Roar Guru
Joined June 2014
17.8k
Views
13
Published
7.6k
Comments
Published
Comments
There has certainly been no lack of drama in the league world since the final siren sounded on the last day of September.
It’s been a week since Game 3 of Origin and with pretty much any discussion on the game revolving around post-match drama I figured I’d take the opportunity to remind everyone that a game did in fact take place prior to the awards ceremony.
I’ve been putting this article off for a while now. It has been sitting in my hard drive under various iterations since the Game 1 State of Origin loss for Queensland.
After the retirements of Queensland stalwarts Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk, the state’s first Origin team for 2018 was always going to have a different flavour to it.
Well here we are, nine rounds in and already the football is starting to distract from the true purpose of the early season – providing context to present fans their preferred NSW Blues line-up for Game 1 of State of Origin.
If you’ve been following this series you’ll already be aware which teams have made my all important top five, but now it’s time to place them in order and list arbitrary reasons for doing so!!
Well here we are. With part 1 and part 2 covering teams 9 through 16, it’s time jump into the top eight.
With the bottom five teams established in part one of this series, we find ourselves about to delve into the meat of the season.
‘Tis the season to dress up complete guesswork as research and statistical analysis.
Watching the eighth-placed Cowboys knock out both the fifth-placed Sharks and the fourth-placed Eels in succession got me thinking.
Referee-bashing, it’s existed since the dawn of sport. Yet here we are at the business end of the season and it’s all anyone can talk about.
It’s that time of year again. Queensland have walked away with yet another State of Origin victory and every man and his dog is laying into New South Wales over various perceptions as to why and how they lost.
What just happened? The dynasty was over, Queensland had been weighed, measured and found wanting.
If we’re gonna start binning players for laughing at a decision clubs better start brushing up on their 9’s drills. And I guess Blake Green must be in some serious trouble as well….
Cameron Smith's ugly tactics against young Raider
Are you telling me the sticking point for a week of outrage has been grossly misrepresented by the media? Ah well, at least they’re not profiting off this…
The diamond ring is a Storm in a teacup
In an article outlining how prevailing attitudes in Britain shape the game and its direction over there is it really out of place to reference a current and significant example of that?
Rugby league dispatches from a heretic in exile
I think you’re overestimating the power of shareholders mate, most corporations have someone (or a couple someones) with a controlling share. The NRL commission operates with more checks and ballances then most big business would. Google has millions of shareholders but goodluck trying to make the board answerable to anyone if you disagree with how they’re running things. Being a not for profit doesn’t just give you free rein to operate however you want, and the NRL still has plenty of stakeholders with plenty of say.
The diamond ring is a Storm in a teacup
Ah, the old “everyone that doesn’t agree with me is a fanboy or an apologist”. As much as I love the irony of calling a Parra supporter and a Knights supporter out for their pro-Storm bias for their articles it would be nice to get something a bit more original then that…
The diamond ring is a Storm in a teacup
How are the Broncos under any presssure? They can’t make the 8 anyway, I read about it in round 7.
Do or die for Souths in Brisbane this Friday night
Huh? The NRL has been rewarding players for 300 games for decades though, it’s nothing new
The diamond ring is a Storm in a teacup
Well they have an official ring maker so you’d have to imagine they have some kind of deal there, or at least a bulk discount.
The diamond ring is a Storm in a teacup
There was a Welsh guy back in the 40s or 50s that played like 900 or something, and there are probably others around that time. But what are you trying to argue here? Is any of that relevent when talking about recognising the first guy to play 400 NRL games?
The diamond ring is a Storm in a teacup
You know rep games aren’t counted right? Otherwise Smith would’ve reached 400 games about 100 odd games ago, and Lockyer would have cracked it a decade ago
The diamond ring is a Storm in a teacup
One of them working class games that just spent a week discussing whether a 20yr old is worth $1.5m a year based on potential…
The diamond ring is a Storm in a teacup
Come on mate. In 2018 they were the form team for most of the year, in 2017 there were in good enough form to end the 6th placed Penriths seven game winning streak immediately prior to blowing their last shot at finals and in 2016 they were in good enough form to convincingly beat the eventual premiers before completely blowing their chances at making the 8 with only the bottom 3 teams in their way.
Seven talking points from NRL Round 22
Who they faced doesn’t change the fact that they were halfway through preparing for Mad Monday before the Dragons lost and an 8th spot equalled their worst finish to a season in seven years. They’ve had excuses but so have teams that have finished above them. But I do agree that the issues seem to stem from the direction Green has taken the team in, or the lack there of. Green was re-signed off the back of the 2017 finals run and it’s just seemed like something changed about his approach since then, as if he’s been taking things a bit for granted. Well to me at least.
Seven talking points from NRL Round 22
You can understand why it would be easy to dismiss things with pretty severe blows to Scott and Thurson getting injured and it being their second Grand Final in three years and all. I think Greens approach this year is a bigger concern. There were excuses in 2017, but after they failed to lift off last year for Thursons final season there didn’t seem to have been much action to make necessary adjustments, or any adjustments really.
Seven talking points from NRL Round 22
Sorry mate, I’m sure my original point was about the Cowboys…
Seven talking points from NRL Round 22
Losing do or die games to the bottom 4 isn’t choking? Well whatever gets you through I guess
Seven talking points from NRL Round 22
A preliminary final and an extra time loss in the second week in the two years after 2015
Seven talking points from NRL Round 22
If ya want.
2018- dropped from 2nd to 7th in their run to finals which included a 40-4 loss to the wooden spooners and a 38 nill loss to the struggling Bulldogs in their last four games.
2017- dropped out of the 8 in a poor end to the season that included losses to the wooden spooners as well as the Bulldogs and Souths who’s coaches would both be sacked after poor seasons.
2016- their last three games of the season featured a 36 point loss and a 12 point loss to the 2nd last and 3rd last placed teams and missed the 8 by 3 competition points (though they did manage to beat the wooden spooners thanks to an 80th minute penalty goal to finish the year)
2015- last two games featured a loss to the 3rd last Titans but they managed to beat the 2nd last Tigers in golden point thanks to a penalty goal to stay in the 8.
How far back are we going?
Seven talking points from NRL Round 22
I think you may be misremembering the cowboys 2017 slightly, they didn’t sneak in to the 8 on a rich vein of form so much as nearly collapse out of it completely after 5 losses in their last six games only to be saved by a classic end of season dragons choke. They saved their season with a great finals run but it was very close to us talking about three disappointing seasons in a row. I do wonder if that finals run may have hurt them in the long run by papering over things a bit and giving them excuses to not have to seriously evaluate where they’re at.
Seven talking points from NRL Round 22
Wow TB, didn’t expect that kind of pettiness from you, making fun of a team that doesn’t have a leagues club like that, real mature…
NRL make classy gesture to deserving person, outrage ensues
Im loving this new “should (insert player here) have been suspended for this “dangerous” (insert tackle here)” series! Finally something fresh and original to look forward to after every game!
Should Cameron Munster have been suspended for this 'dangerous' cannonball tackle?
It’s funny, I don’t remember people blowing up about salary caps as much last year when Thurston was getting presented with gifts after every game in his year long send off…
NRL make classy gesture to deserving person, outrage ensues
Yep, when a media group that has multiple videos embedded in each article decides specicically to use still to prove a point you know there’s something up. Anyone with any experience in photography knows how unreliable perspective is in a single shot.
Cameron Smith's ugly tactics against young Raider