Redneck Redfaces

[POPEYE]

Had a mate many years ago who was as timid as a mouse until he had a couple of drinks,
and he usually stopped after a couple. Once he showed a glazed look in his eyes I knew it
was time to relocate him amongst friends because he became agressive with strangers.
Fight like a thrashing machine he could and on the piss thought he was immortal.

 

[miguel de cervantes]

I leave these: a box of mint-condition 1918 liberty-head silver dollars. You see, back in those days, rich men would ride around in Zeppelins,
dropping coins on people, and one day I seen J.D. Rockefeller flying by. So I run of the house with a big washtub and... hey!
Where are you going? Anyway, about my washtub. I'd just used it that morning to wash my turkey, which in
those days was known as...a walking-bird. We'd always have walking-bird on Thanksgiving, with all the trimmings:
cranberries, injun eyes, yams stuffed with gunpowder. Then we'd all watch football, which in those days was
called baseball. We can't bust heads like we used to, but we have our ways. One trick is to tell 'em stories
that don't go anywhere - like the time I caught the ferry over to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for my shoe, so,
I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt,
which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of
bumblebees on 'em. Give me five bees for a quarter, you'd say. Now where were we? Oh yeah: the important thing
was I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn't have white onions because of the war.
The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones...

 

[POPEYE]

For the first time since 'little Artie' I'm excited about the Roosters and the talent that may be given reign by a decent coach.
Without Murray old mate Sticky would have been scrapped long ago beside Mal and Wally and it's ironic that the once mighty
club has been shackled by choice of coach from the man who loves them most.

Politis has either seen the light or left it to others because Trent Robinson seems out of character by being too obviously
a good choice . . . fingers crossed. Imo the Roosters could be put to better use playing out of the bush rather than a phone
box in Sydney but they still attract some fine young talent. Could be a great year for inspiration if too early for achievement.

 

[POPEYE]

Crikey Miguel, your name says you originate from a country that after many centuries still can't build a
decent motor car so I'm not sure what affect you think copying the posts of others will have on me.

 

[POPEYE]

Fantastic news if true. Means that now the Panthers must end up in front of the Warriors next year no matter
where they finish. Worth the price of Foxtell to make sure a game isn't missed. Elliott won't have anyone
constantly twisting a knife in his back, warriors are too nice for that, so we'll find out if he's more than just
a good bloke once and for all. I'll be in his corner for sure.

 

[POPEYE]

Looks like the media with so many idle dumb arse journos are really attacking a straw bale today.
Poor old Matt always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and if you read the headline
for every article in the Smellygraph no wonder they need a scapegoat. Must be a lot harder for them
to justify their positions than it is for Elliott.

 

[POPEYE]

Nothing really worthwhile happening so may as well chuck in my 2 cents about the Bellamy saga.
There are few scenarios to choose from. Firstly, if he is going to retire prematurely and enjoy the
things he's obviously accrued why not make as much money as possible by going to the highest bidder.

Then again he's only said he may retire early from coaching. He may make more money as a CEO,
particularly in Melbourne, and slow down the onslaught of grey hairs. Could be the next Arko.
With Bellamy at the helm any future coach would have to perpetuate the culture or else.

My favourite is that like the players Melbourne never risk losing because they're part of the furniture
Bellamy is revelling in taking the piss out of the media, and everyone else who enjoy shaking with one
hand and stabbing with the other, by making them hang by their balls in anticipation. Payback is a bitch.

If I was a journo with even a modicum of intelligence and it is accepted that Bellamy is indeed overseas
on a fact finding holiday I would ask myself this question. Why would he need knew ideas if it would take
him the rest of his career to impart what he already knows to any club he should go to. The only club he
has to find something new to improve is Melbourne.

 

[POPEYE]

A serious question for anyone who would like to answer. Why does the NRL need a CEO? Hasn't Grant shown that he intends to
run the game in conjunction with his commissioners and anyone hired to be the front man would just be a lacky. Wouldn't a PR
officer who attends functions and relays decisions be just as effective and a lot cheaper.

After all, Grant is not about to let the bloke make any decisions by himself and the ARLC is not a board of investors that needs a CEO.
Maybe it's normal practice for such tomfoolery and exhuberance and my knowlege of such matters is negligible. Can anyone enlighten me?

 

[Cloudsurfer]

A board sets strategic direction and makes high level decisions for the whole organisation. A CEO is an employee of the board and is charged with making that happen across all levels of members of the organisation & staff etc. that is they are in charge of operations and answerable to the board for their actions and results in achieving what the board has decreed. In the real world that is...RL not sure but if it worked like that there should be no confusion ;-)

 

[POPEYE]

Well, that clears that up. Delusions of grandeur won't enter into it this time while Grant pulls the strings methinks

 

[POPEYE]

Appears f**kwits are crawling from under their rocks preparing for demonisation of the ARLC because it hasn't walked
on water in it's first year. Getting rid of Gallop and the TV rights deal should have been enough for most. Imo the most
important step forward is the changes to the salary cap. A miriad of decisions next year will be affected by it and it
probably will take a further 12 months before we know the effects.

In the interim the most pressing matter is ensuring the game is adjudicated fairly on the field. Matters not whether
decisions are made on top of the Empire State Building or Timbuktu, as long as teams whose existence depends on it
get a fair go by whistle blowers. All the scaremongers should do as the turtles do and pull their heads in, give the
ARLC a chance to extract League from the dark ages.

 

[POPEYE]

Got the urge to punch sc again . . . shouldn't read the arsewipes. Apparently the Kiwis look odds on to improve their 'terrible
record in one off tests'. That'll f**king do me. Our neighbours are the World Champions because they won a competition
that wasn't contrived in our favour. In a WC all teams have the opportunity to improve with new players and rusty combinations.

When Australia plays anyone in a one off it's usually with 3 SOO'S and a pissant cup not far away. If by chance the Kiwis manage
to win this exhibition for hypocrites they will be far and away the best League team on the planet. If they lose they are still World Champions.

 

[POPEYE]

If last night's Test hadn't been pre ordained you'd be excused for thinking it was some sort of compensation
for ripping NQ off in the cup. I was watching with my grandsons thinking all the while that someone might
get seriously injured struggling to stay focussed in the heat. With a local getting mom that's one box nicely ticked.

 

[POPEYE]

Where did I get up to in my dribbling . . . ah yes, the Knights. Of all the official awards involving a League personality
this year the only one that wasn't sanctimonious was the induction of Benny into the Hall of Fame. Another great result
was the signing of Graham Murray to a position worthy of him and away from media vultures.

Seems that part one of the grand plan has been achieved and Newcastle is sailing nicely with the financial spinnaker full.
The biggest problem the Knights encountered in '12 was opening too many presents at once and trying to play with them
all without reading the instructions. 2013 will be their year imo as the coach gets back into stride, indications of which we
have already seen.

The signing of the most talented Rugby League gypsy in the game will give their forwards a leader and now all that remains
is to find just one player who can point.

 

[POPEYE]

With luck and determination by the ARLC all business mumbo jumbo at the Titans will be separated to prevent interfering with
Rugby League so a clean slate as they're calling it is anticipated. Sounds good. Certainly got the forwards to do the job but I'm
not sure Albert Kelly is the man to replace Prince and he definitely needs replacing.

GC are a lot like the Knights when it comes to connecting the forwards to the backs. Prince is similar to Mullins if you like lucky
dips with Carty and Benny both having some serious thinking to do. Both clubs finished on equal points and both need consistent
halves. Coaching is not a problem at either club.

 

[POPEYE]

Marvellous how we need bullshit. Without it we wouldn't have t-bones . . . can't live on just chicken, fish and lamb.
I was reminded of it when I read that Ben Barba was the best player of the year and the poor bloke won't get a run
in rep teams. What is the definition of 'contradiction' again

 

[POPEYE]

When you have two loose canons on deck it's more than twice as hard to avoid disaster. Farrar would not have the wrong kind
of competition without Benji and the Tigers and Sheens would have been better off without him. No team that I would think of
following would include Marshall. That said, a hard task master like Hasler or Bellamy might get him to follow instructions.

Benji has always been Benji and blaming him for the current situation is fantasy. Whoever the coach is the Tigers need to have
the whole team aware of and dedicated to the game plan. The reason they look impressive on occasions is that the opposition
can't predict what the Tigers are going to do because they don't know themselves. Frustration is getting the better of me.

Anyway, if Marshall and Farrar don't grow up the Tigers can look forward to more of the same in '13.

 

[POPEYE]

Not sure what's changed in the Illawarra but it was once a breeding ground for great players and the mighty Dragons didn't have
to poach. Not rocket science why they had to swallow up the Steelers but even that has been to no evail. If they want to do more
than just make up the numbers a Thurston clone, or the man himself, is what's needed and nothing less.

Afraid it's a tunnel with still a very small light at the end of it for Price but the coach imo is the least of their problems. In this day
and age a club must have every position competed for. Maybe the cap increase may help but the days of the smug Saints are long
gone. Maybe sharks being real and dragons fictitious is an omen.

 

[POPEYE]

Doesn't matter much to me where Bellamy goes because naturally I'll follow the team he is with. Come to think of it, at the moment there
isn't a team that I'm not keen on following with interest. All the current coaches deserve to be where they are for one reason or another
and the few new appointments could bring something different to next season.

The hope is that Bellamy stays with Melbourne not because he belongs there or other clubs don't deserve the benefit of someone they didn't
do the hards yards for but just to shove it up the arse of the media. Most representatives of it suffer badly from delusion of grandeur who
think we need to be fed fabricated rubbish to keep our interest in League alive.

 

[POPEYE]

Suffered the greatest culture shock of the year and still finished in the top half just about sums up the Broncos of '12. Having no Cam Smith,
Gallen or Thurston would affect their teams in a similar way to what happened when Lockyer left a chasm behind. When enthusiasm ran it's
course Brisbane struggled with a lack of on-field direction.

A team that has to be admired for not involving itself in serious poaching will sooner or later come up with one or more champion finds.
In the meantime, like in every other team, the halves will have to step up. Griffin will find a way to fill the void and get them back on the rails for '13.