Round 8 (2008) Ninjas v Panthers

[Willow]

Forum 7s - Round 8 2008
CHUCK NORRIS TEXAS DEATH NINJAS v PENRITH PANTHERS​

-v-

​

Game Thread:
* Please note - This is a game thread only, therefore only game posts can be made here (Teams, Articles).
* Any other posts may result in loss of points and is at the discretion of the referee
* Only original articles, not used in previous games, will be marked by referees.​

Naming Teams:
* 5v5 (+ 2 reserves for visiting team, 3 reserves for home team)
* No 'TBA' or changing players named
* Captains must stick with original teams named​

ALL THE RULES & REGULATIONS: http://f7s.leagueunlimited.com/rules.php​

FULL TIME: Wednesday 30 July 2008 at 9pm (Syd time)​

REFEREE: Steel Dragon
Venue: Reliant Stadium​

**The Referee Blows Game On!**

CLICK HERE FOR OFFICIAL WORD COUNTER​

 

[paulquinn49]

CNTDN Side

paulquinn49 (c)
Edabomb (c)
Titties (c)
jamesgould (vc)
Raider_69 (vc)

Bench
Halatia (vc)
Freddo (vc)
Raider Azz (vc)

 

[Big Mick]

Round 8:
1. The Piper
2. [Furrycat]
3. Madunit (I WILL BE POSTING BY PROXY. HAS CLEARED THIS WITH SKINNER)
4. Azkatro
5. Glockers?

RES:
6. Leaguenut
7. Big Mick

 

[The Piper]

The Piper
------------------------------------------------
The novel series that inspired the television show
WHITE JERSEY BLUE

Based loosely on a true story…

It was a Friday. Young constable Jarrod Sammut was at home, watching the delayed nine-thirty league match. The phone rang. It was the call that was to begin it all. It was the beginning of the biggest case of the year, which would change league forever.
Reaching over empty cans of Jim Beam, he tried hard not to wake his girlfriend who lay across him, asleep on the lounge. Sammut had no doubt it was a mate, intoxicated, calling him at this hour. The Penrith based police officer answered with little enthusiasm, but sat up immediately when he realised the voice of his superior, Chief Inspector Matthew Coach. He snapped off quick replies in agreement to all of Coach’s orders. He hung up and turned around to the young woman, who was woken by the movement and conversation.
“I got to get to the station,” he told her.
“What, now?”
“Yeah. Something big’s gone down.”
She sleepily tidied the lounge. “Well, bring me back some Krispy Kremes on the way home.”
“No,” Sammut replied, throwing his uniform on. The girlfriend looked at him after his response with a rude expression.
“Not the police station,” he explained. “The television station. Coach didn’t say much, but it has got something to do about the rugby league television rights.”

Sammut was a cop, specializing in rugby league based cases. Their kind was known to the public as the white jersey blues.

Police tape surrounded the entrance to the Fox Studios at Moore Park. Pushing it aside, Sammut stepped underneath it to make his way to the scene of the crime. He walked up beside his partner, Senior Constable Michael Jennings.
“What have we got?” Sammut asked professionally, only to end with a gaping yawn. Jennings laughed.
“The crime tape is a bit extreme for mine, but there’s been a robbery. Crime scene investigators don’t want any of the evidence contaminated.”
“What’s been stolen, mate?” Sammut asked.
“The television rights for all national rugby league games. They were nicked straight out from underneath the NRL’s noses. It’s believed that they may have been taken here. New copper Iosefa was also called out to check Channel Nine headquarters, Willoughby.”
A man in a white jumpsuit and blue gloves walked towards the pair of white jersey blues. He held in his hand a manila folder. He handed it to Jennings who gloved up before opening it.
“Dear lord,” he cried. “They’re all here. They’ve got two live matches Saturday night, and then one delayed. Here’s another live one of Sunday.”
Sammut saw the price the pay TV network had paid for the exclusive coverage. Feeling queasy, he coughed, turned and covered his mouth, trying to hold down his dinner of fast food fried chicken.
“What sick person could have done this to our poor, beloved game?”
Jennings put them down, shaking his head. “I don’t know, but we’re going to stop them from doing it again. We must for the sake of our game.”
A call came in on Sammut’s mobile. The young man cleared his throat and answered it. It was Constable Iosefa, newly appointed to the rugby league cop ranks. Sammut spoke to him as he looked up at Jennings.
“The found the Friday night coverage at Nine.”
Sammut thanked Iosefa for the news and hung up. Looking up at his partner with a deep sigh, he spoke sternly.
“It’s as bad as here; the price,” Sammut’s words caused Jennings to drop his head. “They have robbed the NRL. They have robbed league.”

There wasn’t much else the constable and senior constable had to explain to the man in charge. Chief Inspector Coach looked over the television rights of both Nine and Fox.
“Boys,” he looked both Sammut and Jennings in the eyes. “It is of the utmost importance that you keep this information to yourselves.”
The two nodded as their boss went on.
“We have to tread carefully. These TV deals show there is obvious corruption in the highest ranks of the NRL board. Nobody with the best interests of the game in mind would sell these off for such a ridiculous price. We could have gotten so much more to help the struggling clubs.”
“How do we handle this, Coach?” Sammut wanted to know.
Coach breathed heavily. “We got to do our job. First, we question the NRL Chief Executive Officer.”

End of Chapter 1
---------------

750 words says the offical word counter

 

[Big Mick]

Big Mick Posting Mad Unit's Article by PROXY.

A True Team Of Champions

This season our game has celebrated the playing skills and talents of players from the past and present. However, there has not been a team named containing some of the most important men of our game, and more importantly, our nation.

These men served as great players at representative level in Rugby League, but more importantly, as servicemen for our country during the two World Wars.

I present, the Servicemen Team Of The Century.

Fullback: Neville Butler
Neville played in the successful Norths teams in the early 1940’s after he was selected for NSW in 1938. Neville was declared as “missing in action” after an air raid over Europe during World War II.

Wing: Brian Bevan
Although his performances in Australia were limited to just a handful of games, his career in England has been unrivalled. Bevan left Easts to serve in the Navy during World War II before commencing his career in England.

Centre: Len Smith
Len served as a Captain in the Army during the Second World War, seeing action in Egypt, New Guinea, Palestine and Syria. His trivial sacking from the Test team in 1948 has unfortunately overshadowed his great career.

Centre: Doug McRitchie
Doug’s career was just one season old before he left to fight in New Guinea and Bougainville during World War II. Upon his return he quickly made his way into State and National sides.

Wing: Lionel Cooper
Lionel was discovered by fellow serviceman, Ray Stehr, playing AFL in Darwin while waiting to be dispatched. Ray lured Lionel to play for Easts after the war. His two seasons saw him instantly earning state and national selection before he moved to England to see out his career.

Five-Eighth: Keith Holman
‘Yappy’ is the most capped representative player in this team. He played 65 games for NSW and Australia alone. Keith served in the RAAF during World War II, before joining Wests and becoming one the greatest players the game has ever seen.

Halfback: Duncan Thompson
Duncan is the only man in this squad, maybe even the only man in Australian Rugby League, who served in both World Wars. In the First War, he was shot through the back and chest, the shell remaining in his body for the rest of his life, while fighting at Dernacourt in France. His playing career was short but it was exceptional. He played in the Premiership winning Norths teams of 1921 and 1922, before leading Toowoomba to glory the following few years. Up until 1980 he was still regarded as the greatest halfback Australia has ever had.

Lock: Les Cowie
Les ‘put his age up’ so as to gain entry into the Army in 1942. After serving he joined Souths and forged out a successful career as the codes premier back rower during the late 1940’s.

Second Row: Fred De Belin
Fred served with the RAAF in World War II. He played Rugby Union for service teams, as well as being a renowned wrestler. He switched codes to play for Balmain at the end of the war, where he quickly gained selection for NSW and later, Australia.

Second Row: Herb Narvo
Herb was one of the games most talented athletes. He was a cricketer, cyclist and a one time Australian Heavyweight Boxing Champion. He served as a Paratroop instructor for the RAAF during the Second War. He represented Australia and NSW mostly prior to enlisting in the RAAF. In 1945 he made a return to rep football, playing for NSW.

Prop: Ray Stehr
Ray served in the Army for two years toward the end of his career. He was stationed in Darwin prior to attacks by the Japanese. While there he recruited Lionel Cooper to play for Easts. After the war, he returned to Easts and lead them to a Premiership before retiring.

Hooker: Ken Kearney
‘Killer’ served in the RAAF during World War II. Prior to his enlistment, he had played 7 Tests for the Wallabies. When he returned to Australia, he had switched codes, leading St.George to the first 6 of their record 11 straight premierships. He played 25 Tests for Australia between 1952 and 1958.

Prop: Jack Rayner
Jack was actually serving in New Guinea during the Second War when he was spotted playing for the Army team by Eric Lewis. Rayner joined Souths once the war had finished. In that time he became known as one of the greatest captains in the history of the game.

Lest We Forget.

749 Words, including title.

 

[Big Mick]

Replacement:

Leaguenut comes on for Glockers

 

[edabomb]

Fear and Loathing….

Beep beep, beep beep. My alarm sounds, 4pm Friday afternoon, time to go to work. I’m the last full-time professional in my line. Sure the money isn’t great, but I moved back in with my parents to get by. I might go to work straight tonight, always good to start a busy weekend that way.

I arrive at the stadium an hour before kick-off, very professional by my standards. I meet up with the referee and touch judges and discuss the match ahead and what our plans are afterwards. The touchies invite me out for a few drinks after the match. Something about touch judges, they’re the wildest blokes out on the town.

I move up to my box in the sky in time for kick-off. I regret not bringing a twelve pack now as nothing happens for the first twenty minutes. Then the ref sends out the call – “we’ll go to the video, check the onside and grounding thanks mate”. Like Batman receiving the signal, it is my time to shine. I check the onside first; one of the attacking players has run just inside the ten but hasn’t really gotten involved in the play. My first option is to award a try and cop it for not going by the book, or I could award a try and hear on the Sunday Roast how ex-players should have my job as they have a ‘feel for the game’ and would of pointed out this players lack of involvement. I go by the book and award a no try - my employers prefer this.


The rest of the game is straightforward; as the final whistle comes closer I regret my decision to cover a mates shift tomorrow night in Newcastle. I give a kid wandering around the stadium $20 to come up and video ref the last ten minutes, best way to beat the traffic. I head into the city and meet up with the touchies after a few drinks; I don’t remember much after that.

I wake up at Kings Cross the next morning covered by a very old and smelly blanket. I check my phone; it’s 7:22am, too early to be alive. I have no choice though, I discover I’ve lost my wallet and won’t be able to make it to the airport in time for my flight to Newcastle. I take off the blanket to reveal I’m in a touchies uniform, typical!

I catch a ride to Cessnock with a mate; he spots me $30 and drops me off there. I hitch the rest of the way to Newcastle, catching a ride with a guy called Jonno. He drops me off at a bottle shop near the stadium, I pick up an eighteen pack of Fosters.

I arrive just in time to have a quick catch up with the refs and touch judges, a completely different crew. They said they read about what I did last night on our Internet forum though, it doesn’t sound good at all. I head up to the box an hour early tonight, because I have alcohol. I drink the first dozen in that first hour and am well and truly hammered by the time the match starts. I am hearing voices that I don’t think are there and have pins and needles all over my head. I keep drinking.

My decisions are spot on early, till they send one up in the twenty-sixth minute. I don’t know what’s happening. It appears the ball has been forced on something white, the ref is saying something about a foot but I’m just not seeing it. I tell him my recommendation is no try, benefit of the doubt. He says benefit of the doubt always has to be a try, so I send my decision down – Try! I fall asleep soon after and am replaced by some random bloke.

[FONT=&quot]I wake up the next morning on a train to Sydney and with two Fosters in a plastic bag next to me; I only made it through sixteen it would appear, weak. I stop off at KFC and pick up my usual Sunday order of one hundred pieces of chicken, then to the bottle shop for five bottles of Jim Beam. Luckily I prepay these orders; I’ve learnt to do that considering I lose my wallet every weekend. I head home and to bed with my supplies and set my alarm for 4pm next Friday, when I’ll do it all again.

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

750 words including title
[/FONT]

 

[paulquinn49]

CNTDN Changes

OUT

Titties
Raider_69

IN

Halatia
Freddo

 

[paulquinn49]

The Canberra Raiders - A true Internet Forum story

I remember the first thing I did on a forum, it was sending someone called “Greeneyed” a PM about the upcoming NRL Video Game I had heard about, which was released about 4 years later, I decided to ask GE because she sounded pretty hot, I later found out the hot chick was an angry older man. Nevertheless he is still someone I speak to today, despite never cracking a joke, he makes me laugh, in a good way.

In the early days the Internet was a way of communicating opinions with other people, and it seemed to work, and for a few years the Internet added to excitement of Canberra games, as when they won you had something to talk about for a whole week. Rather than seeing 20 seconds worth of highlights, the conversations generated more memories and I found myself watching the game closer, even studying it so these facts could be shared online, with people I now considered friends, sort of.

I enjoyed the game as a whole a lot more, for what the Internet brought to the table, in having a discussion with like-minded people, rather than explaining why Canberra was wearing a white jersey to my mother for a good half hour.

However the game changed one day when Wests Tigers and Canberra went to war, not on the field, but online, and with battle lines drawn, I had to stick with my Canberra brothers. It went back and fourth for years until the discussion between fans stopped and the Internet turned into a flame war between fans of the same club. It was Canberra vs Canberra in a war of words, opinions and later on rival Internet Forums.

One subject that caused much debate and arguing was the issue of loyalty, who was more loyal to the Canberra Raiders, and why. My argument was mainly with a person called Bay56, who by day goes by the name of Robert, and is very wealthy, achieving more than I ever could in life, it isn’t my opinion but it is his, and in this age of technology he is entitled to it.

The arguments were simple, I found Robert to be an aggressive, boring little man who spent his days belittling a club I had followed for over 15 years, the odd part is Robert had supported the club longer than me, yet put it down everyday. However as he went to all the home games he was a better fan than me, despite my harsh words for the club coming few and far between, I did not attend any home games, as I live in Sydney.

However all fighting aside when the time called for it, we could stand and defend the club against all other opposition fans. The loyalty to Canberra was what mattered. Behind the curtains the forum was bitterly divided and a rebel group had begun to makes steps to create a new exciting venture, for Canberra fans, and Canberra fans only. It was to be a house of green, and I wanted in.

Leaving behind the opposition fans that caused fights within my own supporters, was to be a blessing. It became the stuff of Legends, recruiting from under the nose of our gracious host, LU. The GH had become established and known to all Canberra fans, and for a time everything was great.

But again the in fighting had started and it soon became another flame war between posters, with people picking sides and going to war. I then left the GH, which is still alive today, but I wouldn’t know it if I tripped over it.

Through it all though I found my niche with a select group of people, and we no longer yearn to discuss the game with people on forums, as the internet has ruined Rugby League and to extent, my love of the Canberra Raiders.

Upon my visits now I cringe at seeing new posts in the Canberra Forum as I know the posts ooze negativity, and in general are insultingly boring, my love for Canberra runs deep, but as far as LU is concerned my loyalty is with the CNTDN.

A place where in fighting and politics are not present, where a love of Rugby League is the most important attribute.

“You know the best part? It isn't knowing that your friends have your back. It's knowing that you have your friends' back.”

748 Words

 

[Freddo]

Applauding fire at the yellow sea

A strange thing happened the other day, I attended a Rugby Union game. I am as loyal as the come to League, so this may appear to be a one sided opinion, because it is.

After years of my father asking me if I wanted to go see a Wallaby’s game I finally gave in, it was a combination of not seeing him for a while, being sick with the flu and wanting to get it over and done with. It was just plain ole mean buying the tickets 3 weeks out, meaning I would have to think about the game, everyday, for 20 days. It was now finally game day and every step I took closer to ANZ Stadium, I felt myself becoming sick, knowing my father had contributed to my enemy, who in turn is trying to bury a game I genuinely love.

Truth be told there was one thing I was looking forward to, The Haka. The crowd roared as soon as the players got into place for it, perhaps this is what they really came for, I know I did. In a sign of true disrespect to the most entertaining aspect of the game, the crowd were cut off while showing their applause by John Williamson singing perhaps the worst song in the history of the Universe, Waltzing Matilda.

Looking around the stadium as a Rugby League fan, it made me a little jealous as how well marketed the Wallaby’s are in comparison to the Kangaroos. It was if I was in a sea of yellow, surrounded by Wallaby jerseys, scarves, beanies, flags, you name it, they had it. I have been to a Rugby League test and while the game was obviously better, apart from when a team scored you couldn’t really tell who the crowd was going for, hardly any team colours in the crowd at all. I actually saw Wallaby jerseys at the League test!

It was a far cry from the Wallaby test where the crowd was colourfully patriotic, but dead silent, more than likely due to people not knowing the rules. However the scoreboard did offer explanations as when penalties were awarded, which still didn’t make sense to me.

I did know when to applaud good play, even though I didn’t really see any. The ARU in their bastardly brilliance implemented a tool to generated applause, no it wasn’t Lote Tiquri, the NRL implemented that! It was oversized gas heater looking thing, and whenever something good happened or the crowd was required to make any sort of noise a giant flame would shoot up into the sky, how could you not clap that? It looked impressive, and they had about 10 of these around the stadium. It may sound stupid but I believe the people were applauding the fire, simply for the fact Union is boringly crap and being winter, it was rather cold, so the fire was more than welcome. As a staunch league follower, everything about the crowd rubbed me the wrong way, like how they don’t drink beer, sure it doesn’t taste that great, but it is an Australian icon. No they only drank wine and whatever that stupid sexist alcoholic Drop Bear sells.

The game only seemed interesting when a League player was on the case, Tiquri seemingly setting up every try and creating every chance, with the ever ugly Ryan Cross scoring the opening try, interestingly enough Cross was never good enough to represent his State in League, let alone his Country. But good on him, he now plays an easier game, plays a lot less and more than likely gets paid a lot more.

I have no plans to ever again attend a game of Rugby Union. I gave it a chance to impress and it failed, everything from the boring stop/start style, the constant preference of penalties goals to actually trying to score a try, to the giant gas heaters. There is no doubt my love of League has contributed to my hate of Rugby Union, but until such time where I believe Rugby Union is capable of providing their own junior talent and providing an entertaining product, that people can understand, the code will forever, to me, be known as the geniused cousin to League.

 

[Azkatro]

Azkatro posting for the Panthers.

__________________________________________________

Lord of the Meat Pies

“Things are breaking up. I don’t understand why. We began well; we were happy. And then… then people started getting frightened?”

Much has been said and written about William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. It is a book about a group of schoolboys who, having survived a plane wreck on a deserted island, quickly realise they must work together to stay alive.

Initially, things go well for the boys. They elect a leader, and operate under the basic premise that they will start a fire signal and keep it going until help arrives.

As time passes however, a rift begins to develop. Paranoia sets in about the rumoured existence of a beast on the island. Some of the boys detach themselves from the main group to focus on hunting, while the others stick to the original plan of rescue. Soon enough, the two factions are virtually at war with one another.

Even if you haven’t read it, you will quickly get the idea of what the story is all about. Despite having a common need, the boys fail to get along and instead turn on each other. Their society degrades into an anarchistic rabble.

Lord of the Flies was published in the United States in 1955. That very same year rugby league’s South Sydney Rabbitohs famously made a charge from the bottom of the ladder to take out the premiership. If you stay in the era, there is not much to link the two.

Now, move forward to the present day. It is rugby league’s centenary year in Australia. Read the papers and watch the news on TV, and it won’t take you long to find some eerie similarities between the current state of rugby league and Golding’s tale of a society gone wrong.

In the book, Ralph is the original leader, until Jack forms a breakaway group. The real parallel here with rugby league is the 1995 Superleague war. Ralph is the ARL and Jack is Superleague. The prize in the book is Piggy’s glasses, in rugby league, it’s the game. As the story goes, many of the boys in Ralph’s group become casualties of the war. Again, there are eerie similarities with rugby league. However both stories lead to different conclusions.

In the book, a navy warship rescues the boys. In rugby league, the two factions manage to re-unite. However it is worth noting that Superleague – Jack’s side –ultimately gained the ascendancy.

We don’t know what happens to the boys in the Lord of the Flies after they are rescued, but we do know what happens to rugby league. Eleven years on, and the beast is rearing its ugly head again.

The in fighting has returned. The paranoia is setting in. The beast appears to be different, but in essence it’s still the same. If you listen carefully, you can almost hear the cries; “the beast is coming, the beast is coming! Why aren’t we doing anything about it?”

I’m one of a huge number of fans of rugby league. Like most of them, I occasionally have an inclination to follow one side or the other. I hear a lot of persuasive comments and, in the weaker moments, wonder how on earth we’re going to stop the beast from raping our women and taking our children. But just as I feel myself gravitating towards one side, or the other, I make sure to pull myself back out again. Because I know if I get pulled in, I won’t see the madness that is taking place from without.

I’m keeping my eyes firmly fixed on the rectangular patch of grass just off the island. It’s Wednesday today, and there’s nothing happening there. But within a couple of days, a most fascinating thing is going to occur. All the boys are going to pause for a moment and head over to the patch of grass to partake in a game of footy. The ugliest of situations will all of a sudden be forgotten, and a beautiful pastime will unfold before the appreciative eyes of thousands.

I really enjoy that part of it. It’s an absolute pleasure to be reminded why we’re all here in the first place. But it gets negated, because I’m forced to indulge in Ralph and Jack’s boys fighting again. You know, the administrators, commentators, journalists, and critics. They’re all still scared of the beast.

I really just wish they’d stop acting like schoolboys stranded on an island.

__________________________________________________

747 words. Liftoff!

 

[LeagueNut]

LeagueNut - Panthers


Paul’s Story
Part Four – The Selection

His team were preparing to take the field for the second half, but Paul couldn’t stop thinking that he was done for. His first half error had obviously had an effect on Mack, who had vanished from his usual spot.

“Coach, I don’t know if I can play the second half”

“Whaddya on about?”

“That knock, I don’t know, I just feel pretty crook”

“Get in there and see the Doc”

Paul wasn’t crook at all – he was scared. Not only had he spoiled the plans set out by Mack, but he’d also lost his crutch for the rest of the game. Without Mack sitting in the stand, Paul knew he’d be about as useful as tits on a bull for the second half.

“Doc, I’m gone, I can’t finish the match”

“C’mon, the knock wasn’t that bad. C’mere, I’ll give you a needle”

“Nah mate, I’m done”

“No – you’re not”. The tone in his voice suddenly became a lot more serious.

“Aye?”

The Doc sighed. “Do you really think you’re the only one in on this?”

“What??”

“Look, let’s not waste time here alright. Don’t worry about Mack, he’ll be there for the second half. Just don’t make any more f**k-ups – OK?”

Paul looked stunned, and also started to feel pretty stupid. “Who else knows?”

“Don’t worry mate, you’re not going to get busted. Just get out there and keep the plan going”

“But … but … ”

Paul froze. He knew he’d been cheating, but it was a lot easier to justify it to himself when he thought it was his own little secret. His mind began to swim with a million different questions – but right now, he was needed out on the field.

“You’ll be right mate. Don’t worry about it for now. Just wait for Mack to get back to his seat and it’ll be all on again”

Doc was right – Mack was there for the second half, and the charade continued. After the final whistle, and yet another man-of-the-match award, Paul caught up with the Doc in the sheds.

Paul found out that it was only the three of them in on the scam. Mack needed another person close to the game-day operation to keep things under control, and he knew the Doc “from something that happened in the past” – Paul didn’t want to probe that any further.

“Listen mate, it’s not going to last forever. He can’t stick around for too long because people will start to ask questions. He’ll make a few bucks off you this year, set you up with a nice contract and maybe an Origin jersey, then be on his way”

“And you’re OK with this?”

“Mate, I have to be. And you need to be as well – trust me”

“Has he done this before?”

Doc paused. “Yeah I reckon so, but I don’t know for sure. It would sure explain a few form reversals in recent years though aye?”

Paul was deep in thought as he left the ground – but was quickly brought back to earth when he ran into Mack outside.

“What the hell was that in the first half?” he hissed.

“sh*t, I know mate, it wasn’t on purpose. These things happen right?”

Mack grumbled under his breath and quickly drove off.

Over the next few weeks Mack was busy setting other wheels in motion. It was easy enough to find out what the Origin selectors were looking for in their halfback, and even easier to make sure Paul produced to their satisfaction in the weekends. They were worried about a kicking game, so Paul produced three 40/20’s. There were questions about his defence, so suddenly he was popping balls loose in tackles. The media lauded Pauls form and selection was all but a certainty – which would also mean a very healthy contract upgrade would be on the cards.

Mack was sitting at home listening to his radio as the Origin teams were about to be announced. When Pauls name was announced as starting #7, Mack allowed himself a rare smile – enough to show a couple of the gaps where teeth used to be.

The phone rang pretty much straight away.

“I know – yeah, don’t worry, I’ll get him right – it’ll go like clockwork”

Mack hung up, sat back in his chair, and even had a little chuckle. This was only the beginning.

To be continued…


748 words in the counter

 

[jamesgould]

Revolution?

The Sonny Bill Williams controversy this week has rocked the sport of rugby league to the core. Bulldogs fans are up in arms over their best player deserting them in the midst of one of their most difficult seasons. Kiwi fans are gutted that their World Cup hopes have been dealt a harsh blow. But rugby league lovers must surely have alarm bells ringing loud and clear.

The news has brought calls for immediate action – of some kind, and on a large scale. Quite what to do, nobody is 100% sure. Some think that Williams leaving means we should cut Sydney clubs. Others would probably tell you that we need to get obliterate the salary cap. That’s the problem with unexpected dark and diabolical developments – nobody knows quite what caused them, and they certainly don’t know how to fix it.

The fact is that one of the games elite has ditched the sport, his club and the NRL. And the other fact is that the sport of rugby league is bleeding.

I am usually one of the most optimistic people you could find when it comes to the sport of rugby league. We have the product and we have brilliant athletes.

Unfortunately this also seems to be the attitude of the NRL. The lack of action on a range of issues is staggering. It is hard to tell whether it is an over-confidence or a complete lack of confidence in the product, but it seems at times that the NRL would prefer it if the game would just go out with as little fuss as possible.

In my opinion rugby league is at a crossroads. We can take two paths. Continue as we are traveling? We will have a financially sustainable competition with plenty of clubs playing to dwindling crowds each week. We will continue to lose players to cashed-up overseas outfits. And in my opinion, eventually interest in the sport will drop as the best players and therefore public interest switches to other things.

Here are the three aspects that I believe we need immediate action on.

Relocation of clubs.

It will probably happen naturally with the new poker machines taxes, but we can’t afford to wait that long. The NRL needs to offer big incentives to club to relocate to parts of the country that will attract more money and bigger crowds. Sydney teams playing in front of less than 10,000 spectators in an 80,000-seat stadium is a terrible image for the sport. And this is often in a city where both club’s sets of supporters reside!

Clubs of course have their own interests at heart, and will not want to relocate. But it has to happen. The NRL licenses are coming up for renewal in 2011. The NRL can give the clubs a choice between relocating and being excluded from the end of that year.

Increased financial incentive for players.

The top players in our sport need to be rewarded more financially. A simple solution would be for the NRL to sign players, and for club to sign players. A player has one contract that signs them to the NRL for x amount of years. This would be negotiated separately between the player and the NRL – and could possibly be tied to achievements such as internationals and origins played. The payment would be salary cap exempt.

The club contract is signed on top of this, and is subject to the salary cap, thus maintaining some form of level playing field. There will be other theories with probably more merit. But the bottom line is that players need to be paid more.

Rules overhaul.

There have been no major changes to the rules of the game since the Superleague war. Radical changes are needed to breathe fresh life into the game. Only one dummy-half run per set of six? Catching the ball on the full inside your own 20-metre zone gets a tap restart to encourage more running of the football? We need some intelligent and well thought out rule changes tested immediately. Rugby league used to be an innovative, constantly evolving sport – why no longer?


We can’t sit on our laurels anymore. Rugby league needs action to survive. It has to be well-considered and constructive change. But I’d rather see the wrong thing tried than nothing at all. Better to go out with a bang than a whimper – and I seriously believe that is where rugby league is heading.

 

[[furrycat]]

Furrycat was going to post for the Panthers, but he has fled to Europe to play in the French Forum "Septs", because they have nicer kitty litter.
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If you roll around with the dogs, you’re bound to get fleas

If you roll around with the dogs, you’re bound to get fleas...

But how many of us actually thought one of the game’s top dogs would flee his kennel, his club and his code in the pursuit of money, and because of these ‘fleas’? I, for one, thought Sonny Bill Williams would be here for many years to come.

He was born a dog, he was bred a dog, and I certainly thought he’d retire as one. I said this exact phrase to good friends of mine just over a month ago. We were debating whether or not Sonny Bill was going to flee from his contract to take up some lucrative Rugby Union offer. I said there was no way that Sonny Bill Williams would risk losing his integrity and the respect of the Rugby League community for extra money.

I couldn’t have been any more incorrect if I tried.

Sonny Bill walking out of his contract will be one of the most important test cases that Australian sport will ever see. It will set a precedent determining whether or not a contract is really a contract, particularly in the NRL where the threat of overseas poaching is becoming more prominent. If the Bulldogs don’t fight this properly with the NRL, a contract is going to be worth less than the paper it is written on, and we will see an exodus of talent overseas mid-contract. If this happens, there is no simple way of saying it: Our game will NOT survive.

But forget the legal aspect of this debacle just for the purpose of this article. There is one question that hasn’t been looked at enough, and I’m still yet to see an answer for it.

We all knew that Sonny Bill Williams had his fair share of fleas; after all, he has publicly talked to the media about the frustration and woes they had caused him in previous months. But what exactly were these “fleas” that irritated Sonny Bill Williams so much? How did the annoying parasites of our game (Khoder..) infuriate him so much that he felt he had to flee the game without so much as a ‘sorry’?

Was it money troubles? Was he really so disillusioned with the club that he couldn’t take it anymore? Was it the change in management? Or is this reason just a giant facade, an attempt to cover up a man’s greedy quest for more money? I could sit here all day and guess what drove him to do this, but we’ll never be sure until he comes out and says why he did the unthinkable.

I don’t condone what Sonny Bill Williams has done. In fact, I was incredibly angry on the night this calamity unfolded. He feels he has done ‘the right thing’, but please, if you felt what you were doing was right; you would not sneak out of the country and walk out in the most cowardly manner imaginable. What makes it worse is that he has done it before the season has ended. He has left his team mates during one of their darkest seasons, and this will do nothing but deflate their spirits even more.

I have idolised this guy as an athlete and as a person since I was 14 years old. I’m now 20, and I feel so let down, so betrayed. Less than two weeks ago I talked to him at an open training session, and he seemed no different to the several other times I had met him. He always seemed very shy, and always very humble. I simply can’t fathom that he did this “just for the money”. Sure it was a big factor, but there were other things at play to make him leave the way he has. It has left a bitter taste in all of our mouths, but I think that the reasons behind it will leave us feeling even worse.

Last month, he talked of his desire to become a future leader of the Bulldogs. Last week, he talked of the club’s enthusiasm to keep on trying this season, and his personal excitement for the 2009 season. His last day in Australia, he told a Uralla Under 10’s team how important it was to “stick with your team”. A severe case of fleas, or greed? You decide

Be prepared for what is to come, because we’re in for a rough ride.

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749 Words.

 

[Hallatia]

Hallatia makes a last ditch attempt for the Ninjas in the nick of time

Psychological Edge



There is a major psychological factor that comes into play in sports. As athletes are human beings, they need to be just as psychologically prepared for the challenge as they need to be physically. Rugby League requires psychological readiness and the maintenance of this, as well as sustained pressure on the opposition. Sports are physical contests, however, once a psychological edge is established, the opposition can be just as easily taken out of the equation.


I will move on to Rugby League in a moment, however, I would like to begin with explaining this in terms of tennis. Tennis is a physical sport, it requires athletes of a high caliber to compete professionally. Even with competition only between the most elite athletes in the field, we see bagels, why is this possible? Because it does not just take talent to win games, it takes tenacity, frame of mind, etc. One does not need to be the best player to compete with the best.



This year's Australian Open proved this to us more than anything. Roger Federer; the most insatiable force in the last 5 years of the ATP tour; almost went down to a Serbian no name with limited grandslam experience. What made this possible was finally being able to go out with a winner's mentality rather than a beaten one. A psychological edge can come about in any of a number of ways. Roger Federer has had an intimidating presence over the past half decade, which was often an automatic psychological edge. Melbourne Storm had it last year, this was achieved through a great lineup and the success that ensued. To say success breeds further success is to some degree pointless, because the success would need to be initially achieved. In professional sports, success needs to come just as much psychologically as it does physically. What was interesting about the likes of the Storm was that even when they were down they still managed to maintain the psychological upper hand.



When the likes of Melbourne were down, they were rarely beaten, so rather than them panicking and losing their cool, the opposition would. Melbourne's failure would come off the back of mistakes and not a loss of attitude. Sure, Rugby League success is about literally getting the ball over the line, but there is so much more to it than that. Success comes at many levels, we've seen it so much over the last few years, the successful clubs of the last decade were the Roosters, the Broncos and Melbourne, at their respective prime periods they always came to play regardless of the circumstances. Even when they weren't the better skilled team, they could always win due to not the physical aspects of the game, rather the psychological



We have seen this aspect work in reverse, Parramatta in 2008, perhaps the best team on paper, yet so easily overcome, they were supposed to be the team to challenge Melbourne for league supremacy in 08, instead they are only challenging the cellar dwellers. Teams' success and failure can be put down to many factors, in reality, all teams have what it takes to challenge one another, however, not all teams can challenge one another. In my opinion, a lot of it comes down to belief. If you don't believe you can win than there is no point showing up. Even in saying this, it is one thing to believe you can win coming into a game, but it appears to be another to believe you will during a game.



This winning attitude needs to be maintained throughout the game, so perhaps success does breed success, just not in the literal way. The aura of success is often too much for teams, or people to overcome, and this is on the back of home games no longer being certain wins often having teams feeling beaten, even at home before the whistle has been blown.



Queensland are the epitome of a psychological edge, in that in years gone by they did not have the best team on paper, yet were able to hold their heads high and compete, and such is life in league that Queensland are now blessed with a better team on paper, and their edge, they now find themselves having won the last 3 series.


724 words

 

[Willow]

 

[Hallatia]

yay! 5 on 5

on a sad note, Paul mis-spelt my name twice in this thread, Todd, I think I should get bonus points for that

 

[bartman]

This shapes as the most important match of the round... the winner will go a long way toward securing an F7s semis spot (though not guaranteed with one round remaining), while the loser will be doing it tough.

5 v 5, top F7s teamwork and looking like great reads all round. Good luck to everyone!

 

[Jesbass]

A great chance to secure a finals spot for both teams. 5v5, so it should be a cracker!

Good luck to both teams.

 

[madunit]

sunglasses on people, this is going to be a blinder!