Roar Pro
Joined May 2010
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The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that Channel 10 tendered an offer to the ARLC of $800m for four live games a week. At…
Every second year or so, the brains trust at NRL marketing gets together to roll the dice on a new theme song for the…
The NRL judiciary has given us plenty of talking points over the last couple of weeks, and continue to rule with the consistency of…
[caption id="attachment_24041" width="300" caption="Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy overseeas a training session in Melbourne. AAP Image/Julian Smith"][/caption] Yes, I know. Another article about the…
Haha, for a minute there I thought you were just rattling off a who’s who of former NRL players with a laundry list of conspicuous howlers to their name, and then I realised that’s actually a current London Broncos team list.
Has Chris Bailey improved since Manly rolled the dice on him being better option than Beaver Menzies and lost?
NRL coaches - mid-season health check
Now all he needs to do is clean out the rest of the playing group, the front office and the coach. The Eels need a reboot.
Eels exodus: Stuart did what was needed
That’s what I find absolutely staggering about the Eels. Most people seemed clued in enough to predict that Adam Blair’s move to the Tigers would not be a good thing, let alone $500k-a-season well spent. Anyone taking a “wait and see” approach now has the proof, and surely anyone who was optimistic about the signing must be bitterly disappointed.
Yet somehow, someway, the Eels look at the Tigers languishing on the bottom of the table, clearing out coaches and administrators, with a completely demoralised playing group, a massive injury list and no depth to cover any of it and think – “I’ll have what they’re having.”
A casual observer would look at the Tigers/Adam Blair situation and make a reasonable assessment that they paid too much for him, at the cost of a quality young talent, a couple of likeable larrikins and a perpetual workhorse. You would think that a club that had made the same mistake with Darcy Lussick, Chris Sandow, the Tonga brothers, Carl Webb, Ben Roberts, Timana Tahu, Jordan Atkins, and god knows who else, might be a bit more in tune with that sort of error after making it themselves so many times.
Do they have a wooden spoon fetish? Do they think they’ll get better draft picks? Is it a money laundering operation? Are they headed up by ex-golfers who look at year after year of sub par performances at all levels of the club and think “What’s better than a Condor? We’re so awesomely under par I don’t think they even have a name for it.” It’s just astounding.
Morale low at Eels, admits Hayne
NSW are always a chance to win when QLD don’t need to. I think the Blues will get up for this one, but that’s it.
Why NSW will win State of Origin I
Finch also came back this year on a similar figure after turning down offers from ESL clubs in the $300-$400k vicinity. Granted, he’s being paid a reasonable wage for a bloke who is only really expected to play a handful of games during the Origin period but it does kind of fly in the face of the whole Folau/market value thing. And the threat that the Storm wouldn’t be able to reassemble their 2009 squad on cut rate pay packets.
Is Schubert a law unto himself?
I don’t know that Greg Bird has a sterling reputation anywhere that dares to hold the outrageous belief that women are people too.
Five niggling, irritating NSW Blues State of Origin villains
Good stuff. He could be the next Jamie Buhrer.
Josh Reynolds confirmed in NSW State of Origin I team
It’s a very good point. I wonder if we’d gotten here if the Waterhouses had a bit more perspective on what the wider community thinks of their dubious dealings. It was obvious from the outset that they (or their advertising partners) had absolutely no idea when they came up with the first version of the ad where Tom talks about how he was born to bet and how great he is at betting. Did none of them think at any point “Oh hold on, our potential customers are betting *against* us”? Did they not think that compositing the prissiest of private schoolboys against a backdrop of tough, sporting manflesh would greatly exaggerate an already unflattering image?
A big part of me thinks that if they’d been a bit more shrewd in their marketing and branding, the critical mass of public annoyance would never have come to be, and we wouldn’t be seeing this ban come into effect. So thanks, Waterhouses.
What were the odds of a live odds ban?
How can you possibly leave out such a proud and passionate New South Welshman? “Aussie” Jum Tamou bleeds sky blue and thinks playing State of Origin is fulth.
Tamou needs to bring his A-Game to Origin
It’s all down to probability. The rule isn’t there to punish Marike Koroibete from making a brilliant try saver, it’s there to deter Billy Slater from knocking Antonio Winterstein out cold with a far more average attempt.
That said, why they couldn’t just hand out effective punishments for shoulder charges gone wrong is beyond me.
Another NRL mistake: the shoulder charge
If GI and Slater were eligible for NSW, they’d probably have a couple of City-Country games under their belt and would be patiently waiting for the NSW selectors to give them an opportunity once Minichiello and Cooper retire.
Hey NSW, Queensland has State of Origin problems too
Technically correct, as we have next to no chance regardless of who does or doesn’t play.
NSW Blues are next to no chance without Paul Gallen
I can think of just the thing to “pep” him up.
Gallen eager to beat injury and face Wests
Sounds pretty reasonable, except I don’t really agree with the team selection. A lot of the blokes you’ve got in there have been picked many times over the years to try and bash and intimidate Queensland, something that just can’t be done. If you’re throwing out the gameplan, then you have to throw out the big proponents of it.
Back to Blue, don't try be Queensland
He doesn’t even need to pull out his best bag of fruit, how hard would it be to put on some long pants and the team polo?
Sharks' Graham interviewed by ASADA
I wouldn’t say they’re the worst side of the NRL era. Maybe they’ve got the worst attitude, the worst morale or worst coach, but there’s a lot of talent there. With the right carrot or stick, they’re capable of being that team that upsets the finals chances of the inevitable 4-5 teams that can just scrape into the eight.
Of course, if there are rifts due cultural, religious or other deeply personal reasons, then maybe there’s no carrot or stick big enough and the whole place needs a cleanout.
Eels the worst side of the NRL era
Speaking of beltings, how brutal was Joel Edwards’ tackle on Kalifa Faifai Loa?
Cowboys belt Raiders 30-12 in NRL
You could do QLD B vs NSW A and we might actually have a sniff. It’d be worth floating, just to see how deep the arrogance of QLD runs. 😉
City-Country remains vital for NSW State of Origin team
In the NRL though, you’d expect the hardcore fans to have memberships. For us it works out at around $15 a game for quality seats on halfway. If last minute tickets in the same category went for $20 there’s still incentive to get in early.
To take the element of “gaming the system” out, you could have much more complex system where instead of having a 2-3 predefined seating categories where it costs just as much to sit on the 10 metre line as it does to sit on halfway – the price scales according to row and seat number. Or at the very least, bay number. That way the early birds get the better seats, and those who aren’t as fussed get cheaper prices. On the “open market” of scalped grand final tickets, that’s how it works and it works well.
Dynamic ways to increase NRL crowds
Why would the club be getting behind this? They should impose their own fine on Sticky, or at the very least let him pay it out of his own pocket. History suggests that they’ll be looking to terminate his contract well before it’s up and they really should be starting to build their case against him to avoid having to pay it out.
Besides which – why go out of your way to create bad blood? If the referees didn’t have a bias against the Eels – they do now.
Parramatta considering breach appeal
I thought there were a couple of rough calls against the Eels in the second half, but 5-6 of them were just ill-discipline and stupidity from the Eels. If the refs have pinged you for a couple of borderline calls – pull your head in. Don’t test them to see if they’ll penalise something more blatant. You already know that answer.
Ultimately, the Gold Coast wanted it more. I watched three Eels players within range of a bomb watch it bounce. The night before, I watched Jarrod Croker get absolutely belted – knowing full well that the second he defused the kick, the chasers were on him. It was a hugely gutsy play in a very close finish. Canberra got the two points, the Eels didn’t.
If Ricky wanted to take his frustrations out on someone, the lack of urgency and unwillingness of his players to put their body on the line is ripe for criticism. But like always, it’s someone else’s fault.
Are NRL refs a protected species?
Is there a smaller neutral venue? Maybe you could persuade some Manly fans to venture as far as North Sydney Oval. Between those brave few and a handful of Easts faithful they could at least fill the 9,000 seats. Even if that leaves the hill empty at least it’s a bit more picturesque than tens of thousands of empty plastic chairs.
Melbourne Storm will not make the grand final
Exactly right. I’m not sure it’s possible to exercise sound judgment when you’re that proper drunk. It doesn’t excuse it, but you can’t look at it as the actions of a rational person.
Tamou suspended by NRL, will miss Origin Game 2, fined $20k