Round 8 (2006) Sharks v Rabbitohs

[The Piper]

Cronulla Sharks v South Sydney Rabbitohs

Venue: Shark Park

Crowd: TBA Referee: gorilla

• 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 9TH AUGUST at 9:00PM (SYD TIME)

**The Referee Blows Game On!**

 

[Pistol]

The mighty Rabbitohs take to Shark Park for this encounter with the Sharks

Pistol (c)
rabs
Clevo
vippo19
Franko

no.2_lukeburt
paulquinn49

Lets go boys...

 

[The Piper]

Both captains shake hands, and the game is on!

Waken
Dread
Bookie
Marc Herbert [CNTDN]
KrypnotiK

glockers
griffo346
warrior123

 

[edabomb]

The Moggman Prophecies

“and six years after the beginning of the third millennium the Moggman shall come forth and triumph….”

Okay, so it’s not exactly Nostradamus, but the revolution of Adam Mogg in 2006 has been a truly bizarre sight for any Canberra fan. At the ripe age of 29 Mogg has found the best form of his career. After an indifferent 2005 Canberra fans of all shapes and forums were calling for the head of the man they’d nicknamed ‘Egg Mogg’. Adam’s declining reputation was shown in round one of the 2006 season, as he was demoted to the wing from his usual centre position. Not even the heartiest Mogg fan could of seen this as the first stepping-stone into State of Origin history. However, to understand Mogg’s epic journey, one must understand the trials and tribulations his career had seen before 2006.

Adam Mogg was first spotted in the NRL playing for Parramatta in 2002. He had been recruited from the Brisbane competition as a fullback, but Canberra had plans to change him into a centre upon their signing of him.

As the Canberra Raiders steamrolled their way into the top four in 2003 Adam Mogg excelled in the centre position. Adam crossed for ten tries himself, while his wingman Joel Monaghan went close to breaking the club record for tries, recording 21. It was not only Adam’s knack of getting over the line, but his ability in setting up outside men that made him one of the form centres in the competition. Unfortunately Adam had suffered an injury by the time finals footy rolled around.

Adam’s form suffered along with the Raiders in 2004. Mogg only achieved one thing consistently in 2004, and that was inconsistency. He suffered a few niggling injuries and looked a tad slower than he had in his memorable 2003 season. In fact, Mogg’s Canberra career tends to parallel with the teams form, at least until 2006. 2005 was by far the most forgettable of Mogg’s NRL career, struggling to hold a spot in firsts. The defense that had seemed so strong in 2003 was now beginning to falter as Mogg let in crucial tries through poor defensive reads.

2006 was the year for Adam Mogg to leave his mark on Australian rugby league history. Selected on the wing early in the season, Mogg was revitalized. Using his speed and strength Mogg emerged as one of the best dummy half runners in the game. While he was moved between the wing and center for ensuing rounds, Mogg had made a permanent imprint in the minds of Queensland selectors.

Then came the injuries, Queensland lost multiple players prior to the second game of the 2006 Origin series. Adam’s powerful running game was perfect for an Origin winger. The Queensland selectors showed no hesitance in bring Mogg into the number five jersey. What happened from here was one of the greatest fairytales of the millennium. Adam looked great in everything he did in the first half, spearheaded by his tackle of Mark Gasnier into touch to give Queensland a scrum feed ten metres out. Early in the second half Jonathan Thurston put him over for an easy try. Then later, with the result already confirmed, Mogg scooted into the corner for his second try. The roar of the crowd when Mogg returned back into position to receive the kickoff was one of the greatest moments you could hope to see in State of Origin. The man dubbed ‘Adam Who?' by the New South Wales media had well and truly gained his revenge.

Game three was a quieter occasion for Adam. He scored the first try, but did not really stand out for the remainder of the match. However, the most telling aspect of this experience was the influence it had on his performance at club level.

Adam Mogg leaves the Canberra Raiders in 2007 to pursue a career in the English Super League with France. In a sport where many seem to relax after securing a new contract Adam has shown the type of man he is with his continued outstanding form. Mogg has had a solid stint at the Raiders, but his awesome season in 2006 will no doubt be the enduring memory. That moment at Lang Park when the crowd stood and applauded Adam Mogg is the type of incident that sticks with you, and for that night I will always remember Adam Mogg as a champion player and person.


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747 words including title

 

[Master Vippo]

Vippo19 (souths) wades through the knee deep muddy ground at Shark Park to return a kick to the defence...

Stat Attack

The game of cricket is one dominated by statistics. By examining the statistics from a game of cricket, one can fairly well summarise how well each team and player has performed. Batsmen are judged on how many runs they scored, ad how many balls they faced to score these runs, while a bowling assessment would examine how many wickets he/she took, how runs they conceded and how many balls/overs it took them. There are multitudes of other statistics, but in just a cursory glance at this information, you can usually summarise the man of the match, or who had a shocker. Rugby League on the other hand, is very difficult to judge accurately on statistics alone.

Rugby League has many different numbers to decipher, before you can even get a vague idea of how well someone is travelling. There are meters gained, hit-ups, tackles, missed tackles, minutes played, offloads and kicks to name a few. These areas can even be broken down further, for example kicks-attacking kicks, clearing kicks, bombs, chips, grubbers, kicks that found open ground, 40/20s. And the list goes on and on.

Looking at this staggering pile of numbers and not at a cursory glance mind you, at quite a thorough examination, you will find out who played well. Obviously a forward who ran for 150 meters and made 40+ tackles has had quite a good game, but there are the subtle things, and the quality of performance that can get missed.

For instance, a winger’s stats could read-80 minute played, four tackles, one missed tackle, 60 meters gained, zero line breaks, eight dummy half runs, zero offloads, no kicks in play and zero tries. One could be forgiven for looking at those figures and thinking the player had a quiet game, he didn’t even score a try! But if you had watched the game, those figures tell a very different story indeed.

It was a wet game, dominated by defence. The battle was mostly fought amongst the forwards in the middle of the field, with the ball rarely being spun out wide due to its slipperiness and the ferocity of defence. This winger, while only making four tackles, two were try-savers, one of those the player ran down what would have been a certain try-scorer and took him into to touch, turning the game for his team. In the dying minutes of the game, he soared above all others to defuse an attacking bomb, saving his team from a last minute defeat. He also took some vital runs from dummy-half coming out of his own end, giving his team some momentum and giving his forwards a break. The figures also don’t show how this player encouraged those around him, picking them up when they were low, and helping them find that last drop of energy when they really needed it. He was on the back page of The Herald the next day for his try-saving tackle, but you wouldn’t understand why if you were purely interested it statistics.

In the same way, neither can you judge a player’s career based on his profile in the Big League season guide. Taking the comparison back to cricket, Shane Warne’s bowling profile reads-685 wickets in 140 matches with an average of 25.25 runs conceded between wickets. Amazing numbers, no matter what you think of the man. Take a player like Luke Bailey, from the Dragons, who is widely regarded as one of the best props in the game and his figures read 6 trys and no goals in 100 games. While you can see he has played for Australia, looking at the meagre statistics available does Luke Bailey no favours. While Warne’s simple stats alone say he is a brilliant bowler, to judge Luke Bailey, one must either delve into an absolute mountain of numbers and figures, or just watch one 80 minute game.

Stats are a great tool used to measure milestones and to compare performances between players, but there are things on a sports field, particularly in such a team sport as Rugby League, that can’t be measured in numbers, or sometimes even described in mere words. To understand how great (or poor) a player played and to grasp the depth of their performance, you need to see it with your own eyes. So don’t trust the Big League or RL Week stats you see every week, get out to the game and experience it for yourself, you’ll be glad you did.

747 words including title

Sources used: Cricinfo players profile retrieved from http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/australia/content/player/8166.html

Rugby League 2006 Season Guide

 

[Pistol]

Franko tears a hammy

Off he goes

On comes the dynamic paulquinn49

 

[Pistol]

Off comes rabs who pulled a quad

On comes the exciting youngster no.2_lukeburt for his debut

 

[The Piper]

Waken runs on in front of the 89,000 crowd

Tight As A Fish’s

The salary cap has had its critics over its entire term in the national rugby league history. Just recently it was raised a substantial amount, no doubt due to the every growing complaint from all sides. Clubs say they are forced to let go their players; as the teams get better, players’ abilities rise in stature and as a result, their pay is entitled to also rise. Once a club has too many decent players, the team cannot afford them anymore and is forced to let them go.

The game’s big marketing promotion this year was the well established fact now, that there have been seven premiers in the eight year history of the game under the title of the National Rugby League.

I was lucky enough to experience my team’s victorious premiership campaign only three years ago. 2003 was a great year for a Penrith supporter. As 2002 was for Rooster fans and 2005 was for Tigers supporters.

As a result of the salary cap, it seems that at this stage of the 2006 competition, Penrith are the only one of these three grand final winning sides of the past four years, that still have a chance to make the play offs. Tigers can make it mathematically, but not realistically. Roosters are gone. As I return from the Round 22 game as Telstra, the South Sydney win over the Panthers have put a dampener on there final hopes now, too.

This fact can only come down to nothing else but the placement of the salary cap.

Now obviously the cap has been put into place for good reason. If it wasn’t for the restrictions, then teams could go crazy, buying up as many players, rookies or superstars that were coming off contract as they liked. Clubs who were financially sound could basically purchase the entire Australian team if they wanted to. Teams struggling with their financers would have a Jersey Flegg side for their top team and eventually fold, as we have seen clubs do in the past. For the sake of the game of league and its continuing growth in this country, these occurrences can not be aloud to happen.

But with the salary cap in place during the 2006 competition, just have a look at how the table stands now. The Panthers, coming 11th, are only four competition points, two wins, behind the Broncos, who are sitting nicely in 3rd spot. There are three teams out of the eight that still may have a chance, as slim as it maybe, of making the finals. There are five teams in the eight at the moment that cannot slip up over the next four rounds, or they may be holding Mad Monday early than first expected.

With the salary cap, the teams are more rounded and players in each side of the comp are all of a similar ability to the players in those positions in other sides. You have the greats of the clubs, the up and coming players and the clubman; the workhorses who plug away each but don’t get the recognition a lot of them deserve. All sides are of similar skill. This keeps all matches closer on the park and all teams closer on the ladder.

For this reason, I feel that the salary cap as benefited the game of league much more than it has hindered it. Yes, due to salary restrictions, the premiers of each of the recent years have had to let some of their stars go. But if you look at it this way, the Roosters, Panthers and Tigers have had their year of success. As a fan, it was the most rewarding experience to support the team as they played as the reigning premiers. But for now, those moments are over. Now, teams such as the Storm, Knights and Sea Eagles have their opportunity to collect the Telstra Cup in October and their players and fans will bask in the glory of a grand final win for the next twelve months.

Due to the placement of the salary cap, each team in the National Rugby League now have a greater chance of making their dream of a premiership come true. Every game of every round of this year has been so exciting, due to the cap. And due to the cap, the fans will be biting fingernails to the 80th minute of each clash, as the 06 competition has been as tight as a fish’s arsehole.

750 words including title

 

[Clevo]

Clevo cuts the crap and concentrates on putting on a good one for Souths

____________________________________

League and Politics ( Part 2)

Pondering my imminent death over a coffee, Leila tapped my hand seeking my attention. “It’s not as bad as you think. You could always...disappear” She said with a flourish of her hands. “Plenty of places to hide in Iran.” She finished with a gleaming grin.

“No, we could win this. In fact...we must. Even if it means the Islamic Revolution is put on hold. Even if it means...”

“You are brave... or foolish. More likely both but nothing will be achieved by sipping latte and waiting for the first snow falls.” She leaned over and whispered a plan...

“I have another that I must try first”

With that we parted.

I couldn’t help but summarise my situation. Here I am in Iran. An inexperienced coach, coaching inexperienced players. Politics permeates even the air that is breathed. It’s in-grained into every aspect of life. It goes against everything I believe in with regards to sports though, I must admit that internally at least, every club has political issues. Within the team I kept an eye on the internal politics since learning that at any time the team could implode through sheer political ideologies. I couldn’t pretend I had my head around it and I was rued to try and sort it out. At least back in Australia, for 80 minutes, as a fan, we can forget about everything from politics to even home issues.

This is here and now. Pre-revolutionary Iran.

Although Leila’s plan was sound I was not going to leave Iran with a legacy of being a mediocre coach. I certainly wanted to make some small difference with regards to a bit of Rugby League culture.

~0~​

The week leading up to the friendly with Iraq we practiced real game situations. The team had come a fair way with the basic skills and some simple set plays. We concentrated in ways of keeping possession and making quick movements down the field. The team were very keen on defence and tackling was approached with fervent enthusiasm.

On the eve of the game I held a team meeting. Ali translated.

“Gentlemen. I am considering forfeiting the game” Ali hesitated the translation but I urged him to continue. An uproar ensued. They pleaded with the little English they new mixed with no doubt Iranian expletives.

“I’m sorry but I do not think we are ready” More uproar. Ali relays that the team thinks I was wrong and that we would be denying them an opportunity of a life time.

“True... but with the current situation between some members of the team I cannot let you play Rugby League.” I allowed Ali to translate and sink in. “ You see, unless you can prove to me by tomorrow morning that we are together, we are one then I will not be able to call this a Rugby League team and that you will be denying ME the opportunity of being a coach. I want you to prove to me by tomorrow morning that Allah and politics will be forgotten for 80 minutes tomorrow and that when you look a team mate in the eye you will not be seeing A Sunni or a Shi’ite, a pro or a con revolutionary. Prove this to me and we will play. I have called a press conference for 9am tomorrow and I will be giving them an answer one way or the other”


I walked out amidst a cold silence, giving me enough time to contemplate the religious connotations of Rugby League clubs back home. The Catholic Cardinal Red of Souths completed with the Irish Myrtle of its lush hills. Canterbury too we’re well connected with the Catholic Church before it’s more recent Muslim connotations and you cannot go past the iconographic Christian logo of the St. George slaying the Dragon.

~0~​

Perhaps I was being a hypocrite to an extent. Perhaps Religion and politics were not to far removed back home either and for eighty minutes every weekend I was deluding myself.

The point is however, is that when the CFMEU recently took up some half-time space during a Canberra club game to spruke their message, the NRL as a whole, took one small step towards an extreme taken for granted in places like Iran, South America and even Europe.

No thanks, let’s leave overt politics out of Rugby League.

(The game ended prematurely at 12 all when the pitch was invaded by the crowd. Courtesy of Leila)

______________________________________

Word Count: 749 word including those little symbols that break up the story.


A fictional story inspired by "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nafisi...and a healthy dose of spin. No offense is intended.

 

[paulquinn49]

PQ for Souths

*****
Some teams do have em!

When you look through team line-ups of your side you see some personality differences, the Raiders are no different. Going by what is named in Round 23 you wonder how they can play together.

Shifcofske – Rumours of Union trying to sign him, he releases a statement saying he is committed to Raiders. 1 week later he signs with the Queensland Reds. Was it a backflip or bullsh*t? I would say backflip, this is the same guy that threw a ball at a referee, claiming he was throwing it at a teammate.

Purtell – I have been told he has the safest hands in the league, he might I haven’t noticed. I have noticed his lack of personality, he seems like the kind of guy that could murder someone in broad daylight, yet no one saw him do it.

Graham – Faster than a speeding bullet, but somehow always gets run down. People make fun of his ears, they are an advantage, in that he can hear thoughts 3 passes ahead. Which is how he comes up with so many intercepts.

Mogg – What can be said about a player that debuts at 24, comes to a club and settles down into a career of mediocrity? He will go down as a legend of the club, unbelievable. Making origin and becoming the best back at the club. It was only fair he chased the money, and French ladies.

Howell – His look scream surfy so does his bio if you read it, yet he moves to Canberra. Wonder if he regrets skipping geography?

Smith – Slowing Canberra down on the field and off controlling the flow of traffic by going 30km, covering both lanes. It is a shame his hands are that slow as he ran into Souths players on 50K who box on the side to make extra cash.

Withers – The biggest thing he seems to tackle today is the sandcastle left by the kickers after a shot at goal. He doesn’t come across very smart, probably moving to Canberra to kick his fireworks and porn addiction.

Hodgson – It makes sense one of the ugly men in the team has a wife who owns a beauty salon. Like how we see some hairdressers with the worst haircuts.

Woolford – As a fan of the club, you hate this guy. It must be a talent to get under the skin of so many people for doing nothing in particular, which all good hookers do.

Thompson – I don’t trust players with headgear, it means they have something to hide. There is a respect, show me a man who doesn’t respect a prop with the whitest legs in NRL.

Kahler – Toughness, Kahler has it. Coming off second best, blood pouring from his forehead, he got up. The haircut is tough aswell, going toe to toe with a lawn mower to save $15 bucks for a haircut.

Croker – Unluckily he looks like uncle fester, McDougall and Croker could have a great career on the road when they retire.

Tongue – The token redhead workhorse, nearly every club would have one. A country boy, votes labor, hates Sydney and using utensils.

Carney – Something is wrong when you see this kid and he looks the coolest Raider at the club. Carney is the resident party animal, throwing 2 parties a year, 5pm til 9pm.

Chalk – You wouldn’t think it if you saw him, but Chalk loves ants. I felt sorry for the guy when he stood on one, killing it against Souths. He collapsed to the ground and started slapping it in anger. A lover of life, spending his warm down apologising to blades of grass he crushes.

Tilse – He used to be a normal kid til puberty hit, his school crushed his boyish spirit. Abandoning creativity, by putting on weekly plays of the “BFG” in which Dane was constantly picked for a laugh.

Weyman – Surely if Weyman debuted before O’Meley this kid would have the unfortunate nickname “Shrek”. Despite being 21, he looks 45. Which made him a hit with the ladies when he could buy beer at age 8.

Frawley – I have to applaud this selection, Frawley as the 18th man, the emergency. Doesn’t matter if he plays or not, he will end up in emergency.

The great thing about Rugby League is the ability for mismatched teams and people to blend together to create a win.

*******
749 words

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

Failing To Prepare Is Preparing To Fail

"Nothing to play for now, only pride." A common cry when conceeding defeat at the prospect of your footy team missing out on the finals series many weeks in advance. But, on the contrary, I fight this claim. The regular season lasts 26 weeks, so if your team can not make the finals series after a heavy defeat in round 19, they should still be giving 110%. It is a professional sport and as such players must act in accordance to the description of their occupation and act "professional" which means giving their all, even if they know weeks in advance they wont be competing in the prized finals series, It is no excuse to clock off and give half hearted performances. To agree with the opening statement, In my humble opinion, Is only excusable in amatuer sports, where you can be forgiven for clocking off in the same situation, you're not bound to a higly lucrative contract being paid higher than the average worker.

With the humiliating prospect of missing out on the finals series weeks in advance, what do you do? Do you take it as an oppurtunity to give some of those burnt out players a rest and give the younger folk a go? What if the younger folk in the lower grades are participating in succesful teams? They're not going to say no to a chance in first grade, but do you go by your own interests or the club as a whole's interests. What If you were faced with the prospect of some players in key positions leaving the club next season? Well, In the case of my long time supported team, the struggling Sydney Roosters, we have such a predicament.

Enter Brett Finch. The player is Parramatta bound playing, inconsistently, In the most important position on the field, and after being mathematically ruled out of any chance of making the finals I found It unbelieable he was named in the starting lineup this week. The next few weeks should be the time of preparing for the season next, not throwing in the towel and worrying about it in pre-season november training. If a player is given 6 weeks of first grade for the latter part of the season and is told by the coach, In this case Ricky Stuart could possibly tell a younger player "Okay, you've got the rest of the season to play, no matter what happens, you won't get dropped but you're also playing for your future next year." Chances are the player will be less pressured and his natural game will florish, even if he doesn't, he won't be a duck out of water at the start of next year.

The other positive Is if a young player is playing for the last few weeks in a intense environment they will be well prepared for the season next which will only serve as advantage, what advantage NOT playing them would only serve as a dissadvantage, as every position, especially a half, serves their own style, which would be another reason to blood young halves at the end of the season to get the rest of the squad familiar with a new playmakers style and game play techniques. If I was coaching the Sydney Roosters I would certainly be imploying this idea as it would only serve as a positive step toward a regrouping season 2007, which would be season 100, also facing the possibility of a historic 1000th win in season 100, they certainly wouldn't need any more incentive to have a stellar season as the only club to have played in every football season since the competition commenced in the year 1908, next season will possibly be the most pressured season Ricky Stuart and some of the longer veteran players at the club have experienced, which will make for some interesting football and hopefully exciting football.

Season 2007 could be a make or break season for Ricky Stuart, I would predict another bottom 2 finish would result in Stickys sacking, as unfortunate as that would be, with Brad Fittler possibly waiting in the wings and John Lang yet to be signed by another club, quality replacements won't be too far to come across, and as we know, coaches are usualy first to be punted, whether it would be a good or bad decision will be for another article.

Word Count: 736 including title

**edit** formatting reasons

 

[Dread]

Dread for Sharks. 750 words.

Argh.

At the end of last year, Steve Rogers died in a tragic accident. His name was sewn onto the hearts of Cronulla jerseys and the season dedicated to his honour; a fitting tribute to a man who was at the very centre of Cronulla tradition.

Some held hopes that this would offer added incentive to our first graders. With Rogers’ name etched permanently onto their chests, they would pull together to ensure that the trophy arrived on Captain Cook Drive for the first time in forty years.

Those hopes faded fast.

Our loveable, mulletted coach, Stuart Raper, sent the troops out to battle over the first several weeks of the competition, only to return with a single mangy pelt; that of the Rabbitohs. It was a ruinous start to the competition. Somewhere along the way, Raper declared that Sharks fans were ‘idiots.’

Then, one week, Brett Kimmorley stuffed his ankle.

From that point, the wins arrived in landslide proportions. Adam Dykes slotted into halfback, Brett Kearney into five eighth, and the boys around them reacted positively, backing themselves to kick, run, pass and otherwise play football. Dykes then hurt himself, but Kimmorley made his return. Little changed; Kimmorley started to play into the same mould that Dykes had been employing and all was good. The team climbed to lofty heights, and a top four position looked within reach.

Then, Dykes came back.

Loss. After loss. After loss. This was the result of our stellar halves pairing being reunited. Some knowledgeable journos noted this and produced statistics displaying Cronulla’s horrendous record with this pair of inharmonious halves leading the way. Raper shrugged it off.

Six losses down the track and the Sharks have fallen out of the eight. The season dedicated to Rogers’ memory looks likely to end up in the toilet. Anyone with half a brain can see what needs to be done; Kimmorley, playing with abysmal form, needs to be dropped. Raper, however, sees it differently. This week, he has dropped a winger and a bench utility player from the team. Apparently, they’re the ones who aren’t creating points.

Kimmorley himself can’t be demonised. His efforts can’t be questioned. Unfortunately, however, he plays with an archaic and unrewarding style that’s of little benefit to those around him. Case in point; he revealed the literal side of throwing a hospital pass the other week when he sent a short ball to Greg Bird who was subsequently crushed. Broken ribs and a punctured lung later, Bird claimed that he had feared for his life. Kimmorley’s contributions to the Sharks are far from positive.

However, it is not his responsibility to select a winning team every week and thus, the burden of blame does not rest on his shoulders. His ability as captain is also questionable, but again, this is not a self-elected role.

No, these jobs are held by our arrogant, ex-mulletted coach, Stuart Raper, who appears to have a head in the sand approach to coaching a first grade team.

While form on the field has been embarrassing, form off the field has been disgraceful. Hooker Tevita Latu achieved infamy by breaking some football groupie’s nose after she taunted him with corn chips. He was understandably sacked and sentenced to community service, but fled the country without permission in an attempt to get his football career back on track.

Hutch Maiava, a fine example of why lateral movement is a valuable asset for a prop forward, started the year off on a great note, bashing a lower grader in the face.

The team coach – who, as you can tell, I don’t much like – declared the clubs fans were idiots when they began calling for his head following a ridiculous string of sub-par performances. He was pulled into line by CEO Greg Pierce, who only this week made a similarly bizarre comment, professing his happiness that most of our lower graders wouldn’t be at the club next season following a flogging from Canberra.

All in all, a dismal season; delivered in tribute to one of the finest Sharks club men the game has ever seen.

It makes you wonder just how much these men actually respect the legacy of the tragically departed Steve Rogers.

Epilogue: All is not lost, however. Rumours abound that Stuart Raper will be given his marching orders within weeks, allowing assistant coach Adrian Lam to take over for 2007. Perhaps a speck of positive news can be salvaged from the train wreck of 2006 after all?

 

[Pistol]

Pistol throws a cut out ball for Souths...

The Engine Room

This is where it all starts. The combustible elements come together as the fire is stoked, wood is piled on and the motor begins to purr. The pistons are pumping and the oil is lubricating the joints to make it a nice smooth ride.

Each team has one. Each team needs one. The front row is an essential part of each team. The basic foundations upon which they build a solid game plan starts with them. The more metres they make, the more opportunity they give their outside backs and the halves to explore and probe for weaknesses in the defence. Obviously the less metres mean the shakier the foundation.

Now let’s have a look at some of the “engine rooms” of the competition. We’ll start with the Broncos pairing of Petero “Seven cents a litre” Civoniceva and the best front rower of the modern era, Shane Webcke. These two have long been one of the best and most consistent “pistons” in the competition. Together over a long period of time, they have been the integral part of the Broncos machine. They have paired together for Brisbane, Queensland and even Australia.

Who could forget that semi final in 2000 where Webcke played the entire game with an arm he broke a few weeks earlier. Not only did he play with the pain, he played at his blockbusting best. It just goes to show you that even with a broken “part” the quality of the engine made sure the motor kept on humming along nicely.

The most remarkable thing about Webcke is his ‘never say die’ attitude. For many years now, comparisons have been drawn to him in most aspects of the prop forward’s game. Most notably, his last hit up of the game is just as fierce and taken up with as much gusto as his first, no matter what the score or situation is. Who would not have Webcke as part of their engine?

And let’s not leave the man with the hardest head in the competition, Civioniceva out of the equation. The amazing thing about this “spark plug” is how tough he really is. A couple of years ago, in Auckland, Monty Betham went for a high tackle on ‘Civ’. The outcome was that he came away with a broken arm after connecting with Civoniceva’s head. The blow didn’t affect the big Bronco at all. It was like a butterfly landed on his head. Also, if you recall, there was that instance in Origin in 2003 when Civ put a shoulder on Jason Ryles. Ryles nearly had a career ending shoulder injury as a result. Sturdiness, reliability and mileage are all necessities for a good engine.

Now whilst Brisbane has gone down the tried and true path in their engine room that may not be the cup of tea for other teams. Take Cronulla for instance. Their front row is fairly young and inexperienced with only a few baker’s dozens between them combined. A new look engine with hardly any miles on the clock and no bumps could mean a long life. But when buying a new car, that’s not always the case. Even though it’s new and has all the mod cons, the slightest dent and it could turn out to be a lemon. For instance, the Sharks were on fire for a period of about 6 or 7 games. Luke Douglas, Kevin Kingston and James Stosic combined to get the motor running nice and smoothly. With 6 losses in a row, the Sharks are fading and their engine is starting to fall apart.

The engine doesn’t have to have big name brand parts. Take the Wests Tigers last year. John Skandalis, Robbie Farah and Todd Payton are not what you would consider to be a “Mitsubishi” type engine, but they got the job done. That’s what every side needs. They may have bigger name players, but if it was me, I would have that front row in my side any day of the week. It isn’t necessarily the biggest engine going around or the most powerful, but it’s reliable and you can be sure it will stand up when it’s needed to.

Sure the engine is only a part of the vehicle, but without it, you couldn’t go anywhere.

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716 words including titles

 

[Bookie]

Come and see the real thing

It's amazing what you can hear about a footy player these days. The insults thrown at them for 80 minutes a weekend are pretty harsh and are not very rare at all. The sledging is a fine, a bit of gamesmanship, but the insults don't just stop at the ground (it'd be an easy life it did). The good old newspapers have to step in and inform us with multipage colour photos of how and why Tim Smith had a drink. Don't forget the four hours of radio talkback after the game, which usually focuses on off-game incidents most of the time anyway. And the multiple web forums where members insinuate their hate for Luke Covell. Not to forget the recent adapting of footballer identities on internet community Myspace. Cyber-bullying at its best. But we all know that these players don't have tme to listen to the radio or go one the internet, they are getting drunk and then going for a drive, aren't they? Well at least that's what Mark told me at the party last week anyway.

So much unwanted pressure on these players who just want to live their lives. I'm sure Tevita Latu's family are having a ball of a time when they go to league games these days. All for throwing a ball around and being good at it.

But while all this can be done over the phone, on the radio, in the papers, and in this day and age, the internet, how many of us could go up to a player and say something to their face? While this goes to all backstabbing talk in everyday life, when it comes to rugby league, we must realise that our most hated players also have lives to lead.

A week after the "We've got four toey humans in the cab" incident preceding origin in 2004, a couple of friends of mine and I were walking down the street in Kensington when lo and behold, walking in our direction thirty metres away, we see Shaun Timmins and Mark Gasnier. Timmins, funnily enough, was on the mobile phone, and this gave me the opportunity to shout out a joke related to phones and the incident which did occur the week before. This however, was not the greatest thing to do, because at the time I thought Gasnier would just ignore me and walk on. Instead, he stopped walking, turned around to face me and let loose a few expletives which scared me, quite a lot. Mark Gasnier, along with most other professional footballers, is very tall and quite built. While we both went in different directions, it gave me an indication of what these players have to put up with.

The very next week I attended my school athletics carnival at E.S. Marks field, while the Roosters trained in the weights room under the grandstand. Upon the completion of the last event, while I was leaving through the main gate, I was called upon for a bit of help by Craig Fitzgibbon to help carry his gear and surfboards to his car. After lugging the stuff across, he gave me a pat on the back and a thanks. Now while he may have just used me because he could, I felt really proud that I was asked by someone of such high profile do help him.

Now at the time of these occurences, Mark Gasnier was my most hated player, and the Roosters were my most hated team. But I realise it now that this was only due to their hyped up status in the community, mainly through the media. Face to face, these guys are just like everyone else, and they want to walk down the street, and they want to have a laugh like each and every one of us. But they are indeed role-models to young kids and they need to be on their best behaviour. In saying that though, we too are role models, and what we say about these players behind their backs should only be limited to the displays of gamesmanship we show for 80 minutes. For the rest of the time, as a famous song preaches, "Let it be".

705 words

 

[Mr. Fahrenheit]

no.2_lukeburt receives the cut-out pass, and on his debut he fends off the oppostion to score the matchwinner in the corner for the Mighty Rabbitohs.

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The Voice on Expansion (Not a John Farnham tale)

Welcome to the Naughties, a decade in which the ever dwindling attention span of the general populous breeds ignorance to an iconic past. In an age where television rules supreme to the written word, the purists of the sporting variety have become a rare delicacy. With the advent of digital TV and surround sound systems the transition from the sporting arena to the lounge room has become near seamless. This has led to the current situation in Rugby League and many other sports, where the television director has extensive input into the general running of the game.

The reason for this imbalance of power is simple, money. A larger audience is reached through television and therefore more money is earned through sponsors. Surely this can only benefit the game? More money would mean more development and more promotion of the game, but there are people who lose out. These are the traditionalists, those that sat on the hills at suburban grounds on numerous afternoons. If this minority had a gazette of laws, akin to the one in parliament, then the most common legislation would be to abide by the old cliché, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But that is the kind of ideology, which has stunted the growth of Rugby League back in recent years, particularly since the aftermath of the Super League war. The News Corporation Ltd. led revolt, was frowned upon by the majority of the Rugby League hierarchy, and the experiment failed.

As a member of the aforementioned, perceivably ignorant younger generation, I am of the view that Murdoch and his cronies had the right idea, but they didn’t look before they leapt. The traditionalists of Rugby League were still around mid-nineties and their influence proved to be a major hindrance. Now back to the present, these purists are a diminishing force is because of their inability to accept change; their strength was tested in 1998, with the inauguration of the NRL requiring modifications. The relegation of the North Sydney Bears, and the forced mergers of the Wests Tigers and St.George Illawarra Dragons have given fans a ‘take it or leave it’ ultimatum, where the traditionalist has to adapt to change or renounce the support of Rugby League.

Now, back to the original point, the diminishing numbers of purists are the victims of the shift in power in Rugby League. But with the revenue from the latest TV rights deal being roughly $84,000,000 a year, the game is in a stable condition as it prepares to infiltrate the South-East Queensland market through the new Gold Coast franchise in 2007. 25 years ago the mere thought of a team outside of NSW let alone the country would have been laughable. However, as of 2007, 6 out of 16 teams would be non-NSW. There are calls from certain sections of the NRL for a Central Coast team and a Southern NZ consortium, and possibly relocate a team to WA or SA. In my opinion, expansion of the game is essential for Rugby League, if it is to compete with the AFL for equitable market share, and this can only be achieved through the promotion of Rugby League, especially at its grassroots.

Rugby League has to embrace a whole new generation of fans and possible future superstars; the game’s hierarchy has to continue to look outside of RL heartlands. This is currently occurring through portions of the revenue gained by TV rights and other corporate sponsorships are being invested into junior development in AFL heartlands. This initiative will continue to gain momentum, once the niche markets of areas like Victoria are discovered. A prime example of the talent that lies outside of NSW and QLD are Melbourne centre Jake Webster and future Gold Coast Titans winger Matt Peterson. Webster was born in Victoria and Peterson was born in Western Australia, yet they figure prominently in first grade Rugby League, only because they moved interstate. However, if Rugby League was a viable option to the non-NSW or QLD kids, there possibilities or unearthing future superstars are endless.

The shift of power in Rugby League, going from the fans to the corporations, is a change that needed to occur for the expansion of the ‘greatest game of all’ and although the traditionalists may not be content, they have to ‘take it, or leave it.’

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733 words, including title.

 

[antonius]

Ref Blows Fulltime.

 

[Master Vippo]

5 v 5



Good work. Thanks Sharks and good luck to Souths!

 

[Pistol]

5 in again

well done to all souths players, especially the benchies who came on and did a great job

congrats to the sharks for getting the allottment in

thanks timekeeper and its over to the referee

*Extends hands for the Sharks skipper and players*

 

[rabs]

great work bunnies, good luck to both teams

 

[Mr. Fahrenheit]

good game to debut in, 5V5, should be a close one *shakes hands*