Roar Rookie
Joined March 2019
2.6k
Views
2
Published
76
Comments
Published
Comments
The Gold Coast Titans have everything necessary to be a force in rugby league, but instead they languish at the bottom of the ladder…
Can Brisbane support a second NRL team? Absolutely. Will Brisbane support a second NRL team? Nope. There is no doubt that these days Queensland…
What happens in Admin matters, yes.
Ben Ikin has turned the Broncos around in just a season-and-a-half, though looking at the way they finished the season one is entitled to have some doubts still.
Manly with a late push to be named NRL's worst-run club in 2022
One of the things that seems to come up again and again amongst Tigers fans is “Identity.” Who are they?
It’s clear that even after twenty years the two clubs are still grinding their teeth at each other – unlike St George and Illawarra, whose merger seems to have been (relatively) seamless.
Are younger fans divided this way, I wonder?
'Just go out every week and have a crack. That’s all we ask': What it’s like to be a Tigers fan
I’m willing to give Penrith the benefit of the doubt. They’re a young team – and young men do stupid things.
That’s not an excuse, it’s a fact. We as a society spend a huge amount of time and energy trying to shepherd young men through the danger years of 14 – 30. And these guys are cashed-up celebrities full of testosterone.
So yeah, I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt – or I was. But man… they just keep pushing it. There was practically a scandal every week last year, and even after they won. It’s gone quiet now, sure, but that’s because there’s no football on. And even then we had Tyrone May in the headlines.
Isn’t there some kind of older presence – not the coach – that can look after them and make them pull their heads in? Is that what Gus was when he was there?
'Maturity level must be questioned': How it feels to be a Penrith Panthers fan right now
“On a side note, can someone explain to me the thinking behind this documentary?”
Yes.
The Tigers brand is huge – even the casual observer who may not understand all the ins and outs of Rugby League knows the Tigers. In that sense, the Rabbitohs may be the only team that’s as well-known.
Plus, they are a club going through a tough time. Those of us who DO follow the game closely know this, so we want to watch.
Rated fairly well for a sports docco is my understanding. Whether the Tigers SHOULD have commissioned it is a different question.
Why shouldn’t we be blaming Maguire for this Tigers mess?
Gould has an enormous amount of experience, both as a coach and administrator. That’s not a myth.
He played a key role in getting this Penrith team to the state it is today. That’s not a myth.
What IS a myth is the more “boots on the ground” stuff he claims for himself. Remember, he sacked the coach that has turned this team around in three years from also-rans to Grand Finalists to Premiers.
And Phil Gould, Rugby League Oracle – that’s definitely a myth. He’s a fair commentator of play-by-play stuff, but his bias is incredible, he spends whole matches whining about how referees have ruined the game and running down the product he’s paid to spruik, and he’s one of the key reasons fans give for taking up a Kayo subscription – well, the Channel Nine commentary team in general, that is.
Phil Gould: The man or the myth?
He clearly has no remorse for the crime he committed.
His social media post comes very close to boasting about getting away with it.
The Panthers are entitled to decide whether they think that kind of attitude best represents the club (but on that note – see what I wrote below).
May to face Panthers board over social media antics
I mean, I’m all in favour of this. Sure.
But let’s not pretend the Panthers are the responsible adults here. It’s all for show.
If they were REALLY concerned about May’s behaviour, they wouldn’t have given him the contract he’s now in breach of – which they signed with him AFTER the sex tape stuff.
Which was an actual crime.
The truth is: his contract’s up in November, they think fans will be furious if he’s not re-signed (they won’t be, seems most fans have had enough of him), and this is their excuse to see him out the door.
May to face Panthers board over social media antics
Such a success that one member of the team, after twenty years, is an actual Victorian, and almost all their fans come from Queensland.
Yawn.
Bring back the Bears: A million reasons why they're needed right here and not PNG
After more than twenty years, the Melbourne Storm – who had to be propped up by a huge influx of funding from Newscorp – have one Victorian in their team.
Almost the entire team comes from QLD and the Pacific – and always has.
Melbourne is surely the team that disproves your thesis rather than supports it.
Bring back the Bears: A million reasons why they're needed right here and not PNG
I’m yet to hear a compelling argument why the Bears – the Central Coast Bears, at least – wouldn’t work.
They already have the fanbase; they have a beautiful boutique stadium on the Coast; they have heaps of goodwill from the Rugby League community; they’re already relatively successful in the NSW comp, so they wouldn’t be starting up from scratch (a key aspect looked at by the NRL when discussing expansion teams in Queensland).
Money? Maybe. That’s why they failed in the first place.
But my understanding is they have heaps tucked away, they had sponsors all lined up in the mid 2000s, and there were many who were shocked when they WEREN’T picked for expansion then, the license instead going to the Titans.
Bring back the Bears: A million reasons why they're needed right here and not PNG
You’ll notice I DIDN’T mention Penrith, and I DID mention Souths, when discussing what a good culture looks like.
They got knocked down and they got up again: Why the Roosters are so successful
And about 80% of the latte market.
They got knocked down and they got up again: Why the Roosters are so successful
Culture, culture, culture.
It’s why teams full of superstars often don’t win premierships, and their less capable cousins – on paper – often do.
It’s why the Melbourne Storm, which often takes punts on other people’s cast-off players or grows its own from within, renain dominant even without Smith, Cronk, Slater, et al.
It’s why the Roosters were always in the fight, even with half their talent (or more) missing.
It’s why the Rabbitohs can still make it to a Grand Final even without their gun fullback.
And it’s something the Bulldogs need to get their heads around for next year – this huge spending spree they’re on won’t mean anything if they can’t instill a real team culture in them.
Good article.
They got knocked down and they got up again: Why the Roosters are so successful
Tongans and Samoans aren’t even the same people or ethnicity as Papuans and Fijians.
As different from each other as Japanese and the Irish.
But they’re all “Pacific Islanders,” right?
Geeze Louise.
'One of the game's heartlands': Matty Johns' surprising pick for 18th NRL team
Nobody who actually knows anything about Papua New Guinea would put forward Papua New Guinea as a prospective expansion team – at least not for the foreseeable future.
The problem with Matty Johns dominating about eighteen hours of Fox’s League daily coverage is that he’s come to believe his opinions are noteworthy.
'One of the game's heartlands': Matty Johns' surprising pick for 18th NRL team
The Warriors are barely afloat, the Storm had to be propped up by Newscorp – who owned half the entire NRL – for years and years, and really only survived because News refused to let them die.
And the Cowboys took years to get off the ground – Kerry Boustead had to spend years begging for a shot, and mainly got them the chance because, like the Broncos again, they were promised a line-up of existing Origin stars who wanted to return home.
Adelaide, the Reds, the Crushers (in Queensland, no less) have all failed, and the Titans almost have. Having an existing brand is just too important.
Redcliffe Dolphins set to be named NRL's newest club
No, I’m not getting them mixed up with the Firehawks, which I never believed was a bid with much hope.
The Bombers had plenty of business backing and funds, but no existing team structure to get off the ground. You can’t just plop a new team down somewhere with no existing fan base or history and expect it to take off. The Broncos started out that way – but they had a massive amount of funding and goodwill in the early days from locals, being the first QLD team in the league and made up largely of Origin superstars. The Bombers don’t have that.
The Jets have the existing structure and the huge junior base, but not the money. Together, their bid had everything it needed.
Redcliffe Dolphins set to be named NRL's newest club
If there was going to be another Brisbane team, then my initial thinking was that Redcliffe made sense – they have the money, and expansion teams are initially very expensive to get up and running. Even the Titans, with one of the most successful Rugby League schools in their area, have been touch-and-go.
But after the merger between the Bombers and the Jets, the Ipswich bid just makes far more sense to me. They have almost as much money as Redcliffe now, AND that Western area is the biggest junior base in Queensland.
In fact, as no one wants an odd number of teams, I’m frankly astonished they haven’t announced the entry of both, even if the dates of entry are staggered (Redcliffe in 2023, Ipswich in, say, 2025).
The Ipswich bid is just too good to pass up.
Redcliffe Dolphins set to be named NRL's newest club
Honestly, I’ve been hearing that it’s “The end of the Storm” for about five years now, and although the points made in this article are good ones – every year we hear them, and every year they’ve been wrong.
Especially this year – without Cameron Smith, they were no chance. Many had them dropping down to fourth, fifth, or barely making the eight. Well, they won the minor premiership and almost set a record for the most consecutive wins in history. Yes, they didn’t make it to the top, but that’s football. On any given Sunday, even the best teams can be beaten.
The Storm system is the reason – and while Bellamy is there, coaching or as “Head of football”, I see no reason to believe things are going to be any different. Over the last five years they’ve lost Smith, Cronk, Slater, and they’ve just rolled on.
No GOAT, no glory: Is the Storm’s purple reign coming to an end?
I don’t know where this idea of a “North-South divide” in Brisbane comes from.
I mean, there is one – but not in football.
It’s all Broncos territory. And Langlands Park isn’t all that South of the river anyway. Coorparoo is an inner-city suburb. People there aren’t going to wake up one day and suddenly decide they hate the Broncos because Red Hill is on the North side of the river – again, not all that far North either.
If there’s a real North-South divide it’s between Brisbane and Logan – or, if you push the definition a bit, between Brisbane and Ipswich.
You want a rivalry in Greater Brisbane? There it is. Ipswich Jets vs Brisbane Broncos. Readymade and ready to go.
Wests and Tigers: Time to separate the black from the gold
It’s still never been properly explained go me why the medical staff – especially those who assess HIAs – are not independent figures.
I have heard it’s about the cost to the NRL – but surely it can’t cost that much to have a couple of doctors on hand?
Coaches will always bend the rules when it comes to injuries
Take the three QLD teams out, the NRL would fold overnight.
Take out half the Sydney teams and no one would notice.
'Sydney is looking over its shoulder': The Harbour City's relationship with rugby league
I’m sorry, but if the third Origin game is in Queensland – dead rubber not – you’re mad if you think they’ll ever call it off, especially if it’s the only Queensland game of the series.
No way. No how. And nor should they. Every Queenslander in the country would be up in arms.
In fact, I have to suspect, though I might be wrong, that the author is not a Queenslander – because very few Queenslanders would ever say something like this.
Every game matters. No such thing as a dead rubber to us.
NRL unpopular opinions ahead of season 2023