Our Finals Chances.

[forby]

But when we beat Melbourne we have a week off!
Remember we crossed the line 5 times but didn't get a try, so with an ounce of luck and the determination shown for the last 6 weeks anything is possible!

 

[umina panther]

I had a good look at the ladder today and I was stunned to see that we are two wins from second (forget the Storm they are a class apart). From 2nd to 9th there is a spread of six points. 3 wins. After reading that I came to the conclusion that Griffin must be a real ladies man. A lothario whose appetite for the ladies knows no bounds. A Casanova so smooth when he walks down the street you can hear the sound of twanging knicker elastic. And frankly, he must have been busy in the Penrith area. I am even checking my own wives whereabouts over the last month......

It's the only way I can explain the vitriol and enmity that is displayed in this forum by so many people. It can't be his inept coaching because we are 2 wins from 2nd. We are in the middle of a pack of teams that includes 4 premiership winning coaches and that's with a 19 year old halfback, debutant fullback and a 5/8th with only a handful of games in that position.

If he wants the hate to stop, he really should keep his pants on........

The comp is the weakest ive ever seen. He hasn't done well and the reasons why have been said over and over. Top 4 is PAR with our squad

 

[Fangs]

Gees I thought the MWZ try was obstruction. Very happy it wasn't though.

Same here. Not that I give a shit, great result for us.

 

[Pomoz]

The comp is the weakest ive ever seen. He hasn't done well and the reasons why have been said over and over. Top 4 is PAR with our squad

And the other premiership winning coaches, Robinson, Bennett, Flanagan, Green? They haven't done well either? They are within 2-4 points of us. They also have representative halves,or fullbacks who are not 19 years old or on NRL debut. Maloney, Pearce, Hunt, Morgan, Milford, DCE, Boyd, Holmes and Widdop. Surely with that quality they should be miles ahead of us?

 

[Fangs]

Warriors were woeful today, but the Raiders have enough players to cause us headaches. I think they will get us next week.

Sets up a big game against the Dragons in 2 weeks. They will probably lose next week against the Broncos.

 

[Fangs]

I thought you had me on ignore? It was nice to not be assaulted with your ridiculous opinions for a while there.

Boo! There's a ref behind you!

It can be done!!

 

[Fangs]

Can Bra were shit today too. We'll win that

Dunnnooooo. Are we gonna offer better attack then the Warriors?

 

[TheEroticGamer]

View attachment 14783

It can be done!!

I have no problem with anyone doing this.Prefer it much more than replying to every post I make bashing me.

 

[tripster]

After the result of the Tigers v Manly game I played around a bit with the ladder predictor on NRL.com.

I made the following assumption - likely "favourites" win all other games (but ignore for and against and assume it is by 1 point) - and we win all our remaining games by 1 point - we finish 4th.

If you make the same assumption but we win 2 of our 3 remaining games, we likely finish 7th. If you make the same assumption again and we win 1 of our remaining games, we also likely finish 7th.

If we finish 7th under the 2 of 3 or 1 of 3 scenario, we likely play the Eels in the first week of the finals.

If you make the same assumption, but we lose all three remaining games, we miss the 8 and finish 10th... (geez that would be a stinker).

Obviously I accept reasonable minds might have different views on who the "favourites" are in each of the other games (and it would be too much of a pain to set it all out in a post), and as we saw this afternoon, there are probably still a few surprises in store, but what a fantastic thing it would be to win our last 3 games and have a home-semi final. Remind me - can we choose that it be at Penrith, or do we have to have it at ANZ?

I am also glad that our last three games are each going to be against teams fighting for their lives. It'll mean two things. First, each game will be a real test of where we stand. Second, if we win, it'll mean we've had a real test heading into the finals and will be better prepared for finals football.

I expect most of you know about the ladder predictor, but if you happen to have missed it, you can access it here

http://www.nrl.com/Draw/TelstraPremiership/LadderPredictor/tabid/10868/Default.aspx

 

[soc123_au]

Not all that sure its worth getting though, considering we'll have to play the Storm in Melbourne. Still, we'll then play a team from 5-8 in the second week in Sydney which would be decent.

I would be pretty happy with that. A week one loss to Melbourne wouldn't be too bad. Who knows, we have to break the drought down there eventually, during the finals would be a good way to do it.

 

[TheEroticGamer]

Billy, I'm going to make this as simple and easy to understand as possible, since I know you struggle with reading and comprehension.

We(Penrith Panthers) have the one coach(Anthony Griffin) in the competition(NRL) that doesn't place officials(those guys that have whistles) and their decisions under scrutiny(we don't bring up decisions in a post game press conference to get media exposure).

This 'media exposure' is a tool other coaches use to make referees feel in debt(they owe them something) to coaches as they now feel responsible(they are to blame) for the team's loss/failure to get the result they feel is deserved.

In the NRL(the competition we are in with 15 other clubs), it is more than obvious that referees(people with whistles) are people without confidence and are worried about the possibility of media exposure causing them to go down to reserve grade/have them without a job at the end of the year(a period of 12 months consisting of 365 days).

As a result, referees feel more comfortable giving certain decisions to teams who's coaches pose a greater threat to their jobs.

Now I know what you're going to say, "conspiracy theory!".This is a competition where referees send almost any try to the bunker.They're petrified of making a decision that throws their name in the public spotlight for all the wrong reasons.Yet you feel we aren't disadvantaging ourselves by not saying anything?

For a guy that speaks with so much conviction, you are as dumb as a brick.

 

[billypilgrimnz]

For a guy that speaks with so much conviction, you are as dumb as a brick.

And here you are preaching civility.

I disagree with you and find your obsession with bringing referees into the conversation virtually every single post you make a mixture of hilarious and sad. Stop crying about the fact I think your referee obsession is hilarious/sad and get over it.

 

[chrisD]

This is a bad year for the standard of play in the competition. The general standard of football was actually better at the start of the season. I can't remember a worse year.

 

[forby]

Billy, I'm going to make this as simple and easy to understand as possible, since I know you struggle with reading and comprehension.

We(Penrith Panthers) have the one coach(Anthony Griffin) in the competition(NRL) that doesn't place officials(those guys that have whistles) and their decisions under scrutiny(we don't bring up decisions in a post game press conference to get media exposure).

This 'media exposure' is a tool other coaches use to make referees feel in debt(they owe them something) to coaches as they now feel responsible(they are to blame) for the team's loss/failure to get the result they feel is deserved.

In the NRL(the competition we are in with 15 other clubs), it is more than obvious that referees(people with whistles) are people without confidence and are worried about the possibility of media exposure causing them to go down to reserve grade/have them without a job at the end of the year(a period of 12 months consisting of 365 days).

As a result, referees feel more comfortable giving certain decisions to teams who's coaches pose a greater threat to their jobs.

Now I know what you're going to say, "conspiracy theory!".This is a competition where referees send almost any try to the bunker.They're petrified of making a decision that throws their name in the public spotlight for all the wrong reasons.Yet you feel we aren't disadvantaging ourselves by not saying anything?

For a guy that speaks with so much conviction,

What rubbish!
Not lambasting the refs does not make Griffin a bad coach. Perhaps the stance that the club has on this shows that they care about the game and its future. No refs, no game!
That's even simpler!

 

[herbert henry1908]

Not all that sure its worth getting though, considering we'll have to play the Storm in Melbourne. Still, we'll then play a team from 5-8 in the second week in Sydney which would be decent.

Yeah that's an interesting proposition.

Better to come 4th, lose to Melbourne & play the next week in Sydney

Or

Come 5th & win against 8th place?



Obviously it seems better to come 4th but it could be a demoralising loss to Melbourne, top 4 teams have gone out in straight sets before. (Panthers 2010 comes to mind)

 

[TheEroticGamer]

What rubbish!
Not lambasting the refs does not make Griffin a bad coach. Perhaps the stance that the club has on this shows that they care about the game and its future. No refs, no game!
That's even simpler!

I never said Griffin was a bad coach.

He does have flaws but he has done a lot of good for players coming up through the ranks.I respect him a lot for his work in that department alone.

Maybe Gus should partake in the 'lambasting'?Regardless, we need a figure from the club to fill that void if we wish to fix the problem I previously mentioned.

Again, I like Griffin.The best coach?No.I'm on the fence with him.2018 will ultimately decide which side I go(I'm used to having to show patience with this club haha).

 

[forby]

That is the inference!
Sure we have copped some bad decisions, but so has everybody else. Publicly bagging refs does nothing for the game except show that some coaches want to blame somebody other than their team.
It is no point lambasting a ref after a game, especially as you may not get him the next game, and all you have done is upset the rest. Not a good way to try to get the refs onside!

 

[Fangs]

This is a bad year for the standard of play in the competition. The general standard of football was actually better at the start of the season. I can't remember a worse year.

Absolutely.

 

[tripster]

This is a bad year for the standard of play in the competition. The general standard of football was actually better at the start of the season. I can't remember a worse year.

If Melbourne weren't so far ahead of everyone else, I think it would be more accurately characterised as an even comp, with any team being a prospect of beating any other, which was precisely what the salary cap was intended to achieve.

As to the standard declining over the season, it probably also has to do with how demanding now a full season of NRL is on all the players - it has become very hard to maintain a top squad injury free and capable of playing at 100% after going at it for 24 weeks (particularly if any of the players also played origin).

 

[GongPanther]

Not all that sure its worth getting though, considering we'll have to play the Storm in Melbourne. Still, we'll then play a team from 5-8 in the second week in Sydney which would be decent.

If we jag a 4th spot,I'd be happy if we played the Storm.If we won,huge confidence boost.If we lost,valuable experience playing the best in the finals as we still would have a 2nd chance.