After perhaps the craziest first half of the season since 1995, it is probably a good time to take stock and sum up how each team has fared thus far.
St George Illawarra (current position: 1st): in contrast to most other teams and the game itself, the Dragons have delivered another stellar first-half of the season, with their ongoing consistency placing them safely at the top of the table. And given they are the only team yet to have a bye, this makes their effort even more worthy of praise. They have overcome the loss of Wendell Sailor, Nathan Fien and Jeremy Smith for most of the season so far as well as a number of other injuries to continue to produce their highly disciplined but very productive standard of play. They had a tougher than expected challenge on Sunday in Auckland, where the locals were motivated by their thrashing last time out and always play better in the wet, but the Dragons held their nerve.
Of course, the major challenge for them is to win in September, but they should cruise to a top-2 spot. Score: A+
Penrith (2nd): Penrith have continued on from their promising form seen for much of 2009, but some significant obstacles are ahead. Their draw has been on the kind side, they will have to produce without Petero Civoniceva for the next few weeks or so and they risk becoming over-reliant on their thus-far quite productive attacking kicking game. Teams are unlikely to hand them victories like Newcastle did on Saturday night (and even with Newcastle's charity, they struggled to put the Knights away).
With that said, however, surely they can't fade as badly as they did in late 2009; a finals appearance looks a certainty. Their combination of size and speed makes them a dark horse, but it's still difficult to tell just how dark they might be. Score: B
South Sydney (eq 3rd): After a slow start, Souths are rolling fairly nicely at the moment. They have struggled to puts wins together (apart from their initial recovery and last night's overwhelming of the Cowbores) but have shown strong signs of promise, especially if they can find some consistency. This has been the issue for Souths for some time, but you'd have to say progress is being made here.
You can never to be too sure with Souths, and their supporters have seen many a forecast of Souths' resurgence end in tears, but playing in September looks quite likely. Their depth (especially up front) may become an issue, but their size and skill should be too good to keep them out of the finals. Score: B-
Manly (eq 3rd): A difficult one to pick: they started the season very strongly, especially once Hasler put Hodkinson into the halves and Lyon in the centres. But a combination of some injuries, the heavy Brookvale Oval surface, representative honours for numerous players, a difficult schedule and a number of key players getting a significant number of miles on the clock have taken their toll on Manly over the last month or so. They could have jumped to a strong lead on Sunday against Brisbane, but they appeared unable to lift their game when Brisbane showed resistance. Ultimately, it was a rather meek defeat.
You'd imagine things should improve for Manly, but perhaps not before they get worse. Depth is an issue (especially given their extended time at/near the top due to subsequent salary-cap-related player loss) and their young halves have struggled (not surprisingly) when the forwards aren't dominant. Their experience means they are a great chance to win the comp....but getting there (and not using too much energy in doing so) could be the toughest part. Score: B
Wests Tigers (eq 3rd): How do you spell inconsistency? Apparently the letters WESTIG and R are in there somewhere. Surely this is the most inconsistent team in the NRL. Or to put it another way, they can look brilliant and shocking....and back to brilliant in less than a month. The Tigers board and Tim Sheens must thank whoever their deity is multiple times each day they have a consistent, hard-working forward in Gareth Ellis, otherwise their problems would be far worse. But even with him, this season could end up anywhere. Injuries may end up a factor, but their recent form minus a number of good players suggests it doesn't have to be.
Put simply, this team could finish anywhere: another ninth, another premiership or an honorable fifth, anything is possible. Score: C+
Gold Coast (eq 3rd): In last year's mid-season outlook, the Tuesday Roast picked the Titans to miss the finals. Great call there. But it does appear to be a new Titans in 2010, they do not seem so focused on playing at/near their best on a regular basis. They seem to have learnt to pick their moments (like the premiership winners of the last 5 years or so have). Wins against Melbourne (pre-crisis), Manly (at Brookvale), Penrith (just 5 days after beating Manly) and Souths suggest they will be hard to beat in September, but losses to the Cowbores, Roosters and Raiders mean they may enter September in the lower half of the 8.
A somewhat patchy start to the season, but if they can continue to pick their moments, their relative lack of Origin workload could see them make a strong run at the premiership. Score: B+
Brisbane (eq 7th): An amazing first half for them. At times, they were the worst team in the NRL but since Round 9, they have looked....awesome at times. Sam Thaiday has been brilliant leading the forwards, the team's improvement has made things easier for the still-very-good Darren Lockyer, Israel Folau's embarrassment of Greg Inglis in Round 9 was one of the highlights of the season so far, while several young Broncos (Hoffman, Gillett etc.) are emerging quickly.
Their great run will likely end soon, but it's hard to see them not making the quarter finals somewhere, if only because of the importance to the NRL and Channel 9 of a strong Broncos. Another one for the NRL Dark Horse handicap. Score: C
Parramatta (eq 7th): Play it again, Sam (or, in this case, Nathan): inconsistent team, some excellent wins, some astounding losses, a dark horse. The fear for Parramatta supporters (and those who love the entertaining game Parramatta play when they're at their best) is that the lazy Eels will think a run to the grand final from 8th is nothing too difficult and not lift their game consistently until August.
Perhaps this might work: they have a 3-1 win-loss record as outsiders with the bookies this season, so who am I to tell them how to run their season? Score: B-
Sydney Roosters (eq 7th): The Roosters have struggled after a very good start in the early-season heat. While any Brian Smith-coached team is a threat to knock off highly fancied opposition (their win against the Gold Coast was impressive), their general level of play and lack of consistency will probably see them fall short of the finals in 2010. Score: C-
Canberra (eq 7th): A bizarre Canberra season so far, led by their quite good record away from home, but very poor play in Canberra. They have won just 2 out of 5 at home, despite being in winning positions in 4 of these games. But they were excellent in winning at Parramatta and at Wollongong.
By this logic, their home-dominated remainder of schedule should see them finish near last, but this should turn around soon. Hard to see them making the 8 though, with Alan Tongue set to miss much of the season, with the petulant Terry Campese in a position of on-field leadership and rumours continuing to circulate about Josh Dugan and his dissatisfaction in Canberra. Score: D+
New Zealand (11th): To be fair, the Warriors have looked better than they did in 2009, although this has not been hard. Still, they have looked ok at times despite some key injuries (Vatuvei, Price, Rapira, Seymour). They will always be a threat to win on their day (which usually involves rain in Auckland) but the loss of Brent Tate is another nail in their 2010 coffin. Score: D
Newcastle (12th): Possibly the most difficult team to support this season. With much of the same team which was in the upper part of the table last season, the Knights have descended into a highly inconsistent rabble. But then they perform brilliantly (as they did against the Roosters recently) and you wonder why they're not winning far more often.
The Knights are probably best personified by Kurt Gidley: capable of brilliance, not sure what position they're playing and often wondering if they should play a different sport. Score: D-
Cronulla (13th): Cronulla is a weird team, in that they have a number of big names, they have looked atrocious for long periods of the season, but have put together two very strong performances in recent weeks (against Parramatta and the Roosters). Granted, these opponents were backing up soon after tough games, but Cronulla should be able to produce this form more often.
Much like the US economy, Cronulla went off a cliff late in 2008, had a horror 2009 and have exhibited some 'green shoots' in 2010. Much like the US economy, Cronulla is probably going to be in financial poo for a very long time to come Score: E+
Canterbury (eq 14th): On to the major disappointments for 2010. Well, in Canterbury's case, they probably overachieved in 2009, but they probably shouldn't be equal last. They did lose a few important players from last season and have had a few injuries, but the greater culprit of their 2010 failures thus far has probably been Kimmorley, Ryan and Patten all showing their age much more so than last year.
You'd have to imagine they'll do better in the second half of the season, but a fairly good indicator since 2005 of whether a Bulldogs season is going to be rubbish is hard-working, loyal but far too small forward Brad Morrin. He played his first game in 2010 last week. Score E-
North Queensland (eq 14th): While it is true that Feral Thurston's presence on your team means you're always a chance, the Cowbores are carrying more dead wood than a Tasmanian logging truck. And that's with Willie Mason having a fairly good season so far. The likes of Webb, O'Donnell, Payne, Rovelli, Bani, Graham and Ty Williams - most of whom are regular first graders - means the Cowbores are giving most teams a significant leg-up.
Things aren't all bad with some promising youngsters coming through (Tamou, Morgan, Thompson and Tupou) and some reliable older players (Scott and Bowen), but when Feral Thurston takes up 65% of your salary cap, this doesn't leave much room for new talent. Score: F-
Melbourne (16th): Enough has been said on Melbourne administration's offences (crimes?), but surely every game of theirs now is required viewing. Frustrated players, creative players playing without the constraint of Bellamy's discipline, some very good young players getting a chance, souped-up opposition crowds, uncertain opposition players, super-motivated opposition players and perhaps later in the season (when some teams join Melbourne in the 2010 Losers' Lounge) the chance of some thuggish play or some huge fights. There's every chance we'll never see anything like this again (not a team caught cheating the cap, but a team whose season is made irrelevant by punishment) so it's probably investing in some popcorn, getting comfy and watching some great action, one way or the other. Score: n/a.
See you next week.
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
Round 13: A Mid-Season Report Card
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
Round 12: A Gathering of The Minds
Rugby League has long been renowned as a game, as a code which can shrug off adversity. Like a wide-running Dave Taylor through dogged defence or a Geoff Toovey fighting off one big forward after another, rugby league has emerged triumphant despite being pursued by some of life’s most vicious defenders over much of its 102 year history.
This week, as rugby league is confronted with the next challenger in the form of a big-spending AFL out to attack its core group of supporters (or, at least, their children), the time has come once again to fight back.
But this battle will take more than being able to run through a brick wall or wait out the worst of the damage. The threat of the AFL will not be leaving any time soon. The need for craftiness, savvy and, most of all, intelligence is paramount in preventing an exodus of rugby league’s finest.
After a late night strategic session at NRL HQ at Fox Studios, the Tuesday Roast can exclusively reveal the brains trust hand-picked to steer the greatest game of all out of stormy seas (no pun intended). As a display of their abilities, here is their breakdown of Round 12 of NRL action.
Andrew Voss: Thank you for that ominous welcome and I have to say, I’m excited! I’m not sure how we’ll go at coming up with top-level strategies to keep the likes of Israel For-now in the game, but God damn it, we’re going to have a bit of fun discussing the latest goings-on on the field! Speaking of young Israel, he could do a lot worse than to seek the counsel of our first guest Wendell Sailor.
Wendell Sailor: Too right Vossy, but you know what? I already spoke with Izzy. Wonderful young man, loves his family, I told him to take the money.
AV: Wendell! This was not the counsel I was expecting you to give! Izzy For-now could use some of your famous self-promotional and charismatic skills to persuade the mums, dads and binge-drinking, pack-fighting kids of Minno that AFL is worth watching.
WS: Nah, it’s all good. He’ll be back. All us good men come back. Even Gaz, who I thought was gone for good. But it’s the power of the Big Red V….
AV: And off we go. Get your sick bags ready…
WS: Yep, the Big Red V. How good are we going? Half the team backing up after Origin, half the team coming off a tough game just last Sunday, half the team back from injury — maths never was my strong suit Vossy, but it doesn’t matter when you’ve got the Red V! — and we still kicked Parra’s butt all the way back to last season.
Just way too good in the end and I must say I was not surprised. You know why? Yep, the Red V. To be fair, Parra was missing a few good men, but in the end, you know what? They were told “YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!” and you know what else they couldn’t handle? Yep, the Big Red V. Just an amazing effort. Jamie marshalling the troops, Darius busting tackles, Brett with the speed, big Horse backing up from Origin, International Dell — in 2 codes don’t forget — with the motivation…everyone contributed.
AV: Amazing. Not the Dragons’ effort – that was pretty standard for this high-achieving team – but anyone who can put up with that self-serving tripe week after week on multiple channels. Thanks anyway though, in this case, your analysis was pretty close to the mark.
Brad Fittler: Heh Mark. Marky Mark and the Ffffunky Bunch!
AV: Actually Dell doesn’t sound so bad now. Anyway, on to the second game of Friday night and the Tigers took on New Zealand at Campbelltown. Brad Fittler was there for Channel 9, Freddy, what did you think of the Tigers’ big win?
BF: Thanks Vossy, yeh I was out at Scrumbletown for the big game. It was pretty close for a while then the Tiges just went whoooooosh.
AV: Doesn’t get much more concise than that! Cheers Freddy.
BF: Nah mate I’m not done yet. So yeh, big win for the Tiges. Best for the Tiges was Ellis, Robbie and young Daniela. Love his speed! I love it! But not sure about his passing, Robbie juggled and fuggled it around before scoring right before the half.
For the Warriors, big Packer was solid as was Tate, while young Thai wasn’t bad. Well actually I didn’t notice him play, I just like his name. Pad Thai hahaha.
AV: Nice one Freddy, can’t believe you actually said that on the broadcast. You’re living every 35 year old bogan’s dream life you know that?
BF: Nah Joey’s the bogan, Cessnock is wayyyy more bogan than Penno!
Andrew Johns: Is not!
BF: Is too! No returns!
AJ: Vossy, tell him he can’t do no returns!
AV: Alright boys, settle down. Geez…at least MG just argues with his other personalities, this is much worse! Anyway, on to the Saturday night games and we’re joined by the head of Fox Sports’ ‘Dream Team’ (giggle), self-anointed Brisbane supporter and former Cleo Bachelor of the Year Ryan Phelan for his description of the Sharks v. Broncos game. Ryan?
Ryan Phelan: Cheers Vossy. I mean, what an honour to work with some of the greats of the modern game!
BF: Heh, he said gay!
RP: But on to the action at hand and Cronulla turned up at Toyota Stadium all pumped up and raring for action. But someone forgot to tell the weather, which was AGAIN pretty average for a Cronulla home game! I tell you, they have the worst luck there is!
But Cronulla had more bad luck when they fell behind in the first half. Lockyer’s try-saving tackle on Barrett was a stand-out play, but how often would it happen? Rarely I say. And Tupou’s steal was certainly no worse than Thurston’s in Origin 1, but the referees show no signs of consistency and Brisbane received the penalty for a 2-point lead. Just before half time, Brisbane put the first try on as big Izzy took the kick to touch down.
Brisbane secured their lead with another Lock. As in, a Lock-yer try. Cronulla tried hard but was not helped by Tim Smith. I think even he would admit he had a tough night. He’s a good halfback but he’s no…..Mitchell Pearce (obligatory Fox Sports brown-nosing Mitchell Pearce endorsement alert!!!). Some poor options from Smith saw Brisbane run down field and finish the game with a try to Winterstein.
There you go, boys. I may have received this job because I’m a pretty face and I’m not the arrogant know-it-all that Warren Smith is, but I think you’ll agree that was some pretty sharp game summarisation right there. If you agree, call me on the Fox Fan Fone now!
AV: Cheers Ryan, thanks for that. I reckon you should sit by that ‘fone’ and wait for the calls yourself mate coz there’ll be plenty (not).
On to the next game: the Cowboys and Manly. Look at the list of great halfbacks who have made insightful judges after their career has finished: Sterling….umm…Johns (gulp), Mortimer….(eek)….Freeman….the game’s greatest thinker hahahahahahahaha Ricky Stuart…Mr. Excitement himself Michael Hagan. Yep, what an awesome list. But our next guest is here pretty much because it’s a condition of his new massive contract, welcome to Johnathan Thurston!
Johnathan Thurston: THANKS VOSSY, I’M LIKE STOKED TO BE HERE, THE PILLS AND ELECTRO-SHOCK THERAPY HAVE PRETTY MUCH WORKED AND I’M CALM NOW AFTER SATURDAY NIGHT…
AV: That’s um…great mate.
JT: YEH I EFFIN THOUGHT SO TOO AY. SEE, I CAN SAY EFFIN AND RELEASE MY FRUSTRATION WITHOUT OFFENDING ANY SOFTC….
AV: Ok ok, wohhh, steady on there.
JT: SORRY VOSSY, I GUESS I’M STILL ANGRY. I MEAN, HOW THE firetruck DID WE LOSE TO THAT JOKE OF A TEAM?! SORRY, BUT THEY HAD NO FORAN AND MOST OF THEIR FORWARDS BACKING UP FROM ORIGIN, THEY WERE RIPE FOR THE TAKING!!!! AND THEN JAMIE firetrucking LYON GOT INJURED AND THEY GOT EVEN MORE faeces!!
HOW THE way DID WE LET FOUR EASY firetrucking TRIES DOWN OUR RIGHT SIDE IN ABOUT FIVE firetrucking MINUTES IN THE FIRST HALF?? WITH THREE OF THEM TO A firetrucking GUY ON DEBUT?!?!?!
FINALLY WE STARTED PLAYING NEAR OUR BEST BUT THEN I COULDN’T firetrucking KICK ANY GOALS, MY firetrucking AIM WAS WORSE THAN A firetrucking EXECUTIONER WITH firetrucking PARKINSON’S!! HERE’S AN EXAMPLE…
Andy Raymond: “Gee, the Cowboys nearly butchered that try as Ah Mau waited until it was almost too late to find support, but luckily Ash Graham was on the spot to make it a double and now Thurston lines up the kick…”
JT (at game): (adjusts headgear) (adjusts jersey on right shoulder) (adjusts jersey on right upper arm) (sort of yawns, sort of as if trying to eat something above his mouth, sort of like a cat about to clean itself) (more adjusting of head gear) (more jersey manipulation) (more jaw exercises) (more justification why he is known as Feral)…..
AR: “….and Thurston hooks that one just to the side, he’s missed two in a row now”
JT (at game): firetruck!!! firetrucking firetruck!!! (destroys water bottle)
JT: BUT NOT ONLY THAT, WE BUTCHERED TRY AFTER firetrucking TRY OVER ABOUT 10 firetrucking MINUTES! WHY DID I RE-SIGN TO PLAY WITH SUCH A BUNCH OF firetrucking people suffering from mental OR physical handicaps?!
ANYWAY FINALLY O’DONNELL BARGES OVER, I FINALLY KICK A firetrucking GOAL AND WE’RE BACK IN IT. BUT THERE’S STILL TIME FOR US TO BLOW A FEW MORE CHANCES THEN TOP IT OFF WITH A BREAK IN THE FINAL MINUTE THAT’S CALLED BACK ABOUT AN HOUR AND A firetrucking HALF LATER!!! THAT LITTLE segment of faeces OF A PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A REF CAN’T EVEN firetrucking TELL ME WHY! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
AND TO MAKE THINGS WORSE, EVERYONE firetrucking KNOWS ME UP HERE SO I CAN’T GO AND commit various acts of abuse against groupies, animals and/or my wife LIKE I DID AT THE BULLDOGS!! NO WONDER I’M SO FRUSTRATED ON THE FIELD!! AHHHHHHHH!
Andrew Johns: I know what you’re saying JT, I blew up against Manly in ’06 just like you did. Luckily though, I was able to get away with everything because I was idolised in Newcastle. Just keep it all in-house, have a confessional interview with Gould after your career is over and it will be sweet.
WS: Very true Joey. Rugby League is very forgiving if you play your cards right. At times, my life was a living hell. I called those times “Rugby”. I was also done for drugs. But if you say sorry, give the punters plenty of what they want to hear, then anything can be repaired. It might take a bit longer with you, I’m not sure it’s been done with someone resembling Neanderthal Man before, but it’s definitely possible.
BF: If all else fails, JT, you can act like a 10-year old kid. Works for me!
AV: Now there’s a Master Class I’m not sure we really wanted to hear. Thanks to JT for that…game report…of sorts.
On to Sunday’s action and first up was the almost unrecognisable Storm and the quite recognisable but not form-wise Bulldogs. Former Bulldog, the Big Marn himself, Darryl Brohman was there.
Darryl Brohman: Gee, thanks Vossy, way to throw me in the deep end! How is my incredibly self-deprecating façade and pretending to be an idiot going to work against these actual idiots? I couldn’t get to Fittler’s level if I slept in a concrete mixer!
Anyway, my old team the Bulldogs desperately needed a win, but Melbourne’s care-free attitude and team list almost devoid of stars made the Bulldogs’ task much harder from a mental perspective. How do you fire yourself up for a huge effort when most of the opposition’s good players are sitting on the sidelines?
In the first half, the Bulldogs went about as well as I do trying not to eat or trying not to be totally pathetic in search for a laugh from my increasingly tired act, they were down 23-nil at the break. Some highlights were Josh Morris’ pathetic attempted pass back to Patten after a grubber kick which gave Melbourne their third try, a collective pathetic attempt to regain a Melbourne line drop-out which saw Melbourne come up with the ball and Ben Hannant looking almost as fat as me!
To answer my earlier question, the Bulldogs found a 23-point deficit was a good way to fire up and looked a lot better after half-time. If it wasn’t for one of the great try-saving tackles by Matt Duffie and a bizarre no-try ruling (under the current stupid rules) by the video referee on a Blake Green effort, the Bulldogs may well have snatched a victory against the careless Storm. Just like I may live to see 60 thanks to my utter disregard for my health in order to perpetuate this pathetic “Big Marn” persona. In the end, a solid win for the Storm.
AV: Not much I can add to that! Andrew Johns saw Souths take on Penrith in the other Sunday game. Joey, what did you think?
AJ: Truth be told, Vossy, I don’t think very often, but the massively furrowed brow I display when I’m on camera but not talking can give that impression.
Anyway, Souths and Penrith, two very capable teams, but two inconsistent teams as well. Penrith definitely missed big Petero and probably were in need of a tough game after some of their easy wins in recent weeks. Souths’ yo-yo form was in the positive to start with and they raced to a 22-6 lead. Penrith have been killing it with their kicking game and great fullback play, but it was Souths using these weapons, with Sandow and Wesser on the edges having great games.
The second half saw both sides return to form, Souths got comfy and Penrith fought back but Souths were never really threatened, Wesser in vintage form as the Bunnies won comfortably. The question is: can they back this up next week?
BF: Bo-ring! Someone get this guy a fun transplant?
JT: YEH NAH THEY PROBABLY WILL WIN AGAIN COZ THEY PLAY US NEXT AND I’M PROLLY GONNA GET SUSPENDED FOR SWEARING TOO MUCH. WHERE THE firetruck DID THEY COME UP WITH THAT cow faeces?!
BF: The same place Mr Boring over there comes up with his boring commentary!
AJ: Shutup! I’m just doing my job like you should try to do for once since you’ve finished playing! Are we nearly done here Vossy? Me and Freddy were gonna hit up the TAB.
AV: Trust me guys, I’d love nothing more than let you go, but there’s one game left. On Monday night, the Sydney Roosters turned around a two-game losing streak with an impressive win on the Gold Coast. Laurie Daley was there.
WS: Lozza! He loves the Dragons almost as much as I do! Dean Young for Origin 2!
Laurie Daley: Thanks Vossy, and the Sydney Roosters were ‘uge tonight in gitting the job done with a comprehensive effort over the Gold Coast. It looked ominous early on as the Titans jumped to a 10-nil lead on the back of Scotty Prince and his show-and-go move. You’ve seen a hundred times but it gits the defender to pause briefly and you’re gone. Some say he’d play for NSW if he was a New South Welshman. Not me though, Kimmorley is a solid halfback with that size we’re looking and a reliable kicking game.
But this was a bit too easy and the Titans relaxed a little, their attitude suffered and the Roosters responded with 4 tries, two came from Anasta and Anthony Minichiello. These guys were wonderful servants for New South Wales. Mini’s probably a bit too old, but Anasta…nah, I’ve been in love with Barrett for years, if anyone’s going to make me forget about playing Jamie Lyon at five-eighth, it’s Barrett not Anasta.
Prince set up another try and cut the deficit to 2 at half-time, but the game was won with the Roosters’ excellent defence early in the second half before sealing the win with 2 tries. Nate Myles had a great game but he’s certainly no Ben Creagh. Mitchell Pearce returned from injury and set up a number of tries, I spoke with him after the game.
Mitchell Pearce: “Yeh nah we wen ok d’night, yeh I was pretty ‘appy, y’know, yeh me shoulder’s swoit nah it’s tops ay, yeh nah the platform laid by the forwards and I just followed it ay yeh nah, but yeh they’re a good team and ‘ard to beat up ‘ere so it’s good to get away with the win”
LD: I’m no oil painting with enunciation and clear speaking but geez… Can’t give anything away about his Origin chances, but the panel love Kimmorley and Bellamy believes we’re not that far away. You don’t want to be changing things going up to Lang Park. But yeh, not giving anything away. Anyway, an impressive effort by the Roosters in gitting the job done with a ‘uge effort.
AV: If I was the AFL, I’d just give up now – what a collection of minds and collective intelligence! Thanks for watching, regular transmission will I’m sure resume next week.
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Round 11: Oche Oche Oche Oi Oi Oi
Australia loves its sport – both participating in it and watching it played professionally – more than perhaps any other country in the world. However, most sports-loving Australians find it difficult to keep up with their sporty brethren who largely ply their trade in far-flung locales across the world.
This is largely a product of the media’s interest; unless the sport (or event) in question is highly supported or of paramount importance, the media find it hard to muster much interest. This is especially the case for the lesser sports…unless, of course, there is a chance for the media to jump on a successful Aussie athlete’s bandwagon.
Some earlier examples of sportsmen and women in the lesser sports standing proudly under the Southern Cross celebrating victory were Craig Johnston and Layne Beachley. However, in the few months thus far of 2010, there seems to have been a greater than normal number of successful Aussies in the lesser sports abroad: the likes of Andrew Bogut (who had climbed into the upper echelon of NBA big men – where no Aussie has ever been – before his season was cruelly cut short by injury), Mark Webber (recording back-to-back F1 wins), Neil Robertson (the first Australian winner of snooker’s world championship since 1952) and Doug Bollinger (who helped the Chennai Super Kings win the fledgling Indian Premier League)
However, the best story in 2010 for an Aussie sportsman plying his trade out of Australia and earning acclaim once news of his efforts was heard must be darts player Simon Whitlock. After a number of years bouncing around the lower darts competitions in the UK with occasional success, he surprised many by making it to the World Championship final earlier this year. He finished runner-up to perhaps the greatest living sportsman (English darts legend Phil Taylor) but gave a solid account of himself.
Whitlock’s emergence earned him a place in the prestigious Premier League of darts, where he finished second to Taylor on the ladder after the fourteen ‘home and away’ rounds. Sadly for Whitlock (and this Roast), he couldn’t win his semi-final (Tuesday morning Australian time) and finished in 4th place. This may have been for the best though, as Taylor regained his Premier League title after losing it last year with a display never before seen in darts history.
As a tribute to Whitlock and his wonderful efforts to emerge in the relatively closed world of darts – not just for his excellent play, but also his happy-go-lucky demeanour, which sees him not receive abuse or even heckling from the drunken British crowds – this week’s Roast will describe each of the week’s games in darting parlance.
To elaborate, each game recap will include an example of brilliant play, of hard luck and of absolute rubbish. To elaborate further:
“ONNNNNNE HUNDRED AND EIGHTTTTTTTY”: This refers to the maximum score possible from every 3 darts thrown (3 x triple 20). This usually sends the crowd into wild cheering.
“ONNNNNNE….One Hundred and Twenty”: This refers to a dart not plugging into the board fully and falling out before the player has a chance to get to the board, or if the dart hits another dart or the metal dividers and bounces back on to the floor: millimetres away from a high-scoring play.
“No score”: This could be, for example, scoring a double 19 when aiming for a double 3 with only 6 points needed to win the leg (the end of a leg of darts, scoring backwards from 501, can only be achieved when a double, or throwing a dart into the outer ring of the board, is successfully done).
Newcastle v Tigers
This game brought together two teams desperate for a turnaround in form. Newcastle was looking for back to back wins for the first time this season and a home win to avoid their worst start to a season at home since the abysmal 2005 season, while the Tigers were looking to avoid their 5th straight loss and breaking the 20-point barrier for the first time in 4 games (a record they hadn’t matched since the dark days of 2003).
The addition of wind and rain to this tense affair only made things more difficult. Viewers suffered for much of the first half too as both teams struggled. But the second half saw the Tigers slowly take over, blowing the score out past 20 with two late tries.
“ONNNNNNE HUNDRED AND EIGHTTTTTTTY” goes to the Tigers’ ability to play excellent wet-weather rugby league and physically dominate a bigger team. From about the 20 minute mark onwards, the Tigers had the better of field position, won the battle of the ruck and played a much better game in the wet. These qualities were rarely if ever associated with the dry-track specialists from Sydney’s (inner) west.
“ONNNNNNE….One Hundred and Twenty” goes to Newcastle’s injuries. Their win against the Roosters last week was perhaps their best of the season, but this came at the cost of a number of important players, including Jarrod Mullen and Isaac De Gois. These losses were crucial as Newcastle was severely lacking in on-field brains against the Tigers.
“No score” goes to Newcastle’s dumb play. Allowing the Tigers to score from their simple scrum play? Not playing the simple kicking game for field position in the wet? Newcastle certainly missed some players, but even allowing for this, they played dumb. Scott Dureau had a great chance to show his abilities and perhaps help his quest to be re-signed but a silver lining to this game for the Knights had to be that their thoughts on Dureau were further confirmed.
Parramatta v Cronulla
The current NRL definition of bogey team has to be Cronulla for Parramatta. Cronulla’s plucky, lucky victory meant they have now defeated Parramatta at Parramatta five consecutive times, while they’ve defeated Parramatta at all venues five times out of six. This was actually a quite entertaining game, as Cronulla looked far from the last-running team with an enterprising mix of strong forward play and a wide-running backline.
Meanwhile, Parramatta was missing Hayne and Tahu and had to back up from a tough game against Manly after just 5 days, but looked a real threat to score every time they moved into Cronulla’s attacking area. Admittedly, this was not often, as Parramatta’s forwards struggled, but some slices of luck gave them a few tries and an 18-10 lead early in the second half.
However, Parramatta couldn’t put Cronulla away and tries to Tim Smith and Paul Aiton gave Cronulla back the lead. Parra came close, but couldn’t reply, giving Cronulla a well-deserved win.
“ONNNNNNE HUNDRED AND EIGHTTTTTTTY” goes to Cronulla, who hadn’t played so well and confidently in….years. Did they know Ricky Stuart was quitting and hence gave their ‘week-after-the-coach-is-sacked’ top-shelf performance a week early? Time will tell. But if they can play like this more often, the NRL season will be much better for it.
“ONNNNNNE….One Hundred and Twenty” goes to the unlucky set of factors against Parramatta. Not only was it their bogey team at their bogey venue, but coming off playing at the heavy Brookvale Oval only 5 days earlier and facing a full-strength Cronulla during Origin time were all unfortunate. During the game, Parramatta was a touch unlucky to have a try disallowed which probably would have sealed victory after a downfield kick was deflected (but Ben Smith – the recipient of the deflection – was offside).
“No score” goes to Parramatta for a game they definitely should have won. They led 18-10 and had ample opportunity to score again and put Cronulla away but failed to do so. One play during this time which sticks in the mind is Joel Reddy’s rather pathetic left-foot grubber kick. Circumstances might have been against them, but two losses to Cronulla may come back to haunt the Eels.
New Zealand v South Sydney
This was a close game in the end, so by definition it was a ‘thriller’ as reported by the media. However, both teams would have been unhappy after this game, the Warriors really should have won by more, while Souths had a number of great chances to win given the Warriors’ poor finish to the game.
The Warriors started well, but Souths responded with 3 tries, before another 3 tries from the Warriors gave them a strong 8-point lead. The Warriors faded somewhat from here and Souths came back, but couldn’t finish the comeback thanks to a slew of dropped ball and errors in the game’s last 10 minutes.
“ONNNNNNE HUNDRED AND EIGHTTTTTTTY” goes to the Warriors for defeating a noteworthy opponent despite losing two key players (Moloney and Rapira) to injury. They probably should have lost, but the Warriors’ task was made much more difficult by these injuries and as such, they probably deserve a touch more credit.
“ONNNNNNE….One Hundred and Twenty” goes to John Sutton and Sam Burgess, who were probably the best two players on the field. Burgess in particular had a very strong game, but Souths’ annoying habit of following up massive wins with poor performances continued in this game.
“No score” goes to the messy last 10 minutes of this game. The Warriors’ kicking game with a rapidly tiring team was awful. Apparently they didn’t know about putting the ball out for a slow walk to the scrum to replenish energy levels, or even to kick the ball to the corner to make Souths’ task that much more difficult. All they could muster were kicks straight to the Souths’ backmen. That is, from those sets they actually completed. Souths took advantage of Warriors’ mistakes and threatened to score a number of times but dropped the ball far too often.
St George Illawarra v Canberra
This surprisingly entertaining game was decided in about 5 minutes, when the game’s evenness was blown apart by three quick Canberra tries. The gallant, almost reserve grade Dragons never stopped trying to come back in the game but they fell 8 points short.
“ONNNNNNE HUNDRED AND EIGHTTTTTTTY” goes to both teams for such a high quality game. Canberra obviously needed to be aggressive and utilise their size and speed on the edges against such a young Dragons side to score a much-needed win, but the young Dragons were fearless and far from conservative. Several Dragons on debut or in their first few games look set for long careers, especially Fai Fai Loa and Kyle Stanley.
“ONNNNNNE….One Hundred and Twenty” goes to the unlucky Dragons, who lost two key players in the lead-up to the game (in addition to their Origin representation and previous injury toll). Beau Scott’s absence on the right-side defence was crucial; Canberra frequently went down this avenue at the vulnerable Soward and only inexperienced players around him. But they also missed Dan Hunt, who sadly suffered a season-ending injury in the warm-up.
“No score” goes to the Dragons’ Michael Lett, once a highly touted up-and-coming player. He has largely failed to live up to this potential, but his main fault on Sunday was his knock-on from a simple downfield kick. Canberra took over possession and went on their three-try rampage – game pretty much over.
Penrith v Canterbury
In the end, Penrith won this game rather easily, but this was not without several helpings of luck. Luckily for them, the Bulldogs were without almost all of their creative players and were never going to overhaul any sizeable deficit. Penrith could have played much better but it was a fairly significant win for them, without three of their main leaders.
“ONNNNNNE HUNDRED AND EIGHTTTTTTTY” goes to the remaining Penrith players, especially in the forwards (Grant, Pritchard, Puletua etc.). In years past, they have struggled when Civoniceva, Lewis and Waterhouse have been absent and the prospect of playing the Bulldogs without Kimmorley and Ennis might once have induced complacency.
“ONNNNNNE….One Hundred and Twenty” goes to the Bulldogs, who fell victim to the Origin selection policy of picking ‘trusted’ players i.e. players who were playing well last season. Kimmorley and Ennis have looked patchy this season in a struggling team but they retained their Origin spots. The Bulldogs might have been a real chance in this one with one or both of these players.
“No score” goes to the Bulldogs, who went with an extremely conservative game plan, despite an eighty minute appearance from self-anointed x-factor Ben Barba. Their reliance on dummy-half running, especially in the first half made the Roosters look adventurous. And when they fell behind, there was not much change.
NSW v Qld
An extremely disappointing Origin game was played last night in Sydney. New South Wales had evidently learned nothing from the past four years and fell victim to the same selection mistakes and many of the same Queensland plays seen time and time again between 2006 and 2009. While the illusion of closeness was provided by a tight score-line for much of the first half and at full time, this game was over after about 20 minutes, when Queensland realised their forwards could dominate at will, their halves could do what they want and they could go left at any time with little trickery and confuse a hastily-assembled NSW left-side defence.
“ONNNNNNE HUNDRED AND EIGHTTTTTTTY” goes to a very good Queensland side for their efficient demolition of NSW. Their annoying habit of clocking off in non-key moments keeps the game interesting for those with no knowledge of the game, but they were always in control here. Sadly, for those who love a great contest, this inept NSW team will probably never push Queensland to somewhere near their best; we may never know exactly how great this Queensland team can be.
“ONNNNNNE….One Hundred and Twenty” goes to those New South Wales players who could be, or once were, Origin greats, but whose talent is buried deep within the mess that is the New South Wales “structure”. This “structure” is anything but; as a result, the Queensland team has little trouble taking on the 17 NSW individuals.
“No score” goes to such a disgraceful New South Wales squad, with umpteen players out of position, a captain who doesn’t deserve a spot in the starting team, a forward pack that struggles to go forward and too many players picked on reputation (from Game 3 last season). Sadly, for those wanting a great game, the NSW selectors are bound to be too conservative to make the necessary changes (including themselves) before this series is won in Game 2.
On that depressing note, see you next week.
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Round 10: Those were the days - A Heritage Roast
In this week’s Roast, we take a look back at Round 10 – the Heritage Round – with each game accompanied by a memorable previous encounter between each set of teams (as described by the Roast of the day).
Brisbane v. Gold Coast
Yesterday: Round 24 2008, Brisbane defeated Gold Coast 25-21 (guest presented by Bruce McAvaney).
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 at 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.
Today: Brisbane defeated Gold Coast 28-6. While this game was not decided in the final moments, it was still quite entertaining as Brisbane proved their excellent win over Melbourne was not a fluke, easily disposing of another very talented team. However, Gold Coast was probably due for a flat performance after a tough run of games. This should not detract from Brisbane’s effort though; Queensland would be ecstatic if Thaiday and Folau could replicate their performance from this game and the Melbourne game in the upcoming State of Origin series.
Canterbury v. St George Illawarra
Yesterday: Round 10 2009, St George Illawarra defeated Canterbury 20-18.
Much has been said already about video referee Steve Clark’s abhorrent decision in the game’s final minute to deny the Bulldogs what would have been a famous win, but perhaps the most salient point left unsaid in the game’s aftermath was that allowing Idris’ try to stand would have been the first step in ending the pedantry which has enveloped officials’ decision-making in recent years. There might have been a very minor obstruction on Soward by Eastwood as Patten made the break, but to allow this decision to prevent a match-winning try…it left a bad taste in the mouth of Bulldogs’ supporters and most neutrals.
This was especially the case given the stirring nature of the Bulldogs’ comeback. They absorbed much pressure from the Dragons in the first half (although were let off the hook somewhat by a struggling Dragons’ attack) and slowly forced their way back into the game. They had to endure a questionable sin bin on Kimmorley before continuing the comeback. A memorable finish was building and did eventuate – but not as most anticipated.
However, the Bulldogs have long been beneficiaries of controversial refereeing decisions in big games, the most relevant of which came from Steve Clark – the video referee on Friday night – during his on-field referee days in a controversial semi-final at Kogarah in 1998. St George (note the exclusion of Illawarra here) supporters with long memories (a tautology if ever there was one) would also be quick to note the Bulldogs’ good fortune in their 1985 grand final win, while most rugby league followers would also recall the unease at various refereeing blunders when the Bulldogs defeated Manly in 1995.
But for Steve Clark to help the Dragons out in such a big way: the Tuesday Roast could have been knocked over with a feather when this was realised. It just goes to show that everything with refereeing decisions does even out in the end (assuming you take a sufficient time horizon).
(The other 2 games between these teams at Kogarah were also memorable; a 2006 epic where the rampant Bulldogs forward pack matched up against a potent Dragons attack and an early season match-up in 1999 where the Bulldogs won a tight one with memories of a controversial semi-final loss at the same ground in late 1998 still fresh in the mind of all players and supporters. Kogarah also played host to another tight game between these teams in 1990, where a last-minute try to Cameron Wade and then a sideline conversion by Brad Mackay gave the Dragons a 9-8 victory. In one of history’s more memorable calling-of-a-result-too-soon, a young Tuesday Roast and Father Tuesday Roast heard the cheers of the Kogarah crowd as the Dragons scored the late win ― as they were walking back to the car to beat the traffic.)
Today: St George Illawarra defeated Canterbury 19-6. While the Bulldogs were missing a few regular players, they started this game strongly, jumping to an early lead and threatening to overwhelm their opposition. However, after the blip of losing to Manly last week, the Dragons got back on the ‘grinding out victories’ horse; slowly but surely they got the better of this game and won quite comfortably. Once again, the Dragons did this without a number of important players, highlighting their depth and consistency.
New Zealand v. North Queensland
Yesterday: Round 15, 2004, North Queensland defeated New Zealand 28-26 (in golden point).
Sunday’s action kicked off in Auckland, where the Cowboys came back late and eventually defeated the Warriors in golden point extra time. This result means Siberia has now lost only 1 of its last 7 games – an effort worthy of celebratory golden showers. However, this game was not so much won by the Cowboys as thrown away by the Warriors, who missed 5 out of 6 shots at goal and were repeatedly baited into giving away stupid penalties.
Today: New Zealand defeated North Queensland 22-12. Despite the Cowbores once again sneaking Feral Thurston back early from injury, the major effort needed to back up a Monday night win with a Saturday night win proved far too much. The Warriors jumped to a large early lead and held on for a comfortable win despite a patchy second half.
Canberra v. Melbourne
Yesterday: Round 6 2008, Melbourne defeated Canberra 23-16.
However, the best game of the Heritage Round was played last night in Canberra. The home team (who was missing a host of regular and important players) gave a textbook display of physical rugby league in the first half: they led Melbourne 16-4 at half time. Melbourne should not have been disgraced: few, if any, teams would have survived such an onslaught and while they were not quite at their best, they certainly were not playing poorly, although they should have been concerned at the dominance of Canberra’s Colin Best over their right-side outside backs.
It became apparent in the minutes after half-time that the proud Storm was playing at a higher level, but Canberra was still comfortably in the lead and repelled the Storm’s early efforts. They threatened to put the game out of reach – history shows that once Melbourne concedes 20 points, they are next to no chance of winning – when the aforementioned Best caught a high kick and went towards the corner. But Melbourne’s Billy Slater – who had a relatively poor game to that point – made a great effort to just push Best into touch.
From here, Melbourne’s effort and intensity lifted several notches. Their defence wrested the momentum away from the Canberra forwards, while Melbourne’s attack became more incisive, with Slater assuming a much more dominant role. In addition to moving into dummy half, he constantly looked to exploit gaps in the middle of the tiring Canberra defence.
Slater eventually scored and Melbourne looked a chance of running away with the game: an extremely unlikely possibility in the first half. But Canberra’s effort – and a bit of luck – kept the score at 16-all until a Melbourne field goal. Even after finally assuming the lead, Melbourne’s defensive effort didn’t relent. Canberra was next to no chance of gaining attacking field position, so they gambled with several attacking kick plays, which almost paid off.
When Cooper Cronk finally produced an attacking kick which hit the intended target (and a try for Israel Folau), perhaps the best game thus far in 2008 was decided: a 7-point Storm win. They rarely have had to work harder: who would have thought such an effort would be required against an almost second-string Canberra team?
Today: Melbourne defeated Canberra 17-6. This was another disappointing home game for Canberra (although some of their more vocal supporters enjoyed themselves waving paper currency of various denominations at the Storm players). With so much more to play for, with a home crowd behind them, Canberra struggled against a Melbourne side which played quite well coming off the hiding to Brisbane, but was not at their best. Melbourne jumped to an early lead and was relatively comfortable in keeping Canberra at bay.
Sydney Roosters v. Newcastle
Yesterday: Round 6 2008, Newcastle defeated Sydney Roosters 34-20 at Gosford.
The Roosters’ size and consistency meant they were strong favourites to win their 4th in a row – and, in doing so, send Newcastle to their 4th straight loss – at the historical Rugby League stronghold of Gosford on Sunday.
Once again, Newcastle’s awesome attacking potential was on display: their sweeping passes combined with their above-average speed and size at most positions. However, they were let down for most of this game by unforced mistakes, poor decision making in attack and conceding too many penalties. The less skilful but smarter and more consistent Roosters took advantage and deserved to lead 20-12 at half-time.
The game took a curious turn in the first 20 or so minutes of the second half. Newcastle gradually took control of the game but the scoreboard didn’t change. Almost every time the Knights had the ball, they seriously threatened to breach the Roosters, but a number of tries were squandered due to questionable attacking options. Sure, Newcastle’s second-rowers are skilful, but their supporters (and coach) were understandably frustrated to see them putting in attacking kicks before the last tackle in somewhat normal attacking situations.
But the Roosters’ normally solid game was coming apart at the seams. Their error count was unusually high, meaning they were unable to put any sustained pressure on Newcastle (and therefore unable to give much of a rest to their tiring defence) and they started conceding penalties at important times.
With 12 minutes left, the Roosters looked increasingly likely to hang on, but finally Newcastle’s attack clicked and how: 4 tries in the final 12 minutes. Admittedly, the Roosters tackled themselves into the ground: they barely saw the ball in the game’s final 15 minutes, but it was an impressive end to an entertaining game.
Today: Newcastle defeated Sydney Roosters 32-18. Just over two years since the match described above and Newcastle could still be described as having “awesome attacking potential” (even with Ben Rogers in their team) but all too often, this potential is not realised. However, Saturday night was one of those games where the Knights looked awesome, despite a mounting injury toll and the disruption of an unfamiliar halves pairing. The Roosters clearly miss Mitchell Pearce badly and could struggle to add to their premiership points tally until he does.
Wests Tigers v. Souths
Yesterday: Round 24 2007, Souths defeated Wests Tigers 37-12.
The capacity crowd at Leichhardt for the Tigers v Souths game on Sunday afternoon was not as large as the record crowd for the corresponding fixture in 2005, but those Tigers supporters unable to secure tickets to the game were most likely happy they couldn’t attend. Given what was at stake (for both teams), it was a woeful Tigers effort. Robbie Farah’s injury was obviously a major setback, but their poor attitude and lack of intensity likely wouldn’t have led to victory even if Farah was on the field.
The Tigers’ poor game was in stark contrast to Souths’ brilliant effort. They followed the lead of teams such as Brisbane, Parramatta, the Bulldogs and the Warriors in exploiting their size advantage to thrash the Tigers.
Today: Souths defeated Wests Tigers 50-10. Unlike a number of games between these teams in recent years, this game was fairly low quality from the outset. It was Souths who overcame their poor start and jumped to an 18-6 halftime lead; a similar lead which the Tigers enjoyed in the corresponding fixture last season, but there was no comeback this time. On the contrary, as the passes stuck and the confidence grew, Souths ran away with the game. The challenge for Souths is to back up an exceptional effort like this with another win; the challenge for the Tigers is to score 20 points.
Cronulla v. Penrith
Yesterday: Round 24 2006, Penrith defeated Cronulla 32-28.
First up on Saturday was Cronulla vs. Penno. This game was always going to be hard on the eye, given that both teams have been performing so poorly in recent weeks, but both were still in contention for the playoffs. Both teams started nervously and rarely impressed. Penrith was first to string a few competent plays together and took an 8-nil lead, but they proved just as good giving up tries. Cronulla found the try-line rather easily to take a 10-8 lead to half-time and added 3 more tries in quick succession. Penrith again faded badly and Cronulla finally ended their long losing streak. Wait...Penrith just scored. They scored again, making the score respectable. They scored AGAIN! They're only two points down! It's an old-fashion Cronulla choke! Lance Thompson is now a true Shark. THEY SCORED AG...no, wait, an incredible tackle from Darren Albert knocked the unfortunate Danny Galea into touch and kept Cronulla's slim lead. But now Penrith pushed hard in the scrum and got the ball back!! It's Cronulla's ball again, but Thompson has made another mistake! Preston Campbell with the kick and Penrith score! They're in front! Cronulla got the ball back from the kick-off, but Adam Dykes, in his infinite wisdom, decided running into defenders with the ball on the last tackle was the best option – game over. Congratulations Cronulla – you've now lost in every possible way in this losing streak.
Today: Penrith defeated Cronulla 34-14. On paper, Penrith looked likely to thrash Cronulla; a few minutes of Michael Jennings brilliance could have exceeded Cronulla’s point output in a month. But Penrith has long been notorious for losing when heavily expected to win and the bookmakers had long lost faith in Penrith’s ability to win away from home; they had not been favourites to win in a game away from home since Round 13 2007 and they had lost their last four games as favourite away from home going back to early 2006.
Despite Cronulla having won their last two games at home and showing some signs of being competitive, they were largely overwhelmed by Penrith. This occurred even though Penrith wasn’t quite on their game. Michael Jennings lost interest after a hat-trick and this game petered out tamely. However, Penrith supporters would surely take games like this to the heart-stoppers their games against weak opposition can sometimes be.
Manly v. Parramatta
Yesterday: Round 21 2006, Parramatta defeated Manly 31-18.
Next up, Parramatta hosted Manly. Parramatta was perhaps the most in-form team in the NRL entering this game, but Manly had quietly accumulated a 3-game winning streak, despite missing some important players. Through the first 50 or so minutes of this game, Parramatta's great play looked set to deliver another big win. They had a 24-8 lead and the soon-to-be-missed Dean Widders went within a dropped ball of making it 30-8. Then the game changed significantly, as Parramatta's Fuifui Moimoi was sent off for a nasty high tackle. He flew near the sun of heavy contact with his wings made of explosive play once too often. After Brent Kite was rescued (following the Moimoi tackle) and returned to King Kennedy, King Kennedy was given one wish. King Kennedy's extreme competitiveness made this an easy decision: he wanted everything he touched to turn to gold. For the 5 minutes after Moimoi went crashing into the sea, King Kennedy's wishes came true and Manly surged back into the game with two quick tries. But the Kennedy touch would do no more - not for Manly anyway. The only further gold would come for the blue-and-gold, as a Luke Burt try sealed the win for Parramatta, which disturbed Zorba on the Manly bench.
Today: Parramatta defeated Manly 19-12. This was a danger game for Manly. After a tough run of games over the last month or so, as well as the two games for much of their team last weekend, another game against tricky opposition on the heavy Brookvale track was always going to be difficult. Parramatta is an unknown quantity early in the season, but their wayward focus can often be overcome by a big-name opponent; they looked on their game right from the start of this one. Manly looked unlikely to threaten Parramatta unless Parramatta gave them chances; two of these saw Manly eliminate Parra’s 12-nil lead.
More Parramatta mistakes early in the second half saw Manly deep in attack, but they badly missed Kieran Foran and Trent Hodkinson missed his normal halves partner and was probably still suffering after two games last weekend and took a number of bad options during this game. Parramatta scored rather easily on their next major trip downfield against a rapidly tiring Manly defence thanks to a crafty Luke Burt kick and they held on comfortably for the win. For Parramatta, Hayne was brilliant, Hindmarsh never stopped and Humble helped his team look much less retarded than Kris Keating ever did ― why would Parra want to keep him? Meanwhile, Jamie Lyon was Manly’s best but far too many of his team-mates (led by Watmough) looked as though they were running in soft sand.
See you next week.
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Round 9: NRL State of Mind: Doing What Tina Turner, the Hoodoo Gurus & Thomas Keneally couldn’t…?
These are indeed turbulent times in Rugby League. The belated discovery of the Storm’s ongoing disregard for the salary cap, the NRL’s potentially fatal punishment to the Storm and the looming departure of more of the game’s best players to the big-money codes have seen player frustration and disapproval with administration reach levels not seen since Super League days. The possibility of a player strike has been mentioned (probably via the game’s greatest grub Khoder Nasser and his pot-stirring, brown-nosing mate Danny Weidler) but any time Jarryd Hayne strings a coherent sentence together, you know someone’s been coaching him what to say (as well as when to include verbs): the NRL should be quite concerned.
However, until negotiations move beyond embryonic stages for the predicted bumper next round of television broadcast contracts or most clubs (especially the struggling ones) become a lot richer, there is little the NRL can do.
Well, this is not strictly true. The NRL will of course ask the players to be patient (to wait for the broadcast negotiations to start), to be informed (the NRL has ‘opened their books’ to the players at least once before in recent years and may have to again), to think through alternative Storm punishments fully (while the no points this year is very severe, any other punishment which lets them gain points and compete has many more problems, especially down the road) and to think of the cost of leaving for the money (where million-dollar activities can include catching a cold in the outside backs for the Tahs and being an incredible athlete but a sub-par kicker in sports where almost everyone has to kick).
However, the players and their notoriously short attention spans will likely tune out after ‘patient’: something else has to be done in the interim. The game needs an ad campaign to remind everyone just how great the NRL really is, something that even the immature stars of the game can relate to…
NRL State of Mind
Yeah, yeah, I’ma up near Leichhardt back in ‘08
Not two years back but a more momentous date
But the game’s come a long way, far from back in the day
Have a look at the places where we come to play
Leichhardt is still big, but only gets a rare gig
But on a Sunday afternoon, they’re hanging off the figs
Across town at Parra, where they say they matter
The crowd rises as one when Fui batters
Down in the Shire, where they aspire
To sell off the land by the quagmire
You know they can be fun, sometimes they run and gun
I wish I could rap around the post like Ferguson
Over at Brookvale, the home of the Silvertails
The Eagles rock as T-Rex makes them air mail
I love the suburban grounds, they make the world go round
You feel the passion and all of the awesome sounds in…
In the NRL, grassy jungle where dreams are made of
There’s nothing you can’t do, in the NRL
Our grounds will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you, let’s hear it for NRL, RL, RL…..
I gave my love to the burbs, that’s where the game’s birth
But the game today is bout players (like Thaiday)
Like Benji and his sidestep, Hayne and his chip
Idris and his flowing locks, Folau and his leap
Cooper Cronk and his inside ball to Slater
Brett Morris with his pace sayin’ “See you later”
Michael Jennings and his pace lighting up Penny Park
Big Manu the beast always leaves his mark
But the unsung heroes, they deserve plenty of cred
The forwards who work harder for much less bread
Like Big Bull Bailey, he comes to play daily
But then there’s Jason Ryles, or is he a Hayley?
Watmough, Civoniceva, Benny Hannant, Tommy Learoyd Lahrs
When they come together, it’s like a bunch of cars
I love my flashy backs but I love my big pack
It’s all about scoring and knowin who got your back in…
In the NRL, grassy jungle where dreams are made of
There’s nothing you can’t do, in the NRL
Our grounds will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you, let’s hear it for NRL, RL, RL…..
But you know it’s rivalries that make the game not tedious
Not just on the field but also in the media
Also in the boardroom, where ex-players clash
They make dumb arguments trying to protect their cash
First there’s Farah and Mick Ennis
The shifty Leb and Newcastle’s menace
Then there’s J Hodges and Melbourne’s Bretty White
If they meet in Origin, it could be a massive fight
In the media, the hate is deep and it’s been there since Super League
News Ltd Fairfax, Channel 9 Foxtel, 2GB ABC, they all have a story to tell
About the petty dislikes, the needless fights, and the dodging of shrapnel
But at the day’s end, it all moves product, it helps to sell
With the admin, the hate’s a bit more genuine
But everyone seems to hate idiots like Paul Osborne
Except for all the Storm fans who hate Gallop
But where would we be if no-one hated the top dog in…
In the NRL, grassy jungle where dreams are made of
There’s nothing you can’t do, in the NRL
Our grounds will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you, let’s hear it for NRL, RL, RL…..
One hand in the air for the NRL
Bright lights, big dreams and the Big Dell
No comp in the world can compare
Put your lighters in the air, everybody say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
In the NRL, grassy jungle where dreams are made of
There’s nothing you can’t do, in the NRL
Our grounds will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you, let’s hear it for NRL, RL, RL…..
On to discussion of the abridged Round 9 action, where a fairly routine Friday night gave way to a topsy-turvy weekend of bizarre results.
Everyone expected Australia to win and they did this but a resilient Kiwi defence, the dreary Melbourne weather and a somewhat under-strength Kangaroos line-up meant the final margin was far close than most expected. In the other Friday representative game, City surprised Country in taking a 12-nil lead but Country dominated from here, providing some entertaining tries and expansive play to win comfortably.
There are always injuries from these games which impact upon subsequent club fixtures. The Dragons, for example, missed Michael Weyman noticeably on Saturday night, but the Cowbores and Parramatta would have quietly been happy to watch Luke O’Donnell and Kris Keating leave the City Country game with injuries. Not surprisingly, the Cowbores looked much better without O’Donnell and Parramatta should look far less retarded without Keating against Manly next week.
Without Weyman, the Dragons forward pack was lacking a little, but Manly shocked many with a dominant display. With so many players backing up from Friday night and a difficult draw in recent weeks, Manly playing somewhere near their best looked a long-shot, but they were very impressive. The Dragons fought back to 10-6 but a Darius Boyd turnover started a burst of two tries for Manly early in the second half which ended the game as a contest.
There was a significant element of dé ja vu on Mothers Day. Firstly, Newcastle hosted the Gold Coast in another close game where a controversial refereeing decision had a considerable impact on the game’s outcome. However, this year the tries flowed somewhat more freely due to a combination of freewheeling attack, sloppy defence and some inexplicable mistakes and this year, it was Newcastle’s turn to suffer from the officialdom. The penalty given against Ben Cross for an incorrect play-the-ball when Newcastle was deep in attack was at least as poor as the game-deciding penalty given against Scott Prince in the corresponding fixture last year. But Newcastle had the lead when Cross was penalised and over 20 minutes left to secure what should have been a fairly comfortable win. They have only themselves to blame.
More dé ja vu in the later game, where the team under the pump (Brisbane….last year it was Manly) turned their season around with an impressive win. How powerful is a team’s position on the ladder in determining the success of a player’s backing-up from representative games? Last year, Lockyer and Thaiday looked ancient as Manly ran down Brisbane (who started 2009 fairly well) to score a season-turning win. On Sunday, Lockyer and Thaiday had brilliant games as Brisbane (who has started 2010 very poorly) absorbed Melbourne’s best in the opening 20 minutes then thrashed the Storm.
A letdown for Melbourne was always going to come and in hindsight, we should not have been too surprised it came on Sunday (they were white-hot for most of their previous two games, complacency against a struggling Brisbane side had to be an issue and backing up from Friday night – plus the injury to Cameron Smith – would have made things difficult), but merit must be given to Brisbane for one of the performances of the season so far. As mentioned, Lockyer and Thaiday (especially) were excellent, but their effort and intensity were top-shelf across the park from a very young and inexperienced team.
The icing on the cake (which would have been quite bitter…for both teams) was the dominant display of Israel Folau. He scored two tries, set up another and obliterated his direct opponent Greg Inglis. There was probably a strong justification for not picking Folau in the Australian team, given his patchy form and injury, but at his best, Folau is more dominant than Lyon, Jennings, Hodges or anyone else in contention for the right-centre position. Sure, he is an unco when it comes to kicking the ball and passing is far from his forte, but it will be a major loss to rugby league if/when he signs with another code. His potential is (still) frightening.
The final game of the round saw a much-improved effort from the Cowbores – but if the Roosters were anywhere near their best, or even their average, the Sydney side would have won easily. A high mistake count and a lot of generally sloppy play were seen in the game’s first hour, before the Cowbores secured the win with robust defence late on (in response, the Roosters folded faster than Superman on laundry day). It was hard to not to think of the Roosters and their possibly-gambling-induced capitulation to the Cowbores when these teams last met in Round 26 last season as the Cowbores pulled away to record a convincing win last night, but at least (get the sick bags out) Matty Bowen came back from injury! Ohhhhh Matty Bowen, what a player! He may be only a shadow of what he once was with his artificial knee cartilages, but I’ll always remember him as the overrated player he was 3 years ago!
See you next week.
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Round 8: Bye from Adelaide
While 8 NRL teams (or, at least, their non-representative players) are about to enjoy their first weekend off for season 2010, the Tuesday Roast enjoyed a bye weekend in Adelaide during Round 8.
Adelaide has a small but loyal core of rugby league followers (who enjoy the one game per season (in most years) played there), the Tuesday Roast spotted rugby league posts on two occasions and even found a pub in the city which was promoting the upcoming State of Origin series, but any full-time return by the NRL to Adelaide (the Adelaide Coopers perhaps?) looks a very long way off.
In any event, it's time for a very brief summary of Round 8's events pieced together from smidgens of information gathered over the weekend:
* Parramatta continued their improvement with a solid win over an understrength Bulldogs. The Bulldogs may not have been at their best but Parramatta can struggle in such situations; they are accumulating enough points now to struggle for a few more months and start their late-season charge.
* The other Friday night game saw Newcastle defeat Brisbane in a battle of the early season strugglers.
* On Saturday afternoon, Canberra's injury-hit squad made the Warriors think a win would be easy. The Warriors woke up to find themselves 16-nil down. Despite a late comeback, Canberra held on for a much-needed win.
* Gold Coast's run of form continued with an impressive win over fellow high-flyers Penrith. Penrith failed to exploit the weary Titan legs after a very tough Monday night game and Gold Coast gave a very professional display in recording a strong win.
* Melbourne toyed with the Cowbores on Saturday night. Their task was made easier by another injury to Feral Thurston (which, rumours suggest, was deliberately inflicted by Melbourne players who wanted Cooper Cronk to be Australia's halfback) but Melbourne's ability and carefree attitude meant they were far too good.
* The final Saturday game saw the Dragons thrash Cronulla.
* On Sunday, a late Braith Anasta bomb and Beau Ryan fumble brought the game to life after 70-odd minutes and gave the Roosters a 12-8 win over the Tigers.
* Lastly, it was another impressive first 50 or so minutes by Manly before another late collapse allowed their opponents a sniff of a chance. However, Souths could get no closer than 8 points on this day.
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
Round 7: Storm Warnings (or Storm Financial Phase 2)
The 2010 NRL season was altered drastically last Thursday when rumours of salary cap rorting by the Melbourne Storm were confirmed. This was a rare event in the usually gossip-heavy world of Rugby League, where the initial buzz was dwarfed in magnitude by the official announcement.
Within minutes of the announcement of the Storm’s fate, there was a huge number of ramifications for a wide portion of the NRL and sports-loving public of Australia and even elsewhere. In this week’s Roast, we will attempt to discuss a small percentage of these and provide some insight as to where the season – and the game itself – may be headed.
For starters, the extreme punishment meted out to the Storm can only be viewed as suitable. To give anything less would have been seen as weak, toadying to News Ltd and bowing to the view that significant punishment would irreparably damage Rugby League in Melbourne. While it may be a lot to ask of their players to play out the remainder of the season for little incentive, if the Storm was allowed to shave $700k from their 2010 salary in the form of pay cuts or moving several players on to other teams/countries/codes, the risk in future years would be that teams would feel little threat from being over the cap early in the season.
This is especially so given how difficult it is for the NRL to find evidence of salary cap rorting and the relatively meagre resources at the NRL’s disposal to police salary cap rorting. If, in, let’s say 2013, a certain un-named team (let’s call them the B Broncos, no wait that’s too obvious….Brisbane B) realises they are well over the cap just before or early in the season and that the NRL somehow has got wind of this, then the solution could quite easily be to cut one or two players, take your points punishment and move on as if nothing happened.
Back to the players, while much has been made of their misfortune (even if they had no knowledge of any salary cap rorting), they must realise they are part of the club, just as the dodgy administrators are/were, just as the honest low-level administrative types are, just as the loyal supporters are. Many rugby league clubs have suffered in recent years from the acts of players, supporters and administrators; when people in one of these groups commits an offence, everyone is affected. When the Bulldogs supporters destroy trains and make people scared on their way home from matches, everyone suffers (through lower revenue from sponsors). When Danny Wicks and Chris Houston are arrested for drug-dealing, everyone in the Knights suffers. Knights’ administrators can’t say to sponsors “You can’t be angry at us, we didn’t deal those drugs”. Similarly, the Storm players can’t expect to play on as if nothing has happened when past administrators have been revealed as massive salary cap cheats. They must suffer along with everyone else at the club. Cameron Smith has been looking increasingly concerned with every media appearance in recent days, but he does very nicely for himself and will continue to do so, regardless of whether the Storm can play for points this season or not. If anyone deserves sympathy, it should be players like Brian Norrie, Ryan Tandy, Todd Lowrie, and Luke MacDougall: older players who signed with the Storm on bargain-basement contracts. The rorts were unlikely to have filtered way down to the lower ranks of the Storm’s starting 17. While cutting these players loose will only make a small dent in the Storm’s reported salary cap exceeding, you can bet some players of this ilk will be asked to leave and may find it hard to sign with a similar team/opportunity as they thought the Storm would provide them.
The Tuesday Roast will be back with more after this break.
Are you a Melbourne Storm die-hard supporter, whose heart has been ripped in two by recent events?
Did Craig Bellamy’s inspirational and defiant prepared speech to the media last Saturday bring a tear to your eye and a warm, fuzzy feeling to your heart?
Did Bellamy’s passion reach out and grab you, despite his tenuous command of the English language, nervous and staccato delivery, abbreviation of words that were never meant to be abbreviated and overuse of cliché? Did he leave you wanting more?
Well the latest offering from News Ltd Merchandise is for you! It’s Craig Bellamy putting his spin on of some of the most famous speeches ever!
Hear Bellamy convey the passion of Martin Luther King… “Oi have a dream that me four little children will one day, at the en of the day, live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their crackter….”
Close your eyes and imagine Bellamy in much more of a battle than anything on a rugby league field… “We shall defend our Oi-land, whatever the cost may be, we shall foit on the beaches, we shall foit on the landin grouns, we shall foit in the fields and in the streets, we shall foit in the hills, we shall never srenner…”
Bellamy channels a similarly popular figure from America’s past… “And so, moi fellow Mericans, ask not wot your cunry can do for youse but wot youse can do for your cunry. Moi fellow cizens of the world, ask not wot Merica will do for youse, but wot togeffa we can do for the freedom of man…”
But Bellamy is not just an intense rugby league coach, he also has a softer side… “I stan before you t’day the representive of a family in groif in a cunry in mournin in a world in shock. We are all united not only in our desoir to pay our respects to Doiana but rather in our need to do so. For such was her extrordinry appeal that the tens of moolyins of people takin part in this service all over the world via television and radio who never actually met ‘er feel that they too lost someone close to them in the early hours on Sun-dee mornin…”
Plus many more speeches for any occasion! With Mothers Day approaching fast, I couldn’t think of a better present for mums and contemporary English students alike!
From May 7th, this epic album will be available at all stores, but before then, it will only be available from Melbourne Storm offices at a bargain price of $700,000 divided by how many sales we get! Plus every 100th sale gets to visit the Melbourne Storm marquee – who knows what goodies you might find!
So the more you buy, the cheaper it is and look out for a secret goodie – philosophies we uphold here at the Storm since 2006!
Welcome back. The news of Melbourne’s salary cap rorting has renewed calls to adjust or eliminate the salary cap in the NRL for a number of reasons (to encourage junior development, reward long service, the salary cap is too difficult to police and it is responsible for too much talent being lost to overseas or other codes).
In the current financial environment for the NRL and its clubs (most of who are struggling), a salary cap or some form of expenditure restraint is an absolute must. As a former NRL staffer once revealed to the Tuesday Roast “You need to have the salary cap to protect the clubs from themselves!” The combination of insufficient revenues from the sale of TV broadcast rights, payments back to News Ltd for monies invested during the Super League War and into the Melbourne Storm and a difficult financial environment for many clubs (especially in Sydney) means the salary cap absolutely cannot be lifted; if anything, it probably could be lowered.
However, if the anticipated leap in TV revenue comes from 2013 and some/all of the other factors placing a drain on the game’s revenues can be repaired, there is the possibility of a substantial jump in the game’s revenues. This could come in the form of a much higher salary cap but probably should come in the form of no salary cap but some other form of equalisation amongst the clubs.
The current regime has helped to maintain a strong level of parity across the competition, but it has seen a type of laziness amongst clubs. Teams do not necessarily have to invest in junior development or highly value players who have been at the club for many years. Not to say these areas are not important, but when the best teams or the teams on the rise see their salary bill push up to the value of the cap, there are usually a high number of players off-contract who can largely fill any voids your team may possess.
The logical extensions of this are that experienced players are not as highly valued as they ought to be and roster turnover is higher than it should be: both of these reduce the ultimate quality of the play in the NRL.
In a regime without a salary cap, there would be more scope for teams to dominate over longer periods, but teams would receive a greater return on investment in junior development, would be more able to keep experienced, veteran players and they would have the greater incentive (more often than not) of a great team to emulate and strive to be like. This cannot be understated; in those team sports across the world without a salary cap, or in those individual sports where one man/woman has dominated for years, there is a greater incentive from all within the game to get better, a greater target to aim at, as opposed to a system of greater parity where near enough is often good enough.
Of course, a completely open system would likely to be too problematic; some conditions to make it fairer for small teams are probably needed (e.g. some sort of benefit for those teams with long-standing players). This could come in the form of revenue-sharing from the NRL (and perhaps slightly more revenue to those teams with longer-serving players). However, if the mutterings about the number of other teams rorting the salary cap is close to correct, then perhaps a simpler, more open system of equalisation is needed.
This could be in the form of a points cap, where each player is ascribed a notional points value based on his level of experience, rep game participation, whether he was a junior with his current club and whether he is a long-serving player. Of course, while this system is completely open and the points for each player would be made public, it has its own problems too, such as the method of allocating points for each player. The National Basketball League has operated with a points cap for a number of years now and has discovered complexities which were not evident prior to its implementation.
While much still remains uncertain, one thing does seem clear: there will have to be change to the current system sometime in the next few years. The NRL cannot risk discovering massive rorting by a number of teams; rugby league is noted for its resilience and ability to cope with adversity but surely this would be too much.
On to the Round 7 action:
* On Friday night, the Bulldogs started slowly but put Brisbane away with a 3-try burst early in the second half. In the other game, a surprise comeback from injury by Feral Thurston was not enough to stop the resurgent Eels from making it two wins in a row.
* Saturday’s action saw Penrith overcome the gallant Tigers in a very competitive, but error-riddled game. In the other game, Cronulla made it two in a row at home by starting slowly but ultimately thrashing a pathetic Newcastle side.
* Sunday’s triple-header saw Canberra give up its second straight huge lead at home in losing to Souths, the Roosters were able to stay with the Dragons for 40 minutes but repeating this task proved far too difficult as the Dragons won easily before the still-very-motivated Storm thrashed the woeful Warriors.
* The final game of the round on Monday saw Gold Coast make the most of their luck in the first half to stay close to a rampant Manly team before taking advantage of their late-game tiredness to record a famous win.
See you next week.
