Tetley, i vote for you to take over when demetriou is rightfully sacked. Your player selections are spot on. I would love to see Jye Gray in the halves. He does seem to have that excitement factor in his play.
I am amazed Jye has been chosen to play fullback. He is of small stature, no doubt filled with courage. It reminds me of the situation of Blake Taaffe, who was thrust into 1st grade at fullback following a Mitchell suspension. He proved himself to be a great courageous team player who, painfully for me, we let go because he was considered too small for fullback. Well, Gray looks smaller. I don’t get Souths logic. I wish him the best against the sharks and I am sure he will do the jersey proud and try his best. Hope he has a blinder.
But I would put Wighton at fullback and the rest of your team selections Tetley.
I am not so clear on the need to drop Cook. He has been through some sleepier periods in his career but he has always refound his form.
As a lifelong Souths supporter i am conflicted about the Sharks game. Alwayts hope we win, but if a loss results in Demetrious sacking then there is a silverlining. I wrote to the club last year demanding his sacking, when Sam Burgess was scapegoated. At the core of my concern, a first grade coach “liked” comments critical of two of his 1st grade players on social media following a loss. He suggested it was an unintended click. It was a disgraceful act even reading the rubbish in the first place.

U’s comment simply acknowledges the divide between white and black Australians (I hate that i used those words) without offering a solution. There must be a change to our anthem that is inclusive of all of us. If our current anthem can recognise “those who’ve come across the seas” (Vietnamese, Chinese, South Africans, Sudanese, Italians, Greeks, English, Irish etc) then i don’t think it too much to recognise those who’ve been here for 60000 years!
I have always been ambivalent when it comes to our national anthem and Australia Day. But maybe as i get older, I can appreciate the pain our aboriginal friends may feel.

I am gobsmacked at some of the racist comments on this topic. Steveng, you should hang your head in shame. Still spouting that hate filled speak of aboriginals living off the generosity of hard working whites! Call yourself a Souths supporter? A club which has a very proud and strong aboriginal contingent of fans and players. I have read alot of your crap over the years but that is disgusting and i am surprised the roar published it.
I applaud the ARL Commission for supporting the players wish to not play the anthem before the game. I stand and sing the anthem when it is played, out of respect for my country. But i appreciate that their are many in this country who feel the anthem does not represent them, and i respect their opinion too.
It is time for a change in anthem to include the first peoples of this country. One we can all sing together with pride and hope in a better future of inclusiveness and respect for all brothers and sisters. Wouldn’t that be something!
Do i get upset if the anthem is not played before games? Not one bit. But i can understand how the anthem upsets

Hi Buddy,
Glad the staff were accommodating. I was not referring to the game against WSW, which i could not attend, but about previous experiences. Hopefully your experience is a result of a better appreciation by stadium staff of how difficult it can be tolerating the heat in the eastern grandstand.
I also look forward to the day when fans can fill their own water bottles with filtered water taps in each sporting venue. Save the planet and alot of dollars as well!

I have had the displeasure of watching games in a near empty central coast stadium with seated tickets on the eastern grandstand in blazing afternoon sun.
We walked around to the western grandstand to try and seek some shade, only to be told that our tickets are on the other side.
We opted to sit in the general admission seats in the corner, but at least it was shady.
I suggest central coast stadium should let people sit wherever they want. First come first served. It would save the stadium a fortune as they wouldn’t need to employ attendant at each gate, in a stadium which at best is a quarter full.

Firstly, good on you roar for having an article on surfing!
There have been some interesting discussions on surfing forums on this incident. Some have respected his level of professionalism to play the rule book to perform what is generally considered a “low act”. Some have compared it to the under arm ball in cricket. A reasonable comparison in my opinion.
Most opinions are that it was at least unsporting, if not outright cheating.
The live on-air commentators (world champion Barton Lynch included) seemed caught off guard by the move to say the least. At first suggesting it was an error, but it was soon evident that it was a calculated move by Medina. And the on air commentary then seemed to suggest it was an incredibly professional and clever decision. I believe an on air rebuke of his pathetic poor sportsmanship would have been a better response. Maybe it was fear of upsetting the World Surf League organisation that bankrolls professional surfing, or the very important Brazilian market (Medina is a 2 time Brazilian World champ). Either way, it sends a poor message to young surfers all over the world.
But it will be interesting to see if the WSL act. There is a clause in the rule book that can be called into play regarding unsportsmanlike behaviour in contests. Do they have the balls to act against a hugely popular Brazilian champion? I don’t think so. Medina is a freakish talent on a surfboard. It is such a shame that he acts like such a dick in the water.
It appeared that karma got him in the end. He lost in the final to his fellow countyman Italo Ferriera, who also won the world championship over Medina in the process. Ferreira could do no wrong. And for once it seemed nothing could go right for Medina.
Karma is a bitch!

Spaniard King, You are right. It would be a terribly difficult job. Neither team and their supporters are on your side. And they are all looking for a reason to attack you. It must be an extremely stressful career and they should be respected for what they do. It is wonderful seeing players shaking their hands after games, and something that i have always demanded my kids do after a game.
But, I also feel the referees are being let down by the NRL and the TV commentary. Two refs? How often do you see one ref on the field make a call of knock on, to be overruled by the other ref who calls a strip? I would like to go back to one on field referee.
I don’t understand the furore on this site regards Johns comments about slow motion replays. I think Johns has a valid point to make. It is as though we are finding reasons not to award a try – should we not be encouraging attacking football. Why not base all video ref decisions on replays in live speed? Maybe if the on field ref has no opinion of try/no try, he then can go to the video ref and say “I’m not sure”, then slow mo is allowed. But if the on field ref calls try or no try, then it can only be viewed in live speed. It would be seen as being more supportive of the on field ref, rather than looking for a reason to prove him wrong. Which is where i think the video ref system is flawed – it has the appearance of judging the on-field ref. I love it when an on-field ref makes a decision and blows try, or no try without referring it upstairs. And if it is wrong, well the game has moved on and so should we. And this is where the broadcasters have a responsibility to not continually harp on the errors that referees make. It is disrespectful to the referees and incites the vitriol directed towards them. What do we say to our children when a referee makes a poor decision in a weekend sport? We tell them (or at least we should) to not worry about it and get on with playing the game. And that is exactly what the viewers, commentators, broadcast directors and journalists should all do.
Watching the Wales v Wallabies game is a case in point where the game is being over-analysed to the detriment of the game. Let it flow. It seems the fear of making a refereeing error is ruining the contest. Players are allowed to make mistakes. Why not referees?

What was Slater meant to do? How about show some courage and tackle him with his chest and arms wrapped around the attacker. Getting rid of the shoulder charge was a great decision. It takes a lot more courage and conviction to put your body into a tackle than simply hitting an attacker with a shoulder whilst the rest of the body and head is safely protected.
Give me replays of Jake T cutting someone in half over Sonny Bill’s “spectacular ” shoulder charges any day. And why? Because it takes more skill and requires the defender to commit his entire body.

Very very funny article. Well done!
As a souths supporter, I have always struggled internally with my affection for the dragons. I hope they get their team playing well again in 2020, but not too well!!!

Love the grease reference for Tedesco. He is a special player. That’s pretty much as far as i got.
But I cannot believe the effort you put into analysing the stats! Almost takes that much effort to read. Alsas, I didn’t have the motivation.
Here’s my take (not taking any statistics into account)
Roosters are a classy side and with the return of some key players will likely be too good for Souths, but who knows? Roosters 13+ – I don’t think so! Or at least I hope not. Roosters by 4.
Storm will be too professional for Canberra, but who knows? Storm by 4.
Sharks will be to strong for Manly, considering the loss of troops. But who knows with home game advantage. Sharks by 10.
Eels will take care of Broncos. Eels by 10.
Go rabbits!

As a Souths fan, I have the utmost respect for Farah. It would have been hard for him watching Damien Cook shine at hooker. But every time he got his rare minutes on the field,I thought he tried his heart out for Souths.
Congratulations on everything you achieved in rugby league. A premiership and over 300 games. Wow!

I like McInnes. He is a tough and very solid hooker. But Cook has that and some. His speed at another dimension to the game that McInnes just can’t match. As the incumbent hooker i can’t see Cook being overlooked. However, if injury was to rule Cook out, I am sure McInnes would do NSW proud.

It is with some difficulty that i say i agree with steveng. The last time i posted on this forum was in response to one of steveng’s irrational and emotional rants about a former souths coach whose name i shan’t mention. But today i feel somewhat sheepish supporting your post on Cook’s efforts in 2017 and 2016. He was given limited opportunities under Maguire, much to mine, and alot of other souths supporters frustration. It seemed in both of those years, it wasn’t until the season was gone, that Cook got the opportunity at starting hooker and the team seemed to lift a couple of gears. I wonder if this contributed to Madge being let go.
As for McInnes, i respect him greatly as a player. Tough and solid, but i am stoked to see Cook sign on. He has speed and the skills to make him a very good player for a long time, injuries permitting.

In what way has it been a disgraceful act by Siebold? Was Creighton signing with the roosters a disgraceful act (disappointing yes, but he is well within his right to do so). I would be happy to see Seibold finish out his contract, and i am sure as a professional coach, he is going to do everything he can to win a premiership.
As one of the loyal bunnies fans you refer to, i don’t support the rubbish you posted

Fair criticism of the powers that control the game.

But you cannot tell me that players are told to behave the way they do. Often they are an embarrasment to watch, with their poor sportsmanship. They carry on like warriors on the field. I have always said, put two cricket teams in a room together, and they wouldn’t say “boo”.
Time for cricket to behave with humility and respect on and off the field from players and administrators alike

I think is it unfair to suggest Siebold’s ambitions to coach the Broncos contributed to Souths form in the second half of the year, not that i agree with you that there was a particular concern with their form in that second half. Sure, they didn’t win the premiership. Yes, they lacked a complete 80 minutes in games, let themselves down against the Tigers, but i am immensely proud of the effort the team put in. I think Souths problem was their poor execution at critical times. When it worked, it worked brilliantly. Could have been great year, turned out to be a very good year. I’ll take that. And i congratulate Siebold on his performance too. I hope he stays on for 2019.
As for Bennett coming to Souths. I hope he has success. But i will not be pleased if the club shows interest in Lodge. He is not deserving of a contract with Souths, or any other club, in my opinion.

What forced merger are you referring to. The one they accepted for a million dollars. They weren’t forced, tigers and wests accepted it.
And as for norths being kicked out of the competition. Wasn’t that also as a result of manly and the bears accepting their 12 ounces of silver. Only problem for the bears was that they were in a partnership with an entity that was willing to bide their time before they could knife them in the back.
I don’t like manly but I also don’t want to see their proud history disappear. And talk of crowd attendance figures, membership numbers, ground facilities reminds me of the days when a set of criteria were set up to get rid of a predetermined list of teams at the behest of a media mogul. A media mogul who can suck my hairy…..
Someone said manly only have 12000 fans. I don’t like their team but I’d stand with them to defend their right to watch their team.