I’m not expecting Souths to start to click until round 3 or 4 once Jack Wighton joins the side and can put a rocket up Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker if they look like turning in yet another lazy performance.

If the Storm vs Panthers game was a ‘great game’ then we are in for a dour and lacklustre 2024 season.

It was a gutsy, hard fought win by the Storm and the game was played at a frantic pace at times. But it was a game that was riddled by uncharacteristic errors from both sides.

Despite the loss the Panthers would have beaten more than the half the teams in the NRL on that night with their game speed and intensity.

Bizarre Hammer blunder… We were all Waiting for The Hammer to Fall.

Phins are definitely down, like cows udders. Flaccid Phins. 😛

You have to feel for the Tigers. Even with a guaranteed 2 competition points and no opposition they still still can’t make the top 8. 😂

Taaffe should have been given a chance to play HB at the Rabbitohs with Ilias underperforming all season. I feel that Lachlan Ilias is better suited to hooker.

Would you rather swap the Charity Shield for 2 competition points and 1st place other NRL ladder? I know which one I would rather have mate. 👍

Fittler continues to prove that he is Uncle Nick’s puppet and a Roosters stooge.

Uncle Nick just has to whisper in Fittler’s ear the echo becomes deafening.

I am sure that Gus only reads, and rereads, his own words, andrew.

I don’t believe that anyone involved in the NRL bothers reading a single comment on this forum. Though others here seem to think that is the case, I assure you I am not one of them.

I would try Blake Taafe in halves I stead of Hutchison. Taafe will never quite tick enough boxes to hold down FB. To the best of my knowledge he has not one line break to his name but he is good at creating and finding space for others and setting up outside men with his deft passing.

Taafe also brings a lot of energy and commitment which might bring the Dogs backline to life. The downside of playing him in the halves is that he is a small body and not noted for his defence. He also doesn’t have much of a kicking game.

Taafe always gives 100% and has his moments but he seems to be the type of player that doesn’t quite fit into any position. He is clearly too good to be playing NSW Cup but not good enough to command a starting position.

Perhaps playing as a utility 14 might be the answer? Too bad thought for the Dogs though he would have to join a LONG queue of utility players to fight for that role.

Realistically speaking, looking at the big picture, which 2 points is worth more in the long run? The Dragons 2 points for beating the Titans, or the Storms 2 points for beating the Panthers? Perspective is important.

Congrats to long-suffering Dragons fans, though. It was a really good first up win. I didn’t see that one coming (at least not by that margin) after a reserve grade Rabbitohs side beat a full-strength Dragons side by almost the same score (28–6) only a few weeks ago. 😛

It must be tough to piece together a premiership winning team when your club [Ivan Cleary’s not yours] has the only junior nursery that is the size of Switzerland. No wonder, they can afford to part ways with half a premiership winning side and still come up with junior talent to replace them and still win premierships.

Especially when Cleary doesn’t have to worry about 50/50 calls that the referee and bunker convert to 90/10 calls in his favour, that must relieve some of the anxiety and psychological stress from Cleary’s shoulders as well.

Still, Ivan Cleary’s recent success with a team that for any other club would have been at least $2 mill over the salary cap notwithstanding, Cleary is still a LONG, LONG way from emulating the coaching success of both Wayne Bennett and Craig Bellamy. Not to mention the 5 straight premierships of the Rabbitohs and the 11 consecutive premiership wins by the Dragons.

It’s a good quote and is still true. Bennett had Cleary squirming and regretting taking the old fox on in the media. It never gets old. 😂

“The Dogs don’t look like a team, more a collection of decent players from good clubs”

And for that I blame the overhyped drill sergeant coach, Ciraldo and whoever was responsible for recruiting a team of utility players and a smattering of backs but no quality forwards.

I agree about the Dogs. See my comments on the Eels vs Dogs post-game wrap up.

Trigger warning: Look away Doggies fans!

The Bulldogs are the dumbest, most ill-disciplined, worst coached side in the NRL.

Ciraldo can’t coach. He can only break players, not make players any better. Burton, Mahoney, Addo-Carr and Kikau were all better players at their former clubs.

Over the off-season the Dogs recruited 10 players, mostly utilities, or v
Backs. No quality forwards. The Dogs have one of the worst forward pack’s in the NRL and they have done nothing to address this deficit.

Both Anthony Griffin and Ivan Cleary in his first tenure were doing better at the Panthers before Phil Gould ran out of patience and pulled the pin. How long does Ciraldo have left before he too is shown the door by Gould, I wonder?

Both Anthony Griffin and Ivan Cleary in his first tenure were doing better at the Panthers before Phil Gould ran out of patience and pulled the pin. How long does Ciraldo have left before he too is shown the door by Gould, I wonder?

Actually, a club does have something to do with it. This mouthy, puerile nonsense was bred into Leniu at the Panthers along with the rest of his teammates.

I blame Ivan Cleary. The coach who once gave supporters of his former club, the Tigers, the middle finger from the coaches box.

If anyone needs any Red Rooster pitchforks let me know, Pickett. I have plenty! 😂

I would expect depth like that for a club whose junior nursery is larger than Switzerland! 😂

The Storm lifted for that special occasion. To keep their cherished coach’s record safe and not to be the team to live in infamy as the team that surrendered Bellamy’s hitherto unassailable record.

I’m not saying the Storm’s defensive line will crumble and leak points over the coming weeks, but last night, in front of a full capacity home crowd, the Storm were heavily motivated, and the Panthers became a tired rabble under the pressure and the fatigue of the WCC turnaround.

I wouldn’t use last night’s game as an authoritative gauge for either team’s form over the next few rounds.

The Panthers are just upset because they got the ONLY NRL referee (Gerard Sutton) that is fair and unbiased and holds them accountable to the rules, just like every other NRL team.

The rest are all Ivan Cleary’s mates!

“He [Ivan Cleary] worked for them. He worked for the referees before he went back into coaching. I’ve got to assume he’s got some mates there still.” – Wayne Bennett

So true! 😂

One of the most pleasing things about the win to the Storm last night, for me personally, was that ‘boofhead’ Dylan Edwards actually looked like a ‘boofhead’ and he didn’t get to laugh in anyone’s face as he did with AJ last year.

Edwards actually looked noticeably heavier, well to me at least. If he has put on weight, then that could affect his motor, which is probably his greatest asset. If that happens, then it could force a positional change.

Early days indeed. Round 1 still hasn’t finished yet! By round 2 I’m sure we will be hearing the ubiquitous predictions for how the season will pan out based on just 2 rounds of football. Nothing changes.

I agree though that the Storm looked formidable last night against an out of sorts Panthers side, who no doubt just expected the Storm to roll over before their mighty presence. You can only imagine that when Munster and Asofa-Solomona return, the Storm will become even more formidable.

But then, last year, by mid-way through the season, Souths were on top of the NRL ladder and tipped my many to premiers, and look what happened. 😢

“The two Vegas winners were certainties”

I disagree. I thought the Broncos at least were clear favourites over the Roosters, who are perennial slow starters to a new season and have x-factor and points all over the field.

Souths, despite having Wighton, Graham, Munro and Duncan missing, were let down by their halves, their defence across the board and some very mediocre replacements in their outside backs. If Latrell and Walker had stood up for the majority of that game, Souths would have looked VERY different.

That said, even the Storm on last night’s performance would have struggled with a 5-0 penalty count against them for 72 mins of the game.

To be clear, though, Manly deserved the 2 points. Despite the fact that, like the Warriors, Souths looked to be well in control of the game with a comfortable lead and all the momentum at one stage of the game, the game is played over 80 mins, and it is the better and more consistent team over the full 80 mins that deserves to get the 2 competition points.

“the Storm NEVER lose round 1”

Until they do. The Rabbitohs had won the Charity Shield from 2013 to 2021 (9 years in a row) until the hiccup of 2022. Granted, that isn’t 22 seasons in a row, but hiccups still happen and despite the fact that Souths have won 11 of the last 12 Charity Shields that hiccup still remains. I felt that having Munster and Asofa-Solomona missing the Storm were about to experience a massive hiccup. Full credit to Bellamy’s coaching and, in particular, the Storm players resolve not to let their coach down, for the win.

On the other side of that coin, having Munster and Asofa-Solomona missing was a HUGE advantage for the Panthers. It should have more than made up for the Panthers’ WCC fatigue and jet lag. In some sense, the supposed controversy of the WCC loss should have fired up the Panthers, inspiring them to make a statement. That statement appears to have been, that although they are still a strong side and title contender they are very much shaken and lacking in confidence, rhythm and seem to have lost patience to build pressure. Risking everything on one roll of the dice.

It was clear that the Panthers will miss the x-factor that Stephen Crichton used to bring to get them out of a hole and turn a game. That said, I am waiting to see if the change of club and systems will have a detrimental effect on Crichton’s form as it has done with Mahoney, Burton, Kikau and Addo-Carr.

That said, I will be watching intently to see how Crichton goes. On paper, that combination of Crichton and Addo-Carr on the Dogs’ left edge looks to be potentially the best combination in the NRL… at least until Jack Wighton gets to play alongside of AJ in round 3 against the chooks! 😛

“plus the Panthers are stuffed from the WCC”

Agree. But more in confidence and cohesion, than fitness. (see above)

Well done Storm. Fantastic win. No Munster or Asofa-Solomona yet the Storm didn’t skip a beat. Every Storm player stood up. King was very good.

The Storm’s big outside backs got them home along with the weight of possession and dogged defence.

58% possession to the Storm at HT. 52% possession to the Storm at FT in itself against the Panthers is already a telling statistic.

The Panthers held to ZERO for the first time since round 22, 2022. Two losses in a row, round 1 and the WCC.

Proof that a low scoring game can be entertaining and high quality, despite the 25 combined errors from both sides.

Great performance from both sides despite the Panthers looking clunky and disorganised on several occasions.

It made a big difference without Stephen Crichton to get them out of a deep hole. Still, Taylan May looks very impressive and is even more dangerous with more early touches at centre.

What a footy tipping nightmare round 1 has been. I don’t think I would have tipped one winner yet.

How good is it to see the footy back and so many underdogs getting up. It is a good sign of a healthy competition.

But still, it is only ONE round and there is a LONG LONG way to go from here!

The term ‘Liberal’ is not in reference to its Australian political meaning, referring to conservative policies and values but rather to the association of that term in American politics and the ‘lunatic left’.

Hivemind (urban dictionary): Someone that will agree to whatever a group of people say because they want to fit in and can’t think for themselves.

The ‘liberal hivemind’ phenomenon is analogous to the psychological phenomenon ‘Groupthink’.

Wiki:

Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. Cohesiveness, or the desire for cohesiveness, in a group may produce a tendency among its members to agree at all costs. This causes the group to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without critical evaluation.

Groupthink is a construct of social psychology but has an extensive reach and influences literature in the fields of communication studies, political science, management, and organizational theory.

The ‘liberal hivemind ideology’ is cultural Marxism masquerading as social reform and an ‘enlightened’ value system that seeks to silence and marginalise all dissenting voices and contrary opinions. It seeks to control free speech, censor public discourse and critical thought and impose its own value system on Western civilisation.

Does that answer your question Tim?