Redneck Redfaces 2

[POPEYE]

One great outcome I forgot to mention about last night's game was hearing the disappointment in ol' mate Jabba's voice when one of his two favourite teams was beaten, which means his other favourite team the Dogs have to lose next week to avoid a repeat.

Pity Jabba didn't take his 5 year plan to Canterbury/Bankstown instead of Penrith and reinforce his renown for never leaving a team in as good a condition as he found it, outside of coaching that is

 

[POPEYE]

Only because I want to see the Cowboys/Sharks drink from the cup, just to say I have some interest in the finals mind you, it is imperative that referees be chosen carefully. I wouldn't mind seeing the four best do all the games, fly them around in private jets if necessary . . . even then Australia is struggling to come up with 4 worthy contenders

Badger ffs, wasn't he responsible for penalising a Cowboy for not getting off quickly enough near his tryline in a game so hectic the bloke was doing his best. Then the prick stands over Blair making love to Thurston who wasn't consensual and couldn't find his whistle when it mattered.

Come on NRL, if you must persist with the lottery at least give the teams equal adjudication, going from left hand wank to right hand wank has the players in a quandary, they don't know whether the referees are Arthur or Martha.

Imagine how good it would be if the NRL flew the two best Poms out for the finals, you'd have half the amount of whistling resulting in half the wrestling because players wouldn't have time to recover, no giving away of penalties to reset defence because the Poms wait until the attack is done and dusted and best of all the players would be in control of who wins the f**king game

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Badger's actions in that Blair/JT moment was bizarre.

I also thought it ironic that Brisbane employed blockers on Nth Qld kicks and then JT puts a kick in and Cowboys block the defender and channel nine callers were in a lather.

 

[Jason Maher]

Donkeys getting a downhill run both ways at Suncorp. Never seen that before...

 

[POPEYE]

There's some typical Rugby League journalist rocket science for you, the scoop that Sam Burgess may play for England in the Rio Olympics is an amazing piece of deduction. The day Sam said he was swapping codes I touted Rio as the reason, even went so far as saying Israel would stay a Rah Rah until at least then and maybe Te'o had ideas of an Olympic medal

Before I said at the time an Australian League team practicing for a few months would win certain gold in the 7's I asked my dog and he agreed. Just the other day he barked that Thurston and a couple more wizards together with the best nimble big men and newcomers like Val Holmes would have a ball in Rio.

Won't happen of course but the best Aussie team made up of Union bods would get slaughtered by League counterparts given a few months camaraderie in the off season as preparation. Only danger with setting such a precedent is the Kiwis would probably come up with a better team doing the same thing and poor old South Africa would go from contenders to pretenders

 

[POPEYE]

Coming back from a fortnight on the Sunshine Coast I heard in a truck stop we had a new PM, would have been more surprised if Kasiano/Pritchard were suspended last night. Thank f**k I was pulling a caravan, there were heaps of those utes with canopies full of cameras itching to catch speeding drivers along the way

Those camera vehicles reminded me of the Kas & Pritch Show, the tiny sign on the side of the road warning drivers of the speed cams were visible about 100 metres too late to stop the inevitable, just as Dessie's fat kids knew the damage they'd do to Widdop would be irreversible. Some wag on here said the boys didn't mean to harm Gareth . . . kinda like promising a lady not to blow your load

Todd's just trying to even up next week's contest, can't have the Dogs without a key forward, especially when the Roosters don't have theirs. Might not need the referees next week after all, it's the Roosters' fault anyway, their last drink from the cup was too close for the NRL's comfort

Good ol' Roy bless his heart, never afraid of doing a bit of real research that may upset the media apple cart, pulling the plug on people who claim Melbourne slow the game down inordinately . . . proving Benny & The Merkins only play music they think the referees like to hear

 

[POPEYE]

Can't seem to get enthusiastic about the finals, not because I think they are just a pimple on a pretty face but there seems to be more negativity than usual. Even the most ardent League religious fanatic must have a sense of foreboding . . . and it's nothing to do with the actual playing of the games

And no, I won't be happy if they finish in a schemozzle

 

[JJ]

Won't happen of course but the best Aussie team made up of Union bods would get slaughtered by League counterparts given a few months camaraderie in the off season as preparation. Only danger with setting such a precedent is the Kiwis would probably come up with a better team doing the same thing and poor old South Africa would go from contenders to pretenders

NZ's better talent is in the union ranks, league fans in Australia hate to hear it, but it's 100% true

 

[POPEYE]

Reverse in Australia and if League was to become defunct, as Benny is predicting if the NRL keeps pandering to clubs that just hang on year after year, Union would monopolise the international oval ball sport . . . can't count the Yank game as an international sport

Only trouble is Australia would soon become dominant in Union, an influx of 'were to be League' players would be a far greater influence here than in NZ, just a matter of climate and populace opportunity. RTS supposedly talking up Union gives us an idea how much the attraction of being truly international keeps the game on the front foot

Funnily enough League is playing into the hands of Union, stoppages and the interchange are taking away from what used to separate the codes. Footy players won't suffer if League sinks in the mire, Union will just get stronger the less stamina orientated League becomes, Falou wowing Aussie Union would be like a crack in the wall of Warragamba

 

[JJ]

Only trouble is Australia would soon become dominant in Union, an influx of 'were to be League' players would be a far greater influence here than in NZ, just a matter of climate and populace opportunity. RTS supposedly talking up Union gives us an idea how much the attraction of being truly international keeps the game on the front foot

But we are dominant at both union and league at the moment...

 

[POPEYE]

But we are dominant at both union and league at the moment...

Yes, and isn't it f**king great, if the NRL needed any more incentive than that we're all wasting our time

How strong would NZ be if they had a SOO equivalent now they've got the NRL as a 'feeder'. The Yanks thought their shit didn't stink all those years dominating the America's Cup until NZ got keen . . . lesson to be learned right there as the Yanks would say

 

[POPEYE]

Of course I'll watch the Roosters/Dogs game, my record of sitting through a full Dogs game with them winning is 1 of the last 10 so my missus says I have no choice tonight. Superstitious malarkey maybe but there'll be a steady supply of refreshments to make sure I stay interested so I'm not complaining

Besides the point, the winners of the finals games will only be in the hands of the players if one team totally outclasses the opposition on the night, close games will be in the hands of referees foremost with absenteeism a close second

The question is not who will win but which team winning is judged as the best outcome for the game itself, tonight's game for instance follows a week of optimism for the Dogs and pessimism for the Roosters. Every man and his f**king dog knows who would win if both teams had their best representation but the powers that be have turned over every stone to take advantage of a depleted Sydney

I care more about the opportunity of a huge pisstake than the outcome of the game, Cummins is one of the most laughable referees for a start, he'll guarantee the NRL's preferred outcome is always on the cards . . . he's loyal if nothing else.

I'm not a betting man but ol' mate Samuel L. Jackson, who never misses an opportunity to appear in anything fictional, might well convince me to place a bet if agencies made provision for gambling on an adjudication f**k up. Most interest for me this weekend will be discovering who of the Sharks/Cowboys need to win . . . for the good of the game

 

[Jason Maher]

Poor f**king Roosters. Must be hard to still be in the finals.

 

[POPEYE]

'Finals' are always the hardest for the best team of the year, the Dogs actually believed they were in with a chance of becoming the '2015 Premiers' on paper. Great to see your mob's season saved from humiliation by Mary but the Dogs were only a golden point better ffs, if they won last night it would have been equivalent of them going from deputy mayor to mayor of Auburn

Far be it from me to crow about the refereeing, was surprising that Ceccin provided the catalyst for what will be a deafening call to abolish 'no try/try' calls but it could have been worse had Cummins been the head man. The game might have finished closer than it deserved

Truth is no amount of caterwauling that the Dirty Dogs were done dirt cheap will change the fact that the Roosters were always going to win if they played at more than 75% of their potential . . . so much for the mighty f**king finals

 

[Gina Minehart]

Yeh right. Dogs were 4 behind and could've easily been ahead at that point: back to the drawing board bozo

 

[POPEYE]

I felt something bump my line

 

[POPEYE]

Any people who are familiar with the career of Kevin Hastings will recognise that Jackson only looks like his old man around the eyes, appearing half closed belying the fact he's a non stop dynamo. Horrie was easily the best #7 not to play for Australia and was a stop gap in one game of Origin only.

Having just watched a replay of last night's game, taking particular note of the young bloke, its not hard to imagine his pathway will be far more productive than Pearce's coach aborted roundabout. Let's hope that history doesn't repeat itself and the Son of Horrie doesn't have to play second fiddle . . . NSW doesn't have a Mortimer/Sterling in the way this time around

 

[Jason Maher]

Before my time unfortunately. I saw the tail end of Turvy and Sterlo. Sucks watching the young bloke playing for the Roosters. We never seem to hang on to our gun youngsters. Feel certain Drew Hutchison will be departing to greener pastures in the next year or two. No doubt we'll extend Marshall's contract instead.

 

[expert]

The Sharks need a coach.. There was a BLOKE called Carney, hope for their sake Maloney is a coach?
http://www.nrl.com/fw-2-press-conference-sharks/tabid/10959/contentid/791801/default.aspx

 

[POPEYE]

So you think a coach that took last year's spooners to equal 13 other coaches this year should be sacked. I suppose if a fat lady who dresses herself in leotards to resemble a human ice cream cone thinks she looks good then you have the right to call yourself 'expert'

Methinks you're just trying to get me to defend Flanagan to trick me into saying the cup means more than the Shield. I doubt any coach could have taken the Sharks further in the Shield, if you bothered to compare their personnel to teams above them . . . enlighten us on which Roosters you'd swap for Sharks

If the Cowboys begin their two remaining games in the same fashion as last night they will win the cup, already the best finishers in the game no team could match that effort. All Green/Cartwright have to do is replicate two more such performances . . . enlighten us on how many coaches you've seen do that

With a little luck the Roosters will play the Cowboys in the cup final, I'll be satisfied the Shield wasn't denigrated and the two best equipped teams will have no excuses . . . as it should be