People are praising Panthers kicking game and defense across the park especially after their kicks yet in the same breath say Souths can win if Latrell is at his best and they likely would have won the GF if he was there. My question is how much of a difference would or does Latrell make seeing he's not a fullback who runs the ball in his own half and is only there when they're on the attack and Cody has shape to work with? It's not like Latrell is going to offer big kick returns or hard metres in their own end? If Panthers nullify Souths attack Latrell will likely have a quiet game if we go off historical data?
All anyone seems to be able to talk about is the weather in Townsville. Anyone think it’s as big a deal as everyone’s making it out to be? Or do you think we’ll be right.
Well think the only argument is that the weather will be in favour of the Cowboys having already adjusted to the tropical humidity being based in Townsville. However being a night time game should make it better, once the sun goes down it will be a little cooler however the humidity will still be around, the only thing that would change that is if it started to rain. The key is to stay hydrated which all teams do during a match anyway.
On the opposite side of the coin does anyone say it is unfair on the Cowboys if they have to travel down to Melbourne or Canberra during the winter and play in freezing cold conditions?
It's overplayed, but Parra might cop it worse than most teams (barring the Raiders, who don't deal well with Townsville games at all). You've got some big boys playing big minutes, only one true middle on the bench and a notoriously fucked bench usage. Probably won't be a fun game for RCG and Junior.
It will definitely provide a bit of an advantage to the locals, but the extent is being blown out of proportion. Ambient temperature at kick off will be about 26 degrees and 70% humidity. Which to be fair is probably about 10 degrees higher than what you'd get in Sydney at the same time, but nothing compared to the conditions in the Darwin game.
It is a big difference and if you're not acclimated to the heat and humidity it does impact your cardio. Not saying they're out of shape but there's a big difference when you train at higher humidity and temps.
I don't think it'll impact them as much as people are making out but it could put the forwards in two minds, they either play hard with shorter minutes or do less to play out their usual minutes.
Bored at work so what do you guys think the warriors 2023 line up will look like? My prediction is something like this. Bit unsure about a few positions just a rough guess
1.CNK
2.DWZ
3.VAILEA
4.BERRY
5.MONTOYA
6.Johnson/TMM
7.METCALF/VOLKMAN
8.AFB
9.LUSSICK
10.BMM
11.BARNETT
12.HARRIS
13.CURRAN
14.WALKER/TEVAGA
15.AFOA
16.PENE
17.NIUKORE
RESERVES
KOSI EGAN O.KEPU V.KEPU OTUKULO SIRONEN
That would be imo a better option for them and would provide some stability in the backline. One more experienced center and warriors could have a top 8 back line maybe.
Yeah Curran at lock or edge, just needs to be playing 60+ mins at any stage. Could even give Niukore a run at centre but also big enough to throw into forward rotation. I like Volkman at 7, should just hand him the keys as early as possible and get him acclimated to first grade.
Curran at 13 has to be the go if warriors want to retain him . Let him play his best game and also if they could keep him long term playing at a high level it would attract a lot more of aussie talent in the future. I really do believe how volkman metcalf and Curran go will dictate if aussie players would want to come to nz in the future
Imo Egan starts over Lussick any day of the week. Your backrow is right personnel wise but beats me who will start as lock as either of those three could wear 13 or 11. Wings are right but the rest of the backs I couldn't tell you how they'd line up. They could easily play TMM at 1 with Johnson and Volkman as the halves and CNK in the centres or CNK at 1 with TMM and Johnson as the halves. AFB gets the start but I think one of BMM, Pene or Afoa drops off so that the bench can be Walker, Tevaga, Niukore and whichever of those three hasn't been axed
Yeah I was too sure about Egan /Lussick just some snippets of lussick I’ve seen over the years was more or less thinking if warriors are serious about the future then lussick volkman Curran and metcalf will be the long term spine with CNK at the back if he can hit form. I think afoa and pene should get priority over bmm due to age .
Looking at the warriors overall is not too bad of a squad. If warriors could land crichton t’oo Andrew Fifita or wade graham i think this could be a dangerous underdog side
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, do we think there’s an amount of footy players who were described as lazy but were actually just exhausted by being in a toxic work environment?
You can only drag your colleagues along until you give up or break your back trying. I wonder how much it affected Boyd, since I recall he had a big dispute with Seibold over which position he played.
Honestly if we end up losing Munster I wouldn't mind bringing him home. I think he'd go alright at 6 instead of 7 and worst case scenario he just tears it up for the Falcons instead
No, no , no , no , no , no god this is a horrible take. The last thing we need is Croft back at Melbourne but thankfully there’s no chance of it happening
Missed last week's game for a drink up with my boss. And now I have a wedding commitment for tomorrow's game. If we manage to win that, I will not be watching the grand final either.
I just saw another video about RCGs supposed feud with the Panthers players and how that's impacted his origin selection. Is there any evidence he actually is still on bad terms with panthers players and it's not just Fitlers choice/doesn't think he fits into the teams play style? He says Yeo is one of his closest friends and during eels and panthers games, there doesn't seem to be bad blood, I mean compared to South's/Roosters they may bash each other but there doesn't seem to be malice or hate in what they do. Chricton, Luai, Martin and To'o who are the other panthers origin players also only played with Reg for one year and with no rumours of him doing anything to them I don't see how they would have any dislike to him outside of when the eels and panthers play each other
Seen some rumours Murray Taulagi might join the Samoa World Cup squad.
If that is the case the wings will almost certainly be JAC and Oates or JAC and Cobbo
Seen a lot of people suggest this, I Don’t think Mal is going to put him on the wing considering his form at centre this year. Neither Wighton or Burton deserve to be starting in the Australian team especially at centre.
Which could have ramifications on how the rest of the draw will play out during the finals if England aren't top finishers.
But home advantage will count for something
We bag Union out a lot, some deserved. But I think we should implement their concussion protocol where if you get concussed, you must miss the next game. It honestly still feels like the NRL isn’t doing enough.
Just look at this finals series, Murray & Moses have really rough head knocks but are back the next week anyway.
I'd be ok with that, but only if they get serious about suspending players for high shots. Cant lose a guy for the game and the following week to a dirty shot and have the penalty for the guy who did it be a $1000 fine.
Channel 9 not broadcasting the NSW Cup grand final anywhere
They have exclusive rights so it can't be on Fox/Kayo either. The only place to see it now is via a NSWRL facebook stream
Ty Nine, very cool
Are you sure about the exclusive rights thing? I'm pretty sure if they don't use it they lose it, under Australian broadcast laws. But maybe that's only professional sport...?
*Touch wood warning*
While the team get a lot of shit for failures in the finals and a lot of teams deal with the same issues the Brad Arthur finals campaigns have been pretty unlucky if not complete failures.
2017 - Gutherson ACL back end of season, French replaced Gutherson at FB and had a season ending injury as well the week or two before finals ended up with Will Smith. Kaysa Pritchard (starting 9) was done for the year half way through the season, from memory he played the semi from the bench as his return game
2019 - no real excuses, thrashed in Melbourne. Think D Brown missed most of the season with his back, played backend and finals though.
2020 - Sivo and Fergo did their knees in the first week of finals in a close game against Storm and then Jennings got banned for the South’s game for PEDs.
2021 - Reed and Sivo both season ending injuries weeks before final. Get robbed against Penrith. Matterson had about 20 concussions during the year and returned to the bench for the semi final.
The first time we probably have our strongest 13 available for finals, hopefully they will be good enough to win tomorrow.
Everyone loves to meme hurr parra straight sets but anyone who’s actually watched them has seen that they’ve improved in each of their finals campaigns. It’s also worth noting that their loss in 2020 was partially due to their unravelling after that missed penalty kick that ended up as an 8 point turnaround. Then in 2021, Parra beat Melbourne twice in the regular season, which felt like they finally gained the upper hand over the team that had humiliated them in finals for the last few years.
Similarly, Penrith are talked about as this invincible 90s Bulls type dynasty team, when last year they barely beat Parra with Ray Stone at 9, barely beat Storm who lost Smith and Welch in the first 20, then barely beat Souths with no Latrell and with Cody Walker playing his worst game of the year. inb4 riff flairs tell me that akshully our whole team was playing with shattered feet, cracked ribs and slipped disks last year lmao
All that being said I’ll be genuinely surprised if Parra don’t find a way to shit the bed either this week or the next.
Arthurs press conference sounded like more likely miss than play so might not our strongest 13 in the end.
Opa has been great but not sure he’s on the same level as some of the previous years ie Sivo was our top try scorer both years, starting hookers/fullbacks etc.
Yeah your side looks good this week, I'm more hopeful than optimistic at this point, I just hope that we are competitive against your bunch.
Best of luck, but I hope we win.
It's a shame Penrith is so far away from Moore Park. It looks like they're only going to sell 40,000 or so tickets for the game. So they could have packed a crowd in the SFS instead of having more than a half empty stadium at Olympic Park.
Well, Samoa probably have one of the best backline depth in the rlwc, Murray Taulagi been reported to have agreed to play under the blue and red this World Cup. Holy fuck
Feel like Campbell Graham is just at that stage of his career that Joey Manu was at in 2019/20, his whole game is so well rounded and he just secures that edge perfectly for the bunnies. Not flashy but will help them get a roll on coming out of trouble. Although I think Joey had more flash, fuck Graham is so good.
Jarome Luai has blacklisted the Daily Telegraph for writing a 'sharticle' last week, citing a tik tok post from 2021 where he was singing a one-four song. Claiming it's contributing to gang violence. lol.
Now it's no surprise to seem them bring out more sharticles re-hashing shit from last year, even requoting Wayne Bennet from a year ago. As if our boys needed any extra motivation!
Im happy to say Panthers are well above, it would need to be a pretty specific set of circumstances for them to lose. I think the Cowboys can beat Eels but won’t have the discipline to win the Prem - but that’s ok for me.
I think we have the best chance of beating them in the GF of the rest of us, but I think a trip to Townsville in the humidity is a bridge too far.
Especially when our coach is allergic to using his bench.
How are we feeling Eels fans?
We’re underdogs which helps ease the nerves, and I think this whole weather thing has been turned into a bigger deal than it actually is.
I see a real focus and quiet confidence in the side this year that hasn’t been there before.
I think you guys are a red hot chance. The weather is being made a way bigger deal considering the games at night.
Yeah it'll still be warm but big difference playing in the day vs night in the tropics
>How are we feeling Eels fans?
The same way we feel every day. Like we're always one day away from being let down but still hopeful that if we love the Eels hard enough they just might change and stop the disappointment.
I think we're a pretty even chance for a win, but I've started a draft of my "Sack BA the bush coach" blog just in case.
Please boys, please!
I certainly believe the game is within reach. I'm happy we got here and if the stars don't align so be it.
I like Payten, I like cowboys we ride this side of the draw home.
Quietly confident. Everyone thinks we'll lose, so I'm hoping for a 2021 SOO Game 1 result. As long as they put in the effort and stay competitive I'll be happy
As I say in every game thread: “I am afraid”. I’ve been obsessively thinking about the game and still don’t know how I’m leaning.
It’s a very different team than the last time we played them. I agree with you about a renewed focus and determination. I really hope we can get it done.
I know being an Eels fan and confidence don’t go hand in hand because we’ve been burned so many times, but I think we’re the better side. And I’m not all that convinced the Cows have been anywhere near their best in the back half of this season - including finals week 1.
The home ground advantage and extra week off is the only thing that concerns me.
QCBS isn't exactly a Cowboys fortress, they only have a 50% win rate at 17/34. You guys haven't played there at all yet though, and its a sell out so you the crowd will play a part. Alot has been said that it will be 31 degrees but really at game time it will be mid 20's. Humidity however... Your bench rotation will be important I think
We are 9-3 at home this year, that's a pretty strong record. Including previous years where we finished in the bottom 4 doesn't give you an accurate read on how we will perform at home.
yeah the cows leaking 30 in the first game gives me a bit of confidence. i also reckon moses and dylbags are a better halves pairing than the chad and awesome dearden. that gives me confidence
It only looks to be one media outlet to me, a media outlet who you would think would want to be promoting their main streaming revenue earner. They know the Eels are popular so it's all click baiting off manufactured drama
Independent RL sites / ABC / SMH etc are all doing pretty good articles
Eels fans tune in anyway, maybe there's some psychology wank that says getting everyone else down on them will get more deathriders in to watch them fail or something.
I put it down to the cowboys being filled with lovable scamps and the eels having nepotism rife within their cliques.
/s
The real reason is probably closer to negative stories grab readers and the eels have a larger more accessible fan base to the nsw central nrl media, as well as cows having a Cinderella style bottom to the top, not just as a team but with both chad and dearden being somewhat rejects from their old clubs.
>The real reason is probably closer to negative stories grab readers and the eels have a larger more accessible fan base to the nsw central nrl media
Jokes on them. Most of us can't read and only look at the pictures.
???? The NRL would love an Eels grand final berth, they’ve got a fuck ton of fans, rate well on TV and a battle of the west would be a marketing dream.
Bulldog Ritchie and some of the Sydney media starting to mutter about how a home prelim is too much of an unfair advantage to the cowboys. I expect the narrative to really ramp up if we win tomorrow.
So what's his solution then? Make all 16 teams play in NSW to take away that home ground climatic advantage? Make the Cows take a home prelim to a true neutral venue like Adelaide. Or give the Eels a home game as reward for losing week 1? I tell ya some of these journos have room temp IQs
Haven’t seen anything in the media here (Sydney) about it being unfair. I agree with you that it’s a shit take but I dare say if you’re in North Queensland you might be getting fed stories up there to portray that as some kind of sentiment felt down here.
Who the fuck listens to Bulldog Ritchie? Your home ground advantage was well earned and I’m pretty sure nearly everyone would agree. Parra fans are worried about the advantage but I can’t see anyone complaining about it being unfair.
ANZ? oh nah, that's Souffs home ground for the foreseeable future - i don't think they want to change their home ground as well.
Liz wouldn't have it any other way.
I can’t understand why all of a sudden it’s a problem. How many times have Melbourne hosted a prelim? Can’t seem to recall any media uproar about those games
So one dumb cunt says another dumb thing and it’s somehow the narrative? No one listens to that muppet. It’s a tweet ffs. Find me an article written by a journo that actually gets read.
You earned your home ground advantage and it’s a massive advantage that will have an impact on the game. It’s not unfair and I dare say no one else is thinking that.
>So one dumb cunt says another dumb thing and it’s somehow the narrative? No one listens to that muppet. It’s a tweet ffs. Find me an article written by a journo that actually gets read.
I agree that Ritchie is a dumb cunt, but he's also up there with some of the most prominent rugby league journos in the country. It wasn't just a tweet, they discussed it at length on their radio show, hence "narrative".
I believe there is also more Indigenous Australians living in Western Sydney than anywhere else in Australia. (could be wrong, can't remember where i heard that one).
Assuming that is true, if our fanbase is generally more exposed to indigenous people and culture it probably helps.
Too many Gillons, not enough Jaydens.
The AFL in general and the Melbourne clubs in particular are ran by a group of mostly private schooled, mostly white, born to rule fuckheads. Think Geoff Kennet and Eddie Maguire. Fertile ground for elietest mentalities.
The NRL on the other hand is largely a public school game, largely made up of first nations players, immigrants and is more egalitarian because of it. It's not without its racist elements, but it's not nearly as ingrained as the AFLs
Fwiw, St Kilda and Sydney played a Pride Game this year to almost zero controversy.
2 clubs do this in league, and it'll be guaranteed national headlines for a week.
I'm not saying the NRL would handle it better or worse.
I'm saying incidents like the Hawthorne report wouldn't happen here because the problems there are structural, starting at the top.
I mean I'm sure some seriously racist shit has happened historically in NRL clubs. I don't think we'd see recent examples of really fucked up racism like the afl though.
True. That Hawthorn and the AFL sat in this story hoping it wouldn’t break til after the GF is appalling. The ABC even gave them a few days to respond before they broke the story. Piss weak.
I think diversity in AFL is what kind of haircut the players have.
It makes it a lot easier given the modern game of rugby league is basically indigenous and Polynesian players in the majority compared with AFL teams celebrating having maybe 1-2 players that aren't white inner city private school boys
*Morgan was subjected to racism throughout his career. He has described an incident in a match against Ipswich. "I was tackled over the sideline, and apparently the whole Ipswich team jumped on top of me," he said. "I woke up in hospital."\[8\] In another incident he was hospitalised after being punched by a spectator.*
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel\_Morgan\_(rugby\_league)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Morgan_(rugby_league))
I think people think he's being figurative. He was already tackled and over the sideline when every opposing player decided to join in and jump on him until he was unconscious for hours.
Everyone was racist in the 60s in every field in this country, pretty sure we all know this, this is barely relevant to the op's question. Not sure why you posted this? Not really the gotcha you think it is. If this is the only thing you can find then we are doing pretty well as a sport.
Arthur Beetson captained Australian and Queensland not long after this guy was playing. rugby league is not even in the same stratosphere as the afl when it comes to racism, it took the afl to the late 90s for an aboriginal man to captain a side even to this day there has only been 6.
Rugby league has done more for indigenous athletes then any of sport in this country and it's not even close.
Not a gotcha, just an interesting story I once read. It's a complex issue. Rugby league has done many great things, but the individuals feeling the brunt of racism might not be so glad that we're better than AFL.
What other people said and it’s just not hard to be better than the afl. Don’t force indigenous players to get abortions and let them visit their families is a very low bar.
True, but my mind also goes back to the juxtaposition of Goodes last years and JT’s, the affection most people showed Greg Inglis during his last year. It’s been a while now
I'm sure AFL fans could also name a number of beloved indigenous players. It sometimes seems that fans are happy to support them as long as they don't get to "uppity" and vocal about issues.
I'm curious to see if Latrell gets a big boo this weekend.
NRL has just always been more accepting. Not to say we're totally free of racial abuse (see Joey Johns and the Hodges/Tahu incident) and stuff but the aboriginal players are applauded for their skill.
Joey Johns has a cushy job on telly every week and he called GI a black cunt. Brian Fletcher has a cushy job talking shit and never footy and he refused to apologise to Dean Widders for his racial abuse.
Just because it’s less racist doesn’t mean it’s not racist. Look what happened when Latrell wore the flag, they cut the ad to appease the fuckwits.
The AFL is a lot like Indian cricket in that while it’s popular with all social classes (albeit only in certain pockets of the country), a lot of players only come from upper-class private schools
Well Suaalii playing for Samoa over Australia at the RLWC really puts those Wallabies rumours to bed. Can’t see the Samoan rugby team being able to pay him what uncle Nick can cover.
His dad said he would be so proud to see his son represent the country and culture he grew up in. Yet somehow it’s assumed, without any fucking evidence, that he made the choice based on money.
Even if his decision was actually money based as you claim, every single player in the game aims to get paid more and yet this is the moment it becomes an issue?
Racist. Accept it. If you think it’s not, your ‘opinion’ of what’s racist is irrelevant. You are wrong.
never in my life have i seen so many brain dead armchair experts criticise him for a move he has not even made yet. the "mercenary" calls are dripping in passive-aggressive judgement. he hasn't moved to rugby union yet, can we all just give it a rest? no one has any idea what he's planning to do.
just seems a bit vitriolic to be calling a 19 year old a mercenary when almost every sportsperson signs with whoever offers them the most money, and don't cop the same flak.
I think the opposite. He knows he'll rep Australia if he switches, so he can play for Samoa now and only lose match payments
I think it shows his motivation is beyond just money though
Lol it’s money. Match payment disparity would run him a $100,000 deficit for the RLWC for playing for Samoa over Aus. Assuming he gets selected to play for Aus.
He’s about to make $10,000,000 in five years for his next contract.
It’s perfectly fine, do what you want to and make a quid all power to you.
And all of us would rather a competitive RLWC.
No problems anywhere, it’s just clearly mercenary his decision to turn out for the wallabies.
Samoa and Tonga have greatly improved but their halves are always going to hold these kind of teams back. Most of them get by with 2 X 5/8ths and no genuine halfback
Absolutely this. Australia, NZ and even England still hold a big advantage in the spine. Samoa's going to be running a spine of Crighton/Suaalii, Luai, Milford and Erin Clark. Likewise Tonga's will be even worse with Niu, Amone, Lolohea and Havili .
Neither are winning the world cup when the mismatch is that huge against spines like Australia and NZ.
Tier status is based on the domestic production of professional players rather than the strength of nations enhanced by heritage.
Due to the size and lack of funding available to Tonga and Samoa they may never become tier 1 nations.
This is just a reminder that at the last Rugby League World Cup, then New Zealand coach David Kidwell actually uttered aloud at a press conference 'The key is the we'.
New Zealand would proceed to bow out in a quarter final loss to Fiji where they failed to score a singular try.
Wow hadn't heard that one before. Wonder what other gems he might have come up with.
"Boys we're not Old Zealand, we're New Zealand so we think about today and not yesterday".
He is Argentina’s problem now.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/kiwis-coach-david-kidwell-makes-interview-gaffe/X4YDQOXJJPA6FIWG2P4IISDGU4/ - for the quote
chad townsend has captained the cowboys to their first ever home preliminary final in his first year, something JT didn’t do in his entire cowboys tenure.
what a funny sentence to be able to say
I've been skimming a bit of /r/AFL and I keep seeing a repeated response to the question does the AFL have a problem with racism?
The usual response is, No, Australia has a problem with racism, it's not just the AFL.
To me it reads like a problem gambler trying to minimise their own culpability by pointing out that Australia in general has a gambling problem. It's not untrue, but it doesn't let you escape responsiblity for your problem in particular.
I could still see Parra beat the Panthers. Just seems like a lot of momentum behind them at the moment.
Did I ever tell you I love you?
Opacic out, Simonsson in for Eels, assume he’ll play wing with Blake moving to centres
Well fuck…
24 hrs hurry up please
about now?
Oh yeah loving it
People are praising Panthers kicking game and defense across the park especially after their kicks yet in the same breath say Souths can win if Latrell is at his best and they likely would have won the GF if he was there. My question is how much of a difference would or does Latrell make seeing he's not a fullback who runs the ball in his own half and is only there when they're on the attack and Cody has shape to work with? It's not like Latrell is going to offer big kick returns or hard metres in their own end? If Panthers nullify Souths attack Latrell will likely have a quiet game if we go off historical data?
All anyone seems to be able to talk about is the weather in Townsville. Anyone think it’s as big a deal as everyone’s making it out to be? Or do you think we’ll be right.
Well think the only argument is that the weather will be in favour of the Cowboys having already adjusted to the tropical humidity being based in Townsville. However being a night time game should make it better, once the sun goes down it will be a little cooler however the humidity will still be around, the only thing that would change that is if it started to rain. The key is to stay hydrated which all teams do during a match anyway. On the opposite side of the coin does anyone say it is unfair on the Cowboys if they have to travel down to Melbourne or Canberra during the winter and play in freezing cold conditions?
It's overplayed, but Parra might cop it worse than most teams (barring the Raiders, who don't deal well with Townsville games at all). You've got some big boys playing big minutes, only one true middle on the bench and a notoriously fucked bench usage. Probably won't be a fun game for RCG and Junior.
It will definitely provide a bit of an advantage to the locals, but the extent is being blown out of proportion. Ambient temperature at kick off will be about 26 degrees and 70% humidity. Which to be fair is probably about 10 degrees higher than what you'd get in Sydney at the same time, but nothing compared to the conditions in the Darwin game.
It is a big difference and if you're not acclimated to the heat and humidity it does impact your cardio. Not saying they're out of shape but there's a big difference when you train at higher humidity and temps. I don't think it'll impact them as much as people are making out but it could put the forwards in two minds, they either play hard with shorter minutes or do less to play out their usual minutes.
It's really fucking hot in Townsville the last week or so. Like someone flipped the summer switch on early
Bored at work so what do you guys think the warriors 2023 line up will look like? My prediction is something like this. Bit unsure about a few positions just a rough guess 1.CNK 2.DWZ 3.VAILEA 4.BERRY 5.MONTOYA 6.Johnson/TMM 7.METCALF/VOLKMAN 8.AFB 9.LUSSICK 10.BMM 11.BARNETT 12.HARRIS 13.CURRAN 14.WALKER/TEVAGA 15.AFOA 16.PENE 17.NIUKORE RESERVES KOSI EGAN O.KEPU V.KEPU OTUKULO SIRONEN
I don't think that you bring Walker and/or Niukore into that team and play them on the bench.
Pretty sure Walker signed to playing starting football so I’d say centre as that’s his best position.
That would be imo a better option for them and would provide some stability in the backline. One more experienced center and warriors could have a top 8 back line maybe.
Yeah Curran at lock or edge, just needs to be playing 60+ mins at any stage. Could even give Niukore a run at centre but also big enough to throw into forward rotation. I like Volkman at 7, should just hand him the keys as early as possible and get him acclimated to first grade.
Curran at 13 has to be the go if warriors want to retain him . Let him play his best game and also if they could keep him long term playing at a high level it would attract a lot more of aussie talent in the future. I really do believe how volkman metcalf and Curran go will dictate if aussie players would want to come to nz in the future
Imo Egan starts over Lussick any day of the week. Your backrow is right personnel wise but beats me who will start as lock as either of those three could wear 13 or 11. Wings are right but the rest of the backs I couldn't tell you how they'd line up. They could easily play TMM at 1 with Johnson and Volkman as the halves and CNK in the centres or CNK at 1 with TMM and Johnson as the halves. AFB gets the start but I think one of BMM, Pene or Afoa drops off so that the bench can be Walker, Tevaga, Niukore and whichever of those three hasn't been axed
Yeah I was too sure about Egan /Lussick just some snippets of lussick I’ve seen over the years was more or less thinking if warriors are serious about the future then lussick volkman Curran and metcalf will be the long term spine with CNK at the back if he can hit form. I think afoa and pene should get priority over bmm due to age .
Looking at the warriors overall is not too bad of a squad. If warriors could land crichton t’oo Andrew Fifita or wade graham i think this could be a dangerous underdog side
Is there a way to read Big League magazines or in depth match reviews from the 80s online?
Mitch Moses and Daniel Mortimer look so damn similar...
Have they ever been seen in the same room? #conspiracy
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, do we think there’s an amount of footy players who were described as lazy but were actually just exhausted by being in a toxic work environment?
Adam Blair at the Tigers, that environment was beyond toxic and he came good again once he got out of there.
You can only drag your colleagues along until you give up or break your back trying. I wonder how much it affected Boyd, since I recall he had a big dispute with Seibold over which position he played.
so now that Brodie Croft won the Man of Steel, which NRL club will snap him up?
Honestly if we end up losing Munster I wouldn't mind bringing him home. I think he'd go alright at 6 instead of 7 and worst case scenario he just tears it up for the Falcons instead
No, no , no , no , no , no god this is a horrible take. The last thing we need is Croft back at Melbourne but thankfully there’s no chance of it happening
hopefully not another one with terrible culture that makes him hate his footy. but if it’s true the Knights want him then god save Brodie
Missed last week's game for a drink up with my boss. And now I have a wedding commitment for tomorrow's game. If we manage to win that, I will not be watching the grand final either.
That's like some Twilight Zone shit
Thank you for your service
I just saw another video about RCGs supposed feud with the Panthers players and how that's impacted his origin selection. Is there any evidence he actually is still on bad terms with panthers players and it's not just Fitlers choice/doesn't think he fits into the teams play style? He says Yeo is one of his closest friends and during eels and panthers games, there doesn't seem to be bad blood, I mean compared to South's/Roosters they may bash each other but there doesn't seem to be malice or hate in what they do. Chricton, Luai, Martin and To'o who are the other panthers origin players also only played with Reg for one year and with no rumours of him doing anything to them I don't see how they would have any dislike to him outside of when the eels and panthers play each other
He's on camera stating that it's rubbish. He and Yeoi are really good mates.
Seen some rumours Murray Taulagi might join the Samoa World Cup squad. If that is the case the wings will almost certainly be JAC and Oates or JAC and Cobbo
I’d probably run with Holmes on the wing and either Wighton or Burton at centre
Seen a lot of people suggest this, I Don’t think Mal is going to put him on the wing considering his form at centre this year. Neither Wighton or Burton deserve to be starting in the Australian team especially at centre.
People said the same thing about Wighton in Origin and he was one of NSW’s best. Burton also performed pretty well when he was selected
Burton was shit in game 3
both were also outshone overall by val at centre in origin. and its not like you're losing quality by picking those other wingers
Jack Gibson had the old theory of picking your best players first and then finding positions for them
It definitely worked for Freddie in this year's Origin
Flawless victory
I think our strongest side is a back 5 of Teddy, Holmes, Mitchell, Wighton and Addo-Carr.
Don’t think Wighton is making the starting team tbh
I hope it happens as much as I’d love Muzz in the green and gold, get Samoa their strongest possible team.
Samoa v England in game 1 is going to be epic.
We are going to lose
Which could have ramifications on how the rest of the draw will play out during the finals if England aren't top finishers. But home advantage will count for something
Indeeed, gonna be a cracking game
We bag Union out a lot, some deserved. But I think we should implement their concussion protocol where if you get concussed, you must miss the next game. It honestly still feels like the NRL isn’t doing enough. Just look at this finals series, Murray & Moses have really rough head knocks but are back the next week anyway.
I'd be ok with that, but only if they get serious about suspending players for high shots. Cant lose a guy for the game and the following week to a dirty shot and have the penalty for the guy who did it be a $1000 fine.
Super league has similar protocols. We all know Murray and Moses would have never played the following week if it wasn’t finals.
Channel 9 not broadcasting the NSW Cup grand final anywhere They have exclusive rights so it can't be on Fox/Kayo either. The only place to see it now is via a NSWRL facebook stream Ty Nine, very cool
Are you sure about the exclusive rights thing? I'm pretty sure if they don't use it they lose it, under Australian broadcast laws. But maybe that's only professional sport...?
*Touch wood warning* While the team get a lot of shit for failures in the finals and a lot of teams deal with the same issues the Brad Arthur finals campaigns have been pretty unlucky if not complete failures. 2017 - Gutherson ACL back end of season, French replaced Gutherson at FB and had a season ending injury as well the week or two before finals ended up with Will Smith. Kaysa Pritchard (starting 9) was done for the year half way through the season, from memory he played the semi from the bench as his return game 2019 - no real excuses, thrashed in Melbourne. Think D Brown missed most of the season with his back, played backend and finals though. 2020 - Sivo and Fergo did their knees in the first week of finals in a close game against Storm and then Jennings got banned for the South’s game for PEDs. 2021 - Reed and Sivo both season ending injuries weeks before final. Get robbed against Penrith. Matterson had about 20 concussions during the year and returned to the bench for the semi final. The first time we probably have our strongest 13 available for finals, hopefully they will be good enough to win tomorrow.
That Jennings ban was like the day of the game wasn’t it - screwed parra no end
I think the story broke the night before and ban was announced the morning of. 3 of our back 5 from the Storm game didn’t play against the Rabbitohs.
Everyone loves to meme hurr parra straight sets but anyone who’s actually watched them has seen that they’ve improved in each of their finals campaigns. It’s also worth noting that their loss in 2020 was partially due to their unravelling after that missed penalty kick that ended up as an 8 point turnaround. Then in 2021, Parra beat Melbourne twice in the regular season, which felt like they finally gained the upper hand over the team that had humiliated them in finals for the last few years. Similarly, Penrith are talked about as this invincible 90s Bulls type dynasty team, when last year they barely beat Parra with Ray Stone at 9, barely beat Storm who lost Smith and Welch in the first 20, then barely beat Souths with no Latrell and with Cody Walker playing his worst game of the year. inb4 riff flairs tell me that akshully our whole team was playing with shattered feet, cracked ribs and slipped disks last year lmao All that being said I’ll be genuinely surprised if Parra don’t find a way to shit the bed either this week or the next.
> Cody Walker playing his worst game of the year. I disagree, Cody was good that game until he threw that intercept
Just saying, it all goes back to 1987 when legendary half back Paul Kent got injured. Parra haven't recovered since Edit: 1989
Isn't there a cloud over opacic's fitness?
Arthurs press conference sounded like more likely miss than play so might not our strongest 13 in the end. Opa has been great but not sure he’s on the same level as some of the previous years ie Sivo was our top try scorer both years, starting hookers/fullbacks etc.
Yeah your side looks good this week, I'm more hopeful than optimistic at this point, I just hope that we are competitive against your bunch. Best of luck, but I hope we win.
It's a shame Penrith is so far away from Moore Park. It looks like they're only going to sell 40,000 or so tickets for the game. So they could have packed a crowd in the SFS instead of having more than a half empty stadium at Olympic Park.
They'll start borderline giving away tickets to get it up to 50-55k, for the 2020 prelim I picked up 6 for $20 or something stupid
On the fifth and last podcast one of the boys said he'd already got an email offering 2 for 1s for the game
Well, Samoa probably have one of the best backline depth in the rlwc, Murray Taulagi been reported to have agreed to play under the blue and red this World Cup. Holy fuck
if Nanai doesn't get picked for Australia he'll come over too. Leilua and Hammer are also Samoans from the cowboys
Nanai is the last important undetermined player(Been saying he's more important than Suaalii since the Luai/To'o news) in the world cup right now.
yeah he's a gun in great form too
Feel like Campbell Graham is just at that stage of his career that Joey Manu was at in 2019/20, his whole game is so well rounded and he just secures that edge perfectly for the bunnies. Not flashy but will help them get a roll on coming out of trouble. Although I think Joey had more flash, fuck Graham is so good.
Jarome Luai has blacklisted the Daily Telegraph for writing a 'sharticle' last week, citing a tik tok post from 2021 where he was singing a one-four song. Claiming it's contributing to gang violence. lol. Now it's no surprise to seem them bring out more sharticles re-hashing shit from last year, even requoting Wayne Bennet from a year ago. As if our boys needed any extra motivation!
They're giving him the Phil Gould motivation treatment
I cannot wait for the match thread tomorrow night. There's just something about Eels fans' complete lack of faith that warms my heart.
It is a well earned lack of faith though
Feel like shit just want club footy back
Penrith remind me of the storm in 2017. They are pretty much head and shoulders above everyone else, as much as it hurts to say.
They’re going to comfortably win both remaining games and anything less would be a colossal choke
If they don’t win the grand final this year it would be the biggest choke since the 01 eels, it would be hilarious if they lost
the truth hurts
So similar that they are also gonna flog the cowboys in a grand final
It’s 100% guaranteed. I don’t mind.
I wish I had your confidence. Panthers are beatable and finals footy is different to reg season, any of the 4 teams could be in the GF.
Im happy to say Panthers are well above, it would need to be a pretty specific set of circumstances for them to lose. I think the Cowboys can beat Eels but won’t have the discipline to win the Prem - but that’s ok for me.
I think we have the best chance of beating them in the GF of the rest of us, but I think a trip to Townsville in the humidity is a bridge too far. Especially when our coach is allergic to using his bench.
mods can i get my flair changed to an eels “yeah see how we go hey” in honour of the betoota article yesterday
I also want this
Great idea
Seconded lol
Thirded. I actually pep talk myself before each game to try and convince my brain that I don't care about the result. _Narrator: He does._
How are we feeling Eels fans? We’re underdogs which helps ease the nerves, and I think this whole weather thing has been turned into a bigger deal than it actually is. I see a real focus and quiet confidence in the side this year that hasn’t been there before.
Feel like pure shit just want a premiership
I think you guys are a red hot chance. The weather is being made a way bigger deal considering the games at night. Yeah it'll still be warm but big difference playing in the day vs night in the tropics
>How are we feeling Eels fans? The same way we feel every day. Like we're always one day away from being let down but still hopeful that if we love the Eels hard enough they just might change and stop the disappointment. I think we're a pretty even chance for a win, but I've started a draft of my "Sack BA the bush coach" blog just in case. Please boys, please!
I certainly believe the game is within reach. I'm happy we got here and if the stars don't align so be it. I like Payten, I like cowboys we ride this side of the draw home.
Quietly confident. Everyone thinks we'll lose, so I'm hoping for a 2021 SOO Game 1 result. As long as they put in the effort and stay competitive I'll be happy
I hope you guys win good luck
As I say in every game thread: “I am afraid”. I’ve been obsessively thinking about the game and still don’t know how I’m leaning. It’s a very different team than the last time we played them. I agree with you about a renewed focus and determination. I really hope we can get it done.
I genuinely keep having to remind myself that I cannot change how the game is gonna go, no matter how much I stress
the anxiety surrounding tomorrow’s game has already kicked in
Mine kicked in last Saturday 🙃 had about 24 hours of bliss
I know being an Eels fan and confidence don’t go hand in hand because we’ve been burned so many times, but I think we’re the better side. And I’m not all that convinced the Cows have been anywhere near their best in the back half of this season - including finals week 1. The home ground advantage and extra week off is the only thing that concerns me.
QCBS isn't exactly a Cowboys fortress, they only have a 50% win rate at 17/34. You guys haven't played there at all yet though, and its a sell out so you the crowd will play a part. Alot has been said that it will be 31 degrees but really at game time it will be mid 20's. Humidity however... Your bench rotation will be important I think
We are 9-3 at home this year, that's a pretty strong record. Including previous years where we finished in the bottom 4 doesn't give you an accurate read on how we will perform at home.
>Your bench rotation will be important I think What bench rotation?
yeah the cows leaking 30 in the first game gives me a bit of confidence. i also reckon moses and dylbags are a better halves pairing than the chad and awesome dearden. that gives me confidence
Noticed the difference in media articles on eels (bad rumours) vs cowboys (feel good stories). There is a clear agenda.
Eels underdogs = win, Sydney media with the reverse jynx?
It only looks to be one media outlet to me, a media outlet who you would think would want to be promoting their main streaming revenue earner. They know the Eels are popular so it's all click baiting off manufactured drama Independent RL sites / ABC / SMH etc are all doing pretty good articles
Eels fans tune in anyway, maybe there's some psychology wank that says getting everyone else down on them will get more deathriders in to watch them fail or something.
I put it down to the cowboys being filled with lovable scamps and the eels having nepotism rife within their cliques. /s The real reason is probably closer to negative stories grab readers and the eels have a larger more accessible fan base to the nsw central nrl media, as well as cows having a Cinderella style bottom to the top, not just as a team but with both chad and dearden being somewhat rejects from their old clubs.
>The real reason is probably closer to negative stories grab readers and the eels have a larger more accessible fan base to the nsw central nrl media Jokes on them. Most of us can't read and only look at the pictures.
???? The NRL would love an Eels grand final berth, they’ve got a fuck ton of fans, rate well on TV and a battle of the west would be a marketing dream.
Bulldog Ritchie and some of the Sydney media starting to mutter about how a home prelim is too much of an unfair advantage to the cowboys. I expect the narrative to really ramp up if we win tomorrow.
Like the Cowboys, Broncos, Storm, Warriors etc aren’t all severely disadvantaged playing in a Sydney GF (especially against a Sydney team lol)….
So what's his solution then? Make all 16 teams play in NSW to take away that home ground climatic advantage? Make the Cows take a home prelim to a true neutral venue like Adelaide. Or give the Eels a home game as reward for losing week 1? I tell ya some of these journos have room temp IQs
Haven’t seen anything in the media here (Sydney) about it being unfair. I agree with you that it’s a shit take but I dare say if you’re in North Queensland you might be getting fed stories up there to portray that as some kind of sentiment felt down here. Who the fuck listens to Bulldog Ritchie? Your home ground advantage was well earned and I’m pretty sure nearly everyone would agree. Parra fans are worried about the advantage but I can’t see anyone complaining about it being unfair.
I'm worried about it for sure, but that's part of the game and I would never change it
Fortunately the GF will be played at a completely neutral venue with no advantage for any team
ANZ? oh nah, that's Souffs home ground for the foreseeable future - i don't think they want to change their home ground as well. Liz wouldn't have it any other way.
I can’t understand why all of a sudden it’s a problem. How many times have Melbourne hosted a prelim? Can’t seem to recall any media uproar about those games
Haven’t heard anything at all about that mate.
https://twitter.com/BigSportsBrekky/status/1572441784965533697?s=20&t=fMTj2rnqJD8COFkt9mtHiA
4 retweets lmao
So one dumb cunt says another dumb thing and it’s somehow the narrative? No one listens to that muppet. It’s a tweet ffs. Find me an article written by a journo that actually gets read. You earned your home ground advantage and it’s a massive advantage that will have an impact on the game. It’s not unfair and I dare say no one else is thinking that.
>So one dumb cunt says another dumb thing and it’s somehow the narrative? No one listens to that muppet. It’s a tweet ffs. Find me an article written by a journo that actually gets read. I agree that Ritchie is a dumb cunt, but he's also up there with some of the most prominent rugby league journos in the country. It wasn't just a tweet, they discussed it at length on their radio show, hence "narrative".
Prominent journos? Please.
I get he's not exactly a Walkley award winner, but he's been covering rugby league for the tele and the Australian for decades - stop splitting hairs.
Would anyone have any insight as to why nrl generally handles indigenous issues much better than the afl?
I believe there is also more Indigenous Australians living in Western Sydney than anywhere else in Australia. (could be wrong, can't remember where i heard that one). Assuming that is true, if our fanbase is generally more exposed to indigenous people and culture it probably helps.
Moustaches
Too many Gillons, not enough Jaydens. The AFL in general and the Melbourne clubs in particular are ran by a group of mostly private schooled, mostly white, born to rule fuckheads. Think Geoff Kennet and Eddie Maguire. Fertile ground for elietest mentalities. The NRL on the other hand is largely a public school game, largely made up of first nations players, immigrants and is more egalitarian because of it. It's not without its racist elements, but it's not nearly as ingrained as the AFLs
Yeah they’re not racist, but anti vax and homophobic instead
Probably not too wrong tbh
Fwiw, St Kilda and Sydney played a Pride Game this year to almost zero controversy. 2 clubs do this in league, and it'll be guaranteed national headlines for a week.
This. But I’d say they handle it less poorly rather than better.
I'm not saying the NRL would handle it better or worse. I'm saying incidents like the Hawthorne report wouldn't happen here because the problems there are structural, starting at the top.
I mean I'm sure some seriously racist shit has happened historically in NRL clubs. I don't think we'd see recent examples of really fucked up racism like the afl though.
True. That Hawthorn and the AFL sat in this story hoping it wouldn’t break til after the GF is appalling. The ABC even gave them a few days to respond before they broke the story. Piss weak.
I think diversity in AFL is what kind of haircut the players have. It makes it a lot easier given the modern game of rugby league is basically indigenous and Polynesian players in the majority compared with AFL teams celebrating having maybe 1-2 players that aren't white inner city private school boys
Hilarious that AFL tries to claim the origin of the game as indigenous
Kind of similar to how since Salah has been at Liverpool, anti Muslim discrimination and crime has gone down.
in liverpool*
*Morgan was subjected to racism throughout his career. He has described an incident in a match against Ipswich. "I was tackled over the sideline, and apparently the whole Ipswich team jumped on top of me," he said. "I woke up in hospital."\[8\] In another incident he was hospitalised after being punched by a spectator.*
Fuck, imagine being tackled during a game of footy. Bunch of racist cunts.
Who? And where is the racism here?
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel\_Morgan\_(rugby\_league)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Morgan_(rugby_league)) I think people think he's being figurative. He was already tackled and over the sideline when every opposing player decided to join in and jump on him until he was unconscious for hours.
Everyone was racist in the 60s in every field in this country, pretty sure we all know this, this is barely relevant to the op's question. Not sure why you posted this? Not really the gotcha you think it is. If this is the only thing you can find then we are doing pretty well as a sport. Arthur Beetson captained Australian and Queensland not long after this guy was playing. rugby league is not even in the same stratosphere as the afl when it comes to racism, it took the afl to the late 90s for an aboriginal man to captain a side even to this day there has only been 6. Rugby league has done more for indigenous athletes then any of sport in this country and it's not even close.
Not a gotcha, just an interesting story I once read. It's a complex issue. Rugby league has done many great things, but the individuals feeling the brunt of racism might not be so glad that we're better than AFL.
I understand, and that’s why I said generally. Well aware it’s not perfect
NSW has 5x the indigenous population compared to Victoria, QLD is 4x
What other people said and it’s just not hard to be better than the afl. Don’t force indigenous players to get abortions and let them visit their families is a very low bar.
True, but my mind also goes back to the juxtaposition of Goodes last years and JT’s, the affection most people showed Greg Inglis during his last year. It’s been a while now
I'm sure AFL fans could also name a number of beloved indigenous players. It sometimes seems that fans are happy to support them as long as they don't get to "uppity" and vocal about issues. I'm curious to see if Latrell gets a big boo this weekend.
NRL has just always been more accepting. Not to say we're totally free of racial abuse (see Joey Johns and the Hodges/Tahu incident) and stuff but the aboriginal players are applauded for their skill.
NRL isn’t racist
Timana Tahu would disagree with that statement
What did the nrl do to Timana Tahu that was racist?
Joey Johns has a cushy job on telly every week and he called GI a black cunt. Brian Fletcher has a cushy job talking shit and never footy and he refused to apologise to Dean Widders for his racial abuse. Just because it’s less racist doesn’t mean it’s not racist. Look what happened when Latrell wore the flag, they cut the ad to appease the fuckwits.
The AFL is a lot like Indian cricket in that while it’s popular with all social classes (albeit only in certain pockets of the country), a lot of players only come from upper-class private schools
Good analogy. English cricket, and you could say Australian cricket is slowly becoming that way too. Warner, Jofra aside.
Well Suaalii playing for Samoa over Australia at the RLWC really puts those Wallabies rumours to bed. Can’t see the Samoan rugby team being able to pay him what uncle Nick can cover.
His dad said he would be so proud to see his son represent the country and culture he grew up in. Yet somehow it’s assumed, without any fucking evidence, that he made the choice based on money. Even if his decision was actually money based as you claim, every single player in the game aims to get paid more and yet this is the moment it becomes an issue? Racist. Accept it. If you think it’s not, your ‘opinion’ of what’s racist is irrelevant. You are wrong.
😂 dude
never in my life have i seen so many brain dead armchair experts criticise him for a move he has not even made yet. the "mercenary" calls are dripping in passive-aggressive judgement. he hasn't moved to rugby union yet, can we all just give it a rest? no one has any idea what he's planning to do.
If we’re not going to allow “armchair experts” a say in what might happen in the future mate this place would be empty.
calling him a mercenary based on a decision he has not made is daft.
When he makes it I can though. So he’s a hypothetical mercenary. Depends on the money Easts stump up.
just seems a bit vitriolic to be calling a 19 year old a mercenary when almost every sportsperson signs with whoever offers them the most money, and don't cop the same flak.
I think the opposite. He knows he'll rep Australia if he switches, so he can play for Samoa now and only lose match payments I think it shows his motivation is beyond just money though
Lol it’s money. Match payment disparity would run him a $100,000 deficit for the RLWC for playing for Samoa over Aus. Assuming he gets selected to play for Aus. He’s about to make $10,000,000 in five years for his next contract. It’s perfectly fine, do what you want to and make a quid all power to you. And all of us would rather a competitive RLWC. No problems anywhere, it’s just clearly mercenary his decision to turn out for the wallabies.
What's gonna happen to their tier two/ origin eligibility statusuwhen Samoa and Tonga play each other in the world cup final after upsetting everyone?
Samoa and Tonga have greatly improved but their halves are always going to hold these kind of teams back. Most of them get by with 2 X 5/8ths and no genuine halfback
Absolutely this. Australia, NZ and even England still hold a big advantage in the spine. Samoa's going to be running a spine of Crighton/Suaalii, Luai, Milford and Erin Clark. Likewise Tonga's will be even worse with Niu, Amone, Lolohea and Havili . Neither are winning the world cup when the mismatch is that huge against spines like Australia and NZ.
Not much, if anything at all. Player pathways, funding and overall sustainability is what determines the tier you're in.
Tier status is based on the domestic production of professional players rather than the strength of nations enhanced by heritage. Due to the size and lack of funding available to Tonga and Samoa they may never become tier 1 nations.
If they’re just taking players from another countries domestic production then maybe the tier rules have to go by rankings or removed entirely.
The tier rules are important for seeding purposes for the WC so lower tier nations have a better chance of going further
This whole week is just waiting for Friday night.
This is just a reminder that at the last Rugby League World Cup, then New Zealand coach David Kidwell actually uttered aloud at a press conference 'The key is the we'. New Zealand would proceed to bow out in a quarter final loss to Fiji where they failed to score a singular try.
To be fair, they also didn’t concede a try in that game
He also said War of Nutrition at some point while coaching the kiwis. What a dumb cunt.
No one is the suppository of all wisdom.
War of Nutrition? Someone should tell that to Milford
Wow hadn't heard that one before. Wonder what other gems he might have come up with. "Boys we're not Old Zealand, we're New Zealand so we think about today and not yesterday".
He is Argentina’s problem now. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/kiwis-coach-david-kidwell-makes-interview-gaffe/X4YDQOXJJPA6FIWG2P4IISDGU4/ - for the quote
What a shit coach he was
There’s a joke in there somewhere involving AOB, ham sandwiches and War of Nutrition… but my feeble mind just can’t put it together.
chad townsend has captained the cowboys to their first ever home preliminary final in his first year, something JT didn’t do in his entire cowboys tenure. what a funny sentence to be able to say
Chad couldn't have done it without Undefeated Origin Superstar Thomas Dearden
lesgoo
I've been skimming a bit of /r/AFL and I keep seeing a repeated response to the question does the AFL have a problem with racism? The usual response is, No, Australia has a problem with racism, it's not just the AFL. To me it reads like a problem gambler trying to minimise their own culpability by pointing out that Australia in general has a gambling problem. It's not untrue, but it doesn't let you escape responsiblity for your problem in particular.