Total knockout: Six reasons why we should remember the City Cup
A few weeks ago AMD wrote a great article about the early history of determining the Sydney competition premiers, titled A forfeit, challengers and…
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A few weeks ago AMD wrote a great article about the early history of determining the Sydney competition premiers, titled A forfeit, challengers and…
With the on-field action taking a back seat during the summer months, the headlines of the rugby league off-season are usually taken up with…
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More than a few pundits underestimated the depth in the Broncos’ squad at the start of the year, when you’ve got Te Maire who can just slot in at fb to cover injury and then an Origin centre in Lee sitting on the bench as a reserve you’re not looking too bad. Hethrington in defence is btw great viewing, there’s a bit of Trevor Gilmeister about him
'Went at it non-stop': Reynolds returns to haunt Souths as Brisbane record statement victory
Carrigan was great as well, plenty of involvement from him
'Went at it non-stop': Reynolds returns to haunt Souths as Brisbane record statement victory
I read this week how Souths were wary of offering longer contracts after getting burnt by Burgess and Inglis, but halfback is one of those positions where players can still be highly effective well into their 30s
'Went at it non-stop': Reynolds returns to haunt Souths as Brisbane record statement victory
Broncos are finally weaning themselves off the over-reliance on Haas. Early in the season they’d start games strongly and look shaky almost the minute Payne came off. Last week v Sharks they actually lifted a notch when Haas came off injured and that was when they scored their 3 tries. Last night Jenson and Hethrington in particular have stepped up to fill the void and Flegler was also solid
'Went at it non-stop': Reynolds returns to haunt Souths as Brisbane record statement victory
What makes the Titans’ situation more puzzling is they’ve got an 80% kicker there with Jamayne Isaako but they persist with Sexton even when both are on the pitch. The value on early points no matter the form never quite took off down under perhaps as much as the UK, watching the ’90 Ashes 2nd test the Lions had about 4 (all unsuccessful) shots at field goal before halftime. If you had a Barry Spring-type who could consistently pot them from outside the 40 then it’s not the worst tactic
It takes two, baby: Understanding the great penalty goal drought of 2022
Hope the idea goes ahead but wasn’t the Sydney stadiums redevelopment conditional on the gf being played in Sydney until 2050 or something?
Tradition be damned: It's time to take grand final away from Sydney to highest bidder
Yes but Annersley also said on Gee supposedly influencing the bunker “I’m not saying that happened in this case, because the Bunker official says that played no role in his outcome,” so Gee’s been dropped over a minor technicality in process and because his mates in the bunker let him down. If the bunker had just come up with the right call then we’re not even having this conversation. Seeiously, who’d want to be a ref?
Hard to defend NRL bunker which continually gives ammunition to ‘blow it up’ critics
Yep his wording wasn’t great but he hasn’t had the benefit of multiple slo-mo replays. I’ve seen plenty of referees convey their opinion to the bunker to then have it overturned
Hard to defend NRL bunker which continually gives ammunition to ‘blow it up’ critics
Why has Adam Gee been made the scapegoat here? He’s seen the penalty, called it and sent to the bunker for review. Hasn’t the decision to bin or not bin from that point been taken out of his hands?
Hard to defend NRL bunker which continually gives ammunition to ‘blow it up’ critics
I got nervous any time the ball got near Gamble in attack or defence. He was a often a defensive liability when he got his chance last season and it doesn’t look like he’s improved his technique in any meaningful way. Just about all of our attack came down Reynolds’ side in that second half and a better opposition will quickly figure out how to nullify that
Adam Reynolds inspires Broncos comeback to down decimated Dogs
Yeah it really depends on the opportunities those guys are given to represent Tonga at the highest level. It probably works if they get regular tests against Australia or at least New Zealand, can’t say I’m holding my breath for Australia to act in the best interests of international rugby league though
Talakai’s tough choice as Tonga calls keep coming – but Fittler has him in Blues frame
So stoked for Martin, that he played as well as he did as well speaks volumes. Saved our bacon twice in the first half holding the ball up over the line
Adam Reynolds inspires Broncos comeback to down decimated Dogs
At what point does Tonga become tier 1? Clearly it comes down to more than just on-field performance, but it seems a bit disingenuous calling Tonga a tier 2 side when they’ve beaten all the tier 1 sides in recent outings
Talakai’s tough choice as Tonga calls keep coming – but Fittler has him in Blues frame
Kevvie needs to get into Tesi’s war about his support running, twice last night the Broncs made a break and Tesi wound up in front of the bloke carrying the ball. Agree he’s not high on league IQ, Cobbo performed pretty well at the back vs Souths without being too seriously challenged
Robbo hails 'best centre in the game' as Manu magic helps Roosters avoid Brisbane boilover
Oates looks much surer with his hands now, he used to come up with at least one clanger each game off a kick
Robbo hails 'best centre in the game' as Manu magic helps Roosters avoid Brisbane boilover
Looks like the play the ball crackdown has also been forgotten about, the Roosters were constantly guilty of it and got a faster roll on through the middle out of it. Still you can’t expect to win too many games letting in 24 points in a half
Robbo hails 'best centre in the game' as Manu magic helps Roosters avoid Brisbane boilover
Cheers TSL, yeah that’s the thing, I just think there needs to be something, for want of a better comparison, kind of ‘Bradman-esque’ about the immortals in the sense that Bradman is measurably 1.5 times better than any other batsman. While that’s obviously much harder to do in league, I don’t think being just a touch better than your rivals of the day quite cuts it
The talisman: Why Jim Craig should be the 14th Immortal
I have a bit of a different take on the picked out of position point. I’ve heard a lot of Johns fans say something along the lines of “he was named at hooker but it was still his team.” This is true if you look at ’95 rep sides (which, if they were fair dinkum sides Joey still doesn’t get near behind Sticky and Alf), but with the early noughties sides where Kimmorley is picked at half if you go back and watch those games it’s clearly Noddy that’s running the team around the park. When Joey is named at starting half the Blues’ win ratio drops below 50%. I get your point about Fulton/Lockyer etc but Locky was shifted in fairly different circumstances to Johns. When you’re in the prime years of your career as Joey was and not the first choice half, this leaves a big question mark over immortal status. Joey might’ve been the best half of his era, but if he was it was only marginal over the likes of Locky, Sticky, Fittler, Daley and Alf and I’m not sure if that’s enough to be considered an immortal
The talisman: Why Jim Craig should be the 14th Immortal
Key for me is for immortal status is if the player was head and shoulders above the rest in their position for their era. On this basis I think Irvine does get in – he’s probably the best winger of all time if you don’t count Bevan. Meninga was a brilliant centre but I’m not sure if he’s head and shoulders above Miles and Renouf? As for Johns he wasn’t even the best half for NSW more than once throughout his career, let alone in the game as a whole. Interesting to note is that 4 of the immortals are centres (5 if you count Fulton), weird considering how much the importance of centres has declined in recent years
The talisman: Why Jim Craig should be the 14th Immortal
Sounds like a much better proposal than the current system, anything you can put in place to avoid recency bias and populist choice is a plus. Part of the problem, this being a very rugby league issue, is that for its first 36 years the game’s highest accolade wasn’t in the hands of the game’s own governing body, so it’ll probably take a couple of years before the NRL gets it right
The talisman: Why Jim Craig should be the 14th Immortal
Thanks AMD for shedding some light on Jim Craig’s career, I’ve heard the name a few times but never realised just how brilliant he was. I would like to see the minimum time for immortal consideration after a player’s retirement extended to at least 10 years if we’re going to avoid another Joey Johns debacle
The talisman: Why Jim Craig should be the 14th Immortal
The attack is fast becoming a concern. 8 tries in 4 games is verging on Bulldogs-esque, 4 of those through Farnworth and one off a lucky intercept. I had the feeling an intercept was probably the only way the Broncs were going to crack the Warriors
'He’s in a bit of strife': Broncos prop Flegler facing suspension after being put on report four times
Interesting decision coming up for Walters now on Staggs. He’s offered little in 4 matches. Does Walters a) leave him at centre b) drop him c) move him to 5/8 to get him closer to the ball if Kelly is out. Given how down on confidence he looks a week or two of QRL might do him a world of good
'He’s in a bit of strife': Broncos prop Flegler facing suspension after being put on report four times
Poor marketing seems to be symptomatic in oz sports beyond the Titans. The A-League also went the way of confected team names with bright shiny jerseys and little thought for tradition, and then it doesn’t take much for the fans to drop off if there’s any poor management (and the A-League has seen plenty) and a sense of disillusionment sets in. Including South Melbourne in the latest round of expansion would’ve been a good step to giving the comp some of the historical gravita it so desperately needs, but the powers that be opted for Western Utd instead, a brand that just feels utterly devoid of meaning. The NBL, to its credit, has stuck to its history by reinstating historical clubs such as the Brisbane Bullets and Sydney Kings rather than creating new monikers, and I’m a huge fan of the Tasmanian Jackjumpers – it’s is a truly unique brand and a nod to the club’s geography. On another note, would love it if the Titans could don some Chargers jerseys for a heritage round
The indifferent shore: Rugby league on the Gold Coast (Part 2)