Round 24: No No No No NO!

2011 has been an interesting year for prolific rugby league analyst Phil ‘Gus’ Gould. While much has remained the same in his life — his dislike of the salary cap, News Ltd. and much of the game’s administration amongst other things — quite drastic changes in his physical appearance coincided with changes in his analytical style and job title/s.

His return to club officialdom with his first club Penrith, in addition to an already hectic workload, has probably detracted from the quality of his analysis this season. It is still unclear whether being overworked led to his decision to stop pretending he possessed the vibrant hair colour of a much younger man, but it was likely a contributing factor.

His rapidly changing colour prompted many laughs over recent months, but his in-game commentary has also suffered somewhat this season. True, his sometimes-funny-but-mostly-silly banter with Ray Warren has continued, while at times his analysis has been excellent. But the emotion has been somewhat lacking, in particular with some now-famous catchphrases that became prominent in recent seasons.

Maybe, like all teams are aiming to do at this time of year, Gould is pacing himself, saving the emotion for the big games, preparing to finish the year strongly. Whatever the reason, here’s a look back at Round 24 with thanks to some of Gus’ famous catchphrases.

Melbourne v. St George Illawarra

The Dragons started strongly here; they threatened to catch a slow-starting Storm on the hop. But the Storm got going and, despite the close score-line, were never really threatened after half-time.

No No No No NO! Coming up against Melbourne is perhaps the worst environment for an out-of-sorts playmaker to recapture his form, but poor Jamie Soward struggled mightily in this game. His desire might be there to play through pain, but his still-fragile confidence is battered and the Storm made his night a miserable one.

Wow! WOW!!!!! Melbourne’s Gareth Widdop was a capable replacement for Cooper Cronk. While not possessing Cronk’s super-intense focus and ultra-clinical playmaking abilities, Widdop’s feel for the game and ability to find gaps put the usually well-prepared Dragons’ defence on the back-foot. If Cronk is Steve Waugh, then Widdop might just be Mark Waugh.

South Sydney v. North Queensland

Given the awful conditions, this was one of the better games of 2011. After an even first half, the Cowbores took a 12-point lead with under 15 minutes left and victory looked almost certain. But the resilient Rabbitohs weren’t beaten and some Chris Sandow brilliance took the game to extra time. Again, the Cowbores should have won, but Bowen’s field goal attempt hit the post. The ensuing set saw Souths march down the field, but before a field goal attempt of their own, Issac Luke forced the officials to gift the game to his team with his questionable conduct from what should have been an immediate penalty (but often is not, given referee reluctance in extra time).

This game was also noteworthy for the big individual match-ups: the star Indigenous halfback (Feral Thurston) against the up-and-coming Indigenous halfback (Sandow) but also the battle of the oddly named brothers (Tariq Sims – brother of Ashton – against Fetuli Talanoa – brother of Mark). Someone at Souths has a sense of humour…

Don’t get me started, Rabs, DON’T GET ME STARTED! Many would expect this to go to Issac Luke or to the weak on-field referees, but Cowbores five-eighth Ray Thompson – in conjunction with the Channel 9 commentators – are worthy winners here. Thompson had some nice moments in this game, but made a bunch of mistakes, yet the commentary was excessively positive. His basic late-game kick into the corner and into touch might as well have been a spiralling torpedo from 60 metres out into a fierce gale, based on the reaction of the commentators. It wasn’t as bad as the all-time commentary overreaction, Lachlan Coote’s debut for Penrith in 2008, when Coote struggled mightily, missed all 4 attempts at goal but somehow won Man of the Match, but it wasn’t far off.

Love the Sunday afternoon at the Footy! Chris Sandow’s output in this game swung wildly on the successometer, even within the space of a few minutes. Brilliance was followed up by unprecedented failure, which was shaken off to be followed by more brilliance. Souths can cope with the lows because the highs are becoming higher and more frequent, but one wonders whether Parramatta and their rigid structure will do the same in 2012.

Gold Coast v. Canberra

In contrast, this was one of the worst games of 2011. Both teams were running very low on confidence, although, to be fair, they were also running low on much of their first-choice squads. The Titans somehow found four tries and this was enough to hold off a late Raiders comeback.

No No No No NO! In a game full of poor choices, next to zero confidence and baffling mistakes, a standout was Canberra’s Reece Robinson, who took a kick-return early in the second half, ran towards the sideline with little deception or variation and subsequently was taken across the line with ease. How can Daniel Vidot be behind this hack in Canberra’s pecking order???

Wow! WOW!!!!! Gold Coast’s Greg Bird was almost a lone competent player in this game, especially given that he was playing with a broken bone in his hand. Hard running, solid tackling, always a threat to the defence: there were about 20 of these players in some other games over the weekend, but only a couple in this abomination of a game.

Penrith v. New Zealand

Once again, Penrith fought hard against a big-name opponent and probably should have taken an early lead, but the Warriors are on a roll at the moment. Their knack for creating tries out of very little again came to the fore in this game, ensuring they were never seriously threatened.

Don’t get me started, Rabs, DON’T GET ME STARTED! Clearly, the decision to play Michael Jennings at fullback for Penrith was more disciplinary than an opportunity. Jennings clearly had never played fullback before and appeared to have not even done much preparation for the role. It wasn’t quite as bad as the infamous Braith Anasta game at fullback – which also took place against Penrith, where former Panther Brad Fittler was the offending coach – but it wasn’t far off.

Love the Sunday afternoon at the Footy! New Zealand’s arsenal of speed was again on show in this game, with Kevin Locke and Shaun Johnson wowing the crowd with blazing long-distance tries. The Dragons will be hoping for rain to limit the speedy Warriors’ opportunities on a dry track this weekend.

Sydney Roosters v. Cronulla

If only the Gold Coast and Raiders could have played with the same spirit and desire as these two also-rans. Despite being out of top-8 contention, these teams provided an entertaining and intense game on Saturday night. Cronulla emerged from their recent funk to lead for much of the game, but the Roosters finished with a flourish to overcome a tough opposition, but also a poor record in 2011 in the next match for those who have beaten/drawn with the Dragons.

No No No No NO! There were some poor decisions by the officials in Round 24, but without doubt the worst of them came in this game. Just before half-time, Paul Gallen surged towards the line, but the ball was stripped out by Roosters defenders. After the ensuing struggle, John Williams grounded the ball for Cronulla (which was subsequently awarded as a try) but incredibly the video referee missed Gallen knocking the loose ball into Roosters defenders – an obvious knock-on to all supporters – on no less than THREE occasions.

Wow! WOW!!!!! To the Roosters themselves, who in winning this game, achieved some significant feats. First, they continued to shine without the soak Todd Carney. Also, they finally moved above a team they have defeated in 2011. In other words, their wins in 2011 have come against teams all above them on the ladder. Lastly, this was the second time in 2011 where the Roosters finished with three late tries to win by 11 points.

Manly v. Canterbury

For some reason, the Bulldogs always play well at Brookvale and Sunday afternoon’s game was no exception, as the Bulldogs played their best game for perhaps several months. Manly did little to convince those who have become somewhat wary of their chances for ultimate premiership success, but once again, they did enough to hold off a gallant opponent. That said; the Bulldogs had several excellent opportunities to really threaten Manly.

Don’t get me started, Rabs, DON’T GET ME STARTED! The Bulldogs had an excellent chance to win this game but blew it in a couple of key plays midway through the second half. Firstly, Jamal Idris broke through the line and flung the ball towards try-sneak Ben Barba, but Barba couldn’t hold the pass with the try-line wide open. The pass was high, but still catchable. The next play was worse though, as Steve Matai’s quick run from dummy half – accompanied by an ‘off side!’ call towards the referee somehow confused the Bulldogs’ defenders into letting Matai run free. His try here basically ended the game.

Love the Sunday afternoon at the Footy! After years of frustration for his supporters, Manly giant Tony Williams appeared to have finally realised how effective he can be on Sunday. Notorious for his soft play, Williams rocked Greg Eastwood with a vicious shoulder charge in the second half. It was a big hit, without question, but Eastwood probably suffered more from shock, given the surprise source of the jolt.

Wests Tigers v. Parramatta

Much like the Bulldogs at Brookvale, Parramatta often plays far better against the Tigers than they do against many other teams. However, on this day, the Tigers largely performed as expected. Parramatta tried hard, but they were not able to keep the margin close this time.

No No No No NO! Parramatta came back into this game early in the second half, but a routine scrum play from the Tigers became a try after Jarryd Hayne failed to complete an easy tackle on Blake Ayshford. In all likelihood, Hayne will be a very good five-eighth, but mistakes such as this – not to mention his failure to make best use of his brilliant kicking game – will frustrate Parramatta supporters for years to come.

The Tigers are my FAVOURITE team to watch! The Tigers continue their run of playing well when expected to: this was a rare commodity earlier in the season. This solid play was seen despite the absence of a number of key players. Hence, the likes of Flanagan and Brown were excellent in relief of much bigger names.

Newcastle v. Brisbane

In recent years, Newcastle has performed excellently against Brisbane at home, and with the prize of a top-8 spot almost confirmed with a win here, they figured to be a decent shot to continue this run. However, after a scratchy first half, Brisbane had the better of the second half, and after holding Newcastle out early in the stanza, they did well to create and realise several try opportunities. The Knights were brave, but injury-hit and never really threatened in the last 25 minutes.

Don’t get me started, Rabs, DON’T GET ME STARTED! Newcastle was a good chance to come back and take the lead early in the second half, with much sustained attack. However, they blew their best chance when Kurt Gidley failed to use his support after breaking into the Brisbane back-field. He was tackled just short of the line and Brisbane scored soon after, which was the start of the end of this game for Newcastle.

Love the Sunday afternoon at the Footy! Brisbane’s excellent form of late continued for the most part in this game and was again fuelled by several potentially very good up-and-comers. The main contributors here were Yow Yeh, Glenn and Jack Reed, but there were several others who could have filled this role. Any new Brisbane team in the next few years will have to overcome 25+ years of Broncos’ dominance in the market for young stars in SE Queensland.

See you next week.