thuganomics
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The Knights were simply awesome last week against the Sharks and if we can carry that form into the match against the Dragons this week at Oki Jubilee we will most likely come up with our 7th win in a row. It was one of the best Knights performances in years last Saturday in Newcastle with Andrew Johns, Clint Newton and Milton Thaiday among others showing us their true class. Here are my player ratings from last Saturdays match:
Milton Thaiday - His best game in of Rugby League I have seen him play. His footwork at times was fantastic and if not for a magical performance from the number 7, would of been the Man of the match. 8.5/10
Trent Salkeld- Was questionable in defence and let in a soft try to Luke Covell with a poor attempt at tackle. Needs to improve defence to retain a first grade spot next year. 5/10
Dustin Cooper - His defence was excellent and picked up his first try since round 1 this year. 7/10
Brad Tighe - Every time he touched the ball looked dangerous, especially early on in the match with him scoring a try and setting one up for his winger. 7.5/10
Anthony Quinn - His best game in a long time. He was breaking out of tackles and made the right options in attack and defence. 8/10
Kurt Gidley - He added another option in attack and by that looked much more dangerous. Defence was fantastic and has played well since coming back into first grade. 7/10
Andrew Johns - What a magical performance. The pass to Clint Newton was magical and one of the best short passes I have ever seen. This is some of the best football in Joey's career. 10/10
Craig Smith - He was doing just about everything. This bloke is a inspiration and the club signing up was one of the best decisions ever. 8.5/10
Danny Buderus - Andrew Johns gets all the credit, but this bloke is doing equally as much as Joey is. Made over 100m again from dummy half and is playing some extraordinary football. 8.5/10
Adam Woolnough - Is definitely playing his best football in his career. Getting offloads away and making a lot of meters is all you can ask for a front rower. 8/10
Steve Simpson - Fantastic as usual. Surely has to get a spot in the Kangaroos team at the end of the year. 8/10
Clint Newton - The combination with Andrew Johns is starting to show and has been relishing the chance of playing with him. 8/10
Reegan Tanner - Another solid performance from Reegan. He is about to become the only Knights player to play every game this year. 7/10
Daniel Tolar - Got his first try in first grade this week and will avoid the nudie run at the end of the year. Has come over leaps and bounds this year and is a benchie we can rely on. 7.5/10
Todd Lowrie - Played one of his best games in a while as well. Was hitting the gaps with pace and made a few line breaks. Put on a couple good hits and is starting to get that aggression factor into his game. 7/10
Matthew White - Was good again this week and runs hard with everyone of hit ups. 6/10
Riley Brown - He has a good step on him and he used that a few times last week. A very good utility player and will be pushing for a bench spot next year. 6/10
This week we come up against the other form team in the competition in the Dragons. The Dragons have claimed the scalps of the Eagles, Sharks, Roosters, Cowboys, Broncos and the Eels in their run to the finals and will be looking to add the Knights to that list. The Knights however have 6 scalps of their own coming into this match including the Eels, Storm, Bulldogs, Eagles, Warriors and the Sharks. This has the potential to be one of the best matches in the year and it is incredible that the team currently running last on the ladder is even being considered in winning this match against the favorites against the Dragons. The Dragons coming into this match do have some question marks coming over them. Questions such as will the bye affect their run into the finals and did the Trent Barrett incident affect the team? The Dragons have no weaknesses across the park which makes it hard for attacking teams, but with a player like Andrew Johns in the opposition the Dragons defence has to be on song or else the magician will start to wave his wand. Some other key factors may be thrown into this match come Sunday. If the Broncos defeat the Eels this Friday night, the Dragons will have a realistic shot in getting the Minor Premiership. While if the Rabbitohs go down to the Sharks on Saturday night then the Knights will be with in a wins reach of offloading the wooden spoon which has been their goal for the past couple of months.
Teams for Round 24 Clash
Sunday, 4 September 2005
3:00 PM
Oki Jubilee Stadium
1. Milton Thaiday
2. Trent Salkeld
3. Dustin Cooper
4. Brad Tighe
5. Anthony Quinn
6. Kurt Gidley
7. Andrew Johns (c)
8. Craig Smith
9. Danny Buderus
10. Adam Woolnough
11. Steve Simpson
12. Clint Newton
13. Reegan Tanner
Interchange:
14. Daniel Tolar
15. Matthew White
16. Riley Brown
17. Todd Lowrie
1. Clint Greenshields
2. Colin Best
3. Mark Gasnier
4. Albert Torrens
5. Wes Naiqama
6. Trent Barrett (c)
7. Ben Hornby
8. Luke Bailey
9. Dean Young
10. Jason Ryles
11. Ben Creagh
12. Lance Thompson
13. Shaun Timmins
Interchange:
14. Ashton Sims
15. Justin Poore
16. Corey Payne
17. Michael Ennis
18. Michael Henderson
Referee
Tony Archer
Video Referee
Paul Simpkins
Touch Judges
Jason Walsh, Russell Turner
Channel 9 Delay
Sun 4 September 4.00PM
Clint Greenshields vs. Milton Thaiday
When Matthew Head got injured against the Tigers the question was put to the Dragons to fill that void. They moved Ben Hornby up from fullback and then they brought up this bloke Clint Greenshields who has done an amazing job. His positional play, support play and ability to catch a swirling bomb in the air are all of a high standard. Clint Greenshields will face his toughest test of his career this week when he comes up against Andrew Johns and his kicking game. Johns is probably the best general play kicker in the game and will test young Clint Greenshields all day long. Greenshields opposing number this week is Milton Thaiday is showing his skills at the back as well in the past couple of weeks. Thaidays positional play has improved out of sight after the minor injury he suffered a few weeks back and now is one of the most damaging Knights players on the field. He is one of those players that when he touches the ball, we expect something to happen. He reminds me sort of a David Peachey, when he can just come up with something remarkable out of nowhere. Thaiday in broken play is dangerous and the Dragons kick chase must be on song or there may be trouble lurking for the men in the Red-V.
Andrew Johns vs. Ben Hornby
This is Joey's last match before he heads to England to play for Warrington in their finals campaign. But right now he has some unfinished business as far as the NRL season goes. Joey has been in the best form of his career in the past 10 weeks and has been doing everything in his power to offload the spoon before the season ends. Last week the maestro was superb, with him sending some great short passes, having a solid kicking game and kicking some great goals. Andrew Johns has thoroughly out played the likes of Jonathon Thurston, Brett Kimmorley, Tim Smith, Matt Orford, Brent Sherwin and Michael Monaghan in the past 2 months and will be looking to add Ben Hornby to that list. Hornby who has made a successful positional move will face his hardest test in the number 7 jersey when he comes up against the best in the business. Hornby has been solid and the most consistent Dragon over the past two years and is now showing his skills playing at halfback. His kicking game is very good and he has some good vision. Trent Barrett is the main play maker for the Dragons but this bloke right here supports Barrett extremely well. But the key to the winner of this match is Andrew Johns, so I guess there is just one question that we will all want to know the answer to. Will the King make Kogarah his kingdom?
Craig Smith vs. Luke Bailey
Two inform front rowers going at each other on a Sunday afternoon in front of a packed crowd, theres just about nothing better. Luke Bailey has been in great form since the first State or Origin and will need this sort of form in the finals to help the Dragons win their first premiership as a joint venture. Luke Bailey will enjoy the battle this week against a veteran in Craig Smith, who has been one of the best front rowers all year in a struggling team. I would just hate to imagine the score lines that we would have put on us if we didnt sign Craig Smith. Smith will be coming up against his former club and if the last match that he came up against the Dragons has anything to go by, this match is definitely going to be fiery.
Some of the Props average stats:
Craig Smith - season average:
Tackles 28.7
Offloads 0.9
Hit ups 15.6
Meters gained 130.7
Miss tackles 1.2
Luke Bailey - season average:
Tackles 27.4
Offloads 1.3
Hit ups 15.6
Meters gained 132.2
Miss tackles 2.3
The Eels are on fire and the wounded Broncos now are on their hit list. If the Eels win they will wrap up the minor premiership, while if the Broncos win either them or the Dragons will take it out. The Eels are in to hot of form to be defeated right now to be honest.
Eels by 18
Sharks vs. Souths
The last game at home for the Sharks this year should be enough motivation to win. The Sharks are a different team at home and SHOULD get the cash on Saturday night.
Sharks by 14
Raiders vs. Eagles
Another important match, with the Eagles having a chance to secure the final top 8 spot. They come up against the Raiders who are playing at home and like the Sharks are a different team at home. Raiders to win in a close one.
Raiders by 2
Cowboys vs. Storm
Important match for both teams. Both teams need to come into the finals with momentum and a win here will give them a lot of it. The Cowboys at home are to hard to tip against for me.
Cowboys by 10
Roosters vs. Bulldogs
Hard match to tip but I guess you have to assume the Roosters will win only because the Dogs have nothing to play for. Roosters to win this but in a close match.
Roosters by 4
Tigers vs. Panthers
My upset of the round and I am going to tip the Panthers. Panthers look in great form and the Tigers I believe may be a bit rattled with last weeks loss. Panthers in a close one.
Panthers by 6
Dragons vs. Knights
I believe the Knights can get the money here if they continue that great form. Its a real hard match to tip and its a toss of a coin job and i flipped a Knights victory.
Knights by 4
Thanks for reading fellas.
One more Thuga's Thoughts of the year to come which will be a 'season in review'.
Cheers,
Thuga
Milton Thaiday - His best game in of Rugby League I have seen him play. His footwork at times was fantastic and if not for a magical performance from the number 7, would of been the Man of the match. 8.5/10
Trent Salkeld- Was questionable in defence and let in a soft try to Luke Covell with a poor attempt at tackle. Needs to improve defence to retain a first grade spot next year. 5/10
Dustin Cooper - His defence was excellent and picked up his first try since round 1 this year. 7/10
Brad Tighe - Every time he touched the ball looked dangerous, especially early on in the match with him scoring a try and setting one up for his winger. 7.5/10
Anthony Quinn - His best game in a long time. He was breaking out of tackles and made the right options in attack and defence. 8/10
Kurt Gidley - He added another option in attack and by that looked much more dangerous. Defence was fantastic and has played well since coming back into first grade. 7/10
Andrew Johns - What a magical performance. The pass to Clint Newton was magical and one of the best short passes I have ever seen. This is some of the best football in Joey's career. 10/10
Craig Smith - He was doing just about everything. This bloke is a inspiration and the club signing up was one of the best decisions ever. 8.5/10
Danny Buderus - Andrew Johns gets all the credit, but this bloke is doing equally as much as Joey is. Made over 100m again from dummy half and is playing some extraordinary football. 8.5/10
Adam Woolnough - Is definitely playing his best football in his career. Getting offloads away and making a lot of meters is all you can ask for a front rower. 8/10
Steve Simpson - Fantastic as usual. Surely has to get a spot in the Kangaroos team at the end of the year. 8/10
Clint Newton - The combination with Andrew Johns is starting to show and has been relishing the chance of playing with him. 8/10
Reegan Tanner - Another solid performance from Reegan. He is about to become the only Knights player to play every game this year. 7/10
Daniel Tolar - Got his first try in first grade this week and will avoid the nudie run at the end of the year. Has come over leaps and bounds this year and is a benchie we can rely on. 7.5/10
Todd Lowrie - Played one of his best games in a while as well. Was hitting the gaps with pace and made a few line breaks. Put on a couple good hits and is starting to get that aggression factor into his game. 7/10
Matthew White - Was good again this week and runs hard with everyone of hit ups. 6/10
Riley Brown - He has a good step on him and he used that a few times last week. A very good utility player and will be pushing for a bench spot next year. 6/10
This week we come up against the other form team in the competition in the Dragons. The Dragons have claimed the scalps of the Eagles, Sharks, Roosters, Cowboys, Broncos and the Eels in their run to the finals and will be looking to add the Knights to that list. The Knights however have 6 scalps of their own coming into this match including the Eels, Storm, Bulldogs, Eagles, Warriors and the Sharks. This has the potential to be one of the best matches in the year and it is incredible that the team currently running last on the ladder is even being considered in winning this match against the favorites against the Dragons. The Dragons coming into this match do have some question marks coming over them. Questions such as will the bye affect their run into the finals and did the Trent Barrett incident affect the team? The Dragons have no weaknesses across the park which makes it hard for attacking teams, but with a player like Andrew Johns in the opposition the Dragons defence has to be on song or else the magician will start to wave his wand. Some other key factors may be thrown into this match come Sunday. If the Broncos defeat the Eels this Friday night, the Dragons will have a realistic shot in getting the Minor Premiership. While if the Rabbitohs go down to the Sharks on Saturday night then the Knights will be with in a wins reach of offloading the wooden spoon which has been their goal for the past couple of months.
Teams for Round 24 Clash
Sunday, 4 September 2005
3:00 PM
Oki Jubilee Stadium
1. Milton Thaiday
2. Trent Salkeld
3. Dustin Cooper
4. Brad Tighe
5. Anthony Quinn
6. Kurt Gidley
7. Andrew Johns (c)
8. Craig Smith
9. Danny Buderus
10. Adam Woolnough
11. Steve Simpson
12. Clint Newton
13. Reegan Tanner
Interchange:
14. Daniel Tolar
15. Matthew White
16. Riley Brown
17. Todd Lowrie
1. Clint Greenshields
2. Colin Best
3. Mark Gasnier
4. Albert Torrens
5. Wes Naiqama
6. Trent Barrett (c)
7. Ben Hornby
8. Luke Bailey
9. Dean Young
10. Jason Ryles
11. Ben Creagh
12. Lance Thompson
13. Shaun Timmins
Interchange:
14. Ashton Sims
15. Justin Poore
16. Corey Payne
17. Michael Ennis
18. Michael Henderson
Referee
Tony Archer
Video Referee
Paul Simpkins
Touch Judges
Jason Walsh, Russell Turner
Channel 9 Delay
Sun 4 September 4.00PM
Thuga's Key Match up's
Clint Greenshields vs. Milton Thaiday
When Matthew Head got injured against the Tigers the question was put to the Dragons to fill that void. They moved Ben Hornby up from fullback and then they brought up this bloke Clint Greenshields who has done an amazing job. His positional play, support play and ability to catch a swirling bomb in the air are all of a high standard. Clint Greenshields will face his toughest test of his career this week when he comes up against Andrew Johns and his kicking game. Johns is probably the best general play kicker in the game and will test young Clint Greenshields all day long. Greenshields opposing number this week is Milton Thaiday is showing his skills at the back as well in the past couple of weeks. Thaidays positional play has improved out of sight after the minor injury he suffered a few weeks back and now is one of the most damaging Knights players on the field. He is one of those players that when he touches the ball, we expect something to happen. He reminds me sort of a David Peachey, when he can just come up with something remarkable out of nowhere. Thaiday in broken play is dangerous and the Dragons kick chase must be on song or there may be trouble lurking for the men in the Red-V.
Andrew Johns vs. Ben Hornby
This is Joey's last match before he heads to England to play for Warrington in their finals campaign. But right now he has some unfinished business as far as the NRL season goes. Joey has been in the best form of his career in the past 10 weeks and has been doing everything in his power to offload the spoon before the season ends. Last week the maestro was superb, with him sending some great short passes, having a solid kicking game and kicking some great goals. Andrew Johns has thoroughly out played the likes of Jonathon Thurston, Brett Kimmorley, Tim Smith, Matt Orford, Brent Sherwin and Michael Monaghan in the past 2 months and will be looking to add Ben Hornby to that list. Hornby who has made a successful positional move will face his hardest test in the number 7 jersey when he comes up against the best in the business. Hornby has been solid and the most consistent Dragon over the past two years and is now showing his skills playing at halfback. His kicking game is very good and he has some good vision. Trent Barrett is the main play maker for the Dragons but this bloke right here supports Barrett extremely well. But the key to the winner of this match is Andrew Johns, so I guess there is just one question that we will all want to know the answer to. Will the King make Kogarah his kingdom?
Craig Smith vs. Luke Bailey
Two inform front rowers going at each other on a Sunday afternoon in front of a packed crowd, theres just about nothing better. Luke Bailey has been in great form since the first State or Origin and will need this sort of form in the finals to help the Dragons win their first premiership as a joint venture. Luke Bailey will enjoy the battle this week against a veteran in Craig Smith, who has been one of the best front rowers all year in a struggling team. I would just hate to imagine the score lines that we would have put on us if we didnt sign Craig Smith. Smith will be coming up against his former club and if the last match that he came up against the Dragons has anything to go by, this match is definitely going to be fiery.
Some of the Props average stats:
Craig Smith - season average:
Tackles 28.7
Offloads 0.9
Hit ups 15.6
Meters gained 130.7
Miss tackles 1.2
Luke Bailey - season average:
Tackles 27.4
Offloads 1.3
Hit ups 15.6
Meters gained 132.2
Miss tackles 2.3
Thuga's Tips
Eels vs. Broncos
The Eels are on fire and the wounded Broncos now are on their hit list. If the Eels win they will wrap up the minor premiership, while if the Broncos win either them or the Dragons will take it out. The Eels are in to hot of form to be defeated right now to be honest.
Eels by 18
Sharks vs. Souths
The last game at home for the Sharks this year should be enough motivation to win. The Sharks are a different team at home and SHOULD get the cash on Saturday night.
Sharks by 14
Raiders vs. Eagles
Another important match, with the Eagles having a chance to secure the final top 8 spot. They come up against the Raiders who are playing at home and like the Sharks are a different team at home. Raiders to win in a close one.
Raiders by 2
Cowboys vs. Storm
Important match for both teams. Both teams need to come into the finals with momentum and a win here will give them a lot of it. The Cowboys at home are to hard to tip against for me.
Cowboys by 10
Roosters vs. Bulldogs
Hard match to tip but I guess you have to assume the Roosters will win only because the Dogs have nothing to play for. Roosters to win this but in a close match.
Roosters by 4
Tigers vs. Panthers
My upset of the round and I am going to tip the Panthers. Panthers look in great form and the Tigers I believe may be a bit rattled with last weeks loss. Panthers in a close one.
Panthers by 6
Dragons vs. Knights
I believe the Knights can get the money here if they continue that great form. Its a real hard match to tip and its a toss of a coin job and i flipped a Knights victory.
Knights by 4
Thanks for reading fellas.
One more Thuga's Thoughts of the year to come which will be a 'season in review'.
Cheers,
Thuga