While young Eel Pat O’Hanlon has the best Irish name in the game at present, he is far from the only player representing this under-acknowledged segment of the NRL community. Others of Irish descent include Luke Walsh, Anthony Quinn, Kieran Foran, Todd Carney, Mick Ennis, Shaun Berrigan, Mitchell Pearce, Greg Bird, Sam Burgess, Anthony Griffin, Matt Keating, The Morris twins, Ben Ross, umm… Michael Jennings, (clears throat) Stephen Kearney…….
As with much else in the NRL, even the influence of Ireland is being taken over by the influence of (Pacific) islanders. Anyway, here’s this week’s Roast with a distinct Irish flavour.
St George Illawarra v. Wests Tigers
There was once a young man named Timmy
Who changed teams then did a reneg-y
He was wanted by Saints
But a good player he ain’t
Saints thrashed the Tiges for a big victory
The appearance of Tim Moltzen in an opposition jumper was one factor which was always going to mean a fired-up St George Illawarra team in this game.
However the major motivator, as it so often is early in the season, was the bounce-back factor and the Dragons’ horrid performance last week against the Bulldogs.
The Dragons started strongly and never looked in trouble. In contrast, the Tigers struggled without key forwards Ellis and Galloway and a tough first two rounds made it difficult for them to be anywhere near their best.
Newcastle v. Brisbane
There was once a coach named Wayne
He was the best coach in the game
But his Knights are like strangers
They look to be in danger
Of having many points to regain
While the Knights were coming off a win in Round 2, one expected something of a ‘bounce-back’ from them; in the form of a much better and much more cohesive effort after their embarrassing first-up home match in Round 1.
Unfortunately for the locals, the home team still appears some time away from a decent performance. Brisbane was solid, although not spectacular, but they didn’t fail to take easy opportunities, as Newcastle’s opposition did in Round 2. While the Knights stayed close for a while, it was an easy win for the Broncos in the end.
Gold Coast v. Melbourne
There was once a team on the Coast
They started out better than most
Then the GFC hit
Making their investments sh-t
That and dumb signings mean they are toast
Another wet early evening against a big pack; Melbourne saw this in Round 1 and didn't really like it. While an early try eased their nerves, the Titans had the better of the first half.
Melbourne got going in the second half, but were given a substantial leg-up by the officials. In the lead-up to tries by Duffie and Slater (his first), Melbourne kicked ahead and pressuring chasers were clearly in front of the kicker. This was not identified by the officials or, shamefully, commentators paid to identify such transgressions. The Titans did well against 13 opponents, but not so well against 17.
But speaking of Slater, he set up the try for Duffie then scored two of his own. His second try sent the ignorant, cheerleading commentators into waves of ecstasy, but they should have saved this for the Sheltered Workshop MVP Anthony Quinn's incredible (for him) chip-ahead and try late on. Slater’s second try saw him become the greatest try-scorer for a fullback in the history of top-level rugby league in Australia, but this was somewhat diminished when an inspection of the statistics revealed Rhys Wesser was the previous holder of the record. When questioned yesterday, Wesser thought he only held records for the worst pass ever attempted by a fullback as well as the worst goal-kicks attempted (vs. Canberra in 2005 when he inexplicably took four pathetic shots at goal before being relieved by Trent Waterhouse).
Meanwhile, the crowd at this game was solid but no doubt boosted by an offer of free tickets if the home side lost. Someone didn’t think that through – unless the free tickets are for the local A-League side. As each day brings worse news about the state of the Titans’ finances and investments (both property and players i.e. five years for run-of-the-mill Will Zillman), fears grow that yet another team will fail in this region.
North Queensland v. Parramatta
There was once a coach named Kearney
Whose apprenticeship had plenty of learn-y
But it was the wrong approach
‘Cause he clearly can’t coach
Time to give someone else a turn-y
It rained in north Queensland too but this result was never in doubt. The Cowbores simply had far too much for the Eels, for whom the return on a wooden spoon investment is diminishing each day.
New Zealand v. Canterbury
Young Benny’s been an incredible find
Catching him is like tackling fire
His team stood tall
Thanks to several lucky calls
The video ref must be blind!
On to Sunday’s games and an amazing contest from Auckland. The Warriors were hardly in the contest for the first 20 minutes and the Bulldogs threatened to run away from them.
Then, as the possession started to turn and Feleti Mateo entered the game, the Warriors sprang to life. James Maloney and his family may be homesick now, but surely he’ll be homesick for Mateo putting him through holes when he plays with the Roosters next season.
The Warriors took a two-point lead but lost the game on a few key plays. First up was the Warriors’ soft defence allowing Kasiano an easy try then failing to cash in on a lot of attacking field position.
But the huge plays came from Ben Barba, who was judged to have stopped what looked to be a certain Kevin Locke try, then a few minutes later, set up the match-sealing try with an incredible defence-into-attack run from deep within Canterbury territory.
With that said, the video referee from this game should be dropped to….what does a video referee get relegated to oversee? PlayStation?? Bill Harrigan memorably got the week off video refereeing in 2010 to play in his Over 35’s soccer grand final. Anyway, the video referee took ONE look at Steve Turner’s basketball dribble attempt at scoring a try. While most others saw a bounce, he gave an immediate try.
He then rejected the late Locke try attempt, judging that no skerrick of the ball touched the grass (this seemed unlikely). However, if he was told that the on-field referee thought it was not a try, then it was a fair decision. Basically, the on-field referee should make clear what he thinks happened before going to the video.
While the right team won this exciting if somewhat inconsistently played game, these poor decisions left a bad taste in the mouth.
Sydney Roosters v. Canberra
Yesterday’s game at Allianz Stadium
Was so poor it inspired tedium
But amidst the fans’ cackles
There was some amazing tackles
An ok game, despite skills at a premium
In contrast, this game was error-riddled and (sadly for Canberra) injury-hit. Canberra hung around and nearly snatched the win late on but the aggressive if error-prone Roosters did just enough.
Some random points: can anyone explain why there were so many Canberra supporters at this game? It has been a lean last 20 years for Canberra, I guess one decent win is now enough to get the fair-weather Sydney Raiders supporters to come out. Also, the Roosters, with this win, continued their undefeated home record (as far as can be discovered anyway) when Sexpo is on in Sydney.
Penrith v. Souths
Young Greg was so frustrated
So talented yet so isolated
He never saw any ball
Finally Souths made the call
His involvement and output sharply appreciated
Under Phil Gould’s leadership, Penrith had a big day planned around this game; their efforts in re-connecting with the local community are to be applauded.
Unfortunately, the day on the field could hardly have gone worse. Souths scored after about 25 seconds and raced to a big lead thanks to brilliance from the likes of King, Luke and Taylor as well as adequacy from Sutton. Finally, Greg Inglis, returning to fullback, left tyre marks on poor Lachlan Coote’s chest early in the second half.
Somehow Penrith kept the final margin to 16 points but they were well beaten. Will this one of the half dozen or so games each season when Souths can thrash anyone or will they FINALLY deliver their potential and play like this more regularly?
Cronulla v. Manly
There was once a team called the Sharks
To watch them, you usually needed Arks
But rain is their friend
They’re bigger than Ben
That said, their win relied on much ar$e
Poor weather meant a smallish crowd at this game last night, but surely Cronulla’s coaches and players would have been popping the champagne corks in advance.
In wet conditions, Cronulla’s monster pack is almost unbeatable, while wet conditions reveal how far Manly usually plays above their weight. For their intensity and aggression, Manly is not a big team and they compounded their size disadvantage by giving away too much field position (through errors, penalties and a poor kicking game), especially during the first half.
But while Manly took a good hour to adjust to the game, pretty much everything came off for Cronulla. When Ben Pomeroy is producing offloads – heck, when Ben Pomeroy catches the ball with his stubs/flippers – you know it’s a good night. When Jeff Robson’s kicking game reminds you of Andrew Johns with a gale at his back (How on earth did he not get Dally M points by the way? Of course… Laurie Daley was in charge of the votes), you know it’s a good night. When the video referee mistakes a Paul Gallen lost ball for one of his normal offloads, you know it’s a good night. Finally, when Todd Carney hits a 40-metre field goal and knocks in a conversion off the upright (while Jamie Lyon’s poster bounced out), you know it’s a good night.
By the time Manly got back into the contest, there was under 20 minutes left, yet Manly eventually cut Cronulla’s lead to just 3. However, anything more was too much to ask and Cronulla held on for the win.
See you next week.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Round 3: St Patrick (O’Hanlon)’s Day
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
Round 2 - Bounce Backs and Upsets: How Round 2 is the Most Difficult Round to Tip
As the NRL has become a more even competition over the last decade, this has heightened the importance of collective intensity. The impact of a salary cap with relatively little give from one year to the next (which sees an annual transfer of talent from rich to poor clubs and the thinning of most teams’ depth) and a representative schedule which tends to punish the successful teams means even the strongest line-up can be made to look silly if they play without the necessary desire.
There are few times during a rugby league season where collective intensity seems to play as an important a role as it does in Round 2. Here, teams who started the season strongly must face up to a different challenge: backing up this effort with another one (with only a few measly trial runs on which to build a foundation). Also, those teams who started Round 1 with hopes of semi-finals but crashed to earth are now facing the possibility of starting the season with two losses. Meanwhile, the team who feels good after Round 1 (despite beating only patchy opposition) and the team who played strongly in Round 1 but fell short also face difficult challenges.
Not surprisingly, Round 2 has consistently thrown up surprising results. This cannot be considered a fluke: since 1994, the bookmakers’ favourites in Round 2 have won only 50% of games – the lowest percentage the favourites have won in any round. During the same period, games between first-up winners and first-up losers in Round 2 have also been split equally.
Let’s take a closer look at Round 2, 2012 to try and find some order in a seemingly chaotic landscape.
Manly v. Wests Tigers
The Bounce Back: As Tigers (and Sharks) suffered mightily in oppressive conditions at Leichhardt last Sunday, while Manly had a close contest but in mild weather in Auckland, this looked to be an easy one. Surely the Tigers could not compete so soon after such a draining contest.
The Upset: However, confirmation of injuries to Glenn Stewart and Steve Matai – and a whisper of an injury to Kieran Foran – meant Manly started this game as the outsider. A highly entertaining contest saw the Tigers lead at half-time, but Manly responded quickly after half-time in a manner similar to their start in Auckland a week ago. The Tigers came back late but it was not enough.
Upset, of course, has several meanings and supporters of non-annoying media and/or ground-announcers would have been dismayed by the 3807th instalment of Ray Warren / Phil Gould pretend/contrived arguments as well as the return of Manly’s ancient PA man Grant Goldman. Rabs gave greater evidence of his laziness/stupidity by referring to Dale Cherry-Evans. However, worse was still to come on this front.
Brisbane v. North Queensland
The Bounce Back: Another relatively easy one here, with the Cowbores giving an abhorrent performance last Saturday night while Brisbane had a very easy win against a poor Parramatta team. The talent on the Cowbores meant they were unlikely to play poorly again, while Brisbane was not tested by the Eels.
The Upset: After a slow first-half, the Broncos looked to have lifted sufficiently to secured the win in a high-scoring and exciting match but Little Matty Bowen™ caught Brisbane’s scrum defence out and raced away to win the game for the Cowbores. Ray Hadley, like every other commentator ever, forgot all about Bowen’s mistakes and screamed loudly after the defence failed to take care of a routine play against him.
Hadley’s return to rugby league on television had it all: constantly mentioning a point so a curiosity became a festering sore (the numbers which peeled off many of the Cowbores’ players backs over the course of the game), the race-calling/auction-announcing style for which Hadley is famous and, of course, the right-wing slander of Kevin Rudd, who was at the game in an unofficial capacity. Rugby League will be infinitely poorer if this windbag replaces the engaging, effervescent and sometimes eccentric Andrew Voss in a regular capacity.
Gold Coast v. Canberra
The Bounce Back: While Gold Coast won in Round 1 and Canberra lost, it was quite difficult to gauge how these teams lined up due to the vastly different oppositions. As mentioned, North Queensland was awful while Canberra pushed Melbourne to the limit (albeit in wet conditions which suited the Canberra pack). Given Canberra’s tendency for slow season starts and their unfamiliarity with warm early season conditions (as well as some likelihood that the Titans would be overturn a long slump and finally play well at home), the more likely bounce back was that Canberra would play like the team that should one day get NRL half-wit David Furner fired.
(Seriously Dave, for-and-against points should be adjusted based on post-game analysis of referees’ decisions?!?!?!)
The Upset: A well-played and even first half gave way to Canberra enjoying the better of the second half and recording a strong win, thus recording back-to-back decent efforts early in the season for the first time since…..well before the retard Furner was employed.
Further evidence of Furner’s stupidity was evidenced by the brilliant debut of youngster Jack Wighton on the wing. This is the same wing where Canberra recently signed oxygen thief Michael Bani.
Canterbury v. St George Illawarra
The Bounce Back: Perversely, this one was easy but difficult at the same time. The Dragons almost looked like they were playing a semi-final in Newcastle two Thursdays ago, so a fall back to earth looked likely. However, the Bulldogs took a long time to overcome Penrith, who tried hard but lacked, to put it bluntly, talent in their Round 1 match. It was difficult to establish how the new-look Bulldogs might play in this game.
The Upset: A combination of some injuries to an already depleted squad and some baffling penalties and errors conceded early on meant the Dragons had no chance against an eager Bulldogs side. The Dragons struggled when having to come from behind at their best in the last few years; they looked no chance chasing more than 10 points on Saturday night. Meanwhile, it’s still hard to tell just how good the undefeated Bulldogs are.
Cronulla v. Newcastle
The Bounce Back: An easy one at first glance, Cronulla was unlikely to string two decent games together (given their mediocre talent level and depth) while the Knights couldn’t possibly play as bad as they did in Round 1. However Cronulla’s size across the park threatened to trouble their opponent, while the Knights’ problems looked like they would need several weeks to resolve.
The Upset: Cronulla had a host of excellent chances to threaten the upset, especially in the first half, but failed to convert any of them. Newcastle’s thin lead was rather simply extended early in the second half and the upset was off the cards from then on. Newcastle was improved from Round 1, but only barely; this was not a game to remember. Referee Tony Archer would love to forget his strange decision which gave Newcastle their third try. Former Shark Matt Hilder again proved his worth with an excellent game after Kurt Gidley’s early injury.
Sydney Roosters v. Penrith
The Bounce-Back: While the Roosters stole a Round 1 win over LOL@50uff$ and Penrith lost late on against the Bulldogs, the bounce-back didn’t look a great option. Penrith had enough possession and attacking field position to beat the Bulldogs multiple times over, yet scored just two tries (one off an error). How would they react to the decent likelihood of less favourable conditions? Meanwhile, the Roosters welcomed back Braith Anasta and could have gained great confidence from such an unlikely win.
The Upset: The crash landing some expected from the Roosters did not eventuate; they played quite well, but they could not match the enthusiasm of the Panthers. Given the lack of quality across much of Penrith’s team (with second-rate talent such as Weston, Ciraldo, Newton, Galea, Burns, Tighe…..basically the whole team except Lewis, Jennings and Kingston), new coach Ivan Cleary could be in the running for coach of the year award if they can play with this much heart over much of the season.
Melbourne v. LOL@50uff$
The Bounce-Back: While Melbourne rarely lose at home and LOL@50uff$ rarely win full stop (even if they have the lead with 3 minutes left), the bounce-back was on here. Melbourne looked almost scared of Canberra and their big pack last week. Heck, they rushed Jason freaking Ryles back to remedy this situation. Ryles hasn’t remedied anything in the last decade unless it was a severe shortage of stupid penalties, offloads or being marched back 10 extra metres.
The Upset: LOL@50uff$ looked a chance here, especially in the first half. Issac Luke, massive cannonball-inflicting grub and diving cheat that he is, made a significant difference upon his return from well-deserved and much-too-short suspension. Inglis took a pass from Taylor, wondered what that thing was in his hands (after all, he never gets it passed to him from Souths’ halves) before passing it to Macqueen for a try in the corner. Melbourne looked a little bit like new undies might be needed again this week as Souths’ pack gained an edge.
But before Cooper Cronk could do his best Tim Smith scaredy-cat cross-field kick from 20 metres out from his line in the ’05 prelim final against the Cowbores impersonation again, the Storm settled and slowly took over, led by Billy Slater.
Parramatta v. New Zealand
The Bounce-Back: With Jarryd Hayne set to return from injury and some doubts about the Warriors against under-strength opposition and in early-season games, Parramatta looked likely to – at the very least – improve greatly from their first-up shocker against Brisbane.
Unfortunately the Eels lost Nathan Hindmarsh before kickoff and Hayne not long after, denting their hopes of avoiding a 0-2 start.
The Upset: The Warriors scored some easy tries in this game, but the gallant Eels were somehow only 4 points down within the final 10 minutes. The Warriors, despite looking a little fragile at times, won well in the end. Unfortunately for Parramatta, an improved effort yielded much the same result. The bounce back will have to wait another week.
After all that, favourites won 3 out of the 8 games and the Round 1 loser won 3 out of 4 when playing Round 1 winners, further strengthening these trends of recent years.
Thankfully, tipping (according to the stats) only gets easier from here. See you next week.
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Round 1: The Mardi Grass
Hello all and welcome to the 2012 NRL season. Despite an earlier than normal season start, the overwhelming feeling was one of relief; no longer did time have to be spent pretending to enjoy inane and worn out summer pastimes such as cricket or A-League.
As with season 2011, the Bon Jovi song ‘Our House’ was used to launch the much-hyped kick-off. But with the celebration of rugby league (at least I think that’s what it was: groups of well-built, clean shaven men in tight-fitting clothes getting affectionate with each other at the prospect of scoring) in Sydney’s east on Saturday night, news over the break of referee Matt Cecchin’s ‘playing for the other team’, the appearance on Friday night of other referee Shayne Hayne’s extremely flamboyant moustache and finally the culmination of a massive precipitation event in floods across much of New South Wales, there was a far more appropriate season-opening song.
Here is the review of the main themes of Round 1 in the NRL with the Weather Girls’ 1982 hit ‘It’s Raining Men’.
Newcastle v. St George Illawarra
Hallelujah! It’s raining…. Strangers
While this game ended up going to golden point extra time, it would have been an injustice if the Dragons had lost. They were the far better team, well-drilled, organised, structured and efficient.
However, their attack was lacking and this kept the highly disappointing Knights in the game. For a team with so much history in certain combinations, it was uncertain if they actually met each other before the game (this is only a slight exaggeration) such was their lack of cohesion and any sort of system in attack.
Given his history of simplifying the game for a talented but disparate Dragons team, many thought Wayne Bennett would have helped Newcastle start the season strongly but this was not the case.
Newcastle’s hopes of attracting the neutral supporter this season took a hit when Timana Tahu lashed out after fairly normal provocation. His ‘knee-jerk’ reaction (more jerk than knee; thanks to former tipster Steve Giudice for that one) made Tahu’s aims of State of Origin this season seem laughable.
Parramatta v. Brisbane
For the first time in history, it’s gonna start raining… Sandow disappointment…?
It all started so well, a strong first few sets, a last tackle kick by Sandow which exhibited discipline and perhaps an ability to play wet-weather rugby league, which became a Sandow try after a Brisbane mistake.
However, even though Parramatta showed some resilience in defence to keep Brisbane scoreless during the first half, the distance between Brisbane and several tries looked to be a mere focus on controlling the ball. This was what eventuated. Parramatta never looked competitive once Brisbane stopped making mistakes. Admittedly Jarryd Hayne’s absence was crucial, but it looks like being a long season for Parramatta.
Canberra v. Melbourne
Hallelujah! It’s raining…. Storm fear
Given the persistent rain which fell during this game, the standard of play was very high. Melbourne started with two excellent tries before Canberra responded with the type of play they usually only produce against the Dragons.
However, the main feature of this game was Melbourne’s risky play despite being behind for only a few minutes in the entire game. This was best represented by Cooper Cronk frequently looking to run elaborate plays, either passing or kicking, for his teammates. These were plays Melbourne rarely runs on a dry day let alone one with persistent, heavy rain.
One can only guess why Melbourne did not want to take on the bigger Canberra pack in a low-scoring contest. Melbourne was overmatched in size but they had the major edge on Canberra in experience and intelligence, yet they played as if they were the underdog.
Canberra finally crossed half-way then finally took the lead only for Melbourne to snatch it back just a few minutes later for a 5-point win.
Penrith v. Canterbury
For the first time in history, it’s gonna start raining… Injuries
Of course there have been injuries in rugby league since forever but surely it is time for an extra player or two to be on the interchange bench, who can only be inserted into the game when a player has suffered a significant injury. These injuries just happen, no-one is to blame, yet the team which suffers (in this case, Penrith) faces a tough struggle to compete from then on.
Penrith fought bravely but several late tries to the Bulldogs (which came after more injuries in addition to Michael Gordon’s broken ankle) saw the away team finish strongly for the win.
North Queensland v. Gold Coast
Hallelujah! It’s raining…. Errors
The heavily favoured Cowbores produced the worst performance of Round 1, struggling to score nil and committing a…..Tahu…..of errors in the first half.
It is very humid in Townsville so early in the calendar year but there was no rain and the Titans kept things simple enough (to be fair, they have so little talent they can’t do things in a less simple way) so they deserved all the laughter and scorn from me that they received.
The Titans could hardly believe their luck. Scott Prince can now almost be timed with a calendar and has been on the downhill side of his career for 3 years, they signed 10 props in the off-season but no hooker, five-eighth or fullback but somehow they defeated a team with Feral Thurston and Bowen. Everyone who watched this was poorer for the experience.
New Zealand v. Manly
For the first time in history, it’s gonna start raining… A good grand final re-match
We saw this fairly often in recent years, but finally Round 1 2012 got a well-played match. Even better, it was in a grand final re-match, which so often disappoint.
Manly started brilliantly well, looking to move the ball when possible and exploiting the Warriors defence. Their first 20 minutes was top-shelf, but the Warriors responded with Shaun Johnson mesmerising Manly’s defence.
Manly looked to have won the game early in the second half but the Warriors responded again. In the end, Manly won it after an opportunistic try to Glenn Stewart.
In all, a highly entertaining game, but what have the Warriors done to deserve consecutive years of teams playing brilliantly well against them to start the season?
Wests Tigers v. Cronulla
Hallelujah! It’s raining…. Early-season heat and humidity
Leichhardt Oval is a lot like the Eiffel Tower or the Taj Mahal: they look great on television or on a postcard but they fill up easily, especially in peak season and it can take hours to move anywhere when this happens. Oh and there’s annoying people in the vicinity trying to sell you hot dogs, magazines or replicas of the monument.
Sunday saw the crowds flock to Leichhardt but the week’s crazy weather, which looked like producing more rain, instead provided stifling heat and humidity. When this combined with the heavy-ish track, it was hardly surprising that an outbreak of cramp hit late in the game.
While the home team started well and led most of the way, their failure to take opportunities and a bunch of second half mistakes meant Cronulla should have taken the win. Cronulla was upset by what they perceived to be a series of refereeing mistakes, but at least they have 7 days to prepare after this gruelling match. The Tigers have just five days and the challenge of Manly, who had it much easier (climate-wise).
South Sydney v. Sydney Roosters
For the first time in history, it’s gonna start raining… LOL@$50uffs
It looked to be an intriguing battle in Round 1’s final game, with Souths’ monster pack and all-round size but new-look (through injury and player turnover) ‘spine’ against the Roosters, with their settled, experienced ‘spine’ but a smaller pack of forwards.
A very similar battle took place in 2010. The Roosters won then, but this was played on a warm afternoon. Last night’s game was played in much cooler conditions, which favoured Souths, but the late withdrawal of Anasta gave the home team a greater edge.
Hilariously, Souths failed to capitalise. They were so dominant for most of the game; it seemed that almost every Souths’ run would leave the Roosters looking like nine-pins, while the Roosters struggled mightily to get any field position.
Somehow, the Roosters scored two tries from rare attacking forays but errors and needless penalties gave up field position that even Souths could not fail to score from.
Leading 20-12 with only a few minutes left, Souths stopped attacking. Rookie halfback Reynolds could have put in an attacking kick and perhaps regained possession, but instead kicked the ball hard across the dead ball line.
After a silly penalty, the Roosters scored from the next set and had one chance to win the game. Pearce’s sidesteps somehow led to an opening and Cordner’s kick through was re-gathered by Minichiello for an incredible win.
Losing after being up by 8 with only minutes remaining?
Sutton getting injured after starting a break downfield as well as losing the ball (who else could do this)?
Souths having perhaps the best player in the league at left centre but being almost incapable of getting him the ball?
Their supporters, before the game, holding up banners of the years in ancient history when Souths won premierships but which have greater resonance with people under the age of 70 as the average attendance levels for Souths during the halcyon days of the mid 1990s?
LOL@50uff$
See you next week.
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Round 26: Tuesday Roast™ Awards Night
The NRL season, under the stewardship of former lawyer David Gallop, has settled into a yearly routine which sits nicely with a sport where games can often deteriorate into lengthy periods of set of six, kick, set of six, kick and so on. In this framework, the end of Round 26 is quickly followed by the annual Dally M Awards night. Tuesday night gave us a bevy of well-dressed players, very well-dressed WAGs but also of mind-numbing structure and the same awards night structure that seemingly has been in place for about 15 years.
It doesn’t need to be this way – you can make your point heard and make a difference to this monotony! Well....you can if you run your own NRL tipping competition, complete with weekly write-up.
Anyway, it’s time for the annual Tuesday Roast™ Awards Night. The players and WAGs are just as well-dressed but the casual, mellow atmosphere of Tuesday night is set to be shattered as the more straight-shooting Tuesday Roast™ awards are read out.
The Palm Motor Inn (where Julian O'Neill notoriously "sh*t in Schlossy's shoe" in March 1999) Award for the best off-field incident
This is the most renowned of the Tuesday Roast™ awards, but season 2011 has not provided many potential nominees for this coveted award. We might have to make it an AFL award next season (when the misdemeanours covered up by subservient Victard media are considered).
The nominees for this award are:
* Todd Carney – got the most column inches but his crimes have been fairly tame. Poor guy just loves a drink...
* Nate Myles – now we’re getting warmer. A previous nominee for this award, Myles was a major influence on Todd Carney. Still, Myles lost his way after signing with the Titans for next season and beyond – it’s surprising this sort of thing doesn’t happen more often.
* Michael Jennings – lost trust of his team-mates despite being selected to the NSW State of Origin team, then turned up to an afternoon training session later in the season struggling to walk after a major drinking binge.
Not surprisingly, the winner is Michael Jennings. For a lean year in this area, our winner would rival many from years gone by.
Jennings’ Panthers completed their difficult, but not entirely surprising, 2011 with a loss in Wollongong to the Dragons. Penrith simply had too much to absorb to remain competitive in the top 8 race much longer after mid season. The Dragons, on the other hand, look to have emerged from their mid-season malaise and might well be in a position to time a run to the title.
Penrith’s fall from grace in 2011 was bad, but there was another 2010 semi-finalist whose 2011 was even worse. They had problems with their incumbents but their additions were....awful.
The Chris Walker Award for the worst off-season signing
One should never to be too quick to put an event into its place in the history books, but this award will almost certainly be renamed for season 2012. The nominees are:
* Brett White – the new starting prop and captain for the ex-Melbourne Storm who look rubbish elsewhere team.
* Blake Ferguson – left Cronulla looking for a team who could win. Left the team who hasn’t won ever for one who hasn’t played in a preliminary final since 1997 and such a dysfunctional nepotistic administrative structure that Cronulla will probably win one before them. Throw in the arrogance and the tantrums and it takes some pure AWFUL to prevent him from winning.
* Matt AWFUL – every team he has left has improved (usually markedly) after he left, he basically pulled a Sonny Bill on Bradford in late 2010, he hoodwinked his way into a three-year contract despite being broken and gave Canberra a grand sum of 6 games for 0 wins before he was ‘rested’.
Matt Orford is the worthiest winner of this award. Ever. Please return your 2008 Dally M, fraud.
Canberra’s worst season since the early 1980s mercifully concluded on Sunday when the Bulldogs launched a late comeback in a bizarre afternoon. Canterbury’s decision to sell out to Star Wars meant there was a weird vibe, with storm troopers, Princess Leias and theme music all around. Ben Barba scored another host of tries (no basketball bounces this week though) but Andrew Ryan’s late try almost resulted in a calamitous injury when he tried to recreate the concept of Luke Patten’s staged post-try celebration from last season.
Canberra is in a potential position to win the next two awards in season 2012. Well, definitely the first award:
The Darren Senter “Addition By Subtraction” award
For those not aware, Darren Senter played for Balmain and the Wests Tigers for a number of years, never getting close to a semi-final game. His hard-working but snarly and negative game was grudgingly admired by Tigers supporters but his retirement unleashed the Wests Tigers attacking juggernaut of 2005 and the club’s first premiership.
The nominees are:
* Michael Bani – the more-than-useless Cowboys winger kept stealing game appearances from far better players into the early rounds of 2011 before coach Neil Henry finally realised the error of his ways and the burgeoning talent of Fai Fai Loa.
* Todd Carney – the Roosters looked far better late in the season without his drug-addled spectre hanging around waiting for yet another chance to come back.
* Ivan Henjak – Brisbane’s coach in 2009, 2010 and much of the 2011 pre-season was, by all reports, disliked and hampering the growth of what is now a very talented, mostly young Broncos squad.
The winner is Ivan Henjak. Time will tell, but Henjak’s replacement Anthony Griffin has no obvious or distinctive coaching talents, yet Brisbane is thriving (again). Clearly, it’s not that hard to coach the dominant team in south-east Queensland.
Brisbane’s final game of the minor premiership was Darren Lockyer day and little else. Manly, as they do with everything ever, ruined this game as a spectacle due to their suspended and injured players after last week, but they played gallantly to stay in this game for some time.
The Paul Whatuira “Buy of the Year” award
Paul Whatuira, with his speed and difficult-to-tackle style plus premiership-winning experience, was the key off-season addition for the Tigers in 2005. This year’s nominees are not likely to follow in Whatuira’s footsteps but have made a profound impact on their respective teams. The nominees are:
* Jeremy Smith – people laugh at Cronulla fairly often, but the fact that they able to buy a player ANY team would have must count for something. Smith had an excellent year, although (again) suffered somewhat due to injury.
* Neville Costigan – Costigan is the hard man amongst hard men i.e. Newcastle. Strangely though, they are a somewhat fragile team collectively despite being full of hard heads like Costigan, Hilder, Edwards and De Gois. Wayne Bennett will be happy to coach Costigan again next year after missing him badly in 2011.
* Dallas Johnson – there were concerns Johnson might vie for a spot on the ex-Melbourne Storm team of players who suck elsewhere, but clearly his body and his concussion-addled brain still had at least another excellent season in them. Feral Thurston would have loved some more guts in the pack like Johnson after the Cowbores have sucked so bad since 2005.
The winner is Dallas Johnson. Even if the Cowboys go out in Week 1 of the finals, the additions of Johnson and Glenn Hall were brilliant additions to a team which always has talent but rarely delivers.
The draw somewhat unfairly sent the Cowbores to Auckland in the season’s last round, but the Cowbores gave a strong account of themselves after a scratchy last month. With that said, they lost to two Krisnan Inu tries – not a great thing to put on the CV.
The final two player awards are both named after halfbacks from the Hunter, who had vastly different career paths.
The Andrew Johns “One Man Team” award
It’s been a few years now, but Newcastle fell apart whenever Johns was injured. It still amazes that Danny Buderus is held in high regard despite his inability to do anything without Johns. The nominees for today’s Johns are:
* Feral Thurston – he was not the one-man-team he quite was in previous years, with Little Matty Bowen™ having some excellent games with Feral out injured.
* Michael Ennis – the Bulldogs’ season never really got back on track after Ennis missed some games with injury/representative duty. His injury eventually saw the other Bulldogs learn to play without him, but it took quite some time and cost the Bulldogs a top 8 spot.
* Paul Gallen – once (still) a grub but now a superhuman forward, Gallen played this role for Cronulla but also New South Wales. People laughed when he named prop for State of Origin 2, but to play a full game in that position, with little prop help on the team, was almost unprecedented, certainly in the modern day.
The winner clearly is Paul Gallen. Interesting to note that each of these players are considered amongst the more irritating players in the NRL. Can we conclude ‘grubbiness’ is just misplaced effort??
Another season with some bright wins but more tough losses ended on the latter for Cronulla on Saturday night. The Tigers looked vulnerable after 7 mostly easy wins but a few dubious refereeing decisions and some Robbie Farah desire saw the Tigers stumble across the line.
The Michael Witt Award for the worst drop-kick/field goal attempt
In 2004, Michael Witt sent supporters of the game into rapturous laughter with a line drop-out at Penrith which, while attempting to loft the kick just across the 10 metre line and win back possession, ended up returning back across the goal line and finished up in-touch in-goal. The nominees for this award are:
* Chris Sandow – Sandow is an excellent field-goal kicker, but his premature celebration after kicking several late-game (but not that late) field goals which were then superseded by opposition tries gave supporters many laughs.
(Speaking of Souths and humour, I hope everyone enjoyed Souths’ second-straight calamitous effort when presented with a win-and-you’re-in game in the final round of the season. Surely the funniest moment was after Newcastle jumped to a 76476476-nil lead after 20 minutes, the Channel 9 cameras cut to the “LOL@50uffs” signs in the crowd)
* Jamal Idris – his first and surely only drop kick came with a line drop-out against the Warriors. He held the ball like he’d never thought about attempting a drop-kick then slipped over in the kicking motion. It would take some effort to beat this.
* Jason Ryles – some forwards have kicked field goals before (Nathan Cayless and Ian Hindmarsh come to mind) but Ryles’ attempt to win the game from 40 metres out against Souths – followed by finger-pointing and shouting between various Roosters – was almost a season highlight. The kick itself wasn’t that bad, but the fact this long-time target of hilarity was in the wrong place at the wrong time....Champagne comedy!
The Roosters completed a very good end of season run in an entertaining win over a deliberately under-strength Melbourne team. Rumours have long swirled about the Roosters and betting in late-season, unimportant fixtures and the way the Roosters celebrated and the way the money flowed for the Roosters with the points start..............
The Tuesday Roast™ awards end with the two team awards.
The Luke Carroll & Anthony Prince ("Dumb and Dumber") award
Carroll & Prince were young Australian men living in Vail, Colorado in 2005, when they decided to rob their local bank. Balaclavas may have hidden their appearance, but their distinctive Australian accents meant their identity was well known to employees of the bank and they were easily apprehended.
The nominees for stupidity in the NRL in 2011 include:
* Gold Coast Titans – sadly the Titans aged before our eyes, going from premiership threat to basket-case in months. However, their stupid signings for 2012, loading up in positions where they remain strong and not buying anyone in the important spine positions, should ensure the Titans remain near the cellar next season.
* Canberra – two words: Matt Awful. But this is not the Dally Ms so we need another team to win this award.
* South Sydney – somehow this team, who has had to suffer through John Sutton’s inconsistency and one-in-eight game glimpses of talent for close to a decade, chose to re-sign Sutton and allow the more talented, harder to replace Chris Sandow to leave the club. Sandow responded by having a brilliant second half of the season. Sutton will, almost certainly, tease Souths with some excellent games but ultimately disappoint. A lot like Souths themselves really.
Well done to 50uffs – for many supporters, seeing the Rabbitohs get close but (again) fail to make the finals made their season. It never gets old either!
Finally, appropriately, the last award to the team that finished last.
The Western Suburbs Magpies 1999 “Worst Team in the NRL” award
The nominees are:
* Sydney Roosters – who had a disgraceful middle 12 rounds, where they couldn’t score in a brothel and were not even remotely entertaining.
* Canberra – they lifted against the Dragons but sucked against almost every other team in every other match. Would have been worthy winners of the spoon in almost any other year, except for
* Gold Coast – the Titans were somewhat unfortunate to suffer mightily with injury (although it was hard not to laugh at Clinton Toopi’s injury – vertigo. It sounds like an injury Michael Hagan would have – actually, it was. Couldn’t they have made something up that sounded remotely like a footy injury?) but they aged rapidly during 2011 and were deserving winners of the wooden spoon. Were it not for horrendously lucky wins against the Dragons and Raiders, they would have threatened the mighty Magpies’ points total from 1999.
Well done to the Titans, Parramatta certainly did not deserve the wooden spoon.
That brings an end to the tipping season of 2011 and the tipping competition under its current structure (for obvious reasons). Thanks for your patronage and hope you enjoyed the competition.
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Round 25: Good Calls
“If I had to tip a draw, I’d go for….Parramatta and Roosters. I’d choose a night game (more slippery) and two teams not at their best or not very good.” Edited email from Tuesday Roast to tipster Mark Lawson 26/8/11
Had Parramatta been able to hold on to the ball in the late going, their Friday night game against the Roosters could very well have ended in a draw. Let’s take a look back at Round 25 in the NRL from the perspective of good calls made before or during each game.
Manly v. Melbourne
“Who should we have on the cover this week? Glenn Stewart and Adam Blair, they’re both due a big game…”
Yep, there was a relatively minor fight which, as we all know now, became a massive all-in brawl when the aforementioned protagonists (who were on the front cover of Big League) became reacquainted near the sideline.
In a way, it was unfortunate this game descended into farce, as Manly looked to be well on top of Melbourne and a thorough, 13-a-side thrashing would have given the season a different outlook. As it turned out, the game died a slow death after Tony Williams extended Manly’s lead into double figures late in the first half.
Melbourne looked unwilling for a huge game before the brawl, they looked well and truly due for a loss, but we’ll never be quite sure about that. Check back on this rivalry in a few weeks to see exactly what effect this game had on both teams.
Parramatta v. Sydney Roosters
“They had a great combination last year, Frankie Paul and Braith, remember they scored a couple of tries down in Melbourne, look like they trying to bring that back….(singing) Bring it back, Bring it back….”
Brad Fittler’s insane ramblings from the commentary box complemented this raggedy but nevertheless entertaining game. After an even first half hour, Parramatta again took another solid lead into the heart of this one but couldn’t land the knockout blow. Then, like night follows day, Parramatta gave up another lead.
The game’s final 10 minutes were hectic, as the Roosters dominated and equalised the game, but just couldn’t win it. They had a host of field goal attempts blocked, one of which Jarryd Hayne tried to kick like a soccer ball to the other end of the field. Finally, another Parramatta error led to Braith Anasta’s looped game-winning field goal.
Canterbury v. Newcastle
“Ben Barba, preparing for his NBA debut in the months ahead”
These two teams still had top 8 intentions but delivered a wacky game which would have been far more believable coming from two cellar dwellers. In the first half, Newcastle dominated like few teams in recent history have dominated a first half. Yet, after half time, the Bulldogs returned the favour.
But they only sealed the win with Ben Barba’s second try; a try which wouldn’t have looked out of place on a basketball court given how high the ball BOUNCED. Blind Freddy could tell it bounced but blurry footage and the stupid separation rule meant it was good enough. Bollocks it was.
North Queensland v. Cronulla
“Cronulla with the (+15 ½) start”
This was another excellent call from Tuesday Roast; the Cowboys haven’t been anywhere near their best for a while now. They needed a greater challenge to get themselves prepared mentally than the seemingly gummy Sharks.
Cronulla started well and even held the lead for most of the game. The Cowboys’ cause was not helped by a season-ending injury to Tariq Sims, however they stayed close enough to sneak home with the eight-point win.
Canberra v. Penrith
“Might just check the Canberra Penno result on the phone ay?”
Certainly a good call here from much of the male population of Australia. The possible exceptions here of course were those who wanted to watch Canberra legend Alan Tongue’s last game at home.
As Canberra has for most of the 2011 season — heck, for all of the season except the Dragons game — they disappointed again in this one, failing to match the Panthers’ enthusiasm. Lachlan Coote returned from a long injury lay-off to again garner too much enthusiasm from the commentators (just kidding) but it was Luke Walsh who starred in the win.
On to Sunday’s games and a few misheard referees calls…
St George Illawarra v. New Zealand
“HELD!”
Brisbane v. South Sydney
“FOUR!”
The Warriors had only won once in Wollongong in their entire existence but they looked likely to overcome this jinx with a fast start. However the Dragons might have turned the corner and be ready to again contend this season — especially after events on Friday night. The catalyst here perhaps was Mark Gasnier’s try, which came after Beau Scott was seemingly held in the tackle for an age. Still, there was (gradual) movement and the Warriors should have (cliché alert) “played to the whistle”.
An entertaining first half in Brisbane gave way to a messy ending. Some flashes of brilliance from both teams were seen in the first half; Brisbane took a deserved lead to the break. However, Souths’ premiership run might have stalled for good with a sloppy second half, which featured a major lack of attacking variety or structure, but – more embarrassingly – several occasions where Souths players failed to produce any kick option on the last tackle.
Wests Tigers v. Gold Coast
“Maybe they had a lower…sense of security”
The final game of the round saw the Tigers easily account for the overmatched Titans. On the Fox commentary panel was the often punch-drunk Brett Kimmorley; this was a tough game to make his Monday night debut, given the mismatch between the teams. Nevertheless, his efforts in talking up a Titans comeback in the early minutes of the second half were probably greater than the combined sum of his efforts on the field over 15 years. Never mind that the Titans never looked like scoring against a set defence. This would have been quite annoying to Tigers supporters and neutrals alike, except that Kimmorley’s punch-drunk-ness always produces a few stumbles, such as the one quoted above (referring to possible complacency on the part of the Tigers).
The round ended with a good call by the Tigers; Robbie Farah went for the seemingly meaningless field goal, up by 28 with 5 seconds to go, but this field goal was the 45th of the season. Since 1971, when the value of field goals fell to one point, this is now the fourth most field goals in any one season and the most since 1987, when the likes of Neil Baker were potting field goals almost on a weekly basis.
See you next week for the final Tuesday Roast of 2011.
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
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.
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Round 23: State of the Game
In this week’s Roast, we take a look at some dominant trends in the NRL in 2011.
Dominance of (TAB) Favourites
With a return to allowing more physical play in tackles (meaning slower play-the-balls) as well as all teams continuing to make gains in strength and endurance, one of the outcomes has been for those teams with more talent and skill to win more often.
Hence, the bookmakers have done a better job at predicting winners in 2011 than in any time since the NRL returned to a 16-team competition in 2007 (and probably better than any season since 2002 or 2003). As of Round 23, they are tipping at a 66% success rate for the season (compared to 60%, 63%, 62% and 61% at this stage of this season over the previous four seasons).
Lower Scores (& Tighter Margins)
Similarly, scoring is down in 2011 more than any season since 1996. The average score by any team in a game is 19.4 points. This number peaked in the early 2000s as the game’s administrators believed scoring was what supporters wanted (and tweaked the rules accordingly). Since then, slight rule re-adjustments and continued gains in fitness and strength saw points scored fall back. Wet conditions for a greater-than-normal part of the season were also a factor this season.
Not surprisingly, the above factors have seen the average margin of victory in the NRL fall to its lowest level in the NRL’s history (i.e. since 1998) of just 13 points.
More Field Goals
Following on from above, lower scores, closer contests and more wet conditions have led to a greater use of field goals in season 2011. There have been 39 field goals kicked so far in 2011; this is greater than in any full season since 1997, with the field goals per game statistic higher than in any season since 1993.
With 6 more field goals over the season’s final 3 rounds – certainly not out of the question, given players who love to kick a field goal even if it’s not entirely necessary (such as James Moloney, Chris Sandow and Luke Walsh) – this season’s field goal tally will be the fourth highest in the modern era (i.e. after 1970, when the field goal’s worth was reduced from two points to one).
Dominance of Premiership-Winning Coaches
In every season since 2000, there has been 3 or less former premiership winning coaches with teams in that season’s top 8 finals series. This probably explains the 55% success rate for non premiership winning coaches in grand finals during this time.
However, this season will almost certainly be different. Barring the unlikely outcome of Canterbury leapfrogging both Souths and the Tigers into a top-8 spot, there will be at least 4 premiership winning coaches in this year’s top 8, with the possibility of 5 (if Souths pushes Newcastle out). If this does happen, it will be the first time a finals series has featured 5 former premiership winning coaches since 1998 (when it was a top-10 finals).
But….So Few Grand Finals Between Premiership-Winning Coaches
Perhaps 2011 will see the end of a quite amazing drought when it comes to premiership-winning coaches. Since 1970, there have only been three grand finals featuring a match-up of former premiership-winning coaches. Two of these three took place in 1990 and 1991, when Tim Sheens and Phil Gould took their teams into battle.
So much for premiership experience off the field being a vital component of a team’s success….
Difficulty of Winning 5 Straight After Final Origin Weekend and Winning Premiership
Finally, let’s examine the historical obstacles Melbourne (and, to a lesser extent, the Tigers) will run into trying to win this year’s premiership.
With solid wins in Round 23, Melbourne and Wests Tigers each won the five games following the round after the final Origin game. Since 1999, 15 teams have done this (17 teams if you include going undefeated for five games, as opposed to winning all five games).
Only three of these teams went on to win the premiership: Brisbane in 2000, Canterbury in 2004 and Wests in 2005. Most of the rest of these teams fell at either of the final two hurdles in an NRL season.
Melbourne will more than likely have to overcome winning the minor premiership in order to win the 2011 premiership. Since 1999, only four teams have won the minor premiership and gone on to win the premiership: Brisbane in 2000, Penrith in 2003, Melbourne in 2007 and St George Illawarra in 2010.
That should be more than enough for you to ponder… On to the games from Round 23:
Friday’s action shamefully started (in NSW) with Penrith taking on the Tigers, as opposed to the Cowboys against Brisbane. This was not surprisingly a far better game but featured Australian elite rugby league’s first 350-game player in Darren Lockyer. Anyway, the Tigers let Penrith hang around for a while but won quite comfortably in the end. The far better game in Townsville was broken open by several Brisbane long-range tries. Lockyer mentioned some significant injuries he has received in Townsville, but Brisbane has very happy memories of the far north, with just two losses there in their history.
Saturday kicked off with another cracker in another rotten timeslot: New Zealand up against Newcastle. Both teams needed this one to stay clear of the chasing pack and an excellent game was seen. Newcastle had the better of the early going, but the Warriors continued their pattern of strong second halves and came home with the win. Next up, the resilient Eels once again came close to defeating a highly-ranked opponent, but some very cheap points given to Manly early in the second half saw Parramatta record yet another close loss. Finally, Melbourne easily accounted for the Gold Coast, but an injury to Cooper Cronk will make their final few weeks a little trickier than they would otherwise have been.
Sunday started off with Souths continuing their red-hot form smashing Canberra. With any luck, Souths will register another well-received ninth placed finish, but their last few weeks, whilst brilliant, surely can only be teasing the likes of Lang, Crowe and Richardson. Incoming coach Michael Maguire should probably avoid watching lest he thinks they normally play so well. The late game saw the Roosters play their best and most intense game in many years. But this should not detract from the fact that St George Illawarra was poor, especially the supposedly fit Jamie Soward, who should have worn a skirt given how he played.
The round ended on Monday with one of the worst games of the season. Somehow Canterbury has won two games in a row and remains in finals contention. I guess you can only beat the teams you’re drawn to play…but it’s hard not to see their season ending against Manly this weekend.
See you next week.
