As with every season, 2014 has been another year of talking points. We’ve had player misbehaviour, players backing out of big deals, injuries, oh and some footy.
Below are 25 of 50 random NRL thoughts, opinions, suggestions, statements, questions etc. These are purely random things that have crossed my mind in the past week or so.
1. I find it funny that people are calling the currently Penrith Panthers pretenders instead of praising the efforts of the club after a few lean years.
2. Although the gap is closing, I do not believe Robbie Farah to be as good as Cameron Smith.
3. Footy fans are quick to bag those in the media for criticising their club, even if it is completely warranted. I didn’t see many Tigers fans bagging journos for being negative when the spotlight was on the Sharks.
4. Channel Nine needs to stop defending their delayed telecasts on Sunday afternoon and either play the games live, or organise a 4pm kickoff timeslot with the NRL. In this day and age, where anyone can stream games online, and those in New Zealand get every game live, there is no excuse for delayed telecasts.
5. I can’t see a non-Sydney side contesting the grand final. Although there is a fair way to go, Manly, despite their off-field turmoil, look like absolute certainties for October.
6. Although it’s extremely fun to bag referees, I’m yet to see social media agree on a single 50-50 call. When, after repeated looks via the video, those watching at home are unable to agree, perhaps it’s time to cut the men in the middle a little slack?
7. If I were to pick a world 17 to play for the safety of earth I would go with 1. Billy Slater 2. Brett Morris 3. Greg Inglis 4. Josh Morris 5. Jarryd Hayne 6. Johnathan Thurston 7. Cooper Cronk 8. Matt Scott 9. Cameron Smith 10. Sam Burgess 11. Sonny Bill Williams 12. Sam Thaiday 13. Paul Gallen 14. Andrew Fifita 15. Greg Bird 16. Nate Myles 17. Kieran Foran
8. An NRL world sevens, or even nines would be awesome for the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. Unfortunately the home side would have to be made up of NSW and Queensland Cup players as no NRL side would release stars.
9. Can Ricky Stuart really still be referred to as a ‘super coach’? Since winning the comp in 2002 and guiding a massively over achieving Sharks side to within 80 minutes of a grand final several years ago, he has been particularly lean on the success front.
10. Despite calls from all sections of the public, tickets are too expensive. The Integrity Committee should be asked to investigate how the Sharks continue to justify charging $30 for an impeded view on a patch of grass at Remondis Stadium.
11. At $2 per week, the NRL’s digital pass is fantastic value. Live games on your device all season long is brilliant, especially for those of us unable to connect to Foxtel.
12. The NRL needs to stop broadcasting live scores on games being shown on delay on the aforementioned Digital Pass. At least put the “match now” option on a different page.
13. I love suburban grounds. Brookvale, Remondis, Leichhardt etc may not have the facilities of the larger stadiums, but how many childhood memories start with “I was sitting in row six, seat 17, isle 30”.
14. The Tigers have the most exciting bunch of youngsters I’ve seen. Promising players pop up all the time, however not in these numbers. Luke Brooks, Mitch Moses, Curtis Sironen and James Tedesco may all be playing together for NSW one day.
15. Player contracts need to mean more. It’s too easy for players to shift clubs mid-season, and too easy for players to be shifted off by clubs midseason. What ever happened to knuckling down to earn a first-grade spot?
16. I like everyone else am sick to death of the ASADA saga. Surely it would have been better to have gathered evidence before staging a hyperbolic press conference?
17. I wish more talented played from the English Super League would test their skills in the NRL. The only way England will ever truly challenge the Kangaroos and Kiwis is if their players ply their trade in the most elite competition in the world.
18. An Australian landslide victory over the USA is a bad look in a World Cup finals fixture, but if we were to remove all the less advanced nations from the competition, you might as well just run the Tri-Nations each season.
19. I thoroughly enjoyed the Auckland nines tournament and am looking forward to next year’s event. We will see more stars this time around as it is not a World Cup year.
20. There needs be a 3pm Saturday afternoon game every round.
21. Scrap Monday Night Football during Origin. Crowds are low enough for the created for television timeslot, let alone when clubs are missing their biggest names.
22. Play Origin over three consecutive weeks. The three week gap between fixtures causes way too much disruption to the NRL competition. Each team would have two byes during the four affected rounds, minimising disruptions.
23. What ever happened to the “Two hours of rugby league content each evening on digital Channel Nine plus two hours of content on Saturday and Sunday morning” clause in the NRL rights deal?
24. Pre-game and halftime entertainment is almost a forgotten art. Who decided it was a good idea to book a boy band to play in front a crowd dominated by 20-something year old males?
25. Jarrod Croker is just two points behind Johnathan Thurston – with 156 points for the season – as top point scorer. However, almost 30 tries have been scored down the Raiders left edge. Raiders fans, it’s the second stat that means he will not play Origin any time soon.
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