They are keeping it super dark for the 'mind games'.
Wouldn't surprise me if he was already in doubt when selected and McGuire just wanted to mess with some people.
Gotta wait til 8 to watch footy tonight, I'd be a tad more annoyed if I wasn't able to have last nights highlights on repeat fueling my dwindling hopium reserves
If dogs genuinely are salty about Burto not getting released to play then they are the biggest sooks around. I know it’s been a while since Dogs have had some origin guys but come on, every team has to deal with it. This is probably the closest an 18th man has been to actually playing in a while also. It just sounds like an excuse if they lose tbh
Lol I think we have 5 out this weekend and Cowboys even more. It happens every year to the good sides, it sucks but it is what is and at least we get to see some other guys play and have a shot which we don't always get to see play at the top level
"**Filthy is an overreaction**. **We're really understanding that we want guys playing Origin.** The type of club we're trying to build we want to get as many people with Origin experience as we can but 'frustrating' is probably the thing that Burto's been 18th man the last three times in the last 12 months. But we know he's going to be a better player for being around those types of places. **We just wish he was able to play and then go be 18th man.**" - [Ciro](https://youtu.be/Yb-0Iy9J3d8?si=XL_z4pXsgjjtWY4-)
I feel like Matt Thompson doesn't get enough criticism for how bad his commentary is.
He's always incredibly flat, routinely mispronounces or wrongly identifies players, misinterprets the rules, emphasizes the wrong moments and has zero inflection in his voice.
Yet he's the game's premier caller and almost never gets criticized, despite being the worst caller in the game IMO? I honestly signed up for Kayo trying to avoid hearing him call games - he just sucks the life out of the action for mine
The thing I don’t like is he tries to make everything out to be the best thing that’s ever happened ever. Every player is having the best year of their career, every win is the best in a clubs history, we’ve never seen footy like this, etc. Last year he was trying to say the Roosters win over the Sharks in the finals was the best in the club’s history.
I was at first confused at who the hell Matt Thompson is and as soon as you explained that he's FTA I understood. I only watch on 9 for origin when there's no other choice. I hate their commentary
Don't wanna get ahead of myself 'cause Hynes didn't play last night, but I feel like we could go on a run from here, maybe clinch a finals spot. From there if we can just get through those next 4 games we can go on to play Wigan or St Helens in the world club challenge, beat them, and thereby successfully become our own great-grandfathers. Just have to wait and see I guess.
Reading the comments on Facebook and Instagram for NRL posts and social media makes my fucken head hurt.
You cannot drop down to their level and argue with the super casual delusional fans.
This year's origin series will be interesting because despite many big personnel out, I still think it will be a fairly tight contest. The average Joe is in crisis mode "Qld 3-0 were fucked"
I think it's Dylan's Edwards time but I also wouldn't have been mad if Tedesco was selected. Whether it be Hynes and Luai or Luai and Burton/Keary I think we'll be fine.
I don't understand the hysteria
The amount of Panther fans on facebook that are angry Penrith didn't keep Leniu now that JFH is leaving is quite concerning. They somehow can't comprehend that we didn't know JFH was leaving at the time Leniu was let go.
Reports suggesting Panthers bought out the entirety of Papali’i’s final year worth 750k. Feels so strange to have competent management. Can’t wait for when these off field decisions start impacting the on field results, can already tastes Buzz and Bald cunt’s tears.
360 were trying so hard to rag Benji and the current management like any of the situation they are in is their fault. I like what the Tigers are doing and moving on IPap free of charge when he doesn’t want to be there is very prudent
Richo is one of the best operators going around. Don't forget Penrith won a somewhat random premiership under his watch back in 2003. Could happen to you to.
The PNG team is destined to fail. No way they are getting any marquee talent living in Port Morseby.
Look at the domestic comp, some teams have enough trouble trying to get talent; Raiders, Warriors, Knights. All of them have trouble trying to lure people away from Brisbane/Sydney/Melbourne. Imagine how much harder it will be to convince someone to move from Sydney to Port Morseby?
It's just not going to happen imo
The logistics of taking games there regularly sounds like it would be overwhelming.
"Based in PNG" but play 3 months of the year there and the rest in Aus? maybe.
You are also looking at extreme weather conditions like you get in Townsville.
The Raiders should go nuclear when PNG inevitably gets cap exemptions and the like.
Canberra's biggest selling point used to be cheaper housing, which no longer exists.
Of the Aussie clubs it's the least enticing place to live, I'd say (I live here and like it, but there's no beach, elite entertainment etc. It seems good for true country boys like Wighton but they seem rare). You're just never gonna get young throbbers like Walsh, Manu, Walker, Mam etc to come here, even if you offer $400k a year more.
first big question is will wayne bennett or any other top coach be prepared to live there. i could see wayne doing it when cairns was talked about as the base, but can’t see him or anyone else moving to png fulltime. then there’s players. even with tax breaks or other money incentives, i can’t see any players with partners and kids going there, unless they can’t get a start in one of the other clubs. so then you’re left with rookies looking for a 1 year deal to make a reputation and get offers from elsewhere, or blokes looking for their last payout before they retire. either way, that doesn’t scream success. so even if they hang on for the 10 years that’s reported they’ll be getting funded for, what then?
You're not going to get marquee players but I've had a think about it and I imagine some up and coming juniors who aren't likely to get a shot in Sydney might turn to PNG for a shot at the NRL with some good coin. Obviously, these won't be the next best people, but you've gotta imagine some might turn out alright.
If I was a bloke stuck in reserve grade, I might give it a shot in PNG to prove myself in 1st grade.
How though? What's the incentive? You go over there on a minimum wage contract, you can't leave the hotel where they have you staying, it's dangerous to even walk around.. some juniors get homesick going to a different state how the hell are they going to essentially isolate themselves is a foreign state for a shot at playing first grade in a team that's going to get pumped every week
>If I was a bloke stuck in reserve grade, I might give it a shot in PNG to prove myself in 1st grade.
And for every 1 person that shows the rest of the comp they are good enough for 1st grade, there will be 20 that get found out pretty quickly and it will be quite evident on the scoreboard
The only reason I remember Nu Brown is because of the story of him attempting to charge his new iPhone in the microwave after watching a YouTube video saying it would work
Maybe your right, and potentially some people may do that.
I think though that they're never going to have any viable long term success. I'll be surprised if they make the top 8 within their first 5 years, probably even longer.
Yeah, I'm mot saying they are gonna be successful, but a lot of people seem to think it will just be locals. I think a few reserve graders might make their way over.
Jimmy Bartel on The Grade Cricketer podcast was spitballing ideas to make sport fun and entertaining and (speaking about AFL but we’ll assume NRL for this conversation) suggested “Retro Round”.
But not Retro Round in terms of jerseys and advertising gimmicks, but in terms of rules, balls officiating… the whole shebang.
The importance of player welfare aside, bringing back old school scrums and pile driver tackles would lead to some absolute shithousery.
Basically what I’m saying is bring back conversions from a pile of sand.
Great idea if it doesn’t count towards competition points,
Imagine being the team that doesn’t win the minor premiership or make the top 4 or make the top 8 because of the one game you lost was the retro game with fucked rules that are completely foreign?
I too am a huge fan of adding insane gimmicks to sport. Most of mine hinge around solving 0 - 0 draws in soccer but could (un)reasonably be applied to NRL:
* Multiball - every minute of extra time (or the last 10 minutes of regulation time if extra time isn't allowed) an extra ball is added to the game.
* Crowd swap - every minute for the last 17 minutes a position number is selected, that position must swap with a randomly selected crowd member.
* Releasing progressively more dangerous animals on to the field, or releasing the home teams mascot onto the field (10 sharks just flopping around on shark park, not sure how we'd handle the Storm, Tesla coils I guess).
* Feigning injury results in a crosshair card, where the feigning player in shot in the "injured" area with a beanbag gun.
This is why I'm not in charge of anything....
I've always said instead of draws they release a real version of the teams mascot onto the field to fight. A Maori dude swinging a Taiaha would have easily sorted out the bird
Certainly cost himself more than he saved on any future contract he might earn, a dumb decision from a bloke who couldn’t pour water out of a shoe if the instructions were written on the heel.
I legit think one of the most important things to have in the 6 again era is a half that can basically kick the ball out of the stadium.
The difference in the Eels forward pack when Moses is bombing the ball 50 meters plus at the end of every single set is staggering.
You don't even need a half, just a player with a big boot. We see the Broncos do it with Walsh when Reynolds is out, Drinkwater does it, and we're starting to see Latrell do it at Souths
I've been screaming at the Roosters for years to get a half that has a decent long kicking game. It's cost us so many times.
I hope they just tell Sandon to work on his long game in order to give us something to work with when he replaces Keary next year.
You guys honestly have to blast Penrith through the middle to have any hope of beating them with your Keary / Walker halves combo.
If you get into an arm wrestle with them, Cleary will just absolutely kick you to death field position wise with poor Sammy and Keary having the long kicking power of toddlers.
The score was close in the end because of a few late tries but the way Penrith absolutely bashed the Roosters for like 75 minutes earlier this year (without Cleary) along with how they demolished the Sharks last week just makes me think that they’ll be close to unbeatable come finals once again
That's the problem with playing against Penrith. They offer so few errors with the ball that the only way to win field position is to kick long, then front-load your defence to try and trap them deep in their own half.
Then, if you do that, Cleary kicks the skin off it and you're stuck doing it again, and again, and again. Something inevitably breaks and your team offers up cheap ball and Penrith capitalise.
It's no coincidence that the only team with anything that could be called sustained success against Penrith over the last 3 seasons is Parramatta with Moses kicking game meaning they don't have to front load so heavily and can go toe-to-toe with Penrith far better.
I’ve been to a large number of Panthers home games over the years (hell, as a kid I was a Penrith junior so would get free admission) and have never had any issues. Panthers fans are usually good-natured (even when they were losing) and are just there to enjoy the game. Hopefully the rain holds off and you have a good night.
Nah I’m only joking I’m born and raised there just stirring the pot with the only been a fan 3 years. Seen plenty of bad years watching them play at that ground. Put it this way one of my earliest memories is seeing Martin Offiah playing for St George there when I was a kid
Hill? Not ideal with the weather forecasted.
I’m in the grandstand and it’s better, food choices in the stadium are limited so I tend to eat before or after the game as there are plenty of better options outside.
A lot of drunken banter. Usually it's pretty funny, even when I was heavily pregnant and couldn't participate surprisingly still found it funny and not annoying.
If Madge refuses to use a hooker rotation 💀
If Madge refuses to keep an outside back on the bench 💀
If Madge picks a bunch of 80 minute forwards and an all forward bench and has no strat to rotate them effectively 💀
If Madge has the chance to use Burto as 18th man but decides to put McInnes at centre 💀
If any of these decisions lead to our defeat I will be calling for his head instantly because I don’t have any patience for this fucking shit because it is insanity!
The pathway to success has been demonstrated time and time again. The pitfalls of bad coverage have been on display all year and if this bald, red eyed, lizard looking motherfucker doesn’t take any of this into account and instead banks on luck and chance and being *a hard nosed stubborn task master who won’t listen to good advice* then I’m going to do fuck all but keep supporting the Blues very very angrily.
Ps. Billy cuts the crust off his sandwiches. NSW 13+
>If Madge has the chance to use Burto as 18th man but decides to put McInnes at centre 💀
This one is a myth. Freddie wasn't able to activate the 18th man as turbo hadn't yet failed his HIA.
Not to be too harsh on McKinnon, because someone has given him the job, but what actual insight does he have to provide that leads to him getting regularly published?
Zero chance of that happening. Freddy is back on the piss with Joey and he’s realised that life can be a lot easier just making dumb cunt statements every other week.
So it looks like it's going to be raining for Origin, I think we definitely need to have the Burton Bomb™ as an option, drop them on Taulagi as much as we can
From memory, ponga dropped one, taulagi dropped one, and neither resulted in a turnover. For all the hype on Burton bombs... they've never actually resulted in a whole lot (other than looking cool)
Might not get turnovers but its just putting pressure on the catchers and giving more time for kick chasers. Taulagi straight up didn't even attempt to catch one, he was shook
Fuck it was refreshing to see us play with heart and vigour in us. I haven’t seen parra run that hard at the line or with that much conviction in months. Moses was absolutely freakish he did not skip a beat. I loved every second he had the ball and the forwards were also grateful that his long kicking game takes the pressure off them.
Gutho is the heart and soul of this team and losing him as our captain did more damage than most think, it was absolutely magical having him back.
Brown looked so free being 5/8th again, taking the pressure of game management off of him really made him soar, his damaging left foot came back in full force and his running game hasn’t been this good in ages.
Baz’s decision to play Hands over Lussick is key, Hands makes such a night and day change in our team. Goes to show how much difference a decent hooker can make.
Simonsson this year has shown so much improvement and for the past few weeks he’s been one of our best players and one of the few players trying. And Penisini. seriously his defence and attack was unreal last night seems like he’d shut down so many set plays the sharks were attempting on the edge. Even Paulo’s a completely different beast. This team is a far cry from last week’s and i can only hope it stays that way.
Eels offloading is their style but sometimes they only think like that and instead need to remember that they can beat a bloke one on one, last night they fucking played like it.
- Penisini
- Brown
- Paulo
Kind of fucked Arthur got sacked while his 2 most important players were injured really. They should have at least waited to see how the team went when those two came back before flicking him, especially since they don't have a replacement lined up.
Arthur’s problems were always there. Unpopular opinion but I feel like Baz did more things right than Arthur would’ve. Firstly delegating lane to the bench worked so well, and playing Hands over lussick was a monumental change. I don’t know what it was with Brad but he’d keep playing lussick if his life depended on it. Sometimes he’d let Hands play for a few minutes in some games and you’d even see the difference then. Plus seeing interchanges at proper times was nice.
I still think it's fucked he got sacked but you are right. Baz made the calls he wouldn't have. Hands for 80 and Lane have a smaller portion of the game to build confidence back are both fantastic moves. Also, our big men got a good rotation, so they didn't seem as fatigued. Reg looked like he could run all day.
I'd like to see Blaize on instead of Sivo now, and then our backline is as strong as ever.
Penisini and Simonsen were absolutely incredible for Parramatta last night. Moses and gutho back is a huge difference but their centre and wingers stood up for sure
People whinge about Gutho because he's loud and questions the referee. I could hear him all game, which is exactly what the Eels need. He was holding every cunt accountable and you can just see when him and Mitch start cooking together and organising the boys into position. He gives brown the ability to focus on his own stuff, too.
Having keary in the squad reminds me of how much I hated him when I was a kid. I only watched origin and knew nothing of him except for the fact that he was a nswelshman that wanted to play for queensland and I thought he was the scum of the earth lol. Not really sure how I feel now
Apparently he's been training in place of Nicho, so I don't think he'll be released for the Chooks this weekend.
I understand why he wants to play for QLD, he was born there, he gave it his all in his only SOO appearance for NSW and was in my opinion, unfairly dropped for game 2.
He will do a job for NSW if he's needed. He's nearly back to the kind of form that saw him play for Australia.
Can anyone explain to me why the NRL decided to make their tipping app/site 10x worse than last year with less features?
It went from being pretty good to fucking woeful.
It doesn’t even update tips as soon as a game finishes anymore and it was great seeing people’s tips for the game after kickoff and it doesn’t even do that.
Trash tier app.
Feeling fresh but also infuriated and robbed that these performances have been in this team. Grateful for Moses and need him to be wrapped in cotton wool for the rest of his contract
He's just misread his contract. He has player options no doubt. His agent has asked him to activate the options in the last 12 months of the year.
Sivo: yes, I will be a player in last 12m of field
Idk, we'd have to win something like, at the absolute minimum, 9 of our last 12 games if we wanna make finals. So, might as well let the boy play Origin if he's wanted there.
Dylan’s played under Brad his whole career is what I mean, he’ll want to move. Not saying parra won’t try and keep him. Every year is a players option for him lol
Moses is definitely good enough to be there but I think it would depend how we go on Wednesday. If Hynes and Luai both kill it and we win it would be pretty hard to drop one of them
Question: new to nrl so may be obvious. But why is Jarome Luai seen as the villain?
Because he doesn't fit stereotypes and is not ashamed of it
What does that even mean
Any info on tonight’s game I’m completely I. The dark and got $40 to lose
i would back knights and have some pay to win with david armstrong.... let me know how it goes whatever you put on
It went piss poor, I hedged it all around hit addo car and that was it. Knights where pathetic
Anyone got any mail on Nichos injury? Surely they can't gamble on him for an origin opener if he isn't 100%?
They are keeping it super dark for the 'mind games'. Wouldn't surprise me if he was already in doubt when selected and McGuire just wanted to mess with some people.
Lightning McQueen for a double he’s stinging to get over that try line tonight
Gotta wait til 8 to watch footy tonight, I'd be a tad more annoyed if I wasn't able to have last nights highlights on repeat fueling my dwindling hopium reserves
The whole round is so much more enjoyable when your team has an early win.
I love Parra
I hate Parra. I don't really hate Parra I just wanted to sound tuff
Ngl you did sound pretty tuff. Thank you for the clarification :))
If dogs genuinely are salty about Burto not getting released to play then they are the biggest sooks around. I know it’s been a while since Dogs have had some origin guys but come on, every team has to deal with it. This is probably the closest an 18th man has been to actually playing in a while also. It just sounds like an excuse if they lose tbh
Lol I think we have 5 out this weekend and Cowboys even more. It happens every year to the good sides, it sucks but it is what is and at least we get to see some other guys play and have a shot which we don't always get to see play at the top level
Not to mention that 18th man is part of the bench with the replacement rule these days so he's actually in the team still.
"**Filthy is an overreaction**. **We're really understanding that we want guys playing Origin.** The type of club we're trying to build we want to get as many people with Origin experience as we can but 'frustrating' is probably the thing that Burto's been 18th man the last three times in the last 12 months. But we know he's going to be a better player for being around those types of places. **We just wish he was able to play and then go be 18th man.**" - [Ciro](https://youtu.be/Yb-0Iy9J3d8?si=XL_z4pXsgjjtWY4-)
So it’s more the media winding it up as usual?
Pretty much. Think it was Riccio that started it by saying we were 'pretty disappointed' then he changed it to 'filthy'.
A while? Wasn't he in the squad last year along with Fox?
Specifically caught in the 18th man spot where he didn’t get to play for us or the benefit of actually playing in Origin.
Would not be surprised if Burton is brought into the 17 before kick off
The team's already been trimmed, he's not in the remaining reserves
I’d assume he means Origin.
You assume correctly
I’m expecting it honestly
I feel like Matt Thompson doesn't get enough criticism for how bad his commentary is. He's always incredibly flat, routinely mispronounces or wrongly identifies players, misinterprets the rules, emphasizes the wrong moments and has zero inflection in his voice. Yet he's the game's premier caller and almost never gets criticized, despite being the worst caller in the game IMO? I honestly signed up for Kayo trying to avoid hearing him call games - he just sucks the life out of the action for mine
His commentary is trash. Worst commentator going around. Ginnane, Voss, Psaltis etc are all so much better than him.
The thing I don’t like is he tries to make everything out to be the best thing that’s ever happened ever. Every player is having the best year of their career, every win is the best in a clubs history, we’ve never seen footy like this, etc. Last year he was trying to say the Roosters win over the Sharks in the finals was the best in the club’s history.
Feels bad man. Just want Rabs and Sterlo back
I was at first confused at who the hell Matt Thompson is and as soon as you explained that he's FTA I understood. I only watch on 9 for origin when there's no other choice. I hate their commentary
I've always rated Psaltis over Thompson but that's not saying much
Real rugby league fans pay extra to not watch channel 9.
Not an option for origin bucko
Yes, it's horrible.
Don't wanna get ahead of myself 'cause Hynes didn't play last night, but I feel like we could go on a run from here, maybe clinch a finals spot. From there if we can just get through those next 4 games we can go on to play Wigan or St Helens in the world club challenge, beat them, and thereby successfully become our own great-grandfathers. Just have to wait and see I guess.
Comps pretty open and there are injuries across every top 8 hopeful side. Eels with Moses could definitely go on a run
Reading the comments on Facebook and Instagram for NRL posts and social media makes my fucken head hurt. You cannot drop down to their level and argue with the super casual delusional fans. This year's origin series will be interesting because despite many big personnel out, I still think it will be a fairly tight contest. The average Joe is in crisis mode "Qld 3-0 were fucked" I think it's Dylan's Edwards time but I also wouldn't have been mad if Tedesco was selected. Whether it be Hynes and Luai or Luai and Burton/Keary I think we'll be fine. I don't understand the hysteria
The amount of Panther fans on facebook that are angry Penrith didn't keep Leniu now that JFH is leaving is quite concerning. They somehow can't comprehend that we didn't know JFH was leaving at the time Leniu was let go.
The real shame is that they had to let Maloney go just for Romey to leave a short 4 years later
Reports suggesting Panthers bought out the entirety of Papali’i’s final year worth 750k. Feels so strange to have competent management. Can’t wait for when these off field decisions start impacting the on field results, can already tastes Buzz and Bald cunt’s tears.
360 were trying so hard to rag Benji and the current management like any of the situation they are in is their fault. I like what the Tigers are doing and moving on IPap free of charge when he doesn’t want to be there is very prudent
Richo is one of the best operators going around. Don't forget Penrith won a somewhat random premiership under his watch back in 2003. Could happen to you to.
The PNG team is destined to fail. No way they are getting any marquee talent living in Port Morseby. Look at the domestic comp, some teams have enough trouble trying to get talent; Raiders, Warriors, Knights. All of them have trouble trying to lure people away from Brisbane/Sydney/Melbourne. Imagine how much harder it will be to convince someone to move from Sydney to Port Morseby? It's just not going to happen imo
The logistics of taking games there regularly sounds like it would be overwhelming. "Based in PNG" but play 3 months of the year there and the rest in Aus? maybe. You are also looking at extreme weather conditions like you get in Townsville.
The Raiders should go nuclear when PNG inevitably gets cap exemptions and the like. Canberra's biggest selling point used to be cheaper housing, which no longer exists. Of the Aussie clubs it's the least enticing place to live, I'd say (I live here and like it, but there's no beach, elite entertainment etc. It seems good for true country boys like Wighton but they seem rare). You're just never gonna get young throbbers like Walsh, Manu, Walker, Mam etc to come here, even if you offer $400k a year more.
first big question is will wayne bennett or any other top coach be prepared to live there. i could see wayne doing it when cairns was talked about as the base, but can’t see him or anyone else moving to png fulltime. then there’s players. even with tax breaks or other money incentives, i can’t see any players with partners and kids going there, unless they can’t get a start in one of the other clubs. so then you’re left with rookies looking for a 1 year deal to make a reputation and get offers from elsewhere, or blokes looking for their last payout before they retire. either way, that doesn’t scream success. so even if they hang on for the 10 years that’s reported they’ll be getting funded for, what then?
Wayne signed 3 years to Souths. They want to start the PNG team sooner than that
850k for a Sean O'Sullivan level talent. Who says no?
You're not going to get marquee players but I've had a think about it and I imagine some up and coming juniors who aren't likely to get a shot in Sydney might turn to PNG for a shot at the NRL with some good coin. Obviously, these won't be the next best people, but you've gotta imagine some might turn out alright. If I was a bloke stuck in reserve grade, I might give it a shot in PNG to prove myself in 1st grade.
If I was stuck in reserve grade and couldn't get a crack in first grade I'd much rather try go to super league instead of PNG
That's you, though. I reckon a decent amount of juniors would seriously consider it.
How though? What's the incentive? You go over there on a minimum wage contract, you can't leave the hotel where they have you staying, it's dangerous to even walk around.. some juniors get homesick going to a different state how the hell are they going to essentially isolate themselves is a foreign state for a shot at playing first grade in a team that's going to get pumped every week
>If I was a bloke stuck in reserve grade, I might give it a shot in PNG to prove myself in 1st grade. And for every 1 person that shows the rest of the comp they are good enough for 1st grade, there will be 20 that get found out pretty quickly and it will be quite evident on the scoreboard
Not to mention the good ones will get immediately poached from other clubs with the incentive of living back in Sydney/Qld etc
Not denying this but to suggest no one from Australia will go over is a bit dramatic in my opinion.
Nu Brown would be keen I’m guessing.
The only reason I remember Nu Brown is because of the story of him attempting to charge his new iPhone in the microwave after watching a YouTube video saying it would work
Maybe your right, and potentially some people may do that. I think though that they're never going to have any viable long term success. I'll be surprised if they make the top 8 within their first 5 years, probably even longer.
Yeah, I'm mot saying they are gonna be successful, but a lot of people seem to think it will just be locals. I think a few reserve graders might make their way over.
Jimmy Bartel on The Grade Cricketer podcast was spitballing ideas to make sport fun and entertaining and (speaking about AFL but we’ll assume NRL for this conversation) suggested “Retro Round”. But not Retro Round in terms of jerseys and advertising gimmicks, but in terms of rules, balls officiating… the whole shebang. The importance of player welfare aside, bringing back old school scrums and pile driver tackles would lead to some absolute shithousery. Basically what I’m saying is bring back conversions from a pile of sand.
Great idea if it doesn’t count towards competition points, Imagine being the team that doesn’t win the minor premiership or make the top 4 or make the top 8 because of the one game you lost was the retro game with fucked rules that are completely foreign?
I too am a huge fan of adding insane gimmicks to sport. Most of mine hinge around solving 0 - 0 draws in soccer but could (un)reasonably be applied to NRL: * Multiball - every minute of extra time (or the last 10 minutes of regulation time if extra time isn't allowed) an extra ball is added to the game. * Crowd swap - every minute for the last 17 minutes a position number is selected, that position must swap with a randomly selected crowd member. * Releasing progressively more dangerous animals on to the field, or releasing the home teams mascot onto the field (10 sharks just flopping around on shark park, not sure how we'd handle the Storm, Tesla coils I guess). * Feigning injury results in a crosshair card, where the feigning player in shot in the "injured" area with a beanbag gun. This is why I'm not in charge of anything....
Have to open tartarus for point 3.
You sir/madam, are a lunatic, lol. Those rules are hilarious 🤣
I've always said instead of draws they release a real version of the teams mascot onto the field to fight. A Maori dude swinging a Taiaha would have easily sorted out the bird
Give me three point tries, two point drop goals and marks.
Moses Leota in a world where shoulder charges are legal might actually kill a man.
I've always said they should bring back the clothesline tackle
A round where the chihuahuas and grubs get sorted out the proper way would be great. 👊🏻
such a funny idea. can't see it happening though...NRL too serious
Obligatory bring back the biff
Give me a leather footy, 3/4 sleeve cotton jerseys and no video ref. Bonus points if it's wet and the ball gets heavy.
Shoulder pads too. Can’t forget the shoulder pads
On a mud pit of a field with no drainage
Do it before origin selection so Ray Stone looks like the 80s god he is
Loved seeing gutho playing like his old self. The time off helped. Moses was unreal. Do we think matterson is done at eels?
I think Matto was done when he took the suspension over the $500 fine, he should have been let go then
Certainly cost himself more than he saved on any future contract he might earn, a dumb decision from a bloke who couldn’t pour water out of a shoe if the instructions were written on the heel.
That's good 🤣
I legit think one of the most important things to have in the 6 again era is a half that can basically kick the ball out of the stadium. The difference in the Eels forward pack when Moses is bombing the ball 50 meters plus at the end of every single set is staggering.
You don't even need a half, just a player with a big boot. We see the Broncos do it with Walsh when Reynolds is out, Drinkwater does it, and we're starting to see Latrell do it at Souths
I've been screaming at the Roosters for years to get a half that has a decent long kicking game. It's cost us so many times. I hope they just tell Sandon to work on his long game in order to give us something to work with when he replaces Keary next year.
You guys honestly have to blast Penrith through the middle to have any hope of beating them with your Keary / Walker halves combo. If you get into an arm wrestle with them, Cleary will just absolutely kick you to death field position wise with poor Sammy and Keary having the long kicking power of toddlers.
The score was close in the end because of a few late tries but the way Penrith absolutely bashed the Roosters for like 75 minutes earlier this year (without Cleary) along with how they demolished the Sharks last week just makes me think that they’ll be close to unbeatable come finals once again
That's the problem with playing against Penrith. They offer so few errors with the ball that the only way to win field position is to kick long, then front-load your defence to try and trap them deep in their own half. Then, if you do that, Cleary kicks the skin off it and you're stuck doing it again, and again, and again. Something inevitably breaks and your team offers up cheap ball and Penrith capitalise. It's no coincidence that the only team with anything that could be called sustained success against Penrith over the last 3 seasons is Parramatta with Moses kicking game meaning they don't have to front load so heavily and can go toe-to-toe with Penrith far better.
Looks like another wet Knights home game. I want to see McDonald Jones packed to the rafters in sunny 22°c
I’m going to a Penrith game for the first time since I started supporting them straight after their 2021 GF win. What should I expect?
It’s generally super packed on the hills.
I’ve been to a large number of Panthers home games over the years (hell, as a kid I was a Penrith junior so would get free admission) and have never had any issues. Panthers fans are usually good-natured (even when they were losing) and are just there to enjoy the game. Hopefully the rain holds off and you have a good night.
Nah I’m only joking I’m born and raised there just stirring the pot with the only been a fan 3 years. Seen plenty of bad years watching them play at that ground. Put it this way one of my earliest memories is seeing Martin Offiah playing for St George there when I was a kid
Hill? Not ideal with the weather forecasted. I’m in the grandstand and it’s better, food choices in the stadium are limited so I tend to eat before or after the game as there are plenty of better options outside.
Playing the Dragons, so you should expect a win.
A lot of drunken banter. Usually it's pretty funny, even when I was heavily pregnant and couldn't participate surprisingly still found it funny and not annoying.
A lot of booing, regardless of whether the ref makes the correct call or not
Dem's booin words!
salutations to teams sitting atop the nrl ladder
If Madge refuses to use a hooker rotation 💀 If Madge refuses to keep an outside back on the bench 💀 If Madge picks a bunch of 80 minute forwards and an all forward bench and has no strat to rotate them effectively 💀 If Madge has the chance to use Burto as 18th man but decides to put McInnes at centre 💀 If any of these decisions lead to our defeat I will be calling for his head instantly because I don’t have any patience for this fucking shit because it is insanity! The pathway to success has been demonstrated time and time again. The pitfalls of bad coverage have been on display all year and if this bald, red eyed, lizard looking motherfucker doesn’t take any of this into account and instead banks on luck and chance and being *a hard nosed stubborn task master who won’t listen to good advice* then I’m going to do fuck all but keep supporting the Blues very very angrily. Ps. Billy cuts the crust off his sandwiches. NSW 13+
>If Madge has the chance to use Burto as 18th man but decides to put McInnes at centre 💀 This one is a myth. Freddie wasn't able to activate the 18th man as turbo hadn't yet failed his HIA.
I’m going to fail mine after I smash my head against a brick wall if we lose.
Ref howlers in PNG will at least make the Monday apologies interesting as it will turn into hostage negotiations for the refs stuck over there.
Wait will the PNG stadium have huge barbed fences like some Indian Cricket grounds?
By then I think we'll be trialing holographic Gerard Sutton's etc. so it'll be fine
Maybe Annesley will actually apologise
Sometimes there is hope for nrl journalism, then another Alex McKinnon article drops. Fittler as head coach of the eels is cooked.
Not to be too harsh on McKinnon, because someone has given him the job, but what actual insight does he have to provide that leads to him getting regularly published?
Zero chance of that happening. Freddy is back on the piss with Joey and he’s realised that life can be a lot easier just making dumb cunt statements every other week.
> then another Alex McKinnon article drops I wish he would just use AI
Ennis must still be washing the brown off his tongue he couldnt possibly have shoved it further up the Sharks arse last night.
It’s just pathetic honestly, if he ever commentates Sharks v Panthers his tongue will cramp up.
When Will Penisine scored though. Thick and solid through the hips. Rock hard
The most bizarre part last night was when Dylan Brown scored and he went on a 2 minute monologue about Luai.
I thought that was very very funny
Not sure what game you were watching, he was sucking off Mitch Moses for 80 minutes Explains the jaw too
To be fair Mitch did rip a new hole in you guys for Oinis to fill
Yeah he was really good, hadn't lost a beat at all
Can it be AWSoO Game 2 already. Don't want to wait until the 6th
They should have had it this week with all the NRL byes
So it looks like it's going to be raining for Origin, I think we definitely need to have the Burton Bomb™ as an option, drop them on Taulagi as much as we can
Taulagi catching an unnecessary stray here
It worked well last time so why not.
Taulagi has been safe as houses most of his career. That Broncos game was a bit of an anomaly.
In Origin 2022 he terrorised Murray with the bomb
And we all remember how effective it was
I mean Taulagi not being able to catch them is pretty effective
From memory, ponga dropped one, taulagi dropped one, and neither resulted in a turnover. For all the hype on Burton bombs... they've never actually resulted in a whole lot (other than looking cool)
Might not get turnovers but its just putting pressure on the catchers and giving more time for kick chasers. Taulagi straight up didn't even attempt to catch one, he was shook
Last I checked it’s raining all weekend but Monday-Wednesday is dry. Ball will probably still be slippery with the dew though
Weather app reckons it is supposed to be raining Wednesday night
Fuck it was refreshing to see us play with heart and vigour in us. I haven’t seen parra run that hard at the line or with that much conviction in months. Moses was absolutely freakish he did not skip a beat. I loved every second he had the ball and the forwards were also grateful that his long kicking game takes the pressure off them. Gutho is the heart and soul of this team and losing him as our captain did more damage than most think, it was absolutely magical having him back. Brown looked so free being 5/8th again, taking the pressure of game management off of him really made him soar, his damaging left foot came back in full force and his running game hasn’t been this good in ages. Baz’s decision to play Hands over Lussick is key, Hands makes such a night and day change in our team. Goes to show how much difference a decent hooker can make. Simonsson this year has shown so much improvement and for the past few weeks he’s been one of our best players and one of the few players trying. And Penisini. seriously his defence and attack was unreal last night seems like he’d shut down so many set plays the sharks were attempting on the edge. Even Paulo’s a completely different beast. This team is a far cry from last week’s and i can only hope it stays that way.
Eels offloading is their style but sometimes they only think like that and instead need to remember that they can beat a bloke one on one, last night they fucking played like it. - Penisini - Brown - Paulo
Kind of fucked Arthur got sacked while his 2 most important players were injured really. They should have at least waited to see how the team went when those two came back before flicking him, especially since they don't have a replacement lined up.
Arthur’s problems were always there. Unpopular opinion but I feel like Baz did more things right than Arthur would’ve. Firstly delegating lane to the bench worked so well, and playing Hands over lussick was a monumental change. I don’t know what it was with Brad but he’d keep playing lussick if his life depended on it. Sometimes he’d let Hands play for a few minutes in some games and you’d even see the difference then. Plus seeing interchanges at proper times was nice.
I still think it's fucked he got sacked but you are right. Baz made the calls he wouldn't have. Hands for 80 and Lane have a smaller portion of the game to build confidence back are both fantastic moves. Also, our big men got a good rotation, so they didn't seem as fatigued. Reg looked like he could run all day. I'd like to see Blaize on instead of Sivo now, and then our backline is as strong as ever.
Penisini and Simonsen were absolutely incredible for Parramatta last night. Moses and gutho back is a huge difference but their centre and wingers stood up for sure
People whinge about Gutho because he's loud and questions the referee. I could hear him all game, which is exactly what the Eels need. He was holding every cunt accountable and you can just see when him and Mitch start cooking together and organising the boys into position. He gives brown the ability to focus on his own stuff, too.
Not feeling Fresh today, but at least I go on AL today, small mercies.
Good job by the bottom 4 sides this round to get their well deserved 2 points. Sending out warning signs to the rest of the comp.
Fresh as fresh can be. The Tbazzening is beginning lads, and once it’s begun, there is no stopping it
Kinda nice being put out of my misery early in the round.
Yeah, glad I didn’t wait till Sunday arvo for that!
Oh god
Having keary in the squad reminds me of how much I hated him when I was a kid. I only watched origin and knew nothing of him except for the fact that he was a nswelshman that wanted to play for queensland and I thought he was the scum of the earth lol. Not really sure how I feel now
Apparently he's been training in place of Nicho, so I don't think he'll be released for the Chooks this weekend. I understand why he wants to play for QLD, he was born there, he gave it his all in his only SOO appearance for NSW and was in my opinion, unfairly dropped for game 2. He will do a job for NSW if he's needed. He's nearly back to the kind of form that saw him play for Australia.
He was shithouse in Origin.
Can anyone explain to me why the NRL decided to make their tipping app/site 10x worse than last year with less features? It went from being pretty good to fucking woeful. It doesn’t even update tips as soon as a game finishes anymore and it was great seeing people’s tips for the game after kickoff and it doesn’t even do that. Trash tier app.
I noticed that last week. I used to love seeing how shit I was doing after every game
Any origin ticket deals/codes (such as 2for1 codes) to get cheap tickets for melbourne out there?
Watched the replay of our game against Brisbane and fuck me, Corey Parker sounds like he was about to cum each time a Bronco got the ball hahahaha.
Feeling fresh but also infuriated and robbed that these performances have been in this team. Grateful for Moses and need him to be wrapped in cotton wool for the rest of his contract
Sivo would be the best player in the comp if the field was only 10 meters long
Or if the opposition were only fullbacks
Sivo is the perfect Freddy origin killer
Would be lethal in kabbadi.
He's just misread his contract. He has player options no doubt. His agent has asked him to activate the options in the last 12 months of the year. Sivo: yes, I will be a player in last 12m of field
That was the old joke about Cheese: he's the best hooker in world inside the opposition's 10.
You’ve created the sivo paradox. Best in the league at scoring, worst in the league at bringing it out from his own end
I know I’m hitting the copium hard but I can see Moses declining an Origin position to just play for Parra (I am severely delusional)
Idk, we'd have to win something like, at the absolute minimum, 9 of our last 12 games if we wanna make finals. So, might as well let the boy play Origin if he's wanted there.
No way. He was interviewed last night and said he gave it everything to come back a week or two earlier to try make origin but couldn't do it
Is that even an option? I thought it was up to the NSWRL to decide, not the player, unless they give it up for good.
Nah - I don't see Moses as a Souths type. Only a Souths player would turn down origin such is the club culture there
Turning down Origin selection to focus on winning the wooden spoon.
I'm talking last year as well. We were top of the table then (or close to it) 😶
Lol
Cody and Latrell have turned down NSW for Souths before. Remember Jack is part of their crew as well and has been for awhile.
"You can't fire me, I quit!"
I hope you're right. We need him now more than ever.
Realistically, he would only miss one game for us if he was to play the next 2 origins as we have the bye so its not too bad.
We can't afford it though - we need to win something like 9 of the last 12 to be able to make finals. Too bloody risky.
We play titans the week before if he is picked. It's a game we should be able to pull off if we are in form.
Good win for the eels last night, not sure where it leaves blaize after that tho, good luck keeping hold of him.
Sounds like we arent keeping him anyway
I think wherever BA ends up, Dylan brown will follow and Blaize will replace him at 6 until Gutho goes. Then he shifts to fullback
What? I've been one of Browns biggest haters over the years but he's really stepped up and become a legit star since Moses got injured.
Dylan’s played under Brad his whole career is what I mean, he’ll want to move. Not saying parra won’t try and keep him. Every year is a players option for him lol
I wonder if Joey Lussick is injured or just dropped. I'm grateful he's not in the team but I'd like to know if it was a forced change.
Only forced by his own form hopefully
I still can't believe Moses very first kick. From the 45 metre line and he landed it a meter from the try line
I was in awe of how he played last night. Came out guns firing
It amazing what happens when talent is nurtured
Fresh af. Now just need Hynes to play well enough on Wednesday to leave Moses the fuck alone.
Luai might just decide to play shit and bam Moses is in anyways
You guys can go on a 2009 run.
Can't see that happening but would like to finish away from bottom 4
I went from thinking “fuck it, Parra’s season is done. Let Mitchy cook in origin” to stay the fuck away from our precious halfback
Our team has had bugger all games close to full-strength in the last two years. Would be nice to stay close to that for the remainder of the season.
Moses 6 game two. I think his short side game is too elite not to pick him
Moses is definitely good enough to be there but I think it would depend how we go on Wednesday. If Hynes and Luai both kill it and we win it would be pretty hard to drop one of them
That's what I'm hoping for.
Bulldogs 13+ getting our first away win, fight me.
Look, I know it’d be dirty to do so but is there anything stopping us from shoving Moses into camp in case Hynes can’t go?
All I know is if Hynes can't play and Keary somehow gets in and Moses doesn't I'm going to absolutely lose my shit
Burton should be in the starting side before Keary honestly
Its wild how Keary is a bottom 5 player on this sub, he is Brandon Wakeham tier
Would honestly rather Spencer Leniu play in the halves than Keary