Redneck Redfaces 2

[POPEYE]

I don't think the 'Milford Going To Melbourne' saga was ever going to be a close shave, an ad-libber who's on the field for an entire game but can't play 80 would never survive the coach's cauldron. If the Storm want a substitute for Cronk they're going to have to create another one

Ironic that Benny is lucky Milford was Samoa's main man, had Cronk been directing play I'd bet the Poms back home calling for the great man's head would be rejoicing. Now not only does Melbourne need to make another Cronk, Brisbane needs to buy one to lead Milford around . . . maybe they can still afford the original if they can talk his lady into it

 

[POPEYE]

Be a shame if Mudgee's Glen Willow doesn't have NRL games played on it, be interesting to see how good Toddy is at his word. Country people had every right to boycott the shoddy way some NRL clubs stopped their players attending but still, busloads of RL supporters were heading to points west well into the night

 

[POPEYE]

Maybe it's a good thing Bromwich had his comeuppance, any other players sniffing around outside closed doors may think twice if one of the greats is not shown lenience . . . and it's not over yet. The Kiwis especially are being let down enough by lousy direction without key players feeling sorry for themselves. Kidwell may not be the answer but he can't be an excuse

No Tigers in Australia but there's plenty of Magpies, always been my favourite bird. I'm not sure Cleary is Magpie smart so Wests deserve to be fictional Tigers. Relying on Brooks to lead the way is dumb, relying on portly Lolohea to be consistent let alone punctual is dumb, Fonua is a dumb specialist and Matulino too needs to snap out of his despondency

Funnily enough I do like Josh Reynolds in his new role, Wests need a Tommy The Magpie type player to rekindle the old black'n'white tenacity. Speaking of whom, like Hunt, the bloke has succumbed to being hamstrung, 'ironically' opportunistic if Dessie has finally come to his senses and made Frawley the main man. Reynolds will be a waste of time if Brooks is all that Ivan gives him

 

[POPEYE]

The Dogs will be happy Thurston's having a gap year, Dessie needs the time to reorganize his mob before his old saviour Foran arrives and will begin to threaten them with his arrival. The only 80 minute smart player Frawley should revel in the new direction, as long as the Cowboys don't turn the signs around

Sharks should be able to hold their luck with the Dragons running around in energy sapping circles, their supporters will still over exaggerate the win even if the rest of us know the real reason

If Woods had of changed hands he wouldn't have hurt his groin, that said the Tigers need to plan for next year as soon as possible and he'd only get in the way. One thing in Cleary's favour is that the Rabbitohs are a one-man band with the rest just humming along . . . pity Walker slipped past Bellamy

Expect Foran to 'pick up' a long term injury, in favour now with players moving on, the Warriors to return to the same ol' same ol'. Fmd I hope not, Kearney needs to search far and wide for a 'suitable' replacement like his life depended on it . . . Foran needs to man up in the interim. Panthers need to get their shit together and keep it from getting underfoot

Let's see if the Titans can take advantage of Melbourne being skinny in the Forwards, the most impressive of late being NOS. I'm all for any GC victory even if Hayne is playing, especially if he plays Centre . . . ironic that he's not a Fullback's arsehole but one nevertheless. Melbourne can afford to drop a game and I hope this is the one

If the Seagles play the way they can they should be too smart and energetic for Milford. The Broncos however are showing tenacity doesn't need to be directed on the field . . . Benny is down to do or die

Raiders need to beat the Knights by 30

Roosters/Eels are my match of the round if they play the way I want them to, how the vultures-that-don't-care-about-RL formed the odds is beyond me. Will Smith could surprisingly make the difference . . . one way or another

 

[Rhino_NQ]

if Wallace wants an origin debut then sticking to the spare parts Melbourne pack this week is the way to do it

 

[POPEYE]

Forgive me for being mistaken, I was under the impression the Titans were still owned by the NRL. If that were the case Turdy Todd wouldn't have to explain to sponsors why Proctor was to be punished as heavily as he is. Incidentally I've already said he and Bromwich should be banished for the season

Melbourne has paid for Bromwich's services with it's own sponsors' money, I don't know where the Titans money comes from . . . if the NRL pays Proctor it would come out of the pockets of all NRL clubs, including Melbourne

If The Turd is not just grandstanding he should punish players equally and refund clubs in the salary cap affected by players doing wrong beyond their control . . . the NRL could've put Proctor before a firing squad because it doesn't pay for the bullets

 

[POPEYE]

Sam to become a Stormtrooper? It would have to be the same Kasiano that married his lady in the off-season. If he think he worked hard then he's got no f**king idea what an offy in Melbourne is like . . . give Beau Champion a call Sam. He looked lost against the Poms, to become the starter he wants to be for Bellamy he'll need to be able to undergo the Front Rower Warm Up Period

One signing for the Tigers I'm happy about is that of Corey Thompson, the pocket rocket was nowhere near finished in Australia. Be great to see the little bloke with a coach that doesn't rely on bluff, I've never seen anything less than rip shit or bust and he won't let Cleary down

I read on Fox that the Tigers are also interested in Kato Ottio, still a bad luck story for Sticky to dramatise the bloke from the PNG Hunters with better luck could become great. I'd like nothing better than to see him be a catalyst for a stream of players from a country that deserves encouragement

 

[POPEYE]

Of course I don't like the Dogs but the reason why most sane people would claim is way too f**king peculiar, I can live with that . . . shit happens. If it wasn't for Coote's over-exuberance last night I wouldn't of had to count down the tackles to try to witch-doctor the result. I thought the referee did a fine job of impressing the locals

Reality is all the Dogs need is what the top teams have, a full time playmaker/leader. Add a Maloney/Cronk/Thurston and my year would be f**king miserable. Dessie could even get away with a Fullback that needs an imaginary friend and a Henery the Chicken Hawk 5/8 if his mob weren't playing one step forward two back

The Dogs have everything they need except the one thing the coach refuses to recognize and rectify. Foran might go part way to saving the day but Dessie needs someone smarter to make perfect. If Hasler had of been a supercoach he would've planted and grown enough to be self-sufficient by now

 

[POPEYE]

Mary has reason to believe the Dragons' resurgence this year is more than just an anomaly, his mob could 've beaten the Sharks without Widdop, just not with McCrone. From the moment Jai Field came on McCrone should have been relegated to the last f**king resort . . . he is not a go to, more a goat

You got to love Maloney, no player reminds me more of Cliffy Lyons than this bloke, he'd run over his mother to get to an ice cream. If Flanagan lost him like Mary has lost Widdop the Sharks would be in more trouble than the Dragons

Just when we pile shit on Maguire he gets his act together. Admittedly it's only the Tigers and not the Magpies they played but the Rabbitohs looked like a team who have left the waiting shed . . . let's hope the bus suffers no more flat tyres

 

[POPEYE]

That'll teach Melbourne playing in Tigers' colours . . . what a great f**king result. If the Titans had of been pipped at the post it would've been sacrilege, the Footy God would've hung his head in shame

 

[POPEYE]

Manly didn't deserve to win but they didn't deserve to lose Tom T . . . whatever happened to tackling a bloke in the air

 

[POPEYE]

Someone said the ball bounced but I don't give a shit, if that addendum to the 'tackle in the air' rule allows a bloke to be crippled then it's about as f**king idiotic as allowing purposeful shoulder charges if you're carrying the ball . . . typical half-a-job NRL. Probably doesn't matter anyway, Matchstick Tom T needs to fatten up the bits that break easily

Aside from that it was a day of miracles, Hook has a rope around his neck but touched ground with one foot, his half-game plans aren't much better than those of a Smith coached Roosters. Luckily Foran became worn out playing with/by himself

Bellamy sounded as though he had the flu and his mob played the same way, choosing to sweat it out in Brisbane was not a good idea, but how good was it for the Titans. The little bloke at the back with the lost puppy face confused the f**k out of the Storm, a great effort made better because he didn't need a Hayne cameo . . . Jarryd's theatricals would be better suited to Biggest Loser

Seagles had it but lost it, they would have been better off playing Lotto than Russian Roulette, especially when the choice should've been theirs. Is it any wonder they're burning effigies of Benny, a midas touch doesn't make friends

 

[POPEYE]

Lethargy reigned supreme over round 10, except for the wondrous efforts of the Titans and Knights RL was at its pisspoor best. Was good to see Taylor back as the Roosters attack coach but I can't help but think RL players in general are in the doldrums

Who can blame them, the crescendo of players known to be leaving clubs can only create either jealousy or consternation amongst their team mates. If we think the players are at odds with the game spare a thought for rational supporters, the scumbaggery of reality tv has drowned their game in effluent . . . more money to be made talking up next season when this one is not even half over . . . ffs

Anyway, my main concern after this 'round' if you want to call it that is the Eels/Raiders, all clubs have absentees but they surely aren't affected too much by players leaving . . . maybe I missed something.

 

[POPEYE]

Seems Moses has given up diplomacy and has decided to play dead, good went to bad and has now turned ugly . . . won't be long before rotten tomatoes will be sold before Tigers' games

Speaking of Moses, appears Hoppa has also visited The Mount and begged for permission to play on Sundays . . . let's hope too much footy doesn't spoil him

Graham, the bloke I said before he arrived wouldn't walk into an Origin team has also been given a blessing by his coach, a bloke that would make a great priest. I was so wrong about Graham I kept quite when Hodgson arrived . . . wonder would NSW take him over Farah . . . f**k, I've laughed coffee over the keyboard

Going to be interesting to see if Tom T is as valuable as Thurston or Widdop, sometimes long term injuries cost a club more than just a waste of salary cap money . . . if it is proven Manly can't do without him it'll cost more to keep him

Wouldn't it be a f**king shame to see Gagai go to Souths, Newcastle fills a void that needs filling and Roosters/Rabbitohs should be conjoined . . . way too much talent wasted on a postage stamp

 

[POPEYE]

Interesting that with all the NQ doom and gloom they're still only one win behind the Sharks, easy to see Green's mob are in hang-in-there mode with Thurston supposedly on the bench. Approaching the shitty part of the NRL season, why Maloney has to prove anything is beyond me but he'll be up to it

Mary needs to take a drive to Newcastle, I reckon he needs a face slap to snap him out of his McCrone fixation . Still, the Dragons have every chance of beating the Warriors, they too suffer from a fixation . . . one their coach can do little about

Hunt is on his way back but Benny is hoping he won't be needed, Nikorima is even now at least as good as Brooks and the little bloke has a great opportunity against the Tigers to show his wares. Only interest in this game is Boyd v Tedesco, although Darius will be on the platform and James on the rails

Titans favourites against the Seagles is not what Henry wants, he'll be concerned in which part of the game Hayne will think he's done enough and dog it. Henry's players are beginning to realise Jarryd is merely an ornament, let's hope they continue doing without him . . . can't wait to watch the new Fullback apply his trickery but the Seagles are not done yet

Moses is going to have to play for the Eels to beat the Raiders. The game is at short odds to be a shemozzle, better odds on a flogging and long odds to be great

We all know the Knights shouldn't win but can the Panthers back up with another periotic blood letting

By the way Latrell celebrated it's clear he had no idea how badly the Eels played, if he comes away from this game as cocky I'll be surprised. Remember 'bellyache', he's not as impressed with Mitchell as he'd like to be. The Dogs are due to be let out, the Roosters may regret they can't fly

Never before heard Bellamy threaten to make heads roll if a bad performance is replicated, by most peoples' reckoning it means the Rabbitohs are in for a flogging. Then again Melbourne haven't been preoccupied with what's happening next year before . . . the prospects of that are far more insidious than Origin

 

[POPEYE]

Not much happening but a coffee break has me reading that Flanagan isn't happy with the draw over the Origin period for his 'Premiers'. Convinced as I am that Shane is the next Supercoach it surprises me he hasn't grasped the fact the NRL will do their utmost to prevent a club winning two cups in a row

Dumb as dogshit the NRL policy of 'evening out' the comp by any means possible shouldn't affect players who are getting paid more to be the best . . . Flanno's final exam in the Supercoach test is about to begin

 

[Jason Maher]

Hey Pops, don't suppose you happen to know anyone who could help out with making McCrone mysteriously unavailable?

 

[POPEYE]

Hey Pops, don't suppose you happen to know anyone who could help out with making McCrone mysteriously unavailable?

Lost contact with those types in '85 ol'mate . . . sorry. Josh could be still useful as a limited edition #14 if your mob were way in front.

I don't know why Mary doesn't do a Cleary with Field, does he have something to lose I've missed

 

[POPEYE]

If players were to market their own apparel, say Maloney was to sell a leather vest with his name embroidered on a patch of his own design, how could the NRL claim any revenue from its sales. The colours would have to be unidentifiable with the club he currently plays for of course but kids who are forced to lose their heroes to clubs their parents don't support wouldn't lose interest in the game

If I was a young bloke who idolized Jack Bird for instance I could wear his personalized jacket to Bronco games and cheer for whatever he did, if he left the field injured I could beat the crowd out. Wouldn't give a shit who won the game, as long as I get to stick with a player that I grew up to idolise

Would be better if the NRL made it easier for the club I liked to follow keep Jack but shit happens, I could go where he goes without the disappointment and he makes a quid on the side

 

[ed-grimley]

Manly didn't deserve to win but they didn't deserve to lose Tom T . . . whatever happened to tackling a bloke in the air

Mead would be the latest Queensland hero seeing TT would have been one of the first picked for NSW.