Roar Guru
Joined February 2016
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It is official, Mitchell Pearce is back in a Blues jumper after his one-year sabbatical. He has learnt a lot in his year off…
I am sick of hearing commentators, journalists and fans comparing new talents to current and recently retired legends. It is one of the most…
Once again we're hearing talk of the Bears purchasing the Gold Coast Titans and rebranding them as the Gold Coast Bears. And once again there…
The Raiders were good last year. Actually that is underselling it, they were wonderful last year. They were fun and exciting to watch, playing…
I want everyone to take a moment of silence to mourn the loss of the 'Cronulla Sharks have never won a premiership' jokes. They…
So the 2015 premiers had the standard season for a premiership-defending side. They did well enough, started out on fire and ended in the…
The Broncos more or less had a mirror year compared to Penrith in 2016. They started off amazingly, with some of the better performances…
The Panthers really were the ‘hot streak to the finals' team of 2016. Despite a lacklustre start, they sorted things out at the back…
A forward pack is key to winning a competition; that has to be Des Hasler's opinion, because that is where most of the Bulldogs'…
You know, 2016 was a perfect season for the Gold Coast Titans. This was a team in tatters, one that had just lost their…
It only took over a whole chuffing season but it is finally over. Finally, we can watch a Wests Tigers game without the announcers…
The Warriors have to make the eight this year. I mean, I know they had to make the eight last year, and the year…
I have been watching the NRL since 2005, and never before have I seen a team that was more boring to watch than last…
Starting the season as one of the favourites, for reasons that baffled me, the Christmas coloured team started off white hot, before collapsing in…
2016 was supposed to be the year the team from the northern beaches was back. After an awful 2015, the ever maligned club had…
Remember as a kid when your mother said ‘cheaters never prosper'? Well that saying is all well and good, but usually it is false,…
The phrase ‘sudden downfall' really doesn't do justice to what 2016 was like for the boys at Bondi. A sudden downfall is something the…
Here we are again. Another NRL season and another awful Newcastle season looms. After achieving the honour of winning back-to-back wooden spoons in 2016,…
The terms 'overrated' and 'underrated' are thrown around far too much these days, especially in rugby league circles. This annoys me, since the popularity…
If you haven't realised it yet Penrith fans, over the off season you guys decided to trade in a Mercedes for a used Ford…
Oh I got him confused with Ryan Hoffman….. that’s awkward.
NRL 2017 season preview: New Zealand Warriors
It is ‘injured or suspended’. And I can name a fair chunk of souths players that love to be injured and suspended in your team. GI, Gray, Reynolds, the three Burgess bros, Hunt, Rochow, Sutton, Musgrove and Walker. That is 11 off of the top of my head.
NRL 2017 season preview: South Sydney Rabbitohs
Because Josh ‘I only do kick returns’ Dugan and Tyson Frizell is equal to the entire spine of Melbourne, and they are also totally equal to JT, Morgan, Scott, Tamou and Cooper.
NRL 2017 season preview: St George Illawarra Dragons
Wait a minute, weren’t you the guy that tried to tell me last year that the Dragons were the most injury affected side and had the hardest draw of anyone in 2015? Good to see you haven’t changed your narrative in over a year.
If the Dragons don’t make the 8 this year will you stop with this stuff? Or will you push the narrative even harder?
NRL 2017 season preview: St George Illawarra Dragons
Well my summary usually has a bit of a range to it but I want to have a solid ladder so in my last one I can say ‘so this is where I put people’. And also if I do season reviews I can look back at where I put them and admit I was wrong or gloat about me being correct.
Raiders and Melbourne are my only top 4 locks.
NRL 2017 season preview: St George Illawarra Dragons
The win over the Cowboys and Melbourne were jokes. Melbourne were missing their whole damn spine whilst the Cowboys were missing all of their forward pack and their halves. And they struggled to beat those sides anyway. I am sick of people saying ‘oh they beat the Cowboys and Melbourne’, when really they struggled to beat the Melbourne and Cowboys reserve grade team.
NRL 2017 season preview: St George Illawarra Dragons
Honestly if they had Hunt this year they would have been launched up my ladder. They just need something in that spine to make them a club with a shot at the 8. But currently the team is like the Bulldogs except with a weaker spine, not as great props and a worse coach.
NRL 2017 season preview: St George Illawarra Dragons
That was a long time ago though and I don’t think age has been kind to McCrone. Also, even at his best he wasn’t a lead spine player/playmaker. This is a side that needs a lead playmaker so even at his best I don’t know how much he can contribute.
NRL 2017 season preview: St George Illawarra Dragons
A lot of the reason this club is at 15th for me is out of necessity. I didn’t think the Dragons or Rabbitohs would be as low as I predicted them until I mapped it out. There is a ridiculous logjam in the bottom 8 and there is a lot of competition. The Knights can’t be the only team in the bottom four.
NRL 2017 season preview: St George Illawarra Dragons
That is like calling me a sheep for thinking that the sky is blue. Just cause I am not a biased and deluded Dragons fan doesn’t make me a sheep for predicting something obvious. This side has made no real improvement whilst all of the ones around them from last year have. There is no way in hell this team makes the 8, none at all.
You know I said I only started watching in 2005 right? I don’t know how the 1999 Cowboys did, but they (along with the 2005 era bunnies) were still probably more exciting than the Dragons. They probably had the ability to score a fun try every couple of games, and their fullback probably had more than 1 try assist.
NRL 2017 season preview: St George Illawarra Dragons
And I stand by both of those articles. I was wrong about the Titans one but I am correct about Griffin.
NRL 2017 season preview: South Sydney Rabbitohs
As I said, Cook is great, Robbie the attack stifling hog is the problem. George Burgess hasn’t had a good game since like early 2015. He adds nothing but drop balls. At least Tom sowed signs of improvement last year.
Musgrove and Crichton have proved nothing. Nothing at all. Yeah they played well in NSW cup, first grade is a whole different story. They are rookies that have proved nothing.
Are you seriously asking me why I think players in a team that lost 9 games in a row last season are bad? If the Rabbitohs are full of players that are all amazing how did they lose so many games?
NRL 2017 season preview: South Sydney Rabbitohs
Isn’t Aaron Gray injured for most of the season after the nines?
I don’t know if making the 8 could be called a surprise to most people. A lot of people have them in the top 8. It would be a surprise to me if they succeeded since I don’t know what people see in them. I just can’t see a team that lost 9 in a row turning it around so quickly.
NRL 2017 season preview: South Sydney Rabbitohs
You know, I wrote an article last year where I put the Rabbitohs low on the table. And I was swamped with comments about how good Walker is, about how Inglis will play with heart again and how Sam Burgess would be at his best from round one. None of this happened.
Sam Burgess had a fine enough preseason last year for a forward who carts the ball up. He isn’t a playmaker, he didn’t forget how to run the ball and tackle in his few month Union stint. I doubt Sam Burgess will improve much.
NRL 2017 season preview: South Sydney Rabbitohs
Top 13 doesn’t mean starting 13. And yeah as I said, Musgrove and Crichton are rookies that haven’t proved anything in the top grade. Just cause a player was decent for the Bears doesn’t mean they will carry on in first grade.
Your depth is atrocious, your players are injury prone and this is a shadow of the 2014 side.
NRL 2017 season preview: South Sydney Rabbitohs
They were good at the back end of last year but that was when there was no pressure to perform. They have one style of play and don’t have the cattle to capitalize on that style. The ‘barge up the middle’ plan in 2014 worked because you had backs that could take advantage of the bash ball and Adam Reynolds managed to stay uninjured.
I can’t in good faith put a team that lost 9 in a row before their 4 game winning streak last season in the top 8.
NRL 2017 season preview: South Sydney Rabbitohs
I have Nate Myles in my top side, just. His experience is vital but he can only be a bench player at this point in time, he is too broken down these days.
From what i have seen of Cullen in his Titans appearances and the nines this year I beg to differ. He is no superstar but he is a nice little pivot that has spark about him. His biggest weakness is his size though. As for Green him being as good as Widdop is probably fine. When you have a dominant half and you aren’t in the position to challenge for a premiership having a solid partner is good enough. As long as he can look like he threatens the opposition line so teams will stop stacking defenders on DCE’s side then he will be fine for the few years he will be at the club whilst they find a long term partner and rebuild.
NRL 2017 season preview: Manly Sea Eagles
If you think DCE isn’t a great halfback and still the heir apparent to the QLD I don’t know what to say except that you obviously don’t watch Manly play. The difference in the quality of play by Manly when he was there vs when he wasn’t was ridiculous. They went from losing hopelessly week after week to at least being competitive and winning game when he came back in the later half of 2016.
NRL 2017 season preview: Manly Sea Eagles
The money should be irrelevant. I put Fogerty there just because of the whole ‘Dylan Walker’ fiasco. Halves are very important, you can’t put stop-gap players that are actually centres there if you want to win a premiership. This side can at least come close to challenging for it, so in my opinion it just makes sense for him to be there.
NRL season preview: Parramatta Eels
I said in the preview that Gutherson will probably start in the halves. But after the ‘Dylan Walker’ halves fiasco in 2016 I just think you should always prioritize selecting actual halves players in the 6 and 7 jersey.
I am not a big Parramatta fan so I didn’t notice Alvaro at all. However I wanted to include Taka but if I put Fogerty in my halves this meant Gutherson needed to go into the backs and he demonstrated he was a poor winger. I probably could have just put him there anyway and dropped Hoffman but oh well. This squad has a ton of depth to it though so who knows how it will line up?
NRL season preview: Parramatta Eels
I didn’t know where to put him and a few other eels players. In none-spine areas their depth is ridiculous. I guess I could have swapped him with Edwards or F. Pritchard but they both deserve to be in the squad. You could cut Kaysa but the idea of playing IDG for 80 minutes is not a fun one.
NRL season preview: Parramatta Eels
Where would you put them? I wanted to put Takarangi in but to do that I had to make Gutherson the five-eighth which isn’t worth it and I didn’t want to put either of them on the wing since they aren’t wingers. Parramatta have a lot of depth especially in the forwards and backs so it is slim pickings to start.
I mainly put Matagi in the side based on his nines form.
NRL season preview: Parramatta Eels
I was mainly referring to the fact that Parramatta had been doing this cheating for years if I recall correctly, but it got them a bunch of wooden spoons. So they have yet to prosper because of their continued lack of success. It has nothing to do with the penalty. Also Parramatta did lose a fair chunk of players.
I don’t think the Warriors are necessarily over the cap. You can have spines like this for like a year or so with the right circumstances. However when you manage to somehow keep all of these international players for years whilst losing no one and gaining people then it is clear something fishy is happening.
NRL season preview: Parramatta Eels
“but they could end up as high as seventh and as low as 15th.” – that is a quote from this article.
They do have a decent side and they could certainly make the 8 if everything goes well for them. But when I was planning this preview series out I had to look at all of the teams, look at their pros and cons and rank them. Some sides have to miss the 8, and there is a logjam from 7th -14th in my opinion. I didn’t want the Rabbitohs to be as low as they were, but when I compared everyone they were the third weakest team in my opinion.
But you touched on the problem already when you made excuses for last year. So many players got injured last year and so many got injured the year before that as well. I couldn’t put them any higher because any side with the injury issues they have and no depth is far too much of a risk for my liking. And it isn’t like their team is a superstar team either, they just have no depth in their squad at all.
You can bring up the final 5 rounds of last year, and I can bring up the 10 rounds before that. Showing form when nothing is on the line is meaningless. And Greg Inglis never gets involved regularly enough. He always steps up for rep games and the all stars but he hasn’t been consistent since 2014.
I think it is very possible they will escape the bottom 3. However I would be more than happy to bet that they won’t make the 8.
NRL 2017 season preview: South Sydney Rabbitohs