Roar Guru
Joined June 2014
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James has a passion for writing, media and sport, so naturally he has been a long time reader and contributor of The Roar! Having retired from sports twice (apparently it takes three knee reconstructions to truly get the message) he has turned his hand to commentary and analysis instead. This has led to him hosting the 93.5 Eagle FM breakfast show, previously hosting a weekly program with respected sports broadcaster Dan Lonergan on EON Sports Radio in addition to stints with Macquarie Sports Radio, Sky Sports and the SCA Network. James has provided play by play commentary for a number of sports and most recently acted as a key caller for the Emerging Nations Rugby League World Championship.
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It’s not often a team can feature an Origin-winning five eighth, a modern legend who could come into immortal conversations, a current Queensland Origin…
Amid all the doom and gloom, it was wonderful to have a familiar distraction in the form of rugby league, but boy what a…
The prince, the king, the prodigal son will return home to the Tigers in 2018. Amidst the plethora of signings the Tigers have made…
2005 – that's the last time I actually saw a Blues side genuinely dominate the Maroons. If you cast your mind back, it was…
With State of Origin on the horizon, the first fragmented round of regular season footy is upon us and the absentee list makes for…
Round 8 was a torturous round for tippers with a mass of upset victories coming the way of Manly, the Titans and the Tigers…
After another eventful Easter weekend of football we are treated to a marathon round with games spread from Friday until Tuesday, and it's a…
From the terrible Tigers' triumph in Townsville amid turmoil to the Sharks weathering Storm in the wet, round six threw up some surprising results…
Last week's tips – 6/8, running tip total – 19/32 Fortunately, in Round 4 the focus was shifted away from the officiating and back…
From incorrect calls from the bunker, forward passes deciding the outcome, and players failing to be sent from the field, Round 3 was marred…
Round 2 was always going to be a difficult one for punters due to a series of surprising performances in Round 1. The plot…
The first week is done and dusted and the glorious game of rugby league has, as expected, tossed up a host of upsets and…
After what seems like an endless off-season the footy is officially back, which means Preston's previews are back for another season of the greatest…
Each Friday I will be taking you on a trip down memory lane to relive the careers of some of Australian rugby league's lesser…
There have been some absolute pearlers in this series, but it's not often I get to introduce one of the flashbacks as the infamous…
The ‘honest toiler' is a term synonymous with rugby league. They're the players who were perhaps not blessed with the skills of future Immortal…
Each Friday I will be taking you on a trip down memory lane to relive the careers of some of Australian rugby league’s lesser…
Each Friday I will be taking you on a trip down memory lane to relive the careers of some of Australian rugby league's lesser…
Better known for his brilliance in the Playstation 2 game rugby league than for his actual NRL performances, Joven holds a special place in…
Athletes are always hot property in the dating market. That became abundantly clear during the Rio Olympics earlier this year. Rio's record-breaking order of…
Agreed – similar sentiments offered in part 2. People also seem to overlook the difficult draw they have had so far, theyve had 9 matches against the current top 8, more than any other team AND they have pushed their opposition for the full 80 every week.
The NRL’s coaching mid-year report card: Part 1
Yes and no. Lichaa has huge wraps and IS a talented player, so much so that the excellent Damian Cook was shifted on to Souths. He is underperforming like several players on this roster, one or two players enduring form slumps is down to them but anymore than that I begin to look at the coach as I have done here.
As for the backs, Hopoate whilst not outstanding is a very good and above all a VERY safe fullback, Sammy Perrett has been a great first grader for a decade and Josh Morris is an international. The forwards speak for themselves, enormous bodies with plenty of rep experience.
On paper this is a very good squad, they are however VERY inconsistent, that’s a preparation issue not a talent issue and that comes down to the coach IMO, one back to back victory for a talented team coming 7th is not good enough.
The NRL’s coaching mid-year report card: Part 1
Hi Pure, make no mistake I agree that based on what has been served up the past two seasons Taylor is a VERY average coach to put it politely.
As for why he is not at the bottom of this list? Well that comes down to the rosters available to the coaches and how they use them. Taylor has used his poorly but the roster available to him is still far from one of the stronger ones in the competition. Both Barrett and McFadden have excellent rosters on paper which should be closer to challenging for the title as opposed to the spoon. Despite Taylor’s deficiencies listed in the report the Tigers are still just two wins outside the 8 at present so whilst his management has been poor there has been worse, make no mistake though the bottom three are in a class of their own thus far.
The NRL’s coaching mid-year report card: Part 1
Hi Joe, other than margins are you selecting any different from this list this week?
Preston’s previews: NRL Round 14
Going to go out on a limb and say your missus isn’t a fan of her because you think she’s pretty great to look at ;P
Origin coverage: Bring back the Gus monologues, kill the cringe
Is this in particular reference to Sam Thaiday’s post match interview?
Origin coverage: Bring back the Gus monologues, kill the cringe
Precisely. A lot of people seem to have some sort of issue with outsiders like Matt Russel on Fox and Yvonne Sampson for example because they’re not strictly related to football, but it’s not an issue. Point being they are professional and entertaining. You look at Triple M for example and Gus Worland theoretically has nothing to do with the footy but it’s irrelevant because he uses his skills to slot in so well. Much like Dane Ginnane as a a caller – he is good at what he does, this is presentation not taking the field.
Origin coverage: Bring back the Gus monologues, kill the cringe
Completely agree guys, I figured I wouldn’t fixate on the Gus dilemma given many have already hammered and my article back in 2014 did as well.
Origin coverage: Bring back the Gus monologues, kill the cringe
Any particular kind of DVD’s Jason?
Origin coverage: Bring back the Gus monologues, kill the cringe
Joe! I do enjoy your comments each week, seems we usually have very similar tips bar 1 or 2. I definitely see your thinking, the Dogs have done that like clockwork this season – suggests a lack of focus and game prep more than anything for mine. How many did you get last week?
Preston’s previews: NRL Round 11
Absolutely! I was down the Southern Highlands this weekend and unplanned there happened to be a NSW Cup game between Wests Tigers and North Sydney Bears at Moss Vale. Naturally I went for a lovely 30 minute drive to watch the game and was initially disappointed to see no Josh Addo Carr but the bloke who replaced him was a ripper, scored 2 or 3 tries made great metres and solid defense and you guessed it, from a developing nation, unsure whether Islander of African but he is one to watch. Wesley Lolo as well, interchange prop, was immense.
Preston’s previews: NRL Round 9
I have said this many times, in fact I wrote an article about it last season. TPA’s are ruining the game. Like you I can’t believe this squad actually does take up the full salary cap, but let’s say it does – at the Broncos Anthony Milford is probably earning around 800k, roughly 450k is part of the salary cap, 350k comes in from TPA’s. He is in every way shape and form an 800k player but the Broncos don’t have to oblige by that. The Tigers given their poor sponsorship would have to utilise 800k directly from the cap to secure him.
My system was simple and effective. Independent player value assessments which are formed by the coaches of the 16 teams, a panel of experts from journalism, commentary etc and the ARL commission. Combine their thoughts to find a median category for the player – each category has a minimum charge/value that can be applied to a player falling into it. For example category 1 would be the highest category, at this stage cause he is still young but already one of the best in the game Milford would fall into category 2. Category 2 players must take up a minimum of 600k salary cap affected income. From there he is free to earn as much as possible from TPA’s so as to not minimise the players earning potential – this system is purely in place to restrict clubs taking advantage of the current system.
What would regulate the player values and resultant categories? Well Bennett for example would massively under value Milford to try and keep him at the club, placing him in say a category 5 bracket where he must be paid a minimum 200k for example. However other coaches would be likely to place him in category 1 and 2 thus increasing the media – they would also however be wary of placing his category value to high because it would mean it would be harder to poach him and fit him in their cap. Then of course the independents come in to further regulate things.
Jason Taylor has to go after Raiders win by a factor of ten
Good move Gaz, I fell into the trap of Tiger bias last week, thinking they could turn it around after two losses which should have been wins (Knights and Storm) only to cost myself a full round of tips! The pain of being a Tigers fan -_-
Preston’s previews: NRL Round 9
Hi Joe! When did they loose Koroibete? At the time of writing this their back line was Munster, Vunivalu, Kennar, Tonomapaeia and Koro – which for me has plenty of strike in it.
On a slight side note I must give further credit to Craig Bellamy – he has always focussed on replacement outside backs from Islander nations, they develop early are extremely athletic and through their sheer physical prowess can offer overcome defensive and strategic difficulties – not to much they come a dime a dozen, partially I suspect because of the poor upbringing’s many have had, 50 or 100k looks like a mountain in comparison.
Titans will push them no doubt but I think the scoreline will be a greater margin than the respective performances.
Preston’s previews: NRL Round 9
That would actually be amazing. An entire three quarter line of siblngs, Middleton would be the go to man on that one but I highly doubt that has ever happened before.
They may be undefeated at home this season BUT it is important to remember:
There has been 7 rounds of football thus far, they have played just 2 of 7 matches at Hunter Stadium
Of the 2 matches played at Hunter, one was a draw against a very average Canberra missing both of their starting halves. Their one and only win came with a ridiculous amount of controversy over the Tigers, a game realistically they should not have won.
Whilst I think they have improved every week for mine they are still wooden spoon favourites by some distance and I think a bit of perspective in matters such as these is very important.
Preston's previews: NRL Round 8
Wow, wasn’t doing these articles last season but last year I would get my dad to black out the TAB odds in the Daily Telegraph and then make my selections haha. I feel it often creates a subconscious bias in your tips
Preston’s previews: NRL Round 6
I’ve been trying to ignore the odd’s all season – are my selections the same as the betting favourites PNG?
Preston’s previews: NRL Round 6
That game is a worrying one for me for sure. I feel though that if the Eels want to send a statement that they are the real deal for 2016 this is the game to do so having just faded out at home against Panthers last week.
Preston’s previews: NRL Round 6
@Kaks – I feel you there, Manly v Souths is very much a 50/50 – if Cherry Evans plays, I tip them! I feel much safer about Broncos defeating Titans especially with Tyrone Roberts now ruled out.
Preston’s previews: NRL Round 5
Further to that point, the players from the now former NRL team could simply they have been dropped to the feeder team for the upcoming season and low and behold the Brisbane Broncos roster runs out in a different shirt.
Should the NRL adopt a relegation system?
As a duality this opens the door for corruption and favouritism (even more so). Does anyone really believe the NRL/Channel 9 would not step in and protect their darlings for ratings and other purposes. None of those teams would EVER be relegated, they would not allow it.
Should the NRL adopt a relegation system?
@wazza – That’s a great team! No room for Sironen over Halatau though? I think if you put Chee Kam on the bench there is really no need for Halatau. I would do a straight swap, that’s my only change.
Back to reality: The key takeaways from the Tigers' loss to the Eels
Leilua is the only player that typically makes irrational defensive decisions and he has been doing that since his Roosters days. Raiders defence IMO is usually pretty good, definitely an attacking team though. With that said name one ‘superstar’ the Raiders have given at the time of this article they were sitting in sixth with a 7-5 win loss record.
The NRL’s coaching mid-year report card: Part 1