Thread: NRL - 2016

It's a new season, why not a new thread?

Just a place to discuss 'The Greatest Game of All'.


Who will win the ANZAC Day Test? It's being played in Newcastle this year.


State of Origin is a little over a month away.

ANZAC Day test is May 1 (from memory) so a few are playing out of their skins to contest a few positions.


How's your favourite Team?


Will the Roosters slump turn around?


Can the Sharks run continue ... currently in the top 4


ANYTHING NRL RELATED


Over to you ...

The Doggies have been quite lucky this year but I cannot see anyone getting near the Broncos or the Cowboys.

Not to mention another win for the Cane Toads again this year. They certainly have the players and the talent.

https://au.sports.yahoo.com/league/a...ants-for-roos/
Gallen will bring toughness to Roos: Mal

Australian 19-man squad: Darius Boyd, Semi Radradra, Greg Inglis, Josh Dugan, Blake Ferguson, Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk, Matt Scott, Cameron Smith (capt), Paul Gallen, Josh Papalii, Matt Gillett, Corey Parker. Interchange (from): Josh McGuire, Michael Morgan, James Tamou, Sam Thaiday, Aidan Guerra, Michael Jennings.

Great game to watch.

Originally Posted by bobo746

https://au.sports.yahoo.com/league/a...ants-for-roos/
Gallen will bring toughness to Roos: Mal

Australian 19-man squad: Darius Boyd, Semi Radradra, Greg Inglis, Josh Dugan, Blake Ferguson, Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk, Matt Scott, Cameron Smith (capt), Paul Gallen, Josh Papalii, Matt Gillett, Corey Parker. Interchange (from): Josh McGuire, Michael Morgan, James Tamou, Sam Thaiday, Aidan Guerra, Michael Jennings.

Looks like a solid team. Bit of excitement in the form of Radradra, but not sure I would have found a spot for Dugan in this team.

Nice looking bench too.

I'm just happy to see QLD teams 1 and 2 on the ladder with a VIC based team third.
The NSW old boys will be spewing.
Broncos lost yesterday and I think the Sharks will be right up there at the end of the season.
Although I am a QLDer I would love to see the Sharks finally win their first title. Would be good for the comp.

^ Your aiming up for a red

For those Eel fans who haven't heard the news ... they have been discovered to have been supplying '3rd party payments' to players and the NRL are taking the following actions.

NRL's proposed sanctions on Eels

• Fined $1 million
• Docked all competition points accumulated this season
• Club will be unable to gain points until it complies with the 2016 cap
• Eels stripped of 2016 Auckland Nines title
• Chairman Steve Sharp, deputy chairman Tom Issa, director Peter Serrao, chief executive John Boulous, football manager Daniel Anderson must show cause why their registrations should not be cancelled

Full article here ... Parramatta Eels officials digging in for NRL fight over salary cap breach, former Storm bosses cry foul - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

It will be an interesting Test Match.

Until last year, the Kiwis haven't won for yonks, but smacked our ass 26 - 12 and, from memory, have won the 3 previous encounters.

But they have lost the strike weapons of Tuivasa-Sheck and Manu Vatuvei.

We (the Aussies) have an untested coach at Test level. I've alwqys seen Mal Meniga more as a 'Man Manager' then a strategic coach.

Our 2 centres, 3 Greg Inglis, 4 Josh Dugan both are fullbacks for their respective Clubs. Inglis has form in that position at Origin level, but just how injured is he?
Dugan was a flop, well, played inconsistently for the Dragons there and was moved back to fullback which seems more his natural fit.

Cameron Smith, one of my favourite players seems to be playing below his best, though I didn't see the Storms last 2 emphatic wins.

Unusually, both captains, Cameron Smith (Aussie) and Jesse Bromwich (KIWI) play for the same club ... Melbourne Storm.

The game is being played in Newcastle and the weather prediction is for clear skies and about 20C at kick-off.

BRING IT ON

Well the 'Roos did what they had to do to get the job done. It was clear that a 3-4 day preparation wasn't enough for either team, there were plenty of wasted chances for both sides in attack when (what looked to be) under rehearsed set-moves fell flat. Which is what you'd expect when the ball goes through 4 or 5 sets of hands belonging to players who have rarely - if ever - played on the same team. Still though, it was well worth watching and the Kiwis will be a much better team when they're at full strength. Their defense was particularly good, they just needed more fire-power with the ball in hand which the half a dozen top line players missing could/would have provided.

The only big let-down of the night was that fucking idiot Gould bagging the Australian team for being ordinary and too old. Sour grapes because not one Panther was even considered for the team?. Or maybe the fact that he never pulled the Green and Gold on himself?. There's good reasons for both...

Sure, that was probably the oldest Aussie RL team to ever lace boots up but unlike in NRL, with 10 interchanges instead of 4 allowed in Test matches the "old boys" looked to hold up just fine. In fact the oldest player in the NRL was MOTM. But besides all that, if you're going to pick a team on form they pretty much all picked themselves. If Gould wants to see new players blooded, put them in the NSW Origin team and see how they go.

^ Couldn't agree more regarding "Dads Army".

Younger teams got their pants pulled down in the last three, and older steadier heads were needed.

Can't believe some pundits calling for Smith and Cronk to be dropped. They are still the most lethal combo going round.

^Yep. And JT is no spring chicken either. But would "experts" like Gould put players of that calibre out to pasture to select guys like Granville, Hunt and Co. instead?.

If the current team got blown off the park, most probably yes. Until such time, I think Meninga has a fair idea of what players can still cut it at Rep level footy.

Originally Posted by Headworx

The only big let-down of the night was that fucking idiot Gould bagging the Australian team for being ordinary and too old. Sour grapes because not one Panther was even considered for the team?. Or maybe the fact that he never pulled the Green and Gold on himself?. There's good reasons for both...

Mal Meninga has suggested Phil Gould's lack of international representation tainted his judgment after the former Origin coach called for an overhaul of the ageing Australian team on Friday night.

Meninga responded to Gould's suggestion the Kangaroos wouldn't win the World Cup with the crop of players that defeated New Zealand 16-0 at Hunter Stadium.
SMH

MAN OF THE MATCH

Now, I'm not a Paul Gallen fan, but he was outstanding against a much larger NZ Forward Pack.

Tip my hat to Gallen on that performance.

For those who missed it, here is a 20 min Highlights package ...

Storm got up over the Cowboys in an amazing game at Suncorp last night. The Cowboys came out hard and fast and were up 8-0 inside the first twenty minutes. Thurston was putting the bomb up to great success every chance he could.

But as usual the Storm, who are undermanned out wide through injuries, stuck to their game plan and took it to the Cowboys up the middle. The Cowboys have a large mobile pack but the younger Storm boys got the job done.

In the battle of the two best half backs in the world you would have to give the points to Cronk. His kicking game was outstanding and the way he directed the play, in conjunction with Smith, was spot on. Smith played a huge part in stifling Thurstons game by putting pressure on him at every kick.

A lot is said about how good the Smith-Cronk combination is but you have to give a lot of credit also to Blake Green for the work he is doing. The addition of Green to the combo gives Smith options on both sides and also adds a third kicker.

And to make the weekend even sweeter Manly copped a touch up courtesy of the Broncos.

Haha Bobo

... on a lighter note



For those who don't know the news story, Parramatta is/was in big trouble re their Salary Cap.

Their high profile, injured, ex-Manly star, Anthony Watmough, has happy to take early retirement.

But it still didn't get them under their Salary Cap, so their rake, Nathan Peats was shipped off to the Gold Coast Titans.

Problem solved.

Originally Posted by David48atTD

... on a lighter note



For those who don't know the news story, Parramatta is/was in big trouble re their Salary Cap.

Their high profile, injured, ex-Manly star, Anthony Watmough, has happy to take early retirement.

But it still didn't get them under their Salary Cap, so their rake, Nathan Peats was shipped off to the Gold Coast Titans.

Problem solved.

Absolute bloody disgrace that the eels can still play for points and mathematically can still make the eight. The head of the NRL says he doesn't want to see the players and fans go through the same anguish that the Storm did.

Well I say "Why the fuck not?"

The salary cap cheating at Storm was perpetrated by one person while at Parramatta there was five or more involved knowingly rorting the system over five years.

The Storm were stripped of prize money, minor premierships and premierships as well as being fined. Parra on the other hand cop a fine and Watmough, whose career is about to end because of injury, cops a golden handshake to retire and all is sweet.

The one difference between the two situations is the way the NRL handled proceedings. In Parras case they investigated first and then handed out the punishment. As for that [at][at][at][at] Gallop he ripped the guts out of Storm and then went looking for evidence.

Parramatta should be playing for no points!!

Eddie Hayson embroiled in NRL match-fixing investigation

Controversial gambler and former brothel owner Eddie Hayson is embroiled in a NSW police investigation into allegations of match-fixing in two NRL games last year.
One of the matches being investigated is a 2015 match between South Sydney Rabbitohs and Manly Sea Eagles.
The week before the match, Mr Hayson is alleged to have collected $500,000 in cash to bet on the match. The bet involved Souths winning by more than eight points.
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A jockey, on the instructions of Mr Hayson, is also understood to have wagered $120,000 on the same outcome with a bookmaker. Mr Hayson later instructed the jockey to put another $100,000 on but the bookmaker refused the second wager.
"The reason it [the betting] didn't come under suspicion was because the Rabbits were favourites. They were giving away seven and a half points. So they had to win by eight points or more which they did win," said a source who declined a request by Mr Hayson to contribute to the scheme.
He said Mr Hayson told him six players were involved. "Eddie did tell me there were six players and he had to give 50 large [$50,000] to each one," said the source.
A statement from NSW police said: "The Organised Crime Squad is in the early stages of examining information to alleged match fixing in the NRL. No further comment is appropriate at this stage."


Eddie Hayson embroiled in NRL match-fixing investigation

The Storm roll on to top spot.

Smith and Cronk returned from Origin duty to put on a master class as Storm defeated the Panthers 24-6. Cronk in particular was on fire having three try assists and scoring one of his own. A nice recovery from that ankle injury.

Once again the Storms big forwards stepped And took on the responsibility of doing the hard yards and relieving the pressure on Smith and Cronk. Good to see Jesse Bromwich crossing the chalk and watching a forward the size of Solomona racing upfield and putting the step on.

Storm played a smart game defensively by shutting down Sowards kicking game and stopping the likes of Cartwright from multiple offloads.

The game was also notable for the debut of Ivan Clearys son Nathan. The 18 year old was always going to be tested coming up against the quality of Cronk and Green. The boy has been playing his socks off in the lower grades and what he showed last night in first grade suggests that he will be around for a while to come.

The Origin period has not been kind to the Broncos so far with them losing two on the trot. The Cowboys have bounced back from last week to thrash the Knights so the ladder is starting to sort itself out.

I used to pay close attention to the ladder in the early part of the season until I realized it's a waste of time.
Take a snapshot of the ladder now and then have a look at it in September.
But hopefully the Storm, Cowboys or Broncos win the title and rub the (NSWRL) NRL's nose in it !

This is interesting, and could not have happened to a better club -

Andrew Johns denies Manly?s culture has deteriorated because of him

........"Johns, who worked with the Sea Eagles as an assistant coach from 2012 until the end of last year, is a close friend of renowned punter and former brothel owner Eddie Hayson, but the rugby league Immortal says suggestions he brought the controversial figure to the club are “ludicrous”.....................
and -
.................."Hayson, who is reportedly socially involved with Brett Stewart and former Manly players Glenn Stewart, Kieran Foran and Anthony Watmough, has been linked with placing large bets on at least the Rabbitohs clash.".............

I have been saying for years that they are a "dirty" club. Not surprised to hear allegations like this and the drugs they were "allegedly" using for years.