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Post by hoskotafe3 on Apr 13, 2022 20:39:40 GMT
Bloody hell, the Dragons are useless in both genders. People will blow up over the last Roosters try (which was farcical) but the Dragons were never going to score once they'd fallen behind. Absolute amateur hour on attack. I take it you didn’t see the Tigers v Sharks game. Amateur hour in all departments by the Tigers, who should’ve been completely embarrassed by their performance but seemed happy enough to laugh and joke with the opposition after the full time siren…. Didn't you hear Madge and Tamou after the game? Things are getting better, things are getting better all the time...Tamou, for his part, looked like someone being held at gun point. You can tell he's thinking "why the fuck did I leave Penrith for this?" Madge thinks he's cooked, but the Tigers issues start in the boardroom. It seems the more of the club that's owned by Wests, the more closely the club resembles Wests circa 1998.
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Post by weststigersbob on Apr 14, 2022 10:35:32 GMT
I take it you didn’t see the Tigers v Sharks game. Amateur hour in all departments by the Tigers, who should’ve been completely embarrassed by their performance but seemed happy enough to laugh and joke with the opposition after the full time siren…. Didn't you hear Madge and Tamou after the game? Things are getting better, things are getting better all the time...Tamou, for his part, looked like someone being held at gun point. You can tell he's thinking "why the fuck did I leave Penrith for this?" Madge thinks he's cooked, but the Tigers issues start in the boardroom. It seems the more of the club that's owned by Wests, the more closely the club resembles Wests circa 1998. The problem is that finally, after so many dysfunctional boards and absolute plonkers in the front office - Wests Tigers has people in there that have commercial and financial nous. The football department looks like they know what they are doing too. Now that that is sorted, we have to work on arguably the worst playing roster the club has had for 20 years. I keep banging on about it to many WT fans - the club simply cannot take a trick when it comes to recruitment and retention. In hindsight nearly every decision they have made for a decade at least has been wrong. And what’s worse is that they cannot attract big names for a variety of reasons, even by paying “overs”. The club simply has to do what Newcastle did a few years ago - consolidate and rebuild right from the bottom. This year is a right off. 2023 probably too. But be honest about it and ensure all the really good youngsters are tied up.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Apr 15, 2022 12:03:35 GMT
About 5 years ago the AFL decided to have games on Good Friday. The first was a thriller played in front of a small crowd. The latter can be said of every Good Friday game since, sadly the former can't. Two absolute stinkers today. And the NRL put up their annual "we're not even trying" fixtures of Souths vs Canterbury and Brisbane vs Penrith. If you like good teams cutting bad teams to ribbons you'd be happy. I found some of the play entertaining enough. If you were looking for any type of contest, you would have seen the match ups and gone to bed.
What wasn't entertaining was Canberra's second half last night. They are capable of playing every bit as badly as any team in the comp. Brisbane and Collingwood over on Channel 7 was a far better game to watch, in spite of the result.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Apr 17, 2022 23:01:25 GMT
The Mighty Dragons!!! It was great to turn on the telly and see my boys get their last win of the season yesterday. The first half gave a really good insight into why the two teams had a combined record of 3-7 including 0-6 over the past three rounds. The nature of the victory was shambolic enough to not expect much going forward, but good to get a win. Warriors look a decent team,really pushing the Roosters yesterday.
Carlton still have a real issue with stopping the opposition on scoring runs. Nearly blew a 50 point lead against Port yesterday. Great to see Essendon lose. Big win for Freo, even in their prime years (2012-15) they'd lose games like this one on the road. Now sitting pretty at 4-1 with plenty of home games to come. Should play finals.
On ANZAC Day we'll have a complete mismatch in the NRL. If we lose by less than 30, I'll be surprised. We won't see a repeat of the Lomax incident as there's no former team mates on the Roosters and we're not going to score any tries. In the AFL it's almost do or die for Essendon. They should be too good for us but never underestimate a rebuilding club with a free swing. There's nothing on the line for us and everything on the line for them.
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Post by weststigersbob on Apr 18, 2022 12:59:24 GMT
Dragons played very nicely. It’s slowly starting to meld into a winning formula. Newcastle on the other hand, seem to be going the other way. A bit like the 2017 WT. WT had Teddy-Ball, and Newy has Kalyn-Ball.
Easter Monday served up an absolute cracker, and not just because the Tigers got the chocolates against Parra in the final seconds. 21-20 was probably a fair reflection of the game. For the Tigers, Hastings and Twal were superb. Eels - Niukore had a barnstormer from right centre.
In the AFL - Is there anyone stopping the Demons juggernaut ?
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Apr 18, 2022 19:55:06 GMT
Dragons played very nicely. It’s slowly starting to meld into a winning formula. Newcastle on the other hand, seem to be going the other way. A bit like the 2017 WT. WT had Teddy-Ball, and Newy has Kalyn-Ball. Easter Monday served up an absolute cracker, and not just because the Tigers got the chocolates against Parra in the final seconds. 21-20 was probably a fair reflection of the game. For the Tigers, Hastings and Twal were superb. Eels - Niukore had a barnstormer from right centre. In the AFL - Is there anyone stopping the Demons juggernaut ? Tactically, St Kilda have the best shot. They play Higgins permanently forward while the Dees catch teams out on the turnover by playing May permanently back. If you keep the ball low I'd favour Higgins in that contest. Team wise I think Brisbane are very good. They will tag Petracca and I can see Fagan leaving Daniher forward to counter May as well. I think the Swans can beat them, particularly at the SCG, but are still a year away from contending seriously. Disappointing thing about the Dragons as a fan is that we're still seeing blow outs and inconsistency within games. The losses to Penrith and Souths were fair enough, outmatched but hung in there and weren't embarrassed. But giving up 36 points to the Sharks and 48 to the Eels are the type of efforts that make fans think the club's going nowhere.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Apr 23, 2022 21:07:40 GMT
Bloody he'll, you should move your home ground to Parramatta. Another thrilling win for the Tigers over pretty fair opposition. Pretty forgettable round of games otherwise thus far, though Brisbane's second half on Friday was pretty entertaining. I thought Thursday we saw some good attacking football too.
In the AFL, Freo looking very strong right now. I can't believe they'll be able to knock off the Dees in Melbourne, which is where you need to do it,but they may be the second best team in it. Carlton need to settle down a bit. They're a good team, should be a finals team, but they're not contenders. GWS look gone, though St Kilda are looking a top 4 team, so not embarrassing. Spirited win for the Crows over a struggling Bulldogs. Eagles are covid-ravaged and got thrashed again by Port. The Power's first win of the season.
Did I hear Buzz on NRL360 say 7 teams are guaranteed finals berths after Round 6? In a 24 game season where we have teams start hot/ finish cold and vice versa every year?
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Apr 25, 2022 0:49:03 GMT
Some utter dreck served up yesterday with only Melbourne/ Richmond even hinting at becoming a contest.
Interesting situation coming next year with NRL clubs being locked out of stadiums for 5-9 weeks due to the FIFA WWC. Stadium Australia, SFS, Leichardt, Suncorp and Olympic Park in Melbourne all unusable from July-August 20. Also buggers up SoO. They'll either need to push it back or forward to get around it. They'll still have Parra Stadium and enough suburban grounds to get around it one would think. Interesting thing is the AFL is not affected as they refused to make the MCG available due to all the money they make off Richmond, Collingwood, Hawthorn and Melbourne home games. The SCG and Gabba aren't being used by the WWC.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Apr 25, 2022 2:06:18 GMT
Predictions for today:
Bombers by 10. They've been crazy but they some influential ins and it's their last chance saloon.
Roosters by 30. With the apparent exception of Newcastle, everyone wants to play us at the moment.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Apr 25, 2022 8:48:26 GMT
Predictions for today: Bombers by 10. They've been crazy but they some influential ins and it's their last chance saloon. Roosters by 30. With the apparent exception of Newcastle, everyone wants to play us at the moment. Like I said. 2 thrillers and we won 'em both... Will watch the Pies fame tomorrow. Glad I watched the Dragons game live. Bloody hell, I thought we were going to bugger that up for most of the second half.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on May 1, 2022 20:27:04 GMT
Was away and out of phone or radio range most of the weekend so the only game I heard was the second half of Dragons/ Tigers. The first half must have been pretty dour, if not dire.
Got home and watched the highlights of the close games. Extraordinary tackle to deny the Roosters, Raiders utterly butchered a win against the Titans.
Port vs St Kilda would have been unwatchable in long form, 9 goals and 31 behinds. And Geelong vs Freo was not a gritty classic either. Cats kicked themselves out of it, but not to the same extent the Saints did. Swans lost a shoot out to the Lions.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on May 6, 2022 22:40:29 GMT
Really good NRL game last night. I was away last week so have no idea what the hell happened against the Cowboys, but I thought Parra were going nicely for most of the first two months and they put it all together last night in defeating Penrith 22-20. Some spectacular tries on show and some tension at the end. Even in defeat, Penrith still feel like watching The Terminator. Just won't die.
Port made it 3 in a row, avenging their finals defeat last year against the Bulldogs. First half was as good a game of footy as you'll see. Port blew the Dogs away in the third quarter and would have won by 40+ if not for kicking 0.6 in the last quarter.
In the early game, Raiders won a scrappy affair 14-4 over the Bulldogs (pretty shitty night for canines actually) and in the late game an under strength Dockers put a hundred up on a very poor North who managed just 9 scoring shots.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on May 16, 2022 1:36:44 GMT
Trent Barrett gone. Inevitable really. I said when he took the job he'd regret it. Better off being an in demand assistant forcing a mediocre coach out of a decent club than walking into a shit storm.
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Post by weststigersbob on May 16, 2022 8:49:48 GMT
I’ve turned this thread into a one way conversation!
Seriously though, I’ve been so busy I can barely watch the games, let alone comment here !
Barrett leaving/sacking was inevitable. He’s coached his last first grade game in the NRL I feel.
There’s a few rumours floating around as to his replacement. I’ve heard most of the leading candidates though are wary - primarily because of Gus Goulds influence……
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Post by hoskotafe3 on May 16, 2022 11:11:34 GMT
I’ve turned this thread into a one way conversation! Seriously though, I’ve been so busy I can barely watch the games, let alone comment here ! Barrett leaving/sacking was inevitable. He’s coached his last first grade game in the NRL I feel. There’s a few rumours floating around as to his replacement. I’ve heard most of the leading candidates though are wary - primarily because of Gus Goulds influence…… I've been off on carer's leave for the last 5 weeks (my wife required major surgery, she's almost fully recovered now) so U've had plenty of time to watch footy, ice hockey, baseball and anything else that takes my fancy. I feel for Trent a little, but he had no chance succeeding in that situation from the start.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on May 27, 2022 19:19:27 GMT
Well, a night of miracles in both codes as Brisbane overcome a 24-4 deficit to defeat Gold Coast and the Swans climb back from 31 behind in the 3rd quarter to defeat Richmond. That's a big result as the Tigers were starting to look like their old selves and a potential challenger. The Titans haven't strung two halves together all year so their capitulation was less surprising.
In the other match, Penrith put another supposed challenger to the sword. They shut out the Cowboys 22-0. North Qld defended impressively but just couldn't break through the Panthers wall. If they get through Origin unscathed only either a monumental choke or an early ambush can stop the Panthers going back to back.
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Post by weststigersbob on May 28, 2022 11:37:53 GMT
Both Tigers cough up leads. Wests were poor though - just no way of stopping momentum against them. Chooks grab an impressive win 36-16 away from home against the Sharks.
Origin sides named tomorrow night. Still cannot fathom how Origin isn’t a thing in AFL…..
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Post by hoskotafe3 on May 28, 2022 20:00:04 GMT
Both Tigers cough up leads. Wests were poor though - just no way of stopping momentum against them. Chooks grab an impressive win 36-16 away from home against the Sharks. Origin sides named tomorrow night. Still cannot fathom how Origin isn’t a thing in AFL….. Missed the big news that Freo knocked off the Dees at the MCG. A 10 goal turnaround in the second half. With the AFL SoO, it was a relevant and popular feature for decades which used to operate as pre 1982 rugby league SoO in that players would represent the state league they played in. Eligibility rules changed in the 1970s and what followed was two decades of the highest standard of games we'd ever seen. It would have been incomprehensible to anyone who watched the Vic v SA trilogy from 1992 to 1994 that the concept would be dead within 4 years. What killed it was expansion and professionalisation. Once players started making wages they could live on they didn't need to subsidise their careers by playing state games. It went from being a tournament involving every state with a Grand Final to 2 rep games in a bye week. Given that most state reps were from contending teams the clubs didn't want to release them, and because it was essentially an exhibition lacking any context the players didn't want to be released either which watered down the talent on display which killed fan interest. Expansion didn't help either. Why do I need to watch SA or WA play in an expensive marquee contest when I could watch 75% of that team play for the Crows or Eagles every other week? Even more the case when Freo and then Port entered. Pre-1987 you could sell out Subiaco with frenzied West Aussies come to see their boys stick it the Vic's or South Aussies. Slowly changed when the Eagles entered the comp. Their other big problem was, unlike rugby league which could simply divide their rep base into NSW and QLD and tweak eligibility to have that cover almost everybody, AFL had 3 high level production centres (Vic, SA and WA) and three secondary but highly parochial regions of Tasmania, Riverina NSW and the Top End. You needed a tournament structure to keep everyone happy. But time for that was squeezed out as the clubs expected more and more of their players for the higher wages they were paying them. With a one week window here's what they came up with: Vic would play SA one year and WA the next while whoever didn't get the real game would play the Allies, a combination of Tas, NSW, QLD ACT and NT players who weren't that invested because they weren't representing anything. So you had watered down teams who only really wanted play Victoria playing games with no context and getting matched up against a soulless abomination every other year. thr result was inevitable: state pride switched to teams in their state and the concept of SoO died. I can't see it ever coming back either. Everything is focused on the AFL season. They can't have a pre season tournament because players may get injured. They're so worried about 5 day breaks in the H&A season that there's no way they'd allow mid week rep games either. And post season, the one time of the year players can spend with their families? Good luck getting anyone to play in that window.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Jun 4, 2022 20:50:34 GMT
Swans stun Melbourne, coming from 26 behind early to lead at half time and win by 12.
Dees, for mine, were a fairly misleading 10-0. Their forward pressure has been poor all year, they had an easy draw and now they're being found out a little by some good teams. Having said that Steven May is a huge out for them and we saw last year they do have gears they can go to. They're still favourites but not the one horse race it was billed as a fortnight ago.
3 games in to a 4 game round in the NRL. None of them have risen to any great heights, though Bulldogs gave a second string Penrith a scare on Friday.
And some team called Western United won the A-League. I know enough to know they're a Sydney team and not a WA one. Anything else is a mystery.
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Post by weststigersbob on Jun 7, 2022 16:50:45 GMT
Both Maguire and Brown given the arse in the NRL. Neither the WT nor the Warriors look anywhere near finals contenders for years - both clubs have to go full on rebuild start again. Their replacements will be interesting.
And a small detail - Western United are a club based in Melbourne. Shows how much the A league really sticks into consciousness of casual fans…
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