The annual saloon passage in to the finals thread

[Captain Apollo]

Do we seriously play each other during Origin week? Surely not...

Yes, we do. Courtesy of great scheduling by the NRL

 

[PANTHERMIKE]

Dragons by far.... That draw is a gift from the gods.

 

[OldPanther]

On the contrary I think it was reasonably easy to see wins against Warrior (home) - Knights - Bulldogs - Raiders (not in Canberra) coming.

The Panthers are a very talented team so it's hardly a stretch to imagine that they would win all 4 of those games.

Cowboys away however is a different ball game so we'll learn a lot more about how they're going after that clash.

That's fair but Raiders at the least wasn't guaranteed. I also thought Warriors with Foran was far from certain.

 

[Cockosh]

Regardless of the ease or otherwise of any teams draw most seasons the best teams all year are usually playing on gf day. Whilst the chooks have an incredibly difficult run home if we can navigate our way thru it with out fair share of wins it will put us in good stead for the finals. Whilst an easier draw like saints have might help seal a finals or top 4 spot it won't prepare them adequately for the rigours of finals footy. Would prefer to be tested to be honest. The fact that we play storm and sharks twice will at the very least give us a true indication of where we are at. Making 18 errors and scoring 40 points may work against tigers it won't against top 4 teams

 

[Valheru]

There is always one team with an easy run home that fails anyways.

It will be the dragons this year

 

[Lambretta]

How can our home run be that horrible?

We've played 13 games so far - 8 of them away from home
With Adelaide and Central Coast as "home" games - we would have played 10 away games and 5 home games

This years scheduling is awful
So much for the "if you finish down the bottom with the numpties, you're given an easy ride the following season" theory.

 

[OldPanther]

How can our home run be that horrible?

We've played 13 games so far - 8 of them away from home
With Adelaide and Central Coast as "home" games - we would have played 10 away games and 5 home games

This years scheduling is awful
So much for the "if you finish down the bottom with the numpties, you're given an easy ride the following season" theory.

I doubt that's true. We finished 6th and got a relatively easy draw.

 

[adamkungl]

Do we seriously play each other during Origin week? Surely not...

At this point I honestly think the NRL hates crowds.

Disgusting scheduling.

 

[OldPanther]

At this point I honestly think the NRL hates crowds.

Disgusting scheduling.

Yes. TV is the big deal for them.

 

[franklin2323]

It's nowhere near as easy a draw as the Dragons, who already stuffed up their saloon passage on the weekend.

The Panthers will need to go 9-2 from here to even have a chance of making the top 4.

Not having a single Origin rep helps; but I think if JT backs up after Origin 1 then the Cowboys will end that remote possibility straight away.

If the Panthers were playing well I'd give them an outside chance of the top 4. But Moylan's magic covered up what was still an ordinary performance.

They're top 8 certainties however. What is amusing btw is that even at 2-5 and then 2-6 I was still telling Panthers fans in gameday threads that they'll definitely make the top 8. And yet it was they who said they were done.

4 wins later and they're full of bluster again and telling everyone what I already knew which is that they'll make the top 8! Oh how I laugh

I was saying all along we weren't as bad as a 2-6 team. Draw is easy and we smash shit teams. Only really Cowboys x 2 and Canberra down there I see us certainly losing

 

[Pedge1971]

At this point I honestly think the NRL hates crowds.

Disgusting scheduling.

I just think they have no idea. Bloody ridiculous.

 

[Life's Good]

The draw would suggest the Dragons. The draw has never met our halfback.

 

[adamkungl]

I just think they have no idea. Bloody ridiculous.

If they were deliberately self sabotaging they'd probably come up with something better through sheer incompetence.

 

[POPEYE]

The draw would suggest the Dragons. The draw has never met our halfback.
View attachment 13854

Doesn't the bloke ever get injured

 

[Apey]

Great thread Moffo thanks for that

 

[OldPanther]

Doesn't the bloke ever get injured

The football gods aren't always kind.

 

[Life's Good]

Doesn't the bloke ever get injured

No. He just inflicts the damage. Just ask the Raiders supporters.

 

[_snafu_]

We're better off playing with 12 men.

 

[JamesRustle]

Roosters win the award for whatever the opposite of a saloon run is...

Storm - Home (Adelaide)
Sharks - Home (central coast)
Souths - Home (no origin players)
Knights - Home
Cowboys - Home
Manly - Away
Storm - Away
Tigers - Home
Sharks - Away
Titans - Home

So we play storm & Sharks twice, with all 4 games somehow not at our home ground due to geniused management.

We then play Manly at Brookie (a ground we generally get our ass handed to us at) and Cowboys. Both of those games are going to be very tough.

Souths are crap, but always generally lift against us. Never an easy win there. We are also going to be 4 men down due to origin, making it all the more difficult.

Then lastly we have some obviously very winnable games against the Knights, Tigers, and Titans.... but then again we managed to lose to the f**king Warriors this year so we tend to have a propensity to mail it in when we think we are certainties.

I see us winning 5-7 games, which will see us just scrape into the top 4 on the high side or fall down to 6th or even 7th on the low side depending on results.

Conversly, the roosters have had a saloon passage for the first half of the comp. This will be revealed if they slide. They'll have to lift to stay top 4.

 

[Danish]

Conversly, the roosters have had a saloon passage for the first half of the comp. This will be revealed if they slide. They'll have to lift to stay top 4.

Agreed. I've tried to explain as much to various roosters fans, although it tends to fall on deaf ears