Charity Shield v Dragons on Sun 19th Feb @ ANZ

[Travitoh]

With the hooker situation, this is the how I see it.
Farah was good his whole time out there. In the first 40 I feel he earnt his spot.
Cook was rocks and diamonds. That try showed what cook is capable off. But outside of that his performance was mixed. His defence was a shocker, very sloppy. So if its a choice between the 2 for 80 minutes you have the consider Farah's consistentency in attack and defence, over cook being capable off some good and bad, and defence not up-to 1st grade standard.
In that I'd go for Farah.
The next option is whether to play one on the bench. This isn't just a simple can cook provide spark. First you have to factor in the other forwards. The twins struggle with every minute the play over 20 minutes. Sutton has always struggled over 80 and Chricton also performs well off the bench. To waste 2 interchanges on hookers is risky with a big pack. To make it work there might have to be an overlap were both players are on at the same time. This is where it falls apart. When Farah came on cook became a wasted player. He didn't do much when Farah came back on. 2 at the same time didn't work. It's nice to say cook can come on to provide spark, but it has to do it in a way that works in the overall Team structure

Truth telling by Diego

 

[DiegoNT]

We'll start with Goodwin but he won't have the spot nailed down

I don't think so.
I don't think burns playing right wing was a coincidence. That's the wing spot that is available. I think burns started off as favourite.
Goodwin made a few mistakes today. He was caught out of positions a fee time. There was a bombed try because Goodwin wasn't in position. Burns positioning was overall good, while he didn't take the bomb, it was against mine McDonald with the sun in his eyes. The thing I liked is he attacked the ball when it was up. He of course scored 2 great tries that Goodwin wouldn't have.
If Goodwin was to play centre then I think he would have been given at least half a game there

 

[Travitoh]

If Goodwin was to play centre then I think he would have been given at least half a game there

That's an interesting point i hadn't considered.
Burns will start on the wing, i don't doubt that but i would still expect Goodwin to start at centre over Talaki.
You're correct in what you say about Goodwin the winger, he doesn'tseem up to it

 

[alien]

Like I've been saying for ages, Goodwin's best position now is centre. Talakai has really impressed me, but I think Madge will select Goodwin in the centres in front of Talakai. There are always injuries during the season so we'd probably see Talakai in first grade during the year anyway.

 

[doyen]

What hooker worth his salt does a flukey little mis-kick off the side of his boot!!

We won't see that aberration again too soon.

Apart from that oddity of a kick Cook didn't do enough to suggest that Farah's posse is in jeopardy!!

 

[alien]

Charity Shield: Five key points
Sun 19 Feb, 2017, 5:59pm
By Martin Gabor, National Correspondent NRL.com

Siosifa Talakai scores against the Dragons in the Charity Shield.

A dominant Rabbitohs side narrowed the overall Charity Shield ledger with a comfortable 32-14 win over the Dragons on Sunday afternoon. Robbie Farah and Damien Cook staked their claims for the No.9 jersey while Will Matthews looks set for a lengthy stint on the sidelines after dislocating his hip in the first half.

Dummy-half debate rages on

Mystery surrounding who will wear the No.9 for the Rabbitohs in Round 1 has intensified after Robbie Farah and Damien Cook both performed well in Sunday's win. Farah did his hopes of starting against the Tigers no harm following a solid 40-minute stint against the Red V, but Cook responded in kind to leave Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire with a pleasant selection headache leading into the new season. Farah scored the game's opening try from close range and controlled the contest with some penetrating kicks from dummy-half before coming off at the break. Damien Cook wound back the clock to his days as a beach sprint champion when he burst through the middle of the ruck before putting in a delicious banana kick onto the chest of Braidon Burns to score. Farah returned to the field at five-eighth for the final 13 minutes with the pair set to duke it out over the next two weeks for the hooker role.

Will Matthews injury

The Dragons have confirmed back-rower Will Matthews has dislocated his right hip in a tragic blow a fortnight out from the season proper. The 28-year-old was helped off the field on a medi-cab in the 33rd minute after he was caught in a three-man tackle near his own line. The game was stopped for roughly five minutes as medical staff tended to the injured Dragon who received a rousing reception as he was taken up the tunnel. The recovery period varies depending on the player, but hopefully we'll see Matthews back on a footy field soon.

Alex Johnston a handy No.2

Superstar fullback Greg Inglis has stated he wants the fullback position to be his in 2017, and there is no denying that's where he should play. But when GI is unavailable during the Origin period, Rabbitohs fans can rest easy knowing they have a handy replacement in Alex Johnston. The 22-year-old deputised at the back on Sunday and showed why he's touted as the club's fullback-in-waiting. Johnston blitzed the Dragons' defence through pure speed to score the second try of the afternoon while his positional play and support runs were equally impressive as the game wore on. Johnston has played eight club games at fullback for the Bunnies and is odds-on to add to that tally.

Errors still an issue for the Burgess bros

Handling errors plagued the Burgess brothers throughout 2016, and it was a case of history repeating itself on Sunday afternoon with the Englishmen producing a couple of costly mistakes. Sam made a team-high 28 mistakes in 2016 while twins George and Tom each came up with nine. George got the ball rolling in the first minute of the game with a knock-on before Tom followed suit resulting in a try to Nene Macdonald. If they can eliminate the loose carries from their game, expect the Burgesses to return to the sort of form that saw them take the competition by storm in 2014.

Josh Dugan 'passes' his first test

We all know that Dragons fullback Josh Dugan is one of the most damaging power runners in rugby league, but if there's an area of his game that needs working on, it's his passing. Dugan only registered one try assist in 2016, and in an ever-evolving role, fullbacks now have to double up as an extra playmaker. Fans of the Red V would have seen their star No.1 throw more passes than usual on Sunday in a sign that he has made a conscious effort in the off-season to become a more prominent ball-player. Dugan set up Nene Macdonald with a glorious offload midway through the first half and tried to get the ball to his wingers as much as possible in a promising sign for the Red V.

http://www.nrl.com/charity-shield-five-key-points/tabid/10874/newsid/103904/default.aspx

 

[DiegoNT]

What hooker worth his salt does a flukey little mis-kick off the side of his boot!!

We won't see that aberration again too soon.

Apart from that oddity of a kick Cook didn't do enough to suggest that Farah's posse is in jeopardy!!

It was a great try with a lot of skill (helped by one of the twins not pulled up for tunnel balling at the play the ball).

 

[alien]

What hooker worth his salt does a flukey little mis-kick off the side of his boot!!

Lol, "flukey little mis-kick". You are incapable of giving him credit where it's due! You wouldn't be describing it as a "flukey little mis-kick" if McInnes did it!

 

[Rsag85]

Forwards looked good, good outside backs coming though. Interchange will be interesting for round one. Burns has to be in the side so does Cook.

 

[Rabbit toes]

Hey do you wanna play fantasy nrl
You should play fantasy nrl

Quit being so needy!

It'll end in tears, you know it too

 

[Rabbit toes]

Forwards looked good, good outside backs coming though. Interchange will be interesting for round one. Burns has to be in the side so does Cook.

Burns yes. Cook 50/50

 

[Rsag85]

Burns yes. Cook 50/50

Cook 100%

 

[Rabbits20]

No Chricton?

Nope. He didn't get that much game time.

Rochow played the whole second half and was very solid.

I just have this feeling Madge will go with Rochow.

Talakai did well scoring that try today but he's still learning. He seems to lack pace out wide and not comfortable in defence yet.

I think Madge will take the safety option and go for Bryson for round 1.

Also Madge pulled off Talakai with 15 minutes to go to give Jennings a run, whereas Bryson played the full 80.

If Bryson got pulled off early and Talakai played the 80 I would have admitted advantage Talakai. But that wasn't the case.

 

[Rsag85]

Nope. He didn't get that much game time.

Rochow played the whole second half and was very solid.

I just have this feeling Madge will go with Rochow.

Talakai did well scoring that try today but he's still learning. He seems to lack pace out wide and not comfortable in defence yet.

I think Madge will take the safety option and go for Bryson for round 1.

Also Madge pulled off Talakai with 15 minutes to go to give Jennings a run, whereas Bryson played the full 80.

If Bryson got pulled off early and Talakai played the 80 I would have admitted advantage Talakai. But that wasn't the case.

I think Goodwin only had one good moment all game, the younger guys did better imo

 

[Rabbits20]

Cook 100%

Off the bench in the 14.

Farah is the right guy to start with. He's very classy and an experienced head. He controls the ruck well and gets the firwards rolling.

Cook is strong when the opposition is tiring and he should be used at the back end of halves.

I also liked today how Madge in the last 15mins had both Cook and Farah on. We really built momentum with both of them working in tandem.

Today I would give Robbie a 8.5 out of 10. He was our best player.

I'd give Cook a 7.5 out of 10. He started the first few mins he was on a bit nervy and that showed with the knock on. But Cook overcame those nerves and showed us what he can do. He was dynamite and made a couple of good darts and that lightning break.


We need both of them in the 17 and I reckon Madge knows that. In games every so often Madge may opt to leave Cook out but I would expect Cook to play in at least two thirds of our matches this season.

I'll say he will play in the regular season about 18 out of the 24 matches.

 

[Rsag85]

Off the bench in the 14.

Farah is the right guy to start with. He's very classy and an experienced head. He controls the ruck well and gets the firwards rolling.

Cook is strong when the opposition is tiring and he should be used at the back end of halves.

I also liked today how Madge in the last 15mins had both Cook and Farah on. We really built momentum with both of them working in tandem.

Today I would give Robbie a 8.5 out of 10. He was our best player.

I'd give Cook a 7.5 out of 10. He started the first few mins he was on a bit nervy and that showed with the knock on. But Cook overcame those nerves and showed us what he can do. He was dynamite and made a couple of good darts and that lightning break.


We need both of them in the 17 and I reckon Madge knows that. In games every so often Madge may opt to leave Cook out but I would expect Cook to play in at least two thirds of our matches this season.

I'll say he will play in the regular season about 18 out of the 24 matches.

Farah was ok but wasn't our best today that's for sure Cody, Burns, Aj etc had better games imo. We looked more dangerous with Cook at 9.

 

[Rabbits20]

I think Goodwin only had one good moment all game, the younger guys did better imo

You do realise Burns does have a weak point he must work on. He was dodgy under the high ball and knocked one on and another time he went to try and catch it he looked all at sea and luckily it went backwards. Apart from that he was very good and shows he has a good footy brain and pace.

As for Hunt he was strong. But he can't be dropping the ball when we are coming out of our own end. Also near the end of the match he came rushing in out of nowhere which exposed Burns and we let them in. He can't ge doing this either.

As for AJ a couple of times in defence he was exposed and bounced off tackle attempts and luckily our forwards were there to save our bacon and just stop them from scoring. Apart from that he was strong.

As for Talakai I feel he is more suited to back row as he doesn't have the pace. He looked pedestrian at centre at times and is slower than Goodwin. Talakai tried very hard but didn't help enough with the shit work. I also feel he doesn't back himself enough with his defence. He comes in too much when it's not needed too. He's a great talent and I feel he isn't quite there yet. If a few injuries hit in the forwarda I would play him off the bench in the back row and let him charge which he's good at.

As for Goodwin he had a strong game. Ok he didn't score any tries but he was solid. If he was at centre I reckon he'd have scored a try. As for you saying you didn't nitice him, were you at the game???? He probably made about 10 runs. A couple of them were strong 14metre runs too breaking tackles with fast play the balls. He gets through the shit work. Also he saved a try in the second half, Jennings came in when he didn't need too putting pressure in Bryson to make a one on one and he was up to it. Bryson is solid on the wing but his best position is centre. I feel his defence is better and he's more experienced than Talakai. Goodwin and AJ have formed a strong combo on the left previously too. Goodwin is also a good back up goal kicker. Wouldn't you realise Talakai was taken off with 15mins to go???? The fact Burns, AJ, Hunt and Goodwin played the whole 80 gives me the hint they'll get the nod. I personally reckon Talakai will be 19th man. I may be wrong completely but that's how I see it.

 

[Rabbits20]

Farah was ok but wasn't our best today that's for sure Cody, Burns, Aj etc had better games imo. We looked more dangerous with Cook at 9.

Well I feel he controlled things beautifully and was very creative. He reminded me of Issac Luke.

I know you hate Robbie so you can't admit he was our best.

AJ did not have a better game than Robbie. AJ was solid. But in defence in our try line the firwards saved his bacon. A couple of guys in my bay they like AJ but they remain concerned re his defence.

You also do realise Burns needs to improve under the high ball.

What did Robbie do that wasn't up to standard???? Personally I couldn't fault him. Ok he kicked the ball dead once but what else did he do that was bad???

You do realise Cook came in and knocked on on our own 30metre line due to nerves???

You do realise Cook is improving defensively but Farah is the superior in defence.

 

[Rsag85]

Burns hasn't played a lot of football on the wing but still did a better job then the other guy. Was involved a lot more and did do some really good things in attack and defence. He was safe for a rookie. I just wish that Gray wasn't injured. Goodwin will get the first shoot at centre he is the safe option for Madge but is he the right option I think not, short term he is ok but longer term for the club future this year Goodwin should be playing for the bears IMO

 

[Rsag85]

Well I feel he controlled things beautifully and was very creative. He reminded me of Issac Luke.

I know you hate Robbie so you can't admit he was our best.

AJ did not have a better game than Robbie. AJ was solid. But in defence in our try line the firwards saved his bacon. A couple of guys in my bay they like AJ but they remain concerned re his defence.

You also do realise Burns needs to improve under the high ball.

What did Robbie do that wasn't up to standard???? Personally I couldn't fault him. Ok he kicked the ball dead once but what else did he do that was bad???

You do realise Cook came in and knocked on on our own 30metre line due to nerves???

You do realise Cook is improving defensively but Farah is the superior in defence.

I just think Cook looked more dangerous out there then Farah who looked good but he wasn't the best out there. I know your trying to hype up our newest signing and that's ok for you to do so but Cook speed out of dummy half killed the dragons and that peace of skill that he pulled off with that speed and that type of kick was perfect