Rd11: 6pm Parra v Knights GAME DAY THREAD in Newcastle 16/5/25

[Poupou Escobar]

No miss tackles, looked to have worked hard in defence. He did fine.

Not sure what you expect from a rookie prop with limited minutes in their first game.

Mataele hasn't got much running the ball, but like most of our forwards, that's not why he's in the team. He defended well, although we were playing the worst attacking team in the comp.

 

[senior]

Apparently the Newcastle board is meeting tonight to discuss what they should do going forward

Don't be surprised if AOB is sacked by monday

 

[Pazza]

it would be funny if they hired BA

 

[jason taylor]

it would be funny if they hired BA

Would make sense. Unless Mal does another interview with Chris Uhlmann and backflips, he will probably beat BA for the Perth job.

 

[Arbitaar1]

Gideon will be in NRL until there is a backrower in reggies to replace him. Who played cup today ? Carty and Charlie. You guys hate Charlie too.

Na bring guymer in.

 

[Gary Gutful]

I particularly liked the bit where we rogered them in their Knight holes.

 

[Jake the snake]

Apparently the Newcastle board is meeting tonight to discuss what they should do going forward

Don't be surprised if AOB is sacked by monday

Thank god Oberon took DYLAN brown and Young Arthur as his parting gift to us before getting the sack.

 

[Soto]

Samrani channelling Lomax with the hitup carries. He has come along very nicely. He doesn't just fall into tackles. He makes them tackle him.
Perfect utility as can play backrow, centre or wing. In my 17 every day of the week.
Won't let you down and I would be looking to extend him now

 

[hineyrulz]

Adam O’Brien makes Brad Arthur sound smart

 

[the phantom menace]

Amazing... we actually turned up to play for a change - even Dylan had a go for his new hometown!

Quality of opposition and error rate aside... we were all over them from early onwards. Defence in the middle actually held up, and we finally had some momentum to make mileage on the edges too.

Mo-max still undefeated... but are we mentally strong enough to go back to back wins next week?

 

[the phantom menace]

Will is playing at a million miles in his own head. You can see it. He needs to find a method to compose himself because he is currently his own worst enemy (I’m a close second nemeses).

Possibly just needs to get laid...?

 

[the phantom menace]

If we could get Galvin now I’d be tempted to give them Hopgood in return.

Not happening I suspect.... Maybe for 2027 when Galvin's completed his contract.

 

[DaveMc]

Kautoga had 56 post contact metres ffs. Only Penisini and Lomax had more. And he again was very safe in defence, only missing one tackle from 37 attempts.

BuT iT’s ToO sMaLl A sAmPlE sIzE!!!

And ffs, I’d be willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt, but the second you pipe up and start defending them I realise they’re a lost cause.

 

[DaveMc]

Hopgood: was nowhere near his 2023 level last year prior to his injury, so that isn't the reason for his poor impact in attack. Could it just be he is not the player we thought he was? Might have to be turned into a workhorse. Unfortunately not a hitter in defence. With Walker in the team his value has dropped.

Yeah, he’s been heavily overrated since he started playing first grade. His general effort and busyness was mistaken for skill from the get-go. He’s certainly regressed since his injury, but I think he was coming off a lower base than many would accept.

 

[eels_fan]

Not happening I suspect.... Maybe for 2027 when Galvin's completed his contract.

Galvin will have permission to seek offers for 2026 before the end of next week.

 

[Gronk]

Have you been watching him play lately?? He’s been atrocious only player that’s been worse is the Penis.

The OP wants to give away a forward with incredible upside. Mobile, young, high work rate and offload. Yes he has developed some errors, but f**k are you lot mad ?

 

[hineyrulz]

The OP wants to give away a forward with incredible upside. Mobile, young, high work rate and offload. Yes he has developed some errors, but f**k are you lot mad ?

Incredible upside?? I ask again have you been watching at all this year??? He's been utter garbage. He should be a foward leader in this pack instead he's a liability.

Walker does everything he can plus a lot more without the ridiculous mistake and penalty rate.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

I think some focus to much on attack when rating a player especially with our forwards on why they should/should not be picked!

I suspect Ryles has a greater focus on defence with our forwards!

Look at Hopgood yes his attack isn't like it was 2022, it has dropped off a bit ( but not terrible either). However his defence is still great.

He played 48 mins for 35 tackles for 0 misses.

Compare that to Moretti who no one criticises and plenty talk up, because his attack is great. He played 35 mins last night for 20 tackles and 4 misses. Pretty poor!

So what's better for the side Hopgood's defence? Or Moretti's attack?

Pretty clear not many look at defence when rating our players. Plenty of posts about Hopgood but nothing about Moretti's below average defence!

 

[Wally21]

I think some focus to much on attack when rating a player especially with our forwards on why they should/should not be picked!

I suspect Ryles has a greater focus on defence with our forwards!

Look at Hopgood yes his attack isn't like it was 2022, it has dropped off a bit ( but not terrible either). However his defence is still great.

He played 48 mins for 35 tackles for 0 misses.

Compare that to Moretti who no one criticises and plenty talk up, because his attack is great. He played 35 mins last night for 20 tackles and 4 misses. Pretty poor!

So what's better for the side Hopgood's defence? Or Moretti's attack?

Pretty clear not many look at defence when rating our players. Plenty of posts about Hopgood but nothing about Moretti's below average defence!

You
Make a good point mate and it’s easy to be critical, which I have been of Hopgood. I’m just going on what I am seeing and I just feel like Hopgood has regressed considerably. Perhaps he will come good, but his errors an penalties conceded is a worry, on top of his lack of punch in attack. Defence I can’t argue is sound

 

[King-Gutho94]

Well, it’s been 5 years since we’ve kept a team scoreless.
One more week at least.

The irony is the last team we kept scoreless most neutrals would spend an hour mulling over who it actually was.