Xtratime Community banner

NRL 2017

6K views 132 replies 7 participants last post by  Zico 10 
#1 ·
This thread will mainly be used when alchemist is drunk (or having a drink) and needs to vent because we are going to suck this season. I know the conditions didn't help at Belmore but we are way too slow for the modern game.

Should be a good season for the neutral though. I hope Raiders, Warriors and Eels do well.
 
#12 ·
#3 ·
Sharks should of won last week. We were making the comeback and were looking to somehow pull it out. But that last broncos try was some unlucky bullshit if I ever saw one. But has to be said some poor defence for sure on the wings. However Feki just returned from injury and Holmes was out. Plus Barba, for fuk sake as if no other player was snorting cocaine after they had won the premiership.

Raiders coming up. Tough one.

WE ARE THE DEFENDING CHAMPS!! Damn that felt good. :proud::D
 
#4 ·
Roosters looking fantastic on the ball, terrible defensively.

Every Bulldogs try was off of an amateurish error by a Rooster. The 28-24 scoreline could easily have been 28-0.

Luke Keary doing amazingly well to make himself a Roosters favourite though - first he punches Russell Crowe, and now he pulls out all stops in his first two appearances :proud:
 
#6 ·
^ Like or dislike the Sharks, admire the toughness last few seasons. Can play good football too, went away from the ground and pound. I guess the list became better, Maloney, Barba, Holmes etc.


Massive round already for some teams, namely us. GC, Manly and Canberra winless also. Canberra should break their duck, don't know about the other two. I guess Titans a chance at home with Norman out but Parra have looked very good so far. Manly are a shambles, coach under fire, DCE prancing around, apparently political issues in club too.

Some interesting games this weekend though as is always early on to see where teams are. Panthers v Chooks should be good out west.

Lots of injuries already to big players. Inglis, Scott, Munster broke his jaw last night.
 
#7 ·
Canberra trounce the Tigers, who were woeful after the first 30.

Manly with undoubtedly the shock of the round, where the hell did that come from?

Roosters with a dodgy decision to get the win, but finally looking much more solid defensively. Not quite the defensive intensity of 2013-2015, but a big step in the right direction. Shame that with Ferguson's absence, SKD was kept on the wing and Manu placed in the centres. Manu looked lost out of position, and SKD can be frustrating out on the wing.

Reducing silly errors will also help massively, and not even going to say anything about the high penalty count because that is simply staple to the Roosters under Robinson.
 
#9 ·
Cleary to the Tigers.

I thought the Dogs might've fast tracked their mission to get rid of Des and nabbed him.

Cooper Cronk leaving Melbourne to move to Sydney for fiance Tara Rushton - wonder which Sydney club he'll end up signing a mega 1-2 year deal with?
 
#11 ·
Cooper Cronk leaving Melbourne to move to Sydney for fiance Tara Rushton - wonder which Sydney club he'll end up signing a mega 1-2 year deal with?
talk is that Cronk might actually retire at the end of the year... still has a couple years left in him though

as for moving to Sydney to be with Tara Rushton, i am reminded of another Cronk quote -->

"Every sinew in my body came together in one perfect whole. But those who have ever experienced that feeling, and it doesn't happen very often, will tell you it's in a whole other place of experience from the usual ego or vanity that drives my game. So I'm not afraid to own it for what it was."

:D

to be fair, a tail worth chasing

 
#10 ·
my apologies for my late contribution to this thread... i will limit this post to my 'Dogs :irritated:

Hasler has been re-signed and in truth, when you look at the lack of decent FG coaches available, it makes sense

the problem though - and Lobo is right that the Dogs will miss the finals and are headed for their worst year since 2008 - is the recruitment, retention and development of players... Hasler has watched over the formation of a spine with absolutely NO ball players, which in truth is quite a feat... Hopoate is a ball runner, has lost a yard or two of pace since he went to find God and doesn't play Sundays... the only saving grace is that he came cheap because the Eels still are paying a good portion of his salary... Reynolds has a lot of passion and effort, can be dangerous attacking the line, but has substandard passing and kicking games... Mbye has no instincts and the club should look to see whether another role might be more suitable (hooker, fullback)... Lichaa has shown glimpses but again, is limited and has poor service from dummy half

the squad too is now ageing and some of the old school players are now starting to falter --> Eastwood, Tolman, Graham etc.

the Morris twins are also on the downward slope and Brett has been injured for much of his time at the club

Hasler should not be judged on this year's results... he should be judged on his ability to rejuvenate the squad and signing a halfback and settling on an actual fullback is step one

the club also need to reconsider the recruitment officer(s) as Cleal did a piss poor job

a technical director (if there is one) should be sacked and a good one appointed to look after the lower grades... i do not ever recall such poor junior grades for the Dogs

vent #1
 
  • Like
Reactions: El Lobo
#13 ·
Sharks with the impressive win last week vs Storms in Melbourne.

Hopefully they continue vs Panthers today.
 
#14 ·
seems the Sharks took Gould's comments that they won a soft premiership in 2016 to heart :D

Cronulla is a very strong, balanced and winning team... will be hard to stop this season
 
#15 ·
They are still very legit and will be around the mark again. Ennis has been replaced by a young hooker and Segeyaro who is a fantastic player in my opinion. Barba has not been replaced but a re-juggling of the back 5 has seemingly solved that.


We've won 3 on the spin, typical Bulldog wins too. :D

I pretty much agree with everything you've written in our assessment of us.
 
#16 ·
Barba was not the same player for the Sharks that he was for us in 2012... and i rate Valentine Holmes apart from the odd knock on

as for us, it is amazing just how much better we look with an actual halfback steering the ship... Frawley kicked very well against the Broncos in the rain and kept getting repeat sets, kicked, ran and passed well against the Knights, and we looked considerably more potent against the Rabbits after Lichaa went off

the 'Dogs just might have a decent enough spine with B. Morris (if he can stay healthy), Reynolds (minus his brain explosions), Frawley and Mbye at hooker... and by decent, i mean potentially good enough to make the finals... definitely not contenders

it was a very long time ago, but there was a time when Lichaa was being labelled the next Cameron Smith (ie. at U20 level)... at the moment, he would struggle to get a contract anywhere else in the NRL
 
#17 ·
Mbye at hooker or full-back I am fine with, even though Morris is more than adequate back there at the moment. I will always love Reynolds despite his faults, he is the man at no.6 and am prepared to leave him in there. Frawley I like, very calm. Hopa is done, the injuries and bulk gain over the years mean loss of speed. Also prepared to blood Holland and Montoya for future, let them make their mistakes. Abbey I don't rate. Lee has been good. Forwards are solid as always but we need more leg speed there now, the game has changed.

Lichaa is a puzzling one. I have been prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt because of the way Des teams play where the hooker doesn't run much or doesn't look much with the ball. Case in point Mick Ennis and how he looked at Sharks as an old man compared to us. Even at Manly during their period of dominance the hooker was, Matt Ballin. A solid player, good defensively, lots of tackes but hardly a game changer. The Storm were all over this in the 2012 GF, they got the hooker/lack of run/feeding the big men situation totally under control and we looked like shit, and Ennis looked lost.
 
#18 ·
i'm still not sure the club knows what it is doing at present... for example, the talk is that the club is chasing and most likely will sign Aaron Woods from the Tigers... now, Woods is a good player, a rep player, but the Dogs forward pack has been strong for quite some time... so strong in fact, that we have let a lot of running forwards go due to lack of opportunity at the club --> Finucane, Taupau, Lloyd Perrett, Shaun Lane, Tim Browne, Herman Ese'ese etc.

if the Dogs were looking to pillage the Tigers (as they should), then one of the halves and Tedesco should have been priorities and not another forward

Mbye belongs in FG... good in the front line of defence, very fast, can pass and kick etc... but he has no instincts for halfback... i am not sure he has the positional sense for fullback or ability to defuse attacking kicks, but it is worth looking into... he can be a very good hooker but do you limit him to dummy half considering he has supposedly signed a 4 year, $3 million deal with the club

Reynolds is all passion but he NEEDS someone at halfback that can worry about the thinking elements of the game (ie. directing play, building sets, kicking well, 5th tackle options etc.)... if left to Reynolds, the Dogs are f*%#ed

Frawley seems calm on the ball, can kick well, and can direct play... but we are talking about a reserve grader for now and the question will always be how will he do with half a season gone, in his 2nd year etc.

although reckless/dumb, i am happy for Brenko Lee to keep getting an opportunity at right centre and Josh Morris still has the left centre role wrapped up... Holland needs to stay for his goal kicking and i like Montoya on the other wing... therefore, i don't see where Hopoate comes back

Abbey is ok and should get better with more opportunities but he will never be a match winner and i assume will end up back at the Warriors as a reserve grader

the big question will be recruitment and there are various stories as to how we are chasing Tedesco and Cronk
 
#19 ·
Would love Tedesco at the Roosters, which is also rumoured.

As for the puppies, Aaron Woods to replace James Graham looking likely, but outside of age I'm not sure why. Cronk would be a great signing even if only for a season, he'd help revitalise the team.
 
#26 · (Edited)
seems like the Roosters have gone off Latrell Mitchell at fullback in recent times and from talk, Tedesco would appear to prefer the Roosters... the only supposed impediment - apart from limitations in the Roosters salary cap :dielaughing: - is the relationship between Politis and Tedesco's manager which appear to have fallen apart after Mitchell Moses agreed to terms with the Roosters then reneged last year

i hate to say it, but i think Woods is soft and not worth the money being talked about (ie. $800K+ a season)... i'd prefer to keep James "run at me, son!" Graham

as for the 'Dogs, Eastwood is done and should be moved on... if the 'Dogs could get Cronk for a season or two, then awesome... even at 34, he is - along with Thurston - the best halfback in the game
 
#20 ·
Don't get the fuss with Woods, especially as we seem to be producing forwards like hot cakes. Never liked him either and him replacing my current favourite Bulldog kind of annoys me. Like Zico said, I'd rather Cronk for 1-2 years than Woods for 4. Tedesco is obviously a dream for the entire league.
 
#21 ·
Holmes was good at fullback vs Panthers. Looked confident catching the ball. I really like this kid. Would prefer if he played on the wing though.

Unfortunate for Bird to leave us. Gonna miss him, another good player.

Anyway a really good performance apart from the early knock-ons. Our defence was spot on, another clean sheet.

On our way to a back2back. :hopefull:
 
#25 ·
not a clean sheet but in consecutive weeks went away to the Storm and Panthers - both seen as favourites this season - and kept both teams tryless... great defence

Bird is a significant loss but i am not quite sure what the Broncos have intended for him... ideally, he is either a fullback or a five eighth and the Broncos still have Boyd and Milford in those positions... you'd have thought the Broncos would simply bide their time and bring Ash Taylor back from the Titans to partner Milford in the halves

plenty of ball playing for the Sharks in Maloney and Townsend and so, a more ball running fullback in Holmes is fine

Wade Graham and Matt Prior are underrated
 
#24 ·
what is surprising is how well the Dragons are doing despite certain issues with their backline (Marshall gone, Dugan injured, a makeshift halfback in McCrone etc.)

what their early form has shown though is the importance of forwards doing their job and that certain players are underrated (eg. Widdop, Aitken)

some lingering questions though for the Dragons moving forward --> do you re-sign Dugan? if so, as a fullback or a centre? can you afford to lose Widdop? does MacGregor continue long term as coach? how do the current players feel about the club overpaying for Ben Hunt?
 
#27 ·
Latrell is looking equally as good in the centres as he was at fullback, even though it's an unfamiliar position for him. Can't wait to see how he looks in another 6-12 months time in the position, just hope he isn't burned out by then - he has played a lot of football for an 18/19 year old.
 
#28 ·
i think centre is a good place for Latrell at the moment to become accustomed to first grade... he has to go thru the physical rigours, has to show good judgment in defence (something he has been criticised for lately), but avoids the set-to-set pressure of playing fullback just yet

the problem though is that you want your quality players closer to the action and we saw the difference Inglis provided to Souths from fullback as compared to Melbourne where he was isolated at centre... it is also the reason there are problems with Dugan at the Dragons --> a fullback is more important and with that importance comes greater reward

and if the Roosters do sign Tedesco, then it is for a multi-year deal which will see Mitchell remain a centre only

finally, when watching Latrell and the immense potential he has, i beam with pride knowing that the 'Dogs recruitment passed on him :wth::ebarassed2::doh:
 
#31 ·
Mitchell's raw ability and physical potential is scary but Robinson is smart, he seems to know what he's doing not to break a young player or give him a big head either.

The Roosters outside backs this season are real suspect in defense, whether SKD, Blake, Latrell etc.


On another note, I love the Raiders and the way they play, they are a complete team and even if not yet, have the potential to be. Strong in the forwards, Boyd, Paulo, Whitehead, Papalli, Soliola, a fantastic rake in the Pom, good mix of direction, running, kicking in halves and a great back 5 too, excitement (Leipana), leadership (Croker), up comers Wighton and Cotric. Since we can't win it, I am behind them this season and hope they take it out. They are just awesome to watch.
 
#32 ·
well, we will get to see just what these Dogs wins mean in a couple weeks when we play the Raiders
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top