Roar Guru
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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.
That’s another topic entirely, and hardly relevent to 2019
2019 through the looking glass: Broncos and Raiders
He’ll definately be missed, even if it’s a position that we can probably afford to lose
2019 through the looking glass: Broncos and Raiders
It was pretty clear Nat was refering to exteral commentary focused on the club.
2019 through the looking glass: Broncos and Raiders
To be fair, Kahu was pretty reliant on injuries to get a starting spot over the season with the inclusion of Issako
2019 through the looking glass: Broncos and Raiders
I think the Raiders chances boil down to being able to win under pressure, if they can do that they can beat anyone but if they cant they wont make the 8. Watching the Warriors turn things around last season (just enough at least) should give fans in Canberra some reason to hope.
Will the Broncos and Bunnies be that disrupted? Or any more dissrupted then last season? The Broncs had more speculation around Bennett this year then they will next year and still managed a decent finish and improved over the season. They haven’t made any big signings but they’ve also had a lot of talent come though in both the forwards and the backs which they’ll want to lock up instead. I’m honestly pretty optimistic about this coming season
2019 through the looking glass: Broncos and Raiders
They made the preliminary final in 2017 and were beaten by the eventual premiers, not sure that’s classed as not making a dent (and having your time period starting the year after making the GF is a bit convienient). The Broncos have been written off for the last four years as having too small a pack, a poor halves combination and have been predicted to miss the 8 by prominant commentators for three of those years (the only exception being the year after the GF appearance) yet they’ve finished no lower then 6th (and that was essentially a tie for 5th). I’m not going to say that the Broncos are a lock in for the Grand Final but I will say that their most common criticisms seem to be over exaggerated.
2019 through the looking glass: Broncos and Raiders
Bird will play in the centres, it’s where he was playing when he was signed, it was (and still is) a position the broncos desperately needed filled, it’s where he’s stated he’s been told he’s going to be playing this year and there’s no real need for him in any other position. I don’t really get why there’s so much speculation over it other then journos trying to convince everyone they’re smart…
2019 through the looking glass: Broncos and Raiders
The broncos spine is pretty much the same as the 2015 GF minus Hunt.
2019 through the looking glass: Broncos and Raiders
Can’t talk for Sun’s players, but a fair few Titans players have been very publicly criticised for their performances this year
Why can't the Gold Coast commit to its sporting marriages?
And then you’d have people saying the police are protecting him. At any rate, Weidler had reportedly already met directly with the accusers family so the fire was well and truely lit. I don’t think anyone’s under any illusions about the quality of Weidlers work these days, but I don’t see how the police have done anything wrong. They’ve literally given no information other then that they are looking into it.
Hayne's future clouded amid assault claim
You can’t just not give out an annual award because you don’t think the canidates aren’t spectacular. And I’m not sure an annual award can be judged over a two year period.
Lets be honest, there haven’t exactly been any outstanding Australian players this year and you can’t count origin because there’s no equivilent contest outside of NSW and QLD which basicly would leave International Tests as the main indicator anyway. Considering Australia has done away with the ANZAC Test and only won one of their two tests this year and had their most prominent players of the last decade all pretty much retire in the last 18 months is it that surprising that the final canidates were hardly setting the world on fire?
Confessions of a dreamer: I voted for Tommy Makinson
So you’re suggesting that the right thing to do would have been for the police to stand by and watch a trial by media rather then to correct missinformation being spread around?
Of course this is news because he’s a public figure, just like it would be if he was in any other job that put him in the public eye.
Hayne's future clouded amid assault claim
Their right to silence? What?
I don’t see how the police have done anything wrong here, they can’t just allow people to say charges have been laid against someone if its not true.
Hayne's future clouded amid assault claim
And who would you have given it to? There was hardly a Kangaroos player (nevermind an actual golden boot contender) in the team of the year or in the top 5 Dally M scorers and given the amount of international fixtures (and wins) England had this year its hardly surprising the award was taken out by a pom
Confessions of a dreamer: I voted for Tommy Makinson
Yeah, I mean wasn’t the general consensus in 2017 that referees trying to make the game free flowing by relaxing rules in the ruck (eg, sloppy but quick play the balls) lead to teams becoming more dependant on the wrestle to counter that in the first place?
Archer’s sacking doesn't fix the main problem
That was pretty much my point though, the network uses them for the clout their names bring and that means having their faces on the screen often is more important then their aptitude for that kind of role. Locky can be quite insightful (particularly on the inner workings of clubs) in less formal settings, but in the coverage what’s he there for? He doesn’t have the charisma for interviews and sideline stuff and John’s has a monopoly on play breakdowns while Gould has an opinion on everything else. Locky gets the generic stuff cos that’s pretty much all that’s left, take away strong opinions and analysis and all that’s left in league coverage is generic statements. Same goes for the other two, John’s can break down the technical aspects of a play (I’d argue Matty John’s probably has it over him though) but he spends most of the time on panels regurgitating what everyone else has said or not understanding what’s going on while Fitler plays the goofball but had a completely different persona on The Rookie. The network has them there to fill a role and that role has very little to do with their abilities
The perfect Skivvy blindside to a television makeover
At least we’ve still got Macca and Gillett there, but it’s definitely going to be interesting if it’s mostly rookies
Reports: McGuire set for immediate Cowboys move
I don’t think anyone suggested they were, just that Brisbane will need a fair bit of cap space if they want to lock up most of the young talent coming through
Reports: McGuire set for immediate Cowboys move
I’ve heard plenty of tourists lable Melbournes “culture” artificial, saying its just a cheap knock off of whatever city that part of it is trying to emulate. But come on, every major city has its own culture and people clearly move to the Gold Coast for the lifestyle. If sitting in a cafe opposite the Tan gossiping about the batchelor or someone’s favourite etsy store is considered culture then I don’t see how religiously going down to your favourite section of coastline at five in the morning to check the waves isn’t. It’s not a great stretch to say that the Gold Coast’s predominant culture doesn’t exactly mesh with the kind of commitment shown by hardcore supporters of other clubs
Why can't the Gold Coast commit to its sporting marriages?
Is anyone replacing him? I thought Sutton was the referees boss with Archer being the boss of the referees boss and now they’ve just made that position defunct.
Who could take the vacant referees boss spot?
Your point on the crackdown has me concerned the most, especially when they’re now announcing a focus on free flowing games. We’re gonna be right back at another crackdown sooner then later if clubs are given free reign to do what they want.
Archer’s sacking doesn't fix the main problem
Certainly not on channel nine but away fro…. wait, Fitler? I see what’s happening, should we just skip ahead to the bit where you sneak Terry Lamb in?
The perfect Skivvy blindside to a television makeover
$3.2m over 5 years isn’t exactly massive money though
Reports: McGuire set for immediate Cowboys move
I think people that describe the gold coast like a glamour city don’t really understand the region, a city is composed of more then just its tourist destinations and Surfers Paradise makes up a tiny part of the area.
The clubs administration has shot itself in the foot a couple times but isn’t entirely at fault for all their issues. The center of excellence wasn’t a bad idea when it was proposed and was a victim of timing more then anything (though they couldn’t have handled the fallout worse) and Haynes signature wasn’t in the best interests of the team but came at a time when they were trying to secure a buyer for the club and needed to quickly generate interest (and I’m sure the NRL had some input as they were trying to offload the club).
Moneys been the biggest issue for the titans for a while but now thats been sorted they should be able to able to shift away from economic priorities back to actually building a successful club. It wouldn’t surprise me if meninga’s role only lasts a couple seasons to get the ball rolling
Grit or glitz? The Gold Coast needs to sort out their identity once and for all