Season 2018 is a roughie’s year. It’s a year that has so far tossed up some hair-raising results and unexpected scenarios for fans and administrators across the NRL spectrum.
Teams who struggled in the past are running strong. Players who were seen as junk by one club have become another club’s treasure.
In betting terms life’s been good to the ones who have had a little extra on the line in 2018.
But what about the ones on the other side of the ledger? The players, the fans and the administrators who are sweating bullets and chomping their collective fingernails as the charges they’ve backed in 2018 have been left flailing at the starting gates with little to no hope of returning to the field?
A quick scan of this group of underachievers has a few notable names rearing their heads above the rest and are worth pointing out to the game’s everyday punters.
As a starter, let’s look at the Bulldogs. The proud and loud Bankstown club is currently sitting in second last with little to no visible light at the end of the deep tunnel in which they currently reside.
The blue and white army were by and large unhappy with Des Hasler as their club’s coach by the middle of 2017 and felt that their front row warrior, James Graham, was not offering the punch he once did.
(AAP Image/Paul Miller)
The club’s hierarchy agreed, so by the end of 2017 Des had his bags packed for him, crowd favourite Josh Reynolds was allowed to walk out the back door and James was offloaded to the Dragons.
Replacing the now departed Belmore trio, Dean Pay, Aaron Woods and Kieran Foran were handed the keys to the kennel at Belmore.
Many were optimistic about the arrival of the new recruits, particularly coach Pay. A new team mentor with different ideas is what was needed at the Bulldogs, according to many of the club’s faithful fans.
On paper Aaron Woods had been a good player at the Tigers. He was the then New South Wales and Australian prop and was good mates with fellow prop David Klemmer.
Foran is a premiership winner and a hardened leader when fit and firing.
But since the trio’s arrival at Canterbury not one of them have landed a punch. It’s clear that Foran is not the player he once was; Woods has made a mockery of Supercoach stats, proving they are unreliable indicators of game impact; and Dean Pay has shown that new bells and whistles aren’t always the solution.
It must be a real kick in the wheels for Bulldogs fans to see the likes of James Graham leading and playing well at the Dragons while his 2018 replacement, Woods, is flopping harder than a pancake on Tuesdays.
The Bulldogs board have backed the wrong mares in 2018 and will be punished for it too. They won’t make the eight this season and they can forget about 2019 as well.
(Will Russell/Getty Images)
Then we have Manly. The Northern Beaches club’s current troubles are well documented. Cap woes, player turmoil and sloppy on-field outings have muddied the 2018 season beyond repair.
One of the more notable controversies coming out of Brookvale is the Daly Cherry-Evans and Jackson Hastings blow-up.
The club fought hard to keep Cherry-Evans from going to the Titans. Backing him to the hilt, the team moved on older players who were rumoured not to have seen eye to eye with the crafty number seven. They also gave him the captaincy. But for the third time in his career Cherry-Evans is at the centre of allegations involving team splits and player unrest.
It has been suggested that he didn’t get on well with some of the Queensland players when he was playing State of Origin.
There were supposed issues with Manly legends Glenn and Brett Stewart, and now there is the public Jackson Hastings squabble which has seen Manly coach Trent Barrett come out and indirectly back Cherry-Evans.
As a result Cherry-Evans’s golden boy image is currently taking a battering. The Hastings debacle and Manly’s on-field performances have landed some big punches on Cherry-Evans, which are causing things around him to sink very quickly. It certainly appears Manly and the club’s coach have backed the wrong yearling to lead their team forward over the next decade.
(AAP Image/Brendan Esposito)
How about the James Maloney-Matt Moylan swap? What a bargain if you’re a Panthers follower!
Penrith have managed to get the equivalent of a BMW coupe for their Daihatsu Charade. Maloney is a proven winner, a smart tactician, an on-field leader and a lucky charm.
On the other side, Moylan is an injury-plagued and troubled 27-year-old who still gets spoken about like he’s a teenager. He’s won precisely diddly squat, yet Cronulla thought they were getting a fair trade.
Gus Gould must have thought all his Steedens had come at once when the two playmakers traded places.
Shane Flanagan has put his money at the wrong gelding, which will see the Sharks finish behind the mountain men in 2018 as a result.
These are just a few of the calamities clubs, players, coaches and fans have seen this season, and there are plenty more to talk about too. Anthony Milford over Ben Hunt, anyone?
Daz
Roar Rookie
As I said, he's overrated. I can't understand how he has been so favoured by selectors. Give me james graham any day - as the saints would no doubt agree!
Daz
Roar Rookie
I can't agree more about the dogs. Dean Pay is not an NRL standard coach. And if you're going to bring back the dogs of war, you don't punt james graham for Aaron woods, an overrated player from a losing tigers team (though much better this year coincidentally) and a losing blues side.
Jacob
Guest
Arguably Maloney looks better when not playing alongside Cleary. I think Moylan will definately get better through the year. I dont like to call him injury prone, save that for Josh Dugan.
Richard POWELL
Roar Rookie
Woods and Tedesco seeking backflip advice from DCE?
Richard POWELL
Roar Rookie
No. It's got nothing to do with that either. He lives in Sydney now and he has to service Tara's needs on a regular basis..
Magic Lyrebird
Guest
Agreed MM
Magic Lyrebird
Guest
I'd take Graham over Woods too. Having said that, I reckon Woods this year is better than Graham was last year.
The Barry
Roar Guru
I agree with most of that...but you’re wrong on one count - Woods makes good post contact metres because he’s strong and it takes a while to get him to ground.
Adam
Roar Guru
It's ok TB it was probably the hair cut he had earlier in the season that troubles people so greatly
Adam
Roar Guru
I think it is his team not keeping up with him if I were to be honest. I don't think Cronk's age is the issue
Mr Brown
Roar Pro
And that's the point, isn't it? He doesn't have a great influence on the game's results. Don't' get me wrong, he's a decent prop, but he ain't a game changer.
Birdy
Guest
Hi TB Everything you said is totally correct. Infact one of my pet hates is people who do what I'm doing now. ie , criticising a player who has achieved much more than I could of dreamed of. Even Blocker said Woods is a meter eater and would be his first pick in any team. My frustration is his "lack of aggression" The last 2 games the tigers lost, Newcastle and Parra, I don't think Woods would have made up the difference, I'm hating having to say this , but I think Packer would have.
mushi
Guest
As I've written in countless other spots - that is just a failing of our ability to process readily available information.
Forty Twenty
Guest
I don't have a huge opinion of Woods either way but if played for QLD none of this talk would be around because of their winning record. I find it very hard to believe he would keep on being selected for Australia if the coach and Captain as well as other leading players thought he was the dud that plenty of punters think he is. Steve Price wasn't a cranky beast either and maybe he was a similar player to Sharron , I mean Arron.
Remo Shankar
Roar Pro
I don't think you can lump Dean Pay in as part of the argument being put forward for the Bulldogs. He inherited this team and to me (and I'm not a Bulldogs supporter) its seems obvious that this year the Dogs are playing way better than last year. They actually are starting to resemble a team and getting back to playing some decent footy (granted, it's still not consistent). Hasler did a lot of damage at the Dogs (not just with his contract shenangans) and I think Dean Pay is doing a pretty good job.
Albo
Guest
I am not as critical of Woods as most seem to be here. Sure he doesn't come across as the "tough nut" hard working type like a Graham or Klemmer , but he generally gets his metres, and at times, plenty of metres whilst attracting plenty of defence. Most importantly he offers some attacking variation that the Dogs need, with his ability to off load and create 2nd phase play, if only the Doggies supported him more here ? Whilst Graham has been an inspirational figure to his teams, he looks to be coming close to career end for mine. I think he is struggling physically these days ( injuries ?), and I think the Dogs have more upside with the younger Woods and the swap will prove to be the right one in time.
Beastie
Roar Rookie
Woods runs, hits the line, stands around for a couple of seconds looking for an offload, then gets wrestled to the ground resulting in a slow play the ball that gives the opposition enough time to have some tea and a scone whilst making sure they're identifying the next play on the cards. Taumololo runs, hits the line, keeps pushing and is then held either standing up or on the ground, but is straight back up ready to get a fast play the ball and allow the hooker to cut through some retreating defence, or feed the ball to the play makers with room to move. Metres gained is not always the best tool to rate a forwards impact on the game. Post contact metres should be discussed more for forwards I believe.
Albo
Guest
Far too early to be calling "soft draws" and nominating who are "top 8 sides" . Perhaps one of the reasons the Panthers haven't beaten many " current top 8 sides" is that Penrith have beaten a few of them, a couple of them twice, forcing them out of the 8 ? . At the start of the year Cowboys were lauded to have the best pack of all time by some experts, and tipped as likely premiers. The Panthers demolished them in Townsville. Will the Cows finish the year outside the Top 8 ? They are 2 wins outside the 8 now. Lets see. The Eels were tipped as top 4 material at the start of the year, the Panthers beat them twice. The Eels are now 2 wins out of the 8. This is a long season and there will be plenty of changes in " top 8" makeup before the season is over. Three or four back to back wins by teams the Panthers have already beaten would likely see these teams jump into the "top 8" and suddenly making the Panthers wins more creditable ? Right now the Panthers are playing well despite the mass of injuries they are carrying, and with a tad of luck they could be undefeated. Can they hang on to their form till they get more troops back ? I think so , if their pack keeps performing. Its would be a pretty brave call to rule them out of the "finals" when they will likely just need to win 7 of the their remaining 16 matches to make the finals ? Lets see where we all are at round 25 before deciding who has had the "soft draw" and who are the real "top 8 " teams.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Yeah I stand by that aggression comment...it doesn’t make him a bad player though and doesn’t make his metres less valuable. The difference is when a Klemmer or a Steve Roach or whatever front rower you like has an off day, you’d never call them soft. When Woods has an off day - like he did against the Panthers - he looks very soft. And those performances stick in the mind. You remember those and forget the solid games and even very good games. As I said above Woods was outstanding against the Roosters but there were very few people who said “Woods had a real go there”. Woods’ good games certainly outweigh his soft games...whether an 800K front rower should ever have a soft game is another question. If he was really as bad as the court of public opinion makes out would he have played 14 games for the Blues and 15 tests, won a World Cup and captained an NRL side before age 27? I know selectors don’t always get it right but to suggest that they would have been so consistently hoodwinked by someone so poor is laughable.
The Barry
Roar Guru
When is a metre not a metre? When Woods runs it. Right.