NRL Rd 4 2022 - General Non-Warriors Thread

[Blair]

Sydney's dreadfully wet again, and there looks to be three games here this weekend. Don't expect free-flowing, mistake-free footy!

Tonight, the Titans v Tigers is highly watchable. I'd love a Tigers win, actually. The whole club just seems desperate and it's natural to worry a bit about its whole future. Not quite as bad as the Warriors but they've played no finals footy since that memorable defeat to us at the SFS in 2011.

Friday, the Sharks host Newcastle - two sides that've started well this season - then it's a repeat of last year's GF. Like last year, the Rabbitohs can win this, but probably won't. How many rounds will Penrith go without defeat? Cleary is back, as if the Panthers needed that.

Saturday, and it's off to Redcliffe for the Warriors 'home' game v Brisbane. If Kodi's playing he'll have a blinder, as he's due. The Broncos will be keen to make amends for last week but can they? We're yet to see if they're a different side from the dismal last few years.

Manly and the Raiders will be the game of the round, I reckon. Out in Mudgee NSW (near Bathurst) it's always been a popular country fixture, which the Sea Eagles take a long way from the ocean. Geez, there'll be some piss sunk that day, it's a wild crowd.

Cowboys v Roosters, lookout, it'll be good. One side thinking they're good (now), the other knowing they're good.

Sunday, and the Storm will deal to Canterbury whilst we finish with a Sydney derby, the uppity Eels v Dragons. If Parra are all that, then they have to win these games, and they've had since 1986 to think about speed-bumps such as this.

Enjoy.

 

[Blair]

It's laughable thinking about Sydney leaguies not wanting to move to Auckland! Sydney is just a wet, overcrowded dump.

Who else is getting depressed with this non-stop rain?

 

[RHYTHM AND STEALTH]

I am

Footy trainings getting canned every week

 

[Meth]

If Kodi's playing he'll have a blinder, as he's due.

I wouldn't wager on that.

 

[Beavers Headgear]

Thought there was NRL on tonight, not reserve grade

This is absolutely horrendous

 

[Blair]

Thought there was NRL on tonight, not reserve grade

This is absolutely horrendous

Nil-all, nearly at the break!

The NRL thinks people will pay good money to attend.

Edit, 2-0 Titans! The home fans are rapt.

 

[Beavers Headgear]

I don’t think I would cope with being a Titans fan, and watching them completely waste Fifita week after week. Stationed on the left and they have attacked right all night, and the ball he is getting is a standing start

looking forward to getting Tuilagi over to Manly next year, he and Olakau’atu will be a handful in the backrow

 

[JJ]

@ Blair, still calling this highly watchable?

 

[Beavers Headgear]

Why am I still sitting here watching this ?
Fatty sorting out the 3-2-1 for 9 and can’t find a player to give a point too

 

[Tongue]

I can’t believe I’m not in bed. This is horrid.

 

[Philip_Smith007]

Tigers NOOOOOO!
Did he not technically ground that with his torso as ball knocked out in tackle?

 

[Izz]

@ Blair, still calling this highly watchable?

At least that quickly erases our game last week as worst of the season...

 

[Penrose Warrior]

Tigers NOOOOOO!
Did he not technically ground that with his torso as ball knocked out in tackle?

You can't ground with torsos anymore.

It's insane that a game like that in the NRL, featuring highly-paid 'professionals' can be that bad. That was an absolutely abysmal game. Decided by an abysmal try. The lack of finishing ability in that game was laughable. You'd see the score and think decent defense, but it was really more so to do with deplorable attack.

The Titans especially should be much better than that. Absolutely blew a 22-0 lead last week, then put up that rubbish.

The Tigers should let Luke Brooks go and see if something can be made of him elsewhere. He is absolutely hopeless in that side. I get the feeling he is a very bog average player who happens to get his tyres pumped up by Joey Johns, but it'll be too hard to know until he goes somewhere else.

 

[Meth]

Corey Thompson with quite a few errors, which is nice to see after he threw his toys out of the cot when Herbert didn't pass the ball to him last season (though he absolutely should have passed it to Fifita).

 

[Fufu Andronez]

I thought us vs tigers was bad last week, that was a shocking watch.

Congratulations to me for sitting through the whole thing

 

[Tongue]

Luke Brooks is either packing or sad or he really just has nothing.

 

[JJ]

You can't ground with torsos anymore.

It's insane that a game like that in the NRL, featuring highly-paid 'professionals' can be that bad. That was an absolutely abysmal game. Decided by an abysmal try. The lack of finishing ability in that game was laughable. You'd see the score and think decent defense, but it was really more so to do with deplorable attack.

The Titans especially should be much better than that. Absolutely blew a 22-0 lead last week, then put up that rubbish.

The Tigers should let Luke Brooks go and see if something can be made of him elsewhere. He is absolutely hopeless in that side. I get the feeling he is a very bog average player who happens to get his tyres pumped up by Joey Johns, but it'll be too hard to know until he goes somewhere else.

To be fair our game against the Tigpies wasn't much better

Brooks is an enigma, clearly he was a big talent as a junior, and he's shown he can be a very good half, had some very solid seasons - does need a change, but his value would be all time low (like Taylor who proved less for the big money he got), I guess the question is who would be interested in trying to rebuild him? Quite a few teams with nuffies in 7, including us lol (not suggesting we should look at him given we have Johnson and Taylor)

 

[Scott]

I watched the first 15 minutes and saw the writing on the wall. Poor quality.

 

[Blair]

Tigers fans would've expected those last two minutes to play out exactly as they did.

They shouldn't have taken the kick at goal (to make it 6-2). It should've been an attacking set then an attempt to trap the Titans in-goal.

Madge was as red as a beetroot, the misery!

 

[Penrose Warrior]

To be fair our game against the Tigpies wasn't much better

Brooks is an enigma, clearly he was a big talent as a junior, and he's shown he can be a very good half, had some very solid seasons - does need a change, but his value would be all time low (like Taylor who proved less for the big money he got), I guess the question is who would be interested in trying to rebuild him? Quite a few teams with nuffies in 7, including us lol (not suggesting we should look at him given we have Johnson and Taylor)

No, it absolutely wasn't much better.

I dunno, it's probably revisionist bias - but I don't remember the bottom teams being as shit as they are in the modern game. Every year, we have absolutely hopeless teams like the Tigers, the Bulldogs were f**king hopeless last year, the Titans won 4 games in 2019, the Tigers won one - ONE - in 2016...those sort of absolutely mud years where a team wins 3-4 games tops. I don't remember that being the case through the 2000s (OK, apart from Souths). I remember bottom sides yeah they were inconsistent, but they could win decent games of footy. Now the bottom teams can barely walk and chew gum at the same time, let alone catch a ball, run and put it down over the line.

Am I right or wrong? And if I'm kinda right, why is this the case when the game has never had more reach, more incentive with $, more advances in sport science/coaching etc and there hasn't (yet) been a dilution of more teams spreading talent more thinly?