Roar Guru
Joined April 2014
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One of those irritating people that consistently rants to anyone about rugby league despite the fact that they do not care.
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Match result: A contender for try of the year highlighted a spirited 14-6 upset win for Tonga over Great Britain on Saturday night. The…
The scene was set. Journalists sat poised with voice recorders in hand, headlines already written with outrage and blow up in block capitals. Ricky…
Match result: Canberra have again shocked minor premiers Melbourne to move to within one game of the NRL grand decider after a chaotic qualifying…
The New Zealand Warriors desperately try to keep their season alive as the Canberra Raiders aim to consolidate their spot in the top four.…
One very special man takes centre stage as the Melbourne Storm look to surge further ahead of the rest of the pack against the…
A couple of Origin hopefuls put their hand up, a former Tiger haunts his old side and proof that good things happen to good…
The Melbourne Storm continue their push towards the top of the ladder when they take on a Wests Tigers outfit desperate to prove themselves…
The Canberra Raiders will look to prove themselves as genuine title contenders when they take on the Sydney Roosters at Suncorp Stadium. Join The…
The troops are back as the Brisbane Broncos desperately look to halt a four-game losing streak against the Cronulla Sharks at Suncorp Stadium. Join…
The Canberra Raiders look to take first position on the ladder as they brace for the under-siege Brisbane Broncos at GIO Stadium. Join The…
Two sides desperate to arrest concerning losing streaks meet as the Brisbane Broncos and Wests Tigers clash at Suncorp Stadium. Join The Roar for…
Match result: Jason Taumalolo has confirmed his superhuman status with a staggering 301 running metres from 64 minutes as he led the Cowboys to…
Australia have answered their critics with a hard-fought 34-16 win over a determined Tonga outfit at Mt Smart Stadium. Saturday night’s game was one…
In their first-ever clash with Australia, will Tonga prove themselves worthy of a tier-one status or will the challenge prove too difficult? Join The…
The Kiwis have caused a massive boilover, stunning the fast-finishing Kangaroos 26-24 at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday night. Australia lost Luke Keary early…
A changing of guard will take place on Saturday afternoon when the Kiwis and Kangaroos battle in a test match at Mt Smart Stadium.…
2018 - a year that opened with so much promise yet was over in a matter of moments for the Parramatta Eels. Many were…
A million-dollar man flopped and a champion of the game left ANZ Stadium disappointed as the Melbourne Storm collapsed to a 21-6 defeat at…
Either the Sydney Roosters or Melbourne Storm have featured in 15 of the past 20 NRL Grand Finals and for the first time in…
While everyone may have their opinions as to who will win Sunday night's decider between the Sydney Roosters and Melbourne Storm, narrowing down the…
You speak about fixing membership numbers yet unnecessarily take away games from their home ground? This will only further deter people from signing up for memberships. Manly fans barely go to Brookvale so I can’t see them travelling to Allianz and besides, local derbies are far better at teams’ respective home grounds. Taking three Parramatta games to Liverpool doesn’t make any sense either, they should play all their games out of WSS – it was built for that purpose.
All of the NRL's problems - and how to solve them
I think he was referring to Sam Kasiano Nat but I’m not sure why it was worth picking up on.
Dolphins claim Queensland Cup in seesawing affair
I have thought Cleary could work at hooker for the qualities he has but halfback is definitely his best position. His game management wasn’t as apparent this year because Maloney took over – whether he is worth the risk will be more obvious when he goes and Cleary is left as the main organising half.
Call Nathan Cleary overrated all you want, he's still worth every cent
Cleary isn’t a speedster per say but not all halfbacks outside of Shaun Johnson, for example, are. I have seen him burst through the middle of the field with a decent amount of pace though. He could be a dangerous runner of the ball, he just needs to back himself more and that’ll come perhaps when Maloney goes.
Call Nathan Cleary overrated all you want, he's still worth every cent
Of course there is always that risk – I definitely agree – you always want players to be wanting to do their best and not feeling like they can ease off because they are earning ‘x’ amount of dollars and have a long-term contract. But at the same time, if they don’t take that risk, another club would’ve and I think they would have regretted. It’ll be interesting to see how he goes but Nathan doesn’t strike me as the type of player who’d do that. He seems driven and grateful for everything he gets. We’ll have to see.
Call Nathan Cleary overrated all you want, he's still worth every cent
Apologies Ross – thought I heard them say it was Slyney in the call. Will amend now!
Dolphins claim Queensland Cup in seesawing affair
Definitely agree with the Ennis point – if they made the wrong decision two years ago not suspending him, why should they make the wrong decision again just to make it fair. By that logic, every single year in the lead-up to the finals series, everyone should be not charged because Ennis wasn’t. That’s not how it works. Usually you’d hope that the judiciary learns from their mistakes like they have recently by cracking down on the crusher tackle.
#FreeBilly! Storm the courts if you must, Melbourne
Luai is signed until the end of 2019 but Gould has openly said he is a big part of their future plans at the club. I still think having Maloney there is important as a spine of Edwards, Katoa/Egan, Cleary and Luai would still be relatively young. Need some experience there.
Call Nathan Cleary overrated all you want, he's still worth every cent
While I agree there’ll be a lot of pressure on him now, it probably depends on the interest from other parties. If they offered him a two-year deal versus the Tigers putting forward a five-year contract, he may wonder why Penrith are so hesitant and whether Wests is the right fit for him if you get what I’m saying?
Call Nathan Cleary overrated all you want, he's still worth every cent
Great insight there Joe – the coaching staff around him will be crucial in getting the most out of him. Agree his defence is something he has never struggled with and means that while the focus should always be on defence, he can place more emphasis on learning how to develop his skills with the ball in hand. Don’t know if he’ll be as good as Cronk but they might as well take the punt and see because he’s bloody good for a 20-year old.
Call Nathan Cleary overrated all you want, he's still worth every cent
Well if they didn’t beat/match another club for $$$ they would have lost him. Sure he has a lot to learn in attack but he’s only 20. They are banking on him coming good and I think it’s the right call rather than letting him go to another club for more money and regretting it later.
Call Nathan Cleary overrated all you want, he's still worth every cent
Yeah I really hope he doesn’t suffer the same way Hunt has but he’s only young so hopefully people will understand he will only get better with time.
Call Nathan Cleary overrated all you want, he's still worth every cent
No Maloney and Penrith don’t make the eight this year. They need him at the moment to win the comp. If Luai gets tired of waiting though I’d be tempted to move Maloney on to fast track his development as he could form a long term combo with Cleary. But I think Luai should be eased in off the bench next year as Maloney is still crucial while Luai still needs to prove himself at a consistent level in top grade.
Call Nathan Cleary overrated all you want, he's still worth every cent
Agree with everything you’ve said there Albo. Cleary could definitely be their next franchise player and they couldn’t just let him walk too like Gould has done with so many other juniors.
Call Nathan Cleary overrated all you want, he's still worth every cent
Afternoon Barry,
Following the line about his running game, I did put that he needs to back himself and do it more often but it appears that was edited out.
I tried to present a balanced argument as Cleary certainly has areas of improvement.
Personally I think they had to sign him for 5 years or risk another club scooping him up. Sure he may not come good but sometimes you need to take risks and regardless contracts seem to mean little so I’m sure he can back out of the contract anyway. But obviously I think Penrith should do everything possible to keep him there.
Call Nathan Cleary overrated all you want, he's still worth every cent
I’d say that there’s enough reasons to get on the Melbourne bandwagon, particularly if Slater gets off and plays. And even if he doesn’t it’d be nice to see his teammates win the game for him. One of the players may even give up their premiership ring for him – will be interesting to see.
Although, I’d also like the Roosters to win because I have a feeling that if they don’t, they’ll be more determined then ever to win next year and I’m hoping for someone different in 2019.
Cronk injured as Sydney sink Souths to join Storm in grand final
Have to agree again Rene. Teams started to finally work out how to stop Souths in attack and they couldn’t come up with anything else tonight. Disappointing end but a great season nonetheless given they were not even expected to be in the eight.
Cronk injured as Sydney sink Souths to join Storm in grand final
You can apply the same logic to Penrith Rene. More experience for a lot of their players and they haven’t lost anyone too important. Saints could be better for the run too and again haven’t really lost anyone.
Brisbane is an interesting one – I feel they may be due to slide given they have made the finals every time in the past five years. It depends on the coaching issue and possible player movements as a result. But they could still rise.
I think the Warriors will make the top four next year personally. They could go either way.
It’s another fairly unpredictable year coming up in 2019 so I certainly don’t think Cronulla are locks for the top four. There’s no point predicting now given so much can change in the next six months though.
Seven talking points from Melbourne Storm vs Cronulla Sharks NRL preliminary final
To be fair Renegade, off memory Saints had all their Origin players out that night, but still your point stands. Storm this week vs Souths last week in terms of quality of opposition is completely different when considering the respective performances.
Seven talking points from Melbourne Storm vs Cronulla Sharks NRL preliminary final
I think Cronulla need someone like Fitzgibbon in the pack – young, fast and mobile. They should still make the eight next year but it’ll be a major concern if they lose Holmes.
Seven talking points from Melbourne Storm vs Cronulla Sharks NRL preliminary final
To be fair Cronulla gave it a serious crack. You can’t knock their efforts – they were throwing as much as they could at them but nothing was working. Their attack was pretty poor but Melbourne’s defence was brilliant and gave the Sharks close to nothing. Cronulla scrambled pretty well in defence too on a number of occasions but were outclassed by a far better team in the end. They tried just as hard as Saints but came up against a far tougher opponent, Souths were nowhere near their best last week. Not taking anything away from the Dragons but Cronulla may not have played well but they certainly tried hard to spark something.
Seven talking points from Melbourne Storm vs Cronulla Sharks NRL preliminary final
IF it is ruled a shoulder charge, the NRL needs to ban Slater. I am empathetic with the fact it is his last game, but based on tonight’s performance, he could be the difference next week and that could really tarnish the title if he gets off.
Pure clinic from Melbourne in defence tonight. Cronulla threw all they had at them but just couldn’t break through except for the Lewis try.
Storm smash Sharks to gain grand final berth, but is Slater in trouble?
Really wish he’d stayed at Penrith – love the bloke. Sad to see him go.
Storm smash Sharks to gain grand final berth, but is Slater in trouble?
If Cronulla had earned the week off, they’d be a serious chance here. But they look battered and bruised while Melbourne are full of energy. It may be pretty close during the first half but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Storm run away with this by 20+
Storm vs Sharks: The ultra definitive NRL preliminary final stats preview
Speaking from an NRL perspective, by combining Parramatta with Penrith, Souths with Sydney etc. you are taking away some of the game’s best rivalries and in the case of Western Sydney, where there is so much junior development, it will mean there is even less chance for up-and-coming stars to break through.
Personally, I am for expanding rather than merging or condensing.
Which teams deserve the axe?