General Discussion Thread

[betcats]

This frustrates me when I see it. Don't know why he does it. I assume this is what Freddy is talking about working on for SOO.

Cronk and Smith had worked Jimmy out so much that they knew exactly what plays and shape they had to run to get Jimmy to bite and run in like that in SOO, they had worked Fergo in a similar fashion. That is the true genius of those Melbourne guys,l they study the game and their opponents so much and then design specific plays based on what they learn. I remember they did something similar with Jennings the year Gus took over, and have done so with Peachey.

 

[OldPanther]

Just a quick note about the 2003 GF.

I was watching it the other day and there was a couple of amazing stats regarding penalties during that match:

* Only 3 penalties were awarded throughout the entire match:

2 for Penrith (Todd Byrne throwing someone's boot away and Offside)
1 for Roosters (Offside)

* Amazingly, there were NO penalties awarded in the second half.

Given the attention that penalty counts have been receiving as of late, it's hard to imagine nowadays a game with less than a handful of penalties being awarded.

Teams like Storm and Roosters ruined this for everyone.

 

[Blues Riff]

^^^ It was a beautiful game alright. The edited Fox version doesn't do it justice, with the first 20 minutes compressed to about 5 minutes. No points were scored in that period, but that's when the game was won. We matched it with the "Benchmark" pack with their swinging arms and shoulder charges to the head, but yeah no penalties in those days.
Not to be pedantic, but the Burns penalty was when he threw away the ball at a changover.

 

[OldPanther]

^^^ It was a beautiful game alright. The edited Fox version doesn't do it justice, with the first 20 minutes compressed to about 5 minutes. No points were scored in that period, but that's when the game was won. We matched it with the "Benchmark" pack with their swinging arms and shoulder charges to the head, but yeah no penalties in those days.
Not to be pedantic, but the Burns penalty was when he threw away the ball at a changover.

Best 15 mins of footy ever.

 

[tripster]

^^^ It was a beautiful game alright. The edited Fox version doesn't do it justice, with the first 20 minutes compressed to about 5 minutes. No points were scored in that period, but that's when the game was won. We matched it with the "Benchmark" pack with their swinging arms and shoulder charges to the head, but yeah no penalties in those days.
Not to be pedantic, but the Burns penalty was when he threw away the ball at a changover.

I am sure we would have been stuffed if there had been a HIA rule back in those days as well - would have lost a few players pretty early to concussion!

 

[Westernised Panther]

^^^ It was a beautiful game alright. The edited Fox version doesn't do it justice, with the first 20 minutes compressed to about 5 minutes. No points were scored in that period, but that's when the game was won. We matched it with the "Benchmark" pack with their swinging arms and shoulder charges to the head, but yeah no penalties in those days.
Not to be pedantic, but the Burns penalty was when he threw away the ball at a changover.

Ha ha! No worrries. I stand corrected. It was indeed the ball (I was giving my "Hollywood" account of that moment!!).

The game was proof why Bill Harrigan was highly regarded. He just let the players play footy.

 

[OldPanther]

No idea why the text isn't showing up.

 

[Vicpanther]

Woods wishes he was rcg..

 

[Kilkenny]

I guess whether RCG is selected for origin will depend on what Fittler wants out of his front rowers. RCG is your no frills you know what you are going to get front rower. If he wants someone who can offload and create second phase play then perhaps he may be looking at someone else. RCG gets his chance this Saturday night to put in a performance that demands his selection.

 

[OldPanther]

I guess whether RCG is selected for origin will depend on what Fittler wants out of his front rowers. RCG is your no frills you know what you are going to get front rower. If he wants someone who can offload and create second phase play then perhaps he may be looking at someone else. RCG gets his chance this Saturday night to put in a performance that demands his selection.

Exactly. They both contribute different things to a team. RCG definitely provides better impact Vs Woods volume of work(this year).

 

[TheFrog]

Just a quick note about the 2003 GF.

I was watching it the other day and there was a couple of amazing stats regarding penalties during that match:

* Only 3 penalties were awarded throughout the entire match:

2 for Penrith (Todd Byrne throwing someone's boot away and Offside)
1 for Roosters (Offside)

* Amazingly, there were NO penalties awarded in the second half.

Given the attention that penalty counts have been receiving as of late, it's hard to imagine nowadays a game with less than a handful of penalties being awarded.

There was an Origin game a couple of years ago with only 3 penalties as well IIRC. Don't be surprised if the penalty count in Origin 1 is half the current NRL average.

 

[martielang]

If he’s picking RCG, surely off the bench is the way to go.

 

[tripster]

Looking at our remaining draw (some people are going to call it 'soft') there is a good chance we can win the minor premiership from here.

We play (not in order):

- Raiders twice
- Sea Eagles twice
- Warriors twice
- Roosters (away)
- Sharks (at Penrith)
- Broncos (away)
- Titans (away)
- Knights (at Penrith)
- Storm (away)

I know these things are hard to predict, and it depends on injuries, form, etc, but based on how we are traveling right now and those other teams are traveling presently, you'd have to think we are a good chance of losing very few of those games.

You'd think we are a good chance of beating the Raiders, Sea Eagles and Warriors twice. A good chance of beating the Roosters, Titans and Knights. Sharks seem to be our bogey team, as are the Storm. Even if we lose to the Sharks and the Storm, and are affected by Origin and lose other matches, that only has us losing 4 more games for the rest of the season. That would mean finishing on 17 wins, with 7 losses.

Dragons have a pretty easy run based on the form of their opponents, so they will be the main risk it seems. They play:

- Dogs (twice)
- Eels (twice)
- Tigers (twice)
- Storm (away)
- Cowboys (away)
- Roosters (away)
- Warriors (at home)
- Sea Eagles (at home)
- Knights (away)

Unless the wheels fall off the Dragons, they might also only lose 4 of those games. Dogs have been a real bogey team for the Dragons the past few years (I saw some statistics yesterday and they have an incredibly poor record against the Dogs going back to 2014). Storm will be tough, Roosters should also be tough, and Tigers will put up a good fight. Cowboys will either have given up by the time they play them or will be fighting hard for a top 8 spot.

 

[unKwn]

at least we can say that 1 out of the 3 losses we have had came from a top 4 team (sharks)

 

[franklin2323]

Looking at our remaining draw (some people are going to call it 'soft') there is a good chance we can win the minor premiership from here.

We play (not in order):

- Raiders twice
- Sea Eagles twice
- Warriors twice
- Roosters (away)
- Sharks (at Penrith)
- Broncos (away)
- Titans (away)
- Knights (at Penrith)
- Storm (away)

I know these things are hard to predict, and it depends on injuries, form, etc, but based on how we are traveling right now and those other teams are traveling presently, you'd have to think we are a good chance of losing very few of those games.

You'd think we are a good chance of beating the Raiders, Sea Eagles and Warriors twice. A good chance of beating the Roosters, Titans and Knights. Sharks seem to be our bogey team, as are the Storm. Even if we lose to the Sharks and the Storm, and are affected by Origin and lose other matches, that only has us losing 4 more games for the rest of the season. That would mean finishing on 17 wins, with 7 losses.

Dragons have a pretty easy run based on the form of their opponents, so they will be the main risk it seems. They play:

- Dogs (twice)
- Eels (twice)
- Tigers (twice)
- Storm (away)
- Cowboys (away)
- Roosters (away)
- Warriors (at home)
- Sea Eagles (at home)
- Knights (away)

Unless the wheels fall off the Dragons, they might also only lose 4 of those games. Dogs have been a real bogey team for the Dragons the past few years (I saw some statistics yesterday and they have an incredibly poor record against the Dogs going back to 2014). Storm will be tough, Roosters should also be tough, and Tigers will put up a good fight. Cowboys will either have given up by the time they play them or will be fighting hard for a top 8 spot.

Problem is origin. Sharks and Warriors have no origin players and we play them either side of SOO 3.

 

[tripster]

Problem is origin. Sharks and Warriors have no origin players and we play them either side of SOO 3.

It is certainly going to be tough. Hopefully the Warriors at least have completely fallen to bits by then. Certainly looks like it is heading that way.

 

[TheFrog]

This frustrates me when I see it. Don't know why he does it. I assume this is what Freddy is talking about working on for SOO.

Saw Mitchell do exactly the same thing the other day. The try was disallowed on a very tenuous obstruction, but Fittler has his work cut out getting his backs to hold their line in the face of Queensland runners.

 

[OldPanther]

Some perspective from Gus:

 

[mxlegend99]

Some perspective from Gus:

Yeah I can't imagine him doing anything more than consulting with Hook on players he does or doesn't want. Gus will alwayz have finalsay.

Probably not many coaches who would accept that level of control. I guess it helps prevent a Bulldogs / Dessie situation, or the way Bennett left Knights. The coach shouldnt need to worry about juggling the cap.

 

[umina panther]

Some perspective from Gus:

Can't agree with that as a blanket statement, always exceptions