Rumours and Stuff

[emjaycee]

Are you suggesting that the Broncos are a 27 pt better team than us? And what if we beat Manly tonight? Are the Broncos better than Manly? And does that then mean the Broncos are as good as Melbourne who also beat Manly? Or, given that the Broncos whipped the Roosters earlier in the season, have the Roosters massively improved?

No, I think he is suggesting that because we only lost by 1 point to Penrith, and they were flogged by Melbourne, who we beat earlier in the year, that we are actually a better side than Melbourne.
#hindylogic

 

[Soto]

So in summary, because melb beat manly last week and we are a better side than melb we will beat manly tonight...far out we didn't need to go on the journey but at least we got there...

 

[Soren Lorenson]

It's great news.

 

[emjaycee]

Not a rumour but not sure where else to put it.
2021 season to date:

Position/Team/(losses)	Lost to:
1. Melbourne Storm (2)	Eels, Panthers
2. Penrith Panthers (3)	Tigers, Cronulla, Melbourne
3. South Sydney (3)	Melbourne x 2, Penrith
4. Sydney Roosters (7)	Souths, Melbourne x 2, Eels, Brisbane, Penrith x 2
5. Parramatta Eels (7)	St George, Manly, Souths x 2, Raiders, Penrith, Roosters
6. Manly Sea Eagles (8)	Roosters, Souths, Dragons, Penrith x 2, Knights, Raiders, Storm

Of the top 6 teams, Melbourne and Souths are the only ones to have not lost when they have been clearly expected to win, although based on 2020 performance, Melbourne were probably still favourites going into the 2 games they did lose.

Panthers lost two games when Origin players were out, so understandable but the loss to the Tigers was still 4 tries to 1. Roosters were clear favourites going into their Brisbane loss in Round 11. Manly were missing Turbo for their loss against the Dragons but would have been favourites before their games against Knights and Raiders. Eels would have only been clear favourites for the losses to St George and probably the Raiders.

Like most of the 'experts' that made predictions before Round 1, I reckon we have performed as a top 6 team. Winning most of the games we should have, losing to teams that were tipped to finish above us on the ladder and jagging the odd win (Melbourne in Rnd 3) where we were underdogs. And the games that could have gone either way (Manly and Roosters) we came up short. Just like Manly and the Roosters.

We aren't the Raiders who were picked by many for a top 4 spot and are fighting to stay in 8th. We aren't the Tigers who look to have lost their hold on running 9th and slipped even further down the ladder. Yes, we need to improve and we probably need a strike player or 2 in order to do that and we definitely need to change up some of our coaching and tactics, but I am not sure why everyone is slitting their wrists over our ladder position.

We are 6th in betting line to win the GF. Who seriously expected us to be higher?

 

[emjaycee]

So in summary, because melb beat manly last week and we are a better side than melb we will beat manly tonight...far out we didn't need to go on the journey but at least we got there...

Sometimes it's about the journey and not the destination mate.

 

[strider]

Are you suggesting that the Broncos are a 27 pt better team than us? And what if we beat Manly tonight? Are the Broncos better than Manly? And does that then mean the Broncos are as good as Melbourne who also beat Manly? Or, given that the Broncos whipped the Roosters earlier in the season, have the Roosters massively improved?

He is saying the Bulldogs are f**kin shit ....... there's no pondering about that

 

[hineyrulz]

It's great news.

It’s very exciting news!!

 

[zuke]

If we can’t win tonight and I don’t t think we will we are done for the year. Who’s to blame? You don’t have to be Einstein to answer that question. It’s Brad Arthur and the powers that be for repeating the same mistakes year in year out. The sad part about it is that they will do nothing about if for 2022. We can only pray that the imbecile does not get extended. See you next year folks.

 

[Chipmunk]

Not a rumour but not sure where else to put it.
2021 season to date:

Position/Team/(losses)	Lost to:
1. Melbourne Storm (2)	Eels, Panthers
2. Penrith Panthers (3)	Tigers, Cronulla, Melbourne
3. South Sydney (3)	Melbourne x 2, Penrith
4. Sydney Roosters (7)	Souths, Melbourne x 2, Eels, Brisbane, Penrith x 2
5. Parramatta Eels (7)	St George, Manly, Souths x 2, Raiders, Penrith, Roosters
6. Manly Sea Eagles (8)	Roosters, Souths, Dragons, Penrith x 2, Knights, Raiders, Storm

Of the top 6 teams, Melbourne and Souths are the only ones to have not lost when they have been clearly expected to win, although based on 2020 performance, Melbourne were probably still favourites going into the 2 games they did lose.

Panthers lost two games when Origin players were out, so understandable but the loss to the Tigers was still 4 tries to 1. Roosters were clear favourites going into their Brisbane loss in Round 11. Manly were missing Turbo for their loss against the Dragons but would have been favourites before their games against Knights and Raiders. Eels would have only been clear favourites for the losses to St George and probably the Raiders.

Like most of the 'experts' that made predictions before Round 1, I reckon we have performed as a top 6 team. Winning most of the games we should have, losing to teams that were tipped to finish above us on the ladder and jagging the odd win (Melbourne in Rnd 3) where we were underdogs. And the games that could have gone either way (Manly and Roosters) we came up short. Just like Manly and the Roosters.

We aren't the Raiders who were picked by many for a top 4 spot and are fighting to stay in 8th. We aren't the Tigers who look to have lost their hold on running 9th and slipped even further down the ladder. Yes, we need to improve and we probably need a strike player or 2 in order to do that and we definitely need to change up some of our coaching and tactics, but I am not sure why everyone is slitting their wrists over our ladder position.

We are 6th in betting line to win the GF. Who seriously expected us to be higher?

We were also clear favourites to beat Manly.

We should be higher on the ladder than the team that the Roosters have put on the field for most of the season. We're only higher on the ladder than Manly due to no Turbo for the first 5 weeks. We've lost 7 games since Round 4, they've lost 4.

I thought we were going to be a Top 6 side, and we're going about as good as I thought we would. The timing of the draw has inflated our position on the ladder, with playing the bottom 5 teams 7 times in the first 15 rounds. The timing of the draw of playing all of the other Top 6 sides in the last 6 weeks is also over highlighting our over inflated position. We play 10 games out of 24 against the other Top 6 sides. If we had played one of them every 2 or 3 weeks, the players, coaching staff and media probably wouldn't have got this over inflated opinion of where the team is really at. Perhaps our obvious deficiencies could have been highlighted to all earlier. I was saying in the middle of the season that beating up on the shit teams was only masking our many deficiencies. Looking at our draw at the same time, it was always going to be a slow motion car crash to get to where we are at now.

But my expectations of how we were going to go was based on the fact that I knew that the same coaching staff would be employing the same tactics, which was going to end in the same result.

People made their predictions based on the fact that things were unlikely to change with the current coaching setup.

I suspect that most peoples issues about how the team is performing is not that it is below expectations, but rather that they see that the squad of players should be playing better than they are, but they know that won't happen whilst the current coaching setup remains in place.

We have a game plan that is suited to beating shit teams that fold easily under pressure. This not a game plan to beat a highly competitive opponent. This is down to the coaching setup. The coaching setup has let these players down, as they're capable of more than what they're showing.

 

[Glenneel]

Interesting in the pre-match press conference today a journo asked BA about the clubs media release last night about putting Gutho's contract talks on hold until the end of the season, and if that was going to be the same for all players to allow the team to focus on footy.

BA said he wasnt aware of the clubs media release, or that a decision to suspend contract talks had taken place...

What a rabble. BA is either on the way out so they are not including him in discussions, or the club's communication is pathetic. or both.

Isn't this the job of the HOF?

 

[IFR33K]

Not a rumour but not sure where else to put it.
2021 season to date:

Position/Team/(losses)	Lost to:
1. Melbourne Storm (2)	Eels, Panthers
2. Penrith Panthers (3)	Tigers, Cronulla, Melbourne
3. South Sydney (3)	Melbourne x 2, Penrith
4. Sydney Roosters (7)	Souths, Melbourne x 2, Eels, Brisbane, Penrith x 2
5. Parramatta Eels (7)	St George, Manly, Souths x 2, Raiders, Penrith, Roosters
6. Manly Sea Eagles (8)	Roosters, Souths, Dragons, Penrith x 2, Knights, Raiders, Storm

Of the top 6 teams, Melbourne and Souths are the only ones to have not lost when they have been clearly expected to win, although based on 2020 performance, Melbourne were probably still favourites going into the 2 games they did lose.

Panthers lost two games when Origin players were out, so understandable but the loss to the Tigers was still 4 tries to 1. Roosters were clear favourites going into their Brisbane loss in Round 11. Manly were missing Turbo for their loss against the Dragons but would have been favourites before their games against Knights and Raiders. Eels would have only been clear favourites for the losses to St George and probably the Raiders.

Like most of the 'experts' that made predictions before Round 1, I reckon we have performed as a top 6 team. Winning most of the games we should have, losing to teams that were tipped to finish above us on the ladder and jagging the odd win (Melbourne in Rnd 3) where we were underdogs. And the games that could have gone either way (Manly and Roosters) we came up short. Just like Manly and the Roosters.

We aren't the Raiders who were picked by many for a top 4 spot and are fighting to stay in 8th. We aren't the Tigers who look to have lost their hold on running 9th and slipped even further down the ladder. Yes, we need to improve and we probably need a strike player or 2 in order to do that and we definitely need to change up some of our coaching and tactics, but I am not sure why everyone is slitting their wrists over our ladder position.

We are 6th in betting line to win the GF. Who seriously expected us to be higher?

I’m still not sure you get it. It’s not the losses alone that are the issues. Of course we were going to lose games. For me, BA still seems lacking in knowing what he wants from the bench, bizarre team selections and at an overall loss of how to play against the top sides. There’s still huge question marks even 8 years in.

 

[hindy111]

Are you suggesting that the Broncos are a 27 pt better team than us? And what if we beat Manly tonight? Are the Broncos better than Manly? And does that then mean the Broncos are as good as Melbourne who also beat Manly? Or, given that the Broncos whipped the Roosters earlier in the season, have the Roosters massively improved?

It shows Rooster aren't that great and same goes for the Raiders who we played minus Wighton and Papali, CNK and a heap of others out.

 

[parra pete]

Has Samuel Hughes been resigned?...has he finished his stint at the Opera?

 

[hindy111]

Not a rumour but not sure where else to put it.
2021 season to date:

Position/Team/(losses)	Lost to:
1. Melbourne Storm (2)	Eels, Panthers
2. Penrith Panthers (3)	Tigers, Cronulla, Melbourne
3. South Sydney (3)	Melbourne x 2, Penrith
4. Sydney Roosters (7)	Souths, Melbourne x 2, Eels, Brisbane, Penrith x 2
5. Parramatta Eels (7)	St George, Manly, Souths x 2, Raiders, Penrith, Roosters
6. Manly Sea Eagles (8)	Roosters, Souths, Dragons, Penrith x 2, Knights, Raiders, Storm

Of the top 6 teams, Melbourne and Souths are the only ones to have not lost when they have been clearly expected to win, although based on 2020 performance, Melbourne were probably still favourites going into the 2 games they did lose.

Panthers lost two games when Origin players were out, so understandable but the loss to the Tigers was still 4 tries to 1. Roosters were clear favourites going into their Brisbane loss in Round 11. Manly were missing Turbo for their loss against the Dragons but would have been favourites before their games against Knights and Raiders. Eels would have only been clear favourites for the losses to St George and probably the Raiders.

Like most of the 'experts' that made predictions before Round 1, I reckon we have performed as a top 6 team. Winning most of the games we should have, losing to teams that were tipped to finish above us on the ladder and jagging the odd win (Melbourne in Rnd 3) where we were underdogs. And the games that could have gone either way (Manly and Roosters) we came up short. Just like Manly and the Roosters.

We aren't the Raiders who were picked by many for a top 4 spot and are fighting to stay in 8th. We aren't the Tigers who look to have lost their hold on running 9th and slipped even further down the ladder. Yes, we need to improve and we probably need a strike player or 2 in order to do that and we definitely need to change up some of our coaching and tactics, but I am not sure why everyone is slitting their wrists over our ladder position.

We are 6th in betting line to win the GF. Who seriously expected us to be higher?

After our game against Penrith I certainly did. I felt like we where and as Pou mentioned 20 x this year a genuine 10-1 chance. Maybe even 8-1.
Now we are 45-1

 

[TheRam]

Well you saying it doesn't make it true, but happy to be shown some evidence to back up the words.

No it doesn't. So here you go. Imagine if we were given the free ride the Broncos get and were given the viewer friendly Friday night time slot like the Broncos almost every week? After all we did have the highest rating free to air game on television last year since 2014 as well with 1.3m viewers. I know that game was bumped up due to it being the first game back after covid, but the below figures don't lie. We are number one.

So we are the number one viewed team in the COUNTRY of any sport and people like pou say we can't hack it like the other glamour teams when it comes to attracting sponsors and the alike? I have argued this with posters on here before, we are the number one club in the NRL or at the very least equal to both Brisbane and Melbourne for importance to the ARLC. Eyeballs is what matters the most to corporations and potential sponsors and we attract the most in at least 2 of the top 3 markets in the country. But we get very little respect by so many. This can be attributed by our own doing due to the way we used to be governed. But now things have changed from that perspective and we should be taking full advantage of our elite status in the game. So are we?

With the below figures if our management can't get the best and most lucrative endorsements and sponsorships, then our management sucks. All they need to do is show those figures and sell our top 4 team, best stadium and developing city by a crack, top notch, gift of the gab, negotiating team and we should be able to have the most valuable jersey in the country to go with our status.

Signing players and coaches should also be an advantage for us when it comes to attracting sponsors for them and selling our club to players over almost every other club. We need to go after someone like Frank Ponissi at Melbourne or others of similar quality or status in the game. We have to stop with the second rate appointments and only hire the best of the best like the top teams in any league do. We are one of them for f**k sake! Therefore hirer the best that can get us there and stop with the cut price merkins already.

Also we should go to Fox Sports now and ask them to do a preseason and first half of the season(maybe all season) Tigertown type of feature doco on us. We would rate the house down. We are the medias click bait darlings for a reason. So again lets take advantage of it instead of being victims. Sponsors would be salivating at the prospect of even more exposure for their buck. Hell I should be running our joint.

Sorry it is a pay walled article, but its been extracted below.

No Cookies | Daily Telegraph

No Cookies

www.dailytelegraph.com.au

EELS SNARE TV RATINGS TITLE

The Parramatta Eels have won the title as the season’s most watched NRL club on Fox Sports and Kayo.

The Eels had an average audience of 378,000 — more viewers than any of their NRL or AFL rivals thanks to their fanatical blue and gold army in Sydney’s west — up 10 per cent on last year. OzTAM ratings also reveal Parramatta as the most watched football team in any code on pay TV and free-to-air TV.

“Having an average of 378,000 viewers on Fox and Kayo each week is a phenomenal result and a testament to our members and fans who support our club with pride,” Eels chief executive Jim Sarantinos said. “It’s also a terrific outcome for our sponsors. We are by no means done and plan to build in 2021.”

Melbourne Storm came in second on 360,000, with Sunday’s opponents Penrith eighth with 330,000. The Gold Coast Titans and the New Zealand Warriors finished equal-last with an average of 271,000 viewers.

The round-six Roosters v Eels game was the most watched pay TV game, with an average audience of 507,000. The second-highest was Sonny Bill Williams’ comeback for the Roosters against the Raiders on a Saturday night in round 17.

NRL TV RATINGS
TOP 8
1 Eels 378,000
2 Storm 360,000
3 Rabbitohs 354,000
4 Raiders 350,000
5 Roosters 345,000
6 Broncos 343,000
7 Wests Tigers 338,000
8 Panthers 330,000

BOTTOM 8
9 Cowboys 315,000
10 Sharks 314,000
11 Knights 313,000
12 Sea Eagles 306,000
13 Dragons 297,000
14 Bulldogs 287,000
15 Titans 271,000
16 Warriors 271,000
*Fox Sports & Kayo figures

 

[hindy111]

Where do people see us next year?
If we have sane coaching staff and squad?

I don't see Penrith,Manly or Storm being a lot weaker. Souths will be.
Roosters will be up with Storm and Penrith I image.

Then look Sat sides below. Knights,Dogs,Saints,Brisbane,Titans,NZ, Canberra ,Sharks,Cowboys,Tigers.

Bar Tigers I reckon every other side will improve. We are only slightly better then all these teams. They won't need a lot of improvement to go from us beating them to being a flip of coin game.

 

[emjaycee]

We were also clear favourites to beat Manly.

We should be higher on the ladder than the team that the Roosters have put on the field for most of the season. We're only higher on the ladder than Manly due to no Turbo for the first 5 weeks. We've lost 7 games since Round 4, they've lost 4.

I thought we were going to be a Top 6 side, and we're going about as good as I thought we would. The timing of the draw has inflated our position on the ladder, with playing the bottom 5 teams 7 times in the first 15 rounds. The timing of the draw of playing all of the other Top 6 sides in the last 6 weeks is also over highlighting our over inflated position. We play 10 games out of 24 against the other Top 6 sides. If we had played one of them every 2 or 3 weeks, the players, coaching staff and media probably wouldn't have got this over inflated opinion of where the team is really at. Perhaps our obvious deficiencies could have been highlighted to all earlier. I was saying in the middle of the season that beating up on the shit teams was only masking our many deficiencies. Looking at our draw at the same time, it was always going to be a slow motion car crash to get to where we are at now.

But my expectations of how we were going to go was based on the fact that I knew that the same coaching staff would be employing the same tactics, which was going to end in the same result.

People made their predictions based on the fact that things were unlikely to change with the current coaching setup.

I suspect that most peoples issues about how the team is performing is not that it is below expectations, but rather that they see that the squad of players should be playing better than they are, but they know that won't happen whilst the current coaching setup remains in place.

We have a game plan that is suited to beating shit teams that fold easily under pressure. This not a game plan to beat a highly competitive opponent. This is down to the coaching setup. The coaching setup has let these players down, as they're capable of more than what they're showing.

Apart from the bit in bold above, I am glad to see we are in agreement.

We are a top 6 side, not a top 3 side and this year, Roosters and Manly are going to finish pretty close to us. Losing Turbo for 5 rounds and the weakened squad the Roosters have had, has only meant that they have come back closer to us in the pack, not that we should have improved. We look like finishing the year with 60% win ratio (14/10), compared to Manly and Roosters who will have 66% ratio (16/8). Two more wins over 24 rounds and we are equal 4th. Like you said, 'we're going about as good as you thought we would" - same here.

And of course, nearly every team's ladder position fluctuates throughout the year based on who they play when. Our draw was easier earlier in the year and got harder towards the end. It would be great to have a draw where you play each team twice, once in each half of the season, but that's not how the NRL want to do it.

Oh and going into the Round 11 Manly game, both teams were 5/6 with some big scores in the lead up games. Turbo had been back and they were clicking into top gear. I never thought we would beat them easily and with Bozo's passing, the additional motivation got them the game easily. Shit happens in football as in life sometimes.

 

[hindy111]

That is my worry.
We wont be capable of beating your Penrith,Storm,Manly,Roosters. That will be 6 losses and if a bad draw it could be 8.
If every other game becomes a 50/50 that leaves 12-14 games. Gives us 6-8 wins.
I would tip us for 10 at most.

 

[emjaycee]

I’m still not sure you get it. It’s not the losses alone that are the issues. Of course we were going to lose games. For me, BA still seems lacking in knowing what he wants from the bench, bizarre team selections and at an overall loss of how to play against the top sides. There’s still huge question marks even 8 years in.

I do get it mate. That's why I said this bit:

Yes, we need to improve and we probably need a strike player or 2 in order to do that and we definitely need to change up some of our coaching and tactics

 

[emjaycee]

That is my worry.
We wont be capable of beating your Penrith,Storm,Manly,Roosters. That will be 6 losses and if a bad draw it could be 8.
If every other game becomes a 50/50 that leaves 12-14 games. Gives us 6-8 wins.
I would tip us for 10 at most.

And Souths too - so 8 losses.

Which is why we need to (1) improve our squad with a strike player or two and (2) improve our coaching and tactics. Whether that means a change of coach, change of assistants or change of mindset I don't know, but not sure anyone is saying just keep doing what we are doing.