Changes?

[legend]

With Qld losing both Hodges and Bowman, who do you think they will bring in for the next game?

I'm thinking it will come down to four players. Travis Norton, Rhys Wesser, Clinton Schifcofske and Josh Hannay. Two are goalkickers and Norton is a utility but his inclusion will depend on how Chris Flannery pulls up. He did finish the game with a shoulder injury so Bennett and Stuart both have major injury worries.

As for NSW, I think Josh Perry had little or no impact off the bench. I'd replace him with a big bopper like Joel Clinton, Ryan O'Hara or Luke Davico but knowing Gould, he will probably choose Stevens.

 

[Moffo]

Norton for Carroll - Norton did nothing

Wesser for Ikin - Move Lockyer to 5/8 - Is it just me or is Ikin a dud?

Hannay for Bowman

Schifcofske for Hodges - They don't have many other options!


NSW:

El Masri for Devere/Tahu - Devere didn't catch my eye. Tahu was unreliable as ever

O'Hara for Perry - Perry did sfa

Davico for Ryles - Ryles went MIA

Cheers,
Moffo

 

[Anonymous]

NSW:

El Masri for Devere/Tahu - Devere didn't catch my eye.

Geez Moffo, you're being hard on De Vere there. Far be it from me to give a Broncos' player a wrap but the bloke was hammered early in the match. He had staples put in hs scone after copping a few stiff arms but he stuck around while Qld players were being forced from the field.
btw, Good to see Timmo was there and I don't think he had any time at all on the bench.

 

[Moffo]

Yeh probably, im still dirty that El Masri isn't in there i guess

The team did put in tonight. In reality, i guess no one should be dropped from the blues, im going off a bit half-cocked there

Just one more question though, why did Johns kick ahead of Fitz and Devere? I would've thought Devere and Fitz would be classified as better kickers. Another example of Johns sooking and getting his way?

Cheers,
Moffo

 

[Moffo]

And wtf was gould doing jumping around like a player tonight?

To think i used to respect him. The guy has become nothing more then a media whore playing out his rivalries in the media

f**k off Gould

Cheers,
Moffo

 

[Anonymous]

Yeh probably, im still dirty that El Masri isn't in there i guess

Tell me about it... there's still some folk who think Bwaith would have handled a match like that.

The team did put in tonight. In reality, i guess no one should be dropped from the blues, im going off a bit half-cocked there

Just one more question though, why did Johns kick ahead of Fitz and Devere? I would've thought Devere and Fitz would be classified as better kickers. Another example of Johns sooking and getting his way?

Cheers,
Moffo

I don't think there's anything wrong with Johns' kicking and being the captain, he takes the responsibility. All part of taking the lead and almost certainly nothing to with being a sook. He would have been the logical choice in a pressure situation. I personally can't read any more into it than that.

 

[Anonymous]

And wtf was gould doing jumping around like a player tonight?

To think i used to respect him. The guy has become nothing more then a media whore playing out his rivalries in the media

f**k off Gould

Cheers,
Moffo

tsk tsk...Moffo. Where has the passion gone....? ;-)

 

[Moffo]

lol, Braith would've slayed em tonight

Did Timmins play? I must've missed his input ;-)

Cheers,
Moffo

 

[Anonymous]

lol, Braith would've slayed em tonight

Did Timmins play? I must've missed his input ;-)

Cheers,
Moffo

Mate.. they would have torn the kid to shreds.
Timmo was magnificent.

 

[The Backpacker]

Timmins did have a good game but do you think he was more comfortable when he was taken out of the 5/8 role?

I'm gutted by our injuries. Absolutely gutted! If reports are correct and it's a cruciate ligament, Hodges could be looking at 6 - 9 months on the sidelines. Add Flannery's problematic shoulder to it and we might have to give Walker a run.

 

[Anonymous]

Timmins did have a good game but do you think he was more comfortable when he was taken out of the 5/8 role?

Shifting Timmins to Lock after 15 minutes was definitely the move of the match. It worked a treat for NSW. Timmins took the early heat and then Wing cut them up even even more.

 

[legend]

Moffo, sounds to me like you wanted Qld to win. Gould for all his faults took the heat and criticism and responded in the best way possible. He injected Wing at exactly the right time.

I also thought De vere had a great game and should not be dropped for game two. I would only drop Perry with Clinton or O'Hara.

I thought Timmins had a good game as did Bailey. Ryles was b it quiet and it looked funny when he was rolling around on the sideline.

As for Johns, I have no problem with him taking kicks in big matches. Nobody does it better.

 

[Hass]

Andrew Johns circa 2003 is not the same goal-kicker as Andrew Johns 1998.

In those days he was pretty hit and miss. Capable of having good nights and bad nights. Occassionally kicking it from the sideline but occassionally missing from next to the posts as well.

Over the last 3 or 4 seasons Andrew Johns has become a kicking machine. I have total confidence in Johns whenever he lines up for a goal and I rate him as the best goal-kicker in the game ahead of Fitzgibbon, El Masri, De Vere and Schifcofske.

As for Gus Gould.

I wish people would stop bashing him and start bashing their own heads against the wall. Yes, Phil Gould has a big ego. However as the Skyhooks pointed out, "Ego is not a dirty word".

Phil Gould jumping up and down on the sideline should have been a sight to warm any Blues supporter's heart. He has passion for his job and he's also pretty darn good at it.

Get off his back and let him coach - he seems to be doing a fine job of it.

Cheers.

 

[Green Eye]

As for Gus Gould.

I wish people would stop bashing him and start bashing their own heads against the wall. Yes, Phil Gould has a big ego. However as the Skyhooks pointed out, "Ego is not a dirty word".

Phil Gould jumping up and down on the sideline should have been a sight to warm any Blues supporter's heart. He has passion for his job and he's also pretty darn good at it.

Get off his back and let him coach - he seems to be doing a fine job of it.

Cheers.

I agree.... He can be a media hog but I think you will find that as the game continues to become bigger, personalities like his will promote the game. Look at the NFL or NBA... some of the coaches are loud mouths but its all for the good of the game. It keeps people coming back, makes it interesting.

Love him or hate him you must admit he made some good decisions about his team. Although I feel in a game like SOO where the players are all top notch then I'm not sure exactly how much influence a coach has over the players. He did a decent job at it though.

 

[kaon]

I agree with most of the comments here. Qld lacked options in attack and Travis Norton would be an obvious choice to come into the side. That would mean moving Carroll to centre to replace Hodges. Schifcofske would be the obvious placement for Bowman on the Bench.

NSW didn't have a bad player but some did lack impact. I would bring O'hara in for Perry and would stop there.

 

[TheROCK]

For starters, why change a winning side? Leave the team as it is, there's no problems at all.

Secondly, why would you replace De Vere at all? He did nothing wrong, his defence was spot on (De Vere and Lyon's defence all night was awesome too) and he's a tough bastard. Of course he doesn't catch your eye moffo, but when does De Vere catches anyone’s eye? He's doesn't have that great attacking spark, and he wasn't in the Blues team because of his attack. He was in there because of his reliability, and his defence. He's rock solid, you wouldn't swap him for anyone.

The reason why Johns kicked was because he's simply a better kicker than De Vere and Fitzgibbon. Look at the percentage rates, and also look at how good Johns is in getting kicks over from the sideline.

Now onto the QLD side. I'll say this once, and I don't think I need to say it again, because it's a fact, not an opinion.

Lockyer can't play 5/8 now. He tries playing there against the Sharks in 2001, he played 20 minutes and was buggered, he was targeted in defence, and he had no petrol left in the tank at all. If Lockyer was at 5/8, you would see the big NSW forwards running at him all night, tiering him out. When that happens, you've eliminated the only play maker in the QLD side. Lockyer would be too buggered to do anything. Lockyer can't play 5/8, leave him at fullback where he has dominated at origin level many times.

Also, with Hodges and Flannery out, the QLD backline should not change too much, it should look like this.

1.Lockyer
2.Shifcofske
3.Hegarty
4.Tate
5.Sing

 

[Moffo]

Moffo, sounds to me like you wanted Qld to win. Gould for all his faults took the heat and criticism and responded in the best way possible. He injected Wing at exactly the right time.

I also thought De vere had a great game and should not be dropped for game two. I would only drop Perry with Clinton or O'Hara.

I thought Timmins had a good game as did Bailey. Ryles was b it quiet and it looked funny when he was rolling around on the sideline.

As for Johns, I have no problem with him taking kicks in big matches. Nobody does it better.

Bah, of course i wanted NSW to win! I was cheering them all the way, i was just mighty miffed at Goulds attention seeking antics. Nothing wrong with ego, but i believe this man goes over the top. Its a bit ironic that a guy who despises sections of the media so much goes out of his way to give them scandals to write about and consequently, sell more papers

Cheers,
Moffo

 

[Anonymous]

Bah, of course i wanted NSW to win! I was cheering them all the way, i was just mighty miffed at Goulds attention seeking antics. Nothing wrong with ego, but i believe this man goes over the top. Its a bit ironic that a guy who despises sections of the media so much goes out of his way to give them scandals to write about and consequently, sell more papers

Cheers,
Moffo

Moffo, when you were 'cheering them all the way', did you ever get up out of your seat. I did once or twice.
How is that you were simply cheering them on but Gould was attention seeking? The cameras were already on him mate... he didn't say, 'hey boys look at me and I'll put on some passion for you...made to order!!'

Gus was geniunely happy and has answered his critics in the best way possible way...by winning. For someone who cheered NSW on, I'd hate to think how you'd react if they lost.

 

[legend]

As for Johns, I have no problem with him taking kicks in big matches. Nobody does it better.

Slightly off topic Moffo but do you see now why I am called Legend? 8)

Johns kicked the winning goal after full time to win the Knights the match.

 

[Moffo]

Bah, of course i wanted NSW to win! I was cheering them all the way, i was just mighty miffed at Goulds attention seeking antics. Nothing wrong with ego, but i believe this man goes over the top. Its a bit ironic that a guy who despises sections of the media so much goes out of his way to give them scandals to write about and consequently, sell more papers

Cheers,
Moffo

Moffo, when you were 'cheering them all the way', did you ever get up out of your seat. I did once or twice.
How is that you were simply cheering them on but Gould was attention seeking? The cameras were already on him mate... he didn't say, 'hey boys look at me and I'll put on some passion for you...made to order!!'

Gus was geniunely happy and has answered his critics in the best way possible way...by winning. For someone who cheered NSW on, I'd hate to think how you'd react if they lost.

Of course, i jumped out of the seat, spilt beer on the floor, did it all :lol: I thought Gus went a bit far by jumping on the players on the sideline as they came off. If one was a novice to the game you would've thought he was the 18th player!

Put it this way, if u see the NSW coach jumping around like skippy, wouldn't you stick your camera on him too?

lol Legend, well picked. Thank God he kicked it!

Cheers,
Moffo