Off Season 2024/25

[Beavers Headgear]

Queen Gutho 3 year deal with the Dragons pretty much done

 

[Blair]

Queen Gutho 3 year deal with the Dragons pretty much done.

It'll be odd seeing him in another team uniform.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

And in the next “these blokes are brain dead” story

AJ Brimson won $10k on the Melbourne Cup, loaded his bet slip up to social media, and hasn’t fully obscured the 2 previous punts had been on rugby league games haha. He is saying the photo is of his mums account lol

Well, the story is that his mum won the bet, sent him the photo of her win and then he shared it pretending it was his. Either way he’s pretty dopey.

 

[Beavers Headgear]

Well, the story is that his mum won the bet, sent him the photo of her win and then he shared it pretending it was his. Either way he’s pretty dopey.

Listening to something and they were speculating that parents etc aren’t allowed to bet directly on it either, but I find that hard to believe

 

[Beavers Headgear]

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

Off topic, but not worth a thread on its own. But did anyone see James Lowe’s 50/22 kick in the Ireland v AB test?

Nearly 60m banana kick from the sideline, just outside his own 22 to well inside the AB 22. Crazy.

Nisbett and co barely acknowledged it but if that’d been in the NRL, the Fox hype squad would’ve had a collective meltdown.

 

[Meth]

Off topic, but not worth a thread on its own. But did anyone see James Lowe’s 50/22 kick in the Ireland v AB test?

Nearly 60m banana kick from the sideline, just outside his own 22 to well inside the AB 22. Crazy.

Nisbett and co barely acknowledged it but if that’d been in the NRL, the Fox hype squad would’ve had a collective meltdown.

I think Rugby commentators are still adjusting to the 50/22. Most of the time, they're unprepared and only realise that it has the impact that it does when the touch judge rules on it.

Also, did you see how excited James Lowe was about it? Noticeable how often the Irish were responding to small wins as if they were match-defining and result-determining. They ended up looking like idiots.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Also, did you see how excited James Lowe was about it? Noticeable how often the Irish were responding to small wins as if they were match-defining and result-determining. They ended up looking like idiots.

And that’s why despite their form over the last few years they still don’t quite have the aura the ABs do. We don’t celebrate anything except the big wins, because that’s the mindset champion teams have to have. It’s not done until you win the big prize.

 

[Meth]

And that’s why despite their form over the last few years they still don’t quite have the aura the ABs do. We don’t celebrate anything except the big wins, because that’s the mindset champion teams have to have. It’s not done until you win the big prize.

yeah I get they feed off the energy of the crowd and were trying to bring them into it. But have some self respect and take your lumps

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

Also, did you see how excited James Lowe was about it? Noticeable how often the Irish were responding to small wins as if they were match-defining and result-determining. They ended up looking like idiots.

Yea and he's copping a bit of grief for it online too.

It was a helluva kick, arguably the best 50/22 or 40/20 I've ever seen in either code. Especially as it was reactive, rather than set up through a possession set leading up to it.

But playing up to the crowd when you're 10 down and still got a job to do... I think it showed where their heads were at.

 

[JJ]

The new Aussie recruit went pretty well, shame Manu didn’t come to NZ I reckon

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

The new Aussie recruit went pretty well, shame Manu didn’t come to NZ I reckon

Yes, brave call by Schmidt to throw him straight in, wasnt expecting that at all. But it certainly paid off. Pleased for the young man too.

I think Manu is lining up a crack for the 27 RWC. I don't think its a coincidence that of all the cashed up rugby clubs he could've signed with, he lands at one led by the two most recent AB coaches, and a just-retired AB great on their roster.

 

[Beavers Headgear]

Looks like a rule change incoming where if the kickoff goes past the 20m line it will be a 7 tackle set

 

[Izz]

Looks like a rule change incoming where if the kickoff goes past the 20m line it will be a 7 tackle set

So now there can be a ton of collisions with the head (plus other collisions and falls resulting in injuries) while contesting short kickoffs...

In all seriousness, i'm not against this. Nor am i for it, though.

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

From what I remember, most kick off head knocks stem from the tackler being bumped offline by one of his own team mates.

 

[hitro]

Ahh if anyone wants to talk about league rather than cricket or horse racing, what about Charnze actually played like a half against PNG with cutout passes and even kicks, he obviously can tackle and hit up and is resilient 80 min player. I think the best spine the Warriors can run out game 1/2025 is 7 TMM, 6 CNK, 1 Tuaupiki, 9 Egan, 14 Roache
Chanel and Metcalf injury cover which (injury to someone) will happen straight away

 

[JJ]

Ahh if anyone wants to talk about league rather than cricket or horse racing, what about Charnze actually played like a half against PNG with cutout passes and even kicks, he obviously can tackle and hit up and is resilient 80 min player. I think the best spine the Warriors can run out game 1/2025 is 7 TMM, 6 CNK, 1 Tuaupiki, 9 Egan, 14 Roache
Chanel and Metcalf injury cover which (injury to someone) will happen straight away

Personally I’d still have RTS at 1. Harsh on Metcalfe loosing out to a fullback and a journeyman half??

 

[taste2taste]

Speaking of union, as a novice I have a noob question…

The ball is rarely in play for longer than 30 seconds before a whistle is blown, why do they have so many rules at the breakdown ??

Wouldnt it be better for the flow of the game and the spectacle just to let the break downs be a free for all ? Does it reallly matter if a player leaves his feet or if someone comes in from the side ?

 

[Matua]

Speaking of union, as a novice I have a noob question…

The ball is rarely in play for longer than 30 seconds before a whistle is blown, why do they have so many rules at the breakdown ??

Wouldnt it be better for the flow of the game and the spectacle just to let the break downs be a free for all ? Does it reallly matter if a player leaves his feet or if someone comes in from the side ?

C'mon bro, there's lots of troll threads you can direct this question at - your mates Gob and Wb spit them out like saliva.

@taste2taste My bad, I muddled you up with another poster so came harder at you than I should have. Apologies. Anywhere here's an actual response although others have pretty much covered things already.

But, your 30 secs comment is pretty silly, rugby is a phase game, in fact it's more of a phase game than league. Most games settle down after a while once the players know how the refs are going to call the rucks so penalties are only handed out for obvious infractions.

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

Speaking of union, as a novice I have a noob question…

The ball is rarely in play for longer than 30 seconds before a whistle is blown, why do they have so many rules at the breakdown ??

Wouldnt it be better for the flow of the game and the spectacle just to let the break downs be a free for all ? Does it reallly matter if a player leaves his feet or if someone comes in from the side ?

Hopefully I don’t regret this, but I’m assuming the q is genuine...

Breakdowns have been more free-for-all in the past but what often happened was:

1. defending teams would just throw a tangle of bodies at the breakdown to pin the ball and wait for a scrum to blow up; or
2. attacking teams would do the same thing to seal the ball off, stop defences from contesting, and hog possession for 25-30 phases while waiting for someone to make a mistake.

It might sound counterintuitive, but breakdown rules are actually meant to improve flow by allowing attacking teams to recycle ball cleanly, while also still allowing defenders a fair contest for possession. And that’s the crux of union - always contestable possession at all times... breakdowns, set pieces, kicks.

When it’s played and officiated well, you get free flowing unpredictability and its brilliant to watch.

Good attacking teams can still build phases (much like a set of 6), but good defenders could still effect a turnover at any stage and launch a counterattacks. For another RL analogy, think of the scramble when someone unexpectedly strips the ball and teams suddenly need to transition from attack to defence, or vice versa.

The challenge is the subjective nature of many rugby rules means ref and player behaviour play a massive role in how a game flows. An overly pedantic ref or particularly cynical (or shit) players, and the whole thing descends into a stop-start eye sore. And unfortunately that still happens far too often.