Round 3: Show Us Ya Bags!

Instead of the typical dry and boring discussion about last weekend’s events in Rugby League, this week’s Tuesday Roast will instead play the role of Easter long weekend news reporter with a look at the best of this year’s Easter Show Showbags.

The traditional trip to the Easter Show can often end in traditional pain for Mum and Dad’s bank balance! But this needn’t be the case. There are a number of showbags on offer this year which are all the rage for the kids but won’t require the parents to take out a second mortgage!

One of the coolest showbags is the Wests Tigers bag. This perennial favourite of the kids and aging, cynical former Roosters and NSW Origin coaches alike dazzles the eyes and captivates the mind. Better yet, for the mums who don’t like their kids’ (or husbands’!) rugby league interest seemingly going for 10 months a year, this bag rarely if ever functions after the end of August.

But beware though, the toys in this bag only function under perfect conditions or if they haven’t functioned in quite a while. They can be quite temperamental. Still, they’re great value (especially if used on a Sunday afternoon): a solid B- for the Wests Tigers bag.

The Tigers bounced back remarkably well on Friday night against Parramatta. It was an excellent mix of their typical flashy attack, domination of possession, robust defence against a team who traditionally dominates them just five days after being roasted by the Roosters two Sundays ago. With that said though, Parramatta disappointed again. They traditionally start slowly, but a year and a half of the more intense Daniel Anderson coaching them has failed to eliminate this annoying (for their supporters) characteristic. They are in need a match where they are expected to struggle and lose, so as to jump-start their motivation. Cronulla is exactly not what they need, it could be an interesting game in the Shire on Saturday afternoon.

While many of the kids love the Tigers bag, it doesn’t have the tradition and appeal to kids of all ages like the Dragons bag does. Despite a takeover of Illawarra bag in 1999, this bag continues to enjoy the mass appeal it gained in the 1950s and 1960s. For most of the last few decades, it had some of the better, more highly regarded toys in all the bags…but their reliability under pressure proved to be insufficient. Their recent re-branding as a more low-budget bag but with a greater emphasis on reliability and consistency didn’t quite pay off last year, but early previews of this year’s bag promise greater progress towards this goal. This could be one of the bags of 2010: an A- for the Dragons bag.

Round 3 saw another suffocating win for the Dragons. The victim this time was the Cowbores, who had a fairly good excuse for their sleep-inducing play. The Dragons again jumped to an early lead, again relied heavily on their left side for attack and again failed to let their opponent anywhere near a comeback. The two best teams so far will play tomorrow afternoon in Melbourne, and while these very efficient teams could produce a low-scoring, disciplined affair, it will almost certainly be the best-played game of the season to date.

Another popular bag this year will be the Penrith Panthers bag. While often a bag of questionable quality, it often seems to have a certain likeable-ness to it, which means it enjoys solid levels of support in Sydney’s west year in and year out. This year’s edition has some highly sought-after toys: everyone wants a Civoniceva even though it’s been around for years, while local products Lewis and Waterhouse are in their peak years. However, this year’s edition is also quite fragile; Waterhouse and the very temperamental Pritchard can give way at any time, while their instructions seem to be written in Swahili: no one quite knows how they work. Success seems possible for the Panthers, but probably not: a C+ for them.

Penrith was not far away from a win on Saturday night and they had their chances to really threaten an unusually error-prone opposition, but in the end, it was another just-enough win for Melbourne. Penrith was better than last week (although that wasn’t hard), but they were generally sloppy and was a touch lucky to have a chance to tie the game in the dying minutes. Melbourne was somewhat off the pace, but welcomed back Cooper Cronk from injury. His impact was immediate and will be vital if they hope to defeat the Dragons this week.

The Manly Sea Eagles bag has long been one which polarises opinion across Sydney, but is regularly amongst the highest-selling bags. This year’s bag is without some of the more successful items of recent years and, at first glance, appears to be more one-dimensional with an emphasis on strength and durability. However, the latest gossip is some items within the bag have surprise elements of skill, especially the previously lampooned Tony Williams. Exposure to alcohol is not advised for the contents of this bag, but that is a risk with all bags to be fair. Manly is likely to perform strongly again this year: a B for the northerners.

(Apologies to those after the Newcastle Knights bag. This is perhaps the most popular bag in some years, but its proprietors are under investigation by NSW Police and it has hence been withdrawn from sale at this year’s Show).

For the third straight week, Manly jumped to a big lead but they would not allow a third straight comeback. Their 12-minute, 3-try period of monopolising possession after Jarrod Mullen’s conservative kick for the sideline was the platform for a big Manly win.

Although it enjoyed a very successful period in the late 1980s and early to mid 1990s based on the development of high-class local produce, the Canberra Raiders bag only enjoys a relatively small amount of support each year. With that said though, this support is quite loyal and they can sometimes be rewarded with great entertainment. However, this entertainment is highly unlikely to occur anywhere except at your own home, especially with the consistent loss of expertise behind the bag being lost to other brands in recent years. Probably better value elsewhere: a D+ rating here.

Canberra lost another one away from home on Saturday night, although they would have done very well to come close to the Gold Coast. They were asked by the draw-makers to back up just 5 days after Monday night, a difficult task in the warm weeks of the early season. Also, any game at Robina for visiting teams figures to be difficult, even though the Titans have been slow starters this year. The loss of Scott Prince for a while could slow the Titans down, but, a bit like Parramatta, a challenge may spur them on to greater heights.

The New Zealand Warriors bag often enjoys very strong levels of support from expatriate Kiwis and those who enjoyed excitement and entertainment alike. This can be a strange bag, often disappointing markedly when it is expected to produce and capable of brilliance when these expectations are removed; alternatively, a sunny Sunday afternoon can see high entertainment levels no matter the expectation or situation. In recent years, the Kiwi/Polynesian influence has been usurped by expertise from Queensland, yet this has largely failed to change the unusual character of this bag. A fairly good bag, but probably only if you don’t expect much: B- here.

In hindsight, the Warriors probably would have defeated Brisbane even if they hadn’t lost Folau and Kemp to injury, although the final margin probably would have been much closer. In any event, the Warriors were in a buoyant mood on Sunday and attacked the struggling Broncos from anywhere on the field. As is their wont, the Warriors gained in confidence as the passes stuck and the points accumulated. The Warriors suffered to injury too, but luckily they were in a much better position than Brisbane to cope with them. Without Folau and Corey Parker, Brisbane could struggle mightily in the weeks to come.

Another traditional Sydney bag is the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs bag. Much success in the past three decades means this bag enjoys perhaps the highest level of support in Sydney, but a major re-branding was undertaken last year after the bag became too comfortable with past success and lost its way badly. It is now once again “The Family Bag” and offers some of the higher quality, entertaining, but most of all wholesome showbag items. If you can prove your surname is Moore, you’re related to a Moore or you are Catholic, you receive 50% off and enter the very exclusive draw for future jobs (including first grade coach) in the Bulldogs showbag organisation. A perennial favourite: A- for the Bulldogs bag.

To paraphrase Mark Twain, rumours of the Bulldogs demise were greatly exaggerated. They produced a far better performance, which coincided with a very flat Roosters effort. The heat of the last two Sundays may have played a role here, but a more important factor was complacency. Confirming this was the fact that the Roosters started the second half quite strongly. The Roosters briefly threatened a huge comeback, but once this threat was allayed, the Bulldogs cruised to a big win.

Last – and least – comes the cheapest showbag, but sadly, the falling price hasn’t encouraged any greater support: the Cronulla bag. This bag enjoys fairly strong loyal support from the Sutherland Shire, but its lack of success, penchant for failing in pressure situations and the Shire’s insularity from the rest of Sydney has meant there is little support for it elsewhere. The long-running promise of a major financial infusion for this struggling institution remains just that at this stage; this has meant costs have been cut and hence the 2010 bag comes in that crappy plastic which pretty much falls apart when you touch it. Steer clear from this endangered species unless you enjoy self-torture: F for the Sharks.

The early signs were somewhat promising for Cronulla as they scored first and appeared to be more enthusiastic than the favoured and nervous Rabbitohs. But once Souths easily crossed the line several times, the score-line blew out and the game was over. There was little of note in Souths’ performance – apart from their repeated aerial attacks on Cronulla’s vulnerable fullback Albert Kelly. In the end, Souths would have been happy to get a comprehensive win but the game was awful for the neutral.

On that note, enjoy your Easter weekend and good tipping.