AMPOL State of Origin 2025

[Aucklander]

 

[Aucklander]

Now this should've been a penalty try.

'How is it not?' Greats perplexed by Bunker 'doozy'

'Scores every day of the week'

www.nine.com.au

 

[Aucklander]

Barnett out of SoO 2 with an ACL.

Huge blow for the Warriors.

 

[Jatz]

Could be career over for Barney. 31 and he's got the best part of 12 months ahead of him.

 

[corbies]

It needs to be reiterated, that over the goal line, to save a try you are allowed to tackle in the air.

Are you sure about that?

Bailey Simonsson was penalised for tackling Ronaldo Mulitalo in the air as he was attempting to score during Magic Round and the NRL ticked that off as being correct. Ignoring the inflammatory headline and the controversy of whether it was actually a tackle in the below article.

‘They have no idea’: NRL makes ruling on controversial bunker call that left league greats fuming

‘They have no idea’: NRL makes ruling on controversial bunker call that left league greats fuming

www.foxsports.com.au

And I can't see anything the NRL's rules and interpretations that give an exclusion to the mid-air tackle rule when attempting to score a try.

https://www.playrugbyleague.com/media/14513/nrl-international-rules-book-2023_web-version-1.pdf

I'd be happy to be proven wrong though as I prefer your interpretation of it. The rule definitely used to be you could tackle an attacking player mid-air but they changed that in 2020.

 

[moto748]

I thought the no tackling in mid-air rule only didn't apply when the ball had bounced, otherwise, it's a pen.

 

[Jatz]

It definitely doesn't apply if it's bounced. Which always seemed stupid to me.

 

[010203]

Queensland squad

1. Kalyn Ponga 2. Xavier Coates 3. Robert Toia 4. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 5. Valentine Holmes 6. Cameron Munster 7. Tom Dearden

8. Moeaki Fotuaika 9. Harry Grant 10. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui 11. Reuben Cotter 12. Jeremiah Nanai 13. Patrick Carrigan

14. Kurt Mann 15. Lindsay Collins 16. Kurt Capewell 17. Trent Loeiro

18. Corey Horsburgh 19. Jack Howarth 20. Ezra Mam

I'm fearing the worst but hoping for the best. I'd like to see Canberra based ranga in the matchday 17 come Wednesday week. It won't matter who the half-back is if we don't win or achieve parity in the physical battle.

 

[moto748]

Fotuaika and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui: is that the best they can do?

 

[Jatz]

Has anyone in League had a worse start to the season than DCE?

Self inflicted but it's all come crashing down for him.

 

[Jatz]

Munster just named captain.

Think that's a really poor choice. Not even convinced he should've kept his spot based on game 1. Luckily for him, there's no one else coming through the halves.

 

[corbies]

It definitely doesn't apply if it's bounced. Which always seemed stupid to me.

They've slightly changed this too in that if you tackle someone in the air after the ball has bounced it will still be a pen if you put them in a dangerous or vulnerable position. As explained here:

 

[GC2015]

Interesting move from Billy Slater to invoke the memory of Paul Green in a press conference today. Was it a tactical move to fire up his players on the eve of Origin II or was he really that offended/emotionally charged by the comments from Aaron Woods? Either way, we're probably going to see a response from his players. Particularly the ones that played under Paul Green like Munster, Grant, Ponga, Holmes, Tino, Hammer etc. Could end up being a (questionable) masterstroke if the Maroons walk away with the win tomorrow night.

 

[juss]

This is traditionally the spot QLD love, underdogs on paper, needing a win to keep the series alive.

Don't know if they'll pull it off but we can fully expect a good showing and much closer than game 1.

 

[PhatBoy]

Interesting move from Billy Slater to invoke the memory of Paul Green in a press conference today. Was it a tactical move to fire up his players on the eve of Origin II or was he really that offended/emotionally charged by the comments from Aaron Woods? Either way, we're probably going to see a response from his players. Particularly the ones that played under Paul Green like Munster, Grant, Ponga, Holmes, Tino, Hammer etc. Could end up being a (questionable) masterstroke if the Maroons walk away with the win tomorrow night.

I get what he was trying to say but he went a bit far bringing up Paul Green.

A few people have mentioned his sledge to Corey Patterson - I hope it wasn’t lost on Slater that he himself has said things in the past that he shouldn’t have.

I do agree with his point, though Woods’ comment was a bit tongue in cheek and referenced Billy’s on field style not his personality, that it’s probably time people were a little bit more aware in the media of how some of those things can be perceived. But he’s probably just overreacted a bit.

 

[GC2015]

I get what he was trying to say but he went a bit far bringing up Paul Green.

A few people have mentioned his sledge to Corey Patterson - I hope it wasn’t lost on Slater that he himself has said things in the past that he shouldn’t have.

I do agree with his point, though Woods’ comment was a bit tongue in cheek and referenced Billy’s on field style not his personality, that it’s probably time people were a little bit more aware in the media of how some of those things can be perceived. But he’s probably just overreacted a bit.

You're going to get all kinds of differing opinions on a situation like this. The journos on NRL 360 were trying to defend it by saying Billy was actually known for being a grub when he played and that it was their responsibility to build up Origin clashes. Then you had Tallis and Anasta questioning whether it was actually necessary and touched on the mental health side of it. They also asked Matt King about it and he obviously has one foot in either camp being an ex Storm/Blues player. He had nothing but complimentary things to say about Slater (as you would expect as an ex teammate) and said he didn't believe the way Billy played warranted that tag at all.

I think the big takeaway is probably when Billy said the words 'you don't know what people are going through' and that really applies to any situation in life, not just sport. It may come out later that Slater, or someone really close to him, is currently going through something really terrible and he has chosen to keep it private, but perhaps the comments from Woods sent him over the edge a bit and he was waiting for the media to ask him about it. If you watch it back, you can see Billy does seem genuinely emotional with his voice a little shakey, his hands shaking and the lips quivering a little bit. So I'm inclined to believe that Billy really did believe what he said and maybe he shouldn't have invoked Green's name because that's obviously a very sensitive topic, but I would assume that was his attempt to show how serious he was about this. I'm sure he didn't appreciate the two-faced nature of Woods' actions either if it is true that he introduced his kid to him a few weeks ago.

If you watch the footage back, you can also see Munster is giggling up until Slater's comments get really serious and then there's no more giggling. So I'm not even sure the players knew Billy was going to do that.

 

[PhatBoy]

You're going to get all kinds of differing opinions on a situation like this. The journos on NRL 360 were trying to defend it by saying Billy was actually known for being a grub when he played and that it was their responsibility to build up Origin clashes. Then you had Tallis and Anasta questioning whether it was actually necessary and touched on the mental health side of it. They also asked Matt King about it and he obviously has one foot in either camp being an ex Storm/Blues player. He had nothing but complimentary things to say about Slater (as you would expect as an ex teammate) and said he didn't believe the way Billy played warranted that tag at all.

I think the big takeaway is probably when Billy said the words 'you don't know what people are going through' and that really applies to any situation in life, not just sport. It may come out later that Slater, or someone really close to him, is currently going through something really terrible and he has chosen to keep it private, but perhaps the comments from Woods sent him over the edge a bit and he was waiting for the media to ask him about it. If you watch it back, you can see Billy does seem genuinely emotional with his voice a little shakey, his hands shaking and the lips quivering a little bit. So I'm inclined to believe that Billy really did believe what he said and maybe he shouldn't have invoked Green's name because that's obviously a very sensitive topic, but I would assume that was his attempt to show how serious he was about this. I'm sure he didn't appreciate the two-faced nature of Woods' actions either if it is true that he introduced his kid to him a few weeks ago.

If you watch the footage back, you can also see Munster is giggling up until Slater's comments get really serious and then there's no more giggling. So I'm not even sure the players knew Billy was going to do that.

It definitely meant something to Billy that much was obvious and yeah even allowing for the ‘whataboutism’ of his past, it doesn’t preclude someone from growing and learning as they get older and it doesn’t make what he said wrong. But I guess maybe I would have liked him just to maybe throw in a ‘I know I’ve been guilty of it’ or something I dunno - it might just have lent some extra gravitas.

I liked Tallis’ comments - for all his boneheaded opinions on that show, this was one that struck home: you don’t NEED the circus in the media before state of origin. It’s state of origin. The build up to me takes away from it and actually detracts from what it is supposed to be - the most serious, high quality, intense football that there is. It makes it a joke when they start talking about spying scandals and ‘who’s the biggest grub’ in each team and refereeing scandal and who’s going to be allowed to get away with what come game time. The game and the quality of the players in show should speak for itself and if they focused on that it would be enough anyway.

With every second past player now having a platform like a podcast and a radio show it’s difficult to tell who is taking the piss and who is serious when they make a comment and Woods was probably just making a pretty throwaway comment but things like what he said, the back page image of Leniu recently, that sort of thing: it’s a little bit unnecessary in the cold hard light of day

 

[phantom13]

As a Queenslander I totally get that there is some hypocrisy in all this (calling Leniu a grub etc etc) but I watched Woods comments and thought he went too far. It was just all a bit farcical tbh. We are still talking about a game and dropping a player who didn’t perform is what led to all this shit.

Anyway, much like game 1 the teams on paper are horrendously mismatched and whilst I like the dearden change he’s not moving the needle to QLDs side at all.

Series done in game 2 and my boys have a lot of work to do heading into game 3 and 26.

 

[Ohitsthatguy]

Honestly think this will be a bloodbath.

 

[Jatz]

Bit rich from Billy based on his Paterson comments. Yeah everyone matures but those in glass houses and all that.

Either way, I think it's seriously poor form to raise Paul Green's name like that.

 

[phantom13]

Bit rich from Billy based on his Paterson comments. Yeah everyone matures but those in glass houses and all that.

Either way, I think it's seriously poor form to raise Paul Green's name like that.

Fwiw Woods has come out today and said he thinks Billy crossed a line but also that he doesn’t really care because he’s focused on some big bet he’s got on.

I think invoking Paul Green was probably a little much but I also get the point he’s making. If anything I think this probably shows why not every ex player should have a platform, woods would have a room temperature IQ.

 

[GC2015]

Fwiw Woods has come out today and said he thinks Billy crossed a line but also that he doesn’t really care because he’s focused on some big bet he’s got on.

I think invoking Paul Green was probably a little much but I also get the point he’s making. If anything I think this probably shows why not every ex player should have a platform, woods would have a room temperature IQ.

That's essentially the overarching point Billy was trying to make. That it's a privileged position to be able to making a living from covering professional sports (ex player or not) and that using such a platform to have personal digs should render you undeserving of such a position, according to Billy. I found it interesting that Woods, Ryan and the female host all asked whether the word 'Grub' meant something different in Queensland, so I decided to look it up. This is how Google defines 'Grub' in Australian slang:

Grub - A dirty person (Australia, slang), A despicable person; a lowlife (Australia, slang).

Certainly not the nicest way to describe someone and I can see how Billy could've taken it as a personal dig. Anyway, the fact that Woods said he didn't care because he had a big bet riding on the game probably speaks volumes about his professionalism.

 

[PhatBoy]

Honestly think this will be a bloodbath.

I’m not as convinced as I was two days ago

 

[phantom13]

That's essentially the overarching point Billy was trying to make. That it's a privileged position to be able to making a living from covering professional sports (ex player or not) and that using such a platform to have personal digs should render you undeserving of such a position, according to Billy. I found it interesting that Woods, Ryan and the female host all asked whether the word 'Grub' meant something different in Queensland, so I decided to look it up. This is how Google defines 'Grub' in Australian slang:

Grub - A dirty person (Australia, slang), A despicable person; a lowlife (Australia, slang).

Certainly not the nicest way to describe someone and I can see how Billy could've taken it as a personal dig. Anyway, the fact that Woods said he didn't care because he had a big bet riding on the game probably speaks volumes about his professionalism.

Yeh I thought Woods basically washing his hands of it because he’s having a punt was very very poor

 

[Jatz]

Fwiw Woods has come out today and said he thinks Billy crossed a line but also that he doesn’t really care because he’s focused on some big bet he’s got on.

I think invoking Paul Green was probably a little much but I also get the point he’s making. If anything I think this probably shows why not every ex player should have a platform, woods would have a room temperature IQ.

I get them calling Billy out, for how long have we heard that QLD spirit and we stick by our players etc etc. Maybe didn't get his point across very well but the point itself is valid to call out.

Invoking Paul Green is way more than a little much. Imagine his family going about their day and then seeing their Dad/husband being raised in that way. It's incredibly gross.