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Comment -
NRL Round 22 (continued)
Newcastle Knights +4.5
Cronulla Sharks Under 21.5 team points
Expecting a tight game, Snowden is a huge in and Gidley is a positive. I'm confident Newcastle can compete in the forwards.Comment -
NRL Round 22 (continued)
NZ Warriors +8.5
NZ Warriors Over 17.5 team points
Hoping last week was just a hiccup and we'll see a more motivated team today, did well to beat Manly at home earlier in the season dominating in the forwards. Lucky this game is at Bluetounge rather than Brookvale. Like the over as conditions are good and expecting some free flowing football from these two.Comment -
50/50 calls went against NZ all day
NRL Round 22 (continued)
Penrith Panthers +6.5
Compulsive gambler play, small edge with the start at home but can't be confident here.Comment -
NRL Round 22 (continued)
Gold Coast Titans +16
Monday night double digit dog, usually the right side to be on. Hopefully we get a management job from the officials like that Roosters/Raiders game.Comment -
NRL Round 22: 9-4
YTD: 17-16-1
Bounce back effort off last weeks burial.Comment -
NRL Round 23
Manly Sea Eagles -1.5
Pretty simple analysis, if Manly can compete in the forwards they'll win. 1-7 they are impressive but compare their 2-5 with Souths, they have a huge edge here, Souths are reserve grade in these positions.
Souths might have execution problems with Inglis and Sutton returning form injury, the forwards also need to produce something off a platform of mediocrity and laziness in recent weeks.Comment -
There is no point making a play just for the hell of it. I was discussing individual players on the Rabbitohs, not the Souths v Manly game, so why would you assume that Souths must be an auto-play for me, as they are +EV? I guess I should just auto-play Souths every week then seeing as I think they are so great. I have a slight lean towards Manly, but cannot separate them enough to find something I like.
Sam Burgess - I am not the only one who holds this opinion. I have heard at least three different media "experts" describe Burgess as the world's best forward and I agree 100%. I also consider Corey Parker, SBW, JWH, Feleti Mateo, Matt Scott, Andrew Fifita and Paul Gallen to be at the top of the food chain, but Sam is the complete package and is surely the best forward in the world. Perhaps you should watch more South's games? Here is a link you can see for yourself others hold the same opinion.
Greg Inglis - Once in a generation player. There are faster players, and there are stronger players but how often do you find someone with the rare combination of both. Genuine speed and as strong as a bull. He can play almost every position on the field with ease (barring the front row and h/b). He has the the ball handling skills of a 5/8, his aerial prowess is unquestioned, and his line/tackle breaking is regularly on display. His positional play is excellent and he is probably the game's most dangerous broken field runner. Why? Because he can step in either direction, ala Josh Dugan and while his step is not as explosive as RTS's left foot or Dugan off either foot, when you combine it with the games best fend-off, he is near unstoppable in broken play. The only players that even come close in pure talent and athletic ability are Blake Ferguson and the Morris brothers, i.e - genuine speed and pure power, it is very hard to find to find and Inglis has it in bucketloads. Just for the record - I don't like Inglis at all. I hate Queensland and I absolutely despise Melbourne so I have usually watched Inglis do damage to my various teams over the years, but he is unquestionably the best individual player in the game and I can guarantee you far more people would agree with me than you (Smith v Inglis). Smith is a great leader, he is not particularly athletic, or fast or powerful. He has terrific ball playing and kicking skills and his leadership is outstanding but he is not an individually freakish player like Inglis, Ferguson, SBW.
There is no link to my article as I no longer write for anyone. I used to write for 3 different Sports sites, but I am too busy these days with other things. I still write articles as I like to get the thoughts out of my head and then read my own articles. Perhaps I'll finish it off and then post it on SBR.
You have your opinions, I have mine. They are very different. Such is life.Comment -
Just ask Jamie Soward....Comment -
Everything I said was with the understanding that Souths are one of the top four teams in the league, that is the context for this discussion. When I was giving my critique it was suggesting that factors/players you mentioned were overvalued, there is no outright dismissal of significance. We're talking about who is the best of the best. I don't care about credentialism or popularism, Rothfield's opinion is of zero significance to me, he's an idiot.
Your assertions lead me to believe you rate Souths close to the top of these four teams, possibly on top with the most value. You also did not agree with my concerns matching up against opposition forward packs. Perhaps it was a little facetious of me to assign you a wager on Souths this week, however if I accepted all you asserted as truth I would favour souths outright, so I'd take + money.
You know who else Greg Inglis is a better athlete than? Andrew Johns, doesn't change the fact Johns was a better footballer. Last time I checked this was a team sport, leadership should not be ignored as a factor, we're trying to address who is the most valuable. I agree with alot of what you have to say but my thought process and analysis differs. I'd disagree and argue good athletes grow on trees, it's Inglis' skill and positional play in combination with his athleticism that makes him the great player he is. He's no better an athlete than Uate. I can only repeat, Smith has outperformed Inglis in finals games every time they have been involved together. His performances are on another level to Inglis, I see no reason to ignore this formline.
Anyway, It's been an interesting discussion. Only thing left to ask is how do you rate Manly against Souths at full strength on a neutral venue, am I unfairly assuming you have Souths above them?Comment -
Officials keeping Souths in the game with cheap penalties (6-2) getting them out of their own half. If you are not invested in this game Manly looks a good halftime play. Dominating even in the forwards, can't see the officials showing as much bias in the second half.Comment -
Very strong goal line defense from Souths but that no try call on Matai was a poor decision
Would have gotten the game if that had been given.Comment -
Manly should have iced the game earlier - if you can't put teams away when you are dominating, then it will come back and bite you.
The Matai no-try certainly would have changed the game with Manly getting out to 16-6.
Inglis' try-saver on Williams was also crucial.Comment -
Penalties in the first half to Souths was ridiculous. Not sure Matai scored, looked like they pulled up the ball pretty quick, don't think they could give it. Manly were much much better for so long but never capitalisedComment -
A great game of footy, Reynolds lifted in the second half and led the way, He is a class halfback . Souths outside backs lifted and defended like champions. There is not much between these two teams but with everyone fully fit and Squirell back in the Finals it will be great entertainment thats for sure. DCE and Foran were excellent again tonight. This is shaping as the best finals in many years, With The Roosters marching on to the Minor premiership and the Storm coming home hard. Great times ahead.Comment -
Excellent reply, I've been a bit hard on you sorry, going through some personal stuff and have been real snappy this week. Souths and Manly at full strength at a neutral venue would be a toss of the coin for me. I think Souths have more talent on their roster, however the big game experience of Lyon and co will be a massive factor come finals time.Comment -
I expected Manly to wrap that game up early in the second half but they failed to capitalize on their opportunities and tired badly.
It's a weird game to review because it didn't go to script, I felt Manly were the stronger of the forward packs until late in the game but their attack in the redzone was disappointing. I can make an excuse for Manly tiering given the inferior possession, and perhaps their enthusiastic start wore them out. Would they have won the game earlier, without the biased officiating for Souths? Tough to work out how much to penalize them for the loss, I'm concerned about their poor record against top 4 teams.
There's positives to take out of the game for Souths but being dominated in the forwards at the start of the game must be of some concern. How much of this poor start can be blamed on their poor lead up form? They got better in the back end of the game but how much was on account of Manly gassing.
I'm very interested in their games next week.
Looks like Easts will play Manly and Souths play Melbourne in the first week of the finals after this weeks results.Comment -
Looking at Rosters team total and try total overs for Monday.Comment -
That's twice they have lost to the Rabbits this season.
The round 25 instalment of "Donnybrookvale" should be an absolute belter, even though some of the original cast have moved on.
How good did the Storm play today?
Down 8-4 at HT, then outscore the Knights 19-2 in the 2nd half to blow them away.
Didn't see the game but that's an unbelievable effort from Melbourne.
I think both Manly and Souths win next week, even though it pains me to say it.
The Raiders are shot, too many injuries and it has finally caught up with them - they really miss Fensom.
The Dogs played well to beat the Raiders down there, but they too have some injury concerns and will struggle to match it with Souths late in the game as their bench gets exposed.Comment -
NRL Round 24
Bulldogs +8.5 (There's a chance we can get +10, wait it out)
Bulldogs Over 14.5 team points
NZ Warriors -1Comment -
With you on the bulldogs, best of luck.Comment -
Warriors don't make things ez
Comment -
NRL Round 24 (continued)
Sydney Roosters -7.5
Going against MNF trends with this play but the Roosters look too strong for the Sharks team given the motivation for the minor premiership. Roosters are the best team at overcoming a losing penalty count so I'm still confident of a cover even if the Sharks benefiting from a home ground advantage.Comment -
Cronulla were the right play tonight but...
Don't hold this loss against Easts, horrible officiating at the swamp with the suburban crowd influencing the refs. NRL gets their wish for round 26 blockbuster, this game isn't fair dinkum. First 14 points to Cronulla were a complete joke and Easts lost their composure for a while and ending up going into the second half down 26.
Cronulla were huge in the forwards for the first half of this game, very tough and gritty performance but they really got away with a lot. Also successfully employed Easts strategy to hold down on your own line and not worry about giving penalties away. Normally it's wise to play straight but it's more advantageous to attack Cronulla out on the flanks where they are weaker, as demonstrated by the second half effort.
Coming off an 8 game winning streak and beating up on weaker teams this game will do alot of good for their title aspirations. "Loss they had to have"? I though it was a positive second half effort. LOD and Mini will be welcomed returns for the finals.
EDIT: I do complain about the officials alot but this is more for future analysis, obviously been on the right side of bad officiating many times. The game is ****** not a conspiracy against myself.Comment
