Redneck Redfaces 2

[POPEYE]

Crikey, I may one day have to include the Dogs as a worthwhile inclusion in the NRL, according to my criteria of what is and isn't poaching they are beginning to actually contribute to the welfare of the game, nowhere near as much as the Bulldogs of old but we live in hope

Damien Cook wasn't really poached, a 1 year 'maybe' contract with the Dragons hardly worth crying over, then there's Klemmer and M'bye who would have to be poached to go anywhere, so there are some world class and possible champions being put forward by the Dogs.

I still spit every time I see the Morris bros, Pritchard, Lichaa, Rona out of place but if Des decides to procreate more than he poaches I'll have no choice but wish the Dogs well. Maybe one day the club can even convince 3rd or 4th generations of boat people to play the game instead of what is they do now

 

[POPEYE]

I won't have any more than a passing interest in what happens after the Shield is decided, maybe if the winner is in the cup game I might swear at the referees when they undoubtedly f**k up the only game 'believers' rally to

There's a great chance 3 team battling for the Giltinan will be far and away the climax of the season what with the doubts around injuries, don't listen to what Benny says, he wants the Shield as much as Robbo and Green

The risk of mobs like the Storm/Dogs/Sharks/Seagles/Rabbitohs drinking from the cup when clearly the 3 best teams of the season have already been decided is tantamount to paying a third dividend in a four horse race. Best scenario for me in the game that nail biters love to chew on is the Mighty Shield winner, the Cowboys beating the Sharks by a point

The two best teams of '14 missed playing in the cup, let's hope one is represented in '15 and a virgin takes it out

 

[expert]

There's a window of opportunity often over looked by youthfulness, I think players like fergo , Napa and Evans can see the window?

 

[POPEYE]

There must be a story why Kyle Feldt is not a permanent starter in the Cowboys team, could be anything from attention span, defence deficiency or some character flaw or being injury prone. He appears like a 100 year old bottle of whiskey and disappears just as quickly

The bloke was the highest ever points scorer in NYC back in '11 and a Junior Kangaroo. Skip to late '13 he makes his NRL debut, 3 tries in 3 games before ankled out for the season. In '14 equals Radradra's 5 tries in the Nines. Is dropped after round 7 and doesn't appear in the NRL again until he scores 2 tries against Souths in round 24

Round 3 this year he scores 2 in the loss to Brisbane and doesn't pop up again until his hat trick this weekend. Probably a simple explanation for his absences, he hasn't been poached when his resume says he should've been, whatever the reason we don't get to see him regularly and that is a f**king shame

 

[roostersrule2]

I seem to recall he's had a couple minor off field discretions.

 

[POPEYE]

Maybe some of you folks are right about Fox, Wazza and Brandy went the whole game telling us how disappointing Melbourne were when the Knights played the perfect anti-Storm game. Melbourne didn't let the Sharks get a smell last week and the Knights did the same to them

The talk should've been how good the Knights were playing, they didn't win the game by f**king default, they won the game because they played better. People who don't bother to see every game in a season as equal to the effort in a gf aren't getting value from the game

 

[POPEYE]

Pity the Knights didn't save that for next week, what would a week or so matter when you are saving up for a holiday. Good example of why I think the gf is a novelty, give the Newcastle mob a wild card in the finals lottery and there's no reason they couldn't drink from the cup

Teams at the top of the ladder have to be beaten and those at the bottom just have to lose, which on an occasionally given day goes out the window. Would be great if under that mild manner exterior Buderus was a supercoach, imagine if last night's game was the beginning of another Benny

The ladder still looks the way it should and Melbourne still have a chance at being ordained the best team of the year by some people, something Newcastle don't have. The Storm have good reason to claim a season of misfortune as do a couple of others but if Melbourne go on to win the cup and be exalted because of it 2015 will just be another joke

 

[Cloudsurfer]

Agree with you, at the end of the next 2 games everything will be as it should be this season - there will be the winner because they've played the best throughout a season. It doesn't matter that some teams through parts of that season are disadvantaged more than others, that's the comp they play in and what they should plan/ train for...we can only dream about what an unfettered run would look like these days.

All teams go thru states of flux and Storm is certainly in that this year - but how well have they done in spite of that and how privileged are Storm fans to follow a team that the expectation will be that they will be thereabouts at the end of the year at the very least (that privilege matched by the glee other fans feel when the Storm do 'badly' ). There's 8 teams that won't be in the top 8.

Storm gets a go at the end of year tourney & if they go all the way I'll celebrate what that is...they will have won the tournament. If not, a better team will have beat them on the day leading up to the tournament final or in the final itself. It's a game of 2 comps imo but even so, well done to whoever wins either or both

 

[POPEYE]

Broncos are firming as the team to beat for the Shield if the Seagles can nullify the Roosters for and against by doing the right thing by their fans at Brookie. On paper Thursday and Friday night may go Benny's way

Big game for the Sharks, I'm willing to bet there are a few Eels players trying to avoid next year's NSW Cup or ESL. Bad things are happening for teams around the Sharks so they must capitalise

What are the chances of the Knights replicating last week . . . let's hope they don't go back to feeling sorry for themselves

Aside from Thurston the next most valuable Cowboy is Morgan, Tamou is neither here nor there but even with Thompson at 5/8 a Storm victory would be an upset. If Melbourne still have an upset in them I'd prefer they saved it for Thursday week

As Farah has been isolated as the main problem Taylor might get a positive reaction from his mob now they realise they are 'his' mob. Both Tigers and Warriors need to build a platform for '16 so this game might be worth a watch

If the Dragons don't take this opportunity to score lots of points they have been wasting Mary's time this year, then again that f**kwit Bird won't be confusing matters so I it might be interesting to see how the Titans go trying to avoid the spoon

Raiders/Panthers will be interesting also, let's see if all the spooning around produces tears of happiness or despair

 

[Bigcoq]

Not what you'd like to hear but @ this point the Dogs look like specials if they finish anywhere in the top 8.. Collectively have the most finals/big game experience in the comp with a coach to match, best pack left un injured combined with the NRLS top try scorer and the Morris twins, add to that the 9 that debuted last week [Cook] that has gotta be the best 9 that hasn't been starting in an NRL side in 2015....

 

[POPEYE]

Not what you'd like to hear but @ this point the Dogs look like specials if they finish anywhere in the top 8.. Collectively have the most finals/big game experience in the comp with a coach to match, best pack left un injured combined with the NRLS top try scorer and the Morris twins, add to that the 9 that debuted last week [Cook] that has gotta be the best 9 that hasn't been starting in an NRL side in 2015....

They've got to play the Knights of the Round Season who hopefully finish the year the way they started and surely the Warriors can match the Dogs' bash'n'barge game for the intellectually handicapped

On the Wests Tigers it may have been suggested by others but if not Ballin would be the perfect #9 for Taylor's mob. The bloke turns up to play regularly, does what he's told without whinging, is as loyal as a Blue Healer and would rather cut his dick off than intimidate a team mate. All Taylor may need is 2 years without body armour on his back and Ballin has that left in him

Brad Arthur should just call it quits, renege on the Parra deal and let Foran use his 'get out' clause to follow him to a club that will appreciate him. The NRL should put a bag limit on threatened court cases in their 'Bringing The Game Into Disrepute' rule.

How many clubs want a great coach/five eight combo . . . Warriors, Titans, Newcastle to name a few

 

[POPEYE]

I'm the last one to denigrate reportedly wayward players, mainly because when it came to f**king around in the early days I had a loose grip on right and wrong and as a consequence not as fortunate as Bennett, sports journalists, tv newsreaders and anyone else who is hopping on the Farah bandwagon. I have nfi what went on behind closed doors at the Tigers

Benny is a great coach, probably going to add to his trophy cabinet again this year, the older he gets however the more he suffers from delusions of grandeur. And some of these journalists like Hooper, who reminds me of a Country singer who couldn't sing for shit, can only make a living from sensationalism . . . never be an Alan Clarkson

I like Anthony Mundine so that gives you an idea of how alternative I am but there was no room for a bloke like him in a League team because he was too disruptive to keep a group's mind on the job. All because there were more talented players in his position and he didn't readily accept it.

Unless Taylor is a zealot there is no reason for any level headed people without a Benny And The Boys agenda to not work out that Robbie Farah must be a disruptive influence to a team that on paper is badly inconsistent. I'm willing to back Taylor's judgement when he's in a position to know, not speculate

And, just to let people know I'm not a Benny Basher, anyone who doubted the bloke's coaching credentials and the Broncos chances of being the best in '15 doesn't watch the game with both eyes open

 

[POPEYE]

Watching the Roosters running roughshod over the Seagles at Brookvale of all places with a noisy partisan crowd you couldn't help but be amazed at how a once mighty culture is rivalling the Aztecs as virtually disappearing overnight. This mob were the equal of the Roosters as best team last year, the Dogs playing Souths for the cup was just an anomaly

When I remembered the Roosters finished near bottom of the ladder in '09 I had an epiphany, all along I had Fittler alongside Wally as the worst coach I've seen but I was wrong. In '10 the Cowboys finished near bottom of the ladder and then there is Benny.

Bennett turned the Dragons into cup winners and now is about to challenge again with the Broncos who under his coaching are back to where they once were. What happened to Benny in the interim at Newcastle, the bloke struggled to keep his head above water

As I watched Manly being demoralised it came to me, Roosters '09, Cowboys '10 and poor old Benny so out of character '12-'14, the mighty Seagles shipwrecked in '15. The common denominator for all these catastrophic unearthly happenings was sitting there sprawled on a chair in the Manly dugout chatting with the blokes around him as usual

Willie Mason needs to have 'DISASTER' tattooed on his forehead

 

[POPEYE]

Too far away to know why Robbie Farah is being shunted just as I'm too far away to know why Kurt Mann is leaving Melbourne, I've got a good idea about the first but none about the second. Could be no room for Mann if Bellamy has others in his sights, maybe his defence is not up to scratch, maybe Melbourne can't pay him as much as they'd like to now the salary cap vultures are watching

All I know is I hope the bloke goes great for the Dragons, watching the 22 year old bust his guts and seeing Duffie stay on his feet has some sort of ironic correlation for me. I hate to see players forced out for any reason, poaching the worst, every time I watch Cronulla I see Valentine Holmes with a target on his back

Same old rant from me I suppose but never get sick of promoting the idea that clubs should have an advantage when bidding for players they introduce to the NRL. Holmes has the right to earn as much as he can but the Sharks should be allowed to match any offer with a 25% discount off the cap. All just hyperbole atm but sure as shit some lazy club will go after the bloke sooner or later

 

[mave]

Watching the Roosters running roughshod over the Seagles at Brookvale of all places with a noisy partisan crowd you couldn't help but be amazed at how a once mighty culture is rivalling the Aztecs as virtually disappearing overnight. This mob were the equal of the Roosters as best team last year, the Dogs playing Souths for the cup was just an anomaly

When I remembered the Roosters finished near bottom of the ladder in '09 I had an epiphany, all along I had Fittler alongside Wally as the worst coach I've seen but I was wrong. In '10 the Cowboys finished near bottom of the ladder and then there is Benny.

Bennett turned the Dragons into cup winners and now is about to challenge again with the Broncos who under his coaching are back to where they once were. What happened to Benny in the interim at Newcastle, the bloke struggled to keep his head above water

As I watched Manly being demoralised it came to me, Roosters '09, Cowboys '10 and poor old Benny so out of character '12-'14, the mighty Seagles shipwrecked in '15. The common denominator for all these catastrophic unearthly happenings was sitting there sprawled on a chair in the Manly dugout chatting with the blokes around him as usual

Willie Mason needs to have 'DISASTER' tattooed on his forehead

Agree re:Mason

But if you think Manly were the equals of the Roosters as the best teams last year, then you didnt watch too many games.
Manly played like rubbish all season. I'm still amazed how we finished so high in the regular season, cause we sure didn't perform likea top 4 side should.

Our slide this year was apparent after the way we finished last year.

 

[POPEYE]

You're probably right, sometimes the Shield placings at the end of each year for the runners up can be almost as deceiving as claiming the gf winners best team of the year . . . would be more accurate if every team played each other twice

 

[POPEYE]

All the talk is how bad the Dragons were letting the Titans claw their way back, I'd rather rejoice at the fact Elgey and 'his' mob done good. Even with Roberts incapacitated, which no-one in the commentary seemed to notice, the Titans played good ticker to win

Bird should join Farah in NSW Cup next year, like two peas in a pod they are too big a nuisance to contribute anything worthwhile in building a culture, like that other team Melbourne in a League wilderness the GC need to make the best of a poor situation. Very few in that part of the world give a shit about League but that shouldn't deter them

Not sure they've got the right coach to lead a cult but the Titans need to harden up like the Dogs have, make that pretty home ground of theirs a fortress, they can't coast through League life like Parra, Wests, Newcastle, Dragons . . . they don't have the luxury of captive audiences

 

[POPEYE]

Broncos/Storm should be a good game but neither coach want it be what it usually is this time of the year, a physical drain that can't be overcome quickly. Benny is not prepared to lose without an excuse, hence withdrawing Hunt on a pretence, Bellyache doesn't have that luxury and really must win if his mob is to be more than a hiccup . . . game is not that meaningful to me

Roosters/Rabbitohs is no big deal for Robbo unless the Broncos win, so expect something to change in Friday's roster depending on what happens the night before. Even if Souths win their wasting their time buying a ticket in the lottery

Panthers/Knights . . . supporters will care

Has Farah done enough with one good game or may he need this last one to stir the pot even more, who knows . . . wtf cares. Hope it Reins on his parade

Does it matter if the Cowboys lose, more important they grow a combination

Seagles don't deserve to be dangerous and the Sharks deserve the blessing of the footy gods . . . be surprised if it doesn't go pear shaped

Bulldogs out for a training run at ANZ . . . just got to watch stepping in any holes

Almost forgot, there is a game at Pirtek

 

[POPEYE]

What a fabulous crowd, no wonder Benny doesn't want another Brisbane team, losing half that lot wouldn't impress the referees as much. The big nosed prick in charge tonight tried his best to get Brisbane across the line but you can only lead a Bronco to water, making it take a drink is a different thing

 

[POPEYE]

That'll do me, sitting on the Sunshine Coast watching Melbourne finishing the season no worst than 5th after what could have been a lot worse, can't ask much more from the team you follow than to do their utmost. Robbo had the best roster and is the equal of the best coaches so all is as it should've been for '15, the fat lady has sang and all that remains is for the door prizes to be drawn

Since the majority of supporters, one-eyes and believers, are still available as media mulch there is much interest and good luck to them . . . I thrive on being one of the minority who worship the Shield. Having said that I will watch the cup game with much anticipation if either the Sharks or Cowboys get a shot, nothing like a bit of euphoria to end the season.

Souths winning last year was the highlight of the Century so far for dreamers but the Sharks taking it out would have to be one better surely. Cowboys deservedly next on the fantasy list with Benny and Robbo top of the reality list . . . the rest can only rely on a good dose of bullshit to make their season look better