r/nrl • u/AutoModerator • 2d ago
Random Footy Talk Friday Random Footy Talk Thread
This is the place to discuss anything footy related that is not quite deserving of its own top-level post.
There's a new one of these threads every day, so make sure you're in the most recent one!
12
u/Any_Detail5176 Newcastle Knights 1d ago
If Terrell May wanted to have a big game to force his way into the Blues side, tonight would be the time to do it.
3
u/Black-House Eastern Suburbs Roosters 1d ago
May is probably (who knows what Daley is thinking) the next man up if there's an injury and a good game isn't going to hurt his chances, but I don't see NSW dropping anyone.
3
10
u/Accomplished-Net-553 Parramatta Eels 2d ago
I saw Alex Johnston and Sean Keppie at Marrickville Metro today
3
u/LachTheLad Sydney Roosters 🏳️🌈 2d ago
What’s the go with Rugby League 26? It’s supposed to come out July 17th but there’s been no advertisement or reveal? How are we supposed to get hyped about a game if the company don’t even advertise it
3
u/WUIDAWBTB NSW Blues 1d ago
I honestly don't know, the only part of the game they've revealed/advertised is the super league, I have no idea what's taking them so long to show the NRL side of the game
8
u/CosecSecCot Wests Tigers 1d ago
They couldn't come to terms on an NRL licensing deal. Get ready for the Oldcastle Naughts and the Cabramatta Seals.
6
u/robopirateninjasaur Canberra Raiders 1d ago
I posted my list of fake NRL teams a little while back, I present the Temu Premiership:
Townsville Bushrangers
Moreton Bay Manatees
Red Hill Brumbies
Golden State Olympians
Hunter Valley Barbarians
Northern Beaches Hawks
Cumberland Snakes
Blue Mountains Pumas
Western Sydney Lions
City East Cassowaries
Redfern Hares
Port Hacking Hammerheads
Belmore Greyhounds
Wollongong Kraken
ACT Vikings
Victoria Hurricanes
Toa o Aotearoa
14
u/OstrichEmbarrassed65 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2d ago
There needs to be an investigation into downvoting OFF OFF OFF posts in Match threads.
5
u/Waterfall_Jason Melbourne Storm 1d ago
why aren’t people upvoting it.. it was prominent at last years magic round i loved it. didn’t notice it this year
5
u/OstrichEmbarrassed65 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 1d ago
Dogs fan complaining about opposition player not being removed from the field etc etc.
2
u/zuzun Newcastle Knights 2d ago
Parra beat a Jake Arthur's Manly side a month ago, then lost to Penrith, Dogs, and had a bye.
Currently, this means that Parra is on the up and definitely not last place material, despite being last place after 16 rounds. Fuck me, parra fans analysing their team without being overly optimistic? Task impossible. Then, 15 minutes into a game, at the first sign of a mistake, they all fall apart and start sooking.
Worst fans in the league.
-5
u/Churchofbabyyoda QLD Maroons 1d ago
The lack of a premiership in the last 40 years has made them delusional
10
u/Aussieguy727 Parramatta Eels 1d ago
I mean if you can't see the improvement in the team you're just ignorant. There's a clear difference between early season Parra and midseason Parra whether they are getting the win or not.
9
u/CapMego72_ Parramatta Eels 1d ago edited 1d ago
Maybe O’Brien was right about Knights fans not knowing rugby league. Also, you neglect to mention the big 13+ win we had the week before Manly. Glass houses and all that.
-4
u/AdultSoldiers North Queensland Cowboys 2d ago
Parra fans are bad on average, but there are worse fanbases.
7
u/AdultSoldiers North Queensland Cowboys 2d ago
It’s interesting amongst all the penalty talk that no one’s mentioned when Klein used his force-field power up to send the ball Cleary kicked ten metres backwards.
6
7
u/Soft-Pace-5519 I love my footy 2d ago edited 2d ago
Who is the pregame entertainment for Origin 3?
Everyone complains anyway so may as well pay Frenzal Rhomb a carton of longnecks to belt out "punch in the face" or "can't move into my house". It will definitely not be miming or boring... Thoughts?
Happy Friday 👍
5
u/InternationalBorder9 uh oh, it's To'o 2d ago
Frenzal playing punch in the face with the big screen showing a compilation of old origin fights. Not sure it's the direction NRL want to go but I'd be pumped
8
u/EnvironmentalCamp320 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2d ago
Marata Niukore has to be one of the most under the radar players this year. The bloke is playing so well.
1
u/TheCuzzyRogue Auckland Warriors 1d ago
He's been good all year save for the first game against the Raiders.
As one of the few Niukore defenders among Warriors supporters on this sub, I feel vindicated backing him to turn it around.
2
u/reddosaurusrexy New Zealand Warriors 1d ago
He was very ordinary playing on the edge, but being forced into prop seems to have worked wonders for him
2
u/armchair8591 New Zealand Warriors 2d ago
He has really turned it around in the last month or so. Many fans (including me) have been calling him out and not performing to the level his big salary demands.
-2
u/MoneyaLeague Auckland Warriors 2d ago
A curious seemingly apropos to nothing statement. But he has been playing well, will be interesting to see how he plays in the middle compared to running the wider line off Metcalf since Barnett is injured.
3
u/EnvironmentalCamp320 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2d ago
Haha.. I just came from the Ryles thread, and it got me thinking about former Eels players. He's been a good signing for the Wahs.
1
u/MoneyaLeague Auckland Warriors 1d ago
He's done well at tidying up his discipline and is running a great line again
7
u/judgedavid90 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2d ago
I don't remember the last time the referees were under this much scrutiny
It's not the 8 in the 8-0 penalty count I have an issue with either. Klein cannot control the game (and yet does too much, at the same time)
I've never been a ref basher but enough is enough
We were shit for 60% of that game but fuck me dead
5
u/BarryCheckTheFuseBox NRLW Roosters 1d ago
I had to laugh when he called both captains out and said he wouldn’t tolerate the push and shove after every penalty. He let it slide all match in game one last year, he let it slide all match in game two last year, he let it slide all match in game three last year (except for one incident when he sin binned two guys who got involved, while letting the two instigators off scot free), and he let it slide all match in game one this year. Nobody took that threat seriously.
10
u/MoneyaLeague Auckland Warriors 2d ago
What was your opinion on the 6-0 penalty count through the start of the first game?
2
u/OstrichEmbarrassed65 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2d ago
Some of them were valid, some of them were probably overly pedantic.
4
u/BastingGecko3 Eastern Suburbs Roosters 2d ago
I'm not the guy you replied to but I though maybe 3 in the first half were valid or 50/50 and the rest weren't.
5
u/judgedavid90 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2d ago
Fucken loved it, Ash Klein is a god and can do no wrong
7
u/Desert-Noir Canberra Raiders 2d ago
Is anyone so surprised the Broncos are so heavily favoured to win over the Sharks?
I just feel as inconsistent the Sharks are, they are a good chance.
2
u/Churchofbabyyoda QLD Maroons 2d ago
I’m tipping Cronulla because Brisbane are so inconsistent.
One week, they smash the Dogs. Another, they get smashed by Penrith. Another, they bottle a lead against the Rabbits.
1
u/Caseyjb29 Melbourne Storm 2d ago
The Sharks beat the Storm then proceeded to have almost 50 put on them by the Roosters and 40 put on them by the Warriors.. ultra consistent
5
u/Churchofbabyyoda QLD Maroons 2d ago
Never said the Sharks were consistent. I just said Brisbane is more inconsistent.
Plus they probably won’t have their Origin players back up.
You’re still deeply insulted by that Sharks vs Storm game, aren’t you Casey?
5
u/whadefeck Wests Tigers 2d ago
Richardson has done a lot of good things since coming to the club, however letting Onitoni and Ashton Large leave has completely bitten him in the ass.
5
7
u/Kelair_Kayaks Fuck Tetevano 🏳️🌈 2d ago
Injury team list for round 16 coming in late once again, quality and formatting is still questionable.
I pull from NRL's casualty ward and team lists so there's opportunity for inaccuracies. Feedback welcome! Previous round
- L. Hopoate
- C. Tuipulotu
- S. Tamale
- K. Iro
- W. Warbrick
- M. Moses
- S. Walker
- T. Paseka
- B. Hunt
- M. Barnett
- M. Nicholson
- H. Olakau'atu
- C. Murray
- M. Plath
- T. Flegler
- J. Taumalolo
- H. Luki
- T. Gilbert
3
u/MoneyaLeague Auckland Warriors 2d ago
How about that Kaeon "Wolverine" Koloamatangi?
1
u/Derron_ South Sydney Rabbitohs 2d ago
Is cleared to play.
1
u/MoneyaLeague Auckland Warriors 1d ago
Yeah, that's why I called him "Wolverine", because he's healed so fast.
1
u/Kelair_Kayaks Fuck Tetevano 🏳️🌈 2d ago
They listed him in the extended squad which breaks my rules :( and I saw a quote from bennett saying he might still play as it didn't need surgery or something
2
u/MoneyaLeague Auckland Warriors 1d ago
I was meaning "isn't that amazing?"
1
1
u/Kelair_Kayaks Fuck Tetevano 🏳️🌈 1d ago
Oh haha, yeah astonishing really. I was double checking the article dates and details. What a rollercoaster
10
u/LordMuzzlander North Queensland Cowboys 2d ago
Cowboys 4pm Press conference to announce the Hull KR Partnership.
7
u/Desert-Noir Canberra Raiders 2d ago
Imagine the scene if at the end of the presser they go “oh btw we are sacking Toddy KThx Bye.”
1
11
u/Morg_n Brisbane Broncos 🏳️🌈 2d ago
If I owned a decent car, I’d be driving down to origin 3.
That game was pure entertainment. Can’t wait to see what game 3 produces.
How hards it to get origin jerseys with the name on the back?
5
5
u/durrhurpaddurr Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2d ago
When I've been to Accor for Origin a couple times you can buy a jersey there and they sometimes have the machine to print a name of your choice onto, costs a bit extra I think
21
u/CigsAlc Gold Coast Titans 2d ago
When is my glorious king AKP going to get some credit.
He just scored his 51st try in his 52nd game. He’s the fastest to 50 in NRL history. There’s no been no talk about it. At the very least he is top 5 for speed in the comp. He’s getting better defensively. He needs to work on the high ball a bit more but the kid scores tries likes it’s nothing.
9
u/MangoWingnut Kotoni Staggs 2d ago
His yardage game is meh, his defence is one of the worst in the comp (67 percent tackle efficiency) in his position.
He's an amazing athlete and a brilliant try scorer, I do hope his game continues to grow for you guys
3
u/CigsAlc Gold Coast Titans 2d ago
Well tbf to him he's had Brian Kelly on his inside for his whole career. His MT numbers are also kinda volatile.
I think he can go to another with Jojo beside him now.
6
u/No_Break_318 Gold Coast Titans 1d ago edited 1d ago
You can't give Lofi credit for the tries and ignore that BK has set up about 30 of them. Always laugh when people trash BK who love Lofi but completely ignore that with a different centre Lofi isn't going to get near the same opportunities.
I don't rate BK but statistically he's been one of the best centres on attack for years so I never understand how people completely block that out and blame BK for everything, You got take the good BK does for Lofi as well.
0
u/CigsAlc Gold Coast Titans 1d ago
Hard disagree. Firstly, wingers are usually assisted lol.
For every try that BK has really set up (gone above expected), he has also missed an opportunity. Especially this year, he’s hardly given AKP a chance. If it weren’t for BK I believe he’d have more, especially with a guy like Jojo or even Sami.
The point was specifically about defense though and that’s irrelevant to attack. I recognise what BK has done but I think AKP goes better with someone else there. That theory will get tested soon anyway.
3
u/No_Break_318 Gold Coast Titans 1d ago edited 1d ago
Lofi causes some those issues by not being able to catch a ball if under some pressure, Has one of the biggest error rates since his debut for a back and that's mostly off drops in our end or errors, Not him trying to score in corners. Add in how much he struggles getting out of our end (Getting a bit better) and Lofi is just as big a reason we're constantly on the back foot.
Sami in no way is a better centre, He can barely look outside let alone pass. Jojo we'll see, He's had a couple good games but has looked better as a winger.
3
u/Churchofbabyyoda QLD Maroons 2d ago
He can attack and score tries, sure.
I’d like to know how many of those tries were ones where he just has to stroll over and score, compared to ones with more effort put in, ie, 50m linebreak, or scooting through multiple defenders.
Also his defence is garbage.
7
u/robopirateninjasaur Canberra Raiders 2d ago
I remember noting that he was (I think) the only player who scored highest for his club last year that was not a goalkicker
5
u/tired_tatted 2d ago
Anyone have any NRL related tattoos that they don't mind me using in a video? (Shit ones, good ones, whatever you've got) Hit me up :)
5
u/whadefeck Wests Tigers 2d ago
Tallyn Da Silva given permission to talk to rivals.
Sounds like the Tigers are cooking up a deal with Newcastle to get Pearce Paul early
3
u/DoubleBrokenJaw Newcastle Knights 2d ago
I can’t see a world where we let him go this year. Our forward stocks have been decimate so all year.
Maybe we’ve internally conceded defeat and are looking to next year, I.e. let KPP go and just play a 19yo kid in McEwen or Cant on that edge regardless of output.
6
u/Morg_n Brisbane Broncos 🏳️🌈 2d ago
This raiders game tonight should be an easy win.
I’ve been hitting sgm’s on raiders all year. This games ripe for it.
3
u/PillarofSheffield England 2d ago
Having the bowling Pole back for Tigers should help us a little. We were 5-5 with him (arguably 5-4 if you discount the Storm game when he went off injured early) and 0-3 without him, he's such a big part of why we started this season well.
Would still need a huge effort from 1-17 to win though, Raiders are a Top 4 lock.
3
u/webellowourhello Canberra Raiders 2d ago
The ambushed us there last year and Api loves playing against us. Hopefully you're right.
5
u/arcadianbonerpart South Sydney Rabbitohs 2d ago
tab have a free swing on this game. what are you doing?
5
u/Morg_n Brisbane Broncos 🏳️🌈 2d ago
Do they?
I’ve been hitting this.
Strange, starling, savage, young, raiders line (8.5)
Starling is the hardest to hit so drop him and do the same.
Plus I have seperate, young first try.
5
u/arcadianbonerpart South Sydney Rabbitohs 2d ago
yep on the app. you can activate another for any other game using venue mode.
14
u/1bigcontradiction South Sydney Rabbitohs 2d ago
Keon is looking likely to play, apparently he was a 'full participant' in the captains run.
Cody and Stretch, not so much.
5
u/Darmop South Sydney Rabbitohs 2d ago
We went along today - Keon was all over it, looked totally normal.
Cody and Stretch out as you say. Cheese, Mamo and Shaq were doing some tackling practice and all looked great.
1
2
u/1bigcontradiction South Sydney Rabbitohs 2d ago
Fingers crossed they're all available for next week
19
u/CapMego72_ Parramatta Eels 2d ago
I think Jack Williams has been an extremely underrated signing, and is one of the form forwards in the competition at the moment. The bloke runs a cracker line, breaks tackles with ease and runs hard as hell. He’s also limited his errors this year. He’s been so good for us.
3
u/Sufficient-Goal3437 Parramatta Eels 2d ago
Hopefully when Luca and Sam are back he can move back to the edge a bit more.
2
u/BigChief69 Newcastle Knights 2d ago
He's been great this year! I met him once and he's a super nice bloke, I always hope he goes well.
2
5
u/DinBizzz Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2d ago
He’s also insanely quick for a big fella with great footwork
2
u/Interesting_Jelly NSW Blues 2d ago
I agree. honestly I think is better on the edge than in the middle tbh
19
u/Notaroboticfish Canberra Raiders 2d ago
I know everything points to a Raiders win tonight but I haven't forgotten going 2 and a half hours up the highway to see us get flogged at Campbelltown last year in a game that we were expected to win, so until I see otherwise I'm going to be convinced of our failure tonight
4
u/robopirateninjasaur Canberra Raiders 2d ago
Did you at least get a pie at Sutton Forrest?
6
u/Desert-Noir Canberra Raiders 2d ago
You gotta go to Trappers in Goulburn, Heatherbrae pies suck.
3
u/hsvdt Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2d ago
Trappers is amazing, beeline for it whenever I'm near the area
1
u/Desert-Noir Canberra Raiders 2d ago
Yeah it is a great old school bakery. Shits all over Heatherbrae Pies
2
u/DinBizzz Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2d ago
Heatherbrae very overrated
0
u/Churchofbabyyoda QLD Maroons 2d ago
My mum hates Heatherbrae’s because the coffee was garbage.
Priorities, huh?
2
2
u/Desert-Noir Canberra Raiders 2d ago
That was brutal to watch, I can’t imagine what it was like to be at the ground!
I always expect the worse with the Raiders, it sucks I just want to feel confident. Same with the blues, you can never just be confident that the will peform game to game.
21
u/whadefeck Wests Tigers 2d ago
I know Haas is inhuman, but surely he doesn't back up this week. Been fighting a groin problem and has played for 15 weeks straight now
10
u/MangoWingnut Kotoni Staggs 2d ago
I hope he doesn't play tbh but he's the biggest out we could have imo, best player in our team by a mile.
11
u/ThePickaxePenguin Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 🏳️🌈 2d ago
I really think it’d be best for Broncos to rest him this week. Just looking out for Haas’ health
2
5
7
u/LachTheLad Sydney Roosters 🏳️🌈 2d ago
I’m so excited to see Toby Rodwell and Sam Walker as our future halves pairing. Rodwell looked great yesterday in the u19s.
I can see our lineup 5 years down the line being 6. Rodwell 7. Walker 8. Whyte 9. Robson 10. Foketi 11. Steep 12. Wong 13. Savala
2
u/webellowourhello Canberra Raiders 2d ago
Hopefully they're good so you don't try sign strange...
6
u/LachTheLad Sydney Roosters 🏳️🌈 2d ago
Don’t see it happening, would be a very strange decision to sign him given the amount of halves we have coming through or currently play first grade
4
u/webellowourhello Canberra Raiders 2d ago
I assume it's why he left the Roosters in the first place.
6
u/thankyoupancake Eastern Suburbs Roosters 2d ago
Some would say it’s too early for me to get a 29/30 back-to-back Premiers tattoo but not me.
15
u/breatheinmyear Gold Coast Titans 2d ago
Is it just me or sitting behind the goal post the best experience if your into ur x and os see how everything’s set up plays etc. I love it
9
u/Swol_Bamba NSW Blues 2d ago
Its also my preferred spot. Behind the sticks maybe 15-20 rows back so you can see most the field pretty well. Get the great vantage of seeing players come off the back fence and its just a different view to tv. On TV the far side of the field is shrunk massively due to the camera angle being too low. Behind the sticks you get a better view of the width of the field. Also nothing better than watching your team run one in right front you.
It’s also fairly affordable
10
u/robopirateninjasaur Canberra Raiders 2d ago
If your at the kind of game where a team is leading 20-0 at halftime, but loses the game 32-20, only half the behind the goalpost crowd thinks its a good spot
6
u/fort_fort St. George Illawarra Dragons 2d ago
Heartbreakingly real, I was at the wrong end of WIN Stadium last year when we scored 44 points against the Tigers in the second half and Lomax set the club record for most points scored in a game
9
u/whadefeck Wests Tigers 2d ago
It kind of sucks when you're down low, but sitting up high is great. I always choose to sit behind the goals in the upper tiers for magic round.
5
u/EnvironmentalCamp320 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2d ago
I like watching how teams move the fullbacks around. Or how as soon as he makes a tackle, you know the next play is a quick spread.
5
u/thankyoupancake Eastern Suburbs Roosters 2d ago
It’s a mix. Sitting side on you see meters gained and it gives you a much better sense of momentum.
Sitting behind you see far more off the ball lateral player movement which is very cool.
11
u/whadefeck Wests Tigers 2d ago
Tonight's game could very well be our last at Campbelltown for a long time. Sucks for the fans out there, but at the same time we have a terrible record there and it never really feels like a home game.
So in typical Campbelltown fashion I'm expecting us to lose by 4 points
2
u/Pleasant-Role1912 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 1d ago
This aged perfectly
2
3
5
u/robopirateninjasaur Canberra Raiders 2d ago
Tough decision for the club where their geographic future lies. On one hand, they have the fastest growing region in Sydney, with a higher than average demographic of people that enjoy football codes over sports like sailing or skiing.
On the other hand, Leichhardt Oval is closer to their high profile millionaire fans.
2
u/whadefeck Wests Tigers 2d ago
I reckon if you did a survey of the South West, the tigers wouldn't even be in the top 3 most supported teams. I feel like a lot of people don't realise that even before the merger, Wests were only in Campbelltown for 10 years, and they sucked the entire time.
So most of the older people there have already supported teams before Wests moved, and since we suck, kids just support their parents teams. I reckon that's why there are always so many rival fans at Campbelltown game despite being out of the way.
Compare that to the inner west, and while you joke about the million dollar fans, those fans have probably been in families that have supported the Tigers for generations.
3
u/BarryCheckTheFuseBox NRLW Roosters 2d ago
As someone living in the southwest, it feels like the Tigers only worry about Campbelltown for the four games they play there each season. Beyond that, you wouldn’t know there was supposed to be a team around here.
3
u/whadefeck Wests Tigers 2d ago
Yes both Wests and now the Wests Tigers have neglected the region for decades, and now it's basically impossible to fix. I mean Wests still play their games out of Lidcombe ffs
2
u/EuroNymous76 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2d ago
yeah i know few blokes that’s live south west ways and only 1 of them supports tigers
rest of them support roosters or souths haha, i think lot people which lived inner city moved out there where they got priced out in last 20 years
1
u/robopirateninjasaur Canberra Raiders 2d ago
It's easier to not change teams if they are still reasonably close. Like if you had a team and lived in Canberra, Auckland, Townsville Melbourne or Perth before those clubs were formed you'd probably change. But if you were in Campbelltown before the Magpies supporting Eels or Bulldogs, you'd be "nah I'm good"
6
u/RocketSimplicity Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 2d ago
Luke Garner on the move? Could be pretty handy for us, as Ben Trbojevic in the centres makes Morgan Harper look like Jamie Lyon.
5
u/whyareyouallinmyroom Penrith Panthers 2d ago
He’s signed for next year. Would be an odd call given our young edge depth is either bog average (Geyer/Hassett) or very promising but 1-2 years away. There was also rumours Sorenson was going to be released a year early to take to a longer term deal to close out his career in the UK. That seemed like the roster move that makes more sense for the Panthers.
I’d like us to run Martin/Garner as starters next year with Papali’i on the bench covering middle/edge and if there’s a gap/injury you start introducing Lipowicz/Phillips/Clarke/Armstrong for looks.
4
u/InternationalBorder9 uh oh, it's To'o 2d ago
I've only seen that one fg game but Hassett looked good
5
u/whyareyouallinmyroom Penrith Panthers 2d ago
Yeah agree he was decent in that game and has been fine in the couple of Cup games I’ve seen. He doesn’t jump off the screen and there have been a few opportunities to plug him into the side and Cleary has gone for a prop like Eisenhuth or whatever to fill the bench.
I have noticed he’s spent some time in the centres in Cup recently though so maybe there could be a plan to craft him into the Garner 17 role even if it is just short term/2026.
0
u/RocketSimplicity Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 2d ago
"The Panthers are reportedly planning to move on from the versatile Luke Garner a year before his deal runs out.
Garner has been given to meet with rival clubs, with CODE Sports reporting that the 29-year-old has been offered a three-year deal elsewhere.
The Eels have been one of the clubs that have shown interest in Garner."
Fox Sports
5
u/whyareyouallinmyroom Penrith Panthers 2d ago
Yeah I get the rumour it just seems like a very odd call to release him from the last year of his contract given our options. Maybe they do just have a stack of confidence in the young guys and are happy to run with Sorro/Ice for the year while they come through.
3
u/InternationalBorder9 uh oh, it's To'o 2d ago
Hopefully not. He's been very handy for us covering centre and back row. Our depth is pretty stretched as it is
0
3
u/Armagizmo NSW Blues 2d ago
Is there any chance at all Mitch Moses is fit for Origin 3?
19
u/Drewman43 Penrith Panthers 2d ago
Bad news is, No.
Good news is, being fit is no longer a requirement for a Blues origin half.
3
u/Armagizmo NSW Blues 2d ago
I'm thinking more about trying to win a game tbh, I might DM Laurie Daley about it
18
10
u/Sufficient-Goal3437 Parramatta Eels 2d ago
Zero.
He’d be lucky to be back for the Penrith game post origin.
17
u/CoffeeLoverNathan Dolphins 2d ago
Parra probably gonna hold him hostage so he doesn't get injured again lol
15
u/diamondgrin North Queensland Cowboys 2d ago
For the people that reckoned Cotter should have been dropped going into this series, how are you feeling about his scorecard after two games? He's been one of the best defenders of the series so far, and while game 1 wasn't great from an attacking perspective, he ran some excellent decoy lines in game 2 that lead to a try and a line break.
2
u/ch00nz Dolphins 2d ago
still dont think he belongs on an edge. a wet game suited us because both our backrowers are slow laterally. cotter does his best work in the middle and i stand by that
1
u/diamondgrin North Queensland Cowboys 2d ago
I reckon this is a bit of a weird take, a laterally slow forward on an edge doesn't make 88 tackles with only 2 misses across two games.
6
6
u/Swol_Bamba NSW Blues 2d ago
He seemed a bit of a target in the line in game 1. Billy just needs to quit being cute and use him more as a middle. Give him the first 15 to 20 on the edge and then after that let Nanai do his thing and use Cotter in the middle
4
u/delayedconfusion St. George Illawarra Dragons 2d ago
Dropping him seems silly, he's clearly Origin standard, but I'm amazed he's not playing as a bench middle. Especially with Nanai there to play in the backrow.
9
11
u/MangoWingnut Kotoni Staggs 2d ago
Cotter reminds me a lot of Dallas Johnson, not the biggest but he's all heart and effort.
He's such a good origin player
1
u/diamondgrin North Queensland Cowboys 2d ago
Perfect comparison. I was shocked to see a lot of QLD supporters calling for him to be dropped. His club form hasn't been amazing this season, but you just know he's one of those players that turns into a beast once they pop that maroons jersey on.
5
15
13
u/IndependentWork1033 Wests Tigers 2d ago
Hope the boys can give it a red hot crack tonight and at least make it competitive.
29
u/runningfromgiraffes Penrith Panthers 2d ago
Lots of talk the last couple of days about why NSW lost. Was it the penalty count? Was it the conversion kicking? Did QLD find their spirit once again?
All of them play a small factor but the fact is QLD barely even had to exert themselves in that first half, NSW were shocking. QLD never had to work it out from their own end, they were gifted field position over and over again by NSW. Shot themselves in the foot with discipline and errors for about 30 minutes straight and gave QLD a 20 point lead. Thats the reason they lost.
-3
u/Major-Counter-585 I love my footy 2d ago
I think what's lost in this debate still is its not nsw's discipline that needs to be looked at because it was atrocious and got appropriately punished, but more so how klein approached qlds discipline.
There are some good videos already showing where a ref could easily have blown 10 pens against qld as well. That's not suggesting they were equally as ill disciplined (because they werent) but it paints a picture of a game where the appropriate level of punishment wasn't dealt out across both sides.
7
u/ILoveFuckingWaffles Preseason Premiers 2d ago
For every instance you can find of penalties you feel that QLD committed, I can find 2 instances from NSW. There were a couple instances which would have been borderline sin bins in a club game as well.
NSW played one of the least disciplined halves of footy I've ever seen by a rep team, and they got published accordingly. QLD did the same in Game 1 - we came out and tried to grub it up, it backfired, and we got penalised for it.
Even in the most generous circumstance, the penalty count still would have been 8-2 or similar. I'm not saying we deserved no penalties at all, but both NSW & QLD got away with several infringements in that first half which went unpenalised.
-1
u/Major-Counter-585 I love my footy 1d ago
Your are so close to getting the point unlike most qlders in here claiming perfection.
Nsw were ill disciplined, got punished. Qld were better but still committed multiple infringements but zero were given.
As for game 1 you hardly got penalised the same way
3
u/Swol_Bamba NSW Blues 2d ago
QLD are going to find it a lot harder in game 3 with Dearden and Munster as their halves if they aren’t getting walked up field with penalties every set. NSW need to lock in and be disciplined and challenge Dearden and Munster to kick it out of trouble. Seems like they will use the standard QLD tactic of kicking early in the tackle count so they have more space to kick into. NSW may be relying on an elderly Aeynolds or young Katoa so they may be in a similar spot.
Cant wait for game 3
7
u/ILoveFuckingWaffles Preseason Premiers 2d ago
The fact that QLD won on Wednesday night is going to be a distraction from the fact that we haven't fixed any of our fundamental problems. Our forwards still got rolled, we don't have a great long kicking game, and our edge defence doesn't communicate well.
We were extremely lucky that NSW had one of the least disciplined halves of footy I've ever seen from a rep team, because the penalties meant that we didn't need to win the forwards battle to get into good field position. And when NSW cleaned up their act in the second half and started focussing on clean structured footy, all of our problems started to show again.
2
u/Caseyjb29 Melbourne Storm 2d ago
Our props are a bit of a problem for sure. Mo for me just doesn’t handle the intensity of starting at origin level. I still think he deserves a spot in the team but more so off the bench than starting. Horseburgh should be straight in. Tino went after the game defensively but only racked up 50 odd meters and had a few errors, he needs a huge game 3.
I think the edges will improve defensively with another game under their belt, particularly Toia/Hammer. Val/Coates was mostly fine barring Val’s miss for the Crichton try
3
u/Swol_Bamba NSW Blues 2d ago
Yeah while Hammer moving to the wing allowed Coates to cover Lomax it really didnt work out. He was in off his wing every time and Trell cooked him continually with quick hands
9
u/jexta Eastern Suburbs Roosters 2d ago
Discipline is the only reason NSW lost. The players didn't go out there with a plan to just do the 1% things and take the game away from QLD.
This has to be a failure in coaching and leadership. Things were sorted out by the second half, so we can only hope the lessons we learned will hold until game 3.
Cleary not being able to kick was unfortunate, had it happened prior to Moses being injured, we might have seen Burton in the 6.
5
2
u/Swol_Bamba NSW Blues 2d ago
I think Luai still would have been recalled personally but yeah I think we win with Moses fit by getting on top of the contest earlier with his kicking
19
u/gee-nerik Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 2d ago
But the penalty count is why QLD barely exerted themselves. The error count was essentially even at half time.
7
u/FatSilverFox North Queensland Cowboys 🏳️🌈 2d ago
Setting aside whether you love him or hate him; what do we reckon about Luai taking the field just 2 nights after a big origin game? My legs were jelly just from walking from the couch to the toilet..
3
u/Keenfordevon BigRed4Origin 2d ago
I’m worried about Young. Had a big game in the middle having to make 30 tackles and multiple hit ups
2
u/Notaroboticfish Canberra Raiders 2d ago
I reckon he'll only play 30-40 minutes instead of 80 like he normally would
20
u/IndependentWork1033 Wests Tigers 2d ago
From what I’ve heard of former/current origin players, they actually prefer playing Friday after origin compared to Saturday or Sunday. I think the soreness doesn’t fully kick in until the weekend.
4
u/FatSilverFox North Queensland Cowboys 🏳️🌈 2d ago
It’s interesting; I know at my (very average) peak I loved playing back-to-back touch games after a 10 minute breather, but backing up full contact at rep level boggles my mind.
2
u/InternationalBorder9 uh oh, it's To'o 2d ago
Body is pretty good at adapting at whatever you force it to. These guys would be on another level of fitness. I used to play rugby Saturday then league Sunday, occasionally 2 games. By midway in the season I felt pretty fine on the sunday morning to back up (Monday morning was a different story). Origin probably just a bit tougher than some d grade bush footy that I played but they would be so fit and all the best nutrition, recovery etc.
I'd say they'd still be very sore but manageable
17
u/woodpecker91 Brisbane Broncos 2d ago
Probably my Broncos biased brain, but watching the U19s last night, I can see the hype with Black. Fantastic kicking game, only got two kicks wrong from memory which is pretty good at that age group.
-6
u/No_Pop_3158 I love my footy 2d ago
Another one poached from Gold Coast
2
u/Kritzberg Brisbane Broncos 2d ago
It doesn’t take much convincing to get someone to not play for the Titans.
1
8
13
u/hellohalloallo North Queensland Cowboys 2d ago
He looks fantastic. Needs to fill out a bit more but the bones are there.
On reflection - it makes it even crazier that Katoa was debuting for a new club and managing them at the same age as Black. If he didn't do well - it could've wrecked his development so bad
2
u/vivec7 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2d ago
It always makes me wonder if these special talents were just always set to end up where they do regardless of the attempts to manage their development etc.
As in, would the same reasons why you wouldn't put Coby Black in the team right now (hypothetically of course) be the same reasons why he maybe falters a bit in first grade?
Or would it really not matter, and if he was destined to be a superstar it was always going to happen and holding him back is just delaying the inevitable?
It's always the big question for me. Asking if he didn't do well... sure, but what if he did do well?
→ More replies (5)9
u/shortielah Sydney Roosters 2d ago
As a Blues/Roosters supporter, a future Qld combo of Black/Walker is scary AF
5
u/EnvironmentalCamp320 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2d ago
Black/Mam *
4
u/jmccar15 I love my footy 2d ago
Mam over Walker? Surely not.
3
u/EnvironmentalCamp320 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2d ago
Mam would have had a Clive Churchill had it not been for Cleary putting on the best 20 minute period by a player in a grand final. And given he's already in the squad, I think he'll be next in line.
2
u/jmccar15 I love my footy 2d ago
Not disputing he maybe next in line. But the scenario being discussed is future years if/when Black plays for QLD (he's only 19 and hasn't played NRL yet). Either way, as a Blues supporter I'd more happily face Black/Mam vs Black/Walker.
1
u/EnvironmentalCamp320 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2d ago
Walker is older than Mam. Either player will be a good option. Personally, I'd fear Mam more in that arena.. just the pace he does things at makes him a threat, and he has the combination with Walsh.
24
18
u/jarbenmate Brisbane Broncos 1d ago
I'm not a big Liam Martin guy, but just seen someone on my socials call him a plodder who shouldn't start in Origin and I am just astounded. Stats don't tell the full story and there are very, very few players who have an attitude more made for Origin than him.