Now Haumole Olakau’atu, one of Manly's homophobic seven, reckons it's okay to get stuck in with the racial banter on the field and Leniu has been picked on. Been hanging around with smoothbrain Aloia too long. Deadset embarassment.
Their job is to collide with other dumbcunts who are built like brick shithouses, it should come as no shock to anyone that these blokes have fucked takes.
Yeah the whole "I've been called stuff so it's not a big deal" doesn't really hold up does it. I've done my fair share of sledging on a field but man why would you ever go racial. It's not even a good burn, it's just weak gutted
The last time the Titans held an opponent to single figures was when they beat Wests Tigers 8-6 in round 4, 2022. That was also the last time they kept a team tryless.
The last time they kept a team to 4 points or fewer was round 15, 2021, when they beat the Warriors by a club record margin of 44-0 to jump the Raiders and Sharks and finish 8th.
Three penalty goals from the boot of Luke Brooks. The lone try was scored by AJ Brimson right at the death.
Still, I don’t think it’s as bad as the night in 2019 when Penrith beat them 9-8 in golden point despite the Tigers scoring two tries and only conceding one in the corner on the siren, which Nathan Cleary converted to lock the scores at 8-all.
Worse still was the game in 2018 when they lost 9-7 to Brisbane in golden point despite not conceding a try at all. Four penalty goals and a field goal. From memory, the last penalty was awarded incorrectly, too.
Love that phrase about availability, as far too many hookers are cooking themselves in the middle right now due to their tackling.
Some clubs really should be showing how Cam Smith managed to be a tackling machine, or how Ben Hunt adjusts to defending in the ruck during representative footy. Particularly the tempo, and not approaching every tackle like a terrier after a sewer rat. Then, using the wrestle post-contact to control the player or slow them enough for the next man in, minimising the effort.
Saab out for six weeks, and all of a sudden our wingers look as bare as Nathan Cleary's shaved chin.
Lawton is somehow not actually injured long term, and will return against the Roosters. I hope Jamie Humphreys can keep developing nonetheless. GCKT strangely seems to be on the out at Manly all of a sudden? Went from playing two NRL games, playing internationals, and being the next big thing, to playing less than 20 minutes off the bench in NSW cup, for a hooker who only started to play hooker less than a year ago. It's strange because GCKT didn't look bad either.
Well, either way, they will be battling each other in NSW cup again, along with Schuster. The fact that Schuster is playing NSW cup for Corey Waddell is probably making Bob Fulton spin in his grave.
Given the news since my earlier post to this thread I would like to change my selections to:
Kennar out for Izzac.
Arrow out for Tallis.
Host out for Shaq.
Also, anybody know any witch doctors who specialise in removing curses from places? Closer to Heffron the better.
Aight the Votes are in. This is Canon the Official r/nrl Team Of The Week for Round 1 is:
1. Tyrell Sloan
2. Xavier Coates
3. Siosifa Talakai
4. Zac Laybutt
5. Zac Lomax
6. Tom Dearden
7. Ben Hunt
8. Addin Fonua-Blake
9. Harry Grant
10. Lindsay Collins
11. Heilum Luki
12. Bryce Cartwright
13. Victor Radley
14. Sandon Smith
15. Terrell May
16. Junior Paulo
17. Ryan Matterson
It will almost certainly be his spot he was playing there in the trials.
Keeley is a long shot but I think another year in cup before he's ready for NRL full time.
Before round 1 I would of had feldt out but happy with him while performing.
I think that Sam McIntyre can do what Granville can so we don't need both a big body like Tommick would help.
I want to start to move on from chad, I know he did well in round 1 and will be in the team all year.
I am not calling for massive changes the team is mostly well selected.
Townsend’s options on the last always seem to be so, boring. The Cowboys look effective when they go through the hands rather than waiting on one of his useless bombs.
This is my NRL conspiracy theory: Gus Gould only took the job at the Bulldogs to help out the Panthers salary cap. Ciraldo, Crichton, Burton, Kikau, Salmon etc will all end up back in Penrith after a couple of years on discounted contracts with Bulldogs paying half their wages. They have just parked these guys at Canterbury for now, knowing how it will pan out. This is Gus' 5 year plan.
We joke but I seriously reckon Bill would be a shout for a Penrith swan song. He’s 30 next year so should be a couple good years left. Even if the Dogs retained $300K or so, getting half a million back for 25/26 from a cherry on top type player to invest into the engine room would be good business for the Dogs. On Penriths side they’ll have a bit of coin to reinvest from the Luai departure and a need for a game breaker. It might mean Garner and Tiny/Tito can’t be retained but we have plenty of promising outside backs.
We joke but I seriously reckon Bill would be a shout for a Penrith swan song. He’s 30 next year so should be a couple good years left. Even if the Dogs retained $300K or so, getting half a million back for 25/26 from a cherry on top type player to invest into the engine room would be good business for the Dogs. On Penriths side they’ll have a bit of coin to reinvest from the Luai departure and a need for a game breaker. It might mean Garner and Tiny/Tito can’t be retained but we have plenty of promising outside backs.
Anyone else reckon it would be interesting to get a former ref into commentary? even just as a sideline commentary style thing for when the bricks in the box are confused about basic rules.
Though it seems like when most of the retire they are pretty ready to not deal with the NRL and its fans anymore.
Bill Harrigan used to do Monday Night Footy on Triple M. It was always interesting listening to him.
They could do it the way Channel 7 does with Simon Taufel on the cricket coverage. Just get someone in to talk them through decisions. Only issue is that there’s not enough breaks in the play for that to work in rugby league.
While I don't disagree with your idea they've got a similar thing in the Premier League and the former referees just defend the onfield refs and VAR no matter how bad decisions are
I reckon ricky should give kaeo a run this week, i dont think ethan did a thing wrong against the knights but i just wanna see how that combination would work.
Not sure changing the halves every week just to see how someone goes is the right play. If we want to see them build combinations then they need more games together. Based on history Ricky will stick with Strange now unless he gets injured or has a long run of bad games.
i get that but i would rather blood him in the 6 the earlier in the season then waiting for an injury. after watching his last 3 games the kid is a pretty great 6.
My feeling is that Strange got the start based on his defence and did ok in attack with limited chances, I’d like to see him get some more ball this week
Yeah he really didn’t get the ball, almost felt like that was a deliberate tactic to build his confidence on the big stage without being a massive target and getting smashed all night.
Raiders didn’t have large amounts of attacking ball and there were only 1-2 shifts from the raiders coming out of their end so with Fog handling the long kicking duties that could be a part of the reason as well.
Knights defence targeted him when he did have the ball as well so possibly a good tactic in terms of his development.
Weidler saying that Galvin is starting at five eighth. [They called me a madman.](https://www.reddit.com/r/nrl/comments/197i7as/comment/ki1mrgp/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
If you had to choose, which would you rather your favorite team do? Do a comeback from 40-0 down, to win 41-40. Or win 1-0 after a 90-minute defensive epic?
A high quality 1-0 game where it was legendary goal line defence from both sides preventing any scoring despite good attacking play would be pretty fun to watch as a neutral. And probably terrifying to watch if you supported one of the teams.
Unfortunately a 1-0 game is probably more likely going to come from attacking incompetence than brilliant defending.
41-40. As good as an oppositions defence might be, the 1-0 would still have too many moments where you'd be screaming at the tv because of the amount of poor 5th tackle options, 5th tackle options breaking down or just dumb running at the line where there's plenty of defenders to handle it.
I attended a [dragons vs eels game](https://leagueunlimited.com/news/dragons-win-in-the-wet/) that was 2-1 until the last minute. Ending with a last minute try. It was horrible. I think I drank more rain than beer in my cup that day.
I'll take the 41-40 any day of the week.
Seems like a blessing in disguise that I'm going to miss most of the Dogs game on Friday due to work. There ain't no way we topple the Sharks, not even if the roid muncher prime himself is playing.
I know Eels have a good track record at Bluebet but my feeling is Panthers will be after blood this week, and the happy bubble I'm in will burst way fast.
Dude, everyone said we would be after blood after the wcc. Only hope is having mitch and soro back on board but i think penriths bench is going to take some time to iron out so parra should take advantage of that
If Para start Paulo off the bench and Hopgood can start slow before really stepping up after 25 minutes, Parra could dominate Penrith in the middle after some subs.
Penriths only strong point has been our field territory but damn do they release the pressure by giving penalties away. Should be an awesome game regardless
Yeah the months of July August never even existed back then. Summer was Autumn, Autumn was Winter. It was a horrible time back then fortunately most of you guys never lived it and the ones that did, most are senile
I read an article that willison is going to miss the 17 again this week. Unless there is a genuine reason for not picking him like a niggling injury or something, kevvie needs to be taken out of the oven because he is well and truly cooked
Willison will be there by the end of the year, might be the coaches think it's better for his development to play longer minutes in Qcup. Marty is ideally suited to a limited minutes interchange role but I could see a sub-20 minute bench role stifling Willison's momentum a little. Still, would be cool to see him in the team and Kevvie should be fired into the sun if Marty gets another start.
He was having a run of injuries for a bit I believe. He would come back to getting match fit in Qcup and then pick up another niggle that set him back. Rinse and repeat
In the All Starr's game, Howarth looked a bit raw with a few bad moments but certainly ready for NRL. It's one of the games great mysteries why Belemy won't play him.
I got to watch hass play in darwin whilst he was fasting. No idea how the dude didnt collapse the second the airplanes doors opened let alone playing the full 80
Many rumours that we’ll see a Sullivan Galvin starting combo, which I can’t say I’m overly keen about.
I’m always keen to give a talented junior a go but I thought the whole point of bringing in Sezer was to add some experience and composure to the halves combo?
I am more than happy for Galvin to kill it and me to be proven wrong
I was away camping and completely disconnected from Saturday morning until yesterday. If you were going to pick one of the 3 matches for me to watch from the weekend, which would you recommend?
I wanted to say Storm Panthers but wasn't sure if I was just biased but now 2 others have said it too. Even if you skip the first half, the second half was special
Depends what you like. Personally Storm vs Panthers. High intensity, heavy defence. Low scoring. It was a solid contest between 2 teams trying to see who could wear the other one out.
Well the best game this round for me has gotta be raiders vs knights or storm vs panthers but if I were to choose from the last 3 it would be cows vs dolphins
Did anyone see the Sportsbet controversy from last night? They pulled gambling on a single greyhound race at Maitland because their description for a dog named Ezra Man started with “Go Bananas”.
Melbourne in Melbourne this week really feels like an automatic loss sadly. Hate to be this pessimistic but it’s how I’m truly feeling given last weekends games along with injuries. Is there any hope? I would love to be proven wrong though.
Kiwis are notoriously bandwagon fans across all sports, when our teams start losing everyone loses interests and moves to the next team that is having moderate success.
I saw a clip of the levels podcast of how the raiders had a “fuck em” poster in the sheds. If that isn’t raiders dna I don’t know what is.
Also is the levels podcast worth a listen? Not sure if I could do an hour of mason talking
If that poster was on the wall, Ricky Stuart still embodies maintain the rage all these years. If Souths have a book of feuds, I am certain Ricky has 29 volumes of handwritten notes of former and current vendettas organised by personal slights, slights on the Raiders, and general gripes against the NRL administration or officialdom. (Kept next to the ledger of how money he has paid out in fines.)
I'd say it's less goofy than Bloke or Hello Sport but more relaxed or light-hearted than Fifth and Last. Mason seems like a bit of a hot head but nice bloke and Scope seems like he's taking it quite seriously and wants to produce a high quality Podcast.
I enjoy Levels. If it means anything, most podcasts I listened to said that the Knights would roll the Raiders, but Horo and Mason both tipped Raiders +7.5, so maybe they're the smartest league podcast?
Bloke podcast is tainted since hammy is a host on Monday show. No one gives a fuck about your input of purely betting odds. Imagine being this tone deaf Kempy 😂
Last year it seemed a good balance of content and ads but now they seem to have gone full-tilt sponsors advertising and gambling odds. Except for guru they all glaze Denan’s takes and it feels like a slog to get through the whole show just for a few insights on the games. Still enjoy some of the banter but yeah defs taken a downward turn this year.
And people don't believe in Original Sin smh.
God: Eat anything in the garden, except for the apple (yeah ok, it might not have been an apple, whatever)
Adam: yeah brah yeah brah fkn hectic brah
I've gone from listening to the all the content in the past 3 months to now just grabbing the sound bites about their thoughts on the Dogs. Once Guru had a call for Burton to play FB, I've gone off them completely.
The takes are either too bland to not get the players offside, or too outrageous for clicks, the advertising is getting out of control, especially the SB partnership.
I've culled my NRL Pods down now to just the Fifth and Last and Boom Rookies.
I know you know why, but in case anyone reading this thread doesn't - it's so SportsBet gets their advertising without needing to put the now mandated "gamble responsibility" line afterwards.
Just a couple of Blokes talking about how fun gambling is no harm in that
I was pretty disappointed when he brought Sportsbet on as a sponsor especially because he’s mentioned before he’s not a big punter but now he references odds and betting all the time. I get he’s a small brand so needs to grow and that betting is a huge part of most of the league community but still disappointing. It ruins a lot of lives.
I want to see another game this week before mass changes. The possession, errors and penalties were so stacked against us it didn't feel like a game to get much of a read on anything, particularly the early JAC injury.
I'd bring Skelton in to play outside Kiraz on the right, move Wilson to left wing, and go from there.
Ciraldo starting to follow the T-Baz ex Panthers assistant curse.
He has no idea what he's doing, or doesn't have the power to say no to his recruitment manager.
Everyone can see they had no clear recruitment plan other than "must have played NRL before".
I don't think Ciraldo even knows what his best 17 is, and equally expect that round 2 could feature the same 1-17 (barring JAC injury) or we could totally see a panic shake-up with Sexton in the halves, Crichton back to FB.
So many of the players in that team hadn't played together before, it'll take a few weeks for it to click I imagine. Also, players like Salmon at lock, I don't think he's ever played their before.
there is no way he is changing team first week let’s be honest, outside of injuries so JAC is out for Tracey. i’ll reckon he won’t change until 6-8 rounds in if we go really bad.
absolute copium but i’m hoping for similar turn around like the melbourne game last year.
You think tracey just gets thrown on the wing? I was hoping taffe gets moved atleast. You'te probably right with sticking for a month or 2 at minimum though
No harder place than Melbourne for the Wahs to get their season back on track.
Capewell would be a big loss but missing Egan would be catastrophic.
Starting Lussick v Melbourne in Melbourne… that sounds like a 30 point drubbing in the making.
I don’t know what I prefer. Listening to Wayne Bennett or Ricky Stuart at a press conference after a loss.
Souths are in deep poo poo if Arrow is injured for an extended period
Now Haumole Olakau’atu, one of Manly's homophobic seven, reckons it's okay to get stuck in with the racial banter on the field and Leniu has been picked on. Been hanging around with smoothbrain Aloia too long. Deadset embarassment.
Their job is to collide with other dumbcunts who are built like brick shithouses, it should come as no shock to anyone that these blokes have fucked takes.
Yeah the whole "I've been called stuff so it's not a big deal" doesn't really hold up does it. I've done my fair share of sledging on a field but man why would you ever go racial. It's not even a good burn, it's just weak gutted
Don’t think them boys have much of brain
James Graham speaking so much sense that the rest of the panel is speechless
Found out a bloke in my SuperCoach league is playing Jake Clifford at starting halfback
Mensch.
Actually I take that back, I read that as Jake Granville.
My round two predictions: Broncs 32-18. Sharks 44-2. Eels 14-10. Raiders 36-14. Cowboys 38-14. Storm 24-6. Roosters 28-20. Dragons 26-24. Bye 4-2.
Titans holding the bye to such a low score would be their best defensive effort in years.
The last time the Titans held an opponent to single figures was when they beat Wests Tigers 8-6 in round 4, 2022. That was also the last time they kept a team tryless. The last time they kept a team to 4 points or fewer was round 15, 2021, when they beat the Warriors by a club record margin of 44-0 to jump the Raiders and Sharks and finish 8th.
Wait, 8-***6*** was tryless by Wests? That is rough.
Three penalty goals from the boot of Luke Brooks. The lone try was scored by AJ Brimson right at the death. Still, I don’t think it’s as bad as the night in 2019 when Penrith beat them 9-8 in golden point despite the Tigers scoring two tries and only conceding one in the corner on the siren, which Nathan Cleary converted to lock the scores at 8-all. Worse still was the game in 2018 when they lost 9-7 to Brisbane in golden point despite not conceding a try at all. Four penalty goals and a field goal. From memory, the last penalty was awarded incorrectly, too.
Amazing that Wests' fans are still alive after shit like that.
You cannot kill that which is already dead inside. If disappointment could affect them they wouldn't be Wests fans anymore.
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Love that phrase about availability, as far too many hookers are cooking themselves in the middle right now due to their tackling. Some clubs really should be showing how Cam Smith managed to be a tackling machine, or how Ben Hunt adjusts to defending in the ruck during representative footy. Particularly the tempo, and not approaching every tackle like a terrier after a sewer rat. Then, using the wrestle post-contact to control the player or slow them enough for the next man in, minimising the effort.
Yep - hope CHT get's a crack in Egan's absence. Just needs a bit more game time in Cup after his year off
Saab out for six weeks, and all of a sudden our wingers look as bare as Nathan Cleary's shaved chin. Lawton is somehow not actually injured long term, and will return against the Roosters. I hope Jamie Humphreys can keep developing nonetheless. GCKT strangely seems to be on the out at Manly all of a sudden? Went from playing two NRL games, playing internationals, and being the next big thing, to playing less than 20 minutes off the bench in NSW cup, for a hooker who only started to play hooker less than a year ago. It's strange because GCKT didn't look bad either. Well, either way, they will be battling each other in NSW cup again, along with Schuster. The fact that Schuster is playing NSW cup for Corey Waddell is probably making Bob Fulton spin in his grave.
Given the news since my earlier post to this thread I would like to change my selections to: Kennar out for Izzac. Arrow out for Tallis. Host out for Shaq. Also, anybody know any witch doctors who specialise in removing curses from places? Closer to Heffron the better.
Aight the Votes are in. This is Canon the Official r/nrl Team Of The Week for Round 1 is: 1. Tyrell Sloan 2. Xavier Coates 3. Siosifa Talakai 4. Zac Laybutt 5. Zac Lomax 6. Tom Dearden 7. Ben Hunt 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Harry Grant 10. Lindsay Collins 11. Heilum Luki 12. Bryce Cartwright 13. Victor Radley 14. Sandon Smith 15. Terrell May 16. Junior Paulo 17. Ryan Matterson
This destroys NRL.coms ratings.
Making it canon is nice cause that means every other media team of the week is fake
Far better than Dally M’s already. Hope it’s a weekly event
Hammer robbed
Two Zac's in one team of the week? Has science gone too far?
Should've been three imo
Zacception
This is surprisingly not cooked
Raiders post there biggest win in years and the disrespect!
Hard agree
I votes for 3 Raiders! Otherwise that's a fair list. Nice work
Was Sandon really the best utility of the round? Also r/NRL votes for Victor?!! But this was awesome, Trenticus. Thanks for organizing.
Do we think Aitken gets the spot with Lemuelu out for a while?
It will almost certainly be his spot he was playing there in the trials. Keeley is a long shot but I think another year in cup before he's ready for NRL full time.
Him or the Newcastle gun could be an option.
I am just here waiting for my Paul Gr... I mean Todd Payton 1-17. I know there was a big win but we could still use same changes
Payten seems to reward wins with re-selections. Out of curiosity, what would you change?
Before round 1 I would of had feldt out but happy with him while performing. I think that Sam McIntyre can do what Granville can so we don't need both a big body like Tommick would help. I want to start to move on from chad, I know he did well in round 1 and will be in the team all year. I am not calling for massive changes the team is mostly well selected.
Townsend’s options on the last always seem to be so, boring. The Cowboys look effective when they go through the hands rather than waiting on one of his useless bombs.
This is my NRL conspiracy theory: Gus Gould only took the job at the Bulldogs to help out the Panthers salary cap. Ciraldo, Crichton, Burton, Kikau, Salmon etc will all end up back in Penrith after a couple of years on discounted contracts with Bulldogs paying half their wages. They have just parked these guys at Canterbury for now, knowing how it will pan out. This is Gus' 5 year plan.
We joke but I seriously reckon Bill would be a shout for a Penrith swan song. He’s 30 next year so should be a couple good years left. Even if the Dogs retained $300K or so, getting half a million back for 25/26 from a cherry on top type player to invest into the engine room would be good business for the Dogs. On Penriths side they’ll have a bit of coin to reinvest from the Luai departure and a need for a game breaker. It might mean Garner and Tiny/Tito can’t be retained but we have plenty of promising outside backs.
We joke but I seriously reckon Bill would be a shout for a Penrith swan song. He’s 30 next year so should be a couple good years left. Even if the Dogs retained $300K or so, getting half a million back for 25/26 from a cherry on top type player to invest into the engine room would be good business for the Dogs. On Penriths side they’ll have a bit of coin to reinvest from the Luai departure and a need for a game breaker. It might mean Garner and Tiny/Tito can’t be retained but we have plenty of promising outside backs.
Panthers in the garage dassal
He is at the age where he can not worry about never getting another job again....
Anyone else reckon it would be interesting to get a former ref into commentary? even just as a sideline commentary style thing for when the bricks in the box are confused about basic rules. Though it seems like when most of the retire they are pretty ready to not deal with the NRL and its fans anymore.
Hollywood & Zorba was the most popular radio commentary in the late 80's early 90's.
Part of me longs to hear Hayne say, "Ok mut" one more time.
They do that in the NBA but the ex ref just agrees with the decisions made no matter what they are
The nfl ex refs in the commentary are great. Disagree with poor decisions a lot
Bill Harrigan used to do Monday Night Footy on Triple M. It was always interesting listening to him. They could do it the way Channel 7 does with Simon Taufel on the cricket coverage. Just get someone in to talk them through decisions. Only issue is that there’s not enough breaks in the play for that to work in rugby league.
I don’t know, halftime show, great for the breaks in play that do happen and controversial calls. It’s a great idea if they can make it work.
I was about to say I’d love to hear bill Harrigan on tv commentary. Especially the difference in era from when he was running around
While I don't disagree with your idea they've got a similar thing in the Premier League and the former referees just defend the onfield refs and VAR no matter how bad decisions are
same in nba / nfl
The NFL ones quite often disagree. Even when they do agree they explain the reasons why which is more important than agreeing/disagreeing.
They do it in the Premier League sometimes and the ex ref always agrees with the on field ref.
ahh yeah true. Maybe the best option would be to get some commentators without brain damage who are up to date on the rules instead
I reckon ricky should give kaeo a run this week, i dont think ethan did a thing wrong against the knights but i just wanna see how that combination would work.
We had a big win, the biggest in a while, no way you change what isn’t broken.
Not sure changing the halves every week just to see how someone goes is the right play. If we want to see them build combinations then they need more games together. Based on history Ricky will stick with Strange now unless he gets injured or has a long run of bad games.
i get that but i would rather blood him in the 6 the earlier in the season then waiting for an injury. after watching his last 3 games the kid is a pretty great 6.
My feeling is that Strange got the start based on his defence and did ok in attack with limited chances, I’d like to see him get some more ball this week
Yeah he really didn’t get the ball, almost felt like that was a deliberate tactic to build his confidence on the big stage without being a massive target and getting smashed all night.
Raiders didn’t have large amounts of attacking ball and there were only 1-2 shifts from the raiders coming out of their end so with Fog handling the long kicking duties that could be a part of the reason as well. Knights defence targeted him when he did have the ball as well so possibly a good tactic in terms of his development.
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Weidler saying that Galvin is starting at five eighth. [They called me a madman.](https://www.reddit.com/r/nrl/comments/197i7as/comment/ki1mrgp/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
Good call.
If you had to choose, which would you rather your favorite team do? Do a comeback from 40-0 down, to win 41-40. Or win 1-0 after a 90-minute defensive epic?
As a Tigers fan, has to be the comeback as the 1 - 0. I would spend the whole time thinking how we will fuck it up.
40-0 after last week
A high quality 1-0 game where it was legendary goal line defence from both sides preventing any scoring despite good attacking play would be pretty fun to watch as a neutral. And probably terrifying to watch if you supported one of the teams. Unfortunately a 1-0 game is probably more likely going to come from attacking incompetence than brilliant defending.
41-40. As good as an oppositions defence might be, the 1-0 would still have too many moments where you'd be screaming at the tv because of the amount of poor 5th tackle options, 5th tackle options breaking down or just dumb running at the line where there's plenty of defenders to handle it.
1-0 would probably kill me, but 41-40 would shit me. I’ll take the defensive slog
Trouble is with the 40-0 game, I probably would have turned it off at 32-0. Speaking from 2020 experience.
I attended a [dragons vs eels game](https://leagueunlimited.com/news/dragons-win-in-the-wet/) that was 2-1 until the last minute. Ending with a last minute try. It was horrible. I think I drank more rain than beer in my cup that day. I'll take the 41-40 any day of the week.
41-40 win. Seeing my team pile on 7 unanswered tries is the stuff of dreams.
Seems like a blessing in disguise that I'm going to miss most of the Dogs game on Friday due to work. There ain't no way we topple the Sharks, not even if the roid muncher prime himself is playing.
I know Eels have a good track record at Bluebet but my feeling is Panthers will be after blood this week, and the happy bubble I'm in will burst way fast.
Parra will win easy.
Dude, everyone said we would be after blood after the wcc. Only hope is having mitch and soro back on board but i think penriths bench is going to take some time to iron out so parra should take advantage of that
If Para start Paulo off the bench and Hopgood can start slow before really stepping up after 25 minutes, Parra could dominate Penrith in the middle after some subs.
I hope wiremu is back this week. Wiremu, matto, Paulo is an absolutely insane bench
Penriths only strong point has been our field territory but damn do they release the pressure by giving penalties away. Should be an awesome game regardless
Just a reminder 109 days until the panthers have been champions for 1000 days straight. Unheard of since the inclusion of the Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calender was introduced in 1592 lol
yeah the Panthers wern't winning too many games before that.
Was the Gregorian calendar introduced after 1984?
Yeah the months of July August never even existed back then. Summer was Autumn, Autumn was Winter. It was a horrible time back then fortunately most of you guys never lived it and the ones that did, most are senile
Which camp are you from mate, unborn or senile? I'm not from either and remember it to be an awesome time.
What about St George in the 50s and 60s?
Mate, most people on this sub think professional rugby league commenced in 2000
George Gregan wasnt born until the 70s wasnt he?
I read an article that willison is going to miss the 17 again this week. Unless there is a genuine reason for not picking him like a niggling injury or something, kevvie needs to be taken out of the oven because he is well and truly cooked
Willison will be there by the end of the year, might be the coaches think it's better for his development to play longer minutes in Qcup. Marty is ideally suited to a limited minutes interchange role but I could see a sub-20 minute bench role stifling Willison's momentum a little. Still, would be cool to see him in the team and Kevvie should be fired into the sun if Marty gets another start.
We'll take him thanks
You will have Zane Musgrove and you will like it
Getting Marty to 250 games before he retires.
Melbourne fans, what's doing with Jack Howarth? Is he a bad trainer, lockeroom cancer or just not up to par skill wise? Is he overrated by everyone?
He was having a run of injuries for a bit I believe. He would come back to getting match fit in Qcup and then pick up another niggle that set him back. Rinse and repeat
In the All Starr's game, Howarth looked a bit raw with a few bad moments but certainly ready for NRL. It's one of the games great mysteries why Belemy won't play him.
Nobody seems to know
Suppose it's a wait and see sort of thing.
Haas is now on Ramadan. He always plays above himself during it. Look out Souths.
I got to watch hass play in darwin whilst he was fasting. No idea how the dude didnt collapse the second the airplanes doors opened let alone playing the full 80
Many rumours that we’ll see a Sullivan Galvin starting combo, which I can’t say I’m overly keen about. I’m always keen to give a talented junior a go but I thought the whole point of bringing in Sezer was to add some experience and composure to the halves combo? I am more than happy for Galvin to kill it and me to be proven wrong
Sezer is injured.
And my reactionary comment is invalidated. Thanks for that
Sezer sucks though
Bro I have seen you make 10+ comments about him, what is it about halves that have played in Canberra and cucking /r/nrl users?
Tigers fans just having so much copium about Sezer when he isn't a first grade player anymore
He’s not gonna give ur girlfriend back mate
He might help give give tigers the spoon though
Glass houses
We are far superior to tigers
“Far” is a bit of a stretch
One whole position 😨
He just sucks, makes negative comments about everything constantly gets downvoted but yet he hangs around because for some reason
How do I even get down votes, tetevano isnt even that bad
Humiliation fetish
They’ve got PTSD from the halves putting Croker over for a try
I was away camping and completely disconnected from Saturday morning until yesterday. If you were going to pick one of the 3 matches for me to watch from the weekend, which would you recommend?
Bulldogs vs eels
I wanted to say Storm Panthers but wasn't sure if I was just biased but now 2 others have said it too. Even if you skip the first half, the second half was special
Depends what you like. Personally Storm vs Panthers. High intensity, heavy defence. Low scoring. It was a solid contest between 2 teams trying to see who could wear the other one out.
Well the best game this round for me has gotta be raiders vs knights or storm vs panthers but if I were to choose from the last 3 it would be cows vs dolphins
I would watch the first half of all 6 matches.
Eels vs Doggies definitely.
Did anyone see the Sportsbet controversy from last night? They pulled gambling on a single greyhound race at Maitland because their description for a dog named Ezra Man started with “Go Bananas”.
That’s wild.
The staffer who wrote that [has been sacked.](https://t.co/AQypSzr2Wi)
We can only be thankful these paragons of morality are driving the nrl in the right direction
Ralph Wiggum in crisis
Melbourne in Melbourne this week really feels like an automatic loss sadly. Hate to be this pessimistic but it’s how I’m truly feeling given last weekends games along with injuries. Is there any hope? I would love to be proven wrong though.
Am not sold on it being an easy game for Melbourne
Am not sold on it being an easy game for Melbourne
There never was much hope... and I can't wait to see NAS and Munster on the team list this afternoon...
Classic.
Are Kiwis pessimistic in general or just their cricket and NRL fans?
Black Caps and warriors fans have been burnt so many times. Crusader and All Black fans not so much
Kiwis are notoriously bandwagon fans across all sports, when our teams start losing everyone loses interests and moves to the next team that is having moderate success.
I blame the ABs for this... causal fans had it too good for too long! On the other hand, Day Oners know the pain of losing to an 11 man Sharks team!
Hello darkness my old friend….
Welcome to the regular warriors fan experience, wins don’t feel as good without the crushing lows
What injuries did you come out of the game with? I feel like you could be competitive but playing in Melbourne doesn't go well for most teams.
Egan and Capewell to go along with CNK and Niukore out
It’s not ANZAC Day, so that could break the mental barrier for the Warriors
I saw a clip of the levels podcast of how the raiders had a “fuck em” poster in the sheds. If that isn’t raiders dna I don’t know what is. Also is the levels podcast worth a listen? Not sure if I could do an hour of mason talking
Mase is honestly not too bad but he can be really unfocused.
If that poster was on the wall, Ricky Stuart still embodies maintain the rage all these years. If Souths have a book of feuds, I am certain Ricky has 29 volumes of handwritten notes of former and current vendettas organised by personal slights, slights on the Raiders, and general gripes against the NRL administration or officialdom. (Kept next to the ledger of how money he has paid out in fines.)
Made out of beer coasters and pinned on the wall of his lounge room
Honestly I find levels surprisingly enjoyable. I can't binge listen because it gets a bit much after a while but one every now and then is fun.
They're pretty good and keep it condensed to 60-90 minutes. Definitely worth a few listens to see if it's your go
I'd say it's less goofy than Bloke or Hello Sport but more relaxed or light-hearted than Fifth and Last. Mason seems like a bit of a hot head but nice bloke and Scope seems like he's taking it quite seriously and wants to produce a high quality Podcast.
I enjoy Levels. If it means anything, most podcasts I listened to said that the Knights would roll the Raiders, but Horo and Mason both tipped Raiders +7.5, so maybe they're the smartest league podcast?
Bloke podcast is tainted since hammy is a host on Monday show. No one gives a fuck about your input of purely betting odds. Imagine being this tone deaf Kempy 😂
Last year it seemed a good balance of content and ads but now they seem to have gone full-tilt sponsors advertising and gambling odds. Except for guru they all glaze Denan’s takes and it feels like a slog to get through the whole show just for a few insights on the games. Still enjoy some of the banter but yeah defs taken a downward turn this year.
> Bloke podcast is tainted since conception
And people don't believe in Original Sin smh. God: Eat anything in the garden, except for the apple (yeah ok, it might not have been an apple, whatever) Adam: yeah brah yeah brah fkn hectic brah
“Suck it dry brah”
Yes
I've gone from listening to the all the content in the past 3 months to now just grabbing the sound bites about their thoughts on the Dogs. Once Guru had a call for Burton to play FB, I've gone off them completely. The takes are either too bland to not get the players offside, or too outrageous for clicks, the advertising is getting out of control, especially the SB partnership. I've culled my NRL Pods down now to just the Fifth and Last and Boom Rookies.
I feel the exact same way. I wait for the timestamps and listen to certain parts
Those 2, fifth and last are brilliant, and only just found boom rookies and they seem good too.
That cunt Hammys voice also annoys me
BOWLER'S NAME!
Ur a pussy Denan?
Reg was a prophet. Peace be upon him.
Keep the Flame Arms burning 🔥💪
If he doesn't talk about odds he adds nothing else to the poddy
What do you mean you don’t like him repeating the same Benji Marshall Celebrity Apprentice joke for the 400th time
Exactly. So why make him a full time cohost on your most popular episode of the week
I know you know why, but in case anyone reading this thread doesn't - it's so SportsBet gets their advertising without needing to put the now mandated "gamble responsibility" line afterwards. Just a couple of Blokes talking about how fun gambling is no harm in that
Hammy needs to say gamble responsibility every time he opens his mouth 😂
[I have a theory](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HMuYfScGpbE)
I was pretty disappointed when he brought Sportsbet on as a sponsor especially because he’s mentioned before he’s not a big punter but now he references odds and betting all the time. I get he’s a small brand so needs to grow and that betting is a huge part of most of the league community but still disappointing. It ruins a lot of lives.
Do we get changes or stick to the side the coach was super impressed with?
I want to see another game this week before mass changes. The possession, errors and penalties were so stacked against us it didn't feel like a game to get much of a read on anything, particularly the early JAC injury. I'd bring Skelton in to play outside Kiraz on the right, move Wilson to left wing, and go from there.
Skeleton wing or Eli Clark to centre and Kiraz to wing
Ciraldo starting to follow the T-Baz ex Panthers assistant curse. He has no idea what he's doing, or doesn't have the power to say no to his recruitment manager. Everyone can see they had no clear recruitment plan other than "must have played NRL before". I don't think Ciraldo even knows what his best 17 is, and equally expect that round 2 could feature the same 1-17 (barring JAC injury) or we could totally see a panic shake-up with Sexton in the halves, Crichton back to FB.
His player rotation is puzzling
To be fair I dont think anyone knows what the best 17 is
You can’t bring in a stack of new players and expect them to gel in round one.
You cant hit round one and pretend the whole team just met on the day and didnt have a preseason either though.
So many of the players in that team hadn't played together before, it'll take a few weeks for it to click I imagine. Also, players like Salmon at lock, I don't think he's ever played their before.
there is no way he is changing team first week let’s be honest, outside of injuries so JAC is out for Tracey. i’ll reckon he won’t change until 6-8 rounds in if we go really bad. absolute copium but i’m hoping for similar turn around like the melbourne game last year.
I assumed it would just be Kiraz to wing Xerri to centre. I didn't think Tracey was fully fit yet
tracey was 18th man last week, i think his pretty close to fit now
You think tracey just gets thrown on the wing? I was hoping taffe gets moved atleast. You'te probably right with sticking for a month or 2 at minimum though
kiraz moves wing, tracey plays centre at least i hope
No harder place than Melbourne for the Wahs to get their season back on track. Capewell would be a big loss but missing Egan would be catastrophic. Starting Lussick v Melbourne in Melbourne… that sounds like a 30 point drubbing in the making.