Round 03 (2004) Easts v Eels

[The Backpacker]

Easts v Eels

Game Thread
Please note - This is a game thread only, therefore only game posts can be made here (Teams, Articles). Any other posts will result in loss of points and is at the discretion of the referee.

New rule: Home team captains allowed one extra reserve.

Full Time: Wednesday 21st April, 2004. 9:00PM AEDT (Sydney time)

Venue: Sydney Football Stadium

Crowd: 14,340

REFEREE: Mystique

Please Note: Only original essays, not used in previous games, will be marked by referees.

**Referee Blows Game On!**

 

[Penelope Pittstop]

Easts Team

12. Melon
8. Bubbles
6. roosterspremiers2002
14. Supermario
3. Big Poppa Pump

Bench

2. chriswalkerbush
7. Ozzie
1. Penelope Pittstop

 

[melon....]

Melon Posting for Easts
______________________________
The Motivator

My legs felt like lead. The recuperation was gruelling but the trainers made sure I got through it, and got through it well. I was on first name terms with my brace. After such a long time, it actually felt better with "Bambi" wrapped around my leg than without. Comforting, secure. After we parted, It felt like I couldn’t straighten my leg fully, as if in defiance to the loss of its companion. The doc fixed it. He checked it after strapping. He made me focus on "Shero's" locker and concentrate on my breathing. A seven second inhale, with a matching exhale. How Zen.

Then he leaned and pushed down on my knee. I screamed in shock and reflex. In the split second it took for me to realise that screaming wasn’t required, as I was in no pain, I glanced down to see my leg straight as the last furlong at Randwick. It always was.

"Its all in the mind", said the trainer.

No crap!! What a boost. Relief. Overwhelming joy. Freedom. "Bambi" was just another ex.

My legs still felt like lead.

I was benched and we were down. Missing crucial tackles early, and up the middle. Their forwards were giving it to us. Playing better than they were capable. The were dining out, and we were feeding them.

The club's official with radio strapped to his ear, turned and looked at me. My nerves reacted. The bench stood as one and ran the touchline, stretching and getting the blood into the legs. Id literally ran about 50 meters all up. It felt like laps. God help me.

I wasn't interchanged at that point, prolonging my anxiety. Half time, only 12-4 down, thanks to "Slug's" cover defence.

I marched into the sheds, and what I saw didn’t relax me. Coach was hammering us full bore for 5 minutes. He cursed, singling out perpetrators, like an angry victim in front of a police line-up. Then he stopped and walked away. Another took his place.

I knew from the player's expressions, none of us had seen him before. Didn't know who he was, or why he was there.

His eyes worked their way around the circle of battle weary warriors. He made eye contact with each player, holding his stare briefly, awakening something, before moving to the next. A minute later he spoke.

"Who are you?", he asked.

"DO you know who you are? DO you really know who you are?", he continued.

"Turn to your left and face the back of the player next to you. Take a good, long look at the back of his head. Now ask yourself what's going on inside that head. DO you know what's going on in there?"

Everyone complied in silence. Hypnotised by his vocal expression. Aware of the passion and defiance in his voice. The Fire. Our silence screamed volumes.

"If you don't know what's in his head, then you don’t know what's in yours. You DO know. You DO realise that your thoughts are his thoughts. Your disappointment is his disappointment."

"You are NOT individuals!!! You are ONE! When he falls, you feel his pain. When he hits, you exert the effort and the fire!! And now there is only pain, and no fire!!! NO EFFORT!!!"

"Clichés are just that, but there's one that strikes a chord with you. A team of champions WILL NEVER defeat a Champion Team!!"

“So I ask you again. Who are you?”

“The Falcons!!!”, we screamed.

“And you exist to fight, carry, exert and even die for each other. YOU KNOW THIS!! You WILL return, and you WILL see a blank scoreboard!!!”

“You WILL drop the heavy burden you have placed on yourselves and you WILL fly. You WILL rip and tear in, for each other, for your fans, for your mentors and your coach, for yourselves, and for the Falcon emblazed over your hearts!!!”

“DO YOU WANT THIS!!!???”, he screamed.

“YES!!!” we shouted back. “YEEEEEEEEESSSSS!!!!!!!!!” we screamed into each other’s faces.

“ Face them, knowing what you know. TAKE them on knowing what you and the man next to you now knows!!!!

“TAKE THEM!!! BEAT THEM!!! DO IT!!!…BECAUSE YOU KNOW!!!!”, he screamed, as he walked down the tunnel and out of the moment. Never looking back, never faltering in his stride.

I started the second half. I sprinted downfield and made the first hit. It felt good.

We lifted.
We beat them.
We were always going to.
We just didn’t know it.
___________________________________________
750 words, including title, between the lines.

 

[Bubbles]

Bubbles, making her first grade debut for Easts
____________________________________________

Inter-League Relationships - Spice of Life or Recipe for Disaster?

Remember the 1960's movie, 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", a thought-provoking story about a young couple from different racial backgrounds and the difficulties they faced?

All well and good, but where's the movie, 'Guess Who's Coming to Aussie Stadium"?

Allow me to set the scene: girl meets boy and they fall madly in love. He's pure Italian; from the Roman nose, fiery temperament, and an unnatural love of Rocky Balboa, while she's a true-blue Aussie; from the blonde hair and blue eyes, stubborn independence, and a pig-headed refusal to admit being wrong - ever! As for the families, 'Looking for Alibrandi' meets "The Castle' (with taste).

How have they overcome their differences? They just have.

Forget race, religion, upbringing; their greatest cause of conflict is football. He's a Dragons supporter, while she's a Roosters girl.

When they first met and discovered their mutual passion for the great game of Rugby League, they were thrilled. "All you need now is a flat head for me to rest my Sambucca on and you'd be the perfect woman!', he exclaimed.

But then Season '99 rolled around and the honeymoon ended. Dragons beat the Roosters, knocking them out of the finals. Woe to the girl, who skulked away on a three-day sabbatical, anything to avoid the boy's red and white beaming face.

"As God as my witness, I will never attend a Roosters/Saints game again!", she vowed.

So how do couples who bleed their respective club colours co-exist during the six months of the season?

The season starts with a prayer: "God of football and all things decent, please don't let there be a Roosters v Dragons Grand Final this year. Amen."

Dates are diarised when the two clubs meet and plans are readied. A ten kilometre radius is marked on the map, (the red zone), indicating minimum safe distance for the couple to remain from each other on game day.

A gag-order is implemented, banning derogatory comments to be aimed at the other person's team, while mates are sworn to secrecy when unsanctioned verbal bashings occur outside the marital home.

The season starts and the first clash draws near. Tensions are high, the couple biting back on words that are dying to be voiced, "You're going down, Sunsilk Boys" and "You've got nothing, Dragqueens."

Conjugal rights are withdrawn prior to the game and are only reinstated after a suitable recovery time, this being longer if the girl's team is on the receiving end of a beating, or course!

Game day arrives and there is steel instead of love in the couple's eyes. Glares are cast as the girl irons her freshly washed jersey. With a begrudging "Good luck", hissed between clenched teetch, the couple goes their separate ways.

In keeping with the girl's vow, she remains at home while the boy attends the game with his Dragon mates. The girl is left to pace the house, playing the game in her head and counting down the minutes, the hands of the timepiece taunting her with their lazy passage.

Kick off! The girl roars with the crowd, knowing that amongst the sea of red and white flags, the boy is also opening his lungs to join in the primal scream that is just as much a signal of the game's commencement, as the referee's whistle.

The girl's weekly workout begins. Thighs: Ricko passes wide to Walker and he's away - raise posterior from couch and hold in half-squat - Walker tackled - and...relax - Fittler inside ball to Mini...TRY - leap up from couch and ten star jumps. Buttocks: Barrett steps and is through gap - clench - Barrett tackled on thirty-metre line - relax - Head grubbers into the in-goal - clench - Blacklock scores - unclench, slump shoulders.

The roller-coaster ride continues for eighty minutes and at the end of it the girl is sore, but jubilant. Later, she composes her consolatory face, (practicing in the mirror to test its sincerity), before the boy arrives home, a forlorn figure.

It's not long before all Orders and By-Laws are cast aside and the post-game stoush is on! "We were robbed! Bloody ref...bloody touch judge...", and "Get your hand off it, you were beaten by a better team."

So how do such couples co-exist during the six months of the season?

Does the boy add some blue to his wardrobe, or does the girl subtract the same hue from her jersey?

Nah! There's still the other six months of the year for getting along!

Total word length: 749 including title.

 

[Vaealikis Girl]

Eels team:

1. Redback71
8. Colonel Eel
11. Goleel
12. PARRA_FAN
13. bradeel

Reserves:

4. Vaealikis Girl
6. PB

 

[roosterspremiers2002]

roosterspremiers2002, making her first grade debut for Easts

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Transfusion of a Rooter Fan

It has been said that a rooster fan bleeds red, white and blue.
I would like to set the record and end the debate once and for all.
For one fan this transfusion began in 1999.

This is the story, of a lovely lady, that followed another football team.
All of them were pretty certain, it was not red and green.
Then the one day when this lady met her rooster, she knew that it was much more than a hunch.
That this supporter must somehow change her loyalties.
Thats the way that they became the roosters bunch.

What a year this was to be, starting with a record breaking double header at Stadium Australia. A grand final replay between Newcastle and Manly, and old rivals St George and Parramatta.
A knights supporter starts to realise something is missing, she has the red and blue, but where is the white, where is the balance.

Now this supporter used to go to every game possible and watch her team play. She used to sit through training sessions at Bar Beach, and then she would come home and chat to the people she had met at games and through a place called Knights Chat on her computer.
Slowly but surely she could feel something missing, like a vitamin deficiency, and that she was getting weaker.
It was not that her team was doing badly, not by a long shot, but she had come to know quite a few people, including her rooster, in the NRL's Rooster chatroom and began watching games other than knights.

She began to get excited when Roosterman ran onto the field, and rejoiced when Adrian Lam and Matt Sing took up the ball to run.
Something was stirring inside this league fan, something bigger than Marathon Stadium. She was changing, she was in transition, and it was all consuming.

One drizzley afternoon in September she was separated from her new found friends by miles but not in spirit. She could not be there when the roosters finals campain were brought to a screaming halt by the dragons, but her heart was, and she grieved with everyone else that was in the chatroom that day.
They accepted her as one of their own and welcomed her in, she felt that she really belonged.

On grand final eve that year, a group of rooster fans decided to get together and meet up before a great game of football.
It was this fans first grand final, but that was inconsequential compared to being welcomed into the fold by this group of tremendous people that have supported their team for many years, and still included her as one of their own.


The result was great if you were a Melbourne Storm supporter, not so hot if you were a dragon, but a great day for rugby league supporters in general, and for the subject of our story, the transition, or transfusion was almost complete. Just a few more litres of white blood to complement the red and blue.

Season ticket in hand, she moved to Sydney in February of 2000, just in time to mark the begining of the season and a new life as a fully fledged Rooster.
She couldn't believe the changes that had occured, yet she felt complete for it.........well almost.

In November that year this hen and her rooster gave birth to a bouncing baby front rower. While in hospital she was asked her blood type. Tri-Colour was the answer and being in the Western Suburbs the doctors sent out an urgent call for this rare blood group.
It came in the form of red, white and blue flowers, baby bootie and jackets, and as a Roosterman doll, the babies first toy.

Soon after these two roosters wed in footy matrimony, although they entertained the idea of an SFS wedding, they opted for a more traditional one, being very careful to make sure it was on a weekend that their beloved team played away. Also making sure they got to their honeymoon in time to watch the Roosters play Melbourne.

These two roosters now await the arrival of another chick, whether it is another front rower or a cheerleader remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure, this little chicklette will have no need for a transfusion.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
748 words including heading

----------------------------------------

 

[Goleel]

Gol, making his first grade debut for the Eels, takes their first hitup with gusto.

---

The Modern Second Rower

With the evolution of Rugby League, from a contest that was rugby union without rucks, to a war of attrition between battle hardened gladiators, to the current contest between two finely tuned athletic machines, the role of every position has progressed. Wingers are expected to take the work off their forwards, hookers are now defined by their vision out of dummy half, rather than their ability to rake scrums and five eighths are now second halfbacks, controlling the play on their side of the ruck.

But no role has evolved more in than the second rowers. The men wearing 11 and 12 have developed into the most critical combination in many sides; they are a special breed of player, damaging but enduring, skilful but powerful, and while they may not get the plaudits the playmaking halves receive, the men driving the engine room hold the key to many of the top NRL sides successes.

The second rower comes in several breeds: the workhorse, the impact player and the playmaker. While each takes the game with their own style, each is equally important to their side.

Impact players (Puletua, Galuvao)

These are the damaging ball runners. The men who pack the most punch in defense. Their job is to get out there for short spells, scattering opposing defences with their bullocking charges, bashing their opposition with bruising hits, then taking a rest and coming out to do it again in the final stages. The best impact second rowers will always break the advantage line, regularly beat the first tackler and still power forward through the tackle to get quick play-the-balls. Then they back it up with bone rattling defense. They are usually supported by workhorses, to hold the team together until the impact players are ready to come out and skittle the defences once more. The enforcers belong in here, Morley, Wiki, the hard hitters, the intimidators, they are the impact players.

Workhorses (Hindmarsh, Fitzgibbon)

The workhorse is the backbone of any pack. The 80 minute man who will make over 30 tackles a game, with the last just as punishing and effective as the first. They will take the ball up over a dozen times, and the best will still be pushing forward at the advantage line in the 80th minute. Workhorses specialise in playing the 80 minutes at 100%, no matter what the odds, the scoreline or the opposition, these guys will take the ball forward with all they have and never retreat one step. These are the men who you rely on to make those inspirational charges and big hits late in the game. They are the glue that holds a team together, a player who you can rely on to rarely miss a tackle and never shirk a workload, plugging holes up the middle of the ground, and doing so for the entire game.

Playmakers (Lauitiiti, Sattler)

These are the men that often switch to lock through their careers, offering game breaking playmaking ability, a deft kicking game, a supernatural ability to offload or remarkable vision that allows them to create tries with precision passes. While still offering the solid defense and hard running of the workhorses and impact players, playmakers offer that extra spark to a side that can often be the difference in close games. A key offload, the vision to pass where others would take the line on, the ability to kick behind the line, these are the features of great playmaking back rowers.

The modern football side relies on players of all these skills to make their side complete. At Penrith the power of Puletua and Galuvao is complimented by the workrate of Waterhouse and Swain, at Parramatta the hard work of Hindmarsh and Cayless allows a playmaker like Widders the chance to come in and work his magic. In the modern game where field position is so important, and games can be broken open by any of the 26 men on the field, breaking the advantage line, quick play the balls, dominant tackles, these are now as critical to a team as simple passing and catching, and these are the areas second rowers specialise in.

No longer is the second row a place for the props that don't run hard enough and the centres that don't run fast enough. It is an art, a position of particular skill, and a class second row combination will take you a long way towards victory. Just ask Penrith.

Word Count: 747 (inc. Title)

 

[The Colonel]

Colonel Eel #8 for the Eels also making his debut.......

_____________________________________________________

All hail the unsung heroes.

Every club has them. Better known as clubmen they are the bread and butter players that every club needs to compete week in and week out. They don’t make the papers every week if at all and much of what they do goes unnoticed except by the most ardent of supporters, the coach and most importantly their teammates. Some of my favourite players from now and the years gone by are these type of players – blokes like Steve Sharp, Paul Taylor, Ian Hindmarsh and Mark Laurie.

Look back through the years and you’ll find players that clubs could rarely do without. They are generally a coach’s dream, low maintenance players who turn up week in week out and do the job that is expected of them with little or no accolade except that which is accorded them by their teammates. Rarely will they go on to play for their country or State Of Origin however given the chance they would never have let anyone down.

Look at the teams in the NRL now and look at the players who don’t necessarily standout each week but are picked because of their value to the team or their versatility? Just about every club can lay claim to at least one if not two consistent players that they refer to as clubmen. Without these players a club is rarely successful. Remember the old adage – “A team of champions will never beat a champion team”.

Without players in doing the hard stuff and the jobs that no one wants to do a club will struggle if all they carry are champion players. Its not that the top players aren’t interested in doing the dirty work, its just more that they are suited to guiding a team around the paddock or scoring the tries as opposed to doing all the scrappy work.

Plenty of names come to my mind. I can’t go back past the eighties as I was only young then and I didn’t see some great clubmen in their prime but we’ve all heard of them throughout our own clubs. Going through the great teams of the eighties and into the nineties players “stand out”, so to speak, who while others have received the headlines were just as important to their teams successes.

Look at Parramatta from 1981 through to 1986. They had the household names like Kenny, Price, Sterling, Cronin, Grothe and Ella who are players that every football fan can remember. But mention players like Steve Sharp, Paul Taylor, Kevin Stevens and Steve McKenzie and only hardcore supporters can tell you exactly how important these players were. In his book, Peter Sterling mentions that he believed that the inaugural Clive Churchill Medal should have been awarded to Paul Taylor and he would have done so himself but decided against it fearing he may cheapen the medal. Sterling also mentions that Taylor should have been one of the first players picked on that years Kangaroo tour.


The likes of Steve Folkes, Billy Johnstone and Peter Hughes contributed just as much to the great Bulldogs team of the early eighties as did their more noted teammates Steve Mortimer, Peter Tunks, Peter Kelly and Greg Brentnall. The Balmain Tigers may not have been as successful without the likes of Kerry Helmsley, Bruce McGuire, and David Brooks backing up their Test stars in Roach, Sironen, Elias, Jack and Pearce.

How about you ask yourself would Canberra have won their first Grand Final without the likes of Dean Lance and Gary Coyne in the back row? Or would Brisbane have been as successful in 1992 and 1993 without the likes of John Plath, Terry Matterson and Alan Cann?

Many clubmen of the present are starting to receive the representative accolades that stalwarts of the past may not necessarily have done. We have seen clubmen like Luke Ricketson and Tony Butterfield named in representative teams after being overlooked for much of their long careers. Lance Thompson has been touted in the past for representative honours and now looks set to achieve his dream this year.

Without the clubmen of the past and present many of the great players would have missed out on the premiership glory that they and their lesser-known teammates eventually achieved. We should always remember the great players of the past however we should always pay the accolades to those that helped get them there!

__________________________________________________

Word Count = 734 words (between the lines)

 

[Penelope Pittstop]

Supermario has done a hamstring in training. Running on from the bench is Chriswalkerbush

 

[Misanthrope]

An Embarassing Confession

I’ve got a confession to make. It’s not easy for me to say this… but I’m a virgin. Yes, I know it’s pathetic at my age. Seems like people are losing their virginity at an earlier age every year. Here I am, twenty-one and still a virgin.

I’ve yet to experience the dizzying, toe-curling, blissful heights of sheer elation where you feel like you’re floating outside your body looking on. I’ve yet to lay back and savour what I’ve just experienced. Hell, I haven’t even uttered one ecstatic yell, nor heard one in real life. God, I’m pathetic.

Yep, I’m a live league virgin. You really need to pull your mind out of the gutter and put it back on the television.

The sad fact is that I’m twenty one years old and the closest I’ve ever been to live league is screaming abuse at the referee as the not-so-mighty Drummond & Smith Reds clashed with a rival college. The only time I’ve been close to the action has been copping a high tackle playing out on the high school oval.

Why? What could possibly hold a fan so passionate about the game back? The answer is simple, and unfortunately, a little dull. Geography. I’ve moved around almost my entire life, yet the closest I’ve come to attending a league game has been watching with sadness as my younger brother and Dad strolled into Marathon while I sat, paralysed in the back seat, destined to spend a perfectly good Sunday afternoon sitting in my great aunt’s flat and drinking too sweet lemon cordial.

I guess a lot of people in the city take what they have for granted. I have friends attending Newcastle University who attend every Newcastle home game even though they don’t like the side. Friends who go back ‘home’ to Sydney from University and have the chance to see three games a weekend. And here I am, stranded five hours from the nearest stadium, and condemned to watch the game through a haze of poor reception on my flatmate’s battered old portable TV. The good TV, sadly, is reserved for Prime’s Friday Night Mysteries.

Rack my brain as I might, I can’t find a viable solution to my dilemma. I could, of course, pack up and move to Brisbane or Sydney or Newcastle. I could invest in a car, a licence, a lot of petrol- and make the trek to whichever game took my fancy each weekend.

Or, I could hold onto the slim hope that the NRL would eventually remember that Australia consists of more than just the Eastern coast. Two years ago Manly and Easts travelled to Tamworth (ninety minutes drive from me), and I was unfortunate enough to miss that occurrence. Still, I never thought I’d still be waiting for a return tour.

City vs. Country, I once hoped, would eventually grace a stadium within driving distance of me. After all, I live in ‘the country’, and not too far from one of the larger ‘country’ cities. But no, the game continues to be played at Gosford. Call me old fashioned; but any town that supports a McDonalds, has hosted an NRL side, and is just a short train ride from Sydney and Newcastle does not, to me, constitute ‘country’. I’m not saying they should shift the game to the scenic hills of Ben Lomond, but a shift that took the game a little further inland would be great. Strike that- it’d be perfect.

Who can blame the NRL though? The money is definitely better in the cities. Why settle for 7,000 at Tamworth’s Scully Park when the same match could get fifteen or sixteen thousand in Sydney? Wait, Canterbury vs. Cronulla in round two drew less than ten thousand people- put a game like that in Tamworth, hype it right, and you’d get close to that.

The NRL may think that taking a game to country NSW is a money-losing endeavour, but some of the most vocal and passionate supporters I know have lived in the country their entire lives. These people still tell stories of the magic of their first (and usually only) experience at an NRL match. They travelled six hours to get there, and slept in their cars. Shouldn’t such dedication be rewarded?

It mightn’t make the club money, but bring two NRL sides to a country town, play a game- and see how much support the two sides earn.

Give the country a go.

Word Count: 748 words including title

 

[Redback71]

OVERVIEW

Here we are in the year 2014; 10 years after the Rugby World Cup in Australia started a war between League and Rugby, a war in which League and the NRL were dealt the short straw.

With the huge cash reserves left over from the cup they had more than enough money to poach some of our biggest names and stars including Andrew Johns and develop the game at the grass roots in ways the NRL could only imagine.

So what was to be done, simple amalgamate two of the greatest sports the world has ever seen, Rugby League and Wrestling to give us a new sport Tag-Team Footy.

Although many still prefer the original game which is still quite popular amongst loyalist, with cloning now legal and quite popular the average retirement age of the footy star has increased from 34 to 85 years of age (why if you damage a body part just clone it and have it replaced, or just have your cloned double play the game for you while you watch the money roll in).

Rule’s of the game

1/ the standard rules of League still remain, with some new ones added or changed.
2/ each side has 26 players, of which 17 are on the field and 9 in reserves.
3/ each player can tag out once during the game, simply by going to there side of the field and slapping the hand of a team mate.
4/ Once a player tags out they can’t tag out for a 2nd time, if they do there out for the rest of the game.
5/ if a player is pined for a three count they are eliminated from the rest of the game (which ends up reducing the amount of players left available for that side).

The Hosts

Hosts for today are Jessie Ventura and Bill Harrigan, so let’s hand over to them.

Jessie: here we are at the beginning of a new season to watch the season opener.
Bill: yes Jessie and what an amazing game it will be, tonight we have the Parramatta Eels and the Penrith Panthers taking on the Canterbury Bulldogs and the Brisbane Broncos.
Jessie: tonight’s guest referee is none other than the Rock himself.
Rock: The eels and Panthers have decided to kick off.
Bill: and the whistle is blown, Girdler kicks off, and the ball goes a good 40 metres and is caught on the full by El Masri who runs the ball out and is confronted by Hindmarsh who slams him into the ground, El Masri gets up and plays the ball to Lockyer who throws a dummy and runs the ball himself before passing to Sherwin who makes an amazing break and runs a good 50 metres.
Jessie: there’s about 3 players in defence between Sherwin and the goal line.
Bill: Vella makes an amateur move and drops his head as if to throw Sherwin over his shoulders.
Jessie: But Sherwin anticipates the move stops in mid tracks and applies the DDT to Vella’s head, instantly knocking him out.
Bill: Sherwin dives on him and pins Vella’s shoulders.
Rock: 1, 2, 3 and his out.
Jessie: that’s a blow to the eels there down one man.
Rock: Vella is replaced by Captain Cayless.
Bill: Sherwin plays the ball to Utai who passes to a rampaging Gordon Tallis who barges thru the frontline.
Jessie: Wow! Did you see that how devastating, Chris Thorman just came out of nowhere and applied the flying clothes line around the chops of, Gordon Tallis.
Rock: Tallis looses the ball and is gathered by Gower, Play on.
Bill: Gower runs the ball and throws a dummy he passes to Weeser who passes to Canning’s who is tackled by Steve Price. Canings plays the ball to Wise who passes to Cayless, Cayless makes a good 20 metres before being tackled by Tonga 20 metres out from the try line.
Jessie: Cayless plays the ball to Witt who passes to Dykes, Dykes run straight at Andrew Ryan, Dykes leaps and fly’s thru the air and Drop Kicks Ryan to the ground and while in the air passes the Ball back To Witt, who Runs thru the gap and scores right under the black dot kick to come.
Bill: what a move and an amazing try.
Bill: Girdler lines the ball up for the kick.
Jessie: He kicks the ball.
Rock: no conversion.
Rock: Score, Eels/Panthers 4-Broncos/Dogs 0

Part Two will follow Next time.




748 words

 

[PARRA_FAN]

PARRA_FAN on his debut

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The great rugby league grounds

In the last 20-30 years we’ve seen some great Rugby League grounds. Most of the grounds have either been re-development stadiums, new stadiums that build a lively atmosphere or even the traditional rugby league grounds such as Leicharddt Oval, Brookvale Oval, Kogarah Oval, North Sydney Oval.

But times have changed, where there aren’t too many traditional rugby league grounds. Hardly a ground with a hill, wooden seats or a wooden fence, and hardly one that still looks the same as it was 10-20 years. Most of the clubs have either had their grounds re-development or moved to a new developed stadium to gain more crowds and get a better atmosphere.

But lets not forget those traditional grounds that aren’t going around in the NRL, and even the ones that are still going around at the moment.

The Sydney Cricket Ground is one of the most famous grounds in the history of Rugby League in Australia. Since it first made its footsteps to the ground in 1911, the “SCG” as its normally known as, has hosted some great moments in Rugby League. During the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s the SCG to most people was the home of Rugby League. Each time a player walked onto the paddock it was a great feeling for them. Whether they’d wear a red ‘V’ jumper, green and gold jersey or even a traditional red and green jumper, the Sydney Cricket Ground has a had a great influence on Rugby League. Some big names such as Raper, McCarthy, Gasnier, Langlands, Fulton, Sattler, Beetson, Churchill have made their mark at the famous ground.

As time goes by, Rugby League is no longer played on the famous SCG, but still leaves some great moments. Like the famous 1950 Ashes test victory for Australia, the 1965 Grand Final between Souths and St.George which attracted over 78,000, and many more.

Nowadays the home of Rugby League to some is actually 3 different grounds, Stadium Australia, Suncorp Stadium and Aussie Stadium.

So what is the home of Rugby League??

Aussie Stadium, which was formerly known as Sydney Football Stadium, is one of the best grounds going around at the moment. Since its completion in 1988, the “SFS” has seen some great moments, including the 1989 GF between Balmain and Canberra, and the 1997 GF between Newcastle and Manly. The move of rugby league grand Finals to the SFS from the SCG was a success, creating a huge lively atmosphere and attracting crowds to the near capacity. The Sydney Football Stadium was the first all-seated stadium in Australian Rugby League, and it also gave a major change to Rugby League. Like the SCG, it has had a great influence on Rugby League. Many players get a great feeling when they walk onto the ground of the SFS. Different to the SCG 20-30 years where they didn’t draw over 50,000 or 60,000 fans, and there were hill areas. Which means the tradition of the “hill” is now slowly disappearing. But times are now changing and Rugby League is looking onto the future.

Suncorp Stadium, or mostly known as “Lang Park” or even “The Cauldron”, is mainly the home of Queensland Rugby League. If it wasn’t for Lang Park there wouldn’t be some great State of Origin moments, and State of Origin wouldn’t be where it is at the moment. Lang Park actually hosted the first ever State Origin match between Queensland and New South Wales. For the players, there’s never a better feeling than putting on that Maroon jumper for their state walking out onto the paddock in front of a packed house.

Finally Stadium Australia, since its completion in 1999, has had record Rugby League crowds, two of them over 100,000 fans. Although probably doesn’t have the same feeling as Lang Park, SFS or the SCG, but who knows maybe in 10-15 years time it might have a bigger feeling on the players. The fans have certainly enjoyed the atmosphere of the past few grand finals that have been played on the ground.

But which ground is the home of Rugby League?? To me every ground in the NRL is the home of rugby league, but the main one is still hard to tell at this stage. The Sydney Cricket Ground to some people is still a great ground of rugby league.

Rugby League in England have had the same change in rugby league grounds, since the introduction of Super League many of the clubs have either moved from their traditional local ground to new developed soccer stadiums, or mainly had their ground redeveloped. In the last 4-5 years there have been new English grounds that have had Rugby League their home, eg, McAlpine Stadium, KC Stadium, JJB Stadium, Reebok Stadium. Most of the current clubs in the English Super League have newly developed all-seated stadiums and only a few still have their traditional grounds.

So, what does the future of Rugby League grounds hold, in probably 10-15 years time??

To me, most of the grounds would all be developed into new all-seated stadiums to create a better atmosphere and a great feeling. Most grounds would have capacities over 25,000. And the traditional grounds will be redeveloped. But who knows what the future holds.

 

[Penelope Pittstop]

Penelope Pittstop running on for Big Poppa Pump !!

*************************************************************
Penelope Pittstop #1 Easts
*************************************************************


Ali says Open Sesame

In days of yore in the land of the long white cloud, there lived a poor boy, who was blessed with the ability to play rugby league. Ali said, 'Open Sesame’ and the golden goal posts of the NRL were opened. Ali Lauiti’iti beheld treasures of unimaginable wealth- earning himself a berth in the 2002 Grand Final, representative selection for seventeen tests, and the honour of being 2002’s Dally M second-rower of the year. The New Zealand Warriors 2002 player of the year was until Tuesday, 20th April 2004, on a $250,000 a year contract.

Lauiti’iti was born in Auckland on the 13th of July, 1979. At age 24 he stands at 186cm and weighs in at 108kg. Before being discovered by the Warriors’ management in 1998, he played for Mengere East, and it didn’t take long for him to earn a contract that would not expire until 2006. When Lauiti’iti is in form he is one of the most damaging second rowers in the game - one of the modern day 'ball-playing' big fellas.


As of today he is out of a job.

Ali's forty Thieves came in the form of a medical condition. The cyst that was removed from his left arm has robbed him of his health, ability to play league at the top level, and his drive to push the Warriors towards a maiden premiership. Amid rumors of falling out with management, it has been reported that Coach Anderson and Stacy Jones relationship has developed a rift. Daniel Anderson denies this by saying:

"We've been there four years, we haven't had a clash before," he said. "As I said it's something we'll continue at the Warriors, and try and develop and improve each other."


New Zealand Warriors’ halfback and international Stacey Jones also said:

“There are no problems between Daniel Anderson and I and there never have been…..At the moment, I just can’t seem to find form.”

It is important that we keep players like Ali Lauiti’iti within the NRL. Rather than lose a quality second rower, surely there is room in the NRL to develop his mindset and get him over his injury. Sports psychology suggests:

1. Athletes who have a high degree of self concept and good psychological coping skills are likely to recover more quickly from injury than their less confident and capable teammates.

2. Coaches and athletic trainers can contribute to the athlete's self-confidence by providing counseling and other types of social support. It is essential that injured athletes are treated as important members of the team to prevent any sense of isolation that may otherwise develop

Ali Lauiti’iti has been quoted as saying to his teammates, that winning a premiership was no longer important to him. General manager Spiro Tsiros of the Warriors has stated that they have offered him an immediate release. CEO Mick Watson was quoted as saying:

” You can’t stand in the trenches with someone who does not share those aspirations.”

And it looks as thought Ali has again screamed 'Open Sesame', as his options for the future are numerous. The Warriors have already paid him half his salary, and a deal could be struck with another NRL club. Already, reports abound that injury hit South Sydney are interested, with David Tapp offering him a contract for the remainder of his Warriors’ contract. Cronulla, The Bulldogs, Canberra, Sydney, Manly, North Queensland and Parramatta have not ruled out the possibility of making an offer either. English Super League giants, Wigan have also made him an offer: a princely sum of $500,000 per season, and it would seem they are favored to sign him.

It is a sad day for rugby league when it faces the possibility of losing a player of international standard, not to mention one of the characters of the game. With players such as Timana Tahu, Andrew Johns, Willie Mason and Braith Anasta being targeted by Rugby Union, it would be another blow for the game to lose a player who has developed into a household name. Thanks to an injury and its side affects Ali Lauiti’iti, or Alf as he is known to teammates, now has the decision of staying loyal to the NRL or playing in the Super League. Or perhaps he will follow Jamie Lyon ...






Word Count: 731

 

[antonius]

Ref Blows Fulltime

 

[Penelope Pittstop]

That was a superb effort Easts !!

G'Day to our Ref Mystique 8)

Great posts by Redback71 and Parra Fan.

Bubbles will be writing Captains Knock this round.

 

[Mystique]

Easts

Melon – The Motivator
750 Words
Entertaining, exciting, excellent. The storytelling style puts you right there, in the moment and the little moral at the end is very… well, motivating. I wanted to run around the paddock myself after this.
Score: 9.1

Bubbles - Inter-League Relationships - Spice of Life or Recipe for Disaster?
760 words (counted using Microsoft Word’s word counter – are you using something different?)
Another very entertaining read with a very personal slant. I’m sure many people on this board can relate. Good style.
Score: 8.5 (with 0.2 word count penalty)

roosterspremiers2002 – Transfusion of a Rooter fan
726 words
Becoming an Easts supporter. I liked the Brady Bunch filk (and the amusing typo in the title) and it’s a nice story. The personal slant makes it interesting.
Score: 8.3

Chriswalkerbush - An Embarassing Confession
748 words
This piece grips you from the intriguing opening paragraphs and carries right through with the impassioned plea for more first grade, national level games to be played in the country. Good point well made, and an entertaining read.
Score: 8.8

Penelope Pittstop - Ali says Open Sesame
718 words
What now for Ali Lauiti’iti? What could have been a very dry article is transformed by the ‘fairytale’ metaphor and the judicious use of quotes into a compelling read, and the personal opinion expressed drives Penelope’s point home. While showing tremendous depth of knowledge, it does read a little like a rush job and I can only imagine what an outstanding article this could have been with a little more polish.
Score: 9.0

TOTAL: 43.7

Eels

Goleel – The modern second rower
747 words
Knowledgeable and easy to read piece on the changing role of forwards in the game, especially the second rowers. Not so much ‘an entertaining read’, more a serious and focussed article. Very professional.
Score: 8.9

Parra Fan -The great rugby league grounds
877 words
A trip round the famous stadiums of league. Great essay; well written and comprehensive but unfortunately way too long for the competition rules so you’re going to have to lose a whole point, which is a shame as it deserves more.
Score:7.8 (with 1.0 word count penalty)

Colonel Eel – All hail the unsung heroes
736 words
A tribute to the clubman and team player and this is a good solid piece and a good team player’s contribution.
Score: 8.5

Redback71 – Overview
742 words
Not sure what to make of this. I was wincing at the formatting and obvious spelling/grammar errors but then, as I read on, I started grinning at the whole concept of a Wrestling/League amalgam… I’d happily tell my friends to go read this article because it’s funny, but I can’t give high marks in an essay writing competition. In short, it’s hugely creative and entertaining but the presentation lets it down.
Score: 7.0

TOTAL: 32.2

Easts 43.7 defeat Eels 32.2

Poster of the Round: Melon for Easts

 

[Mystique]

I just wanted to add *taking off the Referee strip and dropping the whistle* that I'm really encouraged by the quality of all the debut posters articles. Pretty much everyone did really well and, while Redback scored very low for his/her article, I still want to read Part 2 just for the fun of it.

I'm very glad that the word count penalties didn't make any difference in the end. I hate giving them but thems the rules. It's such a tragedy when a team puts in an effort but loses out because of some silly contravention of the guidelines. Just like when an NRL team gets stripped of two points because they had 14 men on the paddock - it's totally fair for them to lose those points if having 14 men for a couple of minutes actually made a difference to the result of match but it really grates if they would have won anyway. And yet, those are the rules the teams have to abide by.

Anyway, congratulations to Easts, who I can see going from strength to strength, and commiserations to the Eels who, even in defeat, are showing they have a solid base on which to build with some promising posters coming through.

 

[Penelope Pittstop]

Firstly to the Eels, I thought you had two rookies, but you guys had 4, what a top effort.

Mystlique as always, it is a pleasure to have you ref a game.

Thanx to Easts, who submitted excellent articles. A great win for our first home game !!

 

[Goleel]

Cheers for the game Easts, well played with a great team score and some good reads all round. Well done to our guys too who got posts in, we're only going to get better as the season goes on and we get some more experience behind us. Well played.

 

[ParraMatt]

Mystique I know what you mean in saying losing a game due to going over the word limit. Perfect example was Rhinos in a trial ;-) Great refereeing mate, Good game Easts and Parramatta.