NRL Thread (2 Viewers)

[kimi]

I still think Mini is the best fullback in the comp (bar Locky), despite the awesome form of Hodgson, basically - he hasn't done anything wrong to lose his spot- infact he was one of Sydney's only good players this year. I was also surprised so few Tigers/Cowboys were selected - but as you say - alot of their gun players(particularly the Tigers) are New Zealanders. I think probably if Cowboys won a few more of their players would have been chosen compared to the Tigers. On your comment on Johns - I probably would have made the same decision- and I'm not lacking patriotism, the international comp is a joke.

Id say the international comp is a joke because it provokes injuries and an even heavier workload on what it would seem- the best players in the NRL. Mason was out for more than half of this seaspn because of that injury he has sustained when they played in Philadelphia so, it does have its consequences. Im not entirely saying that you lose patriotism when you refuse to play for your country (i think someone opted for fatherhood instead of playing, i dnt remember who it is-i think that is alright. its legitimate enough.) but, its just- the way Johns says it, he'd rather play a super league game then represent us. And Super league is shittt, i hate it.

If Cowboys did win, i still wouldnt think they would have more players picked- because there just wouldnt be room for consideration.

And regarding Mini, i agree hes one of Sydney's only good players this year. Though, it seems weird that they did chose him before Hodgson whose been praised so much for what he has done this season. With Roosters only making 9th on the ladder, it would of suggested something if Tigers could win the gf with Hodgson? It would of been difficult though- so the selectors probably opted for experience i suppose.

I dnt really care, i wouldnt be able to watch any of these games except maybe the first one anyway. Cos it goes on during our hsc exams!!! Assholes.

 

[DRAGONZ]

Id say the international comp is a joke because it provokes injuries and an even heavier workload on what it would seem- the best players in the NRL.

Spot on. Agreed 100%.

Until New Zealand, Great Britain, France, Greece, whoever the hell ... until they improve enough to challenge Australia, there's just no point in having these stupid tournaments.

Last year Australia were terrible all tournament and still got to the final. Then they played good for 41 minutes ... and led Britain 44 - 0.

Like you said Kim, the international competition is just a joke.

 

[kimi]

I still think its an honour to play. But at a price.

 

[Constip8edSkunk]

hodgson might have been good this year but mini is still the best fullback, unless they bring lockyer back, (Dragonz' solution would be so much better). Mini has been playing in a team that has been so consistently poor this season and still played brilliantly in most matches, attack and defence. Plus this year he also created tries as well as scoring them due to the lack of direction at the halfs, somehting he added to his game. He also shined in last years kangaroos tour/ anzac test/origin. standout roosters player of the season.

hodgson has been praised because he's one of the senior players at the tigers that had been central to their success. and wih the way the tigers attacked he got loads of tries and goals - being top pts scorer and breaking various pt scoring records also helps the hype.

Its like prince has been brilliant at the tigers and deserved to be picked but no way he'll displace Johns... and farrah will not get past buderus (i wouldve liked to see him instead of gower though. i didnt think wing deserved to make it either way)

Mason is only their based on his name, no fucking way hed have maded based on the 7 or howevermany crappy games he played this year. Waterhouse... wtf... I rate tate, but he clearly is nowhere as good as he was before he got crunched... at least no berrigan

 

[DRAGONZ]

To anyone interested in the player transfer market:

It seems very likely that a high profile forward will leave the Dragons. While many people are talking of Timmins leaving to England because of his age, as far as I understand it so far he was going to go to England before he decided to reject the large contract and stay at the Dragons.

What I'm trying to say is there is a very high probability that Ashton Sims (who WILL play for Australia soon) is heading to Bondi to join the Sydney Roosters in 2006.

I hope not, but it is looking *very* likely ...

 

[Constip8edSkunk]

ill believe it when it actually happens... every bloody player is linked with the roosters. I'd love to see it happen but as brigan pt it out, with bailey leaving soon, why would the dragons let him go...?

i did read somewhere that dragons will be forced to offload 1 high profile player due to salary cap restrictions as many players have bonus/upgrades for 2006 built into their contracts based on this yr's performances

 

[kimi]

Too true skunky, that's why i wanted to know the source.

Lol. Hahaha. I totally agree too. Its an excuse for everyone to bloody comment on our supposed 30million salary cap which we dnt effing have.

 

[Bookie]

i notice they didnt pick kimmorley

Hes best man at his brothers wedding, he pulled out

Until New Zealand, Great Britain, France, Greece, whoever the hell ... until they improve enough to challenge Australia, there's just no point in having these stupid tournaments

Australia will get hammered this series with that shithouse squad. Has no one picked it, or is Bailey just not there?

To anyone interested in the player transfer market:

It seems very likely that a high profile forward will leave the Dragons. While many people are talking of Timmins leaving to England because of his age, as far as I understand it so far he was going to go to England before he decided to reject the large contract and stay at the Dragons.

What I'm trying to say is there is a very high probability that Ashton Sims (who WILL play for Australia soon) is heading to Bondi to join the Sydney Roosters in 2006.

I hope not, but it is looking *very* likely ...

Going around for a while now. Bookie's money is on Thompson, the crowd fave.

30million dollar salary cap

Gee, someones been on the cones. We only said 10 million.

 

[ledzeppelin]

Stupid fucking Tri-Nations squad. Fullback of the year not enough for Hodgson?

fark off p)
is it not enough that minichiello was not only tri-nations player of the series last year, but also state of origin player of the series this year?
he was also in tremendous form for the roosters all season, and it was largely due to his efforts alone that we maintained our position on the brink of the top eight
sure, hodgson has been in great form, but minichiello has been the best fullback consistantly for three seasons, and deserves to retain his place in the number 1 jersey
i'd also say that lockyer would not displace minichiello or hodgson at the back if they did pick another five-eighth. he's a number 6 now, and that's where he should be picked, or not picked.
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on the rest of the squad, i think skando and farah were very unlucky not to make it
ryan, mason and o'meley should buy lottery tickets
cross should have been there over tate
grothe should have got a run
menzies should have been picked over fitzgibbon
i don't have a problem with waterhouse's selection, he's been great for penrith (his stats back this up)
simpson wasn't available for the tour

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on the grand final, in my opinion it wasn't a very good or exciting game, it just lacked intensity
all the night grand finals haven't been very good, and i think that's a result of them being played at night.
for some reason, you just seem to get better matches during the day

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stupid eels, winning premier league

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i hope we get sims

 

[ledzeppelin]

bookie, Bailey (i assume you're talking about Luke, not that hack Phil), pulled out of the tour

 

[Bookie]

Cool.

Explains everything boys.

 

[kimi]

fark off p)

on the rest of the squad, i think skando and farah were very unlucky not to make it
ryan, mason and o'meley should buy lottery tickets
cross should have been there over tate
grothe should have got a run
menzies should have been picked over fitzgibbon
simpson wasn't available for the tour

--------
on the grand final, in my opinion it wasn't a very good or exciting game, it just lacked intensity
all the night grand finals haven't been very good, and i think that's a result of them being played at night.
for some reason, you just seem to get better matches during the day

-------
stupid eels, winning premier league

<3 Agreeing with all.

EDIT: OMG i just saw that. Chris Walker is going to Storm? WTF. hAHHAH

 

[DRAGONZ]

Ahhh my namesake coming to the roosters, where did you get this info dragonz? I gotta say they should def. let go of timmins before sims, specially with them losing bailey to GC in 2007.

Click Here
Since then, Fettasmightydragons has come and said that he doesn't think it will be Sims, and he's normally ALWAYS right. But two guys have been told from someone working in the club that Sims IS leaving ... I dunno who to believe.

Anyway, even if he does leave, we're more than able to cope with it. Dunning, Hunt, Wicks and Houston in Flegg have "Rep Player" stamped all over them, and Henderson and Wheatley in Premier League don't go too badly either. If Leaeno can become fitter, he'll be awesome.

Part of the problem at the Dragons is they have TOO MUCH talent. Like Scott Prince said today at Campbelltown about him being the only Tiger selected, "It just proves that we're a champion team ... *pauses as he tries to remember the cliche* ... and not a team of champions."

In 2003, a no-name Panthers side wins. In 2005, a no-name Tigers side wins. But the Tigers definitely take the cake as the worst side to win a Premiership in years.

At least they did it, though ...

 

[Bookie]

on the rest of the squad, i think skando and farah were very unlucky not to make it
ryan, mason and o'meley should buy lottery tickets
cross should have been there over tate
grothe should have got a run
menzies should have been picked over fitzgibbon
simpson wasn't available for the tour

1. Skando - Yeah, he tried hard, but no bias, I reckon Nutley deserves a run ahead of Skando.
2. Farah - he's played well, but seriously, we're talking green and gold jumper here. He's not THAT good. Its like people calling for Covell added to NSW [oh wait, that was me]. He tries hard, but he aint that special.
3. Ryan, O'Meley and Mason were always gonna be picked. Dont have a sook about it.
4. Cross played well in a loser side, but he shouldnt be there ahead of Tate. I reckon Justin Hodges shouldve got a run though.
5. Grothe. Fair enough, he should have got a run, but you go talk to the selectors.
6. Menzies. I am Menzies' beiggest fan, but as good as he is, theres no harder worker than Fitzy, as much as a cocksucker he may be. Possibly over Waterhouse though,. thats a joke seelection.
7. Simpsons shit.

 

[DRAGONZ]

OMG i just saw that. Chris Walker is going to Storm? WTF. hAHHAH

He's going there because Steven Bell has left. I would have liked to see Greg Inglis given a go though ... he sure looks a likely one. Even Inglis at fullback and Slater on the wing? But then that vastly diminishes Slaters' potency. Either way, they should FIND a spot in the starting 13 for Inglis.

That said, I reckon Walker would go well at the Storm. They get no media coverage, so he doesn't have to worry about his ego and his image. And if he were to play on the wing, he'd be playing outside a representative player in Matt King.

If I could come up with a SUPER early top eight prediction - one where injuries don't play a part:

1. Dragons. If they don't start like they did in '05, minor premiership is theirs, I think. They only lost three games in twenty two weeks leading up to the Prelim Final.
2. Eels. Can't see any reason why they would go much worse in '06 than they did in '05. Plus Tim Smith has now had a whole year of experience.
3. Bulldogs. On a whim, basically. They had too many injuries this year to see how they will REALLY cope without Price. Anasta will be a big loss but Holdsworth has the goods.
4. Knights. They were just about the best team in the comp for the last eight weeks of the regular season this year. Andrew Johns is clearly the key.
5. Roosters. More than enough quality for 2006. Harrison will be their best player next year. Should make the eight comfortably enough.
6. Cowboys. Were terrible post-Origin. Not sure that one year of experience will change much.
7. Panthers. Losing Ben Ross will really hurt, but they showed signs at the end of 2005 that they were starting to get it together again. A mercurial team.
8. Broncos. They just never miss out. Once again will start strongly enough and fade terribly. Age is a problem.

That leaves the Storm, Sharks, Sea Eagles, Warriors, Rabbitohs and Raiders outside the eight. Melbourne will find it tough without two of their best in Orford and Bell. Manly will be aided by them but their Brookvale record won't be as good as this year. Rabbitohs and Raiders are no chance, and the Warriors won't cope well without Jones. The Sharks seem best equipped to challenge for the eight of these six clubs, but no Peachey and no Stevens looks ominous. Bookie reckons Mitch Brown ... he looked good in the AAC, but I'm not sure about his ability to make too much of an impact in 2006.

And yes, it also leaves the Tigers outside the Finals. Teams will be awake to their tactics. They won't enjoy a fairytale run two years in a row. If Benji Marshall pops his shoulder again, they are done and dusted - they just simply don't have the depth of other teams. The referees will hopefully learn what a surrender tackle ACTUALLY is in the offseason. On top of all that, there's nothing like beating the "Reigning Premiers".

If injuries strike, the clubs most likely to fall out of the eight I came up with are yet again Canterbury, Newcastle and Penrith.

What do you guys think? *Raises controversy*

 

[copious]

Realistically there were only a handful of players from the grand final teams who even had a sniff of trinations selection, them being Bowen, Prince*, Skandalis, Thurston, Southern, O'Donnel* , Hodgson. But with the players ahead of them there was no chance. Farah might get a look in a couple of years, but i would of had Priddis in front of him.

Either way, if my Kiwi team doesnt have access to Super LEague players we are screwed.

 

[Bookie]

Fine Rob. i'll give you my eight. Maybe a tad of bias. maybe not.

First of all, I think league will return to the normal ways and there will be no fairytales. There will be strong sides and there will be shit sides. Heres how Bookies 8 goes;

1.Dragons I cringe as a Sharks fan saying this, but they look hard to beat.
2.Broncos A team of champions who can easily be a champion team should they just not be wearied by age. All they need is fitness training, theyve got all the skills.
3.Cowboys Pretty much the same side as this year, probably the same result.
4.Eels Cap rorting roster which I hate, but theyre a strong side and a top 4 finish should be expected Eels fans.
5Sharks David Simmons. If he wasn't there, 1st. No seriously, these guys are gonna be good next year, but not up for the title till '07. Best depth in the comp and I will be pissed if we dont win the PL. Peach's loss will have large effect.
6.Roosters Very strong squad who need to fire without Ricko and Fittler. Get over it already.
7.Bulldogs Another strong squad. Shit halves. Injuries the key.
8.Tigers or Storm Storm have a large number of changes in their roster and losing Matt Orford wont help. See how the new look will gel. Tigers are premiers but theyll have to squeeze a couple out through the salary cap and like Rob said, fairytales wont last forever. Premiers dont come back the next year do they Bulldogs?

Which gives my bottom 7 a look of Tigers/Storm (see above), Panthers (just losing players. Thanks for Rossy and the Pom), Manly (One man team. Orford and Bell must fire), Raiders (great team, even greater injury toll. Good chance for the 8 if they can field at least 50% of their top 17), Souths (still young, give em another year), Warriors (No Stacks, no hope), Knights (Keep dreaming. Too many wraps. Too shit) in no particular order.

 

[Meads]

And yes, it also leaves the Tigers outside the Finals. Teams will be awake to their tactics. They won't enjoy a fairytale run two years in a row. If Benji Marshall pops his shoulder again, they are done and dusted - they just simply don't have the depth of other teams. The referees will hopefully learn what a surrender tackle ACTUALLY is in the offseason. On top of all that, there's nothing like beating the "Reigning Premiers".

I think that is a very subjective perspective on the Tigers, fact of the matter is, they are not a one or two man team, they are in fact the oppossite, they are a dam TEAM. It has taken them a while to mould, but they have turned out to become a very tight unit, each player complementing eachother. There is no doubt that players like Benji and Prince have a large effect, but if one was to go missing, i doubt it would create a world of difference.

I think it is quite simple, a team with no depth does not win a Grand Final! The fowards run the other team dry, and the backs then run around them...how much more depth do you want?

As for tactics, its not as if they are tactics that are secret or overly hard to identify...they are just tactics that work, and that are very hard to stop. For this reason, I think they will work again next season.
Next year the Tigers will only be stronger.

Other than that, the rest of you top 8 looked reasonable

 

[Bookie]

Oh sweet justice prevails!

Luke Covell is in an international squad!

GO LUKE COVELL!

4 other Sharks also made the cut [Vagana, Maiava, Leuleuai, Latu]. Good stuff boys. This is their combined 40 man squad, and I hope that all the Sharks boys get a run.

Louis Anderson (New Zealand Warriors),
Roy Asotasi (Canterbury Bulldogs),
George Carmont (Newcastle Knights),
Nathan Cayless (Parramatta Eels),
Luke Covell (Cronulla Sharks),
Greg Eastwood (Brisbane Broncos),
David Faiumu (North Queensland Cowboys),
Joe Galavao (Penrith Panthers),
Awen Guttenbeil (New Zealand Warriors),
Dene Halatau (Wests Tigers),
Bronson Harrison (Wests Tigers),
Lance Hohaia (New Zealand Warriors),
Stacey Jones (New Zealand Warriors),
David Kidwell (Melbourne Storm),
Wairangi Koopu (New Zealand Warriors),
Tevita Latu (Cronulla Sharks),
Phillip Leuluai (Cronulla Sharks),
Kylie Leuluai (Manly Sea Eagles),
Peter Lewis (Parramatta Eels),
Jamaal Lolesi (Wests Tigers),
Steve Matai (Manly Sea Eagles),
Hutch Maiava (Cronulla Sharks),
Benji Marshall (Wests Tigers),
Frank Pritchard (Penrith Panthers),
Tony Puletua (Penrith Panthers),
Frank Puletua (Penrith Panthers),
Paul Rauhihi (Warrington),
Iafeta Palea'aesina (St Helens),
Marcus Perenara (Parramatta Eels),
Iosia Soliola (Sydney Roosters),
Jeremy Smith (Parramatta Eels)
Clinton Toopi (New Zealand Warriors),
Tame Tupou (Brisbane Broncos),
Glen Turner (Melbourne Storm),
Nigel Vagana (Cronulla Sharks),
Manu Vatuvei (New Zealand Warriors),
Brent Webb (New Zealand Warriors),
Jake Webster (Melbourne Storm),
Paul Whatuira (Wests Tigers),
Ruben Wiki (New Zealand Warriors)

Although some of them can only play the southern or northern leg, its a pretty strong squad. Out of that, if I could pick the best 17, my side would be;

1 Webb
2 Toopi
3 Lolesi
4 Whatuira
5 Covell/Vatuvei/Webster [depending on GK]
6 Vagana
7 Jones (C)
13 Wiki
12 Kidwell
11 Puletua
10 Asotasi
9 Hohaia/Latu
8 Cayless

14 Rauhihi
15 Maiava
16 Puletua
17 Halatau

Top reserves; Faiumu, Galuvao, Guttenbeil, Phil Lools, Koopu

Bit of a rushed side, but thats my thoughts

 

[MuffinMan]

so the halves and the centres are already set for australia? im guessing it would be:

1 - minichello 3 gasnier 4 - cooper 6 lockyer 7 johns
any guesses for the wingers?