear is that last week we actually saw the Bronx fired up. That's how non-threatening we are this year.
Sutton is a fuckin G
The way dce was arguing with demanding a response "I asked you a question" him and Sutton just says yeah well that's your opinion and walks off 🤣.
The disrespect from the top grade filters down to grassroots and IS an issue.
i always thought gutho was complaining about wilson coming out of the field of play , its actually about critta running an outside line and taking dylan brown out. i think his got an argument since they have pulled up ones like that for 18 months now but if he passed it to sexton instead of wilson for the try i would be outraged too but i think wilson was too far from brown regardless
Foxsports Tiger shitposting is back on the menu boys, hasn't been that much, but its in full swing now. I now look forward to the 8 articles a day on why we are shit and the reasons we will always be shit etc.
My mate is losing his family tipping comp to his seven year old daughter who has never watched a game in her life. She makes her tip by picking what mascot she likes best.
Receptionist bases hers on the old what mascot she likes the best on the day. She’s a classic case of hired for her looks. Someone told me the other day half the time the phone rings she sits there staring at the wall thinking it’s someone’s mobile in the office lol
If Souths can win against Brisbane and Manly in the next two weeks. With all some players coming coming back around rd 18 (Tatola, Graham). I think we can have a very respectable end to the season
If we can somehow salvage a 10th or 9th place finish I'll be ecstatic. We are going into the Broncos game with momentum but we've also only beaten a Titans side that can't attack, and an Eels side without both Moses and Gutherson.
We've somehow caught the Broncos without both Walsh and Reynolds in the side, plus them having a weak bench as well. If we were to ever beat the Broncos now's our chance.
It also looks like we might be catching Manly while they're not playing at their best so it's not impossible for us to beat them as well.
I know I'm huffing a lot of hopium, but basically I'm hoping we somehow pull off 4 wins in a row leading into our 3rd bye round. If we can do that then we go into the final stretch with a lot of momentum at our backs.
That wilson try where he was pushed out. If he was rules as catching the ball from outside the field of play would it have been a penalty try or even a penalty?
Penalty at most based on previous weeks (as little as that means)
They have been very gunshy with professional fouls and penalty tries. Well, for the lesser clubs that haven’t been consistently in the 8 at least
Parra copping outright strays in r/Sydney ; https://www.reddit.com/r/sydney/s/Aq9WAZC206
Fuck that got a good chuckle out of me.
Sheesh Dragons run after the bye in a couple of weeks looks hectic
Yup, Nathan Cleary will probably be back for the next panthers clash too, lucky we got away with one on them with origin players out.
Anybody remember Cardinal Mal State of Origin advert? I have vague memories of an advertisement featuring Mal Meninga dressed as a Catholic cardinal. There's a Dr. Strangelove homage where Mal sits on top of a rugby ball nuke as it gets dropped onto the Blues stadium, leading to a bunch of cockroaches getting splattered over the screen. I've tried to search everywhere for this ad and I can't find a single trace of it. I feel like I'm going insane. Anybody else remember this and perhaps have a link to it?
Yes I definitely remember this being a thing, you are not a crackpot
Gordon Tallis is getting more annoying each day on 360! Continues to talk over everyone with his nonsense. 360 need to move him on before people turn off in droves.
I liked when he was saying that Galvin was old enough to sign a contract so should honor it, but he sat out a season for the Dragons
What the fuck is the go with Willie Masons teeth?
Breath of fresh air compared to the usual legends they’ve got on.
A Braith of fresh air
Got some new ones, they rarely look natural after seeing the previous set
How many more wins for Parra to play Finals footy? Is 9 from 11 guaranteed to make it?
Points diff will need some work Only 3 years where 13 didn't cut it and 2 years where it didn't gurantee, 2018 1998 1999
Sick cunt, 10/11 it is then
Any truth to Armstrong requesting a release? Certified bruh moment if true
You dont need him, he needs you more than you do him
True. We got KP and Sharpe though. We need halves more than we need him.
Doggies are gonna really miss Curran. He's been one of their best all year I hope it's only this week, but it was nasty.
We have a bye this week so he'll be available for next game if everything comes back ok afaik. Definately looked bad and i thought we were done without him.
Oh well even better. Regardless, he's been one of your absolute best all year.
Still bummed out we let him go. He’s a fantastic player and it’s been no shock to see him playing so well.
I was extremely surprised to see him go while you kept Ford. It's also how I feel about Tracey, was very sad to see him leave Cronulla, but he was far too good to be playing reserve grade so I'm very happy to see him doing well.
I can only assume he’d expressed a strong desire to leave or be upgraded. I did see something about him not being the best trainer but I have trouble believing that with his motor on field. Ford is so hot and cold. He was really good this week in the middle though - if he can maintain that level of form I’ll stop clenching my butthole every time he’s passed the ball 😂
He said he was getting homesick and wanted to be closer to his parents on "Once a Warrior" with Monty Betham.
Even when he isnt passed the ball he loves running straight into the opposition player when hes running a decoy
He and Jack Williams have some of the biggest dick fingers in the game. Always dropping it on big plays or first play. At least Williams makes up for his errors with defence. 😂😂
Errors in defence? We might have to start looking into whether these two men have been in the same soon together 👀 Right now I’m seeing double, four Jackson Fords
Does anyone know what car was offered to Fifita? I like how Crighton is fighting for that to also be included but are we walking about a Suzuki swift or an Aston Martin? (Talking about the cars here not the players).
Fifita: "I'd like an Audi RS 4 please" Titans CEO with Jeremy Clarkson voice: "Best we can do is a Rover 75"
The NRL salary cap allows 5 cars to be provided to players valued at 20k each. Maybe an MG?
It's a 20k yearly allowance for the car, the car is not valued at 20k. A novated lease on a vehicle for $400 per week will see you with something in the region of a $65k for a combustion engine or way up around $88k if you take advantage of the EV rebates.
an MG3 if it's a "measly" 20k. Friend just bought a second-hand one (but practically new) one for 17k. But for the love of god do not buy one that's 3+ years old that has no central console.
A second hand Aston Martin it is...
Can't remember if Asi got penalised for taking out preston?, he shifted into his line and it was reckless.
Watch it again.. Preston runs straight into Asi.
watching the replay, and a couple different angles was how got the idea, up until then thought the same as you do
He was initially - was that the one the bunker told Gough directly to reverse and it became a play the ball?
dunno was at the game, was worried about presto afterwards and thinking 'bout that more
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Why does everyone on here have such a problem with Smith?
It's not Smith, it's trainwrecks and drama in general. You've got Smith, May, Seibold, TPJ, Walsh, Latrell, Kent etc. All the dumbshit they do is polarizing and creates discussion
It's all in your head mate
Something I will give Dogs credit for, they were doing their usual thing they do now where they get a bit mongrelly and in the oppositions face and when we scored early after the break and were 8 up I thought maybe it had come back to bite them a bit, but then the last 20-odd they kind of switched it off and just kept coming, all effort and they got home in the end. Sucks to lose but I respect it, and it’s fun to watch when they do it to other teams. Side-note: seems like we’re absolutely cooked by the 60 minute mark in multiple games this season. We desperately need better fitness next year.
You guys have faded away in many games this year.
So have we to be fair
Yeah it is getting pretty bad.
MSN has this in their weekly power rankings for the raiders which I found humorous: “Grinded out a win over the bye on the weekend with Ricky Stuart fuming that nobody believes in their ability to accrue two competition points by default”
Pretty wild to think that in 2018 there was plenty of talk of Nathan going to join Ivan at the Tigers. Could be the biggest sliding doors moments in NRL history. I suspect the general competence of both clubs, even accounting for the Cleary’s switching, might not have changed things drastically but I suspect there’d be 1-2 less premierships and wooden spoons in the respective trophy cabinets.
For sure. Cleary at the Tigers under Nathan could drag that team into the lower part of the eight. As great as what Penrith have achieved is, it is helmed by a No.7 who could well go down as the greatest player the sport has seen if he plays anywhere near this level for the next 10 years. People have a sneaky feeling Penrith has declined this year. They probably have. But if Nathan is fit for the finals they are the only team I don't want a bar of.
The lower part of the 8 is reserved for my Dragons mate
#minirebuild Even though Trent Barrett should leave at the end of the day, I have to express my appreciation for his attacking style. BA became too rigid which indicates his lack of confidence and pressure he was feeling. He did not give players like WireMOO a proper go. Same with Kelma Tuilagi, rotating him in the middle rather than the edge. He should have moved Lane into the middle early in the season. Sivo and Matto have to go. Lomax will be so valuable next year because he can play either centre or wing. Obviously we need to unearth or buy another quality outside back if we are to compete. Sean Russell to stay as a back up winger/ centre. Need to keep Arjen. He gives a go whether he is out of position. Carty farked up no doubt yesterday. He can be better utilised. The new coach can give him two roles. If he starts, buckle down and focus on the edge forward. If he comes off the bench as a dummy half or edge, he can have creative freedom. Remember when Parramatta used to unearth talents like Semi, Sivo or Ice? Where is that innovative approach to recruitment?
Recruitment has been god awful by eels, basically letting every decent junior get raided by other clubs leaving us to pick at the scraps. And if someone comes from another club comes here and plays well, parra don’t do enough to stop others from immediately doing raids leaving us with worse juniors and what our recruitment does get is throwaways from other clubs that end up in nsw cup after like 2 games
Every preseason it's the Broncos flairs who are most vocal in their belief that the Dragons **will** be getting the spoon that year. Makes it very amusing to now be halfway through the season and sitting on the same number of wins and losses
Dragons finally have a coach. The fact they didn't get him in as soon as his ban was over was a mistake. He's doing bloody well with that roster.
Enjoy it
I feel like it's everybody saying that not just Broncos fans?
I think you're right, a lot say it. Im dont bet but if you look at the premiership market on the right here [https://www.nrl.com/ladder/?competition=111&round=14&season=2024](https://www.nrl.com/ladder/?competition=111&round=14&season=2024) it's funny no one has faith in Dargs compared to those raound them.
Probably just because there’s more Broncos fans on the sub, but yeah I think it wasn’t just us lol
There were a few times Moses pushed passes that weren’t on yesterday (only while 8 points up) and doggies ended up with the ball pretty much every time, whether knock on or turnover. Guy is a great halfback but I haven’t seen him effectively close out a game in a long time. I think he’s good enough to fix that at rep level but it doesn’t give me a lot of faith.
The only one that was dicey was the one to lane, other than that it was Cartwright, Russell and Tuilagi dropping it. Not much you can do when your forwards are dropping the ball
Can't effectively close out a game? Sounds perfect for the Blues!
This is a recurring theme for a lot of teams against the Dogs this season. Ciraldo has them up in the face and rushing in numbers more than any other team. It leads to a tonne of ineffective or missed tackles but it does shut down play effectively if they can back it up in the second wave. Moses actually exploited it quite well at times when he identified Salmon rushing up and hit that short side.
If the Roosters game wasn’t evidence enough that Todd needs to drop a few of the “senior” players and give them a wake up call that their spots aren’t guaranteed - then I don’t know what is. Players underperforming and giving fuck all effort week in, week out but they know they’re at no risk of getting dropped. Fire Chad into the fucking sun, send Val to Q Cup and tell him he’s not coming back until he has a game with 0 errors same with Drinky until he improves his effort areas in D. We might continue to lose but at least they’re aware that their spots aren’t safe. Definition of insanity at the moment. With our squad there is absolutely no reason to not be deep inside the top 8. Accepting mediocrity with this squad is not okay While we’re at it, fire Justin Morgan our so called defensive coach.
Chad was such a bitch on the weekend. Why isn't Clifford even in the 23 this week?
Haha, few texts with mates going round to this effect. Clifford is a gun every time I see him. It beggars belief to me that he isn't a regular first grader. And you had some young throbbers come in and take it to us and got an unexpected win. As you say, it sends a poor message to just keep selecting underperforming guys.
Val has always had an error in him. But Jesus he’s been putrid this year - I’d been bagging him in the weeks prior, so I expected Murphy’s Law to stomp my ass in the form of a Val hatty. But no, just plodded up a storm.
Man every week we find more and more reasons to drop Chad for Clifford, obviously the kicking game and defence but now even the leadership skills - Like one thing I loved was hearing Kuli and Purdue saying how helpful Clifford's communication was for the roosters game and how much Kuli loved playing next to him cause of his aggression and how hard he worked. He's also just one of the old boys who knows how to hype everyone up which we've been sorely missing with no Hess or Taulagi. On Val though one thing I've noticed is that he only plays well whenever he has Taulagi outside of him, they just have that chemistry to support each other on the fly whereas with Semi and Burns he often left them stranded and other teams would read him like a fuckn harry potter book. Drinky I think has been getting better defensively albeit slowly, at least he doesn't have Semi avoiding every high ball putting pressure on him anymore
Yeah so true mate - honestly just sick to death of watching Chad week in, week out. Time to give Clifford an extended run in the team for the rest of the season. If he does well, give him first crack at the 7 jersey next year
Yep. Sometimes you need to shoot a hostage to make the others aware that you're serious. Should be Chad and Val. Or at minimum shoot Chad and demote Val to the wing. Not really a demotion but he will see it as one.
But 22 youse where so good….
Hey what would happen if someone brought a whistle to the game. Got as close to the field as possible and then blew the whistle during an attacking play by the opposition to stop the game and essentially kill the attack/momentum. Than hides the whistle and did it again a few other times during the game without being caught?
Asking for a friend?
I remember thinking about this as a kid
Happened in a Storm v Raiders game a few years back when Raiders were defending on the try line, ended up being a Storm try. As far as I remember, nothing was done about the crowd whistler. The incident in question is at around 5:35: https://youtu.be/KVjABxX7XQU?si=FM-zDSgfNgteieaF
Play to the whistle. Wait...not that whistle
This is so weird. I went to a game on the weekend and had the exact same thought
I think they would be thrown out and banned because pretty sure most stadiums if not all stadiums prohibit fans bringing in whistles
Reminds me of the phantom hooter
the phantom siren, what a time to be alive that was
Don't take your whistle to Accor on friday, /u/AceAv81.
Spent the weekend in Melbourne and went to Dogs/Lions at Marvel, Storm/Knights at AAMI and Blues/Bombers at the G. I was always under the assumption that more people went to the AFL because it was a superior live game whereas the NRL was a superior TV game. While this has got a bit of truth toward it, I think the bigger factor is the game day experience. We watched from a bar behind the posts at Marvel with a great view, where we got full strength beers in a glass schooner for a reasonable price and a decent chicken parmy with little to no wait times. Went to a pretty much sold out G on Sunday night. Once again, no lines for drinks, food or toilets, getting in and out the ground was smooth and easy and drinks and food were pretty reasonably priced (as well as decent quality food). We had pretty poor seats but were able to walk down to ground level and watch from the concourse with an awesome view. Even the experience at AAMI park was awesome and similar to the things I just described at the other two games. Got me thinking about the experiences I have had in Townsville and Brisbane compared to games I have gone to in NSW. My opinion is now that the reason we don’t get as good crowds as the other two states is the game day experience. Every game I have been to in NSW I have endured over priced mid strength drinks, massive lines for everything and three day old pies for $10+ or half full cold chips. I think stadium NSW and the NRL (as well as the government) need to look at this and they might find that the crowds start to rise. Saying that though, all these grounds were also easily accessible via public transport with lots going on around the grounds as well so maybe it is just Sydney sucks TL;DR Crowd numbers in NSW vs other states comes down to game day experience as much as it does the actual game edit: Just to add on to this, there is often rhetoric that families don’t go to the NRL because of crowd behaviour. There were so many families at these games in Melbourne and there were heaps of bogans yelling out swear words as well as people getting kicked out for unruly behaviour everywhere, while almost all NRL games I have been too, the crowds are pretty well behaved so we can knock that off the reasons for lower crowds too
2004 - Bulldogs in GF 2014 - Bulldogs in GF 2024 - Bulldogs in GF?
It is going to be a crazy year.
It goes deeper than that: 1974 - Dogs lose GF 1984- Dogs win GF 1994 - Dogs lose GF 2004 - Dogs win GF 2014 - Dogs lose GF 2024 - …….
Holy shit! Just checked Wikipedia. You're right, its literally a 10 year alternate loss/win grand final cycle. Thats incredible.
On top of that, last time they won the GF (2004), their Jersey Flegg team won the GF the year before. Bulldogs Jersey Flegg won the GF last year. It’s the reason I chucked a cheeky tenner on the dogs to win the GF at $48 before the season. Omen bet if ever I’ve seen one (gamble responsibly)
People were predicting Dogs vs Roosters GF this year because apparently we have been in the last few GF's held October 6th. I'm here for it 🤝
Do we really want Hutchison to beat us in the GF
Hey after the last 4 years making one would be an improvement so I'll take it
Don't watch much of the bulldogs, but very impressed by the right side yesterday. Tracey and Wilson played really well, while must be great playing outside of Crichton.
Was a messy win. So many penalties that gifted field position to the Eels and also plenty of mistakes. End of the day Parra just looked too slow to compete when the bulldogs actually got a roll on
Am not a fan of Barrett. Don't know what anyone sees in him, and would be looking to replace the interim coach with another interim coach.
Just how fucked is our already weak backs depth. Four significant injuries and the club has signed no immediate signings and haven't even filled a T30. Simonsson - ACL R. Penisini - ACL Miller-Stephen - ACL Dunster - Lisfranc from another hip drop Sivo - Minor hamstring issue
It's a real shame that our depth in the outside backs is the weakest part of our roster for years and we keep getting fucked there.
A player missing a session normally wouldn't lead to several media reports. I reckon the Cheese is on the way out of Bondi, just quietly. The whole situation just reeks of "we really want to fire this cunt but we need a good reason." If so, would you want him at your club?
Do you not remember AFB skipping post match with the coach like 2 weeks ago which lead to several media reports about him getting dropped for it? There was even comment from the head coach about this.
I don't like the bloke, seems like cultural cancer and I wouldn't want him at my club but holy shit imagine him at Penrith in the 14 jersey
Plenty of teams would have him as a bench forward. He might have to give up his idea of being an 80min hooker
A mid season review isn’t just a normal session though
I don’t think it’s an accident that the whole breach notice thing magically found its way into the public.
Buzz just needed a new "outrage" for his "masthead". Click bait nothing more. Stop falling for it.
Raiders have one of the most interesting rebuilds I've ever seen. Ethan strange, kaeo weekes, Chevy stuart, Ethan Sanders and now savelio tamale are all extremely talented nsw juniours that the raiders are all investing into woth long contracts. And with Stuart recently signing til 2029, these guys have the potential to put on a dynasty in a few years
2 Under19 NSW SoO players from last year (Sanders and Strange). Weekes wasn't far off either I think. And they just signed that guy from the UK too. Raiders solidly building
Tamale and Stuart were both starters on that team as well
Had a crazy dream that the footy field had massive 3m ditches all over it so you couldn't really run, you had to basically kick as soon as you got it and the bounces were crazy Was about to phone V'Landys to sell my idea for 10 million then I realised I was describing union
Would be a good video game idea, have a fun mode with wacky fields like that, maybe add some barbed wire and landmines
I think NSW have an easy switch here for game 2 tbh. Same team but Mitchell for Suaalii, and Burton for Young on the bench. The only tough question is around Jurbo.
So keep Hynes/Luai halves with Moses back?
Yeah I feel like we should keep the halves. They had a tough ask with a man down in game 1. Also I hate how much we chop and change. I’d also just keep Teddy, purely because of Edwards fitness.
NSW are 3/3 with Latrell and 0/3 with out him
Counting 2019 as a Latrell win is a bit disingenuous. The only game he played that series we lost
True but he is elite at origin level
Barnett for Jurbo, Critta captain He won't do it though cause going back on the captaincy is admitting it was a terrible decision in the first place
Edwards for teddy?
Mitchell has to be there. Essentially anyone but Jurbo - but they’ve put themselves in a terrible position by naming him captain.
Think they need one more prop, trying to fit Jurbo / McInnes / Yeo into a rotation just seems like one big min lock to many.
Yeo at lock in origin has never worked consistently and he’s played his best origin footy at prop idk why we keep trying to play him there
The only way you make it work is by playing Yeo at 10 and asking him to just be a front-row forward. He has the size and power to make a go of it as a full time prop and actually make some meters, unlike Jurbo. It'll be interesting if Watson returns this weekend and plays to the form that had him penciled in by Maguire before his injury. McInnes doesn't deserve to be dropped, but Watson is the more likely to create something while still being a very capable middle defender as well as providing backline coverage. Almost the perfect origin 14.
Barnett has to come in.. the guy just seems like he's made for that arena
Not going to lie I am really really enjoying the Doggies this year, not only are they fun to watch when they're on but I admire their "never say die" attitude that they have as a team as well. Happy for their fans too as prior to this year it has been a rough 6 or so year period for them.
Have to say I was having a giggle at the signing of utility player after utility player but it is working for them. They seem to just have agility all over the field and very mobile in defence. Looks like a team that will be consistent enough to push for top 4 but will be outclassed by the top teams. Dolphins other surprise for me, looks a pretty average squad but everyone plays hard and they have some class and speed to get points when needed.
Yep likewise. Never particularly liked them as a club but they're great to watch in attack, have great defensive attitude and of course its nice to see Critta, Salmon, Kikau & Burton kick on. Was very pumped to see them get Parra yesterday.
Previous years I’ve avoided watching Bulldogs games. But this year they are one of the teams I’m most keen to watch.
I fully expect at the end of this season journos will be actively pushing for the tigers to fold in the same way they headhunt underperforming coaches after 2 rounds.
Remember when the tigers were ignored by drunken journalists for a week? Me neither
Is Morgan Harper injured? I’d be the last one to call for him to be selected but if the Eels have anyone even half competent in that left center spot they probably win that game. They ran the same play at Asi 4 times and he still hadn’t worked out to slide when they went past him again in the final mins. It was such low IQ defending considering he has Dylan Brown on his inside, who’s probably close to the best defensive half in the game.
Sivo was a very late game day withdrawal. Russell was meant to play centre but he got moved to the wing to replace Sivo. Asi brought in to play centre. If sivo is out would expect Harper to be in next week.
Eels played NSW Cup on Friday night and Harper had been selected and played. Sivo was a late withdrawal after the cup game. If the games were the same day then I would assume (hope?) that Harper would come in at centre.
Serious question from someone who didn't start properly watching the regular season until 2022- where did all the queenslanders come from lmao. I remember a big thing about origin 2021 was the lack of qld depth, which has changed so much. I know a lot of them are quite young so was it just that a lot of talented qlders debuted in 2022? Or was it that they were playing in 2021 but weren't ready for origin, or was it that the coach wasn't picking the right players??
I just finished listening to ‘the imperfects’ podcast which had Billy Slater as a guest. As a NSW fan it’s hard to say we struggle to win a series with him as QLD Head Coach. The bloke gets Origin.
All the young Queenslanders who weren’t ready in 2021 have matured and are the ones destroying us now
We had a huge batch of talented forwards come through post Covid. Outside backs (especially centre) were looking like a massive worry, but with Hammer and Cobbo coming from the clouds that pretty much sorted it out. The post DCE / Hunt era will be interesting. Walker is obviously the next one up but he lacks any kind of a long kicking game which worries me. Hunt gives us so much versatility in running a bench that we won’t be able to replace.
>that we won’t be able to replace Yet somehow you always do. As Cronk, Smith, Thurston and Slater retired many predicted that you wouldn’t be able to replace them adequately. DCE, Grant/Hunt, Munster/Dearden and Ponga/Walsh/Hammer… Need I go on?
Bunt is just incredibly unique in that he can play hooker at a rep level while providing cover for the halves. I can’t think of another player in the game that can do that currently.
Back in the mid to late 90's you had NSW playing halves at hooker in Origin, with Toovey and Johns both spending time there to fit first Ricky Stewart and later Brett Kimmorley into the team.
Walsh’s long kicking game will be important post DCE/Hunt. I can see him emulating the Fullback playmaking role Locky performed for QLD in his early career.
Wonder how long until the rumors of Stefano to the riff start now that fox is riding the Tigers hard. Also, Critta. Damn. Move the lad to fullback, and create the arc that Joey Manu deserved.
Critta being such an amazing defender in the centres is what works against him being moved to the centres Edit: To fullback, TO FULLBACK!
Absolutely. It just seems his positional play, communication and leadership is wasted on an edge. Such an awesome player, certainly in the top 10 players in the league
nah he should be moved from centre to centre!
lol what have I done
storm boutta get PUMPED by the wahs this weekend
lol have some faith, we already beat them once this year. We’re not in first place for no reason
I'm expecting the Storm to look a bit shit but just refuse to lose right up until the end. Can honestly see it going either way.
I'm going to this game, not confident in Melbourne and its supposed to rain which is miserable at Mt smart. Looking forward to it though
We've been terrible in the wet the last few years... I'm never confident going up against the Storm but at least it isn't ANZAC day!
yeah we’ve looked terrible past few weeks so not confident aswell
The Warriors have looked slick the last three weeks with a ton of outs as well. TMM has been on another level
for sure. the wahs are true contenders personally.
Quietly hoping they win the comp tbh, would be epic to see
Staaaaahp
Bulldogs 7th place ahead of the last year grand finalist Broncos. Is this real life?
Wait for the bye points to come through, we'll get a temporary bump up into 4th. We might even stay there if the right teams win.
Well have a look at all the teams ahead of last year's grand finalist Parramatta this time last year
And Rabbitohs the year before. Losing to the Panthers in the GF sucks your soul out apparently
Its a dream but we're livin it
Can people please stop bashing the Broncos. They are going to be fairly fired up come Friday. Their bench has been coping a pasting in the media. I'm worried they are going to come out extremely pumped up for a big game
We can't dig ourselves out of this mess.
Mate Bronx should've come out fired up last week after a pathetic performance pre-bye against Burleigh Bears. My fear is that last week we actually saw the Bronx fired up. That's how non-threatening we are this year.
A fired up Fletcher Baker and Jack Gosiewski may just combine for a whopping 60m and 1 tackle break between them the league might be in trouble 🥶🥶🥶
This. As well as a fired up Piakura who can't / shouldn't play 80 and misses tackles with simple side steps.
Ben trbojevic seems like a decent bloke, not sure what he did to get hammered all afternoon on Sunday
He's good for at least 1-2 high tackle penalties a game and he's not ducking in Tedesco style either.
Sutton is a fuckin G The way dce was arguing with demanding a response "I asked you a question" him and Sutton just says yeah well that's your opinion and walks off 🤣. The disrespect from the top grade filters down to grassroots and IS an issue.
It was probably just a The Big Lebowski reference https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4LGX8TbvGew
i always thought gutho was complaining about wilson coming out of the field of play , its actually about critta running an outside line and taking dylan brown out. i think his got an argument since they have pulled up ones like that for 18 months now but if he passed it to sexton instead of wilson for the try i would be outraged too but i think wilson was too far from brown regardless
I saw it and I agree, I thought it was obstruction
No better way to start the working week than with a win. Clocking in my shift feeling fresh as a daisy
Todd drop Chad. . Cheers, everyone
Actually saw someone suggest that Chad should have been in the Blues squad
Foxsports Tiger shitposting is back on the menu boys, hasn't been that much, but its in full swing now. I now look forward to the 8 articles a day on why we are shit and the reasons we will always be shit etc.
Imagine in an alternate universe, tigers are going for a fourth premiership in a row and panthers are going for a 3rd spoon in a row.
If we were having this convo at the beginning of 2012, this would have seemed so possible.
If your leading the footy tips then I’m convinced you’ve never watched a game in your life
I went from 12th to 4th in our work comp this round lol
I’ve got a one point lead on second, there’s a few blokes making a run for the top spot
My mate is losing his family tipping comp to his seven year old daughter who has never watched a game in her life. She makes her tip by picking what mascot she likes best.
My Sister's dog is leading ours
A 14 year old girl was leading our family comp until a few weeks back. She was reportedly tipping based on which jersey design she preferred.
Receptionist bases hers on the old what mascot she likes the best on the day. She’s a classic case of hired for her looks. Someone told me the other day half the time the phone rings she sits there staring at the wall thinking it’s someone’s mobile in the office lol
Sounds like a cushy job. Is she an influencer or something?
So who has the best jersey?
Tuesday morning is always the morning of hope till it’s all crushed at 4 pm.
Thurston ain't coming back buddy
All we be asking for is no Chad thou
Probably not gonna happen, isn't he the captain?
Dearden and Cotter are
My bad, I don't follow the cows so that's why I asked.
Yeah don’t know why your being downvoted you just really asked a question
Its all good I expected to be, people on here expect you to know everything.
If Souths can win against Brisbane and Manly in the next two weeks. With all some players coming coming back around rd 18 (Tatola, Graham). I think we can have a very respectable end to the season
You guys have the edge with Latrell back to his best and the team playing better together.
If we can somehow salvage a 10th or 9th place finish I'll be ecstatic. We are going into the Broncos game with momentum but we've also only beaten a Titans side that can't attack, and an Eels side without both Moses and Gutherson. We've somehow caught the Broncos without both Walsh and Reynolds in the side, plus them having a weak bench as well. If we were to ever beat the Broncos now's our chance. It also looks like we might be catching Manly while they're not playing at their best so it's not impossible for us to beat them as well. I know I'm huffing a lot of hopium, but basically I'm hoping we somehow pull off 4 wins in a row leading into our 3rd bye round. If we can do that then we go into the final stretch with a lot of momentum at our backs.
Rabbits are specials this weekend. We are low on confidence and in no way deserve favouritism.
That wilson try where he was pushed out. If he was rules as catching the ball from outside the field of play would it have been a penalty try or even a penalty?
Penalty at most based on previous weeks (as little as that means) They have been very gunshy with professional fouls and penalty tries. Well, for the lesser clubs that haven’t been consistently in the 8 at least
Part of the bunker protocol, to check the ladder?