The Roar
The Roar

The Roar

Ryan O'Connell

Expert

Joined February 2011

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"Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence: in other words, it is war minus the shooting." - George Orwell

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I concur.

Forget an asterisk, the 2020 NRL premiers may be the most impressive winners ever

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League
 
Jun

😂

Forget an asterisk, the 2020 NRL premiers may be the most impressive winners ever

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League
 
Jun

Not often we disagree, TB, but here we are! Guess it would be boring if agreed with each other all the time!

eels47 has actually saved me a lot of time by replying with what I was going to say, but one thing I’d add to, is your point around ‘magnified’. I do things are magnified this season, but that merely draws more attention to the changes. The reality is, if you magnified every season, you could find things that arguably deserve an asterisk.

Last season the refs changed how they called the game during the season, going from a ‘crack down’ to totally reversing it, mid-season, which advantaged/disadvantaged different teams. The Origin period advantages/disadvantages teams every single season (and no two seasons the same either). There are inequities in the draw each year which advantage/disadvantage teams. Etc, etc.

However, these changes weren’t/aren’t as magnified as they are this season, therefore no one talks about previous seasons with an asterisk, when in reality, if you pushed hard, you probably could.

Each season brings its own challenges, and when everyone is facing the same ones, I don’t believe any type of asterisk should be put next to the premier – especially this season.

Forget an asterisk, the 2020 NRL premiers may be the most impressive winners ever

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League
 
Jun

You were right . . . I did enjoy! And you’re 100% right – the lack of data, analytics and analysis in rugby league is quite staggering.

Using the comparison of the NBA, where is the data that shows defenders Corey Norman will put up a bomb 92% of the time he goes right on the fifth tackle inside 20 metres (and that the kick will go out on the full . . . jokes).

The sooner teams are run by smart people, the better.

Hey NRL, where did all the talent go?

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League
 
Jun

Can we just do the end of the season instead?

Hey NRL, where did all the talent go?

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League
 
Jun

Well, in 2015:
– Canberra were 2 wins out of the top 4
– Parramatta were 2 wins out from finishing 7th
– And Newcastle – despite winning the wooden spoon – were 2 wins out of the 8 (and looking at their roster, it wasn’t completely horrible!)

Hey NRL, where did all the talent go?

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League
 
Jun

*whispering: it’s not that great of a side, is it?!

Hey NRL, where did all the talent go?

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League
 
Jun

Totally agree. there does need to be market correction with Milford, Hunt, Johnson, etc, are getting that type of money.

Hey NRL, where did all the talent go?

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League
 
Jun

Happy birthday Snorky!

Hey NRL, where did all the talent go?

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League
 
Jun

Geez, you’re generous calling Croft a “quality player”!

Hey NRL, where did all the talent go?

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League
 
Jun

Yeah, but I was kind of including that into things now. That’s only two years ago, so I kinda cheated and considered that part of this ‘era’.

Hey NRL, where did all the talent go?

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League
 
Jun

Excellent points, Paul. I think having depth at the key positions is arguably the most important aspect of having an abundance of talent.

Hey NRL, where did all the talent go?

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League
 
Jun

All fair points, and taken onboard. What it doesn’t address is the very real, non-subjective opinion that the top 7 are much better than the bottom 9. And I can’t recall it being like that in my lifetime (or just my memory!).

Hey NRL, where did all the talent go?

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League
 
Jun

Is it scary to you (or anyone else) that this roster might still win the wooden spoon?!

Hey NRL, where did all the talent go?

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League
 
Jun

I didn’t say the Dragons roster was bad, more than the amounts on the contracts they have handed out is a bit high. Having $2 million (reportedly) tied up in Corey Norman and Ben Hunt is . . . sub-optimal.

Hey NRL, where did all the talent go?

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League
 
Jun

To be fair, that’s the exact headline I provided. It hasn’t beed edited at all, I think it’s a fair representation of where the narrative was headed before the pivot.

Hey NRL, where did all the talent go?

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League
 
Jun

For players, lowering the salary cap would potentially do this. Or perhaps having ‘max contracts’ (ie: players can only earn $1 million a season). Can’t see the players association signing off on that though.

Spreading the coaching around? That’s a lot tougher.

Hey NRL, where did all the talent go?

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League
 
Jun

So isn’t that poor management?

Hey NRL, where did all the talent go?

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League
 
Jun

Well, yes, good point.

Hey NRL, where did all the talent go?

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League
 
Jun

I think that’s a very fair point. I know in rugby, I believe one of the biggest issues to be the coaching, so I’m not sure why I let that slip as a reason for rugby league. Perhaps it’s even a confluence of factors? A dearth of playing talent, a dearth of coaching talent, and poorly run clubs?

Hey NRL, where did all the talent go?

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League
 
Jun

Best rugby piece I’ve read in a while. Well done, Geoff.

The Wrap: Rugby’s ugly in-fighting just got uglier

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Rugby
 
Apr

😂

Five fearless predictions for the 2020 NRL season

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League
 
Mar

I think Newcastle will challenge for the 8, but I just worry about their depth.

Five fearless predictions for the 2020 NRL season

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League
 
Mar

Haha! Not that fearless!

Five fearless predictions for the 2020 NRL season

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League
 
Mar

Good pick-up on the ladder! Corrected.

I think this is another learning/developing year for the Dogs. Next year (after a hopefully strong off-season recruiting drive, and getting some contracts off the books) is when expectations should rise.

Five fearless predictions for the 2020 NRL season

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League
 
Mar
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