NRL Round 17 – Prop by the Sea: You gotta love footy!

 

 

 

You gotta love footy – Round 17

 

The Courier Mail Bronco headline was back to some of their best work – Reece and Shine – superlative possibly too strong for a very clunky win but the old adage that a win is a win holds true. Speaking of cliches and adages, rugby league is full of them so see below for a few in my Fact/Stat for the day.

I am taking the liberty of reviewing my Origin comments prior to last week’s magnificent Origin victory. #1 Queensland has not lost 4 in a row since 1996-97. Hopefully when you read this it will still be the case – Tick. #2 I’m expecting to see Queensland level the series – Tick. #3 Origin momentum shifts like the tides at Tower 39 at Main Beach and I reckon this one’s rolling north – Tick. #4 signature blend of chaos and composure with Dearden leading the charge behind a much better forward pack-Tick. #5 Bounce-back energy with vengeance written into every set and Munster and Grant have to play better – Tick. #6 The front rowers to measure up as the tide will begin in the middle – Tick.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t use the same foresight at the Pinjarra Races on Thursday but I am taking a pat on the back for my Origin report!

Round 16.  Started with the West Tigers at home against the Raiders. The Raiders got out to an early lead before the Tigers clawed their way back to 16-12 and put a lot of pressure on the Green defence. However, it held and the Tigers bombed a number of opportunities to be in a way, unlucky losers.

The first game on Saturday had Penrith up against the Warriors who were at home. Most people expected the Warriors to win this game because of the Origin withdrawals, however the Panthers came out and showed that they still have a range of talented players. Sorenson, although he copped two weeks for a hip drop, was outstanding for the Panthers and they certainly are ready to light their charge to the finals. The second game on Saturday had the Knights running out winners over the Dolphins26-20 to keep their slender hopes alive to make the 8. It really was a game lacking effort from the Dolphins who played so well the previous week. A lazy error by the Hammer when the scores were locked proved to be a decisive play almost gifting the win to the Knights. Injuries to the Dolphins are a concern. The final game on Saturday saw the Rabbitohs up against the Storm. This was a tremendous match and you do have to feel for the Rabbits who almost pulled off a miraculous victory. Johnston with four tries edges ever closer to breaking Ken Irvine’s try scoring record and if you get the chance, have a look at Mitchell’s attempted field goal just before full time where he has booted the ball almost 50 metres and just missed. His eye was off for the night and that was costly for South Sydney.

On Sunday I had the good fortune of being at the Broncos Sharks match enjoying the hospitality of the FOGS. It was a very ordinary game realistically by both sides who were desperate to win. The Sharks cleared out to a big early lead and the Broncos looked gone. But, and fortunately for the 40000 strong home crowd their second half was much better. However, the Broncos and Sharks give you little confidence going forward. The second Sunday match saw the Roosters completely demolish the Cowboys. The Roosters are another team that are looking like they are top quality. Some of their tries were spectacular and Tedesco continues to star in that side. I’m not sure where the Cowboys go from here but they have been a tremendous disappointment. Speaking of disappointments, the final game was no different as the Titans put in a very ordinary performance to be beaten by the understrength Eels 36-20. The Titans just can’t put two wins together and their defence was not up to the standard you need to be competitive in the NRL.

 

Round 17 starts with a classic on Thursday night where the Panthers are at home to the Bulldogs. This should be a real guide as to where these two teams fit in. The Bulldogs have led the competition all year and have only lost two games whilst the Panthers have been hot and cold but are looking like they’re about to start to warm up into the competition. Cleary is supposedly in so that is a plus. It will be a real game for guiding us toward what the end of the season may look like.

The first of two games on Friday night has the Sea Eagles at home to the West Tigers. Manly have been poor over the last couple of weeks but have had the bye and need to show more. The Wests boys on the other hand have been gallant but just can’t win matches. I think they will need to be at their best to beat Manly at Brookvale but it does depend on which Manly side turns up. The second Friday night game has Newcastle against the Raiders at Newcastle. I can’t see the Knights beating the Raiders as they have just been super consistent this year and their defence has been especially good.

The first game on Saturday has the Broncos at home to the Warriors. If the Broncos repeat their first half performance from last week the Warriors will have no trouble in putting them away. You would expect the Warriors to be looking to perform much better this week after dropping the points last week. The Broncos have lacked consistency all year and again if they are to be serious about breaking a 25 year premiership vacuum it has to start here. The second Saturday night game has the Dragons at home to the Eels. The Dragons had a bye last week and the Eels had a good win over the Titans so it will be interesting to see just how this match turns out. I think the Dragons might get them at home. The final Saturday night game has the Dolphins playing the Rabbitohs two hours after the Broncos play the Warriors at Lang Park so the ground staff will be pretty busy. The Dolphins will have a point to prove against the old master coach Mr Bennett but the Rabbits have been good recently and I think this is a game that they can win especially if Mitchell is on song. As I mentioned earlier the rising Dolphins injury list is very concerning.

There are two games on Sunday with the Storm playing the Sharks in the early game. You would think that Storm would be too strong for the Sharks. The final game also holds a lot of interest as you have the two worst defensive sides in the competition, the Titans and the Cowboys playing each other. Both having conceded (leaked) 426 points (almost 100 more than the next side) and they also have very similar attacking records with the Titans scoring 288 points to the Cowboys 286. Neither statistic looks good for either side and whichever coach loses this game is going to be under incredible pressure. Realistically no one expected the Titans to be a top four side this year whereas the Cowboys expected that, almost demanded it, yet their season and the leakage of defence in their side says that something is just not going right in the north. It really is a lottery is to pick who would win this game although you would think with Dearden back and refreshed the Cowboys might just get there so it’s almost nearly tempting enough for me to go and watch that game.

 

Top Eight (in order)

3 Melbourne 5 Broncos 6 Cronullaargh7 Roosters 8 Penrith 10 Manly 12 Cowboys 15 Rabbitohs

 

Fact / Stat for the day- The Rugby League Vernacular:

One of my readers asked me to list his rugby league adages and cliches! You may be able to add to the list!

Crafty playmaker-Scheming little half back-Complacent- Ornament -Doyen –Crafty rake

Bullocking run-I know it’s a cliche but -Back end of the game –The forwards laid the platform-Funny thing the league football –It’s a funny game rugby league- The fortuitous bounce-Fractionally forward -Bag of tricks- His toolkit -We dug in- Back end of the game -The 80min performance –110%-Redemption-Relentless ball runner-Consummate ease-Look we don’t know but he’ll have scans tomorrow-Young Gun-Rookie Playmaker-Bookend (love that one)-Rangy backrower-The Talisman-Local product-Starch in the pack-TYRO-Yes…… well-Big game-One week at a time –Stick to the process-Worry about our 4 walls-Take me now, I have seen it all!!-Eyes up footy –I’d like to apologise to the team and the fans for my behaviour.

Tipping Stats- I have stayed in 7^th and now below 70000 in the overall comp. I have to kickstart now otherwise some of my early boasts may come back to haunt me!

You gotta love footy!

 

 

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