Redneck Redfaces 2

[POPEYE]

Not long now and we can see rather than read if what Sammy T is promising comes to fruition, his revelation the Bronco forwards are exploring ways of taking advantage of limited interchange is enlightening . . . at least to those of us with limited IQ

I long ago realised the only reason media get away with the shit they bestow on us is they actually believe RL followers are buffoons, seems some players have been caught up in the deception. Crikey, even I'm smart enough to know that a team now not practicing ball movement in favour of robotic hit ups is behind the 8 ball

Things like saving energy by remaining upright, giving opposition backs less free time, concentrating on bamboozling the opposition rather than breaking their bones could all be accentuated even further if the interchange drops to 6. For now however better if we don't confuse Sam too much, let him think he's on a good thing

 

[POPEYE]

Let's hope the poor form of the SL teams coming into the WCC is because the players are saving themselves for Benny's appraisal. Methinks the Poms would be better off hiring Benny to coach England's coaches, not the players. The Maestro is destined to make a splash, no way can he not improve the English game but imo there is a far better way

Benny should be hired to coach an English team in the NRL, comprised of players willing to be bivouacked in Australia for the NRL season. A squad of Poms playing NRL would do more for their game than cameo roles from Australian coaches and rejected players in the homeland. Could even base the team in Victoria, Tassie or maybe Perth, somewhere the Sydney centric whingers would love to hate

Got to be better than having Robert Lui winning MOM, Sika Manu and Dave Taylor being raved about and the great Gareth Ellis still the best they have to offer. RL needs England to be World Champion now and again and if I had a magic wand South Africa would be in the game up to their necks

 

[POPEYE]

If Mannah has been 'calling the shots on the field' as it has been intimated no wonder the Eels were a NRL roundabout, let's hope the phrase was a poor choice of words. Tim is a nice bloke and a worthy Club Captain, he deserves the appreciation, Foran 'calling the shots on the field' would be just as misplaced and I'm sure he'll leave that to Corey Norman

Foran may be equally as talented as Cam Smith in leading the way, producing a raised eyebrow not to be ignored and supplement the game plan with extraordinary accomplishments. He however will hopefully leave the 'shot calling' to Norman just as Smith does Cronk.

The Eels would do well to allocate roles more succinctly, they will do Foran, Norman and Mannah a service if supporters were made to realise the allocations . . . I'm sure Arthur has already told the players exactly what is expected

 

[POPEYE]

Worries me a little when people have back operations, could mean that part of their body was susceptible to injury before it was called upon to perform Herculean tasks, an accident waiting to happen perhaps. Then again Brenton Lawrence's injury may just have been bad luck, nevertheless the anomaly will probably remain in the back of his mind as well as the coaching staff

Nothing better than to see a big bloke surprise the opposition with his speed. I remember when Roy Masters turned an ordinary Lock Forward into one of the 2 best Wingers of his era, already the best whinger

For different reasons maybe and these days it mightn't work because Wingers need to be acrobats but it would be interesting to see if Brenton could be another Ribot, couldn't really call Vatuvei an acrobat. Anyway I hope Lawrence has a full recovery and mind games don't get the better of it, just the same, how would you like to be a Fullback with him at full speed down the sideline

 

[POPEYE]

Talk of Manly being equal favourites is bemusing, I think their culture will hold but ruggedness looks a little shaky as far as I'm concerned. Can't see the Seagles having enough games with key players together to put them on that kind of pedestal.

Walker's brain speed is no match for his leg speed and a few good hits will see him relegated to the casualty ward, my second favourite Fullback is a pothole away from brittleness and the rest of the players that matter haven't shown enough stonewall cohesiveness for mine

Thank f**k I'm not a betting man which is why I could be wrong but to have an unproven combination as equal favourites is akin to buying a pretty lady a few drinks and giving your mates the thumbs up before the night is over

 

[POPEYE]

Every NRL team should trial in England. The Roosters were made to look great, their players had the perfect bonding hit out, Pommy League supporters thought they were witnessing something special and everyone involved can't wait to come again. All at the expense of the best available product in a sport behind Darts in local appeal

You can't get that sort of euphoria trialling in Australia so the effort is well worth the exercise, Robbo would be pleased with his new player combinations as we all should be. No f**ktard Australian media to demoralise them, none of the shit penalty counts by referees who see them as Brownie points and plenty of confidence to be gained

How good was the Pommy referee on field with the best ref on the planet in the video box compared to the rubbish dished up at Penrith last night. With appreciative commentators, a quality starved audience and innocuous adjudicating is it any wonder we should embrace the positives and ignore the negatives

 

[BuffaloRules]

Even the Pommy crowds will tire of these floggings eventually Pops...

 

[POPEYE]

Easy to forget RL is not taken seriously in England ol' mate, if it was the in-goals would be realistic. The people that turn up to watch are like Pittbulls swinging off a clothesline on a garden hose . . . they are infatigable

 

[POPEYE]

Anyone who can't give Leeds 'A' for effort is a bigger f**king wanker than Rothfield. One of the commentators summed it up perfectly saying the crowd pack the joint not only to encourage their team but to see the best Australian League players

We should be grateful for the chance to observe the Pommy crowds and how they leave our mob for dead in their appreciation of the sport. If nothing else I wouldn't miss a rare chance of watching the great Richard Silverwood referee a game

Australia would do the game a great service if it does all it can to ingratiate the diehard Pommy supporters, take a leaf out Thurston's book and show them we're not all f**king demonizing f**kwits like Captain Buzz Wanker

 

[POPEYE]

Got to laugh at all the sit-down-to-pissers who thought Tamou threw a punch at Galloway. In the old days the slap was just one of the many reminders a bloke had to endure to remind him it was just a man's game . . . which of course it isn't any more

Some of the real tough blokes would see it a weakness to even react to such a girlish action, Tamou's big mistake was thinking he was a protected species. Ian Roberts and Co would have been prepared for the king hit and Garbutt would have undoubtedly been the worse off

Therein lies the rub, what happened was completely out of context, it's only Garbutt's inability to follow a script that ruined the show. Poor old James thought everyone was firing blanks, he should have realised Mitch was relegated to ESL before he thought he was due and wasn't about to miss the opportunity for pay back

 

[Meapro Ham]

What's any of this got to do with rednecks? And red faces?

 

[JamesRustle]

You're a redneck if you don't engage in conversation with pops.
You're left red faced when taken down (supposedly on an online forum) by a crptic barb.

 

[POPEYE]

That's 647 brains cells between you two . . . I'll soon be crawling like Tamou

 

[POPEYE]

You're a redneck if you don't engage in conversation with pops.
You're left red faced when taken down (supposedly on an online forum) by a crptic barb.

Fair suck of the sav . . . you do me an injustice

You're a redneck if someone posts a reasonable opinion on a subject and you do all you can to ridicule him just because you can

If you do it to someone like me . . . well, you know the rest. If you want to talk about RL I'm here 'till the cows come home. Your choice

 

[JamesRustle]

The cows are back from the old dart tomorrow.... you hanging up the boots so soon?

 

[POPEYE]

A bumps a bump I suppose, beggars can't be choosers

 

[POPEYE]

You there James, care to rustle up a little dialogue over Robbie's knee injury, hard to imagine anyone could orchestrate a cartilage tear but if a player was to have one what better time. Farah can now sit back without having to train and pray, not for a fast recovery, but for the opportunity of 'here comes the cavalry' if Taylor is beset by disaster

How's that for 24 carat cynicism, something we can sink our teeth into. If that's a bit extreme we can chat about Benny's appointment as England's coach. How many Pommy players now realise if they want to play for the Mother Country they're going to have to tell their managers to get them a gig in the NRL, at whatever cost

What about the news Moylan could miss the start of the season, is he really frightened of the extra responsibility Hook has given him and is retreating to the dark side of Penrith's Injury Planet. Can't help but think many League players are growing accustomed to hibernation if they feel threatened by niggling injury or drop in form

Or, what do you think of Sticky's 'transformation', has he really metamorphosed from a crawler into a flyer. Are you like many of us who don't give a shit who he has to hire as long as success is forthcoming

Crikey, almost forgot about SKD, are you like me hoping all goes well for Shaun today or are you perched on a limb with the vultures

 

[Cloudsurfer]

If that doesn't hook any ol' boy tendencies nothing will...

 

[JamesRustle]

Yo Pops, eye this off.

You’ve taken the obvious cynical position. I rather suspect the other JT, utilising all of the available charts and data at his disposal, has deliberately extended Robbie’s training and playing minutes to push him past breaking point. Alas it was only a minor cartilage tear rather than an ACL that prevailed.
Robbie has plenty to play for this year and would be disappointed – sticking it to the other JT and NSW selection for the cynic. Playing for your teammates and pride in personal performance would have to be the main drivers for anyone playing sport.

Wayne – Plenty of UK players in the NRL, not all in the national squad. Seems there is a notion they will improve quicker by playing out here, but I’d guess both comps contribute to filling the squad 50/50. I don’t think we’ll see an influx from Wayne taking on the role.

It seems to me SL players come out here in their prime (young/single) to prove themselves and enjoy the lifestyle and NRL players go there in the twilight (older/married with kids). I can’t think of any Poms disgracing themselves (Burgess boys minor indiscretions) out here. Maybe these mid 20 guys are pretty happy with life. The big scandals come from the mid 20 locals.

In my 20’s I took leave of these shores and spent time working and travelling overseas. I’ve seen plenty of young professionals swap with colleagues in UK/USA on a 1-2 year secondment. I reckon SL and NRL clubs should look into this type of arrangement. Could be worth facilitating opportunities to play overseas for a season before they peak to rep status. They get game time to develop and an overseas experience that could benefit maturity and experience… might help these young guys become more rounded and lead on to better behaviour - some of these alcohol related scandals surely arise from the frustration of expectation and demanding training/rehab regimes while their non-footy mates enjoy ability to transfer their skills and take opportunities in their careers while experiencing life.

Moylan – Maybe the Panthers have learned from how they treated with Sowie last year. I reckon these guys play through a fair bit of injury and would play through as much as players of yesteryear… but with the shift towards duty of care and compensation, perhaps they are now instructed to take medical advice rather than just listen to it.

Sticky – Not really an engaging topic for me. If he’s responsible for bringing the attacking flair to the Raiders then good on him. I like watching them play – generally a high scoring game and a loss gives incentive to hang around for the presser.

SKD – Whether it goes well for him or not is not my concern. I hope he gets a fair hearing. The LU response will be what it will be.
I generally get a thought provoking read from this thread on my morning commute. As it’s via mobile I can only be bothered with short replies which tend to be comment or stirring.

 

[POPEYE]

That wasn't hard was it