Redneck Redfaces 2

[POPEYE]

Crikey, Cam Smith is beginning to create a following of most 'experts', those that have some influence at least. He appears to be The Go To Man Apprentice Of The Year. Mightn't be long before he graduates to Chief of the NRL hierarchy

Imagine how the Anti-Smith Wanker Brigade would take that, wouldn't matter to them that Smith would ask for referees to perform as well as players are asked to do or that clubs should be made to seek out talent instead of poach it . . . at cockroach level the cacophony would be deafening

If Smith did make it to the top of the tree with the help of the 'experts' they'd be obliged to let it stand longer before sharpening their 'job justification' axes. It would be interesting to see how long the RL world would hang on every word from the most influential player of his time

 

[POPEYE]

I don't expect anyone to believe it but for a few reasons I hope NSW win the first game and probably the series. It should be far beyond the realms of possibility but maybe Hayne is holding out to see what happens before he 'takes up the option'. Maybe the inevitable dumb media response is what he's waiting on, counting on, before his next move . . . with luck he'll think himself too good to play NRL

I know it sounds unbelievable and the deal's more than likely already done but the prick's arrogance has no boundaries. You've got to feel for Daley, he's trying to save his Origin coaching career with a bloke he 'thinks' is not playing mind games and 'shouldn't' affect his mob's preparation. If NSW don't win this game with Qld on the back foot the concept itself is in danger of ridicule

Then we apparently have Henry sitting by the phone waiting to see what Jarryd does, sounds silly doesn't it, not really when Neil doesn't have to worry where the money's coming from . . . I'll bet Cam Smith will ask where it's coming from. Imo Henry doesn't really care if Hayne plays for the Titans or not, he'll bring a few more people with brains in their bums on seats and Jarryd is worth more as a scapegoat/mascot than he is a player

Like the last series 'won' by NSW because Cronk broke his arm, this series needs to begin with a win for the Blues, the media won't care that Gallen's reasoning is spot on. It is more important that State of Origin . . . the series that The World Waits On . . . always remains 'a close thing'. It won't do to have the merkin media concentrate on excuses, it will be disastrous for the game if the Blues lose . . . at least this first game

 

[POPEYE]

Everything is as it should be, the Blues done good, especially Tedesco. Watching Fifita play I'm reminded what a shame Artie couldn't have played under these interchange rules. Gagai didn't disappoint

Biggest question after the game has to be 'Why isn't NRL refereed like Origin?'

 

[POPEYE]

Have to take one game at a time to comment on this round, who's playing from day to day is as uncertain as anything from Greenberg's mouth

Last week the NRL confiscated 2 points from the Roosters and Broncos but you won't get too many complaints about that, not on here anyway, could but shouldn't happen again tonight. Can't see Melbourne bested even if Cronk, Smith and Chambers are rested . . . Gagai surely must be worn to the bone

Thank f**k I've got something to do today to make it easier to avoid reading anything about Origin, the magnificent performance from the Blues shouldn't be soured by anyone trying to justify their existence

 

[POPEYE]

Have to admit . . . and I'll probably put the mockers on him . . . Tedesco is faring far better than I thought he would. Obvious talent aside I considered him fastest man in an egg race, always the chance his run would come to an abrupt halt through injury, the Tigers were 'silly to imagine him a saviour'

As it turns out the Tigers were silly to imagine such a thing because the bloke will be a saviour for the Roosters, no more prone to injury than any other highly strung player. He is as close as anyone's going to get to 'Slater at his best' because he reads the attack and defends accordingly. If the Roosters give him the opportunities Billy was given he will be the next long term Media Munchkin . . . a genuine Fullback dressed in blue

All that remains now is will he be paid enough. There are some f**king horribly overpaid NRL players at the moment that will never reach their 'on paper' value, after Wednesday night Teddy must be looking at them with just a little apprehension. Imo he's in the right place and needn't worry, any perceived shortfall in his income will be adjusted one way or another.

We must spare a thought for Latrell, he is about to be surpassed as the Roosters' Golden Boy . . . be interesting to see how he handles that

 

[POPEYE]

I thought I might go a couple of days without mentioning Gagai but I keep having this recurring dream with him running towards me and far off in the distance behind him is the second best Centre in the NRL . . . can't for the life of me make out who it is

Having not seen all the games Brandon Smith has played in the juniors I'm going to have to wait before I join the chorus of 'The Next Cam Smith', at the moment I only know the words to 'The Next Issac Luke' . . . perhaps in time

We've known all along French is not a Fullback, Gutherson can play anywhere in the Backs and Klein is a fortune hunter . . . did we all know how good Nathan Brown can be

If I'm going to cackle on about Gagai why not Johnson . . . I felt sorry for 16 of the Warriors. I'm about to make a cup of coffee, watch the pressers and read what the media have to say about the million dollar man

Addendum; after the game itself the press conference has all you have to watch . . . if you need more to understand the game you need an imaginary friend

 

[POPEYE]

Referees are f**king RL, they consider themselves so much a part of the entertainment they need to be choreographed. Problem is if they were a vaudeville act they'd be hit with rotten tomatoes and their choreographer would be sent to the footy show in penance

Commentators are talking up penalty counts one minute and looking for justification of them the next, then you get 'that should've been a penalty'. Then we have the biggest laugh of the evening when 'possession stats' are compared or 'time spent in the opposition half'

It's not as though there's no precedent set for how a game should be refereed properly, there was one last Wednesday night and there will be two more this year. Wonder if it has crossed the NRL's adolescent minds that people turn up to watch Origin in droves because they know the contest will be decided by the players

If the shit Perenara, Klein and the like dish up week to week was to be replicated in Origin there would be crowd violence. If the NRL wants the game to reflect the standard the players are asked to produce it needs to find referees of the same standard . . . the game is hard enough for players without making stoppages a contest

 

[POPEYE]

Grant Atkins is the pick of the referees . . . if he was told to interrupt a game only when necessary I think he would be good with that

 

[T-Boon]

Referees are f**king RL, they consider themselves so much a part of the entertainment they need to be choreographed.

Sorry dude, it is not the refs (they are doing their best) it is the coaches. Especially Mr Ruck, Craig Bellamy.

 

[POPEYE]

Sorry dude, it is not the refs (they are doing their best) it is the coaches. Especially Mr Ruck, Craig Bellamy.

You must have 4 arms, 2 dicks and spend your life in a bucket of sweat ol'mate

 

[POPEYE]

Felt a little sorry for Kurt Mann, the bloke has a perpetual lost puppy look on his face, then again the Dragons are the best team doing well with the least knowledge of how they're doing it. Mann pulled of some great tackles when needed, never stops trying to do his best even when faced with shitty passes from Dugan . . . who if he had half a brain wouldn't have hogged the ball with Kurt a clear passage in front

Mann deserves a shot at a few games beside Widdop in the halves, look at the alternative ffs, McCrone should have #14 tattooed on his back. Widdop needs all the ball he can get in open play and Mann does his best to confuse the defence, nowhere near certain the pair would succeed but at least the team might remove some of the guesswork

 

[POPEYE]

Surprising to see the two 'cup favourites' facing up at full strength, normally at least one would rest a star to make mind games easier in the 8 team lottery . . . being a Shield protagonist I think it's great. Sharks should have a home ground advantage shouldn't they?

It's funny that only an idiot would put his hard earned on the Knights but it'd take a f**king imbecile to pick how much the Seagles win by

Even if the Broncos were playing outside the womb in the midday sun It'd be hard to imagine a Rabbitohs' win. Never know . . . Goodwin is back, Hunt has his mind elsewhere and Reynolds could possibly play 80 without a hiccup

The battle between King Bludger and Runaround Sue will be intriguing if both decide this game is a chosen one to impress. The odds are more in favour of Henry, his show pony is not as important as Kearney's to their respective teams . . . Zillman might prove an unwanted chicane

The odds of Raiders/Panthers are not what they should be, the market would be better framed around which one will lose by how much. Still, this game has to be the most don't dare to miss match of the round, tantalizing from the warmup beginning to the press conference end . . . and the comedy team of Perenara & James reminds me of 'Who's On First'

Never could fathom why any team would want to play the Cowboys in Darwin but there are far more stranger things than that going on in the NRL. I really dislike seeing French play Fullback, just for the fact he's not loud enough, forget the fish out of water. Hess pretends he's not ready for Orgasm but I'd be surprised if Kevvie is not a commentator

Tigers/Roosters should be a 'made for Mitchell' game, could be the last time he'll have Tedesco at a disadvantage, next year he won't find it as easy to gain top billing

It's a shame the Dragons have to face the Dogs, not because neither coach can convince anyone why their team is where it is but because the one expected to have everything to lose is not who it is . . . now the expectation is a turnaround. Imo both Des and Mary are playing mind games with themselves . . . both in danger of f**king themselves up with science

 

[POPEYE]

That's more like it, Bellamy had me worried there for a while. Playing a full strength team against the Sharks when his mob have already been beaten once this year is not the done thing, especially when leading the comp. Mind games are important in blue collar sport

Goes to show Bellamy takes winning the cup far more seriously than I do, which proves another of my points. If Origin doesn't do enough to f**k RL proper not allowing The Shield and cup to be recognized as two equally important and rewarded segments of the year is another nail in the RL coffin . . . frustrating to be hooked on a game where the people running it are devoid of common sense, the Poms do it better with 'separate' recognition

I love a conspiracy, Storm not playing Cronk means that Maloney can more easily prove a point. F**kwits like Ikin don't help either, Maloney is not an 'ordinary' player, the least thing the Sharks need is outsiders ruffling Mercenary Man's feathers. James is a specialist at getting the last laugh, not a dime a dozen player like Ikin was.

Saying something like Maloney is getting on and soon won't be worth the money he's asking makes me warm all over, proud of the fact I don't watch footy talk shows and need the simpletons that inhabit them. Hands up those who think the Roosters/Sharks would've won a cup without Maloney and how important was the latter to RL

 

[Cloudsurfer]

And Lil Audrey laughed and laughed, because she knew that predators don't have feathers.
Sorry, it was just right there
Anyway, Bellamy has removed a target and attempted to build a wider middle. May work or at least slow the roll down. Guess we'll have to wait and see

 

[POPEYE]

Somehow you get the feeling Bellamy doesn't care as much if the Sharks win as he does about preparing the team for beyond . . . he wields a yardstick better than he does a whip

 

[bad boy bubby]

It could be that the coach is looking at it as a win-win situation. If the Storm win they can say they did it without Cronk. If they lose they can say its ok they weren't at full strength.

Or
If you are a Shark supporter you can smell their fear. Cronk has been bashed from pillar to post the last two games against Cronulla.
Maybe Belly is saving Cronk from total mental disintegration.

Or maybe its just a different tactic to play everything in the middle and keep it there, a wet weather game.

 

[POPEYE]

It could be that the coach is looking at it as a win-win situation. If the Storm win they can say they did it without Cronk. If they lose they can say its ok they weren't at full strength.

Or
If you are a Shark supporter you can smell their fear. Cronk has been bashed from pillar to post the last two games against Cronulla.
Maybe Belly is saving Cronk from total mental disintegration.

Or maybe its just a different tactic to play everything in the middle and keep it there, a wet weather game.

As I suggested in previous posts I'd go with the first alternative, I'd also suggest Flanno isn't running his team on 7 cylinders like Bellamy because his mob is one win adrift

 

[bad boy bubby]

As I suggested in previous posts I'd go with the first alternative, I'd also suggest Flanno isn't running his team on 7 cylinders like Bellamy because his mob is one win adrift

Sharks have only been running on 4 or 5 cylinders all season. They may take it up to 6 tonight. That should be enough

 

[POPEYE]

We'll both be able to sleep well no matter what happens . . . RL needs more teams running dead

 

[POPEYE]

Melbourne were doing their best and Bellamy looked awful serious, Storm mightn't have been running dead after all . . . not sure about the Sharks, were they really trying