The NRL Season of 2016

Smudge

And six of them in the one car. Who's the unhip Warrior who owns a people mover? And yes, I know there's no shortage of people movers in South Auckland...

taniwharugby

Sneakdefreak

Shaun Kenny Dowell now out of the test match....fml. Picking that Alex Glenn will be playing at centre. Kearney has made some odd selections, and I know some of it will be that clubs are not releasing players, but this should have been the line up for tomorrow (taking into account all the injuries):
 
1. Hoffman
2. DWZ
3. Perrett
4. Kahu 
5. Nightingale 
6. Nikorima
7. Johnson
8. Bromwich (c)
9. Luke
10. Blair
11. Proctor 
12. Harris
13. Taumalolo
Bench: 14. Brown 15. Taupau 16. Eastwood 17. Ma'u 18th man: Moa
 
(out injured: RTS, SKD, Hiku, Leuluai, Whare, Mannering, Foran)

mariner4life

Backs look a bit ordinary. I really wish Matulino was there, our pack would look unreal (it still looks pretty good to be fair)

Paekakboyz

Don't we have an up and comer from the Eels, heard Goran talking about him to Darcy on my way home

taniwharugby

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Paekakboyz" data-cid="577140" data-time="1462431994">
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Don't we have an up and comer from the Eels, heard Goran talking about him to Darcy on my way home
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When they were chatting to Taupau? (who came across pretty well I thought)

Paekakboyz

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="mariner4life" data-cid="577139" data-time="1462431950">
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Backs look a bit ordinary. I really wish Matulino was there, our pack would look unreal (it still looks pretty good to be fair)
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</blockquote>
 
Really hoping that Ben bounces back hard - he's such a talent and has years left on the clock. Love how our forward pack has realised how mean it is aye. Those lads must fire up something special when they hunt as a pack. Then the second wave arrives from the bench. Chur!

mariner4life

seriously, Bromwich, Matulino, Blair, and Taupau as a front row rotation are waaaaay better than anything the aussies can put together. And i would take Taumalolo over any of their back rowers, while Proctor and Harris are at least the equal of anything they have. If Eastwood comes off the bench with shit in his nostrils those Aussie forwards are in for a loooong night.

Sneakdefreak

If we can shove their forwards in the middle of the park, I predict we win. But our backline is a bit of shambles so if we do win it will only be by four points at most.

Sneakdefreak

In Warriors news: Lousi done for the season with a knee injury. Probably done with the Warriors/NRL as well.

raznomore

I am a League guy but for the first time ever I am losing my interest. Its pretty sad but I realised today that with everything that is going on, Warriors/Drugs, Eels/Foran and the completely ridiculous bunker/obstruction failure, Im not rushing home to catch the games. Im not booking/recording them.
 
Im not even really up for the kiwis. Too much bullshit for too long.

Nepia

I know how you feel Raz - but it's less the off field stuff and more a mixture for me.
 
Now I'll whinge about the Warriors every season, because it's the thing to do, but I'll keep watching the games at least until the last few weeks of the season. But this year I'm finding it hard to muster the enthusiasm. 
 
This time last year I was on a high about the tests and was gutted I was sick for the match, but the EOYT selection and eventual losses put paid to that for me and all I can think of now is that we're playing Tohu Harris at 6 and that's just stupid.
 
What sucks is we do have the best pack in the game as M4L notes. Nothing the Aussies can come up with in the prop rotation matches Bromwich, Mutts, Taupau, and Blair - no combination whatsoever, Tamou wouldn't even make the team if he hadn't sold his sole to the devil. Basically, if the Jonathan Thurston had chosen NZ over Oz way back when Hooroo's cousin tried to convince him the Kiwis would be unstoppable.

ACT Crusader

I'm a little worried about our backs. Although I'm predicting a fairly open sort of game rather than a slog fest. 
I would've loved to have seen the below spine with our strong forward pack.

RTS
Foran
SJ
Luke

Nepia

TBF, our backs may as well just lucky dip for their positions by pulling jerseys out of the bag because they're just about all wings.
 
Since we're all selecting our wishful teams mine would be:
 
RTS
Rapana
SKD
Whare
Vatuvei/Kahu
Foran
Johnson
Bromwich
Luke
Mutts
Harris
Mannering
Taumalolo
 
R: Taupau, Blair, Proctor, Lolohea, 18th Glenn, 19th Eastwood

Paekakboyz

I'm just keen to enforce our style of game on Oz, too often they've had the freedom to pretty much do what they want. Does suck balls that we are missing some of our most dynamic playmakers and backs. Foran really knows how to get the best out of his big ball runners and not sure SJ will do so well on that front. But I am hopeful that Harris will take care of the centre and close in runners and SJ will work on the fringes.
 
Fingers crossed!

mariner4life

I watched the '93 test at Mt Smart last night, it was awesome. The play was so off-the-cuff, at the end of the half the big boys were fucked, so Langer, Walters, and Freeman were carving up. Some great league names on the field, playing football by feel, not by a playbook. The 5m rule meant there were some solid shots as well. 
 
It made me realise why i watch less NRL now, the game itself is so dour these days. Teams know that the key to winning is to not make errors, and to defend well. There is very little play from deep any more, it's all about getting to your kick. Brisbane are the benchmark of this, they only wake up when they get a first tackle inside the opposition 40, otherwise it's everything by the plan. And that's most of the top sides. It only gets interesting when teams throw the plan out the window, like the Tigers and the Warriors in R1. 
 
The league v rugby "debate" used to be the kicking and structure of rugby against the ball movement and running (and toughness/grubbiness) of league. I would say, especially with Super Rugby, that those roles have now switched. 
 
 
Sneak Lousi is shit, so no loss.

ACT Crusader

That 93 series was one that I thought Kiwi RL had 'turned the corner' because of how we took it to the star studded Aussie team. 
We had good players, Freeman, Nikau, McCracken, a very young Sean Hoppe. But it was nothing (on paper at least) compared to Alfie, the Walters boys, Fittler, Harrogan, Sirronan, Lazarus, Shearer. Albeit they didn't have big Mal that test. 
But it was a very different game to today. You don't even have to go back that far to see that the game has gone more manufactured than ever before. The 2002 season we played a game akin to the old days.

mariner4life

Shearer, Carne, Daley, Fittler, Hancock, Walters, Langer, Harragan, Walters, Lazarus, Sironen, Clyde. Some fucking big names in that team, and we fair took it to them. 
 
We had some big names for kiwis, but some guys i had completely forgotten about. Morvin Edwards? Duane Mann?

Nepia

I have no memory of the 93 series.
 
I remember 91 obviously, high high, extremely low lows and the Lonergan shuffle.

kiwiinmelb

mid 80s were special , we had been thrashed by Australia for years , and i think it had been 20 odd years since we beat them in a single game , I went to a lot of those at Carlaw park as a kid growing up , my old man was a leaguee, , our players were 90 % picked from the local Auckland Club comp ,the aussies were so superior with their fitness and skills, some of those games were so one sided it was horrible
 
Under Graham Lowe all of a sudden we had a side that was competitive , and it was exciting football ,

The Silver Fern

The NRL Season of 2016