State Of Origin 2010 Queensland v New South Wales

[The Piper]

F7s STATE OF ORIGIN '10
Queensland Maroons v New South Wales Blues

v

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.
Captains must post their entire team (including reserves) before posting and only those players listed may play this round.
Only original articles, not used in previous games, will be marked by referees.

REP Match rules
5 posts per team.
Teams allowed 3 reserves each.
Total (including reserves): 8 players per team.
Rules of play: http://f7s.leagueunlimited.com/rules.php

Full Time: Saturday 10th July at 9:00PM (SYD TIME)
Venue: The Front Row Stadium

REFEREE: antonius
*Blows time on*

Click here to access the F7s official word counter

 

[The Piper]

The Tommy Raudonikis coached state side hits the park to the cry of "Cattledog!"

New South Wales Blues

The Piper (Panthers)
Non Terminator (Roosters)
Willow (Bluebags)
bartman (Eels)
griffo346 (Rabbitohs)

Go the Blues!

 

[The Piper]

The Piper for NSW

Round 1, March 1st to March 4th 2013

I like to plan ahead. Things seem to work out best if I know what is happening well in advance. That is why I have gone ahead and booked Round 1 for the 2013 NRL season. It is a highly anticipated year of league already, with new broadcasting deals negotiated as well as the expected inclusion of several new teams into the first grade competition. The F7s is the first to get a sneak peek at the opening round draw as I give a little insight as to how the matches came about.

Friday 7.35pm: DRAGONS vs. BULLDOGS: Kogarah

Friday 7.35pm: BRONCOS vs. COWBOYS: Brisbane

The Broncos and Cowboys have become “the” Queensland derby and its opening night timeslot should be scheduled forever more. No clash comes close to having the amount of fans that fill Suncorp on the first Friday night of the season. As for the New South Wales match up, I have given the Dragons the benefit of the doubt and decided that by 2013, surely the side has made a grand final by now. Going back a few seasons, the combatants of the previous year’s decider were allocated opening round home games. This rule returns. I’ve set the match against the Dogs which will surely have supporters dying in anticipation. A hopefully larger capacity WIN Jubilee by then, it should be bursting at the seams with fans. Canterbury gets a home game the following week versus Parramatta.

Saturday 5.30pm: TITANS vs. RAIDERS: Gold Coast

Michael Searle will always ask for the five thirty slot on a Saturday afternoon, and this season sees the Titans open the year at that time at Skilled. Supporters of all clubs have the mindset that their team can beat the Raiders, but Canberra always seem to turn up to play.

Saturday 7.30pm: BEARS vs. KNIGHTS: Gosford

The Central Coast of NSW deserves a first grade team and this year, the famous red and blacks are back in the national rugby league. To celebrate, the Bears start the year with a home ground advantage. Novocastrians will pour down the freeway to support their side at Bluetongue. It is an obvious match up to build the overall round’s attendance figures as well as wet everyone’s appetite for a stellar season to come. Look out for the Bears vs. Sea Eagles match at North Sydney Oval in Round 9.

Saturday 7.30pm: REDS vs. STORM: Perth

Just as the Bears begin again at home, the Western Australians kick off at Perth. It will give a good indication if their inclusion was justified or not. A large crowd would be hoped, and mostly realised, as the Reds take on a once formidable foe in Melbourne. Since their salary cap breaches this year and loss of star players in ‘11, they won’t be the same rampaging side but still should put on a good show in Round 1.

Sunday 2.00pm: WARRIORS vs. TIGERS: Auckland

Broadcast in Australia at twelve noon, I just love waking up after a night on the drink at eleven and having live league within the hour! Two teams who push the envelope each year, the Kiwis will be behind their boys at their first home match of the year and also to see their Benji.

Sunday 3.00pm: EELS vs. PANTHERS: Parramatta

Sunday 3.00pm: ROOSTERS vs. RABBITOHS: Moore Park

With an extra match on a Sunday, Channel Nine gets a choice of two three o’clock starters that they’d like to show. Foxtel gets the other; another game for their network than past years. I have scheduled two classic local derbies to really draw the fans to. Is there a fierier encounter in league than the Roosters and Rabbitohs? I still can’t believe that in 2010, the “Battle of the West” only happened once in the twenty six rounds. But Penrith fans will turn up in droves after they win the comp in 2010 and 2011...! Souths play the Saints the week after; a possible double header at ANZ?

Monday 7.00pm: SEA EAGLES vs. SHARKS: Brookvale

Let’s say that Manly have done what they had the potentially to do and won the 2012 NRL season. The Premiers are allowed a first round home match and their competitors - the Sharks (if still Cronulla, don’t know). Brookvale provides a decent turnout on a Monday night and with supporters expecting another great year, surely it will be close to a sell-out.

750 words says the official word counter

 

[Titanic]

The 2010 Queensland Maroons F7's Team seeking to make it 1 in a row.

Run-on

Titanic (carnage)
madunit (violence)
Azkatro (fear of death)
tits&tans (antagoniser)
TITs ANonymouS (designated puncher)

Bench

Big Mick (intimidator)
Jesbass (juicy extractor)
bgdc (distraction in the cute black number)

 

[madunit]

madunit (violence) for Queensland

The Origin of Origin

The concept of Origin began way back in the sixteenth century in Britain. A mob of oppressed Northerners had had enough of their more dominant Southerners having the upper hand over them all their lives, so they decided to stake a contest. Some may call it war, which it was.

But I digress, after extensive research, treks, and great expense, I have managed to trace the precise moment when Origin was born.
___________________________________________________________________________________
(A group of men are seen running up a hill)

McMeninga: William, it's several trainers.

O’Langer: The Blues are advancing an army toward Lang.

Lewis: Will the nobles rally?

O’McTrainer: Bruce the Highway and most of the others will not commit to battle. But word is spread, and Clydesdales are coming down on their own.

McMeninga: Aye, in droves of hundreds and thousands.

Lewis: Are you ready for a war?
___________________________________________________________________________________
(Battlefield at Lang. The Maroons and Blues stand on opposite sides. The heavy cavalry of the Blues army appear over the hill and some Maroons are scared)

O’Ikin: I didn't come here to play so they can beat us more; then I have to play for them if I want to succeed.

McHetherington: Nor me. Alright lads. I'm not losing to these bastards! Lets go home.

(The two Maroons turn and start to leave the field and several others join them.)

McVautin: Stop men! Do not flee!

(Lewis and his men arrive. Lewis' face is painted solid maroon.)

O’Ikin: William Lewis?

McHetherington: Can't be. Not tall enough.

(Lewis and his men stride up to the nobles.)

O’Carroll: The Almighty says this must be a fashionable fight. It's drawn the finest people.

Lewis: For presenting yourselves on this battlefield, I give you thanks.

McClose: This is our army. To join it you give homage.

Lewis: I give homage to Queensland. And if this is your army, why does it go?

McHetherington: We didn't come here to play for them.

O’Ikin: Home. The Blues are too many.

Lewis: Sons of Queensland, I am William Lewis.

O’Ikin: William Lewis isn’t balding.

Lewis: Yes, I've heard. He tackles men by the hundreds, and if he were here he'd defeat the Blues with fireballs from his eyes and bolts of lightning from his arse. I am William Lewis, and I see a whole army of my fellow Queenslanders here in defiance of tyranny. You have come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you play?

McHetherington: Play against that? No, we will run, and we will live.

Lewis: Aye, play and you may lose, run and you'll live. At least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our players, but they'll never take our stadium?!

(The huge crowd of Queenslanders start shouting and chanting “QUEENSLANDER!&#8221
___________________________________________________________________________________
Sir Gould: They seem quite optimistic to me. Maybe they do want to play.

Lord Bellamy: Confrontation might be a foregone conclusion, my lord. But none the less, I think we should deliver Gibson's terms.

Sir Gould: Gibson's terms; He'll never live up to them.

Lord Bellamy: My lord, I think--.

Sir Gould: Alright, offer them the terms.
___________________________________________________________________________________
McClose: They're coming out. Shall we go and meet them?

McVautin: Let me do the talking.

McClose: Agreed.
___________________________________________________________________________________
O’Langer: Fine speech. Now what do we do?

Lewis: Just be yourselves.

McMeninga: Where are you going?

Lewis: I'm going to pick a fight.

McMeninga: Well, we didn't get dressed up for nothing.


And it was one hard fought, long, drawn-out series, the Northerners picking up early victories on home soil and after some impressive lead up work in their opponents territory, were brutally overpowered in the final match up. After the final battle it was noted that the heroic William Lewis, reflecting on his teams performances in getting this far, only to lose the final encounter, was gutted.


It was this sequence of events which lead to the foundation of Origin as we know it. To this day, Queenslanders have trekked far and wide to defend their mighty Stadium, which has been standing now for nigh on 500 years.

And if the Queenslanders have any say on the matter, it’ll still be standing in 500 more.


741 words, including title, according to Official Word Counter

 

[Non Terminator]

Non Terminator, in his second Origin appearance. 738 OWC.

**


When A Win Feels Like A Loss


The final whistle was blown. Against all the odds in the world, the Roosters had won. The old rival was once again vanquished. Finally, we could cheer, knowing how proud we were of our side. Of course, in recent years, we haven't had too much to cheer about.

That 18-14 victory over South Sydney felt amazing. Truly amazing. Apparently, I was going off last night, to the extent I threw stuff around the house in joy. I don't remember a single thing, yet I hadn't consumed any alcohol. Curse you emotions, curse you. I'm still wondering how the hell our lounge cushion ended up on top of the fish tank. However, it was worth it. That victory felt amazing. I said this to a few people last night, I don't think I've been this happy about a Roosters victory since we conquered the New Zealand Warriors in the 2002 Grand Final.

The match was tense. It was all in the balance and it would take one crucial moment to turn the game for us. That one blow of the whistle literally changed everything about the game. Momentum would never be the same. After a few weeks of this going against the Roosters, it felt great to be on the right side of a decision for a change. It felt great, finally when things were in the balance, it all went right for us...

...and that is why this victory is tainted.

It's no secret. Outside the Roosters supporters, pretty much every Rugby League fan hate us in some way. It wasn't even a year ago when thousands of people celebrated when North Queensland defeated us at the Sydney Football Stadium to seal our Wooden Spoon. Mind you, those same supporters won't even let us forget those awful days. However, when something goes our way, people feel inclined to speak like we've all just committed some sort of mass murder. Once again, our club has been tagged with that awful word. Cheaters.

Let us not forget that it was only a fortnight ago when we lost a close game, again, to the New Zealand Warriors. Some argued that an early referee call that lead to the Kevin Locke try was incorrect. Either way, we had the chance to win that game. But those supporters who go blind with hatred for the club, well, of course they'll tell us we deserved it.

Apparently the club has no soul, no heart. Tell that to the Charity Nest. Tell that to the faithful supporters that remain after the Wooden Spoon. Tell that to the players and staff that have been at the club for their entire top grade career.

Yet, personally for me, last night's elation hasn't been forgotten. Those two competition points we well and truly earned, and fans of both clubs have so far agreed to this on "The Front Row Forums." Of course, many disagree with this. Thanks to this technology, everybody can have their say. Although if it was as policed as public comments from coaches, we wouldn't even be able to pay to use cheap internet. There is no denying the fact however, after the reaction from fans, there will always be that empty feeling. It always happens when your team scores a dubious try (which of course, most of the time, would lead to an even more dubious victory). The two competition points are sealed, but still, the feeling is sometimes empty. The elation after the victory is still there, but it feels somewhat tainted. Those questions begin to pop into your head...

Did we deserve the win?
Did they deserve the loss?
When will we hear the end of this?
Will this benefit or hurt us?

It's funny though. Refereeing errors have always been a major topic when spoken by members of the media. One phrase is constantly brought up.

"One day, a refereeing error will cost a side a premiership."

I wonder what an empty premiership feels like. Mind you, there have been some noticeable refereeing errors in recent Grand Finals (despite little amount of attention on it from those same media members, who are in the hype of a premiership victory).

Still, as I said, those two competition points earned last night felt nearly as good as a premiership victory. We've had to suffer through dubious losses, let us celebrate this victory. I sure will be.

 

[tits&tans]

tits&tans strolls on the pitch for Queensland in amazement, making his maroon debut. So this is Origin .... hmm, not bad.

740 words (OWC) between the stars

**********

Li-ge

Recently, it has been more difficult than usual to be a League fan. Living in China, not well-known for its love of League, is one thing. Another is that a pathetic excuse for a world sporting competition has been hogging all the TVs in town. I promised myself that this would not turn into a World-Cup-bashing rant and that I would not moan about the myriad of bland performances by the supposed best teams in the world nor would I disparage the acting talents of the athletes nor mention the inability of such a wealthy international sporting organisation to provide any form of technological or third-person verification of the judgments made during a match.

I have spent a few weeks valiantly attempting to convince my Chinese and other non-League friends of the benefits of League and to join me to watch the State of Origin games. However, I am having little success as each game has coincided with an apparently more important sporting event: Game 1 (local Nanjing soccer match), Game 2 (Honduras vs. Chile) and Game 3 (Germany vs. Spain). Instead of being surrounded by my mates urging Queensland to squash them Roaches, I have watched one game at home on my own, one in the local “Aussie” pub where the picture was fine but the sound wasn’t in sync and one where the satellite channel that both my set and the pub uses simply gave up. Bloody wonderful! Like I said, a tough time.

Over the last few years I have felt like a Jehovah’s witness as I have tried to preach the good word of League, well, simply tried to find people who like, understand or even know my sport. The first challenge was to explain the sport to my Chinese friends. Most conversations followed a similar structure:

So you like what sport?
Footy.
Football?
No, rugby league.
What is that?
It’s like soccer but the ball is a different shape.
You like soccer?
No. I like rugby league.
What is that? (I would then draw a rugby ball)
En! America football!
No. Rugby league.
What is that?
It’s like American Football but we don’t wear armour.
So, you like America football?
No. I like League.
Lí​gē? What is that?
​

At this point I often became a little exasperated and I had to remind myself that I shouldn’t be too impatient as I couldn’t have this conversation in Chinese. What followed was invariably a vocabulary lesson, which seemed to serve purely as an additional layer of confusion. A bad habit I have developed is to simply transliterate an English word when I don’t know the Chinese for it. This doesn’t often work:

lige​ farewell song
ligu​ bone that divides the nostrils
la​gu​ yabby
lei​gu​ rib
le​gui​ reggae
lugu​ shameless
​

Finally, I found out that the Chinese word for league is gan​lan​qiu​ (oval-shaped ball). However this also applies to other sports and I wanted my friends to understand the variant that I love. I tried to explain League but experienced difficulty with the name, as they had learned that ‘league’ meant either a measurement of distance, an organization of like-minded political people (e.g. Communist Youth League) or a group of teams competing against themselves.

I even resorted to underhand tactics in trying to encourage them to come to the pub and watch the Titans play. My friends all like literature and word puzzles and I did, at times, take full advantage of this by showing how my sport had appeared in influential works by Tennyson and Verne and was found across European folklore. The tipping point of my argument was when I wrote the following word puzzle:

0.5 a L, 0.5 a L, 0.5 a L o, A i t V of D R t 600
20,000 L u t S
800 L o t A
7-L B
​

and explained (through gritted teeth) how the true meaning of League is not far from the Chinese concept of méng​ (union).!

Such is life when you have resort to such evils as invoking a lesser sport in order to promote a better sport. The end justifies the means, I guess. The silver lining is, however, that I managed to persuade two of my mates to come and watch the next televised match.

 

[Titanic]

[FONT=&quot]

Titanic (carnage) for Queensland [/FONT][FONT=&quot](746 OWC)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
An Extra-Terrestrial Perspective

"They're made out of meat."

"Meat?"

"Meat. They're made out of meat."

"Meat?"

"There's no doubt about it. We picked up several from different parts of the planet, took them aboard our recon vessels, and probed them all the way through. They're completely meat."

"That's impossible. What about the radio signals? The messages to the stars?"

"They use the radio waves to talk, but the signals don't come from them. The signals come from machines."

"So who made the machines? That's who we want to contact."

"They made the machines. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Meat made the machines."

"That's ridiculous. How can meat make a machine? You're asking me to believe in sentient meat."

"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. These creatures are the only sentient race in that sector and they're made out of meat."

"Maybe they're like the poppop. You know, a carbon-based intelligence that goes through a meat stage."

"Nope. They're born meat and they die meat. We studied them for several of their life spans, which didn't take long. Do you have any idea what's the life span of meat?"

"Spare me. Okay, maybe they're only part meat. You know, like the totopop. A meat head with an electron plasma brain inside."

"Nope. We thought of that, since they do have meat heads, like the totopop. But I told you, we probed them. They're meat all the way through."

"No brain?"

"Oh, there's a brain all right. It's just that the brain is made out of meat! That's what I've been trying to tell you."

"So... what does the thinking?"

"You don’t get it, do you? You're refusing to face the reality or the complexity. The brain does the thinking... the meat."

"Thinking meat! You're asking me to believe in thinking meat!"

"Yes, thinking meat! Conscious meat! Scheming meat. Dreaming meat. The meat is the whole deal! Are you beginning to get the picture?"

"Omigod. You're serious then. They're made out of meat."

"Thank you. Finally. Yes. They are indeed made out of meat. And they've been trying to get in touch with us for almost a hundred of their years."

"Omigod. So what does this meat have in mind?"

"It wants to play with us. Then I imagine it wants to explore the Universe, contact other sentiences, swap ideas, recruit players and propagate… the usual."

"We're supposed to play with meat?"

"That's the idea. That's the message they're sending out by radio. 'Hello. Anyone out there? Anybody want to play rugby league?"

"They actually do talk, then. They use words, ideas, concepts?"

"Oh, yes, except they do it with meat."

"I thought you just told me they use radio."

"They do, but what do you think is on the radio? Meat sounds. You know when you slap or flap meat, it makes a noise? They talk by flapping their meat at each other and squirting air through it."

"Omigod. Talking meat. This is altogether too much. So what do you advise?"

"Officially or unofficially?"

"Both."

"Officially, we are required to log in all sentient races or multi-beings in this quadrant of the Universe, without prejudice. Unofficially, I advise that we erase the records and forget the whole thing."

"I was hoping you’d say that."

"It seems harsh, but there is a limit. Do we really want to play with meat?"

"I doubt it. Play what? Any images?"

"These taken recently."

"Hohoho, now I've seen everything... dressed meat. What is ‘rugby league’ anyway?”

“Some kind of ovoid projectile impact challenge.”

“Ovoid meat… you’re kidding.”

“Not that, that’s a synthetic substance filled with air to which the meat apply force. It seems to be meat fighting meat for it.”

“Disgusting. How many planets are we dealing with here?"

"Just one. They can travel to other planets in special meat containers, but they can't live on them which limits them and makes the possibility of their ever making contact pretty slim."

"So we just pretend there's no one home in the Universe."

"That's it."

"Cruel. But you said it yourself, who wants to play with meat? We can mark the entire sector unoccupied."

"Good. Agreed, officially and unofficially. Case closed. Any others? Anyone interesting on that side of the galaxy?"

"Yes, a rather shy but sweet hydrogen core cluster intelligence in a class nine star in Y342 Zone wants to be friendly."

[FONT=&quot] "Why not? Imagine how unutterably cold the Universe would be if one were all alone..."
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>[/FONT]

 

[Azkatro]

Azkatro for the Maroons.

---------------------------------------------------------------

The Originator

The year is 1976. Sharon Lockyer, an otherwise average, everyday woman living an average, everyday life in Roma, Queensland, is walking home from work. All of a sudden, an HQ Holden screams to a halt right beside her. A handsome man with a mustache, looking despondent and desperate, yells out the window.

"Are you Sharon Lockyer?"

Not sure what to say, she simply nodded.

"Get in the car, quick! Your life depends on it!"

Sharon was unsure. She was about to decline, before she looked back to see a man with a huge nose and terrible haircut running straight at her. He had a murderous look in his eye, a bizarre running style and was gaining fast. She took one look back at the car.

"Come with me if you want to live!" he said. Suddenly it seemed like a good idea, so in she jumped. The man driving tore off up the road frantically. With the windows down, she heard the big nosed man yelling at the car, something about how he'll "hunt you down", and mentioned the name "Wally".

"Listen Sharon, you can't go home for a while. Your life is in danger right now. That man, he wants to bloody kill you!"

Suddenly, Sharon Lockyer became a little exasperated. "Kill me, why? I've never seen that man in my life. Why would he want to kill me?"

"It's not what you've done. It's what you're going to do. That man, his name is Laurie. He was sent back to stop you from having kids. In the future, Sharon. You have a son. His name is Darren. Darren Lockyer. He has a destiny... to save Queensland."

"Right, so you're telling me that man... Laurie... is from the future? And you are too?"

"Well, one possible future ..."

"Righto, that'll do me ..." She moved to open the door and jump out of the car, unconcerned about the fact it was still moving.

"Look, this is not a game, Sharon!" he exclaimed as he reached over to stop her. She bit his arm. He winced in pain and pulled it away, and blood began to ooze from the wound.

"Dammit! That bloody hurt!" He looked into her eyes and she suddenly felt a sense of the man's plight. At that moment, she felt ashamed of what she'd just done, and calmed down.

They soon pulled into a caravan park just out of town, and found an unused caravan to hide in for the night. The man, who told her his name was Wally, explained to her in depth about State of Origin, which would be formed in just a few years time, and that despite Queensland briefly gaining an advantage New South Wales had held in the long-running interstate series, the pendulum would swing inexorably towards New South Wales again shortly after the turn of the century. He went on to tell Sharon that her son, Darren, would lead the resistance and again turn the tide. Without him, New South Wales would again commence a period of interstate dominance that would last decades.

Watching him speak with passion and honesty, she gradually fell under his spell and they soon made romance in the caravan, before drifting off to sleep ...

Later, they awoke to Laurie bursting through the door of the caravan, brandishing an old Duncan Fearnley cricket bat. Wally, alert and ready, jumped up to face him. They wrestled for the bat and it fell to the floor. As the two men fought, battling hard to gain an advantage, Sharon picked up the bat and waited for her moment. As they swung around, she whacked Laurie with a savage blow to the back of the head. They tied him up and drove to Caxton Street in Brisbane, leaving him on the street with a note attached.

Wally took Sharon back home to Roma, and disappeared from her life. As the months passed she discovered she was pregnant, and understood the relevance and importance of her unborn son. She often thought of Wally and even wondered if what they'd done to her tormentor, Laurie, was too harsh. Then she snapped out of it as she realised how important it was that he never got to her, or Darren, ever again. Even as Darren grew older and became everything Wally said he would, she would often picture that note in her head as she went to sleep at night, and shudder.

"I'm from NSW. Treat me with care."

---------------------------------------------------------------

747 words. Liftoff!

 

[Willow]

Willow | NSW Blues

Gordy, ya mum's still a rig!

I was surprised to learn that Gorden Tallis and the bizarre "ya mum's a rig" episode has had very little coverage online.

I always thought that like politicians, sportspeople are considered fair game. We pay taxes to respond to politicians telling porkies. Equally we pay admission to sledge players on the football field.

But there appears to be a limit to this.

I recall the heady political days of the 1970s when fierce rivals, Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser, fought for governmental control of Australia. The attacks on character was ferocious, but interestingly, both men refused to get personal at a family level. They would frown upon any male colleague bringing a politician's wife or family into the fray. It should come as no surprise that Whitlam and Fraser later became friends. It was apparent the previous intense competition had been left on the playing field.

But the fans are less restrained, and they don't normally abide by any of these 'unwritten rules'.

During the 2002 State of Origin, Maroons backrower Gorden Tallis did his lolly over a banner in the crowd. Team mate Lote Tuqiri told him about a sign that read, "Gordy's mum's a pig!"

The owner of the sign, a New South Welshman named 'Scott' claimed it read, "Gordy... ya mums a rig."

Scott insisted it was meant as a compliment. "Rig" supposedly means "big"... like a Mack truck. From that, I assume Scott would have us believe he was saying Gorden's mum was 'awesome'. Hmmmm well, English is a living language and I understand Australia's Macquarie Dictionary has since taken Scott's invention on board.

Either way, the 'Raging Bull' went ballistic, presumably in defence of his mother's honour. Perhaps fearing personal injury, Scott later made a public apology. There is no record of Tallis returning the gesture, apart from his one finger salute to the crowd.

There's plenty of evidence to say Tallis has a short fuse. In 2000, he was sent off in Origin for verbally abusing referee Bill Harrigan. There's some background to the attitude. After joining St George in 1992, the fiery fella's onfield aggression got the better of him when he delivered some 'payback' with a high tackle. When fronting the judiciary, Tallis claimed he was merely retaliating. The judiciary chairman agreed. After that, Tallis could be excused for thinking he was bullet proof.

Gorden's breaking of a contract and departure from the St George Dragons in 1996 was based on his desire to return to his home state of Queensland. When the Dragons refused to release him, Tallis sat out the year. Like a lad that didn't get his way, Tallis refused to play and essentially let his club down. The following year, he was allowed to play for the Brisbane Broncos.

A few years later, I attended a Broncos vs Dragons game in Brisbane. Sitting with the Dragon Army, the small but committed contingent were giving it to Tallis everytime he got within earshot.

"Tallis is a wankerrrrr...! Tallis is a wankerrrrr...!" was well received by Gordy who looked and blew us a few kisses.

But when he heard "Tallis is a traitor!!!!" his whole demeanor changed. He looked angry, it had obviously struck a nerve.

Of course it didn't stop him ripping into our forwards all afternoon. Broncos were an absolute powerhouse and we accepted that as fact. It's unfortunate that Gordy couldn't accept that he'd let down a legion of fans in '96... and that his mum is a rig.

Indeed, Tallis has become accustomed to success.

Already a State of Origin player and a household name, Tallis left the Dragons for the Broncos. Greater success followed. From 1997-2004 Tallis enjoyed the taste of premiership glory as well as more Origin appearances. He reached the game's highest level when he was named captain of Australia. A neck injury eventually forced his retirement from the game.

A former Clive Churchill Medal winner, Tallis became director on the board of the Cowboys before becoming a forwards coach of the Rabbitohs.

From 2005-2008 Tallis was appointed on News Ltd's NRL board. In 2008 he was named in an Indigenous Australian rugby league team of the century. He is currently a Foxsports commentator and writes for newspapers.

Still a short fuse specialist, Tallis showed his love of the biff when during a recent on-air telecast he said, "he would run in, you would run in, we would all run in, because it's your mate getting bashed."

|750 words|
Ref:
1. Sydney Morning Herald article, 29/6/2002 by Tony Stephens
2. Macquarie Dictionary
3. My old scrap book

 

[bartman]

Bartman hopes to reward the Blues selectors better than Jamal Idris did...

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Show Me The Money… and My Boat!

Today’s Daily Telegraph carried an article about the imminent release of the report regarding the NRL-sanctioned salary cap audit investigation into the illegally assembled Melbourne Storm squad. In that article, it is claimed “Players declined to talk to Deloitte under legal advice from their managers”[1].

It is a very risky move for a player in any code of professional sport to act against the wishes and instructions of their sport’s ruling body. And it’s even more risky when they do so based on the advice of “their managers”. Faced with the fact that not just one elite player, not just four or five players, but the entire Melbourne Storm squad chose not to cooperate with the enquiry or try to clear their names, any reasonable person would deduct that player managers have gained far too much sway over modern day rugby league.

But how did we let this happen? For the entire first century of rugby league, that game that traces its roots back to the breakaway Northern Union in 1895 was an honest working class game. Issues of player payments in the north of England centred around a fair day’s pay for having to give up a day’s work to when matches were scheduled to the advantage of well-heeled clubs comprising southern gentlemen who were wealthy enough not to have to work[2].

There were no player managers back in those early days – the issue of player payments was championed by those who ran and organised the game of rugby league, as well as the players’ employers themselves, the northern clubs. For rugby league’s pioneers it wasn’t about making the most money you could in the shortest time, it was about doing something for the sheer joy of it and making sure your weren’t financially worse off due to the sacrifice you made to play your sport. The game’s governing rules were specifically supportive of players’ rights and financial welfare.

The demands on rugby league players have changed dramatically over the past one hundred and fifteen years. Club competitions in Australasia and Europe are now full time professional, and players are expected to give full time hours to their club and their training, rather than hold down any other employment. The NRL sets a minimum salary for players that are part of a club’s top 25 squad, and at $55,000 it represents just under the average wage of the wider population. The game’s governing rules are still true to that working class principle that no player should be worse off than they otherwise would be had they pursued alternate regular employment.

NRL players on that minimum salary of $55,000 would have no need for a player manager to negotiate their affairs. It should be exactly the same as any other worker taking up a fixed term contract in their field of endeavour and earning around the average wage. Join the union if you want to have shared protection against your employers or your industry. No need for hoopla, no need for some gutter dwelling Jerry Maguire style cowboy taking 7% of your earnings to fund their own overstated and lavish lifestyle.

Following the unsustainable player salary explosion during the 1995-1997 Super League war, player managers became a necessary evil as players for the first time considered themselves as commodities, and individualism ran rampant over principle and loyalty as our game splintered from top to bottom. While those pay cheques eventually decreased, they remained high enough so that modern players have kept asking “show me the money” through to this day.

The only guys that can justify giving these player managers an existence are the game’s elite high earning players, who have the spare money to throw away. It’s not surprising that players fall in behind their own Jerry Maguires – after all, they see the player managers as the source of all the extras – like marquee payments and boats!

Player managers deal in dreams and promises, and suck in impressionable young players who want to be like the elite players who are their idols and career role models. Player managers promote individualism at the expense of teamwork and loyalty, and in the case of the Melbourne Storm are now promoting intransigence by players against the game that provides them all with a more than reasonable living.

If only player managers and those that defend them would board Greg Inglis' boat in twos, and sail off into the sunset for good...

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750 words

References:
[1] http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/storm-stars-paper-trail-rort/story-e6frexnr-1225889981950
[2] Any of Tony Collins’ excellent books on the subject: http://www.amazon.com/Tony-Collins/e/B001HCZHAI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

 

[TITs ANonymouS]

TITs ANonymouS runs on for his first Origin bash. He bows respectively towards The Kings statue.

737 OWC between the lines.

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The Greatest Game of All

As a young lad of five years of age I started playing field hockey. I loved it and continued playing it well into adulthood. Then at the ripe old age of six, I added rugby league to my sporting repertoire.

What a great game. I learned the skills necessary to play it, like any sport, but the one thing league had over hockey was the physical toughness component. A resilience not only in the physical sense but a mental hardness to overcome the bruising collisions of tackling and hitting-up. The comradeship of both these team sports was equally rewarding, although league was perhaps a little more bonding than what I felt from hockey due to its increased physicality.

The television coverage of sport back then (late 1980s) wasn’t as all-encompassing as it is today. Still, I watched every game of footy I could. This wonderful game with its larger-than-life colourful characters. Then at about the age of seventeen I received a nearly incomprehensible double shock.

My world came crashing down when I discovered that rugby league was not the most popular sport on earth, and therefore not the greatest game of all. This shock alone was enough to send me into a mindless stupor, but it was the revelation of what was the most popular and therefore the greatest game of all that put the finishing touches on my despondency. Soccer!!!!!

How could this be? I'd played the "beautiful" game (and it was anything but lovely) at school for kicks. It had a lot in common with hockey in terms of field positions, stratagem and tactics, but there the similarities end. What I was able to view on television back then with regards to soccer is exactly the same as what I have been seeing over recent weeks displayed in all its puerile,tantrum-riddled horror in the World Cup on show now.

Every time a player is contacted by an opposition player, in particular where feet or legs are involved, it invokes a performance of feigning injury which by the assumed agonised displays would require immediate surgery. The comic performances are the equal of the best vaudevillians on Broadway. It’s like a combined Oscar/Emmy Awards night rolled into one for the elite actor trophy.

Firstly there is the seemingly mortally wounded player, an obvious choice. Occasionally they go so overboard that the umpire won’t award a penalty. This mind you is a rare occurrence and usually the clowns reap the rewards of their affected discomfort.

Second on the list of nominations are the team mates of the injured player. Outraged that one of their own has been so unfairly treated, their feigned indignation is plain for all to see. They react violently, (though I hate to use the word in reference to soccer) and immediately petition the umpire to penalise the offender. In the end, they are worthy of a supporting role award, no doubt.

Then there is the offender who immediately dons the “who me”, or depending on the script, “it wasn’t me” look. Whilst the look can be comical, it usually doesn’t surpass those caste the main role.

Also worthy of note is the offender’s team mates, rushing to defend his honour or also petition the umpire that it’s not worthy of a penalty. Often a fair performance but acted out as one who knows the scripted outcome.

Lastly there is the best directors award. This goes to the funny little men often surrounded by their caste members gesturing at them wildly until he silences them with an imitation of a Nazi salute holding a yellow or red card.

Soccer is a good game, it requires skill and team work like most sports. Unfortunately at the higher levels of the game the ridiculous feigning of injuries, the repeatedly sending off of players guilty or otherwise makes it a total joke. Penalties are awarded for trivial or non-existent infringements giving the opposition penalty shots or having players sent off. Games are so unbalanced when playing with reduced numbers the game becomes a one sided affair and thus visually even more boring.

The soccer community has also yet to awaken to the realisation that this is 2010, not 1910. A third umpire is easily available that could help make some of the on field decision less deplorable.

This is the greatest game of all?

Not on your life. Go the Maroons!

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[Titanic]

For what it's worth, if griffo is out there then I would be happy to extend the deadline.

The Piper? Antonius?

 

[The Piper]

For what it's worth, if griffo is out there then I would be happy to extend the deadline.

The Piper? Antonius?

You are a true gentleman of the game, Titanic. I appreciate the offer. But I'm afraid we can call full-time now.

I apologise for not producing 5 articles. I did much scouting for NSW representatives but from the few replies I received back from the many I asked, they regrettably couldn't play apart in the match.

It is good to see that in the Sunshine State there are enough F7s players rearing to write for this special one off occasion that is Forum Sevens State of Origin. Seems to me many New South Welshmen aren't interested in playing this rep game or are wanting to have this time as a break from the regular competition. Which is a shame.

But thanks to QLD and thanks to three proud men from the Premier state; Non Terminator, Willow and bartman. And I do see the irony in the missing man whom began a thread not long ago about not enough F7s players turning up to play...anyway...

With that...

 

[madunit]

well it's a disappointing end to what promised to be a magnificent contest.

 

[Titanic]

No apologies necessary - we all know the limitations and the stop/start lead up to this game would have contributed greatly. griffo's a good contributor and I'm sure he has his reasons.

Queensland... onya team, desperate times call for desperate measures and there are some quality reads there.

Over to you Antonius and your magic red marking tool.

What are you still doing up 'Unit?... you should be resting your weary head after your exertions and excursions.

 

[Willow]

Nine fine reads.

Unless something out of the ordinary happens, congrats to Queensland. Oozing with talent from every orifice.

 

[madunit]

What are you still doing up 'Unit?... you should be resting your weary head after your exertions and excursions.

I had a match review to write for Rugby League Review magazine. Needed to have it done before 9am Sunday.

And I must say, a magnificent game was played between Melbourne and Newtown yesterday, one of the best games i've ever seen. Fired up players, great skill, fast action, some biff, a game locked up with 7 minutes to go, a great run by a prop to score on the siren and jubilant players from Newtown having their joy shortlived to a fired up disapproving Storm side, leading to another biff in the in-goal.

Couple all that with 2 million mile per hour winds, and you have a game that delivered everything.

 

[Titanic]

Oozing with talent from every orifice.

I feel there's a hole in your argument.

I had a match review to write for Rugby League Review magazine. Needed to have it done before 9am Sunday.

A glutton for punishment, of course if you lived in China you' have a time advantage and access to more designer labelled copies of sunglasses than you could write about in a million lifetimes.

Sounds like a great game though and if you want to make an expat very jealous then you could continue to describe the local footy (or provide a link).

 

[antonius]

Qld
Madunit
The Origin of Origin
746 Words
Very original (excuse the pun) piece on the beginnings of origin. I had trouble pronouncing the names in my head, but never the less a clever piece.
Score 89

tits&tans
Li-ge
740 Words
Reading this I could feel the frustration of the writer explaining the game to his Chinese associates.
Score 88

Titanic
An Extra-Terrestrial Perspective
746 Words
I found the league content of this minimal, but enough to qualify. How would extra terrestrials view us?
Score 84

Azkatro
The Originator
747 Words
The conception of Darren Lockyer. Clever idea, well written.
Score 87

TITs AnonymouS
The Greatest Game of All
737 Words
League or Soccer? What is the greatest game of all? The writer compares the two sports. In particular the acting abilities of soccer players.
Score 85

Total 433


NSW

The Piper
Round 1, March 1st to March 4th 2013
750 words
The writer takes a futuristic peak at round 1 2013. Some interesting predictions contained in this.
Score 85

Non Terminator
When A Win Feels Like A Loss
738 Words
A fan looks at a recent victory by his team. He asks, was it tainted by an error from the ref. I have to say in my own case I’ve never given it a second thought, my feelings are you win some, you lose some. It’s swings and roundabouts. Anyway I digress. I found the piece a little disjointed at times (switched back and forth in the telling)
Score 84

Willow
Gordy, ya mum's still a rig!
750 Words
The writer documents some of the traits of Gordon Tallis. His sitting out a year so he could go to the Broncs, some of the crowd gestures that got up his nose, and what a distinguished career he had.
Score 87

Bartman
Show Me The Money… and My Boat!
750 Words
The writer gives us an opinion on player managers. How they came to be, and the power they seem to wield on the game. Well written, and thought provoking.
Score 89
Total 345

Result Qld 433 defeated NSW 345 POTM Madunit and Bartman.

Shame we didn’t 5v5 would have been interesting.