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Post by hoskotafe3 on Mar 11, 2021 10:34:52 GMT
Two bigger-than-the-game players, one well past his best, retired on the eve of the season: sure fire Immortal Cameron Smith went out having just led his team to 5th Grand Final win and third premiership while Merc-for-hire multi time code hopper Sonny Bill Williams retired after a short and underwhelming third stint in the NRL.
Tonight we have Melbourne and the Rabbitohs picking up right where they left off last year: Melbourne firing on all cylinders while Souths fail to live up to big expectations. Storm leading 24-12 and we're 55 minutes in.
Apart from this it's not a particularly enticing opening round. Parra v Brisbane will be interesting as Parra collapsed near the end of last year, while it's hard to believe Brisbane will remain a dumpster fire after an all time worst year for them last year.
Warriors and Titans should both be knocking on the door of the top 8 this year (tbh Titans should be a lot more than knocking on the door) so that could be an interesting game too.
For bob and myself, both our teams are playing on Sunday against opponents who played finals last year. Tigers are playing Canberra who will have had a disastrous year if they don't play finals again. The Tigers captain has predicted finals, which is unlikely, but what else was he going to say? Better to aim high.
St George's captain might be overshooting if he predicts winning more than 1 game this season, and I doubt that one win will come in round one. It's going to be a loooong year...
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Post by weststigersbob on Mar 11, 2021 15:03:04 GMT
Melbourne had the Midas Touch in that first 20 minutes. Could do no wrong. For South’s, losing by only 8 after the Storms start was quite the comeback.
As you well know, Tigers are really good at talking the talk. It’s walking the walk that we struggle with. And a game plan that looks about 6-7 years too late might not be the best idea. As for your Saints - I have to agree. 14th or higher is acceptable for the Dragons......
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Mar 12, 2021 8:22:53 GMT
Bulldogs did a reasonable impression of a competent NRL team in the first half in Newcastle, but looking very ordinary now trailing 30-10.
Brisbane v Parra is next but it's on of those infamous instances of being past my bedtime. I'll check out the highlights tomorrow.
And I would happily take 14th for the Dragons before a ball is kicked in anger!
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Mar 12, 2021 17:29:33 GMT
Just a couple of observations from last night: good to see the video ref not used on a number of occasions where it might have been in the past.
And, unlike a lot if games where a team chases down a big lead, this was actually an entertaining and attacking end to end game throughout where Parra bombed a lot of scoring opportunities in the first half and Brisbane followed suit in the second.
Some terrific tries scored last night. Very entertaining game. Parra came from 0-16 behind to win 24-16.
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Post by weststigersbob on Mar 13, 2021 3:24:40 GMT
So far - 3 pretty entertaining games. The much vaunted “new rules” haven’t changed much from last year, but the speed and fatigue in the game is just about right. All 6 sides that have played have looked to attack in different ways in different game phases. The emergence of lightweight middle forwards with attacking flair at 13 & 14 is a such a positive way forward.
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Post by weststigersbob on Mar 14, 2021 9:59:40 GMT
Well, Round 1 is in the books, with Wests Tigers and St George Illawarra both losing as expected today against the Raiders and Sharks respectively. The only real surprise was how poor Manly were, getting a real touch up by the Chooks. Also on Saturday, The warriors won an arm wrestle against a mildly disappointing Titans, and Penrith were pretty clunky but still far too good for a Cowboys side that needs a bit of work, but the pieces are all there.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Mar 14, 2021 17:33:29 GMT
32-18 was fine given the start. The way Cronulla got those first two tries threatened an all time stinker. We've got talent at 1 and 6, but not talent in depth. And Hunt at 7 is a millstone around both his neck and ours.
Promising start for Penrith. Shutting out a Cowboys team who, as you said, aren't that bad. Roosters made a big statement. They're a contender again this year. Looks like Canberra really put your Tiggies to the sword.
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Post by weststigersbob on Mar 15, 2021 6:20:28 GMT
The only mistake the Tigers didn’t make was failing to find touch from a penalty. We were very clunky and let in some soft second half tries. Tigers just have far too many “rocks or diamonds” type players, and they are producing too many rocks. What’s worse though is that the majority of the fanbase simply love blaming the same old targets without really looking into how the game is played. Luke Brooks was terrible, he is supposed to be the organiser, the attacking leader. It was totally absent. And yet, all I keep seeing and hearing is how bad Mbye is. Dragons have much the same problem. Hunt and Norman haven’t been great by any means - but the forwards have been terrible for years at the Dragons, many playing on past glories. When was the last time Tariq Sims, Vaughan or Merrin had a game worthy of a NSW jersey ? Cam McInnes last year at 13 was the best go forward player the Dragons had - and he is 5’10” and 85kg ......
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Mar 17, 2021 19:42:48 GMT
Well, the AFL returns with 2 of last year's contenders, Port Adelaide and Geelong, looking vastly improved, another contender in Brisbane slightly improved, and the two time defending premier Richmond no different at all but still strong.
In the NRL tonight we have an interesting game on paper with Parramatta hosting Melbourne. Both teams won by 8 points in Round One and yet find themselves 7th and 8th on For and Against. NZ v Newcastle should be interesting and then our first significant game of the year Friday night with the Titans hosting Brisbane. If GC want to be anything this year they can not go 0-2 and lose to the Broncos.
Sharks v Raiders should be good. Rabbitohs should destroy Manly and your Tigers have a brutal match up with the Roosters. Dragons are playing the Cowboys in an early season Who Cares Cup.
In the AFL the traditional opener of Carlton v Richmond looks a mismatch on paper, particularly with a lot of Carlton injuries. Western Bulldogs should beat Collingwood on Friday.
Best rivalry game in Round One is Hawthorn vs Essendon: 3 consecutive Grand Finals in the 80s, "How can you lose to Hawthorn?" Line in the Sand and all that. After no fans and hardly any games in Melbourne last year, looking forward to some passionate crowds.
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Post by weststigersbob on Mar 18, 2021 3:15:50 GMT
Quickly on the AFL - it looks like a 2 horse race for the flag to me. Geelong or Richmond. Brisbane’s big chance was in 2020 they’ll be there again along with Port, and West Coast. Like the NRL and the Big 6, the AFL has their big 5. The other 3 finalists are a bit of a lottery, but it won’t be Sydney, GWS, Adelaide or North. Looks like a bad year for NSW based AFL fans.
NRL - Melbourne are beatable. And Parramatta are a side that could trouble Melbourne if they don’t get too far ahead of themselves.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Mar 18, 2021 5:11:09 GMT
Hopefully not Geelong. How boring would that be? Port went out and brought some names so I'm expecting them to be good this year. Most of the AFL experts are picking Geelong or Port, bizarrely many of them predicting Richmond as Runner Up. If Richmond get to the Grand Final they aren't losing it.
More sensible is predictions for Collingwood. Most have us 8-10th which looks just about right to me.
Anyway, I just hope going back to 20 minute quarters doesn't drag the games out into an ugly slog (for viewers), but who am I kidding? Of course it will.
Liking the NRL this year. Quicker games are better games IMO.
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Post by weststigersbob on Mar 18, 2021 8:18:45 GMT
You’re much more of an AFL man than I, so I will not be passing any judgment until I see a few games.
I’m a big fan of the new rules in the NRL. I keep hearing the usual dinosaurs (Masters, Gould, Rothfield) talk down the new rules for a variety of reasons - some reasonable, some sensationalist, some plainly idiotic. The worst (Masters) is that the new rules are contributing to blow outs which are bad for TV - so the alternative is referees engineering close contests ? Stupid commentary from someone who should know better. Gould opines that the problem isn’t the new rules per se, but that different games feature different amounts of penalties and six agains, and this is a bad thing because the games with less six agains are better contests and better to watch. The problem with that argument is that the best game to watch last week for most neutrals (Parra v Brisbane) had the most. As usual, Gus is in favour of whatever best suits the club he’s at at the time. Gus doesn’t want a game with any six agains at all. He wants a game with lots of stoppages, lots of ball out of play. Suits the warriors and their massive pack just fine. Also makes coaches and structure much more important. As for Rothfield - he’s just too conservative. Always wanting what the game was previously.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Mar 18, 2021 19:15:29 GMT
We got the nightmare situation in the AFL: Brian Taylor and James Brayshaw leading Friday Night commentary. Ugghh. Entertaining enough game. Carlton fought hard and Richmond were flattered to win by 25 points given there was less than a kick in it with 6 minutes to go. The Blues should be respectable this year. They have plenty of talent. Richmond will have bigger tests later, but bringing up the ton and winning by 4 goals is a tidy opening.
NRL was better. Parra scoring an upset win in a wet field arm wrestle 16-12. Took the lead with 3 minutes to go. Melbourne had an excellent shot late with a new set of six deep in Eels territory, but kicked early. They did recover but Munster knocked on to seal the Storm's fate 16-12.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Mar 18, 2021 21:14:46 GMT
You’re much more of an AFL man than I, so I will not be passing any judgment until I see a few games. Tbh I'm less of an AFL man each year. The quality of Rugby League seems to be improving each year while AFL is going in the opposite direction. Sport is also mired in ever more ridiculous Victorian parochialism. None of the teams I care about are contending and I can't really get behind teams who play in an entertaining way because none of them do.
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Post by weststigersbob on Mar 19, 2021 4:51:22 GMT
You’re much more of an AFL man than I, so I will not be passing any judgment until I see a few games. Tbh I'm less of an AFL man each year. The quality of Rugby League seems to be improving each year while AFL is going in the opposite direction. Sport is also mired in ever more ridiculous Victorian parochialism. None of the teams I care about are contending and I can't really get behind teams who play in an entertaining way because none of them do. This is so true. Fox shows ‘old’ games of AFL and NRL throughout the summer. And while the RL games of the 70’s and 80’s have their charm, they aren’t a scratch on the game today. The skill, athleticism and tactics of today’s game is incredibly superior in every way. And while the games of the 90’s improved dramatically, like virtually everything with RL - super league killed it. While some believe the game still hasn’t gotten back to its peak of circa 1990-1994, I believe it’s better now. That game last night was outstanding - pouring rain, but both sides moved the ball with confidence and panache, there were plenty of hard tackles, the goal line defence was extraordinary from Parramatta. Meanwhile, AFL is going decidedly backwards. The game is now shit compared to the 1990’s and 2000’s. The flood and extreme tagging has ruined the game. There is just no flow, no style. It’s just 36 guys always under pressure and hoping to find an open teammate. And the parochialism from the Victorians always makes me laugh. They both love and loathe the fact that AFL wants to be the ‘national’ sport. I don’t engage with them anymore. Anything short of religious devotion to AFL is seen as something odd. “Do you like AFL ?” “It’s alright” “What ? It’s the greatest sport ever played how can you possibly not absolutely love and adore AFL - what’s wrong with you !” That sort of drift....
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Mar 19, 2021 10:55:35 GMT
Knights win a good contest over The Warriors 20-16. Very entertaining game with a couple of late lead changes. Titans comfortably beat Brisbane 28-16, doing nearly all the damage 8 minutes either side of half time.
Uninspiring performance from Collingwood. Our skills are always bad, but particularly glaring tonight. Trailing the Dogs by 25 at 3/4 time. I'm tapping out. Not worth a 10:30 finish for this.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Mar 20, 2021 6:49:33 GMT
Sheesh, Geelong making heavy work of it against Adelaide: 26 behind approaching half time. I think they'll probably get out of jail, but that's not the start they were looking for.
Edit: 38 behind now. Not so sure the Cats will get out of jail now. How many games did the Crows win last year? I think it was 2. Might have only been one. Some funny things can happen in round one...
Crows hold on by 12 points. I think Geelong will be fine. Not all their off season recruits played and they came back hard from the poor start. Crows will still be a bottom 6 team, probably bottom 2, but it's impossible not to feel happy for them.
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Post by weststigersbob on Mar 21, 2021 9:22:52 GMT
A few upsets in the AFL. Not so in the NRL. Tigers were awful against the Chooks - lucky to lose 40-6.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Mar 25, 2021 11:18:20 GMT
Another narrow loss for Melbourne makes things interesting. While both losses are forgivable and they should get to 2-2 against Brisbane next week, they wouldn't want to slip up against a Warriors, Cowboys or Tigers. They can't count on winning games against top 4-6 teams.
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Post by weststigersbob on Mar 26, 2021 3:41:09 GMT
Outstanding game of football. Literally went to the last second to decide the winner.
There was one very, very interesting aspect about the game that I noticed. In the first half, hardly any penalties or six agains. I think there may have been 1 six again. 3 at the most. In the second half though, especially at the start, Melbourne deliberately started to lay all over the tackles, almost as if to say - where is the line for a six again call ?. Then, every single zero tackle Penrith got - Melbourne gave away a six again (essentially a null penalty). It’s almost as if they were coached to deliberately try and slow down the game as much as possible 🤔🤔🤔
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