NRL Round 2 discussion

[Aucklander]

After a round with plenty of upsets I expect the tone to remain the same this round 2, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

Friday night and a potential beaut of a local derby as the Doggies host the Eels. Parra were great in round 1 and I can't see why they shouldn't win again. A crowd of 25-30k would surely be on the cards.

Game 2 Friday night sees the Sharks, who were ordinary against the Raiders, play the Broncos who got smashed by Souths. I like Cronulla and I think they'll win.

Super duper Saturday kicks off with the Panthers playing the Titans. Panthers all day. Manly, who are under siege right now, host the Storm and Melbourne showed enough to suggest they can make it two in a row. The Cowboys get a chance to get a W in the right column and I reckon they'll do that.

Gee, what a belter of a game looming on sunday afternoon. The impressive Souths versus the equally impressive Roosters. Could we see 40k at ANZ? A game which shouldn't be missed.

The Raiders host the Warriors on sunday night and I expect they'll be too good at home with their tails up after a great win last weekend.

Monday night footy and the Tigers play the very ordinary Dragons. I expect the Tigers to win this one comfortably.

 

[Klim]

Ahh, Doggies and Eels should be a great game. Rivalry at its finest. Hope to see a similar performance from the Eels as they did last week.

Cronulla doing decent but I think Bennett's men will take this one.

Panthers what more can I say. Brilliant all round. Hope Manly can bounce back against an in-form Melbourne. Knights did a solid job of beating the Warriors let's hope they can keep going against the Cowboys who looked ordinary against the Roosters.

Souths v Roosters on a Sunday arvo . I expect to see fireworks between these teams.

Raiders and Warriors should be a good contest.

Hope my Dragons can bounce back and win against the Tigers who have been underdogs and Jason Taylor is doing a solid job.

 

[Sydney Bloods]

My 50 cents cones worth:

Eels v Bulldogs like others have said friday night is shaping up to be one hell of a match.
once again des hasler's brute force offense will have to work for a win against an electrifying side with quick hands. the dog's will need more ball and be more disciplined this week if they're going to be any chance of a win. while the eel's, well what is there to fault after that game?
adding to canterbury's task is the loss Reynolds who's sidelined with a broken arm (although this may help keep penalty count down)
the Eels have lost Junior paulo through suspension although my tip is they'll actually be stronger with him out. all up i think the rule changes this year will be the deciding factor as canterbury can no longer get away with their favorite tactic of slowing down the game to keep their massive pack well rested.

tip: eel's 36 - 14, crowd 23K

Sharks v Bronco's both teams were less than impressive, but at least the sharks showed some fight. possible the worst start of any side this year, Away from home after a humiliating defeat they face the sharks who came just short of a win. injuries to both sides although it won't change much. The sharks are looking mean and are prepared to grind out a win. However cronulla won't have the attacking firepower or the heat to help them like the rabbits did as storms look likely to be a factor this friday. I'm actually going against my head here and backing brisbane, for no discernible reason.

Tip: Bronco's 18 -12, crowd 11K

Panthers V gold coast should be a close game with both teams are similarly matched, strong attack but with some vulnerabilities in defence. whilst the Panthers had a stellar day out for 68 minutes of their round one game it was largely off repeated set's of 6 and their opponent giving away quality possession due penalties. which in turn was due the fact the bulldogs are very underhanded as the ref wasn't taking any of their s**t laying down the law in round one. the mountain men, were caught napping big time in the last 11 minutes dodgy ref calls or not they should have been better, those defensive problems from preseason are still an issue. The cocane toads on the other hand have their own problems suspensions galore and loss at home in a game they really should have won. Travel shouldn't be an issue but the threat of legal action and drug dealers pressing to be allowed back near the chalk will be a bigger distraction to the playing group with their replacements more then earning their spot in round one.

Tip: Panthers 34-28, crowd whatever the capacity of bathurst is.

Manly vs Storm lets do away with pretending this review will be anything other me taking joy in watching the silver spoons getting their arses handed to them for a second week in a row. forget collingwood manly is the team that everyone enjoys suffer. the storms impenetrable defence was back on display in round one while the sea eagles looked more endangered than dangerous. its going to be a long season for the boys from brookvale as the only thing they look set to buy this season is less expensive spoon then the one they born with.

Tip: Melbourne by who cares? crowd 16K crying fans

Cowboys v Knights the Knights might have shocked NZ in round one but round two is a much harder task. they travel to far north queensland where the ref's are more one sided then my previous review, Still its hard to see them losing if a 10-2 penalty count can't notch up a W for the cowboys i'm not sure what will.

Knights 16-10, crowd 14K

rabbitohs v roosters. East vs Souths shaping up to be the MOTR traditional rivals both in red hot form. it looks to be a very close match but for Sydney city or whatever they're calling themselves nowadays the injury list continues to grow. you'd usually back them after what they achieved up north but they face last years premiers who are at home and haven't put a foot wrong in a very long long time.

Souths 24-18, 28K

Raiders v Warriors the warriors were tipped to do well this year but the ledger was not in their favour in round one, while the woeful raiders impressed as they look to shake off last years demons. I didn't actually watch the warriors game and was going to tip them based on last years form but it seems like injuries may be starting to mount with konrad added to the list of casualties. now i'm not so sure, It's never an easy win down in canberra for any team and if the raiders are just starting to turn things around NZ will be in trouble.

Warriors 17-16, 6K

Wests V dragons it's not looking good for the red V the tigers were in good form in round one while the dragons didn't get a look in. not much to say really the tigers look set to win game one of the merger club trophy.

Tigers 24-12, 16K

 

[DEVO]

My 50 cents cones worth:

Eels v Bulldogs like others have said friday night is shaping up to be one hell of a match.
once again des hasler's brute force offense will have to work for a win against an electrifying side with quick hands. the dog's will need more ball and be more disciplined this week if they're going to be any chance of a win. while the eel's, well what is there to fault after that game?
adding to canterbury's task is the loss Reynolds who's sidelined with a broken arm (although this may help keep penalty count down)
the Eels have lost Junior paulo through suspension although my tip is they'll actually be stronger with him out. all up i think the rule changes this year will be the deciding factor as canterbury can no longer get away with their favorite tactic of slowing down the game to keep their massive pack well rested.

tip: eel's 36 - 14, crowd 23K

I'd take that in a heartbeat.

 

[Jatz]

Parra - Expect they'll be too good.
Brisbane - Watched the Cronulla game last week. Never seen a more frustrating side than that one. Think the Broncs will bounce back.
Penrith - By a country mile
Melbourne - Not convincingly but should get it done. Manly were horrendous last week.
Cowboys - The roosters defense is what stopped the Cowboys. Expecting they'll put 40 on us this week in a big win.
Souths - Just too good. Expect they'll be switched on for this.
Raiders - Big ask for the Warriors to play in Newcastle and Canberra in consecutive weeks.
Wests - Dragons have very little in attack and even less without Dugan. Tigers inconsistent but should get it done.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Eels should be wearing a clash strip!

 

[DEVO]

Friday the 13th has hit Parra hard, with 4 injuries before halftime. Semi looks out, not sure Moeroa and Sandow, at Watmough returned just before the break. Conceivably we could be down to one relacement with 40 minutes to go. Still 8-4 down at halftime isn't too bad.

 

[Sydney Bloods]

ref's in this game need to be shot terrible decision making.

none of the disallowed trys were penalty's.
gold coast dropped the ball and then not only did the ref's call a penalty they threatened send off's.
we've had one ref call a penalty for holding the man down and the other called play on.
the skinny ref doesn't know what ten metres is.

ruining a great game of footy.

 

[Sydney Bloods]

this refs off his ******* head!

EDIT: SUCK s**t video ref overturns!

 

[Boxhead_31]

Storm being done over by the refs here. Should have had a try at one end then at the other end Stewart doesn't ground the ball but is awarded a try???

 

[the 5th wiggle]

I think its fair to say these refs might get a spell next week,melb screwed out of 2 try's then manly copping a bad one leading to a try.

 

[Boxhead_31]

I think its fair to say these refs might get a spell next week,melb screwed out of 2 try's then manly copping a bad one leading to a try.

Almost had another try not allowed as well

 

[Chism]

That Storm game reminds me why i do not follow the NRL.

What a farce and gee was the Fix in from the get go, that was a disgrace honestly and gob smacking.

 

[Sydney Bloods]

That Storm game reminds me why i do not follow the NRL.

What a farce and gee was the Fix in from the get go, that was a disgrace honestly and gob smacking.

there was only 2 bad calls. Melbourne supporters are just soft. hardly a "fix".
I wanted manly to lose but lets be honest. the only howler was not going upstairs for the kick.

Stewart's grounding there was no reason to check it and i think you'll find if they stuck with one camera angle it did touch grass.

the double movement was a double movement he drove off his legs.

 

[Aucklander]

If we gave up our sports because of hopeless refs and umpires we'd have nothing to follow. Thought the double movement call was as s**t as it gets. No doubt for mine it's a try.

 

[Roysforever]

Storm being done over by the refs here. Should have had a try at one end then at the other end Stewart doesn't ground the ball but is awarded a try???

Amongst the frustrating try/no try calls for the evening I also thought more attention needed to be directed towards Stewart's grounding. He promptly rolled as soon as he hit the earth and no camera angle showed the ball on the ground until he had passed the dead ball line. Twas an additional kick in the guts and halt of momentum after Young's shocking call.

 

[Jatz]

What a ripping win for us! 14-0 down and the lads really dug in. Brilliant start to the season!

 

[JMan5]

Disappointed with the Cowboys They only lost 1 game at home last year and now its 2 from2

 

[moto748]

Brilliant entertainment, eventually, from the Panthers after a very scratchy start. The most fun I've had watching an NRL game for a long time. They are clearly full of confidence, and look a threat every time they have the ball. They will be turning over plenty of better sides than the Titans this year.

 

[Oscarman]

Friday the 13th has hit Parra hard, with 4 injuries before halftime. Semi looks out, not sure Moeroa and Sandow, at Watmough returned just before the break. Conceivably we could be down to one relacement with 40 minutes to go. Still 8-4 down at halftime isn't too bad.

Finished with only 12 after Beau Champion's knee went. Coupled not fault the effort but it is hard to win against a pack like the Dogs have with all those injuries. Be tough against the Warriors next week.

 

[DEVO]

Finished with only 12 after Beau Champion's knee went. Coupled not fault the effort but it is hard to win against a pack like the Dogs have with all those injuries. Be tough against the Warriors next week.

Do you mean 12 players, with injured Sandow and Watmough on the field as well? If so, that's insane. I though Parra were very good defensively for the whole game, the dogs scored two tries in the last 10 minutes to blow the score out, but if they only had 10-12 fit guys on the park the late game fadeout is totally understandable. Depth is going to be seriously tested in the coming weeks.

 

[Oscarman]

Do you mean 12 players, with injured Sandow and Watmough on the field as well? If so, that's insane. I though Parra were very good defensively for the whole game, the dogs scored two tries in the last 10 minutes to blow the score out, but if they only had 10-12 fit guys on the park the late game fadeout is totally understandable. Depth is going to be seriously tested in the coming weeks.

Yep it was 12 including Watmough and Sandow. The last Dogs try was scored when Champion was lying on the ground and Taka had 3 running at him. He was off the field by the time the conversion was taken and all 10 interchanges had already happened.

On today's game - is there a bigger bunch of flogs than Souths supporters? Also their players celebrate every try like it was the greatest ever scored. The crowd was smaller than Friday nights' too.

 

[Boxhead_31]

Amongst the frustrating try/no try calls for the evening I also thought more attention needed to be directed towards Stewart's grounding. He promptly rolled as soon as he hit the earth and no camera angle showed the ball on the ground until he had passed the dead ball line. Twas an additional kick in the guts and halt of momentum after Young's shocking call.

Thought the same at the time and every replay I've seen has confirmed it, never grounded the ball but surprisingly none of the media mentioned it. If it where Slater doing that Brandy would still be talking about it

 

[Sydney Bloods]

Brilliant entertainment, eventually, from the Panthers after a very scratchy start. The most fun I've had watching an NRL game for a long time. They are cleary full of confidence, and look a threat every time they have the ball. They will be turning over plenty of better sides than the Titans this year.

FFP = fixed for pun

 

[DEVO]

Yep it was 12 including Watmough and Sandow. The last Dogs try was scored when Champion was lying on the ground and Taka had 3 running at him. He was off the field by the time the conversion was taken and all 10 interchanges had already happened.

On today's game - is there a bigger bunch of flogs than Souths supporters? Also their players celebrate every try like it was the greatest ever scored. The crowd was smaller than Friday nights' too.

So I was right about the curse although I'd like to know what Parramatta did to deserve such a heavy dose.

The Souths supporters are in uncharted territory, they don't know how it feels to be winners. That said they are flogs, but I'd say the Roosters supporters are the biggest flogs, everyone I know is genuine turd. That said, the game was top quality for this early in the season.

It will be interesting how the Blue & Gold Army react in a year or two's time when we win our first premiership in 30 odd years.