Roar Rookie
Joined April 2010
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[caption id="attachment_51343" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Manu Vatuvei celebrates the try of Lewis Brown (AAP Image/Action Photographics, Renee McKay)"][/caption] Sydney’s Telstra Stadium will play host this…
[caption id="attachment_6016" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="The Kiwi team line up after losing the New Zealand Kiwis v Australian Kangaroos. AAP Image/Hagen Hopkins/PHOTOSPORT"][/caption] Given the recent…
I agree completely. Human errors will always occur and we just unfortunately have to accept some of those. The next time I hear a commentator (who also, when convenient, criticises the video referee) bemoan a mistake being made when “we have the technology to get it right” I will scream. The problem as I see it isn’t the occasional mistake, the problem is far more deep-rooted than that. I have a problem with the way the game is over-refereed (and the way referees are over-coached); I don’t like players being penalised and cautioned everytime they show aggression, the soft penalties for weak grabs around the shoulders, the banning of quick taps, the ‘advantage rule’ joke, the sin-binning of players after ‘too many penalties’ (many of which don’t even deserve to be penalties) and, of course, the obstruction circus. These are problems the referees haven’t invented themselves, but rather are the result of over-coaching by an unaccountable referees coaching division that has completely lost touch with all common sense associated with the game. All referees are losing control of games DESPITE the fact that players play with extreme discipline and try their hardest to avoid conceding penalties. The simple reason is they are looking way too hard for transgressions, blowing way too many penalties, and frustrating players with their approach. Every game is the same, and the code (which is otherwise thriving so far this season) will suffer for it. As a long-time league fan, it is incredibly frustrating!
NRL referees get it wrong, again and again
Good thing for the AFL they hadn’t heard that twig analogy before they put teams in Sydney and Brisbane…Comparing the NRL with English Super League is chalk and cheese. As you say, Football dwarfs everything over there. Here, Rugby League is that big on the East Coast, and potentially in a far greater position for expansion (if handled properly). The presence of a strong Melbourne team is vital, it has already built Rugby League up enough to ensure Origins and Tests attract sellout crowds and massive TV audiences in Melbourne. I think the move into their new stadium this year will double their average crowd (which hasn’t been able to grow with Olympic Park as their base) and increase their profile further. When a new TV rights deal is negotiated, primtetime NRL coverage in Melbourne has to be a priority – it is a disgrace the NRL have been too weak to secure this previously. When all these pieces fall into place, the Melbourne Storm will be of comparable strength to the Swans or the Lions, and the NRL in a good position to look at further explansion into Perth. This can’t happen before 2013, but I think it can eventually happen and can be a success.
Should the NRL give the Wild West another chance?
Agree with Brett, basically anyone can win it. However, predictions I’m willing to make (based on little more than a guess) are as follows: England will be knocked out early (Super 8s at the latest), New Zealand will make a good run but fall short in the later stages, South Africa will be knocked out in the semi finals, Chris Gayle will produce at least one match-winning knock against a good side. Aside from those predictions, I’m not sure what will happen. Oh, I also cannot fathom Bangladesh being seeded ahead of Australia – didn’t Australia recently trounce both the defending champions and the tournament’s host nation in 20/20 cricket? Very weird…
What? Australia seeded nine in World Twenty20
Agree their back row depth is outstanding, and I think with the red hot form Marshall, Luke and Hohaia are in the Kiwis have more creativity in their side than they have for a long time. I think it’s a side that can give the Aussies a really tough match, that’s for sure. If Krisnan Inu can ever rediscover his best form, and Tuiaki return at his best, the Kiwis will have a side to genuinely be feared in this year’s Four Nations.
Kiwis capable of giving it Kangaroos this year
No disrespect taken mate, I’m not a Kiwi, but certainly I would love to see them do well (basically for the reasons I outlined in the article). I agree it is a conundrum, my personal opinion is it should be a 2-match annual series played after the State of Origin (which would begin a little earlier in the season), and given the status it deserves. The line the commentators tend to trot out about NZ is that they like to build into a series, developing teamwork and spirit as they go. This explains why they would go better in the season-ending series. I think in the past this has been because the Kiwis tended to have a high turnover of players, with injuries and defections to Super League always seeming to affect their squad (Super League players generally are available only for the end-of-season matches). I think this year the Kiwis have strong depth in the NRL, some of the competition’s form players, and most of last year’s squad available for selection, so there really is no excuse for them. They’ve got the quality to perform and I think they will. For the good of the game, I hope they do.
Kiwis capable of giving it Kangaroos this year
Yeah agree he’s a fantastic talent, it’s good to see him back in time to get some fitness and form on the board before the Test match (which is building up to be a cracker)
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves ready to crow for Roosters
I find it such a cliche to say “the strike player can’t do well unless his forwards go forward.” This line gets trotted out any time a team hits a slump and, while it is often true (as with all cliches), it is not always the most relevant criticism. For instance, I hardly think Parramatta have been getting monstered in the forwards this year – their go forward has been solid and they have held opposition packs to reasonable metres too. The problem Parramatta have is they don’t have quality playmaking halves, so adopting a traditional ‘go forward’ approach to give the halves room is of no use to them. More than just strictly ‘go forward’, Parramatta need their forwards to create more second phase play and to use more offloading before the line. Parramatta’s fatal attacking flaw, as said earlier, is the lack of creativity and class in their halves. For their attack to become penetrative, they need to abandon the organised approach they are taking this season and go back to their flamboyant, off loading style. Hayne plays his best football linking in to this fast-moving, free-flowing style. At the moment Parramatta’s forwards are chewing through metres with predictable go-forward play, and on the back of it their halves have no options but to throw it to Hayne and hope for some magic. This whole style of play will not work for them.
Pressure mounting on Eels' superstars
My personal dislike of Manly has nothing to do with the Silvertails nonsense. As a Queenslander who only started following league in the 90s, it has no relevance to me at all. The reasons I dislike Manly are outlined in the article, which was light-hearted all the same. But all that aside, congrats on the win yesterday. As I feared, you have a very good team. I respect the quality of football Manly play, but my hatred continues to grow…
Why the Warriors will win the 2011 NRL GF