Hello and welcome to all participants of the Tuesday Roast NRL tipping competition. The Olympic Games may have come to a close, but I’ve been given the honour of presenting this week’s Tuesday Roast and let me tell you I couldn’t be any prouder right now.
We’ve seen many an Australian hero in Bay-jing over the last two weeks, but the NRL provides gold medal performances each and every week: just witness Darren Lockyer’s effort on Friday night in Brisbane. Aww gee, what a special effort that was, getting up out of his sickbed to lead his team to an incredible win in Golden Point. It reminded me so much of the great Michael Jordan, who put his Chicago Bulls on his flu-ridden shoulders.......
.....in the 1997 NBA Finals. I remember the first time I saw the great man play: it was the Los Angeles Olympics of 1984 and even back then you could tell he was special. This was before the Dream Team concept mind you, but aww gee what an athlete. The ’84 American team was renowned as one of the all-time great pre-Dream Team lineups, with Jordan, the behemoth Patrick Ewing and the sharpshooter Chris Mullin, all of whom featured on the original Dream Team in Barcelona in 1992.
So anyway I’ll take you through some of the gold medal efforts in the NRL from Round 24, but the similarities between the NRL and the Olympics don’t end there. Both seem to enjoy scandals and drama and both have elements many want to see removed: I’ll get to both of those a bit later. We also can’t forget that many Australians who watch both have a healthy amount of xenophobia and both currently have a strong dislike of their British counterparts (and both are trying to use Britain as an excuse to get more funding).
But enough of the bad news about the NRL and the Olympics: why dwell when there’s so many good news stories in the NRL’s Centenary season. That reminds me…the Centenary Olympics in Atlanta. Aww gee it was hot, but you forgot all about the heat when Michael Johnson was racing…..
Where was I? The good news stories of the NRL and Brisbane Gold Coast on Friday night. Suncorp Stadium – the old Lang Park – what an amazing ground it is, but more importantly for NRL followers, almost every game played there is top-shelf. This is only the Titans’ second season in the NRL but they have a wonderful rivalry with their older brothers up the road in Brisbane. Brisbane started strongly when Joel Clinton barged over, but Gold Coast dominated the rest of the first half. Can I just say I love Preston Campbell? Sure, he’s no Cathy, but he’s not far off. Preston had a wonderful first half, but he backed up in the second with a broken jaw. Aww gee, what courage, what toughness!
But Brisbane have become experts over the years and holding out the best an opponent has to offer and then coming back with their best and this game was no different. Lockyer guided the ship around but he had important help from Admirals Wallace and Ennis and Gold Coast was sinking fast. Somehow they found a life raft in the form of a surprise try and the game was tied at 20-all.
With under 10 minutes left, the field goal shootout began and gee three of the game’s best battled it out. Lockyer, who won the corresponding match last season, Prince and Rogers (with his surprisingly long boot): with a top-4 spot on the line for Brisbane and death staring Gold Coast in the face if they lose this game, a battle for the ages loomed!! Up stepped Lockyer, who gave Brisbane the lead, but a strip by Rogers gave Gold Coast one more chance and Prince took it to golden point!
Unfortunately for the plucky Titans and heroic little Preston, Lockyer won the game for Brisbane by stepping past the rushing defence and setting up the try for Eastwood. Two years running for Brisbane and Lockyer winning this fixture, but I couldn’t help shedding a tear for Preston and the Gold Coast, so gutsy and just falling short.
The other Friday night game didn’t have the dramatic quota as seen in Brisbane, but aww gee, if you wanted two teams skilled in the much-maligned arts of overly physical play and cross-kicking (a new event to the NRL), then you came to the right place.
The Roosters have one of the biggest packs in the NRL but they were no match for Cronulla’s size plus enthusiasm. Their cross-kicking attack and defence was also no match for Cronulla, so the Roosters were lucky to reach zero.
Cronulla is also world class at killing the game and taking penalty goals. Luke Covell, he’s no Olympic sprinter (if anything he’s more of a shot putter), but he fits Cronulla’s game plan to a tee.
The Saturday night games saw a double-header at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney. Aww gee, so many memories. And I’m sure that’s what Wests Tigers supporters are thinking now, because they wouldn’t really want to remember too much about their embarrassing display in this game. Manly took a while to get going though so the scoreboard remained close for most of the first half, but Beaver Menzies and Brett Stewart led Manly on a point-scoring blitz. Such a tragedy that Beaver has been forced to ply his trade in England next season, but Stewart could very well overtake him at the top of the try-scoring list by the time his career is over. He may not have a classic running style, but they said that about Michael Johnson too didn’t they? Gee I love watching Stewart and Menzies play…and Glenn Stewart and who could forget the Barry Dawson look-a-like himself in Luke Williamson? David Williams too (who’s keeping Michael Bani out of the team)… I love them all actually.
Next up it was Parramatta and the Bulldogs. Now I know the Eels cop a lot from their own supporters (and other supporters) for not playing at their best all the time, but to the critics I ask this? Do you perform your best at your job all the time? I thought not. You cruise and lift when needed. I’d go so far as to call this the Australian way. You may think I’m an exception to this rule, but covering every Olympics since 1980, it’s even been tough for me to get excited at some events in Bay-jing (I really do miss Heike Dreschler and Sergei Bubka you know). And when the AFL’s ludicrous scheduling gives me a Friday night game between teams 10 and 13 to call, who could blame me for sounding less than…special?
So I can relate to Parramatta and their lackadaisical attitude for most of the time. Some said Parramatta should have thrashed the Bulldogs, but they didn’t need to, did they? They stayed close enough, lifted when needed and won by more than enough. There are plenty of other teams who can’t peak at the right time: I wouldn’t like to be them right now.
The final Saturday night game was a tragedy. Sure, Newcastle blew North Queensland off the park in the first half to do enough for a solid win, but Danny Buderus’ bicep injury…what a tragic way for such a wonderful player to end his career. At his peak, he was the Scottie Pippen to Andrew Johns’ Michael Jordan, but his contribution after Johns’ retirement to Newcastle was even more important. When Brian Smith was tearing down the Knights to rebuild them, Buderus led the team and kept them solid amidst growing criticism, even from local Novocastrians. Now Newcastle is on the road to contending for a premiership in the next few years and Buderus played a vital bridging role.
Sunday’s first game was at the Olympic Stadium again, but there were fewer people at this game than lining up for food on Cathy’s special night in 2000. That said, both teams enjoyed boisterous support from a small band of loyal supporters and an interesting game ensued. Canberra started quite strongly (as they have during their recent amazing run) but Souths dominated the final 25 minutes of the first half and threatened to score their second straight high-scoring win over a top-8 opponent.
But after half-time, the Canberra juggernaut re-emerged and their crusade to bring long-range tries back into rugby league continued. As Colin Best strode out like a gazelle and ran over the top of defenders, I couldn’t help but see him in the green and gold on the track: what an athlete he is. Souths’ defence held him in the first half, but when Simpson showed Best the sideline early in the second half, Best took it and scored. David Milne is another amazing athlete (in the mould of Billy Slater) for Canberra; incredibly he’s only getting regular action because of Canberra’s injury crisis, but when Campese put him into a gap later in the second half, Milne sprinted away for an easy try.
Speaking of Canberra and the Olympics, you wouldn’t be surprised if the drug testers were keen to have a word with Campese and Best, would you? Both had shown signs of class in their careers so far, but they have been at (or very near) the best in the NRL since mid-season in their positions. Gee aren’t the Raiders a wonderful story though? Unfortunately they suffered two more season-ending injuries on Sunday, but they will be everyone’s second-favourite team for the remainder of the season (they’ll be my equal-favourite team – with every other team – though).
Sunday afternoon got even better when we thrashed New Zealand! The Warriors, with one or two exceptions, looked flat against a surprisingly sharp St George Illawarra at Wollongong on Sunday afternoon. If it wasn’t for Wade McKinnon, Brent Tate and maybe Steve Price, the Warriors would have been blown away. The Warriors are one of my favourite teams, but they’re crying out for a halfback. Someone like Lockyer, Preston or Campese maybe. They had the effort but their execution let them down terribly. Only McKinnon’s nose for offloads kept them in the game in the first half.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, the Dragons built upon the promising signs they showed against Brisbane last week. Their attack was crisp, their use of the inside ball confused the Warriors’ defence, but most importantly, the Dragons’ big 3 of Gasnier, Cooper and Ryles (ably facilitated by the very underrated Dean Young) were all at their best: a key point approaching the business end of the season. Aww gee, the match-up between these Dragons and Parramatta in Round 25 – two of the best at not playing to their potential, but lifting for big games – could be a beauty!
Finally, last night’s game saw Melbourne barely get out of first gear but still destroy Penrith. Craig Bellamy – what an incredibly driven coach he is. Even this late in the season and facing a potentially dangerous team such as Penrith, Bellamy’s team took care of business in an efficient, disciplined manner. Bellamy’s authority, control, discipline and motivation remind me of coaches from the former Communist countries, such as gymnastics coaches of the Soviet Union and East Germany. Their subjects give a rigid, robot-like impression and are not very popular but both are extremely effective at dominating their sport.
That’s all from Bay-jing and from Round 24 of the NRL. A big thanks to Bruce (but more so Rob Sitch and the Champagne Comedy of the Late Show circa 1992): see you next week.
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
Round 24: A special Roast from Bruce McAvaney live in Bay-jing
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Round 23: The Roundup about Nothing
With Season 2008 winding down towards the finals, it’s no surprise to see emotions rising across the league. The parity throughout the NRL, the increasing importance of refereeing decisions and the vast financial difference between winning several finals games and missing September play entirely mean plenty of unhappy teams after each round. Even teams who win at this point in the season can feel pangs of frustration: if only we’d played this well for most of the season!
Most of the losing teams (and several of the winning ones) from Round 23 could therefore probably use a good laugh to forget about their inconsistency, the fact they started their season about 3 months after most teams, their bad luck, their embarrassing effort or their capitulation to a bogey team. Rugby League is an intense game, played mostly by those with sub-normal intelligence and has lurched from one crisis to another over much of its 100-year history. Yet if you look closely enough, there’s plenty of laughter to be had.
Without further ado, here’s a breakdown of each game in Round 23 with the assistance of Seinfeld.
Brisbane v. St George Illawarra
“GEORGE: So, attractive one day - not attractive the next?
JERRY: Have you come across this?
GEORGE: Yes, I am familiar with this syndrome -- she's a two-face.”
The Dragons have long been notorious for losing (or, at the very least, performing poorly) in games they are expected to win, while winning in games when few, if any, pundits give them a chance. In this season alone, they’ve beaten the Roosters and Manly as heavy outsiders, but lost to the Tigers (twice), the Cowboys and Canberra (twice) all as strong favourites.
On Friday night, the Dragons – losers of 4 of their past 5 games – faced an almost must-win situation against Brisbane. Brisbane was missing important players in Hunt, Hodges, Carroll and Eastwood, but the Dragons were arguably missing more with Poore, Soward, Morris, Woolford, Creagh and Setu all absent.
Soward’s absence meant former Rabbitoh Ben Rogers came into the side. Rogers has long been lauded as a player with potential, but there is a gaping chasm between the best and worst of his game: both parts were seen on Friday night. From early on, it was apparent the Dragons’ effort was there, but their combinations – in both attack and defence – were off mostly because of the number of key players missing.
Brisbane repelled the Dragons’ early attack and looked sharp in replying with two tries of their own. They probably should have extended their lead but the Dragons hung on and replied at the other end. Actually it was more of a roar: Wendell Sailor’s post-try scream and spike of the ball was the catalyst for a remarkable comeback.
For a 25-minute period after Sailor’s try, the Dragons lifted considerably, but most importantly, they got Mark Gasnier and Matt Cooper heavily involved. Wendell Sailor may be past his prime and a shadow of what he once was, but if his verve can inspire a previously insipid Gasnier, then Sailor’s signing will be money extremely well spent.
Brisbane recovered from the shock of the Dragons’ onslaught, came back into the game themselves and hence gave us another Suncorp Stadium classic. Brisbane’s cause was aided considerably by a host of Dragons’ mistakes (including Rogers’ horrible midfield bomb with 10 to go) and an amazing try to Moon gave Brisbane one last chance at victory.
Ultimately, however, it was another Dragons’ win against the odds, and another Dragons’ result in line with past trends. This year, they’ve beaten Brisbane (twice), Manly and Newcastle: teams (and venues) they’ve owned over the years, but lost to Canberra, the Tigers and Cronulla for the umpteenth time since the merger took place. What a weird, strange but always entertaining team the Dragons are.
Speaking of one team dominating another, Parramatta had won 7 straight games over the Wests Tigers coming into last night’s game, but punters were split as to what would happen in this one. Parra’s win over the Roosters last week could have been a stepping stone towards a belated improvement or a once-off in a highly disappointing season, while the Tigers were coming off a largely indifferent few weeks and are not the same team at night, but impressed mightily in recent victories over the Dragons and Souths.
Whichever team turned up and wanted a vital 2 points would have a huge leg-up towards victory here. Disappointingly, for supporters of both the Tigers and of a competitive contest, Parramatta’s stranglehold over the Tigers is now stronger than ever before.
Parramatta v. Wests Tigers
LEVITAN (to George): You can't win. You can't beat me. That's why I'm here and you're there. Because I'm a winner. I'll always be a winner and you'll always be a loser.
A local derby. A very important game (given the upcoming draw) for finals contention. A game to stand up to your tormentor. The Tigers had so many reasons to – at the very least – put in a huge effort in this game, but Parramatta dominated them – again. Once they saw the Tigers’ defence wasn’t looking to hit hard and once they saw the Tigers’ defence would allow them to offload almost at will, Parramatta knew it was only a matter of time before the tries would come. Throw in a few Tigers mistakes and some penalties as the frustration mounted and the game was basically over inside 20 minutes.
It could be said that Parramatta was lucky in some parts of the game, but Parramatta made most of their luck. The botched last-tackle play where Hayne had to get a kick away hurriedly was followed up by a great chase to pin Hodgson in his in-goal area, while Hindmarsh’s try in the first half was the result of a much greater effort on the part of the Parramatta chasers than the Tigers defenders.
In fact, the luckiest play of the first half was the Tigers’ lone try, when the wind caught a Finch bomb and took it many metres backwards. The ball was kept in by Williams but the opportunistic Benji Marshall was in the right place at the right time to keep the Tigers (just) in the contest.
When the Tigers were the first to score in the second half, the deficit was just 10 points with over 25 minutes left, but a mistake – from the ensuing kick-off no less – led to the next Parramatta try and certain defeat.
The Tigers’ best hope might be to spike Parramatta’s drinks (like George did in the above Seinfeld episode) before their next game. Alternatively, they could try something revolutionary (like discussing a basic strategy to limit Parramatta’s strengths and working on it in prior games) and hope that works.
This defeat virtually put an end to the Tigers’ hopes of playing into September. Instead of being remembered as the innovators of this era, their place in history now risks being a trivia question, an asterisk or a bizarre footnote: which premiership winner never made the finals before or after their only triumph?
While Parramatta used their game against the Roosters as a springboard to a top-shelf effort, it became clear on Friday night that the Roosters’ loss to Parramatta exposed a number of faults that received an 80-minute examination by a typically intense Melbourne Storm.
Melbourne v. Sydney Roosters
FRANK: Let me understand, you got the hen, the chicken and the rooster. The rooster goes with the chicken. So, who's having sex with the hen?
GEORGE: Why don't we talk about it another time?
FRANK: But you see my point here? You only hear of a hen, a rooster and a chicken. Something's missing!
MRS. ROSS: Something's missing all right.
When the Roosters defeated Melbourne in Round 3, the Roosters’ size and intensity saw them dominate a Melbourne team coming off a loss (Melbourne hadn’t lost two in a row for two years). Melbourne was kept scoreless for over 70 minutes in this game and rarely had any field position to do anything about this.
The Roosters would have seen Manly threaten to do a similar job on Melbourne last week, but they have largely been in a slump since the conclusion of State of Origin: this was shown clearly when they failed to inflict defeat on Parramatta last week. Parramatta has talent, but a forward pack as loaded as the Roosters should never lose the battle to a pack such as Parra’s.
There was only a small chance of the Roosters turning this around in just 5 days and this chance fell to zero after the first play of the game. Melbourne didn’t score, but they showed this game meant a great deal to them. Any chance of a letdown after their Origin-like game against Manly was shot down in seconds.
As any champion team will tell you, as the wins pile up, it becomes more difficult to summon the necessary motivation to keep on winning. When the Storm spread the ball wide from the opening kick-off, they showed they had turned up to defeat the Roosters (by making a mockery of their compressed defensive line), but also to make a point to Channel 9’s Peter Sterling.
Sterling called Melbourne “boring” earlier this year for their rigid structure and their lack of passing when in their own half. Never mind that this is the most effective way to play the game under the current rules (unless you’re blessed with a highly-skilled and stable playing roster; this is a pipedream under the current Salary Cap). The Storm refuted Sterling’s criticisms in word previously but in action on Friday night. To Sterling’s credit, he immediately praised the Storm for their efforts.
Melbourne did well to hold out the Roosters’ early attack and responded with 20 unanswered points in the remainder of the first half. This was enough for victory as the Roosters rarely threatened to even cross the line, let alone look like winning the game (although the Roosters were unlucky to lose Aubusson to concussion and not have a recognised dummy-half on the bench to replace him).
While Melbourne backed up well from a bruising Melbourne v. Manly game at Brookvale, the same could not be said of Manly. For the second straight year, they slumped to an unexpected defeat after playing Melbourne at Brookvale. Despite having the prize of a minor premiership to play for, they failed to turn up with their usual intensity and decided to take their chances in a high-scoring shootout: not many teams with premiership ambitions take this route on a regular basis.
South Sydney v. Manly
GEORGE: Your wake up guy asked you out?
ELAINE: Yeah, I've never seen him but I feel like we have this weirdly intimate relationship. I mean, I'm lying in bed, I'm wearing my nightie,
JERRY: I don't know. Blind date?
ELAINE: What? You're going to go out with my cousin Holly. You've never met her.
JERRY: Yeah, but I've seen pictures of her.
ELAINE: At least I've spoken to my guy. You're going out on a deaf date.
JERRY: I think I'd rather go out on a deaf date than a blind date. The question is whether you'd rather date the blind or the deaf.
ELAINE: Ah, . . .
GEORGE: Now you're off on a topic.
JERRY: You know, I think, I would rather date the deaf.
ELAINE: Uh hu.
JERRY: Because I think the blind would probably be a little messier around the house. And let’s face it they're not going to get all the crumbs. I'd possibly be walking around with a sponge.
GEORGE: You see I disagree. I'd rather be dating the blind. You know you could let the house go. You could let yourself go. A good looking blind woman doesn't even know you're not good enough for her.
ELAINE: I think she'd figure it out.
Seinfeld often featured silly discussions like this. Every so often, they can be fun to watch or partake in, but they’re generally quite unsatisfying.
High-scoring shootouts are the silly discussions of the NRL. Once upon a time, Souths never came close to being involved in a shoot-out, but they’ve been involved in 7 legitimate shootouts since April. Can’t you just see Hegarty and JT discussing how you must have a buffer zone for your parents, or Hegarty not reacting well to suggestions from JT, Vagana and Lana about his “jerk-store” comeback??
Manly is capable of scoring a lot of points, but this usually results from physical domination rather than a back-and-forth shootout. To keep the metaphor going, it’s impossible to imagine Hasler laughing at anything.
Once it became clear Manly hadn’t turned up, Souths clearly relished the prospect of another shootout. They even inexplicably let Manly right back into the game (even after Matai was sin-binned) and gave up the lead. But once Souths is in shootout mode, this doesn’t matter, and Sandow and Merritt were pivotal in yet another Souths’ shootout win.
While Souths love the shootout, Cronulla continues to take their chances in low-scoring grinds. This worked very well for most of the season, but they have struggled somewhat in recent weeks. Cronulla blames the referees or injuries or the weather when it’s clear they can’t score enough points. They’ve had to play their backside off all season long just to compete and they don’t have the extra gear good teams have at this time of year.
New Zealand v. Cronulla
George: Did she do it on purpose?
Jerry: It was my fault, I told her the wrong door.
George: I was supposed to see her. She wasn't supposed to see me.
Jerry: So what?
George: Well ordinarily I wouldn't mind. But...
Jerry: But...
George: Well I just got back from swimming in the pool. And the water was cold...
Jerry: Oh... You mean... shrinkage.
George: Yes. Significant shrinkage!
Jerry: So you feel you were short changed.
George: Yes! I mean, if she thinks that's me she's under a complete misapprehension. That was not me, Jerry. That was not me.
In short (no pun intended), Cronulla is making excuses for poor performance when it is a historical fact they can’t produce at this time of year. The Warriors are a tough team to play in Auckland, especially when facing high-flying opposition, but this game was tight enough and the Warriors made more than enough mistakes for Cronulla to come back into the game, but it never looked like taking place.
Just a few weeks back, the Cowbores v. Titans game seemed certain to be a great game for anyone who needed a good reason to catch up on sleep. Scott Prince and Feral Thurston were out with long-term injury and both teams struggled mightily to find anyone to adequately replace them.
North Queensland v. Gold Coast
Jerry: Oh, hi Gennice.
Gennice: Hi Jerry.
Jerry: This is George, this is Kramer.
Gennice: Nice to meet you.
Jerry: Playing today?
Gennice: No. I'm on the bench today.
Jerry: They really stick to that understudy rule.
Kramer: So (Bette’s) coming?
Gennice: Oh, yeah, she'll be here. . . .(DROPS HOT DOG) Oh no, my frankfurter, my frankfurter fell (sob sob sob sob) . It was really good. I can't believe that I dropped it. (sob sob sob sob)
Jerry: It's okay…it's just a hot dog, (still sobbing) everything is going to be okay.
Gennice: No it (sob) was really good.
While no-one accused the girlfriends of Travis Burns and Josh Lewis of taking Feral and Prince out of action, Burns and Lewis cry a lot, have been major disappointments and are about as popular as Bette Midler’s understudy in the above quote.
This game became far more promising once it was confirmed both Feral and Prince were going to play and an entertaining game ensued. Gold Coast threatened to run away with the game at times, but the desperate Cowbores hung on and reined in Titans’ leads on several occasions. Ultimately, Gold Coast held on. They may still make the finals but they may find more solace in being a spoiler in the next few weeks.
Canberra and Newcastle were among the upper echelon of teams form-wise before their game on Sunday, but their precarious ladder position meant a loss for either team could have severely reduced the odds of a finals berth. Newcastle started slowly, but they trailed by only 4 late in the first half, despite too many mistakes and errors. Buderus implored his team to stay calm, stop giving the ball and field position away and they could come back, but his efforts could not prevent an extremely frustrating afternoon for Newcastle.
Canberra v. Newcastle
Estelle: You're not gonna give away that waterpik!
Frank: You wanna bet? Serenity now, serenity now!
Lloyd: You know, you should tell your dad that 'serenity now' thing doesn't work. It just bottles up the anger, and eventually, you blow.
George: What do you know? You were in the nut house.
Lloyd: What do you think put me there?
Buderus knew the importance of this game but Newcastle could not help themselves: they continued to give away penalties and the ball. When the white-hot Campese helped create two tries before half-time, Canberra was going to be very difficult to run down. Newcastle didn’t quite need to be committed, but they weren’t far off: there were signs that they were troubling the Raiders, but Canberra again won well due to Newcastle’s ill-discipline.
Lastly, Penrith thrashed the Bulldogs on Saturday night. The Bulldogs again capitulated on the field (which was understandable) but they also capitulated off the field by caving in to $BW and Mundine and receiving what will end up being a pittance from them. One can’t help wondering though if the Bulldogs were overjoyed at the prospect of getting ANYTHING out of Mundine at all that they jumped at his first pathetic offer.
Penrith v. Bulldogs
Kramer: It was a great lunch, Jackie. Thanks.
Jackie: It's a little puzzling we haven't gotten that offer yet.
Kramer: Mrs. Wilkie, from the tobacco company called me. We had a little pow-wow.
Jackie: A pow-wow? Who told you to have a pow-wow? I didn't tell you to have pow-wow.
Kramer: She made an offer. I took it.
Jackie: How much?
Kramer: No, no, no. There was no money.
Jackie: No money? Then what'd we get?
Kramer: Check it out. (They see a Marlboro man billboard with Kramer on it)
Jackie: This is the most public yet of my many humiliations.
See you next week.
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Round 22: Where the NRL's dream (almost) came true
In recent years, the NRL has become increasingly proud of the parity across the competition. The variety amongst premiership winners, the competitiveness amongst lower-ranked teams and the difficulty for higher-ranked teams to dominate are now standard. While there is little doubt the more even competition has come at the expense of across-the-board quality and significantly diminished the incentive to innovate (the Wests Tigers are a beacon of hope here), the latter minor competition rounds have become increasingly interesting in recent years. Since 2005, this has been seen not only with the high number of games with ramifications on the ultimate makeup and order of the top 8, but also where teams either out of contention or hanging on to the faintest of hopes can inflict a blow on higher-up teams.
The games in Round 22 gave us an intriguing mix of matchups between highly-ranked teams, between teams vying for top 8 spots, between highly-ranked teams and lower teams but where the lower teams had strong reasons for hope and lastly there was the wooden-spoon "battle" which was fairly entertaining (although, at times, this was unintentional).
The game of the round saw Manly take on Melbourne. Much was made of Manly's excellent record over Melbourne at Brookvale Oval, but their wins over Melbourne there in the last 2 years came before a State of Origin (where Melbourne was without several of their key players) in 2006 and after a State of Origin (which saw many of Melbourne's key players having to back up) in 2007. This time round, Melbourne was at full strength. They seemed to have passed their annual post-Origin slump (i.e a loss) and were no doubt motivated by the possibility of winning at such a tough venue.
Meanwhile, Manly had to make a stand. Melbourne thrashed them in last year's grand final and earlier this year: they needed a win (or at the very least a competitive loss) to remind the Storm of their presence.
Manly made an uncharacteristically nervous start, but once Matai put a huge hit on Cameron Smith, they had the edge physically over the Storm. Unfortunately for Manly, they lacked enough of the prowess to convert this physical dominance into sufficient points. Melbourne looked somewhat shaky and vulnerable at times, but with Slater, Cronk, Folau and a simple, well-rehearsed and effective playbook, they produced points at crucial times. These points gave Melbourne the edge on the scoreboard but also gave them temporary respite from Manly's almost unrelenting attack.
While Melbourne held on for the win, it was unclear who came out of this game feeling better about their prospects. Does Melbourne have another gear to cope with Manly's edge in the physical department? Or will they rely on their defence holding out (just) and conjuring up points when they need them? Manly had to feel very good about how their size worried Melbourne, but can Matt Orford make the right last-tackle option against a very good defence? Time and time again, Orford made poor decisions or executed poorly when a well-placed kick would likely have led to points or another set of tackles.
Also on Friday night came the first of the games involving middle-of-the-road teams: St George Illawarra v Wests Tigers. There is a feeling of unease putting the Dragons into that sentence, given their excellent efforts against many of the best teams in the NRL. But they are also well-known for disappointing their supporters when expected to win. Throw in some key injuries (Ryles, Poore, Creagh and the uninjury to Gasnier), the Tigers' dominance over the Dragons in recent years and that this was the Dragons' 3rd game in 11 days and the outcome of this one was difficult to predict. This was despite Wests' horrible form away from home and at night or in the wet in recent years and that they'd basically only played one very good game in the last few months.
The Tigers took a slim lead to half-time, which became even slimmer soon after, but the much-maligned Tigers' defence held firm for the remainder of the game and when Benji Marshall streaked away in the game's dying minutes, this was another one that got away for the Dragons. Admittedly, the Tigers needed this win more than the Dragons did (purely from a table perspective): look for a much-improved Dragons' effort this week when they take on Brisbane in Brisbane (a ground where they have had much success over the years).
Saturday's first game saw the high-flying Broncos take on the desperate Warriors. Brisbane was brilliant against Canberra last week, but they were without the rude Justin Hodges, the tardy Sam Thaiday, the under-the-thumb David Stagg and the aging Tonie Carroll in this game: four important outs. Meanwhile the Warriors rushed Wade McKinnon back after knee surgery in February and rearranged the deckchairs on their halves Titanic and brought back Michael Witt. A loss for them here almost certainly meant the end of the season (given their poor for-and-against) but they historically lift for the arrival of the Broncos.
It was apparent from early on that (again) the Warriors had turned up to play, but (again) they struggled to turn this into points. It was also apparent that Brisbane would not be able to repeat their effort from last Sunday, but they looked quite confident of victory. Hannant's try (following excellent work from Ennis, Hunt and Lockyer) gave Brisbane a deserved 8-4 lead. The Warriors had plenty of attacking ball, but they rarely threatened. Brisbane supporters and Matt Orford would have taken comfort from the Warriors' halves ongoing struggles, but the Warriors took a surprise lead to half-time when a well-worked play from a scrum saw McKinnon score.
New Zealand extended their lead after half-time, as Witt pounced on a loose ball from a cross-kick, but they were unable to put the Broncos away, in part due to Witt's poor goal-kicking. Brisbane cut the Warriors' lead to four points late on and threatened to snatch a late win, but the Warriors survived. They were perhaps a bit lucky not to be penalised for several late tackles on kickers throughout the game: this was a surprise given the referees' recent crackdown on this area.
When Brisbane came out somewhat flat in their game, one expected Canberra (Brisbane's opponents last Sunday) to do likewise, especially in freezing conditions in Canberra on Sunday. Luckily for them, Penrith was missing Luke Lewis, but after 20 minutes, the score was 12-all and Penrith was right in the contest. Twenty-five minutes later, Canberra had a 32-point lead: HUH?! Obviously, Canberra suffered no ill effects from last Sunday and once they got their high-octane attack into gear, Penrith was no chance. Penrith's defence was brutally exposed by Canberra's decoy runners / second-man plays, while young Wade Graham was targetted and let in several tries as well.
Clearly, while many teams have a similar points total, there is the possibility of blowout scores if one team's effort is far below the other. This was seen (to a lesser extent) last night on the Gold Coast, where the understrength locals were blown off the park by a rampaging (at times literally) Newcastle. The Titans started strongly and threatened to open the scoring, but Newcastle's defence held solid. Once Adam MacDougall put McManus into space and Gidley finished off their good work, the tries came at a pace almost as fast as Canberra's. Newcastle's lead was 16-6 at half-time and a try to the Titans may have made the game interesting, but Newcastle scored from the first set of the second half. They may not have a huge say over who wins this year's NRL - they may not even make the top 8 - but watch for them in years to come. Size, strength, speed, skills, depth, youth, smarts: they have it all. Their potential is frightening.
Many have said similar things about Parramatta, but not in such glowing terms. Finally though, they seem back on the right track: they brought the right attitude, led for most of the game, their attack gave glimpses of its amazing potential and they held on for a very important win over the disappointing Roosters. One could almost call the Roosters the schoolyard bullies of the NRL: when things go their way and get out to a strong lead, they almost always win and win well, but when someone stands up to them, their most common response is to run home in tears. To be fair, they did beat Melbourne, Newcastle (once), the Tigers and the Bulldogs (with a very understrength team) in games where the opposition gave them a tough game, but more often than not, a loss is the result in games like this. They get a great test of their mettle this week when they travel to Melbourne: the Storm will no doubt be vulnerable after their Origin-like game against Manly.
The final 2 games of the round saw Souths put in a disappointing effort against Cronulla and the Cowbores end their months-long losing streak over the Bulldogs. For Cronulla, to dispose of a lower team with a strong and high-scoring win (especially a team that has given them trouble over the years) was noteworthy, but Souths showed little of the verve they displayed against the Warriors last week. The Cowbores - Bulldogs game provided some nice tries (especially rookie Ben Barba's in-and-away) and a so-bad-it-was-hilarious attempt at a short kickoff by Daniel Holdsworth late in the game, but was generally quite poor.
Hopefully, now the wooden-spoon race is on, these two teams (and Souths) can throw some spanners in the works of contending teams and provide more interest for the season's final few weeks. The NRL certainly hopes so. See you next week.
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
Round 21: The Lesser Known Overseas Threat to the NRL
What began as a trickle is now a steady downpour and threatens to become a deluge. The NRL/ARL/NSWRL’s status as the code’s premier club competition is being increasingly eroded by the NRL’s relatively stagnant financial state.
Whereas once it was only the occasional high-profile player or the aging star that chose to move to Rugby Union or to the English Super League, now we are seeing more players – of all skill levels – looking to ply their trade in more lucrative settings.
The threats to the quality and quantity of NRL rosters from England and Rugby Union are well-known by all League followers. The potential damage from the new threat of French Rugby Union has some suggesting the NRL can no longer compete, should merge with Rugby Union, or that any merger would be ultimately futile when the NFL finally realises the size and strength of athletic talent on our shores.
While some people need to step back for a second and think about how silly they sound, Rugby League has to realise it is part of the global sporting village now (just as Uncle Rupert and co. always – and only – wanted I’m sure) and must be prepared for codes/leagues from larger markets to lure their best players away.
One can imagine the white board at NRL headquarters contains all known threats: English Super League, Rugby Union, NFL and the AFL.
But what about Sumo Wrestling: the 1000-pound gorilla in the room…literally? Since Rugby League bid farewell to the National Panasonic Cup in the late 1980s, Japanese interest in the game was confined to having the Toyota name attached to Cronulla’s home ground.
This minimal contribution seemed destined to remain until after an impromptu Saturday afternoon karaoke session for some visiting Toyota executives in June last year. These execs thought they had hit the jackpot: they found a bar which served sake as well as showing Rugby. Alas, the bar attendant thought they were referring to the NRL: the execs were baffled not only by this foreign game, but also by the unusual attire. Skin tight lime green for half the players and skin tight blue and gold for the others – what countries were these two teams representing?
However, before an explanation could be sought, the execs became transfixed with the action on the screen. Specifically, two rather heavy-set players, Weyman and Riddell. The skin tight uniforms did not flatter them at all; they did not share the much more athletic builds of their team-mates. But the dislike between them was unmistakable; the execs could not help but picture them in much more forgiving attire, trading blows and verbal barbs in front of a much larger crowd than the few thousand at Bruce Stadium that night.
The execs returned to their sakes when Weyman was sin-binned that night and the tension between Weyman and Riddell never returned to pre-sin-bin levels as Canberra thrashed the Eels, but these execs would never forget their first game of NRL.
Senior management at Toyota was sceptical of sumo talent emanating from somewhere as unexpected as Australia, but once they saw the vision of Weyman and Riddell, they decided then and there Toyota would become financially involved with Rugby League: the potential was enormous. As discussions progressed during 2007 for a National U/20’s competition – with significant exposure on Fox Sports – Toyota saw their opportunity and the Toyota Cup was born.
Hang on, you might say, Weyman signed with the Dragons for 2009 and 2010. This is true. But look a bit deeper. The red and white, the aging emperor (known as Bennett-san), followers who remember ancient victories like they happened yesterday: the Japanese influence at the Dragons is unmistakeable. When Mick Weyman is the next player to run (relatively speaking) from the NRL and he fools everyone by arriving in Tokyo, remember where you heard it first.
To bring an end to the world’s longest segue, as a tribute to the looming Japanese threat to our great game, this week’s Tuesday Roast will feature the ancient Japanese poetry known as haiku.
Manly v. Penrith
Manly rebounded
Even short-handed, they don’t
Lose two in a row
Manly missed Anthony Watmough and Glen Stewart badly in last week’s loss to the Roosters. They fell behind 18-0 early on and were never in the hunt. Watmough was still missing (as was Lyon and King) but Stewart returned this week. His impact was immediate and significant. Stewart’s size and skills gave Manly’s attack another dimension, as they jumped to an 18-0 lead of their own.
Penrith was missing their own top-shelf second rower in Frank Pritchard, but while Penrith was brave, Manly’s imposing display in the first 25 minutes was too much for them. The enigmatic Pritchard would probably not have made much difference. Penrith brought an excellent away record (8 wins in their last 11 away games) into this game, but they never significantly troubled Manly in this one.
Manly take on Melbourne this Friday night in what looks like a grand final preview. Melbourne shared the spotlight with Manly in Round 21:
Melbourne v. Gold Coast
The banged-up Titans
Were like lambs at the slaughter;
A crushing Storm win
Even though Gold Coast rushed Mat Rogers back and even though Melbourne was playing their 3rd game in 11 days and backing up from a tough game in the wet in Auckland (and the ensuing long flight), this was never close. The 24.5 points start offered on FootyTAB was cancelled out before half-time. The jury is still deliberating as to how Gold Coast could have thought Josh Lewis would do any better than Brad Davis in the sacrificial lamb half-back role against the imposing Storm defence.
Bring on Friday night: Manly has won the last 2 v. Melbourne at Brookvale, but both of these games were played during Origin season. No excuses this time.
The Dragons love excuses, mostly because they perform better when they have them. They performed admirably for most of Saturday night, but fell (again) to Cronulla in a close one.
Cronulla v. St George Illawarra
Gutsy Dragons’ win
Was on, but bad play / good luck;
Sharks by (just) again
The Dragons were missing Gasnier and Ryles and had to make do without Morris (fullback) for most of this game. However, as long-time Dragons supporters will tell you, some of their best performances can come without many of their big names (Gasnier, in particular, seems to be doing his best Trent Barrett impression in his last days as a Dragon).
Cronulla enjoyed the majority of possession and field position in this game, but could not cross the Dragons’ line; they butchered several good chances (how Pomeroy didn’t score with only Jamie Soward to beat still boggles the mind) as the Dragons’ defence held firm.
This pattern continued into the second half, as early Cronulla attack was repelled by continuing hard work from the Dragons and salt was rubbed into the wound when the Dragons scored from a rare venture into Cronulla’s area.
But Cronulla didn’t lose focus. A combination of Dragons’ mistakes, poor refereeing decisions and some good luck for Cronulla saw the Sharks come back into the game. They dominated possession and field position over the game’s final 25 or so minutes and overhauled a 12-point Dragons lead.
Cronulla didn’t totally dominate play during this time: the Dragons made some good plays, such as tackling Brett Kearney into touch as he returned a kick with about 10 minutes to go. But each time, they made a mistake of their own to give Cronulla more ball: in this case, Chase Stanley dropped the ball the tackle after the scrum which followed Kearney’s mistake.
As the Dragons often do, they were stung by losing the lead and almost won the game in the last minute. They elected not to try for a field goal and extra time (which, given their record in close games, was probably a good idea) and instead went for the win. A broken play in the game’s final minute was an unlikely source for Cronulla’s defence to be stretched; the Dragons had an overlap. In hindsight, perhaps putting the ball through hands would have been more successful, but the surprise grubber kick from Matt Prior came within centimetres of being another Morris try.
Cronulla held on for yet another close win – incredibly, their for-and-against is only +15 despite winning 7 more games than they’ve lost – but it was a crushing loss for the Dragons. They look set to have even more excuses next week: Poore and fullback Morris will be out, Gasnier and Ryles may not be back, it will be their 3rd game in 11 days on Friday night and this game is against the Tigers, who have a good record against the Dragons.
The Roosters are a more conventional team than the Dragons: they win and lose when most expect them to do so. So even though they fell behind to the Cowbores, a Roosters win was never in doubt.
North Queensland v. Sydney Roosters
The Cowbores tried hard
But they suck: easy Chooks’ tries
Meant a comfy win
A glance at the ladder confirmed the Roosters needed to back up their win against Manly with more of the same against the Cowbores. They started quite well, but the Cowbores amazingly responded with four tries before half-time. Sione Faumuina is a frequent and easy target, but he was having a significant impact on this game, while the Roosters’ defence of cross-kicks was again called into question as the Cowbores scored several far-too-easy tries by this source.
But the Roosters didn’t panic: they kept the Cowbores scoreless from this point on and added four tries of their own in the game’s final 50 minutes or so to win comfortably.
The best teams are often noted for doing only what is needed to win games, but Brad Fittler would probably prefer Round 22 opposition more lively than Parramatta to give his players a test.
The New Zealand Warriors overcame the difficult test of beating Melbourne in Round 20, but a tricky game awaited them in Round 21. Souths had lost two straight since their great winning streak, but they welcomed back Isaac Luke and it quickly became apparent they were stung by their poor effort in Newcastle last week. The Warriors too put in significant effort, but errors cost them dearly. Still, the overwhelming feeling after the game was one of dé ja vu.
Souths v. New Zealand
This time, Souths snuck home –
(What goes around comes around)
– But got the bad call
Round 7 2007: New Zealand got out of gaol against Souths at Homebush, but were robbed of a try, when the video referee deemed Steve Price’s standard prop play (the hit-and-spin: turning into the defensive line and passing back to a team-mate in the process of making a hit-up) unfairly prevented Souths’ defenders from tackling the Warriors’ try-scorer. This abysmal ruling saw the NRL immediately (again) tinker with the obstruction rules.
Round 20 2008: Souths scored an impressive long-range try midway through the second half. The referee was within milliseconds of awarding the try, but an impassioned appeal from Warriors halfback Grant Rovelli convinced him to go to the video referee. The try was correctly denied, but Rovelli’s actions would not have been out of place on the cricket field. While the try was correctly denied, the review should never have happened. The on-field officials completely missed Craig Wing’s miniscule but pivotal involvement in the play: that should have been that. Souths should have received the try.
Thanks to Rovelli’s actions, the Warriors stayed in the game and probably should have won. Their effort – often a concern when playing lowly-ranked teams – was there, but their bad hands cost them possibly 3 tries. Ultimately, Souths’ goal-line defence won them the game in one of the more entertaining games played this season.
On Sunday, Brisbane and Canberra’s game also fit this description. Brisbane had looked decidedly apathetic in recent weeks. Even the challenge of playing Cronulla saw them coast for much of the game, content that a small lead was enough. But against Canberra, they produced a vintage display against a Raiders’ effort which would have beaten many others in the NRL.
Brisbane v. Canberra
Canberra’s momentum
Came to a halt: Brisbane turned
Back the clock, looked great
After years of having a loaded playing roster, the salary cap, the challenge to their SEQ monopoly and the need to have a younger, quicker roster has seen Brisbane undergo a significant transformation in the last two years. They still have some of the NRL’s best talent, but they lost a heap of big-match experience when the likes of Webcke, Berrigan, Tate, Carlaw, Civoniceva and Thorn all moved on.
The resurgent Raiders, like many opposition teams do, brought their best to Suncorp and liked their chances, but they probably weren’t counting a Brisbane effort last seen in late 2006. Canberra was brave and might have had a shot at winning if they scored during a 15-to-20 minute period early in the second half when they ambushed the Brisbane line, but the rest of the NRL should be scared if Brisbane can produce play like this again when needed over the remainder of the season.
You could have said the same about the Tigers’ effort if they were playing someone other than the Bulldogs.
Wests Tigers v. Bulldogs
Fifty-six points: Far
Too easy for the Tigers
Put these Dogs to sleep
After the Tigers’ thrashing of the Bulldogs, Bulldogs’ CEO Todd Greenberg mentioned some supporters of other teams are feeling sorry for the Bulldogs’ current plight. It is a very tough time for the Bulldogs, but last night’s “effort” by Parramatta should ensure there is no sympathy coming from Eels’ supporters: they have more than enough problems of their own.
Newcastle v. Parramatta
Knights: too big, too strong
Parra: a shell of last year
Hagan has to go
Parramatta is now in strong contention for the most disappointing team of 2008; the Cowbores are up there with them. It is worth noting that the coaches of these teams – Michael Hagan and (formerly) Graham Murray – are known for their reserved approach and rarely raise their voice at their team. Not surprisingly, both teams’ attitude has fallen off markedly in 2008. In hindsight, both Parramatta and the Cowbores allowed the significant talent of a few individuals paper over the cracks of what were rotting fundamental structures.
There is little doubt that Hagan and Murray can both coach and little doubt that many players from both Parra and the Cowbores are still extremely talented, but there is also little doubt Parramatta needs to try a different tack. As the old saying goes, it’s easier to sack a coach than a heap of players (especially if some of those players are on major coin).
Imagine a Ricky Stuart-type at Parramatta. Or even Brian Smith. He is in the middle of transforming what was an older lazy team at Newcastle into an intense, physical, deep and young team which will come closer to a premiership in the next three years than Parramatta ever will. Perhaps Riddell should join Weyman in the Japanese Sumo League next season.
On that note, it’s sayonara for this week.
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
Round 20: Game of the Week: Penrith v. Wests Tigers
Usually any contest worthy of ‘Game of the Week’ status involves teams in the upper echelon, where a top-shelf match is expected. A game where the outcome is difficult (for those with two eyes) to predict. A game perhaps with a battle between a brilliant attack and a stingy defence, or a young and enthusiastic team against an older but smarter team, or even one featuring a high-flying team is exposed to its Kryptonite.
For those in Sydney on Saturday night who were able to tell the difference between genuine international conflict and sport (apologies to the 3 real non-Kiwi non-bandwagon Rugby followers out there, but for everyone else, here’s a hint: in genuine international conflict, you can’t change teams. To paraphrase Seinfeld, you’re basically just cheering for the Wallabies shirt. We used to hate you, but you’re coaching those wearing our shirt so we love you now Robbie!!!!!!!!!) and those who weren’t interested in being seen (but have still to learn most of the rules) at the SCG, there was an intriguing NRL game on.
No, it didn’t feature teams near the top of the ladder and no, a top-shelf match wasn’t really expected (especially after the significant injury-related absences were announced). Instead, those discerning viewers who chose to watch Penrith take on the Wests Tigers saw two teams long regarded as having significant potential, but who can be incredibly inconsistent (in particular situations) have incredibly poor records. Who would stand up, win this game and, in doing so, continue to gather solid momentum towards playing in the 2nd week of September (and possibly beyond)?
To elaborate on both teams’ inconsistency: Penrith have improved markedly after their wretched 2007, but their home form remained putrid. Before Saturday night, they had won just 5 of their last 22 home games and 14 of their last 40 home games: incredible numbers for what used to be a difficult place for opposing teams to play. On Saturday nights, where they won 15 out of 20 home games between 2003 and 2006, it’s even worse: only 1 win out of their last 10 before this game. From a tipping perspective, Penrith have been expected to turn this around for some time: they had won only 2 of their last 13 home games as the favourite before Saturday night.
For the Tigers, their solid record away from homes over recent years turns very ugly when away day (and dry) games are excluded. Prior to Saturday night, they had won only 3 of their last 23 away games either at night or where it was wet. Also, they have a horrible record both against Penrith (4 wins from 14) and at Penrith (2 out of 7). Memories of the Tigers’ choke at Penrith in 2000 still haunt supporters, but they did win at Penrith last season.
Despite these distinctly poor numbers, both teams entered this game coming off impressive wins in Round 19 but lost important players in the lead-up to this game: Frank Pritchard finally succumbed to his troublesome shoulder (it is believed he boarded a plane to France for emergency treatment) while Brett Hodgson and Beau Ryan were big outs for the Tigers. The first half reflected these important omissions as both teams struggled for rhythm. Penrith looked the more dangerous but both teams committed a rather high number of mistakes and gave each other too many unforced penalties.
The Tigers took an unsafe lead to halftime. Each team scored a try with a dose of luck, but Chris Lawrence’s serpentine run and pass to Tagive was the difference between the teams. But both teams could have had several more tries: the opportunities were there, who would stand up and want this game? One team had to kick a soccer ball in the face of History and take the win.
That team would be Penrith. Even without Pritchard, their forward pack enjoyed a size advantage over the Tigers and this was a factor in their fairly dominant second half performance. But the Tigers failed to back up their excellent effort from the Souths game last week in several crucial areas: their attack looked out of sync for much of the game, their discipline was poor but most importantly, their defence didn’t have the ability to hold as it did against Souths. As Penrith begun to dominate possession (due to Tigers’ errors, penalties but also less Penrith errors and penalties), their quicker players continued to test the Tigers forwards and found them wanting more and more. Penrith’s final 2 tries (to Iosefa and Jennings) came via this channel.
The Tigers’ night was perhaps summed up best in one of the game’s final plays. In a late scrum, they executed their signature scrum play, where the scrum parts and the lock runs up the middle of where the scrum was. They executed this play quite well; unfortunately, it was a meaningless play and their execution near Penrith’s line was poor. I’d call it rusty, but this is Round 20 and the Tigers were only missing one key attacking player.
But for Penrith, this was a major win. While they’ve had frequent success against the Tigers over the years, to do so without Pritchard and at home in a game where they didn’t dominate from the outset is a major step for a fairly young team. In the bizarro world of the Panthers, perhaps they benefited from not having Pritchard in uniform. Their play does tend to be a bit predictable when he and Jennings roam on the left-hand fringe. Without him, players such as Wade Graham, Priddis, Iosefa and Luke Lewis played with a bit more variety but, more importantly, often attacked where the Tigers’ defence was weakest (as opposed to mostly down Pritchard’s side as a matter of course).
For the Tigers, the excellent work done against Souths was all but thrown away. Many thought of that game as a momentum builder, but the only building that took place was of several more bricks into the Tigers’ mausoleum for season 2008.
In other Round 20 games:
On Friday night, Cronulla tried hard but looked awful. Brisbane looked ok, but didn’t seem to have a full game of trying in them. The game would likely have remained at 2-0 for a very long time were it not for Brisbane’s Greg Eastwood and his touch of class in Brisbane’s first try. Eventually, Cronulla threatened to score (and not just through tiring Brisbane out) but they never seriously threatened to win this game.
While another strong crowd saw the game in Brisbane, about 15 people turned up to watch Parramatta and the Cowbores stink it up for 80 minutes. Parramatta started well, but could very well have lost against a team with any semblance of talent, or if the game had a more permissive video referee. The Cowbores were quite unlucky with several possible tries. Unfortunately for them, Chris Ward – or Mr. No as he is known – was in the booth. But when Sione Faumuina is your most gifted attacking player…even Parra couldn’t lose to them, no matter how they tried.
On Saturday night, Canberra’s surprising and rapid ascension up the NRL Ladder continued. Most importantly though, what was once a rather moribund team has now transformed almost before our eyes into one of the most innovative and exciting attacking teams in the NRL.
Todd who? Terry Campese had a brilliant game in the Pissed One’s absence, while Carney’s replacement (Marc Herbert) looked quite capable. Once again though, Colin Best, Joel Monaghan and (to a lesser extent) Adrian Purtell were awesome. Who would have thought these outside backs would be the NRL’s form combination at this time? Who would have thought Campese would anchor the team’s attack, orchestrating several more long-range tries? The poor Gold Coast was thrashed, but few would have survived such an eye-pleasing onslaught.
On Sunday, Melbourne lost in their fourth game after the completion of State of Origin (just like they did in 2007). However, their game yesterday v. the Warriors was much like their last visit to Auckland (in Round 13 last year). On that bleak Sunday afternoon, the Origin-weakened Storm was dominated in possession and field position by the Warriors but their defence did not crack. Finally they got an attacking chance and won 4-2.
In Sunday’s game, the Warriors again dominated possession and field position but again found it very difficult to score points. Melbourne’s defence was again very good, but New Zealand’s inept halves combination made Melbourne’s job rather easy on many last tackle plays. Melbourne eliminated New Zealand’s 6-0 lead after a rare attacking foray and history looked like repeating. The Warriors never looked like scoring a try again, but they were given the win by a Barry Crocker from Michael Crocker: his sideways play-the-ball gave New Zealand a vital two points and they held on (despite Melbourne not receiving penalties when Folau was tackled while a cross-kick was in the air and when a fairly obvious off-side penalty was missed). While the Warriors’ effort was commendable, it still defies logic they defeated the Melbourne Storm in a close game.
In Newcastle, it took the home team about 20 minutes to get going, but get going they did: they thumped Souths by more than the final 27-point margin suggested. Coming off 4 consecutive home losses and in desperate need of a win, Newcastle finally produced a dominant display against a team they were expected to beat (most of their other strong efforts this season have been against highly-ranked teams).
In the Channel 9 game, the Roosters’ task was made significantly easier with the news on Saturday that Manly’s Anthony Watmough and Glen Stewart would miss this game with injury. Manly’s indefatigable back-row is its strength. Watmough and Stewart (who, you may remember, replaced the great Ben Kennedy in Manly’s line-up) are lynchpins for Manly’s defence (with their strength, speed and endurance) but also to their attack. Watmough is annually amongst leading try-scorers for forwards, while Stewart plays an important role as one of Manly’s de facto five-eighths.
Combined with injuries to Jamie Lyon, Luke Williamson and Jason King, there was never going to be a better time for the Roosters to end Manly’s dominance over them. With three early tries, this was always the Roosters’ game. (Note that I avoided the Sexpo/frustrated men/not scoring much of late/Roosters double entendre, partly for good taste, but also because I used that joke in 2006).
In last night’s game, the Dragons barely raised a sweat in putting 26 points on the Bulldogs in almost even time. The game was virtually over at that point. It could be a long 6 weeks for the Bulldogs and there’s little hope on the horizon. Compared to previous down years (2005, 2000 and 1996), the cupboard is much less stocked this time and the Bulldogs’ reputation amongst prospective players is not great. Love them or hate them, the Bulldogs have been consistently successful over the last 30 years and it appears their time on top may be coming to a lengthy close.
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Round 19: A special WYD Roast from Michael "Tipping God" Payne
In a change of pace, this week's Roast is in ecclesiatical form and emanates from up above (of me on the tipping ladder). Thanks to Michael "Tipping God" Payne for his stellar effort below.
Parramatta (fall of man) Genesis 3.1-24
So the LORD God said to the serpent EEL, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you Will eat dust all the days of your life.”
Parra-don’t-matta tackled like the villainous serpent from the great Book, that is without shoulders or hands. Biblical passages make reference to the killing a serpent by removing its head – only when Fitzgerald is sacrificed will the ‘worms’ have any success.
Papal Points (3-2-1)
3 - Brett Stewart
2 - Watmough
1 - Hindmarsh
Judas’ Ear
Jarryd Hayne – was he really worth dropping Burt for?
Bulldogs (plagues on Egypt) Exodus 7.1-24
Then the LORD said to FOLKES, "See, I have made you like God to Islanders, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet"
‘Aaron’ is clearly representative of the Warriors, who are now the superior entity to the disgrace formerly known as the Bulldogs Rugby League team. 3000 paying Bulldogs pilgrims ignored the chance to sleep at Randwick, and instead decided to make their eyes bleed the blood of 1000 sheep as the Warriors were made to look like a team with talent – no easy task mind you.
Papal Points
3 - Malo Solomona
2 - Steve Price
1 - Lance Hohaia
Judas’ Ear
Dunny-Dill Williams – ‘come and watch me play for free bro, it will be choice’. Then don’t play. The man is a genius.
Tigers (Valley of the dry bones) Ezekiel 37.1-28
And as Sheens was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. He looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them, until Benji remembered the words of his large mother…’play Benji, play’
The team that has looked most likely to disappoint their following took heed from the message bandied around Sydney for the past week: Build it, and He will come. The tigers ‘built it’ by having some front rowers, and he came in the form of an erratic lair named after a famous dog (God spelt backwards – are you feeling it?). Mark the Tipping God's words, they will end the season in the top 5.
Papal Points
3 – Keith Galloway
2 – Benji (not the more famous the dog)
1 – Farah (victim of recent phone threats)
Judas’ Ear
Sheens – for not letting us watch that crazed Daine Laurie play earlier.
Cronulla (Good Shepard) Psalm 23.1-6
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for Stuart is with me; his rod and his staff, they comfort me” – Gallen
Two teams the Tipping God hates played in what was widely panned as one of the most frustrating games of the year. The only reason the Sharks are in contention is Stuart, with Gidley being the Newcastle saviour. TG has nothing more to say on this match (don’t start the conspiracy theories that he did not watch it as that would not be very nice)
Papal Points
3 – Gidley
2 – Kimmorley
1 – Ben Ross (for not getting knocked out)
Judas’ Ear
Gallen – no real reason.
Canberra (Magi Visit the Messiah) Matthew 2.1-12
After they had heard the siren, they went on their way, and the number 7 they had seen when it ran onto the field went ahead of them until it stopped in the centre of the arena. When they saw the star wearing the 7, they were overjoyed.
Todd Carney is a lot of things. Devout Christian – yes. Bad drunk – yes. Wants to be a black man – yes. Possible retarded – yes. Bloody talented footballer – absolutely! A few of his 40-20 kicks nearly hit God in the ‘wheels’ as they gave the Raiders excellent field position to dismantle a pathetic team of ‘Cocks’
Papal Points
3 – T Carney
2 – T Campese
1 – Thompson
Judas’ Ear
The Raiders – it would have been great to see the Cocks go home without scoring a point.
Broncos (Lamp on a stand) Luke 8. 16-18
The Broncos do not light a lamp and hide it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.
That light, my friends, is K.Hunt. Easily the coolest man in league and one of the toughest, The Tipping God is in negotiations with his slightly more powerful cousin, the ‘real’ God, to have K at the Dragons next year.
Papal Points
3 - Thaiday
2 - Tronc
1 - Hunt
Judas’ Ear
Matt Bowen – I hate him but love watching him play. All Cowboys games have been boring without him
Melbourne (Demon-possessed men) Matthew 8.28-34
So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.
There's no secret here. The Dragons are the pigs, and they drowned in the water of frosty Melbourne. Aided by one of their fearless leaders, the great Jason Ryles, getting sent off for being a tool, they were duly flogged worse than Christ by the Romans, hence reinforcing the Tipping God's position that the 7 in a row was actually more like 3 wins with 4 byes.
Papal points
3 – C. Smith
2 – Folau
1 – Lima
Judas’ Ear
Gavin Badger – if that was a send off then how has Paul Gallen finished a game this year?!?!
Panthers (Parable of the Wondering Sheep) Matthew 18.10-14
See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that Elliott's angels in heaven always see the face of Matthew in heaven.
Matthew Elliott is the saviour of Penrith, even if they don’t realise it yet. The league equivalent of ‘Charlie's Angels’ come in the form of Coote, Graham and Gordon. Elliot is a proven leader of bad teams and what better place to thrive than the foot of the mountains.
Papal Points
3 – Gordon
2 – Laffranchi
1 – Pritchard
Judas’ Ear
God – why is he so cruel to Scott Prince? WHY?
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Round 18: Game of the Week: Cronulla v. Manly
With 17 rounds complete – meaning the end of the State of Origin period and the end of byes – the upper echelon of teams had emerged: Manly, the Roosters, Cronulla and Melbourne (and possibly the Dragons, due to their strong performances against most of these teams).
However, the draw had been rather unkind to those wanting regular matchups of these teams (at full strength anyway). The early rounds gave us weekly collisions of the upper four, with Cronulla taking on Manly and Melbourne in the first 2 rounds and Melbourne playing the 3 others within the first 5 rounds.
Since then, these 4 teams have been busy accumulating points (save for some Origin interruptions) and waiting for the next round of collisions with the other upper four.
Saturday night provided the first of these games and was (by far) the standout game in Round 18 as Manly left one insular peninsula to travel to another: Toyota Park at Cronulla.
Both teams had strong momentum coming into this game: Manly had won 9 out of 10 including 6 in a row away from Brookvale. Unlike all other good teams (and a few bad ones), their State of Origin representation was minimal, allowing solid combinations to develop (which in turn helped to allay concerns about Manly’s attack after a poor first 2 rounds) and significantly reducing the likelihood of any post-Origin letdown. This has also contributed to their very low injury count.
Meanwhile, Cronulla had won 7 out of 8, including their last 4 games at home. Prior to this streak, they won only 5 of their previous 19 games at home: this was a terrible record for any team, but more so for Cronulla, who won almost two-thirds of home games in their halcyon period between 1994 and 2002.
Cronulla also had developed a potentially very valuable quality since the latter rounds of 2007: the ability to play very well against good teams and/or at difficult venues. This quality was captured by the statistic of 9 wins from their last 11 games as the outsider with the TAB. Wins against the odds this season include at Brookvale, at Olympic Park, at Townsville, at Penrith, versus Parramatta at home (for the first time since 2000) and at Bruce Stadium in their last game. These games saw varying combinations of stifling defence (approaching Storm-like levels) and some top-shelf attack (quite unexpected from a team with few skilled attacking players).
But both teams also had nagging doubts. Manly won at Cronulla last season, but that was against a severely depleted line-up: prior to last year, they hadn’t won at Cronulla since 1986. They lost to Cronulla back in Round 1 and have had troubles against the best teams at full strength (Melbourne, the Dragons) or capable teams playing a rare game at or near their best (Newcastle, New Zealand, Gold Coast). In short, when teams come close to matching Manly’s physical presence and endurance, they are nothing special. That said, this doesn’t happen very often.
Cronulla was missing several injured players for this game, most notably Greg Bird and while the aforementioned impressive wins were significant, they hadn’t come up against a team anywhere near the upper four since very early in the season. Manly and Melbourne were caught off-guard by Cronulla’s assault in these early rounds: Cronulla’s legitimacy as a premiership contender was in need of reinforcing in this game.
Cronulla’s disgraceful home record between 2006 and early 2008 has impacted significantly on crowds. Saturday night games at Cronulla used to mean regular crowds of above 15,000 with the occasional bumper crowd. Since late 2006, the average crowd fell to just under 11,000, but as the wins have continued, the somewhat sceptical Cronulla supporters (who can blame them?) have come out of the woodwork: 17,547 against Parramatta three weeks and almost 19,000 greeted Cronulla and Manly on Saturday night. For the first time since 2002, the Shire might be really getting behind Cronulla again.
Unfortunately, especially for those late to get back on to the bandwagon, Cronulla’s prospects for victory in this game fell to almost nil inside 20 minutes. This was THE worst possible outcome for Cronulla. Not only could this frighten the woodwork supporters away for another few months, it will provide further fuel for those who like to bring up / hope that Cronulla will enter yet another late-season tailspin.
Admittedly, this group has included the Tuesday Roast on several occasions (for those keeping score, Cronulla’s record after the accountants have sung Auld Lang Syne since 2003 is an anaemic 12 wins and 37 losses after Saturday night), but surely it’s fallacious to look back at Cronulla squads coached by nuffies such as Stuart Raper and Chris Anderson when compared to the current Ricky Stuart-coached line-up…isn’t it?
This will be seen, but Stuart would have been extremely disheartened by his team’s performance. What has been perhaps the best team at execution of their coach’s pre-match preparation and strategy turned into a bumbling mess on Saturday night. Silly, unnecessary and unforced penalties gave Manly a significant amount of attacking possession early on, while mistakes gifted Manly more attacking possession and the first two (simple) tries.
Some of these mistakes came from Paul Gallen, who, perhaps stung by having his captaincy taken away, tried very hard all game, but this desire saw him attempt to do things which others should be doing (such as playmaking and offloading). This was where the absence of Greg Bird hurt Cronulla the most. And of course there was Gallen’s bizarre exit up and out of the defensive line allowing Ballin to score Manly’s first try. At least the major frustration involved in such a thrashing didn’t lead him to do anything he may have regretted.
But Gallen was not alone. Misi Taulapapa… he may be athletic, but his high mistake rate (that’s the nicest way to put it) was significant in Cronulla’s long losing streak late last season. Maybe he too was stung by recent criticism (in his case, the cowardly assault on Alan Tongue’s ribs) but Manly targeted Taulapapa heavily and he had a terrible game. His off load just a few metres out of from his line fell into the waiting arms of Steve Matai and Manly’s second try came from the next tackle.
By now, Manly’s dominance on the game was total. Much is made of their excellent defensive statistics, but there is more to defence (at least for Manly) than moving up in a straight line, hitting hard, getting numbers into a tackle etc. For Manly (and one or two other teams at times), attack is a big part of defence. They were almost flawless in terms of holding on to the ball and finishing their sets: in doing so, their big pack wore down Cronulla. Matt Orford’s accurate kicking game meant a series of repeat sets and of course there’s the domination of possession which comes from outscoring your opponent four tries to nil in the first 20 minutes.
Manly had 70% of the ball during the game’s first 30 minutes. While possession usually evens out over the course of a game, the quality of possession doesn’t have to follow this. In other words, Cronulla was rendered almost useless with the ball due to the heavy defensive workload asked of them in the game’s first 20-30 minutes. Manly did much the same to the Origin-weakened Roosters in Round 13 and Cronulla nearly also experienced a 42-nil hammering.
After dominating the opening 15 or so minutes, Manly’s confidence was soaring. They had bashed Cronulla, so it was time to unleash some of their set plays. They threatened maybe twice with elaborate plays aimed at Cronulla’s left-side defence, but the next time hit the jackpot: Orford’s sleight-of-hand and involvement from Lyon and Bell sent Brett Stewart to the try-line almost untouched.
When Glen Stewart virtually did the same, Manly led 22-nil. Cronulla would almost have been forgiven here if the nimble Stewart stepped through some tiring defenders, but when replays showed fresh reserves De Gois and Nutley making feeble attempts at Stewart, it was a further black mark for the Sharks.
Finally Cronulla got over half-way, but a combination of the scoreboard, fatigue from Manly’s domination and panic saw their attack look nothing like the confident, set-play executing team of recent weeks. Instead, they ran hard then wide and Manly’s fresh defence moved with them. Their lack of imagination saw the great NRL fall-back option – the cross-kick – come out at the end of almost every set. Manly did concede one try, but it was hardly threatening.
In the early minutes of the second half, Cronulla spent some more time near Manly’s line: a try here might have given Manly some concerns, but the lack of variety and imagination (and continued signs of panic and trying to catch up 16 points at once) meant Cronulla never looked like scoring again. They defused a Manly attack, which meant a 20-metre restart, but took the gamble of trying to find the sideline down field (which would have meant a Sharks scrum feed) but this failed: more panic.
Manly added a few more tries to make sure of the result. Taulapapa’s poor night continued as he allowed Robertson to shrug him off for a try. Interestingly, with the result certain, Cronulla’s attack assumed a more normal structure in the game’s final 10-20 minutes. They ran some of their plays, but Manly kept their line intact.
It was a thorough thrashing from Manly, but the use of hyperbolic words such as ‘perfection’ and ‘premiership favouritism’ should be kept to a minimum. Sure, Manly could not have done much more in the first half, but Cronulla’s surprisingly poor effort was a major factor in their success. And until Manly come close to beating a full-strength Melbourne Storm, they should not enter into a rational discussion on favourites to win this year’s premiership. Des, feel free to use this whenever the pesky media continues to bug you on this matter.
In other Round 18 games, home was where the loss was. Cronulla’s abysmal home form over 2006 and 2007 has already been mentioned, but they have shown signs of emerging from this slump. But several other teams are in a frustrating pattern of poor home performance, resilient away win and then another poor home performance.
This adequately describes the recent plight of both Penrith and the Warriors. Penrith failed to take advantage of the Origin-weakened Brisbane a few weeks back but went to Parramatta Stadium and played far better in defeating the Eels. With the carrot of cementing a position in the top 8, they once again frustrated their loyal supporters.
How frustrating are the Panthers for their home supporters? The loss to Newcastle means they have won 5 of their last 22 home games and 14 of their last 40. They’ve also tasted success in just 2 of their last 13 home games as favourites with the bookmakers and 2 of their last 13 home games when coming off an away win: amazing. Penrith is better than this: a host of dumb plays at key times (again) hurt their chances for a rare home win.
That said, Newcastle showed a resolve they definitely possess but have shown far too rarely this season. It has been seen against some of the very best teams but also after 3-game losing streaks: Newcastle is now 3 wins and 0 losses coming off 3 losses this season. Kurt Gidley showed his endurance and versatility last week in the loss against the Dragons, but was even better in this game: a 5-star effort.
The Warriors won 9 straight minor premiership home games over late 2007 and early 2008 before losing to the Roosters in May. Since then, they’ve had 2 wins in Australia and no home wins in 3 attempts. They tried to make it 4 attempts without success against Feral Thurston and the rabble known as the Cowbores, but they ultimately failed: players such as Mannering, Luck and Wiki wouldn’t let their team lose again. However, players like Rovelli might as well have worn dark blue and white, as poorly as he played. He needs a spell in NSW Cup. Now.
Brisbane won only 8 of 18 home games between late 2006 and the start of 2008, but seemed to have overcome this with 5 wins out of 6 home games so far in 2008 (including several games without Lockyer). A home game against the beleaguered Bulldogs appeared to be a certain win for Brisbane: they were almost back at full strength after an unusually poor Origin period, while the Bulldogs were…the Bulldogs.
But the Bulldogs’ speed and most importantly their ability to forget about their capitulation last Monday night troubled the larger Broncos for much of this game. Brisbane was also let down by a slow start to both halves: the Bulldogs led by 12 with 30 minutes left. Brisbane came to life and exposed the Bulldogs’ defence where almost every other team has, but the Dogs held on for a huge upset.
Last night, the Tigers lost again at Campbelltown: they have won only 2 of their last 8 at Campbelltown. Melbourne was a bit off their game and the Tigers exposed some signs of weakness in the NRL’s best defence, but Inglis and, to a lesser extent, Slater were the difference between the teams. In an era of ever-improving athleticism, these two players exploit the slightest fault in a defensive line and the Tigers provided more than enough chances for them.
The Roosters and Dragons have been two of the best teams in the NRL so far this season and have enjoyed very good records at their home ground/s, but both suffered from a rare off game against under-strength but very committed opposition.
The Roosters have had two flat patches so far this season: in late April (when Newcastle and the Dragons overwhelmed them) and in early June (when Manly dominated them). As any stock price chartist will tell you, two points is enough for a trend and extrapolating this line meant a flat game coming soon. But it was hard to see it happening against a team like the Gold Coast, who put in incredible efforts against the Dragons and Manly in previous weeks but came up short. The Gold Coast has also had horrendous form out of Queensland: just 3 wins out of 14 games.
When the Roosters wiped out the Titans’ early lead and took their own 12-point lead to half-time (with no tries coming from kicks!), the threat from the resilient Titans appeared gone. Incredibly the Roosters failed to finish the job and allowed the Titans to score 3 tries and take an unlikely lead. Preston Campbell and Shannon Walker exploited the large Roosters forwards, but it was the Gold Coast forwards who provided the foundation for Campbell and Mat Rogers to lead the way for a famous, against-the-odds win.
At least the Dragons can’t say they threw away a lead in Sunday’s game against Canberra. The Raiders withstood early Dragons’ pressure and soundly defeated the winners of their last 7 games. While the Dragons have long been prone to defeats as heavy favourites and were probably due for a loss, it is also important to acknowledge Canberra’s major success over the Dragons since 2001 (they have lost only 2 of their last 12 against them) and Canberra’s strong record in recent years coming off a loss.
Lastly, Parramatta discovered they need more than to turn up and put in major effort for perhaps 40 minutes of a game to guarantee a win on Saturday night. They started strongly, but a 10-point lead was never going to make Souths feel too uncomfortable, especially as Parramatta was without Cayless and suffered injuries to Moi Moi and Mateo. As a consequence, Parramatta’s below par ability to sustain intensity and endurance was further weakened: they exhausted almost all of 10 interchanges just after the 60 minute mark.
This quality of Parramatta requires further inspection. In the latter years of Michael Hagan’s tenure at Newcastle, the Knights often used their interchange allotment faster than other teams and often used their allotment of 12 well before 80 minutes. While injuries often wreak havoc with interchange plans, it seems Hagan has brought this problem with him to Parramatta. Meanwhile, Newcastle’s fitness, intensity and endurance have all improved markedly under Brian Smith’s tenure.
While he probably wouldn’t be happy that some of his former players are suffering in this situation, one can only imagine that Jason Taylor is taking great delight in seeing Parramatta’s prospects looking grimmer under Michael Hagan’s leadership.
Souths’ confidence and momentum and Parramatta’s inability to sustain any pressure meant a Souths win was always the most likely outcome after the first 15-20 minutes.
Before this game, Parramatta might have looked forward to the challenge of taking on Manly (as they will this Friday night). Now, taking on the most physically imposing team in the NRL looks to be a challenge Parramatta is not capable of taking on (to put it mildly).
Still, every team in today’s NRL – even the Energizer Bunnies of the NRL, Manly and Melbourne – are prone to off days and losing when few expect them to do so. As was seen in Round 18 – and is quite likely to occur as the big-name teams get over any post-Origin fatigue and lesser teams take their final shots at the top-8 – home teams, favoured teams and even those playing the Cowbores are vulnerable. Stay tuned.
