NRL 2024
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Warriors match was weird, lose Egan and Ford to HIAs early, Ford comes back at least. All tries scored by the Warriors when AFB was off the field, which this time was a significant time.
It was almost like the remaining players thought they finally had to step up and mainly did so. Of the core team, Barnett and Walker were huge, TMM floated in and out of the game again but finished strong, all the young kids stepped up massively. Roache surely surpassed Lussick.
Luckily Penrith were off their game as well, Edwards still huge, but kicking was off and they made more errors yesterday than probably they have in their last 4 matches. They will be angry and the match with Sharks this week will be a belter.
This comp is incredibly even this year, doesn't take much to go off the boil or go on a run. Big test for the Warriors this week against the Dolphins, who are incredibly consistent and know how to stay in the fight. If we get out in front early and switch off, we're likely to get rolled. But if we win here we go into the bye with 2 wins on the bounce and a decent rest
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@mariner4life said in NRL 2024:
In Origin news, Munster looked he seriously hurt his groin. Hammer came back and looked a million bucks. NSW are going to have a weird halves combination.
Even QLD will look interesting, Mam or Deardon?, surely Deardon on defence, but we all know what Mam can do
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i would have both of them in the 17 (even if Munster was available)
Qld will be interesting actually. Heaps of backline options, but who gets picked? For instance i wouldn't pick Walsh, but i know Slater will. Cobbo and Hammer the centres or does Val retain his spot?
Does Hunt get his hooker/half cover spot in the 17? Who replaces Tino? -
Slater I imagine will keep as many similar as possible, only changing out the ones he needs to, I don't think Val is in danger and think Hunt retains his spot for sure. Front row club will be interesting though especially looking at replacements for Tino. Cobbo can easily play wing and centre. Coates is a lock on one wing.
Hammer in the squad, but don't know where he plays (hard to say that), mind you we say the same thing with Edwards with Teddy the incumbent for NSW -
in that case it'll be
Walsh
Coates and Cobbo on the wings
Hammer and Val the centresMeaning Tulagi is the one that misses out
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@mariner4life can’t see Val missing out. The hype alone is enough. He’s pretty reliable in his link play plus the dependable goal kicking
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The Qld way is to pick them and back them to play good. Works far more than it doesn't
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The Arthur sacking was coming. Been there a long time, team seemingly quitting on him. I don't see what doing it now buys them, especially when the interim will be Trent fucking Barrett
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@mariner4life surely there is a twist as I agree, what does announcing this now bring them?, especially when Barrett is the stand in
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On the QLD side, I'd have Max Plath there. A proper workhorse who compliments Kaufusi really well and allows others to focus on their main roles. I think he's a 20+ origin player.
Bennett to Parra? They have been talked about as a destination for him for a couple of months now. Could they get him from under Souths noses?
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Haha never mind, Bennett is confirmed to Souths.
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Just in case you need a laugh for today
https://www.reddit.com/r/nrl/comments/18wlgof/the_master_list_of_stupid_nrl_scandals/
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those brought back some funny memories
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The Gasnier text message is a joke i still use to this day
"Toey humans" and "FFS fire up!"
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So, with Arthur gone, and Bennett off the table, the Eels gig becomes a pretty big deal.
Re-tread a previously sacked coach (Holbrook?). take a punt on an up and coming assistant (Hannay? Morris?). Someone from England?
Read NRL social media and wait to see how many times Geoff Toovey's name gets brought up despite not coaching in the NRL for a decade, or coaching at all since a shit season at Bradford 8 years ago.
A name to watch is Jason Ryles, who was going to the Dragons but then said no in order to get the Melbourne gig. Except now Bellamy is having another year, so does he get sick of waiting?
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For me Ryles should be the target of available up and comers, but you're right he is next in line at the Storm and basically is he sick of waiting.
Holbrook, Green, Young all being mentioned
If Madge wins Origin straight after the 30-0 flogging of Australia at the end of last year, could possibly find an NRL recallbut who knows right now, missing Wayne was a pretty big fumble for them
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shall we have a bunker rant? lets have a bunker rant
I already had a go at the no-try call in the Titans game. Of course Annesley has come out and said it's "not a case where is is a definitively wrong decision" but lets look a little further aye Graham? You yourself say there was one frame from one angle that showed the ball may have been lost. If that went up as on-field decision try, are you trying to tell us that is the definitive proof that the call should be overturned? And that call came very, very late in the piece as well.
Every aspect of every play that leads to a try is being reviewed now in super slow-mo from all available angles (so, so many angles). I have no idea why crowds celebrate tries as they are put down now, so many are called back for slight errors that no one could pick up with the naked eye, or without slowing the game down and creating arguments in your head. It has gone too fucking far, and we aren't making the game better, we are actively making it worse.
Which brings me to the new stain on the game, diving. Or, in rugby league terms, staying down to get a penalty. It started with the crusher, but now, every time a player feels a touch to the head, or now contact with the lower legs, they stay down. Double blast of the whistle, replay, bunker watches on super slow-mo and makes often inane decisions, especially with regards to hip drops. I saw a guy on the weekend get penalised for a hip drop when he got bumped off the tackle! It's got to the point where it's illegal to tackle both high and low. And we are rewarding guys for staying down. NRL fans have definitely lost their moral high ground to have a go at soccer players.
Video reply technology in sports can fucking do one.
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I support the bunker in principle, I think we have been on the end of more howlers without it than with it. Are the current rules applied consistently.. no and I think this is the main problem.. With interpretation its not going to be perfect, but it does need to be better.
Even if it means they put an additional ref in the bunker to police the existing ref who is clearly on their own.
Im ok if the refs and the linesman both say no try and it goes up as such, but if they don't know they should not apply that rule, they should say "not sure", likewise if it is a tryDiving is a new problem, not sure how you get rid of this. Do you make the person who goes down, sit on the sideline for 10 minutes, if the complaint not upheld? Mind you the Warriors have been using this relatively successfully of late, but its not great watching your own team doing it.
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@bayimports said in NRL 2024:
I support the bunker in principle
i could be, but it's out of control, and would like to see it reeled right in. The Captains challenge is a farce now too
