Reds prepare for life without Cooper
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No Quade Cooper, no problem. That was the Queensland Reds’ attitude as they backed fill-in No.10 Ben Lucas to keep their Super Rugby title defence on track despite not making a final decision on whether to appeal playmaker Cooper’s one-game ban.
Reds coach Ewen McKenzie said they would wait until they received the written judgement on Cooper’s suspension – expected to be later on Tuesday – before making a final call ahead of Saturday night’s qualifying final with the Sharks.
In a major blow to the defending champions, Cooper was found guilty of a dangerous tackle on NSW centre Berrick Barnes in Queensland’s 32-16 final round win over the Waratahs after a marathon judicial hearing on Monday night.
“We will look at the reasons then go forward,” McKenzie said on Tuesday.
“We think there might be grounds (to appeal) but it doesn’t mean we will go forward with it.
“We will make an informed decision when we get all the information but we have to get on with our preparation for the Sharks.”
A gutted Cooper said on Monday night he was wary of appealing due to the risk of adding more weeks to his ban if unsuccessful.
However, McKenzie said he would not be losing any sleep over utility back Lucas slotting in for the Wallabies five-eighth in the sudden death finals clash at Suncorp Stadium.
“I am not worried (about using Lucas). We have always said we are confident for cover if Quade is out,” he said.
“Hopefully he rises to the occasion. He has done it before for us.”
The last time Lucas filled in for Cooper at No.10 he helped inspire a stirring 42-27 win over New Zealand conference winners the Chiefs.
Reds captain Will Genia looked forward to combining with Lucas who seemed set to get the nod over their other No.10 option, goal-kicking inside centre Mike Harris.
“Ben has been exceptional the times he has been at 10 for us – he will step in and do the job,” Genia said on Tuesday.
“It is obviously very disappointing not having Quade play but in terms of the process you have to trust it and back the decision that was made.
“From our point of view we have to move on.”
Queensland will be out to exact revenge when they vie for a seventh straight win in front of a predicted 50,000-strong pro-Reds crowd.
They led the Sharks 17-0 in their early season clash in Durban but somehow lost 27-22 – along with Lucas and Harris to injury as well as Digby Ioane to suspension.
It sparked a three-game losing slump, threatening to derail the Reds’ title defence – not that Genia had to be reminded.
“I can’t wait. From 17-0 up then to lose the game … I am really looking forward to another opportunity to play them,” he said.
If the Reds beat the Sharks then Cooper will be free to return for the semi-final against the Chiefs in Hamilton next week.
© AAP 2013The Crowd Says (60) | Page 1 of Comments
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July 18th 2012 @ 7:56am
formeropenside said | July 18th 2012 @ 7:56am | Report comment
I’m guessing that apart from Lucas in for Cooper, it will be the same XV as per the Tahs game. Hopefully Simmons leg has recovered with another weeks rest, as he was obviously playing on one leg last Sat night. Maybe Beau for Gill, to rest him, but since Beau is still carrying a foot injury himself, he is probably best off the bench.
I also assume Frisby will come into the 22- all the other backs are out injured, more or less, and he is versatile enough to play wing or fullback in a pinch.
July 18th 2012 @ 9:50am
Ash said | July 18th 2012 @ 9:50am | Report comment
Just saw footage on Twitter from the Courier Mail showing how Sonny Bill got away with a high shot last weekend. Nothing was done and he is playing on Saturday.
Where’s the consistency?
July 18th 2012 @ 10:57am
Tissot Time said | July 18th 2012 @ 10:57am | Report comment
SBW has been given the same as Cooper – one week off
July 18th 2012 @ 3:12pm
Ash said | July 18th 2012 @ 3:12pm | Report comment
Yeah true lol. But not from suspension.
July 19th 2012 @ 6:51am
murph73 said | July 19th 2012 @ 6:51am | Report comment
The Reds are unpopular financially for SANZAR, hence Digby getting four weeks and Cooper getting a week while identical offences go unpunished.
July 19th 2012 @ 6:53am
Bazza All Black said | July 19th 2012 @ 6:53am | Report comment
Whoa paranoid much….
Get that tin foil hat back onto your head…
July 19th 2012 @ 7:16am
Red Kev said | July 19th 2012 @ 7:16am | Report comment
It’s not that they’re unpopular financially, it is that the Reds scare the SARU and the NZRU because they can beat their best teams and that doesn’t fit with their notion of who should dominate the Super Rugby.
That’s why Cooper got a week when Rynhardt Elstadt and Sonny Bill Williams got nothing for clotheslining people this week, not even a card.
And Digby got 5 weeks. The most ridiculous thing about that was the wording of the decision, “entry point 6 weeks” when compared to the other spear tackles this season like Rob Horne (entry point 4 weeks) and Frans Steyn (card only, no citing).
July 19th 2012 @ 9:14am
Drop kick said | July 19th 2012 @ 9:14am | Report comment
So you are saying the refs got together before the matches and conspired to not penalize SAand NZ players and to make Cooper tackle Barnes above the shoulder. Little paranoid eh!
July 19th 2012 @ 9:43am
Red Kev said | July 19th 2012 @ 9:43am | Report comment
They did penalise them.
And citing decisions take place after matches not before them.
I am saying after the matches the officials looked at Rynhardt Elstadt and Sonny Bill Williams high shots and Frans Steyn’s spear tackle and decided not to do anything about them. Then looked and Cooper’s and decided to rub him out for a match.
That is all fact.
I am deliberately stirring the pot in saying that they did it because Cooper and the Reds scare them and don’t fit their notion of where power lies in Super Rugby (i.e. Crusaders, Bulls, Blues, Stormers).
July 19th 2012 @ 9:53am
Team taniwha said | July 19th 2012 @ 9:53am | Report comment
If they scare NZRU and SARFU so much, why did they lose to Crusaders, Sharks and Bulls?
Scare them so much that they gift the reds home ground advantage…
July 19th 2012 @ 9:59am
Red Kev said | July 19th 2012 @ 9:59am | Report comment
Cooper’s suspension is a very thinly-veiled attempt to offset the SARU imposed condition of home-ground advantage (go read yesterday’s threads about how SA who had only one Super Rugby championship at the time of negotiations made the demand of home ground advantage to conference winners for fear of missing out on the post-season continually).
July 19th 2012 @ 6:03pm
biltongbek said | July 19th 2012 @ 6:03pm | Report comment
Except, Frans Steyn is not playing anyway as he wasn’t on the Sharks’ team roster early enough, so even if he was banned it would not have changed the situation
July 20th 2012 @ 6:47am
Red Kev said | July 20th 2012 @ 6:47am | Report comment
I was waiting for someone to bring that up.
The difference is that it would have appeared on Steyn’s record. That is a very very important point.
After all, read the Ioane suspension decision, a prior suspension is still considered relevant when sentencing you FOUR YEARS later. That Steyn gets off scott-free is a big deal.
July 20th 2012 @ 6:57am
biltongbek said | July 20th 2012 @ 6:57am | Report comment
Redkev, sure it isn’t going to be on Steyn’s record, but then you can probably add another dozen players to that list.
I understand Steyn’s incident happened on the same weekend, hence it is used as a comparison, but no more important than all the other incidents that have not been cited.
July 19th 2012 @ 10:04am
Ryan said | July 19th 2012 @ 10:04am | Report comment
Is this the same Reds team who lost to the Stormers, Bulls, Sharks and Crusaders this year?
July 19th 2012 @ 10:13am
Red Kev said | July 19th 2012 @ 10:13am | Report comment
Yes, the same one that has won 11 of 16 games compared to the Bulls and the Sharks only winning 10.
July 19th 2012 @ 10:24am
Ryan said | July 19th 2012 @ 10:24am | Report comment
The same team who won 7 against their own conference partners amassing 5 wins from 3 of their own teams who are in the bottom 5 not to mention two wins against the bottom teams in both the rival conferences giving them a total of 7 of 11 wins over bottom 5 placed teams. Wow that really is something to be proud of.
P.s you keep harping on about the Reds having more wins than the Sharks and Bulls reality is wins don’t mean Jack unless teams are tied on points of which the Reds were not. So by all accounts the Sharks and Bulls are higher placed than the Reds.
The Reds finished 6th they did not finish 3rd.
They are seeded third due to winning a weak conference nothing more.
The Reds only get a home final due to a huge advantage playing in an inferior conference and a flawed final systems.
July 19th 2012 @ 10:26am
Red Kev said | July 19th 2012 @ 10:26am | Report comment
A system demanded by the SARU and now disadvantaging South African Super Rugby teams – karma is a beautiful thing.
July 19th 2012 @ 10:40am
Ryan said | July 19th 2012 @ 10:40am | Report comment
Some of the posts you make really are quite infantile at times Red Kev,
Is it that far beyond you to admit that the Reds are benefitting greatly due to the flawed finals system?
no matter what our opinions are it wont change the fact this year at least but try and look at it through both eyes. The Reds are very lucky to be in the position they are in to host a final.
July 19th 2012 @ 11:02am
Red Kev said | July 19th 2012 @ 11:02am | Report comment
They are not opinions, they are facts.
The Reds deserve to be where they are. The rules of the competition haven’t suddenly changed to give the Reds a home final.
Every team started the season on zero points knowing exactly what they had to do to host a final – win their conference. If they Bulls want to complain about not hosting a game, perhaps they should have beaten the Stormers.
The finals system isn’t flawed. It does what it is supposed to do – determine a winner.
You and a lot of the other posters here are hamstrung by the absurd notion that everything has to be 100% fair and equitable. Fairness doesn’t exist in sport – squads are never 100% fit and available, games are not played at neutral venues. Balance exists, and Super Rugby is as balanced as it can be given the geographic distances and childish demands of the SARU when it comes to scheduling and seeding for the finals.
The infantile nature of complaints by posters like you astonishes me. That American Sports Fans can comprehend and accept a conference system but that South African and New Zealand fans can’t is shocking to me. I guess we really do lack sophistication and maturity in the Southern Hemisphere.
I will say it again, the finals system isn’t flawed. I refer you to Greg Russell’s comments here (3rd and 7th):
http://www.theroar.com.au/2008/10/30/super-14-finals-expansion-delayed/
July 19th 2012 @ 11:14am
Jutsie said | July 19th 2012 @ 11:14am | Report comment
RK I agree with your post but I wouldn’t say its only NZ and SA fans that cant comprehend or accept the new system.
There aren’t many complaints from aussie fans atm but I bet there would be if the shoe was on the other foot just like many reds fans were whingeing a few weeks ago about the bonus point system because the brums were ahead of them despite less wins.
What I find amusing from the article you posted is that the sth african roar’ers were supporting the new system and aussie supporters were bagging it back in 2008. My how times have changed.
I guess we are all in the same boat we can all let our passion for our team get in the way of logical and rational thinking.
July 19th 2012 @ 11:39am
ohtani's jacket said | July 19th 2012 @ 11:39am | Report comment
The SANZAR conference system most closely resembles the NFL conference system and ever since the wildcard system was introduced there have been “infantile” and “absurd” proposals to modify the playoff system, especially after 2008 when the 8-8 San Diego Chargers clinched the AFC West and then hosted and defeated the 12-4 wildcard Colts. This was all the more controversial as the 11-5 Patriots couldn’t even earn a wildcard spot that year.
July 19th 2012 @ 11:48am
Red Kev said | July 19th 2012 @ 11:48am | Report comment
@Justie
I really like the bonus point system – if it isn’t there the table is very boring, you don’t even need points, just number of wins listed. Personally I would scrap the “losing within seven points” bonus point and just award a bonus point for 4 tries or more in a match.
Similarly with the conference winners – I would seed the top four teams according to points, that way the conference winners all host at least one final, but the points still make a difference to their progression through the playoffs. (You could potentially have two teams from the same conference seeded 1 and 2 with this system).
Even without my preferred minor tweaks, the current system does the best it can with what it has to work with(that being large geographic distances, a petulant SARU, and a lack of player depth in Australia). It is not perfect, but nor is it diabolically unfair.
@OJ
I posted it somewhere else – that is precisely the intent of any finals or playoff system – to create the possibility of upsets to keep people interested in it. It means that winners have to deliver in big moments under pressure and not just statistically over a season. It is why the FA Cup is so much more exciting than the Premier League.
July 19th 2012 @ 6:05pm
biltongbek said | July 19th 2012 @ 6:05pm | Report comment
Red Kev said | July 19th 2012 @ 10:26am | Report comment
A system demanded by the SARU and now disadvantaging South African Super Rugby teams – karma is a beautiful thing.
—————-
I love the way your mind works, are there many voices?
July 19th 2012 @ 6:19pm
AndyS said | July 19th 2012 @ 6:19pm | Report comment
The trick isn’t to quiet the voices, it is to get them singing harmonies.
July 19th 2012 @ 12:18pm
Thurl said | July 19th 2012 @ 12:18pm | Report comment
The system is what it is and if it isn’t this system then it would be another with an equal number of complaints. I don’t have any problems with this system even though the potential exists for one team to be given an advantage disproportanate to their place on the table. So what if its the Reds this year…next year it will be someone else, thats just the way it goes.
I’m happy to see a sixth place conference winner get a home game in round one of the finals, but as the grand final venue is dertimed by the round robin placings, then I think they should go back to their original placing
I have to say Red Kev I do find it funny watching you recite your conspiracy theroies while scrambling for the moral high ground over this. I say, enjoy it while you benefit but don’t bitch when you don’t
July 19th 2012 @ 12:25pm
Red Kev said | July 19th 2012 @ 12:25pm | Report comment
I don’t really believe my conspiracy theories, I just like them.
I’m pretty sure if I was a Blues supporter I could come up with some crackers for this season.
July 19th 2012 @ 5:06pm
murph73 said | July 19th 2012 @ 5:06pm | Report comment
It’s the same Reds who won 11 games with a massive injury toll at 10/12 for a significant part of the season:
Cooper
Faingaa
Lance
Harris
Tapuai
Lane
Lucas
There is no team in the comp that could’ve won 11 games with such a concentration of injuries in such pivotal positions.
Things were that bad that the Reds got belted by Force; so I wouldn’t get too confident that the Bulls and Sharks would’ve beaten a remotely full strength Reds side. The Reds were up 17-0 against the Sharks before Lucas & Harris pulled up lame. They would’ve smashed them otherwise.
July 19th 2012 @ 5:20pm
Jutsie said | July 19th 2012 @ 5:20pm | Report comment
agree with what u say murph but also think there was a bit of complacency and at the selection table at the start of the year. The pack seemed to have a bit of a grand final hang over and Link took too long to drop under performers for guys in form.
July 19th 2012 @ 5:30pm
murph73 said | July 19th 2012 @ 5:30pm | Report comment
Agreed with that Jutsie. It took a little while for Link to realise that the old Samo hadn’t turned up
July 19th 2012 @ 5:39pm
Jutsie said | July 19th 2012 @ 5:39pm | Report comment
Yeah I didnt want to single out samo as his been through alot this year but thats exactly who i was thinking about and also picking robinson ahead of gill at the start of the year and daley ahead of holmes.
At least he made the changes before it was too late!
July 19th 2012 @ 10:44pm
stillmatic1 said | July 19th 2012 @ 10:44pm | Report comment
wouldve smashed them otherwise!! sounds a bit more like the wallaby game of getting a big early lead then giving it up easily. dont know how a couple of backs couldve saved your bacon too much in that game im afraid. nor how having backline issues means that the forwards decided not to show up for half a season. but nice try murph73.
July 18th 2012 @ 11:10am
Bearfax said | July 18th 2012 @ 11:10am | Report comment
No Cooper…the Reds chances just dropped dramatically. The Reds started to come back to life with Cooper back in the side. For all his faults, he and Genia are ther match winners.
July 19th 2012 @ 4:59pm
murph73 said | July 19th 2012 @ 4:59pm | Report comment
They did get a win against the Chiefs with Lucas at 10
July 19th 2012 @ 9:01am
Hoy said | July 19th 2012 @ 9:01am | Report comment
I will say that many similar tackles have been let off. It does appear that the Reds and Cooper have been dealt with harshly here. Maybe it deserved a week, but that is hard to swallow when there are many similar or worse tackles let go.
July 19th 2012 @ 10:03am
formeropenside said | July 19th 2012 @ 10:03am | Report comment
Added to the Ioane suspension earlier in the season, you can see Red Kev’s point of view.
July 19th 2012 @ 10:13am
Red Kev said | July 19th 2012 @ 10:13am | Report comment
It’s not really a point of view so much as a devil’s advocate play – I enjoy winding people up
July 19th 2012 @ 5:08pm
murph73 said | July 19th 2012 @ 5:08pm | Report comment
It’s my point of view. Ioane’s suspension stunk to high heaven
July 20th 2012 @ 6:49am
Red Kev said | July 20th 2012 @ 6:49am | Report comment
I meant that I don’t believe the conspiracy theory I spun out. Both suspensions (Ioane’s and Cooper’s) were poor decisions in my opinion.
July 19th 2012 @ 10:13am
Brett McKay said | July 19th 2012 @ 10:13am | Report comment
Hoy, I’m certainly still trying to work out Sonny Bill has escaped punishment, that one even looked bad..
July 19th 2012 @ 11:18am
Jutsie said | July 19th 2012 @ 11:18am | Report comment
even the kiwi commentators said it looked bad. I think the grapple tackle around the heads of opponent has to be looked at. I see it happen alot at breakdowns as well.
July 19th 2012 @ 5:53pm
murph73 said | July 19th 2012 @ 5:53pm | Report comment
SBW is untouchable mate
July 19th 2012 @ 10:14am
Ryan said | July 19th 2012 @ 10:14am | Report comment
Cooper is a big loss to the Reds but I think too much credit is being passed his way.
The Reds as a unit have improved in recent weeks and I would not put this solely down to his influence.
I would actually give more credit to the calibre of teams they have played recently which in essence may be actually giving Reds fans an over inflated opinion of the current standing of their team. Since their win over the Chiefs at Suncorp the Reds have played 15th, 7th, 13th, 9th and 11th 3 of these wins played at Suncorp and three of these teams in the bottom 5 and another in the bottom half of the table.
It could be reasnable to say the Reds have looked a little better than they actually are due to the calibre of opposition they have faced in the latter weeks of this competition?
July 19th 2012 @ 10:24am
Red Kev said | July 19th 2012 @ 10:24am | Report comment
Interesting point, but it is also worth noting that table position can be misleading – the top 9 teams all were within striking distance of the finals this year (all winning at least 9 games and finishing within 16 points of each other). So the Reds 6 on the trot includes three poorly performing teams (11th, 13th, 15th) and three contenders (2nd, 7th, 9th).
Realistically though if the Reds can’t beat the Sharks who have to travel from Durban to Suncorp and are without Lambie and Steyn then they really don’t have any excuses. They had the Sharks massively outplayed in their regular season match until both their flyhalves went down and the best halfback in the world was forced to play the game at no.10. Plus their best game of the season (against the Chiefs) was with Lucas at 10 not Cooper. There’s no reason the Reds should lose, if the Sharks can beat them their next opponent should be worried in my opinion.
July 19th 2012 @ 5:56pm
Dan said | July 19th 2012 @ 5:56pm | Report comment
well said mate
July 19th 2012 @ 10:28am
WQ said | July 19th 2012 @ 10:28am | Report comment
Ryan, unfortunately I am of the same opinion, however momentum is a wonderful thing and there is no doubt the Reds are a different side at Suncorp.
The other thing I would add is that I think Cooper impeded them last week against the Waratahs. I think he had a very ordinary game and was responsible for some of the indecision from Genia when he was slowing down the ball at the back of the Rucks. A number of times Genia was looking for a completely different play to Cooper and the result ended with Genia slowing down the play and keeping the ball at the back of the Ruck.
July 19th 2012 @ 10:36am
Ryan said | July 19th 2012 @ 10:36am | Report comment
I too think Cooper was more of a hindrance than a spark against the Tahs, but then again it didn’t matter because the Tahs are truly woeful and it was obvious from the start they were thinking of mad Monday and not the game at hand.
They were beat before they even boarded the plane for Brisbane IMO
July 19th 2012 @ 11:12am
formeropenside said | July 19th 2012 @ 11:12am | Report comment
We needed them to make it to the ground though so we could get the BP.
July 19th 2012 @ 1:48pm
Jutsie said | July 19th 2012 @ 1:48pm | Report comment
Your either letting your nationalistic hatred for the man get in the away of appreciating his flawed genius or you don’t understand the game at all. The bloke may do alot of dumb things but he is a magician and makes watching rugby so much more enjoyable to watch.
He is more important to the reds than even genia or gill.
July 19th 2012 @ 2:07pm
Ryan said | July 19th 2012 @ 2:07pm | Report comment
Its quite clear you are incapable of reading what was written and debating in a mature manner without throwing about little digs to somehow enhance your post.
Please stick to what has been posted not what you are trying to infer was posted.
P.s why is it that you only take exception to my post and not WQ after all I was agreeing with him on how we thought affected the game against the Tahs nothing more nothing less!
July 19th 2012 @ 2:25pm
Jutsie said | July 19th 2012 @ 2:25pm | Report comment
Lol im not taking an exception to your comment Im just stating that you are letting your bias get in the way of appreciating one of the most talented (but flawed) backs playing in the s15.
He doesn’t get much credit from opposing fans and even alot of aus fans because his reputation precedes him.
But he works hard on improving his game and has come along way from when he started in 2008.
IMO he is not the cocky “rockstar” that everyone make him out to be just an enthusiastic young bloke that sometimes lets his impulses take control of his actions.
On another note stop being so defensive, not every comment directed at you is an attack, some of us just write in a more verbose manner.
July 19th 2012 @ 2:16pm
WQ said | July 19th 2012 @ 2:16pm | Report comment
I am not sure if you are replying to me or Ryan Jutsie however I will reply anyway.
Not sure about Ryan however I certainly don’t hold any ‘nationalistic hatred for the man’, however having said that I don’t fall into the trap of over-rating the man either. Ok he has an excellent pass in both directions, probably as good as anybody else in the world. He also is quite capable in broken play at Super Rugby level and I am happy to see him playing for the Reds instead of against the Reds.
Having said all that, last weekend and basically since the last Tri-Nations game of 2011 he has been to say the least, ordinary!
He is badly out of form, his confidence is down and the so called magician you mention looks more like a circus clown lately.
Just before I go, at the present he is certainly way down the list of importance to the Reds let alone being more important than Genia or Gill!
July 19th 2012 @ 2:38pm
Jutsie said | July 19th 2012 @ 2:38pm | Report comment
WQ i was replying to ryan as i only had a quick glance at the comments whilst at work and missed ur comment.
I’ve detailed my thoughts above, but I would also like to add that i also think he had a woeful world cup. However his form since coming back from a serious knee injury has been gaining momentum. He may not be doing the crazy/brilliant tricks of s15 season but he is important to the reds because as u say he’s long pass is 2nd to none.
IMO even with genia on fire the backline has looked quite pedestrian and static in 2012 when cooper is has not been playing. He takes alot of pressure of genia.
July 19th 2012 @ 3:48pm
WQ said | July 19th 2012 @ 3:48pm | Report comment
Agreed Jutsie, he definitely takes pressure off Genia when they are gelling and going well. That did’nt happen in the game against the Waratahs and I felt that they were on different tracks. That could have been as much Genia as Cooper though when its all said and done.
July 19th 2012 @ 2:05pm
Ryan said | July 19th 2012 @ 2:05pm | Report comment
Oh dear some people really can not stomach the fact others do not rate Quade as highly as you would like us to.
Nowhere have I said anything derogatory to Quade I just do not believe he is as important to the Reds cause as you would like us to believe.
July 19th 2012 @ 3:06pm
mikeylives said | July 19th 2012 @ 3:06pm | Report comment
Carter is not that great a player either.
July 19th 2012 @ 3:51pm
Ryan said | July 19th 2012 @ 3:51pm | Report comment
Thats fair enough and I respect your opinion. Although I think it is made as a snide remark to something I posted and totally taken out of context by Jutsie who then went on to infer much more than what had been said.
By the way something that Jutsie failed to notice is that I only commented on one game yet somehow you are accussing me of nationalistic hatred how pathetic is that? Quade did not play an important role at all against the Tahs he was flat most of the game and offered little on attack and managed to get himself carded in a game they were clearly well on their way to winning. Like I said I agree with wWQ I do not think he is as important to the Reds as players such as Genia.
Now how he has managed to turn that into some form of hatred is absurd and a little embarrassing on Jutsies part especially
I challenge you or anyone else for that matter to find any comment on this site where I have made derogatory or hateful remarks to or about Quade Cooper.
July 19th 2012 @ 6:45pm
Kuruki said | July 19th 2012 @ 6:45pm | Report comment
It’s extremely absurd for him to accuse you of hating Cooper. That role sits squarely on my shoulders.
I challenge anyone to find a complimentary post i have made about him….. so i can delete it before anyone else see’s it.
July 19th 2012 @ 8:30pm
Jutsy said | July 19th 2012 @ 8:30pm | Report comment
Lol i dont know why he has taken such offence to me accusing him of having a hatred for cooper. I can proudly say i hate king richie with a passion (the smug cheating b@st@rd) but that doesnt blind me to the fact he is bloody great player. I know cooper isnt even in the same league but you wont be any less of a kiwi if u admit he plays an alright game.
July 19th 2012 @ 10:53pm
stillmatic1 said | July 19th 2012 @ 10:53pm | Report comment
but does he have an alright game? or is it just like any other park footballer ro touch footy player?
jutsie, you did accuse him of bias simply based on his opinion. so why wouldnt he take that personally? maybe some people like a little bit more substance in a player to truly rate them, not flash in the pan stuff that very rarely works, but when it comes off, all else is forgotten. is this what we want the sport to become all for the sake of entertainment? why not make a t20 rugby match?