Roar Guru
Joined April 2016
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Avid Tigers supporter, but also a soft spot for the Bulldogs.
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Billy Slater had a powerful presence in the second two Origin games this year, but to label him as the best in the series…
There’s been a retro atmosphere in the air recently when it comes to the Tigers. Not only has Robbie Farah just resigned with the…
The 2018 season opener has to be one of the most exciting in recent memory. In the first two weeks alone, we've seen many…
The Eels may have been unlucky to be unable to make the most of Mitchell Moses and Corey Norman, but there can still be…
All of a sudden, this year's grand final is an exciting prospect. Over the last couple of weeks, a Storm victory has seemed inevitable.…
Sunday afternoon's match at Leichhardt Oval was the first time in a long time that the Tigers have genuinely felt like a force to…
The Blues have played their best game of football in ten years, delivering a decisive victory – perhaps their only really decisive victory –…
Ivan Cleary's announcement that he intends to give James Tedesco and Aaron Woods a 24-hour window to decide on their future at Wests Tigers…
It'd be unfair to expect Round 7 to compete with Round 6 in terms of pure entertainment value. Still, there was drama aplenty, with…
After last week's field-goal loss to the Rabbitohs, the Panthers were hungry for a win at Pepper Stadium on Easter Sunday, and they came…
It could have been one of the major comebacks of the 2017 season if Manly had prevailed, but even so the Storm's 30-26 win…
Without a doubt, Round 6 has been one of the most exciting in the 2017 season so far. While I didn't catch the Panthers-Rabbitohs…
Even after a round of pretty dramatic footy games, the best was saved for last. The 2016 grand final rematch between Melbourne and Cronulla…
With such a dramatic trilogy of games opening Round 7, it was only inevitable that there was going to be a decrease in excitement…
I don't really know what I was expecting from this week's clash between the Cowboys and the Tigers at 1300SMILES Stadium, but I certainly…
The Thursday night game between the Broncos and the Roosters was so packed with drama that Friday night's match between the Knights and the…
After the last couple of weeks of Wests Tigers games, it was a breath of fresh air to watch tonight's match between the Broncos…
Last night the Bulldogs put in their gutsiest effort of the 2017 season so far. In pelting rain at ANZ Stadium, Canterbury-Bankstown ploughed through…
It's been a difficult couple of weeks for Tigers supporters. One of our best players has been deregistered in the most unflattering circumstances. We've…
Yesterday's match at McDonald Jones Stadium was one of the high points of the season so far. As the Knights start to regain form,…
That’s an interesting idea – at first my instinct was that it wouldn’t work, but then I realised that in finals football you often get two surges of about twenty minutes in each half anyway (plus more breaks would add more suspense). Interesting thought.
Extra time delivers extra excitement, pressure, and brilliance
Yep, best solution…golden point is never really satisfying and a draw makes it that much more momentous when the two teams in question meet again
Extra time delivers extra excitement, pressure, and brilliance
Yeah agree with all that – and amazing to see how the spectacle held out
Extra time delivers extra excitement, pressure, and brilliance
Yeah it was sheer excitement right? Almost more exciting than last year’s GF – and agree, the refs really opened up the game as well.
Of course, extra time is not new – but it feels renewed in a new way, especially after so much golden point this year (and so much debate around golden point).
Now wondering if that might be the best game of the finals season? (certainly more exciting than anything the Storm will play)
Extra time delivers extra excitement, pressure, and brilliance
Yeah I agree, part of what I thought was impressive was the way the Dogs managed to hold it together as much as they did in the absence of a stable spine – it felt like they were improvising a team for long stretches of the match…
Panthers triumph over spirited Dogs
I think the Bulldogs were pretty amazing across the first half – losing Morris and then Reynolds depleted them quite a bit.
Agree that Cowboys or Storm would probably take out Penrith, but I reckon they’ve got a pretty good chance against the Raiders without Josh Hodgson…
Panthers triumph over spirited Dogs
Yeah, you may be the right. The thing with the Storm, though, is that you kind of expect them to consolidate – consolidating is what they do – whereas it’s more unexpected and exciting with the Panthers (and, as you say, Penrith play a more exciting brand of football anyway). No doubt that the Raiders were utterly dominant at Leichhardt, but, to be fair, they were effectively demolishing a team without a fullback. Of course, that’s not to take away from their victory, but on the day I think that the Panthers were even more consistent in terms of sheer momentum, speed and attacking/defending power – they just seemed unstoppable from the moment they hit the field, and even the 36-6 scoreline didn’t quite seem to do their effort justice. Can’t wait to see them at Allianz this weekend.
Panthers peaking at just the right time
Right, that’s interesting. I’ve only ever watched NFL on television (as opposed to college football), so I wonder if that was part of the difference as well. I watched the 30 for 30 documentary recently on the rise and fall of the USFL and now wondering if college football looks a bit like what the USFL was aspiring towards in its heyday? (BanditBall v. the “No Fun League”)
My first taste of live American football
AFL more in terms of the length of play and the way in which each quarter tends to balloon out beyond its allocated length.
My first taste of live American football
Yeah wouldn’t that just be Teddy’s luck – to make his debut and then be replaced by Hayne! Tbh I don’t really think Hayne deserves an Origin berth as soon as he returns: you need to work for it at club level first and he’s been away from the game for a while now.
Origin 3: Blues bring a new kind of intensity to dead rubbers
I thought Mitch Rein was a bit lacklustre last night? Didn’t provide a lot of direction…
Trbojevic at fullback works wonders for Sea Eagles
Yeah it’s starting to look that way isn’t it? Funny to think of Brookvale without him.
Trbojevic at fullback works wonders for Sea Eagles
Yeah exactly – that double-take when the bunker decision has already been eliminated by the players’ own perceptions has become a huge factor this season. Good article, enjoyed reading it.
It’s not the technology, it’s the humans!
Love the Ken Burns idea. I think a TV miniseries – or even a regular series – would work well too. I’m now wondering who would be cast as each player?
A few ideas for the movie star Maroons
I can’t see Semi coming back long term. There’s something cruel about the timing too: must be pretty irritating for Peats.
Is Semi about to become fully detached from the Eels?
Really interesting stuff. Rugby League is such a visceral game, so there’s something really surreal about the way in which the Bunker dissociates players from their perceptions, their bodies and their whole sense of what happened in play. I reckon that tension has managed to make or break a lot of games this season: it’s hard to fully get back your sense of focus when the Bunker is telling you something that you felt and perceived with your whole body didn’t actually happen.
It’s not the technology, it’s the humans!
There are issues with Gus but I still think he’s one of the best thinkers in the NRL: very few people write better and even fewer have the same analytical poise when it comes to commentary (something it took me a while to fully appreciate, just because his manner as a commentator can be so sullen and withdrawn). Whether or not he’s actual coach material, I reckon he should be playing a critical role in Blues selection and strategy in some way. I think Red Dog’s Toovey/Gus combo is a good idea – coaching experience plus analytical smarts.
Is Phil Gould the magic elixir for our Origin Blues?
Yep, agreed. Interesting that B. Moz has come out and said this – when there’s a groundswell among players for the fullback to be changed, you have to wonder what more it will take for Loz to change his mind.
Blues deserve Tedesco not me: Morris
Sure, I’m biased, but I don’t think anyone would disagree with the fact that their comeback over the first twenty minutes of the second half was pretty sudden and surprising – even Cam Smith acknowledged as much in the post-match interview.
Tigers roar back to life at AAMI
You’re right Baracuda – 100%. Unfortunately, it seems as if defence is one of those things that really depends upon a cohesive club culture – you can go through all the motions but the team really needs to gel if they want to defend like the Storm. The Tigers seem to get that cohesion when everything is on the line and they’re desperate – and last night I don’t think it was simply the desperation of being down 26-0, but the desperation of being down 26-0 on the top of that terrible loss to the Storm at Leichhardt Oval earlier in the year. Obviously, though, you can’t simply depend on desperation. It’s a tricky one – the Tiges have seemed to sync really well lately in some ways, but clearly something about the culture still needs to change if they’re going to ramp up that defensive synergy. As you said, they can’t soak up the pressure when the opposition are running at them: it’s scary how they go from amazing attackers to terrible defenders as soon as possession switches.
Tigers roar back to life at AAMI
I know – that’s the thing right? If only the Tigers could play for a full eighty like that. It was amazing how suddenly they got into gear yesterday afternoon – I’ve been trying to think back over it and figure out the magic ingredient (apart from Teddy).
Tigers roar back to life at AAMI
Can’t remember either, but I think the Storm-Dragons GF was the closest around that time?
Extra time delivers extra excitement, pressure, and brilliance