NRL 2018
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I enjoyed that game. It wasn’t a classic by any stretch, but with a couple of key outs, we stepped up and did the little things well.
Despite their ladder position, the Eels are a decent side. They’ve been hammered by Manly, but most of their losses have been fairly close games. They just lack that little bit of class to turn the game in their favour.
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First goal of the season completed - it's more successful than last season.
No RTS, no worries: A good bounce back game by the Warriors, and without Tuivasa-Sheck makes it more impressive. Even when the Eels got some momentum in the second half, they didn't panic at all. It seemed like they knew Mitchell Moses would just stuff up a kick recover and let Jazz Tevaga score. He's going to be the NSW halfback....
Centre of attention: Gerard Beale had a brilliant debut for the Warriors. No rust on defence and was side stepping so much you wouldn't have guessed he broke his leg several months ago. It now creates a (good?) problem for the Warriors - who plays centre? Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is the fulllback while David Fusitua and Ken Maumalo are the wings, which leaves Gerard Beale, Peta Hiku and Solomone Kata vying for the centre spots. Both Hiku and Kata have been pretty good this season but the Warriors have paid Beale a fair bit of coin....
The real MVP: Beale was great and so was Maumalo but it has to be Bully. Scored a gritty try, ran nearly 100 metres and made 45 tackles. Said it last week, he's the key for the Warriors this season. It's great to see his in-your-face attitude back as well. When Eels hooker Will Smith passed the ball at Luke while he was lying on the ground (a dubious penalty if there ever was one) he gave Luke a few choice words. Sadly for Smith he isn't that good of a player and when he dropped the ball on the next set guess who was giving him shit straight away?Bully.
What about the other guys?: They should be better than their placing on the ladder suggests. However Parramatta is a team that plays well for 20 minutes and then shits the bed for the next 10 minutes. Corey Norman, Mitch Moses and Clint Gutherson are exciting but all three make way too many errors. They need a calming influence either at hooker or in the halves ala Blake Green. Plus they need to rebuild their forward pack as there's a few players past their prime in that pack.
Brandy, you're a fine girl: Why does Greg Alexander have it in for the Warriors? Did someone sleep with his missus when he played for the team? Whenever he is commentating and the Warriors are playing, he tries his hardest to badmouth the team.
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@sneakdefreak when you describe the eels you sound like you're taking about the warriors!
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Jake Granville what have you done! Great finish to the Cowboys v Rabbits game!
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@african-monkey said in NRL 2018:
Jake Granville what have you done! Great finish to the Cowboys v Rabbits game!
What has he done?
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@antipodean said in NRL 2018:
And I saw some footage of a Storm player smacking Dylan Walker in the face about three times.
I understand that's not a penalisable offence? They call it the Walker Exemption clause.
Shit, the Exemption Clause's section of the leagues rule book would be massive.
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Does anyone know what went on in the Manly v Storm match - I'm trying to piece it together. A player came on early from sin bin or something. And I saw some footage of a Storm player smacking Dylan Walker in the face about three times.
The NRL official who was watching those in the sinbin forgot to stop the watch when a try was scored.
Andrew Voss pointed out the obvious solution to that never happening again:
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Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is back for the game against the Bunnies at Mt Smart Stadium but his wife is due to give birth on Saturday which means Peta Hiku will slot back into fullback and Gerard Beale into the centres.
VODAFONE WARRIORS
1 ROGER TUIVASA-SHECK (c)
2 DAVID FUSITU’A
3 PETA HIKU
4 SOLOMONE KATA
5 KEN MAUMALO
6 BLAKE GREEN
7 MASON LINO
8 JAMES GAVET
9 ISSAC LUKE
10 AGNATIUS PAASI
11 SIMON MANNERING
12 TOHU HARRIS
13 ADAM BLAIR
Interchange:
14 JAZZ TEVAGA
15 CHRIS SATAE
16 BUNTY AFOA
17 ISAIAH PAPALI’I
18 GERARD BEALE
20 KARL LAWTON
21 ALBERT VETE
22 ANTHONY GELLING
Round 12 NRL team lists
The official team lists for round 12 of the 2018 Telstra Premiership season.
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Oh lawdy - Lino is out and Hiku is moving into the halves. Beale moves into centre. I have no idea who will kick the goals.
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@sneakdefreak said in NRL 2018:
Oh lawdy - Lino is out and Hiku is moving into the halves. Beale moves into centre. I have no idea who will kick the goals.
So RTS is playing or is someone coming in to replace Hiku?
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Bunnies too good.
This bye week can't come soon enough.
Let's get physical: Back-to-back home losses and it was the physicality that cost the Warriors again (that and an injured squad). Just like the Cocks, the Bunnies got up in the Warriors face and came out on top. Guys like Adam Blair, James Gavet and Simon Mannering (who was terrible tonight) need to step up in those moments. Didn't happen.
Why not Rog? The Hiku in the halves option didn't work. Didn't help that he was playing on a busted foot either (you could see him hobbling around for much of the game). The team would have been better if Karl Lawton was playing a hooker-type game from halfback or.... brought Roger Tuivasa-Sheck up into the line and dropped Gerard Beale or David Fusitua into fullback. Roger's defensive work has been great in 2018 but they need to use him more in the attack when guys like Shaun Johnson and Mason Lino are out.
The real MVP: wasn't playing for the Warriors tonight. Had to be Bunnies hooker Damien Cook who is going to be the rake for Australia and NSW for the next decade. He's a smart player, outplayed Isaac Luke and had the Warriors backpedalling most of the game. Also made the most tackles with 44.
What about the other guys? After a loss in Perth and a slow start to the season, the Rabbitohs are the best team in the NRL right now. The Warriors had all the momentum early on but once a Burgess was sinbinned the Rabbitohs went on a rampage and the Warriors never got back in it. Led by Cook this is a team that will be in the hunt for a grand final appearance. They're actually a likeable team, mainly because they've banished Robbie Farah to the NSW Cup.
Southern comfort: After losing to Souths, the Warriors are heading south after the bye to play the Manly Sea Eagles in Christchurch at Rugby League park. Hopefully Shaun Johnson, Isaac Luke, Adam Blair, Peta Hiku are all healthy by then.
