NRL 2018
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Back from Mt Smart after a 12-6 loss to the Melbourne Storm. Not happy but not disappointed either....
Hometown disadvantage: In a tight tussle like this, to win a team needs to either pull off a miracle play or get the blow of the whistle. Melbourne got the blow of the whistle all night long, even when Cam Smith appeared to punch Ken Maumalo in the face (a knock on was called and Melbourne got the ball back). Those little calls were what ultimately won Melbourne the game.
No Luke?: Another deciding factor was Isaac Luke exiting halfway through the second half. I was at the game so didn't know if it was an injury or not (I guessed it was) but that meant the Warriors were without a player who could make a big play in the middle of the park in the final 10 minutes of the game.
The real MVP: Cam Smith for the Storm and Gerard Beale for the Warriors. Beale was causing issues for Josh Addo-Carr and Curtis Scott throughout the match on defence and offence. Beale also did an awesome body slam on Billy Slater. Cam Smith was Cam Smith.
What about the other guys?: The Melbourne Storm are the New England Patriots of the NRL, just like the New England Patriots are the Melbourne Storm of the NFL. Their roster (besides Smith, Slater, Bromwich and Munster) comprises of journeymen, NSW Cup players, castoffs and rookies yet you're always scared of the Storm. It's the nuances which they do so well, many of which are borderline cheating. Lying in the ruck area when the opposition are on attack, being a few metres offside each play-the-ball but not enough for the refs to call it, they do all the little things so well. God I hate them.
Best moment of the game: Billy Slater getting cut in half by (I think )Tuivasa-Sheck. Slater went to pass, got smashed, appeared to cop a fist to the nuts and the ball went sailing into the middle section of the grandstand while Billy's balls probably went up into his midsection too.
@sneakdefreak said in NRL 2018:
Back from Mt Smart after a 12-6 loss to the Melbourne Storm. Not happy but not disappointed either....
Hometown disadvantage: In a tight tussle like this, to win a team needs to either pull off a miracle play or get the blow of the whistle. Melbourne got the blow of the whistle all night long, even when Cam Smith appeared to punch Ken Maumalo in the face (a knock on was called and Melbourne got the ball back). Those little calls were what ultimately won Melbourne the game.
Watched bits and pieces of this - I think the bandwagon has been driving up and down my road!
That call on Maumalo/Smith was an absolute fucking travesty, unless there's some rule in league that Cam Smith can do no wrong.
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@sneakdefreak said in NRL 2018:
Back from Mt Smart after a 12-6 loss to the Melbourne Storm. Not happy but not disappointed either....
Hometown disadvantage: In a tight tussle like this, to win a team needs to either pull off a miracle play or get the blow of the whistle. Melbourne got the blow of the whistle all night long, even when Cam Smith appeared to punch Ken Maumalo in the face (a knock on was called and Melbourne got the ball back). Those little calls were what ultimately won Melbourne the game.
Watched bits and pieces of this - I think the bandwagon has been driving up and down my road!
That call on Maumalo/Smith was an absolute fucking travesty, unless there's some rule in league that Cam Smith can do no wrong.
@chris-b said in NRL 2018:
@sneakdefreak said in NRL 2018:
Back from Mt Smart after a 12-6 loss to the Melbourne Storm. Not happy but not disappointed either....
Hometown disadvantage: In a tight tussle like this, to win a team needs to either pull off a miracle play or get the blow of the whistle. Melbourne got the blow of the whistle all night long, even when Cam Smith appeared to punch Ken Maumalo in the face (a knock on was called and Melbourne got the ball back). Those little calls were what ultimately won Melbourne the game.
Watched bits and pieces of this - I think the bandwagon has been driving up and down my road!
That call on Maumalo/Smith was an absolute fucking travesty, unless there's some rule in league that Cam Smith can do no wrong.
there kinda is. Star players get away with fucking heaps that regular guys don't.
Cam Smith is in interesting time. Now he's retired from rep footy he's just Melbourne's captain. And for some reason the Sydney media is on a mission to destroy his legacy. They weren't this blatant about it when he was captain of Queensland. But suddenly, Sydney journos are starting to make stupid statements about his "standing in the game".
On the refs, the NRL is looking like a fucking joke. Yes the Raiders were on the end of a bad one on the weekend, but playing to the whistle might also have helped. The touchie putting his flag up is not, however, the reason they aren't playing finals, no matter how much Ricky blows up. This comes back to our discussion on the rugby TMO thread. The NRL refs actually get shit as spot on as they possibly can, and blatant errors are few and far between. If the endless panel shows of former players and "respected journos" didn't continually crap on about every single little decision from Sunday evening until about Wednesday, the deadshit fans would fill up forums with crap about bias and conspiracies. That's without the coaches blaming refs rather than their own shortcomings.
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I think Cam Smith could stab Robbie Farah on the field and it wouldn't even get put on report.
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For a while now 4 or 5 years I've seen the NRL run roughshod over the principles of the sport for short term popularity and public appeal.
State of origin is the best example. Foul play is almost totally ignored in order to keep penalties fewer and 13 on the field. From head high shots to blatant kick chaser obstruction, they turn a blind eye to genuine rules.
When CTE ( the concussion epidemic where ex NFL footballers know they're fucked but it's not addressed - hell some guys suicide with a gun to the chest and leave a note saying "please study my brain"!), comes around in heavier concern, the NRL are going to be front and centre.
McKinnon becomes paralysed and less than a year later Thaiday shoves Gallen head first and gets a week. (fuck off with your " it's only Gallen quip). Perfect opportunity to shine a light on dangerous play, but no we need Thaiday for subsequent games
NRL is a comp that departs from the sport to placate artificial sensationalism and this latest referee diminishment is another example. Look at how much arguing with the ref goes on- these are symptoms of a game losing sight.
It'll keep taking in the bucks but the league playing field is far from equal or consistent
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For a while now 4 or 5 years I've seen the NRL run roughshod over the principles of the sport for short term popularity and public appeal.
State of origin is the best example. Foul play is almost totally ignored in order to keep penalties fewer and 13 on the field. From head high shots to blatant kick chaser obstruction, they turn a blind eye to genuine rules.
When CTE ( the concussion epidemic where ex NFL footballers know they're fucked but it's not addressed - hell some guys suicide with a gun to the chest and leave a note saying "please study my brain"!), comes around in heavier concern, the NRL are going to be front and centre.
McKinnon becomes paralysed and less than a year later Thaiday shoves Gallen head first and gets a week. (fuck off with your " it's only Gallen quip). Perfect opportunity to shine a light on dangerous play, but no we need Thaiday for subsequent games
NRL is a comp that departs from the sport to placate artificial sensationalism and this latest referee diminishment is another example. Look at how much arguing with the ref goes on- these are symptoms of a game losing sight.
It'll keep taking in the bucks but the league playing field is far from equal or consistent
For a while now 4 or 5 years I've seen the NRL run roughshod over the principles of the sport for short term popularity and public appeal.
State of origin is the best example. Foul play is almost totally ignored in order to keep penalties fewer and 13 on the field. From head high shots to blatant kick chaser obstruction, they turn a blind eye to genuine rules.
When CTE ( the concussion epidemic where ex NFL footballers know they're fucked but it's not addressed - hell some guys suicide with a gun to the chest and leave a note saying "please study my brain"!), comes around in heavier concern, the NRL are going to be front and centre.
McKinnon becomes paralysed and less than a year later Thaiday shoves Gallen head first and gets a week. (fuck off with your " it's only Gallen quip). Perfect opportunity to shine a light on dangerous play, but no we need Thaiday for subsequent games
NRL is a comp that departs from the sport to placate artificial sensationalism and this latest referee diminishment is another example. Look at how much arguing with the ref goes on- these are symptoms of a game losing sight.
It'll keep taking in the bucks but the league playing field is far from equal or consistent
It's because the NRL are incompetent, and windsocks. Last year everyone whinged that the game was too slow because the rules weren't being followed. So at the start of the year the refs cracked down, blew a heap of penalties, and opened the game up. Of course, everyone blew up about the number of penalties. And now we are right back where we started.
Stop listening to the endless talking heads, or people with agendas (losing fans and coaches basically) and just fucking lead.
As for this weekend. A mistake was made, so who got the chop? The touchie. Who got to stay? The ref, and the dude in the bunker who called it all. And then the NRL come out and acknowledge that, in their eyes, there is two levels in the NRL (I'm guessing it's the Roosters, the Bunnies, the Sharks, the Dragons, Melbourne, and Brisbane, and then everyone else). What a complete shit show.
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@mariner4life said in NRL 2018:
I think Cam Smith could stab Robbie Farah on the field and it wouldn't even get put on report.
and nor should it
But he could’ve died
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@mariner4life said in NRL 2018:
I think Cam Smith could stab Robbie Farah on the field and it wouldn't even get put on report.
and nor should it
But he could’ve died
@act-crusader said in NRL 2018:
@mariner4life said in NRL 2018:
I think Cam Smith could stab Robbie Farah on the field and it wouldn't even get put on report.
and nor should it
But he could’ve doid
FTFY
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Shane Flanagan is the biggest fuckhead in the NRL (and it's a strong field), oh how i loath the Sharks.
His comments last night were a disgrace. Apparently the Sharks only lost because of the ref.
$10k isn't working. Ban the pricks.
Hey Shane you flog, go have a look at the handling error stats from last night.
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Shane Flanagan is the biggest fuckhead in the NRL (and it's a strong field), oh how i loath the Sharks.
His comments last night were a disgrace. Apparently the Sharks only lost because of the ref.
$10k isn't working. Ban the pricks.
Hey Shane you flog, go have a look at the handling error stats from last night.
@mariner4life I reckon he has genuine competition in Stuart, but they are top two for sure. This ongoing bitching about calls not going their way out of the dozens made in any given match is fucking mental. They are talking themselves into a corner where only the ref's performance has any impact on the result!
Utter madness. Reckon their punishment should be having to ref their next game! Lets see you make 100% correct calls, NOT favour your own team, and keep up with play mutherfucker!
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The Sharks had 10 handling errors, missed 32 tackles, and gave away 9 penalties. But yep, a couple of ref calls is why they lost a game by 10 points.
Also look at the repeat sets they had on the bronco line where they barely looked like scoring because Townsend has reverted to his Warrior form, and Moylan is a fullback playing 6. There are the reasons why the Sharks have a points per game lower than every other team in 8 except the Warriors.
But yea, the refs...
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The Warriors have a right to bitch about the refs after that game against Cronulla. The Raiders have a right to bitch about the refs after that game against Cronulla.
Cronulla should kept their mouths shut and be grateful that the worst calls of the year were in their favour.
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The Warriors have a right to bitch about the refs after that game against Cronulla. The Raiders have a right to bitch about the refs after that game against Cronulla.
Cronulla should kept their mouths shut and be grateful that the worst calls of the year were in their favour.
@sneakdefreak said in NRL 2018:
The Warriors have a right to bitch about the refs after that game against Cronulla. The Raiders have a right to bitch about the refs after that game against Cronulla.
Cronulla should kept their mouths shut and be grateful that the worst calls of the year were in their favour.
Yeah it was laughable that Flanagan even referenced the Raiders game in an attempt to try an be balanced and then went on to have a whinge and moan that even my 4 year old on his worst day wouldn’t be able to emulate.
There is something in what @mariner4life memtioned earlier about the almost 24 hour of talking heads on Fox, Ch9, Sydney and Brisbane radio, that relentlessly criticise reffing.
Fans get swept up in it and feel the rage, call their shock jock and it feeds into the general vibe of any discussion about the game. When they’re not backslapping each other, they criticise refs. There’s not much analysis going on (not that it’s needed for the worlds simplest team sport), but the clubs/coaches think they can get away with it because that’s what the experts and fans think. Sure they’ll get a fine but it will probably endear them more to the fan base.
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Panthers coming home strong after being down a bit against the Manly.
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Panthers now lead 28-24. Manly led 24-6
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Manly with a 2017 Warrior-esque 2nd half choke.
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Manly with a 2017 Warrior-esque 2nd half choke.
@act-crusader Manly have to be firming as favourites to win the wooden spoon.
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I go on a few sports forums in a few different codes ,
it's interesting, common theme , all groups of supporters claim they are the victims when it comes to reffing decisions.
@kiwiinmelb said in NRL 2018:
I go on a few sports forums in a few different codes ,
it's interesting, common theme , all groups of supporters claim they are the victims when it comes to reffing decisions.
Except the Storm. They just get fucked over and their titles stripped years later
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Isaac Luke is out of the game against the Gold Coast Titans and the return of Tohu Harris has also been put back a week too. No decisions on what the match-day squad will look like but I'm guessing this:
VODAFONE WARRIORS
1 ROGER TUIVASA-SHECK (c)
2 DAVID FUSITU’A
3 GERARD BEALE
4 SOLOMONE KATA
5 KEN MAUMALO
6 BLAKE GREEN
7 SHAUN JOHNSON
8 JAMES GAVET
22 MASON LINO
10 AGNATIUS PAASI
11 ISAIAH PAPALI’I
13 SIMON MANNERING
14 JAZZ TEVAGA
Interchange:
15 SAM LISONE
17 BUNTY AFOA
20 KARL LAWTON
21 LEIVAHA PULU
