Redneck Redfaces 2

[POPEYE]

Last night could have been Souths swansong, the NRL never like to see a team back up for a cup, be good business if more Rabbitohs are suspended. Lucky that players carrying the ball can't hurt anyone with a shoulder charge, one of the Burgess bros put a beauty on a Cowboy.

Always amazes me how a tackler can go to the head bin because his head 'got in the way' of a shoulder that had a ball tucked under it to give that little extra oomph. Of course we can't expect a ball carrier to lead with his arms in the pretence of making a 'shoulder free' tackle, a court of law in any future actions would understand the difference surely

All that aside the Souths win might only have them on remand but anything to quieten squealing from the Lol@Souths pig pen is a blessing. Cowboys are still in the running to turn the cup game into something worth remembering just as Souths did last year . . . go the Cowboy Sharks

It is interesting that the Lol@Souths cacophony from last season has died down appreciably, reminds of the Klu Klux Klan after African Americans were given the right to carry guns

 

[POPEYE]

Didn't wait to see if Blair got MoM, doesn't matter if he didn't, good enough to see him rattle the Tiger supporters and anyone else who claimed he was a bum just because he couldn't play silly bugger game plans

 

[POPEYE]

Maybe not the place but I can't help but get enthused about the PNG Hunters on the same points as the Townsville Blackhawks leading the Qld Cup. The more Rugby League strengthens outside the square the better, the sooner an antidote for Sydneycentricity is found the better

I won't live to see PNG become dominant enough that they demand a place in the NRL but I may get to see Fiji get a run in the NSW Cup. Unlike NRL there is no real reason the State Cups can't be expanded, all sorts of scenarios like teams only playing each once or multiple conferences could be experimented with

Franchises that are awaiting inclusion in the NRL should be allowed to get their business and structure in order by participating in State Cups, players coming and going in both directions could make a livelihood . . . anything to keep the game interesting for people now drifting away

 

[POPEYE]

Sad state of affairs when players like Corey Thompson head offshore, he's one player who will kill'em in ESL and I'd have no problem with him playing for Melbourne. As good a finisher as El Masri but doesn't apparently fit the Doggie ugly giant criteria

Seems more players that haven't reached their 'used by' date are thinking of heading to England, maybe they are being advised if the offers in Australia are not as good as they could be an eye catching stint overseas might enhance their chances of a profitable return . . . Blake Green a case in point

Bennett's claim that there is not enough talent to fill expansion teams here will look a bit sick if players start going to England prematurely. Thompson is in the same class of hard to stop players as the young Sam Perrett was, is there not one team in the NRL that doesn't need a great finisher on the wing

 

[POPEYE]

Toovey should send Shillington a case of whatever he drinks

 

[POPEYE]

All the hysteria about what the new NRL hierarchy deem unavoidable, player welfare associated rule changes, will dissipate as time goes on. Most of 'us' don't like it, dingbats like Fittler and Johns are up in arms but the truth is in ten years time the 'new game' will have metamorphosed with new supporters who wouldn't know what life was like without a mobile phone

My long departed father-in-law said to me AFL has to be watched at the ground because genuine supporters are as much interested in the jostling away from the ball as they are with what's happening with it. Union will always attract the same stodgy supporters because nothing much changes in a game meant for well-to-do simpletons . . . 3 point drop goals ffs

League is the game susceptible to continuous change, more media driven than the others, hopefully it doesn't shoot itself in the foot during each transition. Youngsters will only defect to League/Union if their parents push them to so as long as mums and dads are convinced their children's welfare is the driving factor they will persevere

These knee jerk rule changes might appear as detrimental as Superleague was to the pants wetters but time will heal all, won't be the same game but by then I won't give a shit that there are more buttons on a phone than the red and green ones

 

[POPEYE]

If there's one team I wouldn't mind the Storm losing to it's the Sharks, not sure who I was disappointed for the most, Brandy or Wazza. Flanagan's mob weren't allowed to begin a comeback, just one bounce their way might have caused a resurgence.

I must admit if Melbourne were beaten wearing their proper colours rather than the clown outfits I expected it would have been demoralising

 

[POPEYE]

Had to laugh at Gallen's effort to sway the ref, he needed to get his team to replicate what Melbourne were doing instead of wasting time whinging. How many teams have been trying to bash the Sharks and failed, run around them and failed, 'out talent' them and failed. Everyone knows the best way to beat Melbourne is frustrate them, the only way Bellamy knew he could beat the home side

A blind man could see every Storm tackle was calculated to the enth degree, undoubtedly practiced all week until perfect, the Sharks needed to match taking their time. Melbourne would have had a contingency to speed the tackle up in degrees to circumvent penalties that never came because they got it right from the get go

Melbourne were coached to win and Cronulla were coached to continue proving a point, smarts beat passion. If the Sharks take notice of the lesson they were handed the loss will be worthwhile, if they take nothing from it their year is over

 

[POPEYE]

Rupert's clearly got the shits but the numbers he's talking are beer money to him, if he really wanted to harm League he could do a lot worse. League and AFL are just minnows in the world of sport, if he didn't feel in the mood for trivial pursuit he'd just walk away from both games

That said if he thinks he's been snubbed it will become a matter of principal, dubious as it is, to flex his muscles. Methinks he's just posturing, virtually telling Dave Smith that Ch9 is a lame duck and he could pluck it any time he wants

All Smith has to do is what he is supposed to do best, match Murdoch on the bargaining table, don't overreact to the throwing down of the gauntlet the way many mindless cretins think he should. The old bloke will need a truck full of incontinence pads to contain the laughing if some of the posters on here have their way

If Murdoch is willing to throw that much at AFL which is nothing more than a hobby he may well do the same for League just for Brownie points. Players, clubs and the NRL can still have a bigger windfall than imagined providing Smith plays his cards right . . . treading delicately is the order of the day

 

[Mogsheen Jadwat]

if you have a pocket pair preflop, do you reraise 3bb or do you just call?

 

[expert]

Doony Roo's Worth a look; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCO-I8OKFj0

 

[POPEYE]

Doony Roo's Worth a look; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCO-I8OKFj0

I might've missed something never watching the footy show you reckon, if there was a segment on players like this every epsisode I might consider recording it for a fast forward

 

[POPEYE]

if you have a pocket pair preflop, do you reraise 3bb or do you just call?

If you spend days researching shit like that you may qualify for a deputy's job on Auburn council

 

[Mogsheen Jadwat]

Do you reckon if I did I too might be able to close off the street for a bit of a rendezvous?

 

[Jimmy-o]

Two serious questions, Pops.

1. Will Hook get the coaching gig at Newcastle?

2. Who do you reckon will be in the big dance in October?

 

[Mogsheen Jadwat]

3. Do you believe Einstein was on the right track with a grand unified theory?
4. what's the deal with corn nuts? is it a corn or is it a nut?

 

[POPEYE]

Do you reckon if I did I too might be able to close off the street for a bit of a rendezvous?

You will always be able to live in hope as long as there is enough of your kind to follow blindly and you don't move far from them, if you moved over the Blueys you'd have to settle for driving an '81 Commodore

 

[POPEYE]

Two serious questions, Pops.

1. Will Hook get the coaching gig at Newcastle?

2. Who do you reckon will be in the big dance in October?

Hook is a good enough coach for the job, whether Newcastle is ready to listen is another thing. I'm not privy to how many of the hierarchy are on the same page, only takes one detractor with influence to ruin the show. Hook, like Brown, would be taking the job because he's desperate to prove his worth . . . not a good recipe

I'd like to see the Sharks play the Cowboys for the cup, not that one game at the end of the years means a brass razoo to me

 

[POPEYE]

Benji may need to go in for a hysterectomy to stop those periods of on-field manic behaviour, even Mary who is normally reserved was looking for chest hair to pull out. Dragon resurgence coincided with the discovery of the 'new Benji', a reappearance of the old one has the den looking like a chook yard again

Easier to blame Marshall than McGregor I know but Mary isn't the one who's changed, his mob were just a mob before he instilled direction, still easily led down the wrong path. If Benji can't face the fact that Widdop is the leader of the rebellion and stop trying to usurp him he must go. If Soward hadn't of been affected by the Benji contaminant the Dragons could be ratshit

 

[POPEYE]

Unfortunately had to cross the mountains to Sydney and what a relief to get out of the f**king shithole, which is anywhere between Penrith and the ocean. What with that and no-one knowing who is suspended I'm late entering this week's match dribble

I tip the Dragons to win last night

Not looking good for the Rabbitohs, even my watching the game may not be enough to stop Greenberg's mob . . . hate it when teams are not somewhere near full strength and you know the opposition are going to gloat over a win. Stewart to have a blinder hopefully

This is the game the Sharks need to win, not having to find a hole for Barba to hide in must be a blessing and hopefully they've learned something from Monday night. Wests can only ruin the chances of a team that's bothered to make an effort this season which makes them dangerous

Broncos could upset the Roosters because the Roosters are expected to win easily, that said all the Broncos have to do is make it a close encounter . . . there is room to manoeuvre in Bennett's mind games as long as his mob don't go away with tail between legs

Titans/Raiders could be interesting . . . to some of us

People are talking about players returning to tackling around the legs and who better to watch than Turbo Jake for a lesson, other than a miracle for Eels supporters seeing Matai in pain will be the only other drawcard

Knights have a chance to ruin Melbourne's season, the media are falling over themselves in anticipation of making more money if a 'get square' eventuates. Storm are expected to win but not sell advertising space by doing so