That would be the Cowboys 60 & the Broncos nil

I will be shot down for even suggesting this, why not use the Fantasy points system to judge the best & fairest on ground. Pretty obvious then who has worked the hardest for their team, foul play, send off’s mean a player is ineligible that week.
Just a thought.

Can the Cowboys please drop Feldt & replace him with Semi Valemei who excelled on the wing as Feldts replacement last season.

Not on your nellie

Not sure what you were drinking before writing this, at worst both Cowboys &Eels will finish just outside the 8. More than likely, I can see both reaching the finals.

I can’t see Cam giving up on the Maroons, he will be involved somewhere, somehow.

Far too young to pass, will always be in league officienado’s forward discussions. He cemented himself into history with his no nonsense hard running style & will forever be remembered for his try on debut for Qld.
From one Qlder to another, RIP Karl Webb, your days of suffering are over.

Shouldn’t be too hard convincing Luki to stay a Cowboy, the biggest problem for the Cowboys is the amount of talent coming through their development program. To my understanding there are a number of young guys like Chester (who has already shown that the NRL doesn’t phase him) putting pressure on the senior players. The club will struggle to retain all the talent.

Firstly, the Storm were dealt with harshly by having both Premierships taken off them. The only team that has lost a Premiership due to being over the Salary Cap. Call it cheating if you want to, I like to think of it as creative accounting. Since then the rules surrounding the Salary Cap has been changed to permit certain third party payments.

Secondly, why does everyone think that the Bronco’s are coming second when they have won one more game than the Panthers. Unless the Broncos lose a game in the run up to the finals they will be the minor Premiers. Also it is assumed that the Panthers will win all of their remaining games. Nothing is a certainty in this crazy old game of League.

Finally, I will agree with you that the Women’s matches so far have been outstanding & this is unlikely to change this season. Anyone not supporting the NRLW is not a true fan of Rugby League.

Cockroaches just don’t get Origin.

Fantastic to see Horsburgh get his opportunity in Maroon, he will provide some extra starch to Qld’s defence & his attack will provide more opportunities for the Maroons backline. Brimson at fullback means Qld’s backline will barely have changed & he has been playing extremely well for the Titans. I don’t think it will have a detrimental effect to the Maroons side. Qld to complete a Maroon Sweep for this years series.

I was not surprised by the selection of Taulagi on the wing, his combination with Holmes & the familiarity the pair have of each others game is a huge bonus to the Qld team. Even though he hasn’t had the same impact as last season the opportunities to score also haven’t been there.

Probably one of the few Qlders not surprised at Ponga’s omission from the team. Ponga is too big a risk in such an important game, he rarely goes a game now where he doesn’t suffer a knock on the noggan.

Personally I would start with Tino rather than have him on the bench, Flegler is used to playing from the bench & that for me would be the ideal place for him to start.

This is a team that can definitely get the win over the Powder Puff Blues next Wednesday night, of course we will start as the underdogs which is just the way we like it. NSW as usual will underestimate the Qlders whose spirit, drive & teamwork will win the day. The Powder Puffs as expected have gone with a team of so called champions while Qld are a champion team.

Wayne Bennett is right, there are too many Sydney based teams in the NRL. Remember that the NRL stands for NATIONAL Rugby League & not NSWRL which is the major sticking point for Sydney based clubs. They still think of it as the NSWRL & not as a national competition. Qld could easily have another 3 or 4 clubs in my opinion, being Sunshine Coast, Rockhampton, Toowoomba & Ipswich.
These clubs are all in strong Rugby League centres & spread out throughout Qld. Brisbane now that it has 2 teams doesn’t need a third as Ipswich, Toowoomba & the Sunshine Coast are close enough to the capital to take advantage of the player pool there.
Relocating 2 or 3 Sydney clubs if not outside of their state but within it would increase the opportunities for league to grow & be the dominant sport in the country regions. I would see clubs in Bathurst, Coffs Harbour, Dubbo & possibly Wodonga welcome a relocated Sydney team with open arms. The benefits to those regions would be absolutely huge.
The possibilities are endless if only clubs & supporters looked at the bigger picture.

Which team is the big brother & which is the little brother? Surely since the Cowboys defeat of the Broncos in the 2015 Grand Final the roles have been reversed. For instance last season the Cowboys won both games against Brisbane.
This is going to be one hell of a game & easily the match of the round. Both teams will put everything on the table to gain ascendency to take the win. It won’t be by much, am going with the Cowboys to win in a close one, probably only 1 or 2 points in it.

Actually Australia Day was first celebrated in 1949, the date that Australia became fully independent of Great Britain. The first Australian passports were issued on this day, before that Australians had to use an English one. No point arguing about why or when Australia Day was founded, while we continue to divide our great nation on the basis of race then we can never be a united country. It was meant to bring us together to celebrate all the good things about being an Aussie. Virtue Signalers will always find a reason to denegrate our country.

What the Cowboys lacked this year was in big game experience & that has now been rectified. No team wins competitions with relatively new spines, it takes time for these to develop & nothing like playing together regularly improves them. Am not sure if it was a lack of experience or the lack of playing so many games in a season for the Cowboys defence to drop off after the Origin series. They were just not the same in the 2nd half of the season. Payten will have them ready this year with all the players realising what it takes to finish off a long season.

Couldn’t agree more

Johns should not even be considered due to his admission of using illegal substances to play league. The double standards showed by the League & those south of the border (desperate for a hero) is despicable.
DCE wouldn’t have got a second chance at half back for Qld if not for injury to Michael Morgan. At the time of Morgan’s injury he was the incumbent Australian half. Luck has played a huge part in DCE’s career, a very good club player but have never considered him a rep. player of any note.

Parramatta will need more than just a fast start in Townsville to have any hope of winning. The Cowboys usually play for a full 80 min or even 93 min if required. They get stronger as the game goes on. You can count on Todd Payten to have the Cowboys defence prepared & back to their best after a lacklustre effort in that department since Origin. They will use the Parramatta game to tighten up their defensive line & use it as preparation for the GF against the Panthers.
The only way the Eels can win tonight is if the Cowboys have a shocker.

Obviously as a mad cow supporter, I believe the Cowboys will win tonight against the Eels. The Cowboys will be too fresh, too fast, too smart for the Eels no matter which Eels side turns up. As to who they will face in the GF, don’t care! We are coming to get you & win our second Premiership.
If it all goes haywire, couldn’t be prouder of the squad, coaches & support staff who will ensure that we will be ready to take it out next year. GO THE COWBOYS

I would make a few changes to the Qld team, DCE is NOT an origin player & never has been. I would prefer Hunt to be the 7 & then have Drinkwater on the bench, who can cover anywhere in the backline. He has been in scintillating form for the Cowboys.
I don’t know how you can leave Cotter out of the team. Another player in scintillating form that can play big minutes & is the perfect replacement for the injured Walsh. Like Walsh, Cotter is a workhorse that won’t let the team down. I would replace him for Fotuaika who isn’t in the best of form atm.

Finally, somebody with some commonsense expansion idea’s. The only thing that I would also surmise is a relocation of a Sydney team to Rockhampton possibly either Panthers or Eels. Considering that Rocky is a long way from Brisbane & Townsville approximately half way, this would then provide more opportunities for Central Qld players to play in the NRL without having to relocate & as we have seen from the competition this year they are hungry for live games.

Well Muzza Taulagi has resigned with the Cowboys so he won’t be going anywhere. Clubs that develop players & hold onto them should get some kind of compensation for the effort, time & money they put into these young players. Compensation through the Salary Cap would be the best way for Clubs to be rewarded for the time, effort & cost of developing young players & senior players who have remained at the Club.

Your absolutely correct, luckily am one of the few not on social media at the moment or would have lost it at those kinds of comments. I loved the game, it was one of the best games I have seen this year. Low scoring doesn’t make a game unentertaining, this obsession with lot’s of try’s has to stop. I have been a fan of the women’s game for quite a few years, the skill levels have increased each year & the intensity is as good as any male game. Obviously there is a lot of support for the women’s game out there as seen by the packed stadium on the Sunshine Coast. The women should only be praised as should their game of League.

Remember back in the day, they changed the rules from 5 to 10 metres in an effort to create more room for the possibility of tries. The thinking was that the more tries the more entertaining the game was. Since the advent of the 10 meters slowly & surely the NRL has changed the rules in line with this thinking. Defences then found new ways to slow the game down, wrestling, holding down, rolling guys onto their backs etc.

Fast forward to 2020 & now the game has changed again to the advantage of the attacking teams. The better the attack the more chance of blow out scores. With the six again rule (which I hate with a passion) one side will usually be out on their feet after the first 20 min. The ensues the one sided games we have witnessed this season. Realistically only Storm & Panthers can win this season, next you have the runner ups in Roosters & Rabbitohs. Wild card of the Sea Eagles with the final 3 of the 8 as also rans. The bottom 8 are already looking forward to next year especially the Bulldogs & Broncos.

I honestly have no interest in this season & struggle to even watch my team play even though I am a member. I started to turn off last year when the signs were there that the blowouts would increase & not decrease. This year I can barely raise enough interest to even bother talking to mates about it.

Great to see a crackdown on head high tackles but lets see some common sense from the Bunker. The only way their will be consistency in the Bunker is if it is the same Ref in the Bunker for every game of a round.

Scrap the six again all together & let’s get back to a contest.