Forty Twenty's Roar Profile

The Pennies dominance has a strong element of good fortune apart from the fine work they have done as well. The crucial player in their success is Nathan Cleary.

Both he and his old man are from the Northern beaches. It’s very rare for someone to end up out west somewhere like Penrith after starting out on the coast at Sydney. It’s one way traffic the other way. The Cleary’s could have ended up at any number of clubs but the way Ivans career panned out as a player and coach conspired to deliver them both to the Pennies.

Manly has had very minimal success with sons of players of the club and it’s interesting how when we get a beauty , he is the rare one who doesn’t start at Manly.

I’m not complaining but it’s a stroke of luck that’s a big part of the Pennies run.

Panthers' plea for player development discounts will fall on deaf ears - and Fifita is not the answer to their JFH dilemma

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May

It’s funny how Manly have got three players who excel at SOO while the trophy cabinet gathers dust. Maybe the big O excels as well. He should.

I liked it better when Manly players looked a bit out of sorts in SOO but were winning the odd comp.

Saints had a spell when they were doing well at SOO but not where it counts.

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Everything’s fine by you Albo , you’ve hit the jackpot following the Pennies.

Impressive-looking, not hard-fought: Trend toward the flashy is eating away at what rugby league ought to be

It seems that Turbo is playing injured. I’ve seen strapping on his shoulder. He’s still better than most with his current form but if he is injured at SOO time then I think he should inform the selectors and not play.

I could be wrong but he still doesn’t look 100%.

Teds form has picked up and I can see him doing better than last series but he’s probably not the match winner he was.

Edwards plays right up to his potential and I wouldn’t complain if he was picked but he’s a bit like Gutho. Solid , committed and great but Gutho looked out of his level at SOO and I’m not sure if Edwards would be the same. It’s possible.

You could say the same about Jake but he is really suited to that arena. It’s obviously a different sort of comparison but some players just look at home in SOO. Greg Bird is another who comes to mind. Wighton is another.

Bennett had a fair bit of help from the refs in 2006 and could have easily missed out on his seventh.

History fades though and it’s all about the winner regardless of much else.

Ricky Stuart could be sitting on three titles by now with a touch of luck.

Bennett is a short-term solution for Souths – the elite of the NRL might have moved past him

I didn’t think you’d fancy the AI concept. Hold on tight it’s on the way.

All sports started off with the naked eye making decisions but then progress got in the way of that idea.

Anyone who doesn’t like change and progress better jump into a time machine and go back a fair way. I suppose there are little groups you can join like the Amish.

NRL Round 9 Talking Points: Abuse of Kasey Badger is way out of line - on and off the field

Humans have buckleys chance of working out the truth with a single look at high speed in many decisions in sport.

Any fan would prefer if someone with a little stick with a flag on the end of it could tell if a goal scorer is onside in Premier League. Trouble is they are just like umpires in Tennis. A relic from another era.

A.I will take over before too long and we’ll get these pesky humans out of the equation.

There is a great alternative for those fans who love contested scrums.

As an added bonus you get lineouts and mauls as well as contested kicks.

The sequence of a scrum , a collapse , scum , collapse , lecture , scrum , collapse, penalty , goal , kick off , kick , maul , penalty and lecture has it’s followers.

Crighton has a new lease of life and is one of the form players in the comp.

NSW will be relying on current and former Pennies players to get the job done in SOO.

Maybe a couple of Chooks and Eagles will be there as well.

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Does getting rid of the bunker mean you’ll get greater overall accuracy in awarding tries?

That seems to be the inference but it isn’t true and can’t be true.

Sami’s reaction gave it away but the Walters one wasn’t a couple of centimetres it was three feet.

The bunker gets them wrong but at a much reduced rate.

I remember Kerrod Walters being awarded a try against manly after dropping the ball from waist height. All the Broncos players were clearly distraught that the try was bombed hands on heads and next minute , bingo , try awarded.

If anyone wants that sort of try back on the agenda , that’s fair enough but I don’t.

Sorry just read your second response. All good.

I’m hearing this term ”where was he meant to go” or ”what was he meant to do” a fair bit these days Albo but in most cases there is an answer.

The Knights player moved in to the jumping DWZ and wrapped his arms around him. That’s a mid air tackle and illegal. Don’t tackle a player jumping for the ball is the answer to the question.

I’d agree with you if he didn’t move in and tackle him but he did.

I would have been very surprised if Seibold mentioned the ref and co. Manly lost the game fair and square.

I also think the Warriors no try was and is worthy of further discussion. I don’t understand at all why it wasn’t declared a try. If the bunker believed that the try would most likely have been scored if there was no tackle in the sky then they are obliged to award a try.

I wouldn’t expect Annesley to stick his head in the sand on the issue. Dodging issues like this would be weak.

I watch the James Graham podcast and while he was still playing I thought he would end up in the media. Brandon Smith is good value as well. Brandon Smith was glowing in his praise for Manly the other day. He said they were the best team the Chooks had faced and said they were basically dominated despite turning up to play.

Gallen said something similar after playing Manly in the finals in his last game. He thought they’d win the comp the next year. The reality is we haven’t been close for a long time. This often heard phrase about being ”one game off the G.F” sounds great but it doesn’t prove much about a teams run the next season.

Manly have had the same three players in SOO for ages.

It’s a big win for the young Raiders in particular.

Cotric needs to play in the forwards though. Have a look at his chase on Talaus try , he was in a fair position but he had zero hope. Weekes chased and stopped the try going under the posts leading to a missed conversion. A big moment which went unnoticed.

Hopoate is desperately slow as well.

'We got what we deserved': Manly's epic choke as Raiders come back from 20-0 down to secure boilover win

I’ve noticed this year at numerous times where the ball sweeps wide and a try is on with a quick catch and pass, but the pass never happens. It’s never mentioned by the commentators but it’s a major fault.

I’m pretty sure the culprit is almost always Garrick. It’s a fundamental part of the game and it’s what any player needs to master. You can’t die with the ball when a try is on.

DCE didn’t have a shocker but too many times he’s made crucial mistakes in games we were winning which have led to a loss.

He seems to become overly happy when we are piling on the points and doesn’t adjust when required as the momentum shifts. As captain he should be setting the example.

I’m not sure anyone agreed with me when I claimed recently that DCE can be very poor when he’s meant to be the one leading his team home with a good lead.

Weekes was cool and calm while DECE was throwing bullet passes close to his own line leading to a try, Kicking the ball out on the full but saved by Saabs height and throwing a pass to the ground the ground as three examples in the second half. I’ve seen it many times before.

What was Garrick doing by not passing to Turbo for a simple try? Did he think Turbo was in front of him? Whatever it was appalling play from Manly.

Well done to the Raiders.

For a long time now Manly has been too happy with a single great performance and get cocky about the future way too easily.

We have rarely backed up a great win where we’ve looked like a contender. This season has been better in some ways but a good position on the ladder can hide the truth. We’re still on the fringe.

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Give me a good stomping any day compared to the hit Manu had to endure. Sivo had a couple of goes at Garrick with his elbow but in the end a lot of foul play hurts less than a good effective tackle.

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Manly are having a good run this year in playing teams with key players missing in most games.

The Raiders are missing their half among a few other players while Manly have had the same spine all year from memory.

Next week it’s the Phins who are missing key players.

Last week Moses was missing and The King was missing his crown.

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Now and again footage of Mitchell playing for the Chooks comes up and you are reminded just how damaging he was. He was fit and very fast but has come back to the field a lot and that is frustrating him I suspect.

He could beat players at will before but although he still does at times he also gets smashed a fair bit too and he can’t handle it I believe.

I rated him as the most dangerous runner of the ball I’ve seen at his best and I still believe that.

The hit on Manu was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen in the game.

The reason this sort of outcome is very rare these days is that players don’t rush in like Mitchell did that day with zero care about the damage they cause to their opponent. The damage caused to his team and club was also huge.

The circus he created around his departure from the Chooks was entirely of his own making. If he doesn’t like all the bad publicity then it would help if he didn’t do all he can to encourage it.

Manu is a great example of someone who never attracts any bad publicity because he acts in a respectful manner either on or off the field like the huge majority of players. The ones who attract publicity usually ask for it regardless of their racial background.

I’m sure however that their is a racial element from some in society where Mitchell is concerned. To deny it is nonsense.

In the end Lane is very lucky to escape without too much wrong with him and that makes the Big O lucky as well. The penalty isn’t too bad as he could do with a rest and Manly have a fairly healthy group of forwards at the moment.

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Apr

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