Redneck Redfaces

[POPEYE]

Even though it's a shame the Sharks didn't take the opportunity to relocate to the central coast when the offer was on the table
it doesn't really matter where a team has its clubhouse or home ground these days, most supporters rarely frequent them anyway.
Brisbane the closest to being an exception. Beside the point, which is, sharks are becoming just as menancing out of the water.

Losing a player the calibre of Jeremy Smith so they can gain others of questionable value is reminiscent of what Melbourne does.
Imo the players bought are in need of a strong coach, which they have, and a bit more luck. SOO was like a shark net with the
Paul & Jerry show put out of balance in '12 but how Flanagan compensates and fits prima donnas into a team will be most interesting.

 

[POPEYE]

Being a car salesman requires a lot of front, little empathy and reliance on naivity. Nick Politis has been a champion at it
for many years and has shown IQ is not a pre-requisite to making money. Brian Canavan on the other hand is an intelligent
bloke. He could have had the itch to renew his connections with the Roosters earlier but unlike poor old Noyce no way was
he going to let his reputation hang on the whims of Brian Smith.

Now that BS has gone where bs should go we might see the real Pearce stand up, the one that has never been coached by
a decent coach at club level in his first grade career. Good #7's are like hen's teeth, harder to find than a good coach.
Anyone who says they can judge Pearce without the benefit of what he's not had is irrational. He may well be just a Mullen,
Walsh or Keating . . . who knows.

Canavan knows there will not be a better time to strike, after all, if the Roosters fail in '13 it can't be his fault. SBW, Pearce
or Robinson are none of his doing. Then again, if the Roosters do a Souths of course it must be partly due to his influence.
This Brian should tell Nick to go play with his cars

 

[POPEYE]

Ah, nothing better than to start the day with a bowl of cornflakes and a laugh. Australia has it's Rugby
League Comedy Company with the Dally M's and Immortals but the RLIF leave them for dead. What
about the Golden Shoe, or is it Boot . . . aren't they responsible for that. Belly laugh of the year must be
Graham and Barba the best in their positions for team of the year.

I loved watching English Super League because the games are exciting with all the pomp the poms can
produce and the pompous pricks actually go into every series against Australia in the firm belief that they
will win. Same sort of logic King George's mob had marching down a road whilst the Yanks murdered
them from the bushes.

No current English player would walk into the best Rugby League Team in the World. Graham is not even
the best prop at the Bulldogs. He's not even the best blonde haired prop at the Dogs. Pretty sure he can't
make the top 13 at the Dogs. Barba may be the best fullback in SL if he played there . . . maybe that's what the RLIF mean.

 

[POPEYE]

Anyone watching Bellyache in the last cup game of the year would agree that Walters is needed as a calming influence
to prevent a heart attack. If Parish is any good Sticky will need him badly to avoid splinters from too much head scratching.
So, the obvious choice for the Tigers must be Potter . . . hope his wand is tuned.

 

[POPEYE]

Where was I up to . . . the surprise packet of the year I think. Raiders finishing in front of the Sharks and Broncos
was interesting to say the least. Must admit I've a soft spot for Canberra and Furner deserves accolade for the way
the team finished the season. Other coaches have private matters that demand their attention but he still is in an
unenvious position.

Never really serving an apprenticeship in coaching and family ties that demand results always meant he was going
to play it by ear, which were nearly chopped off. I harp a lot about halves but Furner could use a footy brain on the
paddock more than most coaches because he's still learning his trade. Unlike others though he will only get better
and if his team gets a little better it will be as good as the rest.

 

[POPEYE]

You can marvel at what League players do on the field and be forgiven for worshipping them as heroes until they break
out out into a footy song. Comparable to walking around in a tuxedo and leaving your fly undone after the last leak of
the night, and just as embarrassing. How can getting it wrong make it any sillier.

Could be worse, Bellamy could have been the full time time coach of Qld and by this time there wouldn't be any Blue's
there to whinge . . . can't beat fresh bait

 

[POPEYE]

During the last off-season I posted that imo if the footy gods finally favoured the Cowboys 2012 might be their year.
I'm even more anti-religious now that the northerners were f**ked over. Just the same, NQ still looked a little shaky
under pressure which is to be expected from a club that is not one of the favoured floats in the mardis gras.

Titans, Sharks and Cowboys are going to have to shake the perception by officialdom that no-one gives a shit if they're
ripped off by raising their professionalism in the big games. Manly, for instance, are one of the favoured few and will
always get the rub of the green because they never die wondering. Thinking the world is against them may turn the tide
for the Cowboys, works pretty well for the Storm and Seagles.

 

[POPEYE]

Another conspiracy theory for us dumb League followers. Scott Prince has been secreted away to SL,
to the chagrin of all Titans' supporters who feel so disappointed. In the out of ten of hot c**k this is
about a five. Scotty's body, peace of mind and the GC all needed him to go to SL. Where better for a
bloke that deserves to go out in style, ala Brett Hodgson.

Like Brett, he'll offer enough to surprise the poms for a while yet, and the pace won't be too much for him.
A diplomatic way of ridding the Titans of two steps forward and one back, probably a year too slow in
the doing for Carty.

 

[POPEYE]

What's about to happen at Manly could become an enigma for '13. Is anyone really sure Hasler was a lifetime opportunity
missed and if so will the Seagles revert back to their thieving ways. Can Toovey show us '12 was a learning curve and
not a downhill spiral.

As a body League needs only one arsehole and the Dogs are best equipped for that job so with any luck Toovey and his
mob can overcome the negative vibes. Imo it's time to look around for some unknowns to blow away the stale air in the joint.

By the way, Taufua is a great player and an asset to the club . . . take no notice of any misdemeanors

 

[POPEYE]

Mick Potter won't have quite the same luxury as fellow homecomer Maguire and can't do a Sandow on Marshall and get away with it.
According to the #1 arsewipe the Tigers might emulate the Eels and actually buy a big money dud to welcome him back. Has to be
bullshit, no club that is not assured of acquiring a supercoach would buy Jennings.

Even Hasler wouldn't enjoy the prospect of trying to keep Marshall, Farrar and Jennings on the same page and at the same time step
up and coach Blair, a one man dog if there ever was one. Gibson, Bellamy and Hasler will testify it's easier to be at the right place at
the right time and the leader of them all, Bennett, will tell you not to be at the right place at the wrong time.

If Potter comes close to emulating Maguire we will have been blessed with another future supercoach.

 

[POPEYE]

Tried to watch the latest American Pie but after about 10 minutes in I realised I wasn't genitalia deficient enough so it was
relegated to the garbage bin along with the other versions, Funniest Home Videos and Lol@Souths . . . definitely all mummy's
boy material. Which brings me to the third best team of the year.

I may be an odd bod but still happy that any team with a decent coach interests me. Hate to be one of those f**kwits that
have nothing better to do than criticise a team that does a better job than the one they can only see with one eye closed.
Maybe Maguire is just a one hit wonder but if I thought that I would fish 'Pie' out of the bin . . . not going to happen.

All the Rabbitohs really have to work on is overcoming the shock that they are one of the best four teams in the NRL.
What's that word again . . . 'culture' . . . yes that's it. More of that and adequate coverage of key positions in an emergency
and Bob's your uncle.

 

[POPEYE]

Second best team of the year by my reckoning if I'm not to be a hypocrite is the Storm. Pity on this occasion I look so foolish.
What can you say about Melbourne except it's going to be as difficult preventing them from being the team of this decade as
it was a fail to stop them in the last. Can't order a hit on Bellamy . . . it's just a sport for crissake

 

[POPEYE]

If the Bulldogs relocated to Central West NSW I would probably paint my Hilux blue and white and hang their flag from the aerial.
Pity that a once great League icon represents an area becoming increasingly awash with anti-Australian fervour. I do feel for their
supporters living elsewhere in the country and the few that stayed at the end to support their team after an heroic effort in the pissant cup.

Mathematically so but by default, the best team in '12 will get no interest from me between now and when I go up in flames.
Shame that a supercoach and many great players are wasted

 

[POPEYE]

The push for every team, including the Warriors who have most of NZ behind them, to play one compulsory game in
Australian country League heartland, should be endorsed by anyone who calls himself a follower of the game. If need be,
to counteract any bitching from the clubs, the ARLC should provide incentives to make up any shortfall in gatemoney.

No use carrying on like a pork chop about other codes intruding when young blokes in the bush have never seen a live
close up of how the big boys play. Appreciating the difference between Group and NRL has to be seen to be believed.
I know first hand the excitement that is being generated about the Eels coming to Mudgee.

Naturally, if NRL teams played in a venue close to areas they consider a feeder for them it would not only be advantageous
but respectful. NRL clubs owe the bush more than they currently accept and off the cuff gestures are not payment enough.

 

[POPEYE]

The sooner all religion is replaced with just plain old humanitarianism the better off the world is going to be and I detest
Australian citizens who have no intention of 'becoming Australian'. That statement can in no way be determined racist
and it's the closest I'll ever get. Which leads me to a question. How many Pacific Islanders, including Kiwis, play AFL.

Rugby League has a large number of these folk playing the game because they're attracted to it. It is also easier to draw
players from people who live locally and not many Islanders make their way west over the mountains. No-one's accusing
them of denying anyone a place but because of the their influx there is less need to search for players in the bush.

AFL, for whatever reason, doesn't seem to offer the same attraction and spreading it's influence over more than just the
bandaid running down the east coast is becoming a telling factor. Imo Islanders should be allowed to play Origin if they
become Australian citizens no matter in which country they started their career. Of course they then shouldn't be allowed to play
for their ancestral country.

League's laziness will allow AFL a foothold where there should be none in the once traditional breeding grounds

 

[POPEYE]

To bore people a little about the subject just west of the mountains we have League Groups 10 and 11 and between them
they field 15 teams each with 3 grades, 18's, reserves and firsts. To drive an hour and a half is just a sparrow fart out here
and the area services around 300, 000 people.

An NRL team somewhere near the middle, say Orange or Dubbo, would only need a supercoach and a few Sydney rejects
to get the locals queuing up. Melbourne have no player resources in comparison. Admittedly, there are other areas of Australia
than can claim a need for a team but none more open to an invasion by other codes.

AFL is never far away from a warehouse size Bunnings store and Westfarmers have no qualms about building them in Central NSW.
Mining has just about got the area convinced it will be around for 100 years which is bullshit, nevertheless people are flocking to
the smell of big pay packets.

 

[POPEYE]

Around 20 years ago China wanted to be the best in the world at swimming so they took the easy way and produced chemical
monsters but their naivity proved their downfall. The hard way has only taken the short time since and they're getting very near,
no coincidence that so has their world economic standing.

They are getting there by using Australian coaches, amongst others, that normally would be concentrating on our swimmers.
Rugby League is not really an international sport, nor is American football, so there's no concern, or is there. I'm only sitting
on the bank here waiting for ripples in the water.

Let's say Manly go to China on a whirlwind money grab and they pull a big crowd. The Chinese are renowned for taking up
unusual sports so they decide to take League seriously because really it's a very simple game and all that's really needed is
dedication and numbers. Imagine Hasler and Bellamy spending 6 months of the year in China with bottomless pockets of cash.

Naturally the top Aussie players would do what Gilchrist did to cricket and in 25 years or so Australia would just be a feeder
competition for China who would think a salary cap is a lid on a salad bowl. At least we might beat them in an International
game, providing they let our blokes come home.

 

[Cloudsurfer]

aaaahhh...someone has got it. I've been thinking for some time that Bellamy will go overseas at the end of his tenure at the storm (2013). the overseas jaunts I think have not just been about holidays in the off-season & sourcing new coaching techniques, etc, etc(the man is resourceful after all) but given his closeness to his players over the years and being loath to coach against them, his trips to the USA, England/ Europe (& wherever else) over the past years to set up a life in coaching/ consultancy/ assured financial security (retirement) is the perfect solution.

 

[POPEYE]

Crikey ol' mate . . . do you seriously think he'd leave League to stagnate in Australia. Can't have Des getting away with it that easily

 

[POPEYE]

Looks like Mick, or 'Harry' if the Tigers have a good '13, is going to be talked about ad nauseum in the off season.
Suppose it will have to do until we find someone else to put in the pressure cooker. Wonder how long before the
arsewipes intimidate him into saying something spectacular.

Dopey Deano Ritchie, who is as usual days behind everyone else with the magic wand analogy, thinks he's found
out something we don't already know by pre-empting Potter to say he may have to tweak Benji's game. All the
dimwitted journos will be hoping the obvious is not kept behind closed doors so they can justify their wages.