2018 R3 Sun - Roosters 38-8 Knights @ Allianz

[TheFrog]

They'll very hard to beat IMO especially with Melbourne, NQ and especially the Sharks looking to have declined a bit on last year.

As I said before, it is only March. But they were sharp tonight. Not many sides would have beaten them.

 

[beave]

To be honest the money the Knights gave Ponga is standard (or maybe a bit less) for a FG fullback and that's always where Brown saw him. The club never signed him hoping he'd become a superstar but just an upgrade on what we already had - and in that instance the "risk" has already paid off given we don't win our 2 first games without him and wins for us don't come as easily as they do for some clubs. We couldn't have done that with the likes of our previous makeshift fullbacks like Ross or Gagai.

I know it's all in hindsight though because I have to admit watching Ponga last year there were a few small concerns pop up in my mind but he's come an incredibly long way in one off season and to be fair the Cowboys couldn't have predicted that when they had to decide between him and Coote.

I don't have any issue with his Dad to be honest. If you know your kid is going to get more of a shot at FG if he's released then you're going to do whatever you can to try and make that happen. Was it the right thing to do morally? Maybe not, but when it's to help your kid get where he wants to be everything else takes a back seat. That's just what you do. You make a nuisance out of yourself so your kid doesn't need to.

Yeah well you wouldn’t have an issue with it mate because he wasn’t slagging your club off....... ;-P

I don’t recall any other young player requiring their old man to get involved in the media when shit isn’t going their own way though. He was 19 when it all went down, not 15.

I get the feeling old Andre is living a little vicariously through his kid. Considering the injury toll we were faced with last year, there was no way he was going to get an early release. Unless there was huge compo from the knights.

The Safiti boys would suffice.......

 

[Hutty1986]

Yeah well you wouldn’t have an issue with it mate because he wasn’t slagging your club off....... ;-P

I don’t recall any other young player requiring their old man to get involved in the media when shit isn’t going their own way though. He was 19 when it all went down, not 15.

I get the feeling old Andre is living a little vicariously through his kid. Considering the injury toll we were faced with last year, there was no way he was going to get an early release. Unless there was huge compo from the knights.

The Safiti boys would suffice.......

You'd be a bit strange too if your parents named you Andre

 

[beave]

You'd be a bit strange too if your parents named you Andre

 

[Knightmare]

First of all, to the pommy bloke from MK who let me in Gate C with his spare members' pass- you're a gentleman and a scholar! The NRL wonders why more people aren't going to games, but when an adult GA ticket is $39- before getting anything to eat or drink inside the ground- is it any wonder?

On the game itself- I would've been interested to see how things played out if the weather stayed dry. Although they went into h/t with a better completion rate (65% v 72%), the slippery conditions seemed to rattle the Knights and they made some careless mistakes early in their sets that put them on the back foot. Moga was plain dumb with his passes to nobody and ill discipline, giving him a week out of the side wouldn't be too harsh after the sub-par showing this evening. It was stupid stuff and you'd expect better from a 1st grader.

The scoreboard wasn't a fair reflection on the contest, but the Roosters were still clearly a more polished and experienced side than the Knights all through the game. There was some luck that went their way, but no reason for Browny to go full Ricky in the press conference. More respect for the conditions and better discipline would make a big difference for Newcastle in these games. The difference in the Roosters squad and the Knights squad regarding experience and caliber of player was especially evident in that second half.

Onto the Dragons- hopefully a dry game and a chance at going under the radar and catching Saints out, provided Knights show more respect for possession and get those dumb turn-overs out of their game...

 

[Shorty]

Don’t worry, you’ll never be a Cowboys fan pretending not to be gutted about losing Ponga by saying he’s shit.

Knights fans keep bringing up the Cowboys and Ponga.
Weird, it shouldn't matter to you if anyone says he's shit anyhow.

Not gutted, he'll probably be a wonderful player but I don't miss him.
Michael Morgan is the main reason for that.

 

[Captain Apollo]

According to the Daily Telegraph, Connor Watson's shoulder injury is quite serious and is likely to require surgery.