NRL Round 25 – Prop in the Canefield: You gotta love footy!

 

 

 

Well, the Round started with what we thought would be a tremendous game, and it was. The Panthers and the Storm went at each other right from the start in what was a high quality game. Oh, there was even friendly fire in the 26th minute when big Nelson whacked Munster on the snozz. Lucky you can’t cop a suspension for striking the head of your own player!  Right up until the end, the game could have gone either way, but the Storm got home 24 to 22 on the back of a goal penalty goal by Meaney who had a strong game. There were some really tough passages of play in the game and Big Nelson sailed pretty close to the breeze and was very much up for the game. Bellamy would be pleased. The injury to Cleary was a major talking point at the end of the match and is clearly a concern because they do need him, but it’s important to remember they were also without Sorenson and Martin. Both are form back-rowers in the competition, nevertheless you can’t take anything away from Melbourne. Wishart came on again and showed that he is close to the most, if not the most, improved player in the competition in what was a cracking game of footy.

On Friday and Saturday, I didn’t spend my usual amount of time watching rugby league as the Councillor and the Stable Master had invited me to their school’s P2P luncheon. What an evening that was. The food was sensational, the company was great, and Matt Golinski, a great Australian chef, designed the menu and the students provided the produce from the school farm and local suppliers. Prawns, pork belly, chicken, beef, panna cotta, crepes!! A gastronome’s delight and a top night all round with the Noosa Heads Lager, my choice from the local brewer. I didn’t get to watch any of the football, but both the games went as I predicted. The Sea Eagles were comfortable winners over the Warriors and the Roosters were comfortable over the Eels. Both winners kept their positions intact as we headed after dinner to the Phoenix Hotel in Gympie, although the Councillor dodged this step but sent his mate the Tiler to keep an eye on me. We kissed the Blarney for a while as the Tiler was a recent visitor to our ancestorial home. We enjoyed a few ales and a whiskey or three and, along with plenty of locals, enjoyed the after party at the Pheonix. All agreed it was a wonderful demonstration of the school’s talent.

The Councillor and the Stable Master are both members of the Vow and Declare owners’ group and, suffice to say, each of their houses has an area set aside to stare and wonder at their replica Cup. I had a beer under the Vow and Declare sunroof at the Stable Master’s and another overlooking the Vow and Declare tractor the Councillor uses! Wow Vow and he will be back racing soon aimed at the Caufield Cup, I’m told! Even their lovely wives enjoy having this incredible sporting memorabilia on their walls, and why not as they have enjoyed a moment most Aussies dream of!

What was even better was on Saturday where the Councillor and Stable Master got me an entry ticket into the Nolans Muster Cup raceday corporate tent! Well, if you don’t go to heaven, that’s where you want to end up. It was just beef and beer, and the beer was XXXX bitter, my old favourite, and, of course, the brew that put the smile on Patrick Charles Fitzgerald’s face. An old Rocky boy like myself to boot. And you can’t beat that!

The Nolan Brothers, the Butcher (a Brother’s man like me), the Cattleman and the Graduate are great fellows and the people that work for them spoke so highly of their company and the contribution they make to the community. No matter who you spoke to, there was real pride in what they do, and it is a tremendous credit to a country community. The day – hosted by Mark Forbes – was all action and the various ways they produced their beef on the day was fantastic. Again, real pride in every aspect of what the Nolan Brothers do.  And, boy, did I enjoy it! Not only that, but I also even had a win on the punt, which made things better again. I am known as the  Morphettville track specialist (self-anointed), and I got the last trifecta which saw my pocket full of money as well. I felt good about that until Grubby Halfback sent me a photo of his Quinella in the same race – 50 times at $84! Well done, Grubby! A big thank you to the Nolans. What a day. The Stable Master retired and the Councillor and I headed to the Jockey Hotel.  I checked on the results when I got home from the Jockey Hotel, aptly named, and saw that the Bulldogs and the Cowboys had won as predicted, but the Tigers hung on in what was a bit of a boil-over, I guess, over the hapless Rabbits.

Interestingly, I got a text message from my mate the Prospector, who was blowing up that they were saying that the Fox had never been caught from behind before. He reminded me of the Sunday arvo where the last leg of a large multi required the Storm to cover 19.5 when the Fox was running away to give Melbourne a 22-point lead over the Titans.  Philip Sami rounded him up and it cost the Prospector big time. He doesn’t forget and can pull iron pyrites as quick as opal!  But what a foot race on Sunday with the Fox running into town at Salter. More on that later.

Sunday saw me travel back home and the Gold Coast Air Show was on. Now that is something to see. But I did get to watch a bit of football. The Dragons, again as predicted, were too strong for the Titans and it keeps their win/loss/win/loss pattern going since Round 9. Quite amazing.  But when I finally sat down and put my feet up in the afternoon, I had time to watch the Sharks and the Knights. This was also a cracking game with the Knights doing everything they could to try and stay in the competition. But the Sharks getting there through a field goal late in golden point puts the Knights, like the Broncos and Dolphins, relying on the Dragons losing 2 of their last 3.  On the Field goal situation, I wondered about the Knights complaint as Ponga’s field goal missed anyway!

So, to Round 25 and the last chance for teams 9, 10, and 11 to position themselves for a finals spot (if they have any at all). So, Thursday night sees the Tigers playing Manly. There’s only one result possible and even though Manly haven’t won at Leichhardt since 2007, they will break that hoodoo. Manly, too strong. Friday has two games. The Warriors take on the Bulldogs in the early game and, again, the Bulldogs should win comfortably. The second has the Broncos taking on the Eels at Suncorp. The Broncos need to win and should.

Saturday has three games. The Raiders play Penrith and I think, now that the Raiders’ season is gone, the Panthers will be way too strong even though it’s at Canberra. The Storm plays the Dolphins at home and, yet again, there’s only one result here. The Storm will be too strong. In the final game on Saturday, we can expect the Newcastle Knights to be too strong for the Rabbitohs who really have let their season drop off poorly whilst waiting for Wayne!

On Sunday the first match has the Titans up against the Roosters who have JWH back and need him to be disciplined for about 6 games. I can’t see the Roosters dropping this one. The best game of the round is the final game which has the most impact and has the Dragons up against the Sharks in the most important local Derby in years. The Dragons have been in good form, the Sharks just got over the Knights but are getting several players back. This is the game that will determine whether the Sharks can hold their spot in the top four and will place the Dragons with a chance to shore up a top eight position. Maybe I should tip the draw!

So, my selections are Sea Eagles, Bulldogs, Broncos, Panthers, Storm, Knights, Roosters, and Dragons.

My season prediction positions after Round 12:  Penrith 2nd, Broncos 10th, Melbourne 1st, Souths 15th (and gone), Roosters 3rd, Cowboys 7th, Newcastle 11th and St George 8th.

 

Odd Rugby League Origin Speed facts!

Electric speed is something you just can’t coach and in footy it can be dynamite. With all the fuss about speed this year and talk of a GF race, I thought it was worth a little look. Obviously, Cleary (Commonwealth Games Bronze Medallist 1962) and Irvine (Professional 100yds world record holder in the early 60s) were trained sprinters as well as league players. In 1964, at Wenty Park, they raced with Cleary the victor. Cleary always said that he and Irvine would be way too fast for the modern winger because they trained as athletes. I guess it wasn’t in the winger’s portfolio to run into forwards in the 60s either.

Country leagues always had speedsters and, as a kid, I remember Les Bunda playing for Norths in Rocky in the 70s and he put the crowd on the edge of their seats when he was in the clear. Some other names include ‘Chariots’ Offiah, Lee Oudenryn, Darren Albert, Brett Dallas, Jimmy the Jet and, of course, modern players like the Fox, the Hammer, Reece Walsh, Xavier Savage, Jojo Fifita and Khan Pereira. And I haven’t even mentioned Sami! Brian Gardner from Redcliffe was very quick in the BRL in the 70s and Gordon Langton in a short career at the Ipswich Jets was super quick in the 80s. And the old folk at Salter Oval on Sunday would have said the Hammer wouldn’t have caught Larry Toll scorching the turf in the Bundy butcher’s stripes in the late 50s! I spoke to Jason Kennedy (a friend of the Nolan brothers), and originally from Cunnamulla, who played for the Oakey Bears in the 90s so maybe our leader JTH can add an Oakey Bears flyer to the debate! Feel free to add your local fliers.

You gotta love footy (and racing)!

 

 

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