Redneck Redfaces 2

[POPEYE]

I got myself in deep shit with the family when I cheered for the Kiwis, nothing new really I've been barracking for them for a few years now. I detest the holier than thou bullshit from Australia, insinuating the Kangaroos only have to tick a few boxes and the result would be beyond doubt

Insulting our neighbours by picking players out of position is a joke, Inglis is not a test fullback and Dugan is not a test winger just to mention some of the hypocrisy. The Kiwis are now the #1 League nation on the planet and rightly so, thank f**k they don't have the same quality halves that Australia do, if that were the case the gap would be wider

I'm happier for Kearney than I am for NZ . . . what goes around comes around

 

[Jason Maher]

What will it take for you to give Johnson just the slightest bit of credit? He was fantastic today.

 

[POPEYE]

Crikey, give me a chance ol' mate, spent most of the day befriending a carton of grog, didn't want Manny to lose but had to give Floyd his dues, the bloke's old man is an arsehole so he takes it out on the world. I was happy that Country won but was disappointed for City in the part of the game I saw, would have liked to see Austin not have to carry Reynolds

By the time the Test started I was boisterous, to put it kindly, the thing that stuck was Jabba insinuating that Australia only had to go through it's normal motions to wipe away what he imagined was a anomaly. I detest that sort of smugness in Australian sport broadcasting so I doubled my cheering for the Kiwis.

Bellyache and I agreed that the Kiwi forwards would give Johnson the platform he needs to perform the way he can, if that happens the irregularly sewn together Kangaroos would be in trouble. I won't know until tonight when I watch the game with a clear head how well Johnson did it but I assumed he brought a step ladder with him

I would like nothing more than to have either the Sharks or the Warriors win the precious cup people have wet dreams over, for Johnson to get a ring he'll have to improve his attention span beyond a few games a season. While I'm waiting for tonight can you find the old 'Kearney' thread so I can bump it, I'm not up with all this 'search' technology

 

[Bigcoq]

After watching city country today, I'd have Maloney at 7 and Austin at 6 for NSW..

 

[POPEYE]

I'm flabbergasted, not because I agree that Maloney and Austin should be the halves for NSW but because of how f**king short sighted Jabba, Rabs, Sterlo and crew are. Having only just watched the Test with a clear head it's apparent to me why NZ are beating Australia and will probably continue to do so. The only thing I agreed with was Sterlo saying how well coached the Kiwis are

Crikey, they should remember poor old Whiz Freeman for so many years captaining NZ holding their own for 60 minutes only for Australia to keep changing up gears until NZ could hold out no longer. Kearney was a member of some of those teams and he remembers only too well

This unadulterated f**king bullshit about Australian players being too old is rubbish, there was no lack of leg speed in this game. Not using form players in right positions may have contributed but it's evident to anyone with half a brain why Australia lost, especially considering the extra tackles the Kiwis had to make and less ball

Stands out like dog's balls that Australia, as has been customary for so many years, intended to warm up to the game in the usual manner and then run roughshod over brother ANZACS in the last third. It's taken 3 losses and still hasn't sunk in that Australia can't give NZ a head start. The simple fact is the Kangaroos were caught on the hop, an early try, complacency and frantic catch up is why they lost

The ironic thing is that the Kiwis are now all battle hardened NRL players and none of them now know any other way to play, wondering why they are winning is bewilderment in itsef

 

[POPEYE]

Australia's annual injection of self righteousness has finally backfired but we have the all consuming Origin debacle to help re-establish potency, thank f**k small things amuse small minds. In the meantime let's hope we can patch together some semblance of a meaningful Premiership to keep purists interested

Could be a good thing Sam got suspended, not sure he could keep up the struggle to avoid Benny's evil eye without a break now and again. You can bet the supercoach doesn't give a tuppenny about Origin, he's out to prove it was Newcastle's fault his halo slipped. Who can argue with the Broncos rearing to stampede again . . . can't see the Panthers offering any more than a bump on the trail . . . nor any team not at full strength for that matter

Aubusson is as important to the Roosters as any player imo, #14 has become a coveted role and he's equal to the best, he is the pilot light Robbo needs to fire up the furnace. No excuses with a full crew but they are up against a Tigers outfit that no team in need of redemption wants to face. Taylor is the key, he may become the equal of any coach in the game

Fmd, I can't wait to see the Raiders play again, an Austin led and Sticky coached? mob could be the most intriguing of the round. Titans won't be any pushover so for all you Origin Cyclops', pay attention to the man with the funny beard. Sheens proved you can't coach a team from the bench but who can blame Sticky from wanting to learn as much as he can from his 5/8

The people with the chequebooks can't say Flanagan isn't giving Barba every chance, f**ked if I know why he deserves it and if he doesn't replicate something from his scrapbook this game piss him off to State Cup. Like the Roosters, this is as good as it gets in troops for the Warriors, c'mon Shaun, you can toss 2 heads in a row . . . then 3, then 4

Don't think I should do any fishing in this Cowboys/Dogs summary, bad enough the Green wagon has developed a wheel wobble without enticing road rage. Suffice it to say let's hope Mbye has a blinder, more important to League in general if Reynolds is relegated forever, there has to be a limit to 'us against the world' . . . c'mon Des, a little more imagination ol' mate

Don't be surprised if the Knights beat Manly, has to be a state of euphoria in the joint now that one step backwards has been removed from the two steps forward routine . . . the Gidley Vaudeville is finally closing. Then again, the little red wagon could be back on track, Toovey looking to get up a full head of steam

The Eels look better arranged now but Melbourne, like the Warriors and Roosters, on paper shouldn't be beaten. Games aren't played on paper and Pirtek may do it's best to ruin the script. Pity that every Parramatta win has to be considered a hiccup for someone, with Origin dark clouds looming Melbourne need to swallow the Eels

Dragons/Rabbitohs match of the round? Will a win for Mary be recognised as much as it should or will a loss for Maguire be preferably denounced. Either way it will be Xmas in Wankerville. I'm wishing for a draw or at least golden point . . . the one time gp might be of some value to League

 

[POPEYE]

Nauseating it may be but in between bouts of taking the piss I'm going to keep adding a sparrow fart to what I hope will become a cacophony of resentment to Rugby League scheduling. It's great that we have Mr Smith doing his thing with broadcasting rights as long as the mighty dollar doesn't again take precedence over the game itself

Every player who knows he's a chance to play Origin also knows he must be a key ingredient in his club's chances of winning a Premiership, 'out of sight out of mind' is a disease rife in the media but is in danger of infiltrating the player ranks. Media accepting what is best for League should be the paramount prerequisite in tv rights negotiations

Steve Mascord is another saying Rugby League is outgrowing Origin, although he's no different to supporters with at least average IQ he does have a higher soapbox, he should have also said the game is outgrowing being run by the media.

All Origin hopefuls, the best players included because they must evade injury, have one objective in mind even before a Premiership game is played. Only after Origin has run its course can they afford to consider the pissant cup, made pissant because not enough people take it seriously until it's half over.

Slater is a prime example, he knows Melbourne are travelling well enough to do without him, he thought the mid season Test a foregone conclusion and he knows he has to be right for Origin and the games after made harder because of it. Some coaches are relying on opposition teams to be f**ked over by Origin, others are dreading the consequences because their standing at year's end is adversely affected by it

Most people think Origin began because Queenslanders wanted a fair go, in truth League needed an injection against monopolistic competition, England/NZ/Qld were easy beats, rep football was a joke. Now we have NZ as the top nation, nowhere near all the best League players allowed to play Origin and the flagship Premiership reduced to a tug boat

Any new tv rights deal should have League doing the catering, Nines and All Stars should be the entrée, the Premiership the main meal and Origin the dessert. International games an after dinner mint for special guests. Players should be made to realise they can skip the entrée but no dessert if they don't mind their manners during the main course

We don't need to put up with Origins carcinogenic shortcomings any longer, it has turned from saviour to traitor

 

[Cloudsurfer]

Couldn't agree more...lets hope holding our breath really works ;-)

 

[POPEYE]

I had a heart attack 25 years ago and was told then that holding my breath wasn't good for me . . . for what it's worth I'll continue to beat the drum

 

[POPEYE]

My best mate is a great bloke, nothing like me at all but they say opposites attract, he's as one eyed a supporter as you can get. Impossible to watch an Eels game with him, he uses his Foxtel iQ3 to replay every controversial moment, so adding normal replays it takes about two hours to get through a game . . . if there's an excuse in Parramatta's favour he'll keep looking until he finds it

Being such a close friend I can't help but feel sorry for the bloke, he doesn't deserve to follow a club that spends so much time shooting itself in the foot. Even if Arthur is the coach we want him be, the chance he'll ever get the complete autonomy Gibson demanded is pretty f**king slim.

Parra's popped its head above water now and again over the years but the only time it's gone from dogpaddle to freestyle is when Jack demanded absolute attention. Rest of the time the Eels have been wallowing in either self centred management, the Smith dark ages or coaching that requires an eye in the back of the head

Manly and Toovey have only recently suffered from bad management, spare a thought for Parramatta supporters and coaches who know what they're doing, they have been suffering for eons. No other club puts up with players who either dictate or dissatisfy, management that refuses to abide by elections and expects players to perform when they're knee deep in f**king bullshit

 

[POPEYE]

Must admit I didn't delve much into the Russell Packer story, bit of an eye opener reading Webster in the SMH, I imagined the bloke was a spoiled meathead who was up himself. He's no different than the many meatheads I mixed with who loved to drink and fight except he found time to do what it takes to play NRL footy

Considering he has a nice lady and kids it's a shame he put himself in a position where he knew he could be tempted or goaded to carry on carrying on. Many of the blokes I knew were either dead long ago or dying miserably now, they never had the support Russell is getting

Now that I know Packer for most of his life knew no other way of behaving I wish him all the best turning over a new leaf, the story rekindled memories of unfortunate lives for me. It remains to be seen if trivial future indiscretions on the footy field remain just that in the eyes of most people and how many have nfi

 

[POPEYE]

How important is it that a game of League should be perfect, you only had to look at the Catalans/Saints game this morning to see a fairdinkum contest is all most people want to see. All the Australian exiles in the game including Carney may be past their NRL used by date and the defence was more like touch footy but by crikey it was impossible to go to bed

The NRL penalty counts were interesting, the Cowboys game had 5, Broncos 11, Roosters 10, Canberra 10, except for the showpony refereeing of the Warriors game where 21 were handed out it has been a good weekend of footy so far. If NRL was to be refereed perfectly to the rule book there would be too many infractions to count

May be one day the penalties that need be given will be met with surprise, not the constant threat to supporters they are now

 

[POPEYE]

I'm not sure what Jabba's got in mind when he says Melbourne's top 3 players are more responsible for the way the club plays than the 'system', maybe he's trying to explain away Penrith's system as not working the way he'd like it to. He then imagines Melbourne is the club every other club tries to emulate because they turn ordinary players into better players.

Admittedly Inglis, Slater, Cronk, Smith, Falou and Bromwich are extraordinary but there are others not far behind and more on the way, whilst they weren't physically created by a system they were certainly honed by it. Only a 'system' could rekindle rejects, in Melbourne it's the system or the highway, the alternative to growing a team is poaching one . . . Jabba excusing the overlooking of players like Austin by belittling 'systematic' coaching is laughable

Which brings me to the Eels, it's a crying f**king shame the number of top echelon, or players that could have been so, overlooked through the years, if a Melbourne type system had of been in place they wouldn't have to rely on institutionalised players like Mannah who are loyal but average. No play is immune to the system in Melbourne

Hayne stayed because he was allowed to dictate, even poaching top players is made doubly difficult because there is no system for them to count on that will make their fellow players follow a lead. Sandow runs around like a f**king chook with its head off because there is no system, Hopoate looks bog average now either because he always was or maybe because there's no system he has to keep up to

Danny Wicks hasn't yet realised there's no faith in a system at Parramatta, not having hierarchy worth more than a pint of cold piss is the reason any decent coach has to fight on two fronts . . . if the bloke went to Melbourne the 'system' Jabba dismisses would have him playing Origin, he's at least as good a prospect as Watmough was

The Eels need a 'system' more than anything else, they not only have the same opportunity as discovering hidden talent as Melbourne does they don't have to travel as far to do it. They have to hang onto and keep who they find interested, don't listen to f**king Jabba, poaching a Big 3 is not how its done

Oh, and Melbourne didn't play all that well against Parramatta, their Big 3 were carried by other players from the System

 

[POPEYE]

Last week I think when I was outside this thread taking the piss I used the Pacquiao/Mayweather fight to push a point I was making. I learnt long ago to sit down even without paying to watch a contest if you only have eyes for the contestant you want to win you may as well not have bothered . . . contradicts the whole process

Admittedly I want Melbourne to win every game they play but if they'd lost to the Eels fair and square it wouldn't have been a bad thing, if they lose to any team that deserves to win so be it. If you want the optimum enjoyment from any contest the trick is to watch like you don't care who wins . . . at least don't begrudge a rightful winner

I wanted the Souths/Dragons game to go longer than it did, not because the result could have altered but because I was enjoying the contest. Could have easily been happy with a draw, which is why I hate golden point, the most disappointing thing about last night's game was someone had to lose. Neither team deserved to lose

If you support a team try to be flexible, as you get older and flexibility in everything else goes out the window, believe me life will be a lot more enjoyable if you study both sides rather than look for only the punches you want to connect

 

[POPEYE]

Best thing about Graham is he reminds us that not all the best players participate in Origin, a forward pack of ineligibles would smack Australia let alone separate States. The Dogs are better off without Reynolds but need Eastwood, just the same the Roosters are in for one hell of a game . . . literally. Aubusson is a starter in most clubs, almost the mvp at the Roosters, imo more effective off the bench but this is one of those games Maloney will try to prove a point so expect him to step up

I can't help but compare the Cowboys to a front runner in an egg'n'spoon race, I get cross-finger-cramp watching them play, if no-one gets hurt they should give their nemesis a run for its money. Logic has it that since Penrith almost toppled the Broncos the Cowboys at home should be too strong. Methinks King Benny will take a pin to the Green & Carty balloon . . . unfortunately

Arthur needs to use the rest of this season as a sounding board for players he might want to use in the future, he also needs to have the new Eels hierarchy at his side during the process. Danny Wicks should be seen as a spearhead, the joint needs to be a destination for go-getters, inspire youth instead of poaching dregs. Even if Johnson only runs to gaps twice the Warriors can't lose surely

Titans/Sharks should have everyone who likes to watch footy for the contest on the edge of their seat. Ryan James actually imagines he could remain upright in a stoush with FPN so he may even think he's a chance for Origin, Barba may have another run before he finally gets relegated . . . anything could happen in this game

Some will say Melbourne have the luck of the Irish with Reynolds out, they still have to win the game which is something that is no longer a lay down misere at AAMI. I want to see more of Christian Welch and Aaron Gray, a player from each team who look promising. Tim Grant and Felise Kaufusi are one from each team that annoy me . . . again, may the best team overcome the refereeing

I bet Jabba, Rabs & Co are sucking lemons in Newcastle whilst Fox are popping the champagne in Wollongong, whodathought Dragons/Raiders would be vying for match of the round . . . the matchups all over the park will be tantalising. Even trying to drown out Voss by having the crowd on surround sound won't dampen the occasion

Newcastle is doing its best to emulate Parramatta, hanging on to 'icons' that are far from iconic, they too need to awake from two steps forward and one back syndrome. You get the feeling that every loss incurred by the Tigers is nothing more than a hiccup and wins by the nights are merely advantageous, both coaches deserve to overcome past wrongs suffered so a draw wouldn't be a bad result

Snake, Jamie and Steve together at Brookie make playing the Broncos at Suncorp seem easy. I've always reckoned Stewart is second only to Slater as a professional fullback and if Moylan wants to learn everything he can he should watch carefully. I'd have Snake and Austin in the NSW side but I'm a traitor . . . ironic that someone who knows all f**ked up, both should be on the field in this game

 

[POPEYE]

In these days of poaching to win premierships for most teams, it's great to see players that could be classed as disposables make as big a difference as you'd imagine from an elite player. No, this is not just another Austin suck-shit post, although Jabba could use him right now, it's a refresher on hidden possibilities

Take FPN for instance, in a team full of gung-ho forwards like the Roosters he was a liability, just another penalty maker, at the Raiders he is becoming inspirational. Nate Myles was said to have been a leading contributor to Australia's loss, now about to sign with his 4th club and could possibly use the culture of that club to grow in stature

Melbourne were said to be dead and buried until yet another outcast was resurrected, Green is probably the reason they're hanging on to the right end of the ladder. How many clubs could have imagined what Granville has brought to the Cowboys. Who would have thought returning Sam Moa from exile would reap such dividends

Wicks, Richards, Soward among the 'unfashionables' that are bordering on irreplaceable. Laziness is a disease rampant in the NRL, not only are there untapped junior resources like Chimpy Johns has suddenly made us aware of in NZ or country talent not resourced properly, there has to be many more players who only need a second or third shot in the right environment

It is refreshing when an overlooked, ignored or unwanted player is reincarnated, much more so than a great player being poached or even a great player living up to expectations. Whinging about a dearth of talent is just that if all avenues haven't been exhausted

 

[POPEYE]

Some seriously great karma saw the Graham head in action again as he tried to drive Guerra's head into the turf, then immediately called to the sideline to exercise the concussion rule. Aiden got away with staying on and later creamed Graham in a misjudged tackle which saw James f**ked for the rest of the game . . . if you can't see the irony in that you weren't looking

 

[POPEYE]

From the best one man band to arguably the best quartet in the comp, no-one's happier than I am that I was wrong about Coote's longevity, touch wood he finishes the season. Qld doesn't need DCE on the bench when they could have Morgan who is much more flexible and Granville is as dangerous as Isaac Luke.

The most pleasing aspect for the Cowboys now that they have metamorphosed is they fly at the end of every game, Thurston is not tiring because he can no longer be the centre of attention for the opposition. The remainder of the team is playing accordingly, Green & Cartwright may become the new Gibson & Massey if the troops remain healthy

Cam Smith can retire any time he likes, the sooner he, Billy and Cooper dump the insidious Origin the better, Jake Friend is more than ready to take his place . . . no coincidence the Roosters lost games without him.

 

[POPEYE]

Hang on folks, there's going to be a cacophony of f**kwits calling for Cam Smith's head because Luke wouldn't roll out of the way and the tackler wouldn't release. Brandy and Wasa did their best as usual to will Melbourne to lose and some of the refereeing was rubbish but Souths have proven they're not just a one man band

Inglis should be playing centre, not fullback, Meninga has got it right and Maguire hasn't. I don't think Melbourne could have held out with Inglis off a short run up, he did his best when he played centre at Melbourne, now he looks like a corralled donkey.

Parramatta were ripped off, a stolen ball in a two man tackle should have seen a penalty win the game for them. The Warriors are wasting their time like a rudderless battleship, Johnson should either be at centre or fullback and they have to find someone with a footy brain to fill the halves

Sharks and Titans was a lottery as expected

 

[POPEYE]

Although there's ever only one team I want to win The Shield it's frustrating when you have a twisted sense of humour and want any of the Cowboys/Sharks/Warriors to win the pissant cup, 2 of the 3 are intent on two steps forward and one back. Cowboys only need their fair share of luck, Warriors need a hit of common sense and the Sharks need a f**king miracle

Easy to blame the Sharks' coach but only if he's the reason players are being forced to stay or disruptive players are given too much latitude. If Cronulla is supposedly the destination for disgruntled players from other clubs to go and prove a point why the f**k would they want to keep players that don't want to stay.

I though the idea was to create an atmosphere of 'us against the world', a Manlysesk type culture of one for all and all for one, along the way discover some hidden talent to complement the rebellious. Gallen isn't needed and neither is Gordon but for different reasons. Keeping them or anyone else that doesn't fulfil the requirements needed to be a Musketeer is just plain stupid