Thread: NRL 2013

Just received this in my mail.

Billy slater is out at a bar,and flirting with a good looking woman.she invites him over to her house and she goes into the bathroom,telling billy to get comfortable.she comes back and finds billy laying in bed with 2 naked men. She exclaims, "what the hell is going on?!" To which billy sheepishly replies: I'm sorry! I can't perform without Cooper Cronk & Cameron Smith.

Has anyone any experience with subscribing to LiveNRL.tv?

^^

I didn't realize Cameron Smith was a gay hooker.

Well I suppose injuries will pick the Red side then.

I think Billy would adjust to any team around him. Fastest man in the league!

NRL refs boss Anderson outlines new rules

New referees chief Daniel Anderson says the 2013 NRL campaign will put more onus on his charges to adjudicate on controversial decisions before referring them to video officials.

The former Parramatta and Warriors coach, who has replaced Bill Harrigan, made a presentation on Wednesday of new rules for the season, which will be the first since the outlawing of the shoulder charge.

The obstruction law has also been amended, in addition to the introduction of protocols in which referees will make a call on try decisions before referring them.

However, it was the new interpretations on obstruction that caused the most debate.

The subject caused much consternation last year and Anderson explained that, under the new rulings, Justin Hodges' controversial try in the State of Origin decider in Brisbane for Queensland would be chalked off.

Hodges scored for the Maroons after Ben Hannant impeded Beau Scott as the centre darted underneath the posts.

"Now you can't run at defenders and initiate contact and the defensive line cannot be disadvantaged," Anderson said.

Anderson admitted he expected there to be some initial issues with the interpretation of the rule, but the onus would be on coaches to encourage players not to run into players.

Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens, who was also present, said he felt the new rules could potentially unfairly disadvantage the attacking team if a try was scored out wide and a penalty was given for an infringement at the ruck.

However, Anderson said that an attacking team would not be penalised if a defending player initiated contact on an attacker.

Under the new rules, contact to the head - like the actions demonstrated by South Sydney's Greg Inglis on St George Illawarra's Dean Young and Brisbane's Ben Te'o on West Tigers prop Matt Groat - would almost certainly result in a send off.

Anderson said he expected some teething problems, as players get used to not using the tackle but felt it would ease off over the course of the season.

"There have been some in the trials, and George Rose did one in the All Stars game," said Anderson.

"It will be considered misconduct if any player affects a tackle by rotating the hips and shoulders or when a defender has his arms tucked into his body."

Referees will make an on-field call on controversial try decisions before referring them to the video box.

In previous years, the decision was sent to the box but, now, a call will be made on the field.

"There was too much going upstairs last year," said Anderson.

"Referees have an instinct and are usually in the best position to make a call and we want them to have the confidence to do that."

Veteran whistleblower Tony Archer and Russell Smith are the technical coaches for the referees list.

Archer denied the new video system would affect referees' confidence if their decisions were continually overturned.

"They won't want to get them wrong, and it will make them work harder to ensure they are in the right position to make the right calls," he said.

Anderson also announced they would trial a captain's challenge in the under-20s Holden Cup competition. Each team will have one unsuccessful call per half.

The World Club Challenge is kicking off in about 30 minutes. Melbourne Storm vs Leeds. Might be a replay on later for those who sleep

Ben Barba has been stood down indefinitely.


Rapid spiral from stardom to the depths of despair


Read more: Rapid spiral from stardom to the depths of despair


Long road ahead ... Ben Barba. Photo: Getty Images
Ben Barba's "multitude of problems" came to a dramatic head when he told a Bulldogs trainer on Saturday night during the trial against Canberra in Goulburn that he did not want to play.

The Bulldogs were well aware of issues with Barba – gambling, alcohol, spending as well as the ongoing effects of a relationship breakdown – but his surprising admission made it clear that league was the furthest thing from the fullback's mind.

On the team bus back from Goulburn, Barba spoke at length with coach Des Hasler and other members of the Bulldogs coaching staff. Then on Sunday, he phoned chief executive Todd Greenberg, and the pair agreed to meet later that day.

They did so, along with Hasler and the player's manager Gavin Orr. It was clear to all in the room that – as his loss of desire against the Raiders proved – he shouldn't be on the field.

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So he wouldn't be. Barba broke down during the meeting, at which it was agreed that last year's Dally M player of the year would be stood down indefinitely. Perhaps Barba will be sidelined for a matter of weeks, but more likely months – and possibly for the rest of the season.

Greenberg has left the decision in the hands of the professional counsellors, who have been hired to work with the 23-year-old.

There was not one major catalyst but a "multitude" of them. Central to them, though, was the breakdown in the relationship between Barba and his partner, Ainslie Currie, the childhood sweetheart he met in Mackay while still at school.

The pair have two daughters, Bodhi and Bronte. They separated before Christmas, while images surfaced on social media of Barba with a new girlfriend, Lauren Tweddle, increasing the "fishbowl" pressure on him.

"I think Ben is at a point where football is the last thing on his mind," Greenberg said. "If anything, I think he felt a sense of relief that there was a plan in place for him to get his life back on track."

While the Bulldogs have dealt with behavioural problems before – Barba was stood down in 2009 after a scuffle with then teammate Jamal Idris – his troubles escalated again last week, when he lashed out at teammate Tim Browne during a physical scrimmage. Barba took exception to a challenge by Browne, and the altercation became physical.

Still, Barba played on Saturday night in Goulburn in the trial – 55 minutes against Canberra – during which it became clear that his mind was not on the game.

After the team returned to Sydney, he joined a night out with another Mackay product, Manly halfback Daly Cherry-Evans, to celebrate the birth of his child.

Then on Sunday morning, Barba called his boss, and less than a fortnight before the Bulldogs' opening match of the season against North Queensland, it was agreed he would not play in it.

A day later, Greenberg addressed the Bulldogs playing group then, after two statements were released – one quoting Greenberg and the other Barba – the club boss fronted the media.

"For the past 24 to 48 hours for me, it became significant enough for me to take the action we have taken," Greenberg said, adding the step was "not so much an incident but the manifestation of a lot of issues that have been in his life over a period of time".

"This is not one issue," Greenberg said. "This is a range of different issues that stem from a breakdown in a family and personal relationship."

Barba will remain in Sydney for now but may opt to spend time in Mackay with family. His older brother Aaron had a promising career at Penrith cut short because he could not adjust to life in Sydney. Officials across the game hope the same does not occur with his younger sibling.

Barba is a brilliant talent but also occasionally a brittle individual. He once walked off the field during an under-20s encounter. For so long, it appeared his defensive inadequacies were behind the reluctance of the NRL coaching staff to promote him, despite eye-catching performances in the National Youth Competition. It is clear personal frailties were at play as well.

"The difficulty for Ben is he is confronting them [his issues] in the public eye," Greenberg said. "His stardom shot within 12 months last year. He has had great difficulty dealing with that issue.

"He is a role model in the game of rugby league but he may not be equipped with all those skills and tools to be the role model we need him to be."

Many waxed that Barba looked like he wore a cape last year, with try after freakish try, but the player himself might have believed he was closer to wearing a mask.

"I'm incredibly sad to be stepping aside as I've been so blessed with what's happened to me over the past few years, but I feel as though I would be wearing a mask if I didn't confront the matters I've been dealing with until now," Barba said in the club's statement.

"I feel it is best to deal with these problems front on, and I believe that by doing so this will make me a better person and player in the future."

It seems the Face of the NRL is a cursed position. First Stewart, then Benji and now Barba.

Oh fucking great, now Thurston is the new Face of the NRL..... Well you can kiss JT and my beloved cowboys goodbye if history is anything to go by.

I hear ya, there's been talk, and I say just talk, that there is far more to this story than being on the piss and having a punt

As a Bulldogs fan my evening is shattered.

Fuck it, I'm off to get pissed.

Game 1 of 2013 tomorrow night

Usual start to an NRL season with the chosen posterboy shown up to be the overpaid chav he usually is.

Bookies have suspended betting on the sharks v Gold Coast game and futures markets with rumors around that up to half the squad is going to be pinged for drug use....

Up to 14 Sharks players are understood to have been offered six-month bans if they plead guilty to using prohibited drugs. But it is understood they argued that if they had taken drugs, they did so unknowingly. It is unclear whether former Cronulla players now at other clubs have been offered the same deal, which would save them from the usual two-year bans handed down to athletes testing positive to performance-enhancing drugs.

Read more: Sharks up in arms with former trainer

Just about kickoff for the opening game, Souths v Roosters.
Be interesting to see how SBW will go.

All games this year shown on Setanta/True.

Originally Posted by Necron99

Be interesting to see how SBW will go.

On the interchange to start. Some talk that he's pretty much only there for marketing purposes since his pec or whatever is still not right.

SBW on after 30 minutes

Try for SBW in an otherwise dull game.
Inglis looks fit and had a very good game.

^ he used to be a Dog but now he's a Cock

More bad news for the Sharks.
Head coach and most of the management and support staff have been sacked or stood down. Can't have gotten this far without the players being next against the wall.

Eels smacking the Warriors 18 - 0 first half.

So, same shit this year from the Warriors.

40 - 10...

They delayed the rugby for that shite!?