The clash of the forwards will be worth watching, also Johnson v Reynolds, but Brisbane will have the edge in the centres I think. Hope it is a close game, but could be another blowout.

For a halfback to shine their forward pack needs to hold its own and last night that was not the case, the Melbourne pack is not as dominant now and Penrith had the upper hand. Cleary keeps getting better, but the criticism on Munster a bit harsh I thought.

Are Broncos the only ones going into the prelims. with a fully fit spine, as the Warriors are nursing Johnson’s calf injury, same with Hughes and Luai. I agree that the role that Luai plays will be restricted if he is not fit and Cogger and Cleary are combining well in a different style, so it’s a roll of the dice for Penrith and the same for Melbourne who have to decide whether to play Hughes or stick with Wishart. The youngsters looking to a Rugby League future should be honing their skill as a halfback, because they will be like diamonds as will their asking price.

It was the best game of the finals so far. Canberra dominated the first half, but when Newcastle bounced back and took the lead, I thought the Raiders would live up to their “Faders” title. Good on them for the fight they showed and I felt it was a shame the match was decided by a penalty, deserved or not. Congratulations to Newcastle on their victory and both teams for a very entertaining game.

With some good backline signings for next year, Burton will get his chance to step up and he should spend the off season improving his defence. However, unless we sign more good defensive forwards (I am not talking about established stars), we will have problems next year. Our depth this year was too skinny and injuries hit hard, but this does not excuse their defence which is the worst I have seen from a Canterbury team.

It was a very good game to watch and the Raiders were doing well to be still in it, until the sin binning which, changes the outcome every time. Rapana got away with a lot worse against the Dogs last week, and what annoys and frustrates me is that is so random. Some placed on report others given 10 in the bin. Brisbane were the stronger team last night and deserved to win, but let us hope when it comes to the finals they are not decided on the whim of a referee or the bunker.

The Warriors have proved that you don’t need a 5 year plan to have a successful year. A new coach a halfback playing brilliantly and a couple of good acquisitions with everyone in the team buying in, shows that any team can improve. The Warriors have exceeded expectations and even if they go down in the finals they can be pleased with their efforts. I see a long- term plan as setting up a good junior base, strength in key positions and identifying leaders. However, although the salary cap is the same for everyone, all teams do not start from an equal base.

Burton has been playing behind a small and mostly inexperienced pack this year who get monstered many games and with the Sexton the first organising half only coming very late in the season, so it is hard to make a judgment. He needs to up his defence as do all the players including those on top coin. Preston on the other hand has been great value for money. I also feel that Brooks will shine this year, playing alongside a top halfback like Cherry Evans, something he has not experienced before.

I never really believed that Haas was coming to the Dogs, but I do admire him as a player who has overcome a difficult background to reach the heights that he has.
I have been banging on all the season about Canterbury’s lack of forward depth, and I would like them to stop aiming for the highest priced players and bring in some good consistent old- style players, the likes of Tolman and Jackson, otherwise all the money invested in the back line next year, will be wasted.

TPJ has been disappointing in a very disappointing year, but he is an amazing athlete and some of the things he has done on the field, made me always live in hope. I always felt that he is a different personality to his peers, but it is a strange decision for a family man to walk away from a certain
$750,000, for an uncertain future as a boxer. I for one will not be surprised to see him back in the NRL. at some point.

At least the Tigers are having a good go, even if their roster isn’t all that strong. More than I can say, about the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs were absolutely terrible yesterday, so many missed tackles in many cases by those on the highest coin. I expect Jacob Preston will be stood down and he will be missed – it is ironic that our rookie recruit has been one of our best forwards all year. I stopped watching early in the game yesterday as the writing was on the wall. It has been a very disappointing year all round, but the biggest disappointment is the defence which seems to be getting worse. I have come to the conclusion that it is easy to coach some teams who are blessed with a number of representatives and older heads, but requires a different approach in a weaker team. Unless the Dogs have more depth in the forwards next year, it will be much of the same again. Bullfrog once said, when you think you have assembled your forward pack, buy two more.

Warren Ryan tells the story of when he coached the Bulldogs, Peter Kelly was sent off within a minute of the game starting, after the tackle he made on a flying South Sydney winger. Peter Moore thought he had forgotten his mouthguard. Peter Kelly was from Eden on the South Coast, the same group you played in Dutski, and was a pretty tough customer.

Watching Brisbane before Adam Reynolds arrived, it was obvious that there was talent to burn there, with a number of young players on the rise. The acquisition of Reynolds was the master stroke that has delivered in spades. The Bulldogs are just starting to build pathways in the lower grades, something that has been neglected for far too long, but some of these young players have had to be exposed to first grade too early because of so many injuries to the squad.

The Broncos have been through their lean times, and this looks like the year they could really shine, with mobile young forwards and fast backs and an old bloke from Souths who has provided the glue to mould them together. I hope that the Bulldogs can build for next year, at the moment there is too much pressure on young inexperienced players. While it has been a disadvantage having to bring up so many Cup players, in the long run hopefully they will have benefited.
Yesterday’s farewell to Josh Reynolds was great, there is something about traditional suburban grounds and bringing the community together which can’t be replicated at larger vanues.

We have been understrength for the whole year, but our defence should be getting better, don’t remember a Dogs team with worse defence. Our name seems to be connected to a couple of top forwards, but I would just love to see us get a couple of old style defensive forwards, we’ve let half a dozen go in the past couple of years at great cost.

Yes it really annoys me when I hear ex players in their cushy media jobs, condemning the RLPA. Thanks Mike to putting the details out there – The players association should have put their case better, but they are up against it with the media. I fear it will be difficult to negotiate in good faith with the present hierarchy

I know Best had the luxury of playing outside the brilliance of Cody Walker, but the young bloke didn’t put a foot wrong. Well done on his debut, in fact well done to all, they played with commitment and proved a lot of experts wrong.

Gordon Tallis was a poor choice for 360 – contributes nothing.. Kent was very opinionated and annoying at times, but at least their were HIS OWN opinions.

Or shares in a car dealership.

Demetrio should remember its swings and roundabouts in footy as in every sport, and he was happy to take the “manufactured” sin binning of Jacob Preston when we last played Souths, for a hip drop tackle, for which he wasn’t even charged. Its not a coincidence that Burton’s best game for the year was beside an organising halfback, which gave him more room to move. Some promising young guys in both teams, however the Dogs defence needs improvement. Thompson was supposed to come back in round 16 – still no sign of him. He has proved to be a second Foran for us, more times injured than on the field. Foran combined with Lewis to win games for us but missed more than he played. A smart player who has gone on to play for both Manly and Titans, without the major injuries he suffered at Canterbury. Thompson, however has not played one game this year and missed a lot last year.

Good luck Jeanine – I know the feeling of just hoping that your team puts in a good effort, win or lose. Last week’s results were unacceptable, both for the suffering fans and for Rugby League in general.

Yes we all admire young Jacob Preston, who has been really great, and should be in line for rookie of the year. However, although you do not seem to think highly of Kikau and Thompson, they would have been very handy. However, although their long absence because of the seriousness of their injuries was unexpected, there was not enough depth in the forwards from the beginning. Patolo also had a serious injury and is not yet a regular member of the first grade. I stand by my opinion that young rookies need experience around them when they move into first grade and Canterbury have had to blood too many youngsters before they were ready.

For the first time ever I turned off after 10 minutes as the writing was on the wall then. The Dogs have been missing an organising halfback, so I will be interested to see how Sexton goes, but it is a big ask for him. The Bulldogs halves have been playing behind a beaten pack, so it is hard to judge. You state that they have got a lot of their players back, BUT THE TWO MAIN FORWARDS HAVE BEEN MISSING THROUGH INJURY ALL THE YEAR. Therein lies the explanation, King and young Jacob Preston would have probably come off the bench as this was his first year in first grade, but they have had to play every minute of every game, even carrying injuries. Last year I hated to see Vaughan leave as he was our best and most consistent forward and his and Josh Jackson’s defence have been very badly missed. It is all very fine to bring up promising young players, but they need to be in a team with experienced players around them, and Canterbury has not been able to do that. Hence last week’s inevitable crash. Like all Bulldog fans I am disappointed, but until the cavalry arrives in the form of experienced forwards I do not have high expectations.

I do not profess to be an expert, just someone who has watched League for a long time, and it has been obvious to me that we lack experienced forwards. Our forwards are small compared to other teams, TPJ has the size, but not the will and Pele is a rookie. King and Preston (also a Rookie) have been our starting forwards, and must be feeling the pinch, probably carrying injuries. Too many rookies in the backs – short on experience, a recipe for disaster. Don’t forget that last year the team had Jackson, who led by example. Halfback is of course is a problem, but that doesn’t mean the defence has to be in tatters. Time for Ciraldo and Gus to aim up, not talk losing culture bull……