Roar Guru
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“Rugby league is a simple game.” Don't you wish you had a dollar for every time you’ve heard that, especially over the past fortnight…
Ah, September. The sun is shining and blossoms are blooming as we emerge blinking into the spring sunshine from our (thankfully) brief winter hibernation.…
That’s it. The regular season for 2023 is in the can. September footy is a whole new competition. Before we reset and the tension…
Here is my NSW Origin team for Game 1. With the series kicking off in neutral Adelaide before moving to not-so-neutral Brisbane, make no…
Anzac Day is sacred, making money out of it is not.
The NRL is “getting tough” on head knocks and concussions by ensuring the victims of high tackles and illegal play are taken out of the game.
'Attacking players falling into high tackles'. 'Head clashes'. 'It was an accident'. 'Collisions happen'. We’ve heard plenty of this over the past couple of…
State of Origin has been run and won for another year. Queensland has pulled off another famous underdog victory over a more fancied New…
I remember what late July used to feel like. We’ve come through the Origin period okay. We’ve dropped a game or two that we…
It’s Bill Harrigan’s fault the NRL is in the mess that it is. Not really, but hear me out... Harrigan is probably rugby league’s…
Following on from Parts 1, 2 and 3 here's some more NRL identities with a point to prove. South Sydney Rabbitohs It seems odd…
Following Part 1, let's check out a few more men under the pump in the 2020 NRL season. Broncos Within 18 months of making…
Following on from Parts 1 and 2, here's some more NRL identities with a point to prove. Knights Whether it’s playing footy, hitting a…
Professional sport is a high-pressure environment. Every year, every player and coach is under the gun to perform their best. But every year the…
Season 2019 is done and dusted so it’s time to look at my NRL team of the year. Fullback - James Tedesco (Roosters) The…
Earlier in the week I mapped out an unlikely pathway for the Bulldogs to make the semi-finals. There were a few variables but I…
I was fooling around with the NRL ladder predictor this morning and stumbled across a possible – albeit unlikely (ok extremely unlikely) way the…
You could argue that facing the Sharks, Panthers and Raiders is a pretty tough start to the season for the Knights. But look closer.…
As we near Round 1 of season 2019 it’s timely to have a look at the job security of the people with their necks…
Before the start of every NRL season there are those players and coaches for whom the spotlight shines a little brighter, the bar is…
Watched the highlights this arvo… the way Katoa shaped to pass, held it up and then floated it over the defence for Bostock’s first Hal& try was sublime
Watching it in full speed, it’s almost imperceptible. On replay, there’s about three seperate thoughts and actions in a millisecond. Great vision, perfect execution…
'We gave up': Under pressure Arthur rages at 'part-time footy team' Parra as undermanned Dolphins run riot
* tough as teak
The NRL stat that isn't one, but should be: Working out which forwards really pull their weight
I like Tino as well
Also plays big minutes, work rate not as high as Haas but has a bit more aggression
With blue and white goggles on, one of my all time favourite combos was Peter Tunks and Peter Kelly. They were both tough as team but also very skilful players. They played three straight grand finals, winning two
Tunks also formed a great combo with Roach in the 86 Origin clean sweep
Kelly unlucky not to play more rep footy, but I’d put him up against any prop
The NRL stat that isn't one, but should be: Working out which forwards really pull their weight
Yeah, really hard to compare across such different eras
Did Webcke and Lazarus play together?
Webcke and Petero were a brilliant combo too. I’d have JFH and Leota in the convo
Lazzo was a freak… he did what he did playing 80 minutes
The NRL stat that isn't one, but should be: Working out which forwards really pull their weight
I think most people knew there was a better player inside Lomax than what we were seeing. Did anyone think he was this good?
He’s playing with sublime confidence to try anything – see his flick pass for Ben Hunt’s try in atrocious conditions against the Knights, the catch-a-bomb-on-the-fly try or 40 metre field goal last night. His ambition doesn’t seem close to meeting his talent ceiling at the moment
Great to watch
How good a coach is Shane Flanagan? He’s getting a lot of players playing right at the top edge of their talent. Obviously a smart footy coach, but also seems to be a great man manager
'Complete performance' sees Dragons stun Warriors - and Lomax rocket into Origin contention
Interesting that Arthur said that his team “gave up”
Sounds like this morning he’ll be adding everyone’s tackle counts to their run metres to work out who are the players working hard for the team… 😂 😂
'We gave up': Under pressure Arthur rages at 'part-time footy team' Parra as undermanned Dolphins run riot
If Isaako had his kicking boots on, should have been 50. I’m happy to call it… 😁
'We gave up': Under pressure Arthur rages at 'part-time footy team' Parra as undermanned Dolphins run riot
That was messed up… Parra completely rolled over and were spanked in every area of the game
Was Gutho taking the two the turning point…? 😛
Not sure what else to say about that game
I sold Jack Bostock in SuperCoach this week so made it a bit of an uncomfortable watch in the second half…
'We gave up': Under pressure Arthur rages at 'part-time footy team' Parra as undermanned Dolphins run riot
Spot on
JFH and Leota rarely carry the ball out if their own end. They don’t bother wasting gas even getting onside
As you say, they own the middle in defence, they take the hit ups at the attacking end of the field and they batter the opposition into submission
They’re the best front row combo I’ve ever seen and not even mentioned in this article… says it all
The NRL stat that isn't one, but should be: Working out which forwards really pull their weight
Nah, he’s a dud cause he’s not doing hit ups through the middle like a good forward should 😂 😂 😂
The NRL stat that isn't one, but should be: Working out which forwards really pull their weight
Mostly due to me 😂
Kikau, not Latrell
The NRL stat that isn't one, but should be: Working out which forwards really pull their weight
Yeah, I need to learn that… they drag me down to their level regularly…
'Both were really clear': Roosters in a rage over ref's contentious calls as Storm win on the back of two dubious tries
1. This stat assumes 1 tackle = 1 run metre. Given forwards typically run 50-150 metres and make 20-40 tackles, that’s obviously not even close to parity
2. This stat assumes that run metres and tackles are the key metric for every forward. That’s clearly not the case. It ignores that there are different roles for different players in different positions
3. Using this metric to compare Carrigan – whose purpose is run metres and tackles – to Kikau – who has a completely different role and purpose is patently ridiculous
To suggest this silly stat somehow proves there theory that Kikau is “the most over rated player in the NRL” is immature
For all forwards (not including hookers) Kikau is:
1st for try assists
3rd for try involvements
7th for line breaks
1st for line break assists
3rd for tackle breaks
10th for offloads
2nd for metres per run
Holding this position that Kikau is over rated across at least three articles over 14 months is amateurish
The NRL stat that isn't one, but should be: Working out which forwards really pull their weight
Second comment deleted for pointing out how daft this stat is
If professional journos need to be so protected from comments then maybe you should consider whether the article should be published
My comment didn’t breach any of The Roar’s comments guidelines
The NRL stat that isn't one, but should be: Working out which forwards really pull their weight
Are we sure that Teddy running out of room, crabbing sideways and having no one to pass to is the cause of the Roosters problems or a symptom of them?
First three games of the season the Roosters were playing much more direct in attack and Tedesco looked to be back to his best. Lately they’ve had a revolving door of halves, playing more sideways – and so is Tedesco
Same thing happened last year. Origins 1 & 2 Teddy looked a shot duck. Walker comes in, NSW play direct and Teddy’ back. Roosters hit a purple patch post season and so did Tedesco
It’s probably concerning that his form is so beholden on those around him. Tedesco of old wouldn’t have been, but I’m not sure he’s behind it all…
'Both were really clear': Roosters in a rage over ref's contentious calls as Storm win on the back of two dubious tries
I also think the second half of my comment shows I’m really not taking this too seriously…
The NRL stat that isn't one, but should be: Working out which forwards really pull their weight
You couldn’t transplant 1978 Kerry Boustead into today’s game
2024 Bowie would probably be 6 foot and 90kg
'Both were really clear': Roosters in a rage over ref's contentious calls as Storm win on the back of two dubious tries
😂 😂
The NRL stat that isn't one, but should be: Working out which forwards really pull their weight
Yep. If there’s a hidden stat in rugby league it ain’t tackles + run metres
It’s off the ball efforts. Things like Collins’ chase or all the times players like Dylan Edwards push through in support for the odd time for it to pay off
The NRL stat that isn't one, but should be: Working out which forwards really pull their weight
“Interestingly, a number of the men excelling in defensive workloads achieve only a moderate TM score, based on limited running metre production.”
That’s not interesting at all. It’s because this daft stat is weighted towards forwards who get run metres and against players whose main contribution is defensively
Rather than being interesting, this points out the outrageously obvious flaw in this metric… before we even get to all the stats you’ve conveniently swept into the bin
As a side note I gave this article to my 13 year old to read. After 30 seconds he looked up and said “one tackle isn’t equal to one metre.” Guess we’ll keep paying his school fees (and the Kayo subscription) 😂
The NRL stat that isn't one, but should be: Working out which forwards really pull their weight
Based on Kikau’s feeble first-up performance, fans concerned Bulldogs have dug up another T-Rex
Stuart made his mind up about Kikau after one game… doesn’t seem to matter what Kikau does in the meantime – including leading the Dally M – he’s sticking to his guns
The NRL stat that isn't one, but should be: Working out which forwards really pull their weight
I didn’t see it that way. Smith was running through looking at the ball. He collided with Watson. Watson wasn’t in the air and Smith didn’t take his legs out. I didn’t think it was any more Smith’s fault than it was Watson’s
I thought Mariner hurt his back contesting the bomb with Xavier Coates…? That’s when he was in discomfort and getting treatment
'Both were really clear': Roosters in a rage over ref's contentious calls as Storm win on the back of two dubious tries
Yeah, I’ve just spent half an hour on Facebook. Blowing up about refs has replaced analysis
There were Storm fans saying that Klein wanted the Roosters to win and Roosters fans saying he’d rigged it for the Storm
I get up in the moment and blow up about decisions as much as the next person, but this idea that it’s a scam and refs are costing teams games has been taken to new levels
I can honestly say in 40+ years of watching footy, I’ve never watched a game where I’ve agree with every decision. But these days it’s pitched by media as “game in crisis” and there’s people who lap it up
'Both were really clear': Roosters in a rage over ref's contentious calls as Storm win on the back of two dubious tries
Robbo going off with his wide eyed incredulity act in the presser…
'Both were really clear': Roosters in a rage over ref's contentious calls as Storm win on the back of two dubious tries
I noticed on rewatch this arvo when Bostock scored his first try, Gutho landed on him heavily – nothing illegal
Bostock wasn’t super happy with it, but Gutho gave him an all time spray… little bit embarrassing knowing what was to come
'We gave up': Under pressure Arthur rages at 'part-time footy team' Parra as undermanned Dolphins run riot