Roar Guru
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Twitter: @jamiesonmurph Journalist. Newcastle born and bred, Knights fanatic (defend the kingdom!), rugby union enthusiast and Michael Ennis lover.
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There is going to be plenty said about Sam Burgess' return to the NRL in the coming days - but who is going to…
This year the top two defensive teams, the Sydney Roosters and the Melbourne Storm, tumbled out of premiership contention in the semi-finals. The last…
Following on from Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3, in this final article we'll take a look at the minnows of the upcoming…
Following on from Part 1 and Part 2, we'll take a look at the minnows of Pool C - Georgia and Namibia - and…
Following on from our look at the Rugby World Cup minnows in Pool A, we'll identify the unlikely heroes from Pool B - Japan…
One of my favourite parts of any Rugby World Cup is the minnow nations. Who doesn't love a good underdog? Over the next four…
Michael Hooper and David Pocock, the two form openside flankers in Australia. The selection headache that Wallabies coach Michael Cheika faces between these two…
Standing at 195 centimetres and tipping the scales at 120 kilograms, most people would judge Taqele Naiyaravoro to be a valuable addition to any…
Legendary American Football coach Bear Bryant once said, "offence sells tickets, but defence wins games." That saying rings true in the NRL as well.…
The best offence is a good defence. Over the last few seasons it's become increasingly clear that coaches in the NRL are sticking to…
Last year the Canberra Raiders were lampooned for their inability to attract star players to the club. Ricky Stuart missed his man four times,…
After a terrible personal performance against the Cowboys in round 8, Newcastle captain Kurt Gidley has announced that he's heading over to England to…
Chris Sandow – infamous for being consistently inconsistent. Throughout his playing career Sandow has struggled with his weight, form, off-field demons (gambling), and in…
Why would you break up Semi and Takairangi?
Jennings has no idea how to pass the ball, and that’s been an issue with him his whole career.
Takairangi had 8 try assists in 17 games (almost all of them to semi)
Jennings had 5 in 24 games.
Personally I would love to see them on the same side of the field. It would null the most potent attacking player in the competition by starving him of possession.
Jennings-Radradra to form deadly Eels combo
Good read on a really interesting phenomenon in rugby league.
5/8 is one of the hardest positions to play in league and usually we don’t see 5/8s (or halfbacks) peak until mid career, as they start to learn the nuances of the game.
Many of these fullback/five-eights have natural play making ability along with a strong running game (which is becoming the staple of a modern 5/8). Starting them at fullback allows these talented players to focus on their runing and support play, while dabbling in playmaking.
After a few years of developing their playmaking skills, they can handle the pressure of being the main attacking director of a team.
The fullback cocktail that has coaches selecting double
Imagine how good he could be if he learnt to pass the ball
Roosters better off without Michael Jennings
I think most clubs would struggle if both their halves went down with long term injuries….
Hodkinson to excel in new role in Newcastle
I use to agree with bring the shoulder charge back, until QLD Cup player James Ackerman dies in August last year.
Shoulder charges look great, but because of the amount of force they produce, it only takes a slight mistiming and the results can be deadly.
The game has been going along fine without it and althought the should charge poses a small chance of resulting in a death, it’s a chance that shouldn’t be taken.
Top five ways to improve rugby league
What makes the Immortals club so special is its exclusive membership. You add too many and it starts to lose it’s value (though there are very good arguments to include Mal and Sterlo in the Immortals).
NRL should introduced a Hall of Fame to compliment the Immortals. Then you could honour players, while keeping the immortals an exclusive club for the best of the best.
The Hall of Fame could introduct 50 players straight away, then another 10 every year. There’s no limit on how many people the Hall of Fame can have. It would have people like Nathan Hindmarsh or Brett Finch, players who didn’t revolutionise the game or werent the best in their position their entire career (like the Immortals), but still achieved a great deal throughout their career.
There are too few immortals
That is a shockin photo of Moore – he looks like a simpleton
Brumbies working hard to overcome the Canberra malaise
Nothing wrong with switch it up.
Teams have adapted to Izzy’s potent running game from fullback and he was heavily marked – which can be seen from his increase in try assists and decease in tries this season.
I think the idea of putting him at 13 is to let him get his hands on the ball, because we all know what he can do with the ball in hand. The simple logic (though possible not correct) is that the more he touched, the more opportunities he has to produce some magic.
Folau at 13 would prove unlucky for the Waratahs
Folau lead Super Rugby with tackle bust with 83… I would say that makes him a tackle breaker, but that’s just my opinion
Folau at 13 would prove unlucky for the Waratahs
How’s that reliable mail going?
I thought the rumours around Walker were rubbish? But he’s gone and is about to sign with Manly.
McQueen to Titans and there are questions marks around Reynolds.
Who will Souths punt to make room for Burgess?
He will start ahead of Taylor. Has about 100 games under his belt and 4 years worth of first grade.
No point in throwing a developing player like Taylor in the deep end and risk their confidence getting shattered. Taylor will be a great player and play this year, but he won’t be a starter.
A strategy to save the Titans
Don’t worry, the Titans still have the mighty Roberts!
Tyrone that is, not Jamie…
A strategy to save the Titans
I don’t think stacking the 7s side with Wallabies equals success, even if they are quality players such as Folau and Beale.
At the 2006 CWG they also stacked the team with well established and talented Wallabies like Matt Giteau, Chris Latham, Lote Tuqiri and Scott Fava. That team got knocked out without achieving a medal.
At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, half the team was made up of wallabies (or future wallabies) with Lachie Turner, Liam Gill, Nick Cummins, Pat McCab, Luke Morahan and Bernard Foley.
Although they won silver, losing to NZ, they also lost to England and never looked convincing.
How Australia can win the Rugby Championship, Bledisloe and Olympic gold
Besides the warriors, which one is your pick of the bunch Ed?
Auckland Nines jerseys: The good, the bad, and the meh
The Knights jersey is one of the best I think.
It’s unconventional and different, which is what the 9s are all about – for jerseys and for footy.
Auckland Nines jerseys: The good, the bad, and the meh
Ben Kennedy to the Knights. Helped them to the 2001 grand final win.
Such good player and played a lot of his best footy at Newcastle.
Who are the best buys in rugby league history?
I guess you could say…
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Bird is the word
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YYYYYEEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH
Bird the NRL player with biggest point to prove in 2016
I rounded up from 66.6 repeater.. Not 63.8
Jones coach 57 games and won 33.
Take away the games from 2005, where they played 9 and lost 8.
It becomes 48 games, 32 wins.
32 divided by 48 x 100…. I’ll let you do the math
Eddie Jones set to beat out Jake White for the England job no one else wanted
My point being is Southern Hemisphere teams face a more difficult level of competition on a more regular basis.
For the last decade and a half many in the media have branded the Wallabies failures because they fail to beat the ABs, despite consistently performing well against ever on ether nation.
(Also, Take away the AB games from Robbie Deabs and he has a 71% win rate. Small difference to 75% but the devils in the detail Jerry)
Eddie Jones set to beat out Jake White for the England job no one else wanted
Australia was highly ranked but was also playing the two other best teams in the world – NZ and SA – on a regular basis. Take away his last year where the wallabies had injuries and lost 8 out of 9 and his win percentage goes up to a respectable 67%
Take away the games against SA and NZ and it bumps up to a stellar 70% – a percentage most international coaches would kill for.
He had a 45% win record against the ABs, which would be one of the highest win records against the ABs since the turn of the century.
Eddie Jones is no where near as bad as he is being portrayed to be
Eddie Jones set to beat out Jake White for the England job no one else wanted
As a Wallabies support I actually really like Jones. Led us to within a drop goal of winning the World Cup and had a 58% win record.
Last time we won the Bledisloe Cup was under Jones.
I think it’s a good move by England given who is available and willing to take on the basket case that is English Rugby Union.
Eddie Jones set to beat out Jake White for the England job no one else wanted
Laurie needs to ditch his pre selection policy. He has already said the drama around Robbie Farah won’t stop him from being selected for NSW.
What if Mitch Rein’s rise continues? What if Farah’s performance continues to go downhill? There are a dozen “what ifs” that can happen between now and origin time and it’s absurd to make a commitment to a player this earlier. He’s back himself into a corner.
Daley's dilemma surrounding Fulton and Gallen
Rugby is the game they play in heaven and you can have no doubt Jonah will be in the all time starting XV. Rest in peace champion
Jonah Lomu dies, age 40
Saying Burgess has the ball-playing skills of a half back is a massive stretch.
I would say he is an good ball playing forward. James Graham and Frank Pritchard are probably the best and Burgess is up there too. But I’ve never seen him throw a double cut out pass to a winger or throw an inside ball that fooled the camera man.
Other than that I agree with everything you’ve said. If he keeps his 2014 form up he’ll go down as one of the greats
Sam Burgess could be a legend, but only in league
In 2015 Knights won first four games of the year and got the wooden spoon.
That means if they lose the first four games of 2016 they’ll win the premiership, right?
Five massive overreactions to Round 1 of the NRL