NRL 2023 + Internationals
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the NRL is fucking great at the moment. The weather is good, so there are a lot of quality games.
Thursday was finals quality being played in March
Friday started with the weekly Tigers loss, and then an epic at Suncorp in front of a huge crowd. The Broncos should have won that by more, but the Dolphins are fucking tough.
The Cowboys bounced back, but it's not flowing in Townsville, and the injuries are mounting
Souths v Manly was fucking awesome, ruined by what looked to be the worst ref call of the weekend (until yesterday happened)
Newcastle got a win
And Cronulla gave their neighbors an absolute touch up -
Some incredible games to start this season, however my bold pre season predictions way off at this stage.
Some of the original teams noted for top 8 looking good, but there does seem to be gap to middle and then lower teams. Tigers and Dragons have wins in them but deserve to be where they are.
Even the Warriors winning as many as they have, they are not in that top group although the ladder will tell me otherwise.
I do wonder how long the dolphins can keep this up, Wayne has certainly instilled a sense of belief in them. Given Redcliffe was our base last year, I imagine our clash with them will also be a heated one.
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@bayimports the Warriors look to be a genuine 7th to 12th side at the moment. Lets see what July looks like though
The Dolphins have good defence (of course) but if they are now relying on Milford for the year they are in trouble (SoS has actually done a decent job). They will definitely fall down the table as the grind kicks in.
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@mariner4life yeah I think like the dolphins, our halves are not consistent enough to beat the top teams frequently, however defensively both have been extremely good so far. Good enough to keep us in games and even win, where we would normally lose.
Mind you some top teams also have not looked great without certain players either, Munster and Hynes impact on their sides was highlighted on the weekend.
Proving to be a relatively even comp which is making it tough to pick but great to watch (unless you support the Tigs)
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@bayimports Melbourne' strategy is so risky. Essentially they have assembled and paid heaps for a fucking great spine. Fill teh squad with role players and let their superstars win them games. Which happens a lot because their spine is fucking great.
The problem is their fullback is made of glass. Their halfback is suspended. Munster missed a couple. the equation looks very different when it's the role players and two superstars.
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@mariner4life said in NRL 2023:
@bayimports the Warriors look to be a genuine 7th to 12th side at the moment. Lets see what July looks like though
The Dolphins have good defence (of course) but if they are now relying on Milford for the year they are in trouble (SoS has actually done a decent job). They will definitely fall down the table as the grind kicks in.
I'm too scared to get hopeful with the Warriors.
But Dolphins are my genuine second team now as I'm watching the doco and they have my favourite player in Bromwich. I think your mate Bennett is actually coming across really well in the doco. But yeah, that fat fuck Milford is a worry.
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Much like the Breakers, I'm happy for Webster to build the team on a defensive foundation, defence will keep you in games. Great to pick up wins that we should get, as the team becomes more familiar with each other hopefully our offense improves and we pick of a few of the better teams. I think most warriors fans would be happy if they were offered this kind of start before the season started, even though we haven't played many good teams
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Trip to Shark park will be interesting. I have the Sharks finishing near the pointy end and Nico Hynes is impressive. As a warriors fan I will be happy with a close loss purely based on lower expectations. Should be a good marker though to where we are it.
Unlikely to have Tohu and I don't know who will play his role in the middle, maybe a recall of Curran (doesn't have his ball playing skill though), but we will likely get back Barnett and Egan which are two pretty big ins, especially Egan who seems to be having a breakout year behind more bigger bodies going forward.
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Assuming he is named today.. Jesse Bromwich
The Bear and Bromwich: Two prop stars, one unique statistic
Respected Dolphins skipper Jesse Bromwich has gone quietly about his business on his way to joining the 300 Club and setting some unique records along the journey.
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James Tamau is not a fucking kiwi
More than half of Blair's games would be dogshit
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@mariner4life I have to admit, I was a little disappointed with the six and had a similar reaction, still Bromwich, Benji, Wiki and Mannering deserved their spots
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@bayimports said in NRL 2023:
@mariner4life I have to admit, I was a little disappointed with the six and had a similar reaction, still Bromwich, Benji, Wiki and Mannering deserved their spots
Yep, 4 absolute legends
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Shit, the NRL keeps delivering.
The Lions are playing tonight and i still think i will watch the Eels v the Roosters. Should be a fucking belter.
Also, have the Eels got the hard shaft from the draw or what? Melbourne to open the season, Cronulla expected to be top 4, Manly who look top 4 (and coming off the bye), Penrith the back to back champs (coming off the bye), now the Roosters (coming off the bye).
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Eels certainly got the rough end of the draw, getting so many top teams off the back of a bye is insane. Although they delivered last week, losing Paulo is pretty significant.. still should be good game, don't think the roosters have really clicked yet, so should be pretty even.
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I don’t mind the sinbin’s from last nights game but it’s going to take time for the league fans to get used to it.
A man down in league has far greater consequences than rugby.
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@ACT-Crusader said in NRL 2023:
I don’t mind the sinbin’s from last nights game but it’s going to take time for the league fans to get used to it.
A man down in league has far greater consequences than rugby.
Brad Arthur is fucking kidding himself if the thinks either was debatable.
That was a bit of a beating in the end. If the Roosters had decent halves they probably win by more, despite some heroic last ditch tackling by the eels.
Lots of fans don't like it, but its easy to see why Tupou makes rep teams (despite having dick fingers a bit too often). He makes huge yards from the back, and generates quick play the balls. The try he set up for Keary was bloody well done as well.
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Good to see sin binning, I know they appear to have gone away from it for a few rounds, but agree both were deserved, personally I would like to see more games with this consistently used. The annoying part for me is that someone will probably do the same thing this round and will just go on report.
I actually wonder of the Roosters are better without some of their stars. Seriously looked like a better team flow last night admittedly against a team without their forward leader. When they have had guys like Teddy and Manu back the combination with the halves has been out of joint. Like a team of seriously good individuals that play average as a team. Obviously if they do click they will be hard to beat.
Tupou also great with his height at diffusing bombs and scoring from them too, great winger
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@bayimports Tedesco makes their attack worse because they constantly give him the ball, and he he jinks around trying to find holes, and can't actually make plays for others. He's a weird player in that he is a superstar but i think the team is worse for him in it unless he's doing shit for himself.
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@mariner4life thats my point, I think players like himself and Manu (when at fullback) work extra well in teams where their halves aren't as dominant as it they try to overplay their hand sometimes..but both superstars in their own right, to the point they could walk into most rosters and have an immediate positive impact.
