Round 5 (2006) Knights v Sharks

[The Piper]

Newcastle Knights v Cronulla Sharks

Venue: EnergyAustralia Stadium

Crowd: 10,440 Referee: Willow

• This is a game thread only, therefore only game-related posts can be made here. Any other posts may result in loss of points and is at the discretion of the referee.

• Home team captain will be allowed 3 reserves, visiting captain will be allowed 2 reserves.

• Captains must post their entire team (including reserves) before posting and only those players listed may play this round.

Rules of play: http://f7s.leagueunlimited.com/rules.asp

Full Time: WEDNESDAY 31ST MAY at 9:00PM (SYD TIME)

**Referee Blows Game On!**

 

[The Piper]

Waken
Mr_Moo
Dread
Mayor_Quimby
glockers

griffo346
griffette346

Good luck to both teams

 

[Misanthrope]

CWBush returns from a stint out with an injury, leading the Knights out onto EA Stadium.

1: CWBush (c)
2: PrideKnight
3: Gene Krupa
4: The_Joey_Show
5: Parki

6: Jobdog
7: Red and Blue Knight
8: MrCharisma

 

[Parki]

Parki - Posting for the Knights

Death by Football

In life, there are many vices that can destroy a person. Drinking. Gambling. Elicit Affairs with co-workers. But my poison takes none of those forms. You see I, am a football tragic.

When does the game itself take on too much responsibility? Well, to be honest I think it crossed the line several years ago, when I smashed a hole in a wall during a particularly hurtful loss. Or it could have been the day when my girlfriend walked out on me, because she knew she would never be able to compete with 17 sweaty ugly men, beating the crap out of each other for 80 beautiful minutes. That was four years ago, and I haven’t had a substantial relationship since.

I am sure that there are people out there who have encountered similar situations, and most of you embrace it. I used to once. But recently I have discovered that football, through all its beauty and majesty, is dangerous if not treated with the utmost respect. Otherwise, it turns into an ugly evil creature, and Ill explains how.

How many of you have slammed car doors, swore at referees, heckled opposition? I’ts all in a bit of fun right? Well for me personally, after losing myself in a myriad of these episodes, have discovered the simple fact that they don’t care. Because at the end of the day, they go home and watch TV. While the diehard fanatic goes to work the next day with no voice, emotionally devastated, knowing that the only thing that can help it is next weeks game.

You may see this as overly dramatic, and think “what is this lunatic on about?” but for me, admitting the problem is half the solution. It has happened since I was 12 years old, when, after failing an exam at school, my dad offered to take me to the footy. I screamed so hard against my Newcastle Knights, as I was then a Sharks supporter and with 10 minutes to go, we were up 22/0. Leaving the ground early, I was abused by someone in a box. His words were “support your team you bastard!” Myself, being a 12 year old boy fired back “They aren’t mine, I can do whatever the hell I want” and a psycho was born.

I never leave the ground early now. In fact I look at myself and I chastise others, who may have perfectly valid reasons for leaving. They are stomping on the hearts of my team, and myself who has to endure the suffering of the horrific pain of losing. Football has become a monster that myself and others inflict on innocent people, and yes, that may sound dramatic, but in the end, its an awful truth that only fanatics can understand.

So what can I do about it? To be honest, football fanatics shield themselves with others of the same ilk. Some do it just for fun, others do it to mask deeper problems as I have put down here. In the end, there is only one thing you can do.

Take a step back. Realise that in the end, the players are doing a job, and they are human. To emotionally invest yourself in the result can be rewarding, but equally as dangerous. In the end, football is a game, and I think a lot of us forget that. Take your jersey off for a second, and have a look. You may just be surprised at what its done to you.

My last point in all of this is a personal reflection of the events that have lead up to why I chose why to write such a bizarre topic. I find myself jaded, and disillusioned with football, so writing about it seemed a good thing to do. I have basically been to every knights home game for the last 10 years, and I have been to every home and away game this year. My friends are football. My life is football. When you spend every waking moment of every day thinking about how to make it better, there comes a point when you have to stop. That point is now. I am looking at spending the next few weeks somewhere else, where I can re learn the concept that “football” doesent mean everything.

I only hope that others can find the same clarity that I have.




733 words

 

[glockers]

Old Merv is a legend to those who know his background, but most locals see him as another old man in an old weatherboard home. He is short, bends over awkwardly, frail, uses a walking frame and wears old v neck jumpers that went out of fashion in the 50s.

At a glance he is just an old man, pushing his frame up the street, at a brief glimpse maybe you would notice the Tigers bumper sticker on his walker, and just maybe register this guy is some old football supporter.

Appearances can be deceiving and a closer look reveals there is something about the old fella.

When you look at Old Merv’s eyes, there is a lot of life in there. Misty blue eyes that suggest he is different to most old club stalwarts. Old Merv is 92, but his memories remain, available to record and remember. This fragile old man is one of the final links to the pre-war New South Wales Rugby League. That bumper sticker isn’t a sign of being a fan, it is an emblem of his membership, of who he is and what he did.

I am lucky enough to know Old Merv, despite only moving into this country town mid last year. I happen to live over the fence from his daughter. At first I got to say a brief hello.

One day he happened to notice my Tigers jersey and started to talk about the current team, then slowly reached for his wallet. Proudly he displayed his membership card. The card had a single membership digit, a solitary number, a number that looked foreign compared to my five digit card.

A few days later his daughter revealed to me that he was heading up to Sydney for a Wests Tigers final game. I asked how he was getting up there and then it unraveled. The Tigers were holding a reunion was being held for former players. Old Merv played for them in the 1930s and 40s. The old players were being invited to a finals game. Merv was one of the oldest.
Many months later, after numerous minute chats and hellos, I got the chance to catch up with Old Charlie.

One afternoon I had nothing to do and my neighbour cornered me and asked if I was watching the Tigers and Storm game. She insisted “Dad” was going to watch the game at his place and wouldn’t mind the company. Before I could reply she was on the phone telling Merv I was coming.

An offer to sit there with Old Merv wasn’t an opportunity to miss, so I jumped in my Corolla and headed to his place.

I turned up a bit late and heard Merv’s faint voice calling me inside and inside was the replica of every pensioner’s lounge room. An early 90s TV set, blankets over the lounge for protection, an old school wireless, pictures of his youth hung around and old wallpaper.

There isn’t much about the game that I now remember, I know the Tigers won, but I do remember what Merv said in the ad breaks. Old stories of the past era, how he filled in at five eight in firsts, how he only won a second or third grade premiership, how he watched Arthur Summons play Union before he converted codes.

When his attention went back to the game there wasn’t much talk, instead an occasional insight into how the team’s were executing plays or operated in defence. Flashy steps and big hits were not the centre of attention. Instead a well drilled set, with great passing and hole running, was rewarded with a comment of appreciation.

At half time I had to move the microwave for him, which seemed like a small price to pay for the opportunity to just sit with this man.

He may not have played internationals, he might not have been the first choice five eight in his era, but he is a legend in his own right.

Recently his last club mate died, I just hope to get some more time with Old Merv before the last remaining pre war era player from my club disappears forever.

END

Word Count: 699

Note: Name and club has been changed for privacy concerns.

 

[Misanthrope]

CWBush returns from injury to lead his chargers out against the Sharks.

Nuke and Pave

Richard Nixon said of Vietnam that the US could 'nuke it and pave over it'. He meant this as a threat to the country, but the phrase caught on in an entirely different circle: that of computing. In computing terms to 'nuke and pave' is to completely erase the hard drive and start afresh.

In my eyes this use of the term has particular relevance when one turns an eye to the National Rugby League. While I believe that the current format is a vast improvement over the dinosaurian ARL/NSWRL, I think it's clear that the current format is far from perfect. The video referee has become even more maligned than the on field referees, players continue to break the rules, and the same clubs continue to attract the same piss-poor crowds.

We may have come a long way since the eighties, but in many ways we're still stuck there. The National Rugby League boasts nine teams from the Sydney area. Nine teams out of a soon to be sixteen represent suburbs from the city of Sydney. Whilst this was all well and good when the entire world may as well have been Sydney - we now live in a world where people are being brought closer together every week. Whether it be through affordable travel or the internet we now take for granted - even the most close minded person cannot honestly believe that Sydney is the centre of the universe.

We have a National Rugby League that features ten teams from New South Wales, three from Queensland, one from the ACT, one from New Zealand, and one from Victoria. Whilst New South Wales does boast a large slice of the population pie - is it really enough to warrant 66% percent of the NRL franchises?

Now, I know it sounds drastic, but perhaps this 'nuke and pave' mode of thought can be applied to the National Rugby League. They tried and failed to create a national competition during the mid-nineties and they definitely failed when they tried to cull teams in the late nineties only to have the Rabbitohs drag themselves back into the league and consequently drag down the quality of the competition. They failed because it was too much too soon - they failed because they didn't do a complete erase - they just tried to patch up holes in an already faulty system.

Nuke and pave

Don't say 'meet these criteria or lose your licence' say 'Everyone loses their licence in 2010. Now re-apply'. Don't leave stupid legal loop-holes allow dead weight to get back into a competition. Why should a team be allowed to be in the competition purely because it's been around forever? Believing the earth was flat was around forever too - that doesn't mean we should pander to idiots who still think it's true.

But this is about South Sydney. Nor is it about Canberra having no excuse for their inability to draw a crowd when their only competition is four games of Super 14 a year. This is about a fresh start.

Eighteen franchises are available. Eighteen franchises to go to the eighteen sides most deserving. You've been there since 1908? Good for you - now tell us why you deserve an NRL franchise. What kind of crowds can you draw? What area do you represent? What do you bring to the table?

Participation in the NRL isn't a right - Cumberland and Glebe and North Sydney found that out the hard way. Every team in the new National Rugby League should be bloody grateful to be there and when somebody asks 'Why the f**k are Cronulla still in the NRL?' we can point out the criteria that they fulfilled to be there.

But Cronulla won't be in the new NRL. Failure is not one of the criteria.

Let every city in Australia, New Zealand, and the Asia Pacific pitch a proposal. Anyone who wants a chance should get one. If this means seeing the Port Moresby Power vs. the Newcastle Knights as the grand final - I'm all for it. Anything to put an end to sub 10'000 crowd figures and the same teams propping up the competition year after year.

This won't solve the rule issues or the public perception of the game, that's for another article, but it will shake things up in a way that the Super League war tried and failed to.

WORD COUNT: 739 including title

 

[Mayor_Quimby]

MQ comes charging out of the sheds fired up for a huge battle

A King Amongst Men

A king amongst men. A rangy free running backrower has graced rugby league for the last 14 years. A prolific try scorer and classical defender, Steven "Beaver" Menzies chalks up his 300th game of rugby league this weekend as Manly takes on the Penrith Panthers at CUA Stadium.

Although he would be seen as more than your average rugby league player, he would not be considered to be of the class of the Wally Lewis’ or Brad Fittler’s of the modern era.

Beaver has had many memorable moments in his illustrious career which include a grand final win, successful kangaroo tours and of course donning the light blue and playing (and winning) the toughest game of all, State of Origin. These accomplishments are only matched by a handful of other rugby league greats. But Beaver can hold his head high and be proud of his achievements for such greater, and more meaningful reasons as well. What makes this effort all the more memorable is that the Beaver has played ALL his professional football out of the hallowed turf of Brookvale Oval as well as being a local junior, having lived on Sydney’s Northern Beaches his whole life. Beaver’s maroon and white blood runs even deeper, with his grandfather Mackie Campbell playing in Manly’s first ever first grade side in 1947. Unfortunately, Mackie passed away earlier this year, but it seems a great tribute and so fitting that in Manly’s 60th year his beloved grandson play his 300th game, and also confirming his life-long loyalty to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

By the end of Beaver’s newly signed contract with Manly, he should pass such greats of similar loyalty such as Luke Ricketson (301 games) Andrew Ettingshausen (322 games) and a very strong chance to overtake other legends of our game such as Manly icon Cliffy Lyons (332 games) and Manly’s nemesis Terry Lamb (349 games) towards as many as 370 games. Playing such an amount of games in itself is remarkable – but to play all of those for the one club which one grew up with, will be a mark that will be remembered for a long time to come.

Beaver made his first grade debut off the bench in 1993. His try scoring ability became immediately evident in his first full season in top grade in 1994. Running off the majestic Cliff Lyons he scored 16 tries, the most by a forward in a single season for the club. He played his 200th first grade game for the club in round 4, 2002 against the Roosters and later that season broke the club try scoring record of 127 previously held by Bob Fulton. In the 2004 season he added his second record by breaking Frank Burge's long standing record of 146 tries scored by a forward.

In an era increasingly focused on money, and team opportunity, Steve Menzies has shown loyalty that is becoming less and less prevalent in today’s game. Menzies took over the captaincy of the troubled Manly run Northern Eagles at the beginning of the 2002 season. He had earlier turned down a very lucrative contract at Parramatta, whereby he could have been one of the highest paid forwards in the game. However, Menzies stayed true (for reportedly a great deal less money) and his leadership in a year which most experts expected the team to win the "wooden spoon" was inspirational. In close important matches it always seems to be Beaver who would save the game with a desperate covering tackle or a crucial try.

Although he doesn’t have the offensive flash and pizzazz typical of other greats that played in the more dynamic halves positions, it is this loyalty that will be so memorable to fans. Beaver turned around this adversity and won the 2002 Dally M Lock of the year award and was a nomination for captain of the year.

Even though he has since stood down from his captaincy, it gave Menzies the breathing space to re-discover the blistering form positioned in the second row – his position of choice during Manly’s golden times of the mid 1990’s.

Beaver will go down as a great player and possibly the most loyal player ever to play rugby league. It would only be fitting for the Beaver to leave the game as he entered, in a blaze of style and glory. Whether he and his manly team mates can achieve that, only time will tell.

744 words including title

 

[The Piper]

Waken plays the ball
-----------------------------------

In this Forum Sevens article we are going to find an answer to the question that as haunted scientists, historians and rugby league fans for decades, who is the one to watch?

Rhys WESSER versus Tammin SURSOK

It is the age old debate rearing its ugly head up again. We are going to have to break it down by going through the facts and we will sit on the fence no more. I am an impartial judge when it comes to this heated topic, so I have taken upon myself to come up with the answer for the people, like myself, who are fans of both entertainers. We will come to a conclusion as to who is the greatest to watch. Tammin Sursok or Rhys Wesser. The soap opera and one hit wonder beauty up against the lightning fast number one for the Penrith Panthers rugby league side.

Both of these stars are naturally born talents. That is obvious. The pair's talents lie in the different fields of entertainment and sporting abilities, and due to this, it makes the debate more of a challenge to determine which one of the two is most enjoyable to view.

It was my former Bluebags teammate, Gorilla, who said Wesser had a head only a mother could love. True, you may not find him as attractive as other male sport stars, such as Michael Bevan. But still, the ladies, as well as the men, pack Credit Union Australia Stadium, Penrith to see this man do what he does every round; step, speed and score. Tammin could fill a twenty-five thousand capacity ground with blokes wanting the best perve you could possible get. But after that what is she going to do? Yes, she has a fair voice and then would probable sing a few of her less than fair songs that were written for her. But I doubt that it her ability to sing would pull in the crowds as much as Wesser’s ability to gain four points for his team. Yes, she may be able to act somewhat, but the script of a live Home and Away show would not gain a hefty audience. Maybe she could show her real acting abilities by performing Othello, but I really think that South Sydney would get a bigger crowd to a home match then Sursok would to one of her Shakespearian plays.

There is nothing fake about Wesser. The fact is Wesser is all Wesser. The fullback did not need enhancements to achieve his goal of a premiership. He did not need to alter his body to sprint away for those one hundred metre tries of his. He has such a natural ability that God has given him and he is using it to his full potential to win games for the Panthers and win over fans.

Though people maybe believe that Sursok mimes, that is not the case…but Tammin has got fake breasts. She couldn’t have the fan base without the augmentations to her face, lips and chest that she has clearly needed to impress.

If you cannot see any point to this article, then not to fret. It probably does not have any meaningful reason for being written. What I have done is gotten two of my most favourite sporting and acting stars together in one article. It was fun to do so. And that is what sport, music, movies/television and Forum Sevens are all about; fun.

Wesser and Sursok are totally different people in different professions and there is no possible way that you can compare one to the other. But what they both have in common is that they entertain fans. Tammin entertains young female fans (as well as me) with her songs and shows, as well as males fans with her looks. Rhys entertains Penrith and Queensland fans with his rugby league skills. And the pair entertains very well.

All work and no play make all of us dull people. Having fun and being entertained is a very important part of life. We need time to relax, chill and veg out. Too much work and stress leads to professional fatigue and indivertibly to health problems. Not always the health problems you can see as well.

So I guess the point to this article is that I am thanking such fav celebs of mine for keeping me happy, health and having fun. And I’ll keep writing these far out articles while playing Forum Sevens to keep me entertained and loving life!

750 words including title

 

[PrideKnight]

Running late after a bad night on the green fairy, PrideKnight runs on with a nice greasy big mac

Bad Boys, Bad Boys…

They are the men we all love to hate, the ones who bring the game into disrepute with deplorable acts of violence, drug use, sexual misconduct, or all of the above and more.

You know who I’m talking about, especially in recent weeks with the Tevita Latu scandal still fresh in our minds. There is no excuse for assaulting a woman, or sticking your fingers up another players arse (on the field anyway), invading a sleeping girls bedroom and performing a lewd act, being drunk and disorderly, urinating in public. I could go on, but I think the point is made.

The question is, why is it such a big deal when these particular people do it? I mean they are common offences, men beat their wives daily, home invasions occur with an alarming frequency, hell, I’ve been known to be drunk and disorderly, urinating in an alley, but my name, and the names of those other more serious perpetrators aren’t plastered all over the media.

And there’s the answer. When it comes to sports, and especially it seems rugby league, bad news really sells. The reason for this is fairly broad, but at least part of it comes from us. How many times has a player come under scrutiny and you are able to rip into the supporters of said players team? I can think of numerous ones in the past few months alone, Tevita of course, Tim Smith and Mark Ridell, and of course Brian Carney (though I can’t exactly rip into myself about that one can I?).

And there you have it, its all you talk about at the water cooler the next day, you start analyzing the scanty facts and deliberating over the possible penalties and laughing how stupid some people can be to play up when they are in the public spotlight. But you buy the paper the next day to follow the saga don’t you?

It seems that every time our great game settles down from the last big scandal, a new one is lurking in the wings, and, lo and behold, the media has their paws all over it before the club involved even has a chance to respond to it.

Is it right? No, I don’t think so, fair enough there has been law broken, but should the club not be allowed to investigate before the player is sprayed in shame all across the back (or worse, front) page of the paper? If only so they can get all sides of the story and compensate the victims (if any) before the machinations of the big media monster can blow it out of proportion with what is often only innuendo and hearsay.

Normally this sort of thing is only highly prevalent in the lead up to a season, as it often seems to be a case of bad judgment from a player on a last ditch bender before their lives belong to the public and the game for another 6 months.

At the same time, it also seems that a pre season scandal is like a negative publicity exercise, bringing Rugby League once more (however unorthodoxly) to the forefront of the public’s mind. You need only look to pre season 2004, and, to a lesser extent, pre season 2005 for two examples.

The Coff’s Harbour rape scandal got people fired up, doggies fans, feeling they had to prove the honour of their boys, and everyone else because they didn’t want to see these alleged rapists honoured with any glory. It may have been negative, it may have involved a police investigation, but again it had people talking.

Our own indiscretion in the eve of season 2005 was similar, but had less impact in a way, as the early leakage of the story meant that the club took a hardline (if knee jerk) stance on it. Dismissing the supposed main antagonist and going into damage control.

At the end of the day, the onus is on the players to be sure they behave in a fitting manner, but they are only human, and surely cannot be expected to be saints 100% of the time. Then again, some of them are just thugs and can’t control their baser instincts, these are the true Bad Boys, who really shouldn’t have a place in our game.

*EDIT* Adding word count
723 Words incl. Title

 

[RABK]

A day in the life of a Sledger

Many different people from all walks and shapes of life go to watch Rugby League every weekend. There is the families content with setting up a picnic blanket on the family hill, there is the group of mates who love nothing more then a pie and beer in the sun, there is fanatics who turn up to scream their lungs out for their team win, lose or draw, there is the women and girls keen for a perve on the men who adorn their bedroom walls and there’s the sledger who turns up to make sure everyone, especially the referee, knows he’s there.

Each and everyone of these groups are what makes a day at the footy so great. They all contribute to the atmosphere and excitement an NRL game never fails to create. I’d like to give my view on what a day at the footy may be like from the perspective of a sledger. We’ll call him Simon in tribute of a mate, who is the best sledger I know.

Upon arrival at the stadium Simon purchases his tickets and stakes out a spot as close to the fence as possible. He turns around and has a brief look at the canteen, checking if a beer and meat pie are available yet but this is just his wishful thinking. He’s more then aware that he has to wait till Premier League to feast his appetite. As he turns around the Jersey Flegg sides are making their way onto the field. Number five casually jogs over towards the fence right in front of where Simon is sitting. “Bingo” Simon says to himself as he glances through big league searching for the name of number five.

That’s the end of number fives day in terms of peace goes, every time he now touches the ball he is met with a flurry of abuse from Simon. A simple five metre hit up will be met with a “Is that all you’ve got? You’ve got nothing you cat!” That’s about as nice the abuse gets and with a few squint eyed looks number five will let Simon know he is well aware of his presence and that he doesn’t appreciate it one bit. This only adds fuel to the fire. You can only imagine that after the 80 minutes of abuse number five says to his team mates “Did you hear the wanker berating me all game?”

Anyone sitting in Simon’s bay certainly heard it. He’ll get mixed responses, some will chuckle over it, others will join in. Some will simply ignore it while some may dislike it, considering it boorish behaviour. Whatever the case Simon will continue it all day. They haven’t even heard the worst of it, not until a first grade referee takes the field - the sworn enemy of any sledger.

After the dose is repeated to some poor premier league winger it’s time for first grade. Four beers and two pies later Simon is ready for battle. He boos a long with the rest of the crowd as the opposition takes the field but this is where he leaves the opposition fan behind because for the next 80 minutes, to put it simply, he won’t shut up.

Everything an opposition player does is illegal and should result in a penalty to his team. The first penalty blown in favour of his team is clearly justified because “They’ve been doing it all day!” despite the fact the game is only 5 minutes old. Every single penalty blown against his team is “bullsh*t” and the ref should be “run over with a cement truck” for putting the whistle anywhere near his mouth. Despite the fact the opposing players are inline with the referee a booming voice can be heard “Their off side!!! Get them back the ten you norman!!!” Yes and this is despite the fact play is 60 metres down field and no human on earth from such an angle could determine whether they are actually onside or not.

Fulltime and you can bet there’ll be two conclusions drawn from Simon, if it’s a loss it’s “That bloody Hampstead’s fault, he killed us today!” or if it’s a win “The ref is just lucky he didn’t cost us the bloody game!”

Oh and there will also be a first grade winger with ears that will be ringing for quite a few days. All part and parcel of a Sledgers job.


750 words using official F7's word counter

 

[TooheysNew]

Now that's cutting it fine. lol

 

[Willow]

Ref Blows Fulltime.

 

[PrideKnight]

*phew*

 

[Mayor_Quimby]

ghey....player down again :-(

 

[Misanthrope]

Apologies to the Sharkies - I actually didn't realise I'd mocked the club we were playing against! :lol:

Nice effort from a very depleted Knights' side. Let's hope we get the job done.

 

[The Piper]

Well done Knights and a big thanks goes out to the other two Sharks who could make the game this week.

 

[Willow]

Sorry for the delay everyone but just so you know, I'll be marking this match on Saturday afternoon.
Cheers.

 

[glockers]

I was worried we would have only me after I posted.

It looked like a one on one lol.

 

[Willow]

Almost finished marking. Might be have to be put up the morning though as I'm about to go out.

 

[The Piper]

No worries Willow, take your time. We can see the team who got the two points here.