Redneck Redfaces 2

[POPEYE]

My fervent hope is that Shaun has a brain snap in the 4 Nats, a good one that is. I don't care if his once in a blue moon does make it harder for me to criticise, rather that than a world class bunch of forwards going to waste

My want of the Kiwis to do well is sorely tested when SJ comes out with "I was forced to make 34 tackles in Perth . . . ". If he made 34 Tuamalolo stopping type tackles that Steve Mortimer used to make, not Shaun's one-hand-on-neck waive-as-you-go-by type, I would be more generous of his efforts

Nevertheless, I will remain almost as traitorous to Australia as I am NSW, if the Kiwis are to lose may it be in extra time

 

[POPEYE]

The diatribe that was meant for here was dribbled in Rumoured Signings by mistake . . . and I thought I was avoiding dementia

 

[POPEYE]

No matter what else happens next year it will be usurped by Fiji finally entering the NSW Cup, touch wood, if it happens. Who gives a f**k if Fijians go to sleep dreaming of Union, some of them must be genuinely interested in League, they're the ones who need to be shown the way. It's a f**king pity RL is ruled over by working man mentality . . . the 1 forward 1 back Donkey Two-Step in the Jobs For Boys barn dance is maddening

Kurtis Shayler - remember the name. Great video of his wonderful attack against schoolboy defence had to be posted by the kid himself . . . now that's probably the only kind of social media that interests me. Could be the antidote to O'Sullivan's Curse, all the budding superstars need do is bypass the insidious middlemen and be their own talent scout. Only a Qldr would think of it

Everyone knows I'm an unabashed Maloney fan, said all along he has been driven by missing out on a Melbourne scholarship, he's reported as saying it's Finch's fault. If Waldron hadn't been born and the Storm had today's management all along imagine the furore trying to prove a Slater/Smith/Cronk/Maloney spine wasn't fair to the lazy clubs . . . the mind boggles

Must add, Maloney is only playing for Australia through sufferance, Mal won't play him in the big games . . . I say donate him to NZ and take the joke out of the 4 Nats

 

[POPEYE]

There you have it, THE signing of the year, Demetriou will be the Broncos' saviour. Benny has tipped his hand and is destined for what he hopes is greater things. At the very least he'll claim he turned a State Cup coach into an NRL coach, his arrogance has no boundaries

Have to feel for Shaun Nona, his umbilical cord to Demetriou has been snapped, he'll feel he should have been the one going to the Broncos instead of Benji. The Dragons will be the big losers, the Cutters' coach would have made a perfect 'assistant' for Mary, just in case he broke a leg or something . . . and Shaun doesn't fair well without him

Another case of shit happens is Jelly Baby Indris joining the Tigers, methinks Taylor should establish himself before he takes on a soup kitchen as a hobby. If he is to be the supercoach we want him to be he needs to expend all his energy working on the Tigers' spine . . . he needs to rid the joint of wheelchairs, not clutter it up with them

Hang on . . . what's that the Smellygraph's whore sister is screaming about illegal contracts . . . could there be a Shaun/Benji about-face

 

[POPEYE]

That's more like it, worth the wait up and beggars can't be choosers. Proves that a close contest is better than a quality one, the Yanks wouldn't know the difference so why should we nit-pick.

Referee wasn't as good as the Aus/Scot game, better than I expected he'd be and still better than anyone Australia's got if you like the players to decide the outcome

Got to feel for One Point Benny, the smartest player he's got has to do way too much, luckily the ad-lib Kiwis think brains come on a plate . . . all made for an intriguing contest

 

[POPEYE]

Dragons and Storm are expected to kick off a bidding war . . . over Todd Carney? . . . I need to f**king lie down

That'd be like an episode of Storage Wars where Hester and Barry fight over a locker full of dirty matresses and pine furniture . . . watching that once was enough.

I could understand the Dragons drawing the short straw but Bellamy doesn't have to prove anything, trying to top 'Benny's Benji' is just plain f**king unnecessary. Be alright if Todd was a great talent being wasted but the bloke is just a one hit wonder artist feeling sorry for himself

Has to be the media trying to justify its existence, hate to think Bellamy has contracted Benny's delusions of grandeur

 

[T-Boon]

We've had our disagreements Popeye. But I enjoy reading the Redneck Redfaces.

 

[POPEYE]

We've had our disagreements Popeye. But I enjoy reading the Redneck Redfaces.

Thanks ol' mate, you and Todd have made my day

 

[Hutty1986]

I dunno pops, despite his history (pisstory?) I reckon Todd Carney could turn things around at saints.

 

[POPEYE]

Your mob could do with a miracle ol' mate, Melbourne don't need one is what I'm saying. Then again, I've watched a fair bit of Carney in the ESL and to me he's nothing but a malingerer. If he didn't bruise like a dropped apple you might turn him into a #9 but the last thing you need is him f**king with the minds of the young halves

 

[OVP]

I dunno pops, despite his history (pisstory?) I reckon Todd Carney could turn things around at saints.

I have a hell of a lot of time for Todd Carney and reckon you might be right. As a Roosters fan, I remember what he did for us, from the wooden spoon to the Grand Final in a single year. The only thing is that Brian Smith gave him the freedom to do whatever he wanted, and instructed our players to follow him and back him up. It worked a treat, but I'm sort of wondering whether McGregor will allow him the same freedom, he doesn't seem that sort of coach. Mind you that was 6 years ago, so I wonder if he still has it in him.

One other thing, keep that maggot Rothfield as far away from your club as possible if you do sign him. The shit-stain death-rode Carney every step of the way when he was at our club, and wouldn't relent until he finally got him sacked from our club the following year. Best of luck if you do, I loved watching him play and would love to see his skills back in the NRL again.

 

[POPEYE]

Mal Cochrane's plan to nurture Indigenous talent, not merely to introduce more of the most naturally gifted RL players on the planet but to give youngsters something to aim for, would have far more merit than just the usual cursory glance will discover

Only a fool wouldn't understand that a fantasy team made up of players that had to have at least a smidgeon of Indigenous ancestry would beat most NRL teams that had to play without them. Stands to reason that if such a team existed more would be attracted to the game, there'd be more to spare for teams that don't have any now

Which teams wouldn't wish they had a Cliffy Lyons or Thurston running the show, or at least a couple of Indigenous stars to turn a game like French. They're out there, so many that will never get the opportunity it's laughable if it were funny

It's a f**king shame that the players with the best footy brains are overlooked for boppers that have been running over them as juniors because stamina doesn't matter. If you want the smartest most naturally gifted people to play the game a highway has to be built for them, not just a f**king goat track for them to find

 

[POPEYE]

Sounds easy to say given the lack of smart Halfbacks in the game but imo the emerging 'must have' is a #9 who can think one step ahead with a seriously good kicking game. Sit around a carton of piss with your mates and discuss what dropping Smith/Hodgson in any current team as the only change would achieve. Difference between those two and the next best is punching above your weight or taking what you can get at closing time

Jake Friend for instance is the 'stand in' Australian #9, which in theory makes him the 3rd best when imo he's not up to scratch for the needs of a 'modern' NRL team. With Wallace Penrith were on the right track until they signed Rein, albeit a little too late they realised you start with brains and teach brawn . . . the Rein way round is so much harder

So, the plan is to find players with the brains of a Halfback that can tackle all day and finish in one piece. Ash Taylor for instance likes to tackle too much for a Half, if he continues in that vein he'll have to toughen up a little . . . hang on, what do we have then, maybe the next Qld #9

 

[POPEYE]

I'm not one of those silly enough to knock Benny even if Jabba says the bloke is not a tactician, neither is Mal and look where being at the right place at the right time has gotten him. The Poms beat the Kiwis last year so I suppose Wayne does have that to live up to, then again NZ is still the #1 League nation so just a one point loss to them means the Poms should be better than Australia

That's the sort of logic Benny will use when he reminds his new mob that the Kangaroos are only better prepared because of the intensity they endure in the NRL, ball skills are the same the world over, Burgess and Hodgson have proven that. We won't let a little thing like the level of intensity achieved by Australian players taking a playing lifetime to achieve get in the way of a good story

Nor will we bother with the fact that 'our Poms' needed to play in the NRL in teams loaded with intensity to achieve the recognition Benny claims of them. Wayne will have to wiggle his way round the fact the Australians, even with the intensity he plans to 'teach' have a spine all 4 of which play 80 minutes . . . but that's just neither here nor there

If Benny does pull off a miracle or a reasonably excusable failure I'll bet he can't wait to get back to throw a saddle on Demetriou, which beggars the question, could Benny win the cup next year riding him . . . I'm willing to bet the horse will throw the rider

 

[POPEYE]

I can't find where Valentine Holmes got injured, he being a better player than Mansour he must be unavailable to make such a fuss over Josh's unfortunate accident. It's only unfortunate for Josh and Penrith, any one of 500 or so players could have shone playing against Scotland, it's a real pisstake the match even enters into any discussion about anything

Josh's chances were f**ked in Perth not on a training session in England, still he's no worse off than Maloney as far as the 4 Nat's go . . . tell me what I've missed

 

[POPEYE]

I'm glad Mal is leaving Cronk out of the NZ game, I want the Kiwis to have the best chance possible. Anyone who thinks Thurston or Smith is the glue that holds the Roos together doesn't understand why Qld lost the Origin series it did . . . Cooper is the last bloke I'd leave out

Then again if the Kiwis win Benny is just about ratshit, Mal doesn't think they will but if they do it'll be he who gets to knock his arch rival out of the contest and not Kidwell. Like Bozo, Mal has never won anything with players of his own creation, not playing his strongest team means that like Bozo he never was and never will be a supercoach

 

[POPEYE]

There you have it, Scotland would have been better off with an English referee. Can't blame Sutton, not only did he know the Poms had to win but by a big margin, they wouldn't follow the script so he had to rewrite it on the run. As it it turned out the pathetic stoppages and sin binning were nowhere near as pathetic as Benny's mob

Have to admire the usual English optimism, if the Kiwis don't rack up 50 against the Scots and England beat Australia next week I'll forget the Burgess twins are F100s driven by children

 

[POPEYE]

and Shaun waits until the last 5 to take the line on instead of at least once every second set . . . f**k I wish I didn't give a shit

 

[POPEYE]

RL as a sport has finished for the year, just as with giving up cigarettes the trick is not to even read a headline until the new season kicks off, time in abstinence is the only cure for media maladies. My one and only saviour in the interval will be the Big Bash . . . can't come soon enough

 

[POPEYE]

Let's hope Kalyn Ponga is not just another Shaun Johnson, Newcastle can't be that unlucky surely. Bit early to know if the kid can tackle, think more than a millisecond ahead and doesn't mind getting his jersey dirty

Doesn't really matter how good the kid is, someone said he won't be playing for NZ so the search goes on