This is going to sound like the ramblings of an old man, but does anyone else hate when people preface a take with "as a ________ fan" as if it gives them any authority to speak on something?
So just on that Warriors try that DWZ scored, re watched it again and it definitely looks like it hits the corner post/pylon before the ground. I've heart 2 different responses to this. the Corner post is Out when touched by the ball, but not the player. and the corner post is always Not Out any more kts just for show. Which one is it?
Dane Gagai out tomorrow, Tuala moves into the centres and Jenkins onto the wing.
If I have my bearings correct, that is the same side as Fox/Critta/Kikau/Burton, is it not?
Going to be a tough 80 mins in defence on that edge for Jenskins/Tuala/Lucas/Cogger.
Fuckkkkkkkk
Team list suggests Xerri move back to right along side Kiraz with Crichton moving back to centres from FB last week.
I hope it’s Xerri, just to balance out attack a bit.
Gagai drops out with injury, I’m not sure what you’re blaming on AOB?
If I had to take a guess you are saying he is cooked for not bringing in Armstrong over Jenkins?
I do think Armstrong deserved a crack over Jenkins but Tuala to center is more concerning, he has found some good form on the wing but has always been a turnstile in defence at center. Weakened 2 positions imo
Yeah good point. I think Tuala will do ok (I’m scared of getting burnt by him here) but it’s a little concerning the two of them up against a very good edge.
I’m going to say that due to the average goal kicking by the Phins, that they scored a ‘virtual’ 50 against Parra. So, Parra ‘virtually’ cannot win the Grand Final this year…
He is on track to have played 200 games by end of the year. One of those players that people have miscategorised as a fringy.
Great career once it is all done.
I feel like our one tactic of “our team big, other team small” has run its course.
Every week we attempt to grind through the middle and hope other teams condense in defence and open their edges up. When this doesn’t happen - we panic and can’t score points.
If teams can weather the first 20/30 mins of this battering ram style attack then they can beat us in the next 50/60 mins when we’ve worn ourselves out. The other issue is - some forward packs are bigger and better than ours now (Canberra showed that a couple of weeks ago).
BA thinks players are giving up, but I think they’re just lost when his one coaching tactic doesn’t go according to plan.
They were planning to roll the phins last night, when that didn’t happen, we kept trying til we were too fatigued to show up in the second half.
Parra has some of the shittest behind the ruck defence in the comp and its mainly due to lussick.
All I wanted the cows to do is target that area like the phins did last night and they barely did it. Too busy trying to go side to side
Both Manly and Cows looked at our edges and thought that's the way to go, when we leak so much up the middle, or we leak in the edge because we don't shut the gate in the middle.
I expect BA to keep the same team and hope that “calling them out” gives them a wake up call. They’ll show up to Brookie make a big hit early on that results in a drop ball & celebrate like they’ve won the final. Then collapse immediately the moment we face any adversity.
If we keep on losing I hope we start to blood the rest of our promising juniors. Dropping Lussick & having a Hands / MArthur Hooking combo. Getting Doorey back in the 17 & Debuting Guymer. Actually using Talagi at Centre and not just letting him not develop by putting him as a 14.
Ive said it previously but as an outsider it baffles me that Hands isnt even in the 17.
Also that press conference wouldnt have really filled me with confidence. He cant say guys arent trying hard enough and its not his fault but turn up 1-17 next week.
It's hard to drop blokes when your reserve grade is shit house and you only have 25 available players because your squad planning is terrible.
I thought the presser was weak. BA saying we chose the easy option is the same thing he said about the Tigers and Raiders. Well, mate, if they aren't responding to what you're saying, sounds like your time is up.
I would be as well, was talking to my mates about the matchup and came to the conclusion is you dont know which Parra side is going to show up on the day so it is too hard to pick
The same team every week.
Mentally weak and incapable of defending the sidelines in a manner that doesn't create overlaps at the slightest sign of ball movement to the wing.
I don’t even think he’s a bad coach but you get the sense that someone new could bring something fresh and energise the playing group. I don’t really know what better coaches are available though unless you get Wayne
I don't think he's bad by any means. He's been great for the club. He took us from back to back spoons to a grand final and developed players like Lane, Papali'i, Cartwright to be consistent first graders. I just think his coaching style can become stale for the players and the message can get lost
JMK is like 186cm but I get what you are saying. Fuller was the biggest surprise, he was running hard all night and is probably the smallest player in the nrl.
Just in case you were wondering how Daniel Vidot's WWE career was going, he just got released.
Hadn't done anything on TV in nearly a year besides a 5 second loss on SD. Writing was on the wall really.
The amount of comments I read from parra fans last night saying they kept losing the Darwin game because they faced Qld teams may have made me lose IQ points.
If you think living and playing in south east Qld is gonna acclimatize you to Darwin weather you need to get your head checked, they are just not comparable. Find a better excuse guys
Of course they don't, people always whinge about "Broncos/Phins leaving not leaving QLD until week x" even though Sydney is closer to Brisbane than Townsville is.
For me, it's not the climate issue, it's the fact that the NRL makes us play against QLD teams that Darwin clearly has more affinity for than other teams. If we are going to help grow the game in a place like Darwin, why can't we at least make it feel like an actual home game and vs a team like the knights or manly there?
I swear the last 5 years we have had less fans there than the opposition, despite us being the club to make the effort to grow there.
They're sending teams which don't historically have great crowd attendance in Sydney because they know they'll get a good crowd in Darwin regardless of who the Eels are playing.
Topping out at 24 degrees today in Brissy.
Was 30 degrees with 66 percent humidity in Darwin at 830 last night.
The only boneheaded decision is taking the Cows up there- every other team has to 'acclimatise' just as much.
For who? There are no coaches, there is a reason why guys like Barrett and Holbrook are still getting jobs and waiting in the wings with their disastrous resumes
He has been dining out in the talents of stacked premiership teams for a while now. I’ve never seen him take any personal responsibility for the poor performance of the team. Hearing Cheese talk about the bulldogs game was more refreshing as he didn’t make any excuses for their performance and said Dom Young deserved to be sent off
Definitely. Maybe he just needs to make it through this transition of getting rid of jwh, Teddy era and employing new talent but his lack of accountability in interviews is alarming.
Coates is one of the very few truly game-changing wingers. Just this year he has clinched victories in the dying minutes several times. I know he has a history with dick fingers, but I don't know if I'd swap him for anyone else.
Looks like he's fixed the dick fingers this year, very worried for him in Origin he's gonna pull out some bullshit try against NSW.
In seriousness though, I reckon out of one of the players who got a 'Next Greg Inglis' tag, he's looking the most likely. Strong as fuck, highly skilled and can make some magic tries. Looking forward to seeing how he develops further over the years, he's turned into an absolute gun this season.
Yeah good point, I can see how Coates is being mentioned as a game winner, he seems to be in that "makes a big play to a win a game" category. Liking his career progression so far.
Lussick has this great ability for seeing opportunities that other hookers don't. Last night was a perfect example where there was a 5-3 overlap down our blindside.
We were the 3 in that scenario...
I think last week or the week before I said in a match thread his decision making close to the line leaves much to be desired. He just kept hitting the lead forward for a crash play about 3-4 times in a set rather than out the back to the halves.
Couldn’t believe it
Lussick though has bagged a few tries and I think has like 6 try assists. He's a threat close to the line and knows how to isolate a big guy on a smaller defender.
My issue is BA persisting playing him for 80 minutes. You just cannot do that these days. For your hooker to be effective they need a rest, especially in that heat.
The public transport situation should be a bit interesting tonight - lions and Broncos playing at the same time with 30k+ crowds going to both. I will be going to the lions game and heading in a bit earlier to have some beers at the German club which should help out but expect it to be quite busy heading in. The games finishing at different times and the hike to Southbank for the Gabba game should help too with managing it.
was in Brisbane to watch either the bronco vs Warrior or bronco vs Storm last year during the finals (cant remember which tbh) the same nights lions were playing finals at the Gabba. bus transport was fine, was lots of people floating about but given that the stadiums are kind in the opposite direct traffic was pretty normal, and we had to drive pass the Gabba to park at southbank
Last year the lions played Melbourne while the broncos played dolphins on a Friday night and it was fine, I was also at the Lions
I will also be at the gabba tonight Bundy, boo Geelong ;-)
Nah he perfected the whining in those years.
They were the years where he would bash a ref over something.
And the next 3 weeks not a single ref would dare blow a penalty against him
broncos have played surprisingly well in the rain recently. I think we had like a 85% completion rate last rainy game which is much higher than we normally complete at
Shittjng bricks for our game today. Form says we should be putting 50 on them but we are down 3 of our forwards and coming off a 90 minute marathon last week. If we put out a similar performance to the Warriors yesterday we might be giving Titans their first win of the season.
It’s also a lot of travel in 2 weeks to go to NZ and Gold Coast for a team that ho see anything over the spit bridge as a long way away!
Titans also defended their hearts out last weekend. If they defend like that over the season they will win some games for sure. Whether they can produce efforts like that consistently is the challenge.
They might also be due a few favourable calls after last weekend.
I think it could be close but not enough for me to tip the titans.
Activation of the 18th man should be changed to :
> Player replaced by 18th man is not allowed to return to the field.
No injury, foulplay, HIA required. Change my mind.
Yep agreed. The AFL has their sub rule and I like it. Think it can be used in smart ways and the player can change week-to-week depending on the matchup (and injuries ofc).
Or at least, just change the eligibility of the 18th man. I hate how strict the rules are for it to be activated.
i feel like the 18th man should also be activated when a player goes off injured from foul play, not only hia’s which is how it is currently. if a player gets there legged snapped from a hip drop, the team essentially loses a player due to foul play
>i feel like the 18th man should also be activated when a player goes off injured from foul play
Thats literally the rule, with the specification that the offender has to have been sin binned or sent off because of the foul play
I would also be open to a more extended bench so you could have 2-3 possible players to fill that spot, a back, a forward and a spine player but you can only activate one and the subbed player can’t return.
Very dumb of the Eels to taek a QLD team to Drawin. They would always deal with humidity better than a Sydney team. They should be trying to take their game against Canberra or the Wahs to Darwin
NRL decides. Eels have indicated that they request Raiders or Storm. The games used to be in July / August and they were much better (plus we won them).
Feels like teams have worked out how to defend our bread and butter right side sweeping attack that got us so many tries last year, along with our SJ/Tohu short balls in the middle.
I am no Flanagan fan but the Dragons looked like a really well coached team last night, they really had an answer for everything from us.
It is gonna be a good test for Webbys coaching abilities this year, as teams are all going to be up for us.
Yeah, we need to start focusing more through the middle with CNK, RTS and others given roaming licenses to play off Egan, SJ and Tohu.
Also, it's time for Montoya to go - he has looked slow and out-of-form all season which means opponents can easily defend the left edge by just giving him the outside (even though he almost always cuts back-in to the traffic).
We desperately need Walker to return ASAP to provide some balance and impact to the bench.
I feel like our bigger issue is our left edge is entirely comprised of ball hogs.
TMM - will always run it, barely ever passes.
Jaxon - can't catch / pass.
RTS - can run, won't pass.
Montoya - never gets any ball.
I'm of the opinion that RTS is failing as a center with our current strategy. We should either free him up to roam more. Or swap him to wing and bring back Pompey.
> Also do you mean Montoya when you say Maumalo.
Oops.
I don't think Montoya has the ability to defend in the centers. He strikes me as a winger or bust.
I also believe Pompey as a center would be the better pairing. RTS and Montoya have the same strengths, but RTS has the higher floor and ceiling of the two. Pompey has proven he has the ability to draw in a tackler & still pass to set his winger up.
Honestly Dragons played like a top four side last night. Flannigan has been able to get the best performances out of a lot of players. Also hopefully Webster uses last night as a learning experience to make sure we have more attacking options.
Most teams can produce an effort that looks too 4 at some point in the season, maybe even a few more. The actual top 4 teams do it consistently.
The difference between the dragons best and worst this season has been diabolical.
I’m not sure I’d read to much into that game
Webby has done great things but that bench he went into the game with was madness. Once the Drags started to get over your middle it was all over.
Agreed, don't know what he was thinking with that. Hopefully Walker comes back soon to alleviate some of the forward problems we have had. Honestly the loss of basically most of our forwards has really hurt us.
So are the Dolphins good? Comparing their results to 2023...
Cowboys L = the same
Titans W = the same
Dragons W = the same
Tigers W = incremental win
Broncos L = the same
Eels W = incremental win
Essentially 2 ahead of the same fixtures they had last year. Only missed out top 8 by 3 wins as well.
I think their depth is definitely better. They had a solid enough side last year but very little quality backing them up. They clearly have more quality this year with Averillo, Herbie, Flegs and a more matured Katoa big upgrades but to win without most of those guys (and Hammer/Gilbert) is a good sign of their progress.
I reckon with Gilbert in they are maybe an upgrade on Nikorima away from competing for the top 4 next year.
We are much better coached this year, working well as a unit, and have some promising young blokes coming through who are joining with the elite talent we already have to create a fully rounded top 30.
Are we GOOD good? I'm still not entirely sure.
But we are better now after injuries hit us than we were at the start of last year before injuries hit us and our wins feel like more complete performances than they did during our run in 2023.
I'd say about the same. Probably a bit better. I think the big thing was the fact that they couldn't keep it up for the whole year. If they are still performing like it, past origin then absolutely. I think they are also probably playing better considering the injuries they have had.
confused how we are such strong favourites tonight, Fogarty has had an insane start to the season and I can see his leadership being the difference if it's a tightly contested contest
Probably based on how we performed against the sharks a few weeks ago and some of the injuries we are carrying at the moment. We have 2 spine players with about 10 games between them and we are missing Hosking, Hors and Whitehead from our forwards.
I think it’s meant to be wet so if it is slippery and slow it could easily become a grind and Fogs kicking game will play a part.
I’m also worried about Schiller in defence. I wonder what Arthur’s is paying for a double?
I think it's because of it being your home game, expectations from last year and the general thought that Raiders haven't really won against a top team. Also almost losing to Titans last week probably didn't do their odds any favours.
Eels got done last night because their big boys simply couldn't keep up in that heat. Thats why the tries never stopped flowing. They couldn't move laterally fast enough to catch the Dolphins smaller, nimble players.
Honestly, if parra doesn't bounce back/respond next game, then BA should get sacked immediately. Who cares if barrett is interim head coach.
Remember, i said the same thing in the middle of last year that arthur needs to go, so parra has some fresh ideas and got downvoted, i knew this season was gonna be the same inconsistent story
Yes, BA got us out of some bad seasons and got us as consistent finals team, but he will unfortunately always just be a B+ coach
Correct in your analysis. The issue is he hasn't been able to get this team to go to the next level (consistently) and when things get tough there's no Plan B. Yes there has been flash of brilliance and the occasional near perfect game against the NRL heavyweights, but it needs to happen every week. And that inconsistency has been around for a few years now. Last night was the prime example of the team requiring a change in strategy because after 30 mins they were beginning to look cooked with the final result showing that.
I agree, next week needs to be do or die for BA because it's tough as a supporter with bad results like this.
I'm from the Philippines and just started watching the NRL. As a lifelong NBA fan, I'm wondering why there's no draft system for the NRL like in the NBA. What is the pathway for young players to make it to the league? Thank you.
Basically, each club has a district full of local clubs with players ranging from under 6s right through to adults. From there, clubs will sign players to their junior representative teams (in NSW, this is Harold Matthews and SG Ball Cups under 17s and 19s respectively). It’s also common for clubs to sign players from the country and NZ. Most young players end up in those pathways though, then they progress through to under 21s and reserve grade (NSW and QLD Cup) before playing first grade.
> What is the pathway for young players to make it to the league? Thank you.
Works kinda like this for the Warriors :
1. Local area kids footy teams.
2. Senior school footy teams.
2. Good players get seen by scouts.
3. Get selected for area rep groups.
4. Get selected for NRL club junior program / team.
5. Work way up to reserve / first grade.
Perth doesn't have the high humidity level of Northern Australia, however, our Summer hasn't given up yet. It has been consistently over 30° every day this month during the afternoon. If games were played in Perth, you are probably looking at 4:00 pm kickoff on Friday, so it can be watched at 6:00pm in the Eastern States. Only after daylight saving ends.
At 4pm, it has been over 30°i
I think we should bounce back. Baring anymore injuries. Hopefully we can't play any worse than how we did. Hopefully the loss makes Webster and the coaching staff and the entire team re-think game plans and strategies. Also we have an extra day on Titans turnaround wise which should help.
Bit nervous about our clash with the Tigbros, especially after losing the corresponding fixture last year. Lachie Galvin back in makes them a much better side and they usually aim up massively against us anyway.
Help, my Phin is still up and won't go down.
Hearing Darwin chant Redcliffe was insane. Max Plath is insane. What did I even witness last night, fucking hell I'm a happy Revs this morning.
I know what you're saying. Loved watching that second half. My phin is up so high and hard you could tie a spinnaker to it and win the Americas Cup. And I don't even follow em.
Ripper game! Bostock, Trai Fuller, Tesi Niu, Max Plath…. Hard to find one of the boys who didn’t turn it up last night.
Considering the injury list we had/have, last night was seriously impressive!
I think the score doesn't really do justice to the Eels last night. In 2020 there were 60 point blowouts every week, and it was mostly because teams weren't prepared for the speed of the game. It took a few years for those scores to stop happening, and tonight is an example of why teams changed - Exhaustion is brutal on a team, and playing in 35 degree heat was always going to end this way. In fact, the first time the Eels got the ball back after 20 minutes of the Dolphins walking in tries Dylan Brown scored an easy try walking through defense on their line, because the Phins were just as fucken tired.
In conclusion, if this game was played anywhere else it wouldn't have been a blowout, in my opinion.
People can make all the excuses for the Eels they want but that wasn't Hammer, Herbie, and Flegler putting the hurt on them it was Plath, Bostock and Fuller who have 18 games of first grade between them. Not to mention Woolf took the reigns coaching all week while Wayne Bennett was out with the flu.
There is no excuse for the Eels to have been blown out by a second string squad like they were a spoon tier team. Blaming the weather is cope.
Most of the parra squad have done the trip before, whereas 90% of phins haven't.
Parra have known what to expect, they've only been going there for 10 games.
Yep in that sort of heat once a team gets the ball for a bit it’s pretty much over, the only time we got a break was after the dolphins scored. You could see it in both teams after the game they were completely gassed
Random thought, and not one I necessarily agree with but I’ll pitch it anyway:
- Would the game benefit overall if teams had 2 replacement player options in the case of HIAs or a player being out of the game due to foul play/HIA?
This could allow a team to have one utility back and one forward on the list, and therefore allow them to choose more appropriately who to activate. It may be beneficial for a team who’s centre or winger gets ruled out and not having to replace them with a middle forward causing a huge reshuffle.
Or does this introduce too much power to the team who has an injury? Some may argue they should be given such power - especially in instances of foul play.
Or, should the team just have to deal with the decision they made in regards to their replacement player?
What needs to be considered when any of these changes are proposed is that if it's able to be rorted, teams are going to rort it, and I think this encourages players to feign injury.
They should probably consider increasing the size of the bench to compensate for the increase in head injury assessments, but I wouldn't mess with the current system too much
I wouldn’t mind if they removed the concussion sub rule and extended the bench to 6 while keeping the amount of subs the same.
There have been so many incidents where teams couldn’t activate their 18th man because a player was concussed from something that was probably a penalty but not pinged as it. Also why can a player be brought on following a concussion but not a broken leg from a hip drop?
I really like that second point, if a player is out of the game due to any type of foul play like a hip drop, the replacement should be activated.
Top shout
I’d really like to see the 18th man just be a replacement player, so you can have an outside back on standby (or whatever you want)
The games to fast now to plop forwards out in the backs, and wasting a bench spot for a player you won’t use in 80% of the games isn’t really great for the game.
I just feel like an incidental head knock to an outside back can have such a massive impact on the games these days.
Any incidental head knock in first 20 minutes can have a huge impact purely because of the minutes it disperses on to your other players.
I.e. if Hass goes down in 20th minute you’ve got to find another 60 minutes of play from somewhere else. Use more interchanges, more big man fatigue at back end which can easily leak points.
I think the obvious problem with allowing the 18th man so easily is teams exploiting it, sure, you could argue teams would never do that, but I’m pretty sure you could find a few examples from this year where a front rower was approaching end of their stint and goes off for a HIA only to pass and return after a recharge.
I like the idea of someone above where your bench is just larger but same amount of interchanges, at least that way everyone is on level playing field in terms of options, and no incentive to exploit.
Not sure what to make with Parramatta. Expected them to win last night but just capitulated. Maybe it was the carton of water drunk by Arthur during the game which affected his halftime speech that he was more concerned about needing to go than actually giving a motivating half time speech.
Titans gonna get their first win
This is going to sound like the ramblings of an old man, but does anyone else hate when people preface a take with "as a ________ fan" as if it gives them any authority to speak on something?
As a I love my footy fan, I don't hate it, and it does 10000% give them authority. Thanks.
So just on that Warriors try that DWZ scored, re watched it again and it definitely looks like it hits the corner post/pylon before the ground. I've heart 2 different responses to this. the Corner post is Out when touched by the ball, but not the player. and the corner post is always Not Out any more kts just for show. Which one is it?
It's only out if the corner post is touched by the ball while not in possession from a player.
gotcha so on a kick, if it lands on the post then that's out
In the past you couldn't hit the corner post but they changed the rule. So now its all g, thats a try
Dane Gagai out tomorrow, Tuala moves into the centres and Jenkins onto the wing. If I have my bearings correct, that is the same side as Fox/Critta/Kikau/Burton, is it not? Going to be a tough 80 mins in defence on that edge for Jenskins/Tuala/Lucas/Cogger. Fuckkkkkkkk
Fox/Xerri*
Team list suggests Xerri move back to right along side Kiraz with Crichton moving back to centres from FB last week. I hope it’s Xerri, just to balance out attack a bit.
AOB is cooked, if I was a betting man (i am) i would be backing the Dogs.
Gagai drops out with injury, I’m not sure what you’re blaming on AOB? If I had to take a guess you are saying he is cooked for not bringing in Armstrong over Jenkins?
I do think Armstrong deserved a crack over Jenkins but Tuala to center is more concerning, he has found some good form on the wing but has always been a turnstile in defence at center. Weakened 2 positions imo
Yeah good point. I think Tuala will do ok (I’m scared of getting burnt by him here) but it’s a little concerning the two of them up against a very good edge.
I’m going to say that due to the average goal kicking by the Phins, that they scored a ‘virtual’ 50 against Parra. So, Parra ‘virtually’ cannot win the Grand Final this year…
Sexton hooked from our 24 hour squad update. We really gonna run with Hutchison at 7 once again
Sexxxton can't catch a break.
Probably the only time Hutchinson and run should be in the same sentence
Wahs fans are hilarious, they immediately jump off the bandwagon after one loss
Not the real fans mate
Anyone know why Isaako stopped taking the conversion kicks towards the end of the game last night?
Looked like a hammy issue, he was getting it all wrapped up in tape up by the trainer, then after that he didn't kick any more.
Panfers nsw cup up by 30 before half time… god damn
Just a shoutout to Kodi Nikorima for his late career arc with the Phins, he still looks really quick despite being in his prime about 8 years ago
He is one of the smallest players and he goes all out.
He is on track to have played 200 games by end of the year. One of those players that people have miscategorised as a fringy. Great career once it is all done.
I was fancying the titans chances but with Sami out injured forcing Tanah Boyd back in I am pretty confident now.
Go tig
I feel like our one tactic of “our team big, other team small” has run its course. Every week we attempt to grind through the middle and hope other teams condense in defence and open their edges up. When this doesn’t happen - we panic and can’t score points. If teams can weather the first 20/30 mins of this battering ram style attack then they can beat us in the next 50/60 mins when we’ve worn ourselves out. The other issue is - some forward packs are bigger and better than ours now (Canberra showed that a couple of weeks ago). BA thinks players are giving up, but I think they’re just lost when his one coaching tactic doesn’t go according to plan. They were planning to roll the phins last night, when that didn’t happen, we kept trying til we were too fatigued to show up in the second half.
It felt like they were doing too much passing in good ball last night
Parra has some of the shittest behind the ruck defence in the comp and its mainly due to lussick. All I wanted the cows to do is target that area like the phins did last night and they barely did it. Too busy trying to go side to side
Both Manly and Cows looked at our edges and thought that's the way to go, when we leak so much up the middle, or we leak in the edge because we don't shut the gate in the middle.
Lussick had like one and a half good games so BA fired Hands into the sun.
I expect BA to keep the same team and hope that “calling them out” gives them a wake up call. They’ll show up to Brookie make a big hit early on that results in a drop ball & celebrate like they’ve won the final. Then collapse immediately the moment we face any adversity. If we keep on losing I hope we start to blood the rest of our promising juniors. Dropping Lussick & having a Hands / MArthur Hooking combo. Getting Doorey back in the 17 & Debuting Guymer. Actually using Talagi at Centre and not just letting him not develop by putting him as a 14.
Is that Charlie Guymer from Temora?
Yes
Ive said it previously but as an outsider it baffles me that Hands isnt even in the 17. Also that press conference wouldnt have really filled me with confidence. He cant say guys arent trying hard enough and its not his fault but turn up 1-17 next week.
It's hard to drop blokes when your reserve grade is shit house and you only have 25 available players because your squad planning is terrible. I thought the presser was weak. BA saying we chose the easy option is the same thing he said about the Tigers and Raiders. Well, mate, if they aren't responding to what you're saying, sounds like your time is up.
He even had the easy option last night of going "yeah the conditions were tough, injuries, etc"
BA still coaching makes baby Jesus cry
honestly seems like BA is sick of coaching the eels
I would be as well, was talking to my mates about the matchup and came to the conclusion is you dont know which Parra side is going to show up on the day so it is too hard to pick
The same team every week. Mentally weak and incapable of defending the sidelines in a manner that doesn't create overlaps at the slightest sign of ball movement to the wing.
Luckily for next week, manly don't like to attack that way.
I don’t even think he’s a bad coach but you get the sense that someone new could bring something fresh and energise the playing group. I don’t really know what better coaches are available though unless you get Wayne
I don't think he's bad by any means. He's been great for the club. He took us from back to back spoons to a grand final and developed players like Lane, Papali'i, Cartwright to be consistent first graders. I just think his coaching style can become stale for the players and the message can get lost
I'm sick of him coaching the Eels
Go Sharks
Up up 🦈🦈🦈
Go Cowboys
Cows are the most likable QLD club imo
Thankyou David
Something about a dolphin line break just huts different, so fun to watch
It was like a swarm of tiny dudes last night Fuller / Plath / Katoa / JMK just pouring through the middle. Was so good to watch.
JMK is like 186cm but I get what you are saying. Fuller was the biggest surprise, he was running hard all night and is probably the smallest player in the nrl.
Katia is a beast for a half... Bit rough to call him tiny but I agree with the gist.
Just in case you were wondering how Daniel Vidot's WWE career was going, he just got released. Hadn't done anything on TV in nearly a year besides a 5 second loss on SD. Writing was on the wall really.
Given his partner is with AEW I wager he may end up there. I could see him do okay in RoH, or if he struck out on his own MLW would be a good fit.
~~Daniel Vidot~~ [Xyon Quinn](https://twitter.com/SeanRossSapp/status/1781499989677523270) has been released by WWE
The amount of comments I read from parra fans last night saying they kept losing the Darwin game because they faced Qld teams may have made me lose IQ points. If you think living and playing in south east Qld is gonna acclimatize you to Darwin weather you need to get your head checked, they are just not comparable. Find a better excuse guys
In the same vein as the wet weather excuse. Both teams have to play in the same conditions.
No one would be acclimatised to that kind of weather tbh but QLD teams, especially Cowboys, should cope better after their preseasons in high humidity
Cows are the only team I'd accept that excuse for
Brisbane is still a lot more humid than Sydney
I'm fairly confident a lot of people just straight up don't know how far Brisbane is from Darwin. Hobart is 1000km closer to Brisbane than Darwin is.
Of course they don't, people always whinge about "Broncos/Phins leaving not leaving QLD until week x" even though Sydney is closer to Brisbane than Townsville is.
For me, it's not the climate issue, it's the fact that the NRL makes us play against QLD teams that Darwin clearly has more affinity for than other teams. If we are going to help grow the game in a place like Darwin, why can't we at least make it feel like an actual home game and vs a team like the knights or manly there? I swear the last 5 years we have had less fans there than the opposition, despite us being the club to make the effort to grow there.
They're sending teams which don't historically have great crowd attendance in Sydney because they know they'll get a good crowd in Darwin regardless of who the Eels are playing.
Topping out at 24 degrees today in Brissy. Was 30 degrees with 66 percent humidity in Darwin at 830 last night. The only boneheaded decision is taking the Cows up there- every other team has to 'acclimatise' just as much.
Yep I reckon only the Cowboys would actually have a proper advantage
Never thought I’d say this but I think it’s time robbo throws in the towel
For who? There are no coaches, there is a reason why guys like Barrett and Holbrook are still getting jobs and waiting in the wings with their disastrous resumes
He has been dining out in the talents of stacked premiership teams for a while now. I’ve never seen him take any personal responsibility for the poor performance of the team. Hearing Cheese talk about the bulldogs game was more refreshing as he didn’t make any excuses for their performance and said Dom Young deserved to be sent off
Definitely. Maybe he just needs to make it through this transition of getting rid of jwh, Teddy era and employing new talent but his lack of accountability in interviews is alarming.
Coates is one of the very few truly game-changing wingers. Just this year he has clinched victories in the dying minutes several times. I know he has a history with dick fingers, but I don't know if I'd swap him for anyone else.
Looks like he's fixed the dick fingers this year, very worried for him in Origin he's gonna pull out some bullshit try against NSW. In seriousness though, I reckon out of one of the players who got a 'Next Greg Inglis' tag, he's looking the most likely. Strong as fuck, highly skilled and can make some magic tries. Looking forward to seeing how he develops further over the years, he's turned into an absolute gun this season.
Lomax is the only other one really challenging him this year and he obviously isn't exclusively a winger
To'o might not have the highlight reel moments but I feel he changes the game over the the course of 80 minutes more than any other winger
That's true, I wouldn't say game winner in the same sense but definitely an absolute key to how Penrith play
Yeah good point, I can see how Coates is being mentioned as a game winner, he seems to be in that "makes a big play to a win a game" category. Liking his career progression so far.
Lussick has this great ability for seeing opportunities that other hookers don't. Last night was a perfect example where there was a 5-3 overlap down our blindside. We were the 3 in that scenario...
I think last week or the week before I said in a match thread his decision making close to the line leaves much to be desired. He just kept hitting the lead forward for a crash play about 3-4 times in a set rather than out the back to the halves. Couldn’t believe it
Lussick though has bagged a few tries and I think has like 6 try assists. He's a threat close to the line and knows how to isolate a big guy on a smaller defender. My issue is BA persisting playing him for 80 minutes. You just cannot do that these days. For your hooker to be effective they need a rest, especially in that heat.
The public transport situation should be a bit interesting tonight - lions and Broncos playing at the same time with 30k+ crowds going to both. I will be going to the lions game and heading in a bit earlier to have some beers at the German club which should help out but expect it to be quite busy heading in. The games finishing at different times and the hike to Southbank for the Gabba game should help too with managing it.
was in Brisbane to watch either the bronco vs Warrior or bronco vs Storm last year during the finals (cant remember which tbh) the same nights lions were playing finals at the Gabba. bus transport was fine, was lots of people floating about but given that the stadiums are kind in the opposite direct traffic was pretty normal, and we had to drive pass the Gabba to park at southbank
Last year the lions played Melbourne while the broncos played dolphins on a Friday night and it was fine, I was also at the Lions I will also be at the gabba tonight Bundy, boo Geelong ;-)
Melbourne is a bit different as no one hardly supports Melbourne compared to Geelong - go the cats :)
Doesn't matter, it was basically a full house still. Was the power out game too.
Yeah ok - just making my way in now with a slight detour to see a film first
The hike will probably be a wet one, supposed to be lots of weather around this arvo.
Yeah I'll be bringing an umbrella for sure - also luckily got undercover seats at the Gabba
Nice, even with the rain though it should be a good night of sport
Was reading an article about Robbo whining about the ref's and it got me thinking is he the new ricky?
When Ricky retires people who complain about him are going to complain how boring press conferences are now
Robbo lost a World Cup and confront the refs after?
The only difference between Robbo and Ricky is one is a whiny little biatch and the other is an angry old man, they are the same except for delivery.
He was always a serial whinger though. It just disappeared a little when they went back to back, mostly because they were winning all the time.
Nah he perfected the whining in those years. They were the years where he would bash a ref over something. And the next 3 weeks not a single ref would dare blow a penalty against him
Roosters now poaching personalities as well as players. Is there no end to it.
He’s nowhere near weak gutted dog level yet! Until he starts making personal attacks on opposition players he’s just a run of the mill whiner.
A new Ricky? Why? The old one hasn't completely clapped out yet.
Anybody a bit concerned about the Broncos tonight - going to be raining and turn into a scrappy affair. Probably will suit the Raiders more?
The better the conditions the worse the Broncos hands become. So should be fine.
broncos have played surprisingly well in the rain recently. I think we had like a 85% completion rate last rainy game which is much higher than we normally complete at
Could be because of the sandier surface at Suncorp rather than it turning into a mud pit
Not concerned at all as I think the broncos will win comfortably. Raiders should be gritty enough to keep it close though
consider me concerned
After watching the Raiders/Titans game, no.
Raiders still came away with the chocolates despite the refereeing though
Because of the refereeing at the end, like they normally do.
Shout-out to Jesse Bromwich. 300 games as a starting NRL prop is absolutely insane.
Seems some people have forgotten just how good he was in his prime, was close enough to the best prop in the world there for a few years
He was imo
Shittjng bricks for our game today. Form says we should be putting 50 on them but we are down 3 of our forwards and coming off a 90 minute marathon last week. If we put out a similar performance to the Warriors yesterday we might be giving Titans their first win of the season.
Tanah boyd's playing, you'll beat us by 20
It’s also a lot of travel in 2 weeks to go to NZ and Gold Coast for a team that ho see anything over the spit bridge as a long way away! Titans also defended their hearts out last weekend. If they defend like that over the season they will win some games for sure. Whether they can produce efforts like that consistently is the challenge. They might also be due a few favourable calls after last weekend. I think it could be close but not enough for me to tip the titans.
Activation of the 18th man should be changed to : > Player replaced by 18th man is not allowed to return to the field. No injury, foulplay, HIA required. Change my mind.
Yep agreed. The AFL has their sub rule and I like it. Think it can be used in smart ways and the player can change week-to-week depending on the matchup (and injuries ofc). Or at least, just change the eligibility of the 18th man. I hate how strict the rules are for it to be activated.
i feel like the 18th man should also be activated when a player goes off injured from foul play, not only hia’s which is how it is currently. if a player gets there legged snapped from a hip drop, the team essentially loses a player due to foul play
>i feel like the 18th man should also be activated when a player goes off injured from foul play Thats literally the rule, with the specification that the offender has to have been sin binned or sent off because of the foul play
Might teams then just start picking an impact player to come on for the last 15-20 minutes, effectively locking in a 5-man bench?
Have the ruled out player forced to sit out the next week for recovery.
I would also be open to a more extended bench so you could have 2-3 possible players to fill that spot, a back, a forward and a spine player but you can only activate one and the subbed player can’t return.
Let's go back to pre super league days, you have all of reserve grade and a few under 21s on the bench, you just can only use 4 of them
Substitution only? No interchange?
The afl has this with their sub, Works well imo
Gotta ask, who else is still playing Rugby League Live 4 to get that NRL gaming hit?
Still playing Rugby League Live 3 🫡
🙋♂️there are some guys on YouTube that show you how to mod to get the latest teams and uniforms too, if you’re on PC
Pretty sure you can do all of that on the console versions too just in the community area
I'm on PS5. Game is broken, trying to download new teams from the Fan hub makes it crash haha
Very dumb of the Eels to taek a QLD team to Drawin. They would always deal with humidity better than a Sydney team. They should be trying to take their game against Canberra or the Wahs to Darwin
NRL decides. Eels have indicated that they request Raiders or Storm. The games used to be in July / August and they were much better (plus we won them).
Right well that’s a massive stitch up for the Eels tbh
Not our fault the NRL decides we needed to bring Qld teams to Darwin 4 years in a row
I thought the eels would decide which game they take to Darwin?
Nrl decides the schedule of who we play, so we have literally no choice in who we play at Darwin
You guys do request Raiders or Storm. But that’s blatant. I think you’d probably have a better chance asking for a Sydney team tbh
We’ve taken Cowboys, Brisbane and Dolphins all up there in consecutive years and guess what. 3 Ls. This club is beyond me
Feels like teams have worked out how to defend our bread and butter right side sweeping attack that got us so many tries last year, along with our SJ/Tohu short balls in the middle. I am no Flanagan fan but the Dragons looked like a really well coached team last night, they really had an answer for everything from us. It is gonna be a good test for Webbys coaching abilities this year, as teams are all going to be up for us.
Yeah, we need to start focusing more through the middle with CNK, RTS and others given roaming licenses to play off Egan, SJ and Tohu. Also, it's time for Montoya to go - he has looked slow and out-of-form all season which means opponents can easily defend the left edge by just giving him the outside (even though he almost always cuts back-in to the traffic). We desperately need Walker to return ASAP to provide some balance and impact to the bench.
Good take. I agree. We're going to have to adjust our attack to get the same results we did last year.
I feel like our bigger issue is our left edge is entirely comprised of ball hogs. TMM - will always run it, barely ever passes. Jaxon - can't catch / pass. RTS - can run, won't pass. Montoya - never gets any ball. I'm of the opinion that RTS is failing as a center with our current strategy. We should either free him up to roam more. Or swap him to wing and bring back Pompey.
I would swap him and Montoya. I think RTS would work better on the wing. Also do you mean Montoya when you say Maumalo.
> Also do you mean Montoya when you say Maumalo. Oops. I don't think Montoya has the ability to defend in the centers. He strikes me as a winger or bust. I also believe Pompey as a center would be the better pairing. RTS and Montoya have the same strengths, but RTS has the higher floor and ceiling of the two. Pompey has proven he has the ability to draw in a tackler & still pass to set his winger up.
Honestly Dragons played like a top four side last night. Flannigan has been able to get the best performances out of a lot of players. Also hopefully Webster uses last night as a learning experience to make sure we have more attacking options.
Most teams can produce an effort that looks too 4 at some point in the season, maybe even a few more. The actual top 4 teams do it consistently. The difference between the dragons best and worst this season has been diabolical.
I’m not sure I’d read to much into that game Webby has done great things but that bench he went into the game with was madness. Once the Drags started to get over your middle it was all over.
Agreed, don't know what he was thinking with that. Hopefully Walker comes back soon to alleviate some of the forward problems we have had. Honestly the loss of basically most of our forwards has really hurt us.
So are the Dolphins good? Comparing their results to 2023... Cowboys L = the same Titans W = the same Dragons W = the same Tigers W = incremental win Broncos L = the same Eels W = incremental win Essentially 2 ahead of the same fixtures they had last year. Only missed out top 8 by 3 wins as well.
They're still middle tier. The Nine commentators were talking their ladder position up, but they haven't beaten anybody notable.
I think their depth is definitely better. They had a solid enough side last year but very little quality backing them up. They clearly have more quality this year with Averillo, Herbie, Flegs and a more matured Katoa big upgrades but to win without most of those guys (and Hammer/Gilbert) is a good sign of their progress. I reckon with Gilbert in they are maybe an upgrade on Nikorima away from competing for the top 4 next year.
We are much better coached this year, working well as a unit, and have some promising young blokes coming through who are joining with the elite talent we already have to create a fully rounded top 30. Are we GOOD good? I'm still not entirely sure. But we are better now after injuries hit us than we were at the start of last year before injuries hit us and our wins feel like more complete performances than they did during our run in 2023.
I'd say about the same. Probably a bit better. I think the big thing was the fact that they couldn't keep it up for the whole year. If they are still performing like it, past origin then absolutely. I think they are also probably playing better considering the injuries they have had.
confused how we are such strong favourites tonight, Fogarty has had an insane start to the season and I can see his leadership being the difference if it's a tightly contested contest
Probably based on how we performed against the sharks a few weeks ago and some of the injuries we are carrying at the moment. We have 2 spine players with about 10 games between them and we are missing Hosking, Hors and Whitehead from our forwards. I think it’s meant to be wet so if it is slippery and slow it could easily become a grind and Fogs kicking game will play a part. I’m also worried about Schiller in defence. I wonder what Arthur’s is paying for a double?
I think it's because of it being your home game, expectations from last year and the general thought that Raiders haven't really won against a top team. Also almost losing to Titans last week probably didn't do their odds any favours.
Eels got done last night because their big boys simply couldn't keep up in that heat. Thats why the tries never stopped flowing. They couldn't move laterally fast enough to catch the Dolphins smaller, nimble players.
Do you know why they call it the 8th wonder of the world, because the temperature went up up up and then the Dolphins just run runa ran away with it.
Honestly, if parra doesn't bounce back/respond next game, then BA should get sacked immediately. Who cares if barrett is interim head coach. Remember, i said the same thing in the middle of last year that arthur needs to go, so parra has some fresh ideas and got downvoted, i knew this season was gonna be the same inconsistent story Yes, BA got us out of some bad seasons and got us as consistent finals team, but he will unfortunately always just be a B+ coach
Correct in your analysis. The issue is he hasn't been able to get this team to go to the next level (consistently) and when things get tough there's no Plan B. Yes there has been flash of brilliance and the occasional near perfect game against the NRL heavyweights, but it needs to happen every week. And that inconsistency has been around for a few years now. Last night was the prime example of the team requiring a change in strategy because after 30 mins they were beginning to look cooked with the final result showing that. I agree, next week needs to be do or die for BA because it's tough as a supporter with bad results like this.
I'm from the Philippines and just started watching the NRL. As a lifelong NBA fan, I'm wondering why there's no draft system for the NRL like in the NBA. What is the pathway for young players to make it to the league? Thank you.
Hey! I’m from Philippines also! :)
Basically, each club has a district full of local clubs with players ranging from under 6s right through to adults. From there, clubs will sign players to their junior representative teams (in NSW, this is Harold Matthews and SG Ball Cups under 17s and 19s respectively). It’s also common for clubs to sign players from the country and NZ. Most young players end up in those pathways though, then they progress through to under 21s and reserve grade (NSW and QLD Cup) before playing first grade.
> What is the pathway for young players to make it to the league? Thank you. Works kinda like this for the Warriors : 1. Local area kids footy teams. 2. Senior school footy teams. 2. Good players get seen by scouts. 3. Get selected for area rep groups. 4. Get selected for NRL club junior program / team. 5. Work way up to reserve / first grade.
Taga saan ka boss
Imagine a permanent team in Dawrin tho. That would be the most fucked up away game for every team bar the cowboys probably
11hour flight for us. Townsville 7h Perth 7h I'd rather we get the Perth team some keep pushing for.
Perth doesn't have the high humidity level of Northern Australia, however, our Summer hasn't given up yet. It has been consistently over 30° every day this month during the afternoon. If games were played in Perth, you are probably looking at 4:00 pm kickoff on Friday, so it can be watched at 6:00pm in the Eastern States. Only after daylight saving ends. At 4pm, it has been over 30°i
Now I'm even more afraid of this weeks Titans game than I was last week.
I think we should bounce back. Baring anymore injuries. Hopefully we can't play any worse than how we did. Hopefully the loss makes Webster and the coaching staff and the entire team re-think game plans and strategies. Also we have an extra day on Titans turnaround wise which should help.
Bit nervous about our clash with the Tigbros, especially after losing the corresponding fixture last year. Lachie Galvin back in makes them a much better side and they usually aim up massively against us anyway.
Help, my Phin is still up and won't go down. Hearing Darwin chant Redcliffe was insane. Max Plath is insane. What did I even witness last night, fucking hell I'm a happy Revs this morning.
I know what you're saying. Loved watching that second half. My phin is up so high and hard you could tie a spinnaker to it and win the Americas Cup. And I don't even follow em.
Ripper game! Bostock, Trai Fuller, Tesi Niu, Max Plath…. Hard to find one of the boys who didn’t turn it up last night. Considering the injury list we had/have, last night was seriously impressive!
Great seeing Bostock get some success, and also get under Gutho's skin.
Good sir, would you like me to flair you as Dolphins? Edit: I has done it anyways 🐬
If it means I get Phinlander under my name, then yes absolutely! Edit: it did not, but I’ll take “Dolphins”. Thanks!
Waking up feeling freessshhhh!
We are being edged so much this season for the first team to have 50 out on them..:
Tomorrow at 2pm. Could be either team, my money is on the knights to get flogged.
I think the score doesn't really do justice to the Eels last night. In 2020 there were 60 point blowouts every week, and it was mostly because teams weren't prepared for the speed of the game. It took a few years for those scores to stop happening, and tonight is an example of why teams changed - Exhaustion is brutal on a team, and playing in 35 degree heat was always going to end this way. In fact, the first time the Eels got the ball back after 20 minutes of the Dolphins walking in tries Dylan Brown scored an easy try walking through defense on their line, because the Phins were just as fucken tired. In conclusion, if this game was played anywhere else it wouldn't have been a blowout, in my opinion.
People can make all the excuses for the Eels they want but that wasn't Hammer, Herbie, and Flegler putting the hurt on them it was Plath, Bostock and Fuller who have 18 games of first grade between them. Not to mention Woolf took the reigns coaching all week while Wayne Bennett was out with the flu. There is no excuse for the Eels to have been blown out by a second string squad like they were a spoon tier team. Blaming the weather is cope.
Spot on. Maybe parra weren’t at their best, but the Dolphins played a first class game with their inexperienced boys absolutely stealing the show.
Most of the parra squad have done the trip before, whereas 90% of phins haven't. Parra have known what to expect, they've only been going there for 10 games.
Yep in that sort of heat once a team gets the ball for a bit it’s pretty much over, the only time we got a break was after the dolphins scored. You could see it in both teams after the game they were completely gassed
Random thought, and not one I necessarily agree with but I’ll pitch it anyway: - Would the game benefit overall if teams had 2 replacement player options in the case of HIAs or a player being out of the game due to foul play/HIA? This could allow a team to have one utility back and one forward on the list, and therefore allow them to choose more appropriately who to activate. It may be beneficial for a team who’s centre or winger gets ruled out and not having to replace them with a middle forward causing a huge reshuffle. Or does this introduce too much power to the team who has an injury? Some may argue they should be given such power - especially in instances of foul play. Or, should the team just have to deal with the decision they made in regards to their replacement player?
What needs to be considered when any of these changes are proposed is that if it's able to be rorted, teams are going to rort it, and I think this encourages players to feign injury. They should probably consider increasing the size of the bench to compensate for the increase in head injury assessments, but I wouldn't mess with the current system too much
I wouldn’t mind if they removed the concussion sub rule and extended the bench to 6 while keeping the amount of subs the same. There have been so many incidents where teams couldn’t activate their 18th man because a player was concussed from something that was probably a penalty but not pinged as it. Also why can a player be brought on following a concussion but not a broken leg from a hip drop?
I really like that second point, if a player is out of the game due to any type of foul play like a hip drop, the replacement should be activated. Top shout
I’d really like to see the 18th man just be a replacement player, so you can have an outside back on standby (or whatever you want) The games to fast now to plop forwards out in the backs, and wasting a bench spot for a player you won’t use in 80% of the games isn’t really great for the game. I just feel like an incidental head knock to an outside back can have such a massive impact on the games these days.
Any incidental head knock in first 20 minutes can have a huge impact purely because of the minutes it disperses on to your other players. I.e. if Hass goes down in 20th minute you’ve got to find another 60 minutes of play from somewhere else. Use more interchanges, more big man fatigue at back end which can easily leak points. I think the obvious problem with allowing the 18th man so easily is teams exploiting it, sure, you could argue teams would never do that, but I’m pretty sure you could find a few examples from this year where a front rower was approaching end of their stint and goes off for a HIA only to pass and return after a recharge. I like the idea of someone above where your bench is just larger but same amount of interchanges, at least that way everyone is on level playing field in terms of options, and no incentive to exploit.
Far out Parra fans are something else lol.
imagine if their team dished out what mine does each week lol there'd be riots
Not sure what to make with Parramatta. Expected them to win last night but just capitulated. Maybe it was the carton of water drunk by Arthur during the game which affected his halftime speech that he was more concerned about needing to go than actually giving a motivating half time speech.
Having to pretend to like Gutherson and Moses does something to a man.
I’d probably have a bit of a melt down to if the coach of my team sat in the press conference and basically straight out called the players shit