2012 FOUR NATIONS Round 2: Papua New Guinea vs New Zealand

[Non Terminator]

Forum 7s - 4 Nations - 2012
PAPUA NEW GUINEA KUMULS -V- NEW ZEALAND KIWIS

-V-

Game Thread:
* This is a game thread only. Only game posts can be made here - team lists, substitutions, and 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:
* 3 -V- 3 (+ 2 reserves for both teams)
* No 'TBA' or changing players named
* Captains must stick with original teams named​

Rules: http://f7s.leagueunlimited.com/rules.php
Official Word Counter: http://f7s.leagueunlimited.com/wordcount.php​

Kick Off: Saturday 17th November 2012 (2100AEST)
Full Time: Saturday 24th November 2012 (2100AEST)
Referee: Non Terminator
Venue: Lloyd Robson Oval​

 

[TooheysNew]

The overloaded PNG team's Mini Cooper rumbles up, and the players get out - like clowns departing their car at the circus...

PNG
CobyDelaney
Misanthrope
Titanic

Bench
n/a

 

[TooheysNew]

CobyDelaney for PNG

Does size really matter?

Yep, I just asked the big, uncomfortable question.

I’m sorry if I’ve now made you feel awkward, but I really do think this is an issue that needs discussing, for many reasons. Ever since the first time man caught a glimpse of what the other guy was packing, size has always been a hot topic.

Blokes everywhere try to convince themselves (and everyone else), that they’re bigger than they really are. There are all kinds of tricks that can help give the illusion of size, from the clothes that are worn, to the way he holds himself. But it is just that. An illusion. There are a few ways to cut directly to the truth of the matter.

Let’s be honest. Women probably don’t even care. So long as their bloke is bigger than they are in that department (which should be a given), then I don’t think it really matters. Yet another myth perpetuated by pub small talk and certain, ahem… branches of the media.

But do you know who does care? Men.

This is obvious to me, considering the number of times I’ve seen men comparing themselves to their mates – straightening their backs and raising their shoulders in the face of competition - doing everything they can to improve their stature.

What’s that? You thought I was talking about penis size? Get your mind out of the gutter! I was talking about physical stature of course. Of height, weight, broadness of shoulder, depth of chest, and all other such manly attributes.

Despite the fact that women don’t care, men still do everything they can to convince themselves they are bigger than they are. Small man syndrome is a very real thing.

There are numerous examples of this in society. Actors will often wear lift shoes in movies to appear taller, especially when they’re acting in physical roles. And professional wrestling has a history of upping the heights and weights of wrestlers, to make them seem more imposing to the average punter. Promoters are kidding themselves if they think 6’4, 240 pounds sounds a lot scarier than 6’2, 220 pounds.

But does size matter? Or more specifically, does size matter in Rugby League?

In the minds of a lot of people, a Rugby League side was divided into two groups, the forwards were generally your bigger blokes, and the backs were the smaller, more nimble players. However, more recently, the division in size between forwards and backs has been blurred. This is especially obvious when you look at the two teams of men lined up to sing the national anthem at the start of a test match. If it wasn’t for the fact that the players have numbers on their backs, you would struggle to tell them apart – almost every player towering over the referee, and with arms as big as the average person’s legs.

In fact, some of the biggest players in the game today are backs. Greg Inglis is 195cm tall, and Jamal Idris even taller still, at 199cm – both players bigger than many of the forwards in their respective teams, despite both playing in the outside backs. Size is good for the intimidation factor, and is great for powering through defence, but it’s not the only thing that defines a good player.

There are plenty of examples of players at the opposite end of the spectrum. Some of the most successful and long-term players in the NRL concede almost a foot of height to these giants. Matt Bowen, who to date has played over 250 first grade games, is barely able to see over the counter at the supermarket, and yet he still mixes it with the big boys. And the latest Immortal of our game, Andrew Johns, was renowned for his often punishing defence, often against much larger opponents, despite the fact he isn’t even tall enough to ride rollercoasters at DreamWorld.

Size just seems not to matter.

If you’re playing Rugby Union on the other hand, size definitely does matter. Unless you’re 140kg, and wider than you are tall, you’re not going to be a front rower. And unless your two metres tall, you aren’t going to be a back rower.

In League, we’re much less superficial. If you can dish out a hit, take one back, spit your broken teeth out and just keep going, well, you’re big enough. It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.

 

[byrne_rovelli_fan82]

Kiwis players have arrived

byrne_rovelli_fan82 (C)
Hallatia
Robster

---
Benchies

LeagueNut
WarriorDefence

 

[byrne_rovelli_fan82]

byrne_rovelli_fan82 sweltering under the intensity of the heat....

~~~

LOCKOUT = the real off-season blues.

During footy’s off-season many of us struggle to find things to keep us occupied especially sport. Some fans enjoy various sports so they are always highly entertained no matter what time of the year. Others are only footy tuned so when the season is over they are left twiddling their thumbs and join others in the same predicament as them and together they all moan and groan about missing footy.

As for me I’m not just about footy I love plenty of sports from the footy to cricket to basketball and tennis and of course ice hockey. So every year when domestic and international rugby league and rugby union seasons come to a close I’m not left with emptiness and boredom. It is quite the opposite because where there is an end there is always a beginning and what better way to wash away off-season footy blues then a season of fast-paced hard hitting excitement. Think the footy codes deliver hard and fast plays and thunderous big hits? Well you ain’t seen nothing like the National Hockey League (NHL). This is where the real thrills and spills fly. Forget girly dives and shoulder charges gone wrong.

Then as the hockey season begins to grow in intensty due to the playoff drives of several teams and eventually culminating in their own grand finale before tailing off into the summer we footy obsessed nut heads are blessed with the return and continued excitement of footy.

September in footy is all about finals while for hockey it’s time to get back into the groove with pre-season games and training camps. October for footy is the grand finale but in hockey things are only just starting to heat up with that first drop of the puck.

This year though there is no such luxury and for the first time in years I now realise what it means to hate the off-season. Sure cricket and basketball and tennis are filling part of the void to an extent but it is never the same. September 15/16th saw the end of the current CBA between the NHL and its counterpart, the NHLPA. With no deal in place when the agreement ceased the infamous lockout began. This is not a new trend of the NHL and the NHLPA as it had already endured an entire-season cancellation just a few years ago in the 2004 season and many years before that too.

What is a lockout? It is like a self imposed ban where both parties are no longer tied together and the contract that did hold them together no longer exists. Think of it this way, the employees are barred from coming to work they have no association with the company.

Players are officially no longer part of the NHL meaning they’ll need to take training and other aspects of their fitness to ‘outsider’ places they can’t even talk with club owners, the great divide had begun. Luckily for them the smaller leagues like the AHL (American Hockey League) continues to operate and players have taken up that option while others have opted to head overseas to Europe.

As this saga continues to drag on today the announcement saw further cancellations to the December schedule as well as the annual All Star Weekend (couple of weeks ago confirmed cancellations of games mid to late November through December including the brilliant Winter classic). I started to think what would happen if the situation being experienced in the States with one of its top sporting codes left in limbo had eventuated to our football codes. Not just one football code but all of them. Boy the winter months would really be long and miserable and we’re not just talking weather wise! That, I believe would put a real and very new twist on the term ‘off-season blues’.

So the next time I hear another individual complaining about how depressed they are when the footy finishes all I can say is, go check out the USA and Canada and what it feels like to have NO showing of your beloved sport. Trust me a few months short break is nothing compared to your sport being gone for good.
~~~

703 words between '~' according to the official word counter

 

[Misanthrope]

Misanthrope dusts off the boots and hits the park for the first time in a long while, prepared to do PNG proud

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

Four Things the NRL Could Learn from the NFL

Yes, yes; I know. The NFL is a sport for sissies. They wear pads and helmets and take a break after every play. They have stupid team names like Browns and 49ers and Bills. They've got a team whose mascot is cheese, they recently overcame a strike from their referees, and the closest they come to an international scene is playing occasional games in Canada and England.

But to poo poo everything to come out of the NFL would do a great disservice to our own game. No sport is perfect and I think NRL fans know that is particularly true of our own sport. Didn't we just ban the shoulder charge, after all?

Ideas like the All-Stars game (The fan voted Pro Bowl has existed since 1971), the ill-fated 'Double Try' or 'Power Play' concept is quite similar to the NFL's 2 point conversion concept, cheesy team names (Titans, Broncos, Cowboys...), and even video referees have been lifted straight out of the NFL and into our own great game.

So, with that in mind, I've come up with a short list of four things from American football that the NRL could benefit from having.

1. The Draft​

I can't help but envy the excitement that comes with a pre-season draft. League might not have the depth of player talent to draw from that makes the NFL's seven round, 32 team draft so successful, but it may well prove to be an effective way of distributing talent in addition to the existing salary cap.

Across the US, draft parties abound and draft discussion dominates headlines. Seasons have been made and broken by astute draft picks. Then there's the excitement of team's trading draft picks, the analysis of the rookies each season, and the fairy tale of a struggling side being turned around by a stellar young gun. I'd love to see it in the NRL.

2. Entertainment​

It's a running joke among NRL fans (and NRL critics, for that matter) that half-time entertainment is a complete embarrassment. Whether it's listless cheerleaders shaking pom poms with all the enthusiasm as a kid on exam day or half-time Singstar at Hunter Stadium - there's not a whole lot to look forward to when the whistle blows.

While the Super Bowl saw Janet Jackson's 'accidental' nipple slip drawing worldwide attention, Billy Idol's twenty years too late power outage was met with a few embarrassed coughs.

Marching bands, elaborate cheerleading performances, big name celebrity appearances... even pirate ships are regular features in American football's half-time pageantry. We're left with little league games and washed up former Australian Idol competitors. Next!

3. Fantasy Football

It's true that NRL Dream Team and Fox Sports Fantasy NRL are fairly decent distractions during the season - but with multiple leagues across multiple sites, draft day parties, customisable scoring rules, live drafts, constant analysis both online and offline, mainstream acceptance that the NRL (let alone fantasy NRL) would kill for, and even a TV show (FX's hilarious The League) - America just does fantasy football right.

4. Conferences​

This one is perhaps the most controversial. While the NFL boasts a whopping 32 teams, each conference is a much smaller group of just four teams who play one another twice. Each conference is then paired with another conference each year for some cross-over games, meaning teams play some teams only once every 3 or 4 years while still having intense local derbies every year that fans can look forward to.

It also means the finals/play-offs provide fresh match ups as fans haven't already seen the same sides meet twice earlier in the year.

Imagine an NRL in which a Manly vs Melbourne game was an even bigger occasion because the two sides met only once every four years outside of the finals. It could prove a fantastic way to make the same games we've been seeing for the past ten or fifteen years seem a little less ho-hum. I might even make the trek to Auckland if it was something that only came up every few years.

----

The NFL is far from perfect. There are doubtless things American football could take from league. Doing away with those poncy helmets and pads would certainly make the often overlooked lateral a more appealing option...

But you cannot overlook the fact the NFL is a hugely popular sport in a sports market even more crowded than our own. They've got to be doing something right.

WORD COUNT: 749 words (including title) on F7s official word count

 

[Titanic]

Titanic for PNG (749 OWC)
__________________

Fair suck of the sav

Look, I know I don’t write as often here as I probably could. And yes I am an opinioned old fart but fair suck of the sav, sometimes just being a rugby league supporter gives me the runs.

I grew up, like most of my peers, with a good helping of tradition belted into to me by my loving parents. They had both fought and survived, obviously or I wouldn’t have been around, the Second World War. Their collective experiences, the lessons of life gleaned from hardship and peril manifested themselves in “rules” they sought to pass on to me; by hook or by crook.

These parameters were hardly unique, in fact I believed then as I do now that they were the fabric from which Australian culture had been woven. Such things as the Australian dream, mateship, friendly rivalry, a larrikin sense of humour and above all; the right to get a fair go. All these traits are embedded in Australian sport and in none more evident than rugby league.

Rugby league: the battlers’ code. Rugby league: the working man’s game. Rugby league: where our indigenous brothers and our Pacific Islander cousins compete happily, if a little boisterously, against others from Lebanon, the Philippines, England and even Victoria against a like-minded foe in a different uniform. We act as role models for our children and participate under the watchful eyes of our womenfolk who contribute immensely to the rugby league community.

Over the course of my life I have witnessed many transitions within the game. Limited tackles, limited interchanges and the mother of all of them News Limited. The biffo’s, the fibro’s, the now you see them now you don’t Rabbitohs and the goddamned, bloody journo’s.

For over one hundred years, a century, more than 36,600 days, the code has fought for fair representation and governance. There have been countless examples of disgruntled fans tearing their hair out, slashing themselves and rubbing hot ashes into the resultant scars over rugby league’s administrative shortfalls.

We all remember Arko Rugby League and what about John Ribot? A few will remember Kevin Humphries and the maroon Senator Ron McAuliffe. One of the very few things that all rugby league fans could agree on over the sport’s checkered history was that our administration was generally self-serving, mildly corrupt and corporately incestuous.

Enter the ARLC.

Demanded by the populous, lauded by the people, voted by the legally constituted member clubs and the requisite associations, this august body was trumpeted as the savior of our sport. These masters of industry were to deliver the largesse of a new tv deal, bring order to the rabble, pour oil on the raging waters of our inherent desire to self-destruct and end our cycle of malcontent… and they did in record time.

On the surface it all looked good. An ex-Kangaroo, albeit a token Queensland player, was elected Chairman. Doyens from the big-end of town, including a sheila, were included and the new era was off and running. Or was it?

Incredibly, one of the ex-owners had his nose out of joint. Firstly he tried to dismember the NRL’s reconstruction by imposing obtuse conditions to the divorce including propping-up his Melbourne franchise. Once beaten there, he thought to maintain insider influence through the incumbent CEO who happened to be his ex-financial director. Fortunately, the in-coming group recognized this and ditched Gallop at a huge risk as there was no heir apparent. The new mob got on with their business and began re-shaping our sports’ organisation.

Out with the ineffectual referees’ coordinators, out with an archaic and little-used defensive ploy, things were looking-up until the old scrooge reared his ugly head again. Suddenly a section of the press turned on its livelihood.

To watch the Sydney Telegraph’s rugby league reporters and I use the term loosely, circle the ARLC like hyenas at a butchers’ convention is discouraging. John Grant must have a hide like a rhinoceros to take the hits he does from this gang of hacks. In fact, I am no Grant fan but am happy to watch him and his Commission get about their business. More so, I am no fan of Dave Smith the new CEO but I am invigorated by his appointment. Why?

He has no affiliations, he carries no baggage and he exposed Phil Rothfield for the amateur that he is… Dave Smith might not have been rugby league’s first choice but he’ll do me just fine.

 

[Hallatia]

Hallatia - New Zealand

-------

Overrated

The term "overrated" is used a lot in Rugby League circles, quite fairly too. League fans often get quite excited about stats, players, coaches, forward packs, clubs, strategies, mascots, five year plans, etc. The media has an exaggerated version of this excitement, particularly when it comes to individuals from certain places. Overrated then becomes a perfectly apt description of such individuals/backlines/clubs/etc.

We, as league fans know the term overrated all too well, conversely, we also have a great familiarity with the term underrated and squabble over the use of these descriptors. There are some things we can agree on with regards to these terms, there isn't much contention about Braith Anasta being overrated, for several years he was voted most overrated player by a jury of fellow players. Some would still argue against that but probably not this year.

There are individuals who prove themselves against such tags and there are those who prove the tags apt and those who prove that they do not deserve any label at all whatsoever. However, with Rugby League being so popular, people are going to talk and it is up to the subjects of such talk how they handle it at the times when it matters most. It isn't just people who earn themselves these kinds of tags. All manner of anything associated with league gets branded with all manner of labels. This leads me to the crux of my piece.

There is a conclusion I reached earlier this year which made me feel much better about my beloved Parramatta Eels and their/our 2012 predicament. Granted, I was helped to reach this conclusion by my loving support for my once great club, but how I got there does not detract from the validity of my conclusion.

The Eels were doing particularly poorly this season, even worse than last season. 2011 was such a miserable year for us that we couldn't even win the wooden spoon. Wooden spoons, now they are underrated, they are a very important cooking utensil, used in millions of different recipes and all manner of cooking. Wooden spoons may not have a great monetary value, but they really are a valuable object. I digress, we sucked this year and this season was looking even worse than last season which was also really sucky, so sucky in fact that as I said earlier, we couldn't even win the wooden spoon - just one failure after the next.

As we were going through the worst form I have witnessed my team suffer through, I became more and more at ease with it and realised that so long as I wasn't expecting much more I could be happy as an Eels supporter.

Anywho, one day I was speaking with a guy who was getting to know me and he was asking me this and that and he seemed interested in an idea of some sort of continued progression. Progress and advancement could I suppose be objectively seen as good things, but advancement happens in all manner of ways, you do not need to be progressing in a conventional way to be progressing. He said something about climbing ladders and I did not really agree with where he was going (although in that instance, what he was saying was in no way connected to league), so I found myself saying "climbing ladders is overrated" and I meant it.

Then, I was reminded of my Eels, I may have even followed that wonderful line by spurting "Parramatta, represent!" I was also reminded or perhaps clued into the fact that I was okay with how Parramatta were doing even though it was not good. Because the truth is, despite everything, they were still showing up and there was always hope.

And there was a chance this season that again we would fail to win the spoon, but we averted that and now we have earned a wondrous utensil and we have plenty of hope for next season.

wooden spoons get such a bad wrap in Rugby League circles, just because they are awarded to the team that finished last, they are awarded as a consolation gift for the suffering endured in a season where the recipient came last. Wooden spoons are awesome versatile utensils which are valuable to most cookery. Many league players would in fact benefit from aspiring to be more like the noble wooden spoon.

Climbing ladders ... is overrated.
-------
word counter said 739

 

[Titanic]

Closure for some of us ... good luck one & all.

 

[Non Terminator]

New Zealand

byrne_rovelli_fan82 80
For me, this needed more Rugby League content, other than a few remarks this was virtually a Hockey article, a great read, but still losing points for Rugby League Content.

Hallatia 88
A well written piece about the overrated team, overrated. Bravo.

Papua New Guinea

CobyDelaney 87
Interesting article, well formed. And yes, I was thinking about penis.

Misanthrope 82
A comparing view of NFL traits and their effectiveness for Rugby League. It gives off good ideas, and includes the effectiveness into League. Any article that includes a picture of the legendary Jon LaJoie deserves attention (even though he is a Canadian with nothing to do with League...just...mancrush? Nah)

Titanic 88
It is incredible when some people just manage to fit so much into their 750 words, a great informative article.

Papua New Guinea 247
New Zealand 168

POTM - Hallatia, Titanic

 

[Hallatia]

cheers for the quick marking ref

 

[Titanic]

Geez, I logged on just to see if I got a rap over the knuckles for my presumptuous clocks and it's all over.

Thanks NT for the incredibly efficient effort ... onward and upward all. Regarding your comment ... every word creates a thousand pictures as they say cheers mate.

 

[Misanthrope]

Are you saying you haven't seen The League, NT? He's one of the best parts of that show!