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.
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@raznomore Can't argue that. Everytime Kata got the ball you knew he was going to run it himself which means the Storm knew that too. He's the Warriors version of J-Man Washington from Any Given Sunday.
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It's official. The NRL brass see the Warriors(& Titans)as a lesser to rival NRL teams.
Gerard Sutton has been "demoted" for a blunder from the previous round and will now officiate the Warriors & Titans game. It has been officially referred to as a lesser profile game.
THIS. IS . FUCKED.
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@raznomore said in NRL 2018:
It's official. The NRL brass see the Warriors(& Titans)as a lesser to rival NRL teams.
Gerard Sutton has been "demoted" for a blunder from the previous round and will now officiate the Warriors & Titans game. It has been officially referred to as a lesser profile game.
THIS. IS . FUCKED.
The fix has always been in.
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@raznomore said in NRL 2018:
It's official. The NRL brass see the Warriors(& Titans)as a lesser to rival NRL teams.
Gerard Sutton has been "demoted" for a blunder from the previous round and will now officiate the Warriors & Titans game. It has been officially referred to as a lesser profile game.
THIS. IS . FUCKED.
and this surprises you why?
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@mariner4life far from surprise. It only confirms a long held concern
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@raznomore said in NRL 2018:
It's official. The NRL brass see the Warriors(& Titans)as a lesser to rival NRL teams.
Gerard Sutton has been "demoted" for a blunder from the previous round and will now officiate the Warriors & Titans game. It has been officially referred to as a lesser profile game.
THIS. IS . FUCKED.
Shows you the bubble in which the NRL HQ lives in. The CEO is getting henpicked by the Sydney media so, in a desperate attempt to get them off his back while keeping matesy with the Sutton family, the NRL pushes the problem onto two non-Sydney teams.
In fairness Gerard Sutton is a decent ref compared to the moron that is Adam Gee so I'm not toooo upset by this decision but the NRL HQ needs to be brought out of its bubble. Oh and maybe fire Todd Greenburg.
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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.
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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.
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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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
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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@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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@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.
