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Brandon Smith making his way to the Sydney Roosters from season 2023 has some serious shades of Cooper Cronk in 2018 – and not just because they both moved from Melbourne, but because of the knock-on effect at Bondi.
For more than a year now, we’ve been reading stories that Mitchell Pearce is leaving Newcastle.
And so, after some 15 years, nearly 400 games, three different clubs and two previous attempts at a grand final, Ivan Cleary is finally a premiership-winning coach.
For supporters of Souths and Penrith, this may be the best week of the year. Your team is in the NRL grand final and you’ll spend the next five days dancing on the wind.
The Penrith Panthers have avenged their heartache from the 2020 grand final, beating the Melbourne Storm 10-6 in a bruising, error-filled encounter that was, nonetheless, absolutely brilliant to watch.
As I write this, the bookies have got Panthers at more than $3 to beat Melbourne on Saturday. It must be the longest odds that have been offered for Penrith since 2019.
Parramatta gave it everything they had but it just wasn’t enough, the Eels going down to the Penrith Panthers 8-6 in a heart-stopper in Mackay.
After a week of barbs about the role the media plays in refereeing decisions, it appears one club has decided a tactically-placed story in the papers is the way to beat Melbourne.
The Parramatta Eels have secured their place in the semi-finals, knocking the Newcastle Knights out of the NRL finals in a hard-fought 28-20 victory that went right down to the wire.
The Roosters are on their way to the NRL semi-finals, although any concerns this would be a series defined by blowout scores in favour of the higher-seeded team were put to bed as the Titans fought all the way to the end, only to go down 25-24.
Ahead of the NRL finals kicking off this weekend, there have been calls for the whole system to be overhauled after the 10-14 Titans made the eight.
The Brisbane Broncos are performing an impressive trick at the moment: they’re paying someone half what they’re worth yet exactly the amount they deserve.
Amid the teeth-gnashing and finger-pointing over Connor Watson’s announcement that he was leaving Newcastle it was disappointing but in no way surprising to see Anthony Seibold turned into a talking point.
On the back of another record loss to New Zealand, ensuring Lord Bledisloe’s trophy will stay on the other side of the ditch for the 19th consecutive year, it’s time Rugby Australia cease this annual humiliation-fest against the world’s best team.
The day before his club debut for the Panthers, it was announced that Tevita Pangai Jr was withdrawing from the game against the Roosters.
I’ll start with a question: how can you serve a suspension if you’re not able to be picked for a team?
While there have been far too many lopsided games this season, and you can never discount the possibility of some of the following teams simply failing to turn up, this weekend should serve up some cracking NRL matches.
After just five games, Joseph Suaalii’s first season is over, having suffered a foot injury at training that will require surgery and a five-month recovery.
This afternoon the Dragons will name their side to play Manly on Friday, with a distinct possibility they will field a near full-strength team.
It would not surprise me if Mitchell Moses absolutely kills it in State of Origin next Wednesday night – he could well be the man of the match.
If it’s on the money – and I didn’t bring it up because I reckon it’s scuttlebutt, given stories of a broken-down body only surfaced when rumours of a release came out – it’s the issue that could decide it.
Blake Green showed the Knights this year what happens when a half goes for a year too long.
The Knights’ No.1 problem if it’s a case of Pearce off
Yep, the same way we’re ignoring Super League, under 20s and reserve grade titles.
It’s a great achievement, but it’s not a win in Australia’s top flight.
Cleary confirms it: There are just three kinds of successful NRL coaches
“if your club has got a seasoned pro who hasn’t won a title before – looking at you St George Illawarra, Canterbury and Warriors – you’re probably in need of a new boss before you’ll taste the ultimate success.”
And, FYI, Baz was never the coach at the Dragons.
Cleary confirms it: There are just three kinds of successful NRL coaches
Thanks for the considered comment Steven.
But I’m Joe, not AJ (who is similarly handsome, insightful and witty – I see how you may have been confused).
Stuck in neutral: Reasons to support – or boo – the Panthers and Souths in the NRL grand final
You don’t get revenge on a game, you get it on an opponent. Hence today’s game was revenge.
If Penrith win next weekend, you think they’ll say, “Finally, we got revenge on a grand final!”
Sweet revenge! Talking points as Panthers secure second successive grand final berth with bruising win over Storm
D’you know I actually went into a level of detail in my first draft, making mention of how in Magic Round it totally would have been a penalty but “we’re a long way removed from the Suncorp sin-bin-athon”.
But then I feared a commentator telling me the unnamed, hypothetical tackler “can’t just disappear”, so I left it up to the imagination.
Stopping the Storm is going to take more than a brain-fart refereeing conspiracy
Oh no, my grand conspiracy has been exposed.
No need to call the police, I’ll hand myself in.
Did the 'Billy Slater rule' save Parra? Talking points from the Eels' controversial win over the Knights
“we’ve twice seen a bottom-two team make the grand final, with another team getting knocked out in the prelim in a third year.”
A six-team NRL finals system? Sure, but just one question: Who hurt you?
Yet again, you’re looking at this year as the first and only time we’ve had a problem, all while citing previous years’ blowouts as your evidence.
Do you not see the problem with complaining about seven and eight playing finals, then using seven beating six as evidence?
Read your own examples. Deal in specifics.
And settle down a bit, it’s a lovely day and we’re about to start finals.
A six-team NRL finals system? Sure, but just one question: Who hurt you?
I’m totally on board with this – was almost the basis of this week’s piece.
The money will motivate the clubs to push for the minor premiership, but the players will still just want a ring.
A six-team NRL finals system? Sure, but just one question: Who hurt you?
2018 was also the year that the difference between 1st and 8th was two points – one win.
Hard task-master if you say seventh-placed St George Illawarra (15 wins, +47 differential) didn’t belong but the sixth-placed Brisbane (15 wins, +56 differential) did – especially since your 48-18 scoreline was the Dragons beating the Broncos.
And if you think ‘best of the best’ stops blowouts, I’d point you to the minor premier Storm going down to 2nd-placed Manly 40-0 in the ’08 GF.
This isn’t about the Knights and Titans’ fans, it’s about looking at years of a system that, on the whole, has been a success.
A six-team NRL finals system? Sure, but just one question: Who hurt you?
“anything doesn’t happen”
Stiff assessment of the Cowboys’ run to the 2017 GF.
A six-team NRL finals system? Sure, but just one question: Who hurt you?
2021 will be regarded as a bit of an anomaly in the years to come, much like 2001 was the year the unlimited interchange rule was pulled and we had scoreline blowouts.
A six-team NRL finals system? Sure, but just one question: Who hurt you?
If you honestly think the Kangaroos vs Kiwis is the same as All Blacks vs Wallabies, I’m banging my head against a brick wall.
The simple, infallible way the Wallabies can stop losing the Bledisloe Cup every year
Won twice in the Four Nations in 2014. There’s a Rugby Championship right there.
Which is what the whole piece is in favour of.
Like, you did read the piece? How Australia would still play NZ every year?
The simple, infallible way the Wallabies can stop losing the Bledisloe Cup every year
https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sportal_com_au/4f/75/benji-marshall_1s4tmppdarubd14fbvoeg9xu0k.png?t=85813454&quality=100
The simple, infallible way the Wallabies can stop losing the Bledisloe Cup every year
Apples and oranges. The Kangaroos and Kiwis don’t play a three-match series every year.
For the record, the Kiwis haven’t got better. NZ league have won a bit over 23% of their historical games against the Aussies – which was their winning rate in the 2010s as well.
But the Kiwis win one-off matches or the finals of tournaments (that feature other nations), giving them a year or more of bragging rights. Which is what the Wallabies need.
The simple, infallible way the Wallabies can stop losing the Bledisloe Cup every year
It’s okay, being the champ makes everything a little bit easier.
Paul Vaughan to the Bulldogs? Cool, see you in Round 9 of 2022
Where you getting that TB? Most recent I could find was on NRL.com last Wednesday, where Dan Walsh reported “Canterbury have applied for Paul Vaughan’s eight-game ban to be backdated… with a final decision on his availability still to be made by the NRL.”
https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/07/28/vaughan-signs-with-bulldogs-in-bid-to-resurrect-nrl-career/
Paul Vaughan to the Bulldogs? Cool, see you in Round 9 of 2022
That’s how opinions work: you take the available facts and then form an opinion. Then by using qualifying statements – like “it certainly suggests” – you reinforce to the reader that it’s not reporting, it’s an opinion.
As the available facts change, my opinion tends to as well.
But even if it’s proven that Suaalii’s injury was a freak accident that could have happened anywhere, it doesn’t change the point of the piece.
'Massive blunder': Why the NRL owes injured Joseph Suaalii an apology
Nicko,
“It’s sort of beside the point though.”
Apparently you did?
'Massive blunder': Why the NRL owes injured Joseph Suaalii an apology
I don’t think that’s the case. Souths pushed hard for Suaalii to play before he turned 18 and V’landys said he was open to it: https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-may-bend-rules-to-allow-suaalii-to-play-for-souths-early-20200727-p55fws.html
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/south-sydney-email-that-paved-the-way-for-the-roosters-to-play-suaalii-before-18-20210315-p57axc.html
'Massive blunder': Why the NRL owes injured Joseph Suaalii an apology
Nah man, Souths were pushing hard for Suaalii to play first grade this year if he had stayed with them. It was the basis of the article I wrote about it last year.
'Massive blunder': Why the NRL owes injured Joseph Suaalii an apology
See what you mean, but pretty sure his whole family are still in Sydney, as well as probably most of his oldest mates, and he wouldn’t have seen any of them in the flesh since June at the latest.
Plus, there’s technically still no travel between Sydney and the regions.
Makes sense that, when the season ended, he made a call to just go hang out in Sydney for a few weeks.
The Knights’ No.1 problem if it’s a case of Pearce off