2025 finals series

[gordsy]

In my mind Bellamy is massively over rated. All the premierships he won he did with some of the better players of the past 20 years and even then his grand final record isn't great. That and he ruined the game with his dog merkin wrestling antics. Wouldn't shed a tear if he got run over, thatch for sure. But priase where praise is due his teams are always consistent, especially at home and he's turned plenty of discards into first graders and he rarely recruits duds or doesn't improve players.

 

[WA Tiger]

I think it was pretty simple for steff to improve .. just yell at the c.. Simple …I doubt Benji would have done that to any of our middle forwards (and forwards in general who need it apart from a couple) who need to harden up if we are to get any where near the 8 next year.. instead of their powder puff hit ups See the difference some fearless ness in these 2 players for the sharks, with really a shortage of outstanding players outside of them, greatly contributed to a couple of impressive and consecutive wins..

 

[WA Tiger]

I think it was pretty simple for steff to improve .. just yell at the c.. Simple …I doubt Benji would have done that to any of our middle forwards (and forwards in general who need it apart from a couple) who need to harden up if we are to get any where near the 8 next year.. instead of their powder puff hit ups See the difference some fearless ness in these 2 players for the sharks, with really a shortage of outstanding players outside of them, greatly contributed to a couple of impressive and consecutive wins..

Mind you the sharks defence was hot when it was needed. Which prob contributed to the roosters mistakes. Let’s see more of that

 

[Tiger05]

Did anyone just watch the Canberra vs Brisbane game. What a game of footy.

 

[glockers]

Bulldogs provided scans of montoyas ankle to indicate the injury was minor.. so the nrl then over turned the ruling to - nicho’s free to play v roosters..bravo bulldogs

Well I thought the same, but NRL back to their old Broncos reffing. It had been a few years since they did that sort of rort for them.

 

[TheDefinitionOfMadness]

Very reminiscent of the 2023 GF when Penrith came from a long way back. Great attacking game.

Although this one was a bit more controversial. What was the Raiders player sent to the bin for? If it was for sledging or getting in Walsh's face then it's going to hard to play league in the future as there'll be no players on the field after 10 minutes.

Walsh should have been sent off. He and Carrigan should both get lengthy suspensions. I'm actually looking forward to seeing how the NRL will get them off. It will need to be creative.

Man I hope Klein isn't in charge of the GF. You just know something's gonna happen if he does. Having said that, Canberra should have closed the game out when they had the big lead, just like Brisbane should have closed out the 2023 GF.

I'd say Brisbane are in the box seat to win the comp now. Canberra will be mentally destroyed after that. I reckon Cronulla will beat them next week.

 

[WA Tiger]

Did anyone just watch the Canberra vs Brisbane game. What a game of footy.

I cannot believe what I’ve just seen.. That's got to be the best game ever.. I hate Madge but I’m happy for the Broncos. How on earth did they win??!!
1/ With the game hunt played he must be wondering what happend expecting to wake up to reality any minute.. He looked completely in utter disbelief after that drop goal
2/ I think his demons from when he dropped that ball a few years ago have just been cleared out
3/ Madge really needs to check his blood pressure ..Good on him ..Well done!
4/ Walsh just went from very good to great..
5/ Hunt has been great for a while he’s just made it obvious
6/ Staggs what a runner
7/ with all he’s been through it was good to see Ben Teo as assistant coach celebrating with the team.. Walters I believe wanted to take Teo with him to coach the kangaroos but can’t as he’s affiliated with an NRL team.. watch out for Teo as a super coach in future
8/Ricky stuart and the team will be scarred now .. how much is the question.. That psychological let down - it was immense and unrivalled at least for them - could easily derail them if it hasn’t already
8/ I was looking at Fogertys facial expression towards the end it had “we are going to lose” all over it

 

[WA Tiger]

Well I thought the same, but NRL back to their old Broncos reffing. It had been a few years since they did that sort of rort for them.

Surely we’re used to that with our refs.. I didn’t think it was too bad..That win was more witchcraft than anything else.. Like no matter what Canberra did they were not just going to lose, they were going to feel the extreme pain of thinking they won. Like definitely won..Canberra amazingly outdid us in a game of disastrous firsts.. Ricky went up twice. The poor bastard

 

[Wizardman]

Every time I watch the little prick play I think what the fk was Richo thinking offering him the insanely toxic contract.We dodged a missile

Re Stefanie’s improvement it’s due to the professionalism & meticulousness of Bellamy & the melb system vs mollycoddling & amateurism at Concord

We really did. We were done an unintentionally great favour by Moses to not consider that contract extension. It would have truly f**ked us for years.

 

[Wizardman]

In my mind Bellamy is massively over rated. All the premierships he won he did with some of the better players of the past 20 years and even then his grand final record isn't great. That and he ruined the game with his dog merkin wrestling antics. Wouldn't shed a tear if he got run over, thatch for sure. But priase where praise is due his teams are always consistent, especially at home and he's turned plenty of discards into first graders and he rarely recruits duds or doesn't improve players.

Your comment in bold has totally contradicted the rest of your paragraph.
His record for taking teams to semi finals is absolutely incredible. The best aspect about him as a coach is he truly does squeeze every bit of talent from players that are often rejects from other clubs. He has clearly constructed a system that bears fruit every year. The proof of how good Bellamy is when those player leave the Melbourne system, they very rarely kick on at other clubs.

He is far from overrated.

 

[Wizardman]

I cannot believe what I’ve just seen.. That's got to be the best game ever.. I hate Madge but I’m happy for the Broncos. How on earth did they win??!!
1/ With the game hunt played he must be wondering what happend expecting to wake up to reality any minute.. He looked completely utter disbelief after that drop goal
2/ I think his demons from when he dropped that ball a few years ago have been cleared out
3/ Madge really needs to check his blood pressure ..Good on him ..Well done!
4/ Walsh just went from very good to great..
5/ Hunt has been great for a while he’s just made it obvious
6/ Staggs what a runner
7/ with all he’s been through it was good to see Ben Teo as assistant coach celebrating with the team.. Walters I believe wanted to take Teo with him to coach the kangaroos but can’t as he’s affiliated with an NRL team.. watch out for Teo as a super coach in future
8/Ricky stuart and the team will be scarred now .. how much is the question.. That psychological let down - it was immense and unrivalled at least for them - could easily derail them if it hasn’t already
8/ I was looking at Fogertys facial expression towards the end it had we are going to lose all over it

I've noticed a few times with him this season that he does crumble under the pump. Losing him next season is not the worst thing in the world for Canberra. He has not been playing great lately.

 

[TheDefinitionOfMadness]

In my mind Bellamy is massively over rated. All the premierships he won he did with some of the better players of the past 20 years and even then his grand final record isn't great. That and he ruined the game with his dog merkin wrestling antics. Wouldn't shed a tear if he got run over, thatch for sure. But priase where praise is due his teams are always consistent, especially at home and he's turned plenty of discards into first graders and he rarely recruits duds or doesn't improve players.

Unless you're a Melbourne Storm owner, player, or fan he's the worst thing that's ever happened to the game, post super league.

 

[Nutz]

Unless you're a Melbourne Storm owner, player, or fan he's the worst thing that's ever happened to the game, post super league.

I rarely disagree with you dom and value your opinion but how can you say he's the worst thing that's ever happened to the game? I can only think your refering to the salary cap dramas. He was officially cleared of having knowledge of the cheating.
If the NRL is so keen for expansion then having a strong Victorian side is just as important surely. They are always around come late September.
His record is epic, constantly raising the bar of most players who go to the joint.
Stefano is an example. He would have treaded water at WT, but after going to the storm he will improve. Did you see his efforts last game. He played well imo showing signs he is on the right track.
It's not just Bellyache coaching ability, it's his ship, constantly having the right people around him to support him. We could learn from that.

 

[Tiger05]

Stefano is an example. He would have treaded water at WT, but after going to the storm he will improve. Did you see his efforts last game. He played well imo showing signs he is on the right track.

I put that down to the development that the Tigers put into him and nothing to do with Bellamy.

 

[Vic Mackey]

I put that down to the development that the Tigers put into him and nothing to do with Bellamy.

Re Stefano its easy to remember him for his 2024 season when he completely phoned it in, however in his 4 years with us he generally a high standard prop. Id say his 202/23 seasons were excellent.

I have no idea what the Dogs are doing with Galvin. Theyve taken a free spirited, off the cuff 5/8 and tried to turn him into a kick heavy ball distributor. He looks hesitant to try anything outside of their boring structure. His defense is also worse then it ever was with us.

 

[TheDefinitionOfMadness]

I rarely disagree with you dom and value your opinion but how can you say he's the worst thing that's ever happened to the game? I can only think your refering to the salary cap dramas. He was officially cleared of having knowledge of the cheating.
If the NRL is so keen for expansion then having a strong Victorian side is just as important surely. They are always around come late September.
His record is epic, constantly raising the bar of most players who go to the joint.
Stefano is an example. He would have treaded water at WT, but after going to the storm he will improve. Did you see his efforts last game. He played well imo showing signs he is on the right track.
It's not just Bellyache coaching ability, it's his ship, constantly having the right people around him to support him. We could learn from that.

mate I'm not saying he isn't any good. He's been the best coach for the last 23 years for the reasons you mentioned above and more. You could make a case that Cleary has been for the last 5 years I suppose.

Why I think he's been bad for the game overall is the introduction of grubby wrestling tactics that made the game almost unwatchable for almost 15 years. But worse than that is coaching players to deliberately injure opposing players with the chicken wing, crusher tackle, rolling pin, calf crusher, going in feet first into opponents heads and about the 20 other things I've missed. Even if you don't believe he deliberately wanted to cause opponents injury, at the very least he showed a blatant disregard to it happening, and the behaviour of his players only changed when the NRL intervened. He never asked them to change their ways voluntarily, even though injuries were being caused. With a coach as good as he is, and as firmly in control as he is, I reckon it was all deliberate.

I do blame the NRL for not stopping this stuff in it's tracks. They should have. But they were either too dumb to pick up on it, or too gutless to do anything. Probably a bit of both.

As far as the salary cap rorting goes, he was cleared as you say. Do you seriously believe someone as in control and on top of every aspect of the team as he is, had no idea what was going on with the cap? I don't. If you do though, DM me. I've got a house for sale on Bennelong Point. It's a bit old needs work, and shit there's a lot of tiles to clean, but it's got a half good view and I'll let you have it for a reasonable price.

 

[Nutz]

I put that down to the development that the Tigers put into him and nothing to do with Bellamy.

Can't argue with that but Stefano made the call to go to a more successful club.
We can't blame these clubs. It's the Storm, Broncos, Roosters etc that lead the way and we need to raise the bar so we retain the best and attract the best and join them.

 

[WA Tiger]

Go the Sharks!

 

[Nutz]

mate I'm not saying he isn't any good. He's been the best coach for the last 23 years for the reasons you mentioned above and more. You could make a case that Cleary has been for the last 5 years I suppose.

Why I think he's been bad for the game overall is the introduction of grubby wrestling tactics that made the game almost unwatchable for almost 15 years. But worse than that is coaching players to deliberately injure opposing players with the chicken wing, crusher tackle, rolling pin, calf crusher, going in feet first into opponents heads and about the 20 other things I've missed. Even if you don't believe he deliberately wanted to cause opponents injury, at the very least he showed a blatant disregard to it happening, and the behaviour of his players only changed when the NRL intervened. He never asked them to change their ways voluntarily, even though injuries were being caused. With a coach as good as he is, and as firmly in control as he is, I reckon it was all deliberate.

I do blame the NRL for not stopping this stuff in it's tracks. They should have. But they were either too dumb to pick up on it, or too gutless to do anything. Probably a bit of both.

As far as the salary cap rorting goes, he was cleared as you say. Do you seriously believe someone as in control and on top of every aspect of the team as he is, had no idea what was going on with the cap? I don't. If you do though, DM me. I've got a house for sale on Bennelong Point. It's a bit old needs work, and shit there's a lot of tiles to clean, but it's got a half good view and I'll let you have it for a reasonable price.

I agree with the NRL not stomping on it. The game develops mate for good or bad and the game belongs to the NRL, it's their product. We still have canonball tackles and crusher tackles.
It's up to them to stomp on the crap. The roosters are smart operators and they get audited. If they cheat and get away with it then it's on the auditors too.
Every club has a cap manager. I don't really care, it is the club's fault for running two books. Bellyache didnt run the books, shitesters he is full on coaching.

 

[Nutz]

. I've got a house for sale on Bennelong Point. It's a bit old needs work, and shit there's a lot of tiles to clean, but it's got a half good view and I'll let you have it for a reasonable price.

Ten bucks is my final offer. From another book, 20 bucks