NRL NRL 2025 - Round 24 (Indigenous Round)

[balmainforever]

https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/pickem/picks/2025-official-bigfooty-nrl-tipping.183/?week_id=458

Thursday 14th August
Penrith vs Melbourne (CommBank Stadium - 19:50)

Friday 15th August
New Zealand vs St.George-Illawarra (Go Media Stadium - 18:00)
Sydney Roosters vs Canterbury-Bankstown (Allianz Stadium - 20:00)

Saturday 16th August
Cronulla-Sutherland vs Gold Coast (Sharks Stadium - 15:00)
Brisbane vs Dolphins (Suncorp Stadium - 17:30)
South Sydney vs Parramatta (Allianz Stadium - 19:35)

Sunday 17th August
Wests Tigers vs Manly-Warringah (Allianz Stadium - 14:00)
North Queensland vs Newcastle (Queensland Country Bank Stadium - 16:05)

Bye: Canberra

 

[damicky]

Grant disgraced himself tonight. I’m sorry I know they leave themselves open to it if they make a movement towards the player or whatever I get that. But the game is turning into all the things that it mocks soccer for. I cannot stand it. And as I said Kenny’s effort was just as blatant.

He knew the Rules & uses them to his advantage

A bit like Cleary flopping on kicks recently

 

[Sonny Hayes]

He knew the Rules & uses them to his advantage

A bit like Cleary flopping on kicks recently

What kicks? Because if you are talking about those penalties last week you are wrong, they are soft penalties but he didn’t flop at all.

 

[PhatBoy]

He knew the Rules & uses them to his advantage

A bit like Cleary flopping on kicks recently

I’ve seen Cleary benefit from that stupid rule - and it is a terrible rule - I haven’t seen him deliberately flop from them.

That was a player trying to avoid stopping a field goal attempt tonight in favour of running into an opponent to earn a penalty.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

N. Cleary real unhappy about it

888K views · 10K reactions | "Harry played for it, because he knew he was gonna get the penalty" 😑 Safe to say Nathan Cleary wasn't happy with the penalty call which wiped off his potentially game-winning field goal. | Fox League

"Harry played for it, because he knew he was gonna get the penalty" 😑 Safe to say Nathan Cleary wasn't happy with the penalty call which wiped off his potentially game-winning field goal.

www.facebook.com

But he had no issue with the trainer costing the Titans right?

They only have themselves to blame these blocking rules were brought in after Penrith made it like the NFL with a team of blockers protecting their halfback every single kick.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

I’ve seen Cleary benefit from that stupid rule - and it is a terrible rule - I haven’t seen him deliberately flop from them.

That was a player trying to avoid stopping a field goal attempt tonight in favour of running into an opponent to earn a penalty.

You can’t move though that’s the huge issue that Moses had as soon as he moved it was blocking. Think if he stood still whether there was contact he may have got away with it as incidental so to speak.

Basically needed to be well out of the area of the field goal attempt Cleary still would have kicked it anyway

 

[moto748]

I've always found Harry Grant a very easy player to dislike, and this game hardly changes my opinion. Great contest, though.

 

[brutus76]

Lol at Nathan Cleary thinking he is holier than thou.

Head milker in the NRL

 

[moto748]

Head milker in the NRL

Is he hell! Ridiculous comment. Cleary is not a dirty player by any stretch, and the likes of Cam Munster have forgotten more about milking than he knows.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Head milker in the NRL

Is he hell! Ridiculous comment. Cleary is not a dirty player by any stretch, and the likes of Cam Munster have forgotten more about milking than he knows.

The same Cleary that was playing dead to get penalties the last month? Every half these days has perfected the flopping technique don’t blame the players you are silly if you don’t get a free penalty every time as the refs fall for it.

 

[ToreadorMarch]

You can’t move though that’s the huge issue that Moses had as soon as he moved it was blocking. Think if he stood still whether there was contact he may have got away with it as incidental so to speak.

Basically needed to be well out of the area of the field goal attempt Cleary still would have kicked it anyway

THIS

 

[Jatz]

Yeah bludger of a rule. I understand why it's there but what happened last night shouldn't be the correct application for it.

Edwards had a night to forget. Knocked on which led to the field position and then took off to no mans land for Grant to stroll through untouched. Trying a bit too hard to make things happen there I think.

 

[Jatz]

Also don't think Cleary is a milker at all. Plenty of playmakers far worse than him.

 

[balmainforever]

Whether Grant flopped or not(we all know he did), it was a block play.
Clear penalty. The flop meant nothing.

 

[Jatz]

Whether Grant flopped or not(we all know he did), it was a block play.
Clear penalty. The flop meant nothing.

Every single field goal attempt is set up that way. As they said, he was in a position to receive the ball.

Getting to the point where the defence are just going to get a free run straight at the kicker.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

As a storm fan, Grant made sure the block was seen, it was an intentional block though. He set himself straight in the line of grant and the kick, and then when Grant tried to go around him, he stepped in the way again. It's a block.

It's hilarious to see the panthers lose their mind now its gone against them. Like Geelong of the late 2000's, it blew their mind when the umps caught on to their tactics

 

[Jatz]

The game should've already been out of reach anyway, had Meaney been able to make some conversions.

 

[PhatBoy]

Where is he supposed to go? Someone just give me that answer.

1. He’s onside. Not breaking any rules there. He’s behind the play the ball. So there is no logical reason that they can make a player in his position ‘illegal’ on that score.

2. The dummy half needs to be able to give the ball to other players if he chooses. He doesn’t HAVE to pass it to the kicker. He is entitled to have an option - Leota - even if it’s obvious he’s 99.9 per cent not going to pass it to him. It’s no different to Leota being the lead runner in a block play and even in a block play he’s actually allowed to run INTO THE LINE of the Melbourne defence provided he is careful about where he goes.

3. I get the whole ‘he moved to his left’ part. I would be more sympathetic to that argument, though, if that was the actual line Grant needed to go in order to get to Cleary. He didn’t. Grant needed to go to the other side. He chose to go the longer way to make sure he initiated contact

They need to put some accountability on players to make a genuine attempt to make a play.

He probably wasn’t the first I’m sure but Paul Gallen was the player I remember who first began making a habit of this stuff - deliberately not trying to tackle players when he knew he couldn’t reach an attacker and finding a decoy runner to barge into etc and it has become an epidemic. As I’ve said my own team has players who do it. It’s filtered into every aspect of the game - players clutching at the neck when they feel pressure even if it’s not really there. Players lying down when they get a hand brush the face etc.

 

[Jatz]

Where is he supposed to go? Someone just give me that answer.

1. He’s onside. Not breaking any rules there. He’s behind the play the ball. So there is no logical reason that they can make a player in his position ‘illegal’ on that score.

2. The dummy half needs to be able to give the ball to other players if he chooses. He doesn’t HAVE to pass it to the kicker. He is entitled to have an option - Leota - even if it’s obvious he’s 99.9 per cent not going to pass it to him. It’s no different to Leota being the lead runner in a block play and even in a block play he’s actually allowed to run INTO THE LINE of the Melbourne defence provided he is careful about where he goes.

3. I get the whole ‘he moved to his left’ part. I would be more sympathetic to that argument, though, if that was the actual line Grant needed to go in order to get to Cleary. He didn’t. Grant needed to go to the other side. He chose to go the longer way to make sure he initiated contact

They need to put some accountability on players to make a genuine attempt to make a play.

He probably wasn’t the first I’m sure but Paul Gallen was the player I remember who first began making a habit of this stuff - deliberately not trying to tackle players when he knew he couldn’t reach an attacker and finding a decoy runner to barge into etc and it has become an epidemic. As I’ve said my own team has players who do it. It’s filtered into every aspect of the game - players clutching at the neck when they feel pressure even if it’s not really there. Players lying down when they get a hand brush the face etc.

I think the answer is he's not supposed to move at all. Grant made the most of it but he did move towards him.

I personally would prefer that call to be play on but I get it.

 

[Sonny Hayes]

I think the answer is he's not supposed to move at all. Grant made the most of it but he did move towards him.

I personally would prefer that call to be play on but I get it.

If the NRL is happy to have defenders seeking contact and throwing themselves to the ground than fair enough, otherwise the rules are broken.

 

[PhatBoy]

If the NRL is happy to have defenders seeking contact and throwing themselves to the ground than fair enough, otherwise the rules are broken.

They had an opportunity to take a bit of a stand against it and missed it.

They took a stand against the Kenny style ‘throw a pass deliberately into a guy in the play the ball who had nowhere to move’ and I applaud that from them: it was great to see them not blow a penalty for that and Penrith suffered the consequences of a player looking for the easy way out.

 

[eddiesmith]

It is interesting that last years grand finalists have played the least amount of games against other top 8 sides…

 

[balmainforever]

Where is he supposed to go? Someone just give me that answer.

1. He’s onside. Not breaking any rules there. He’s behind the play the ball. So there is no logical reason that they can make a player in his position ‘illegal’ on that score.

2. The dummy half needs to be able to give the ball to other players if he chooses. He doesn’t HAVE to pass it to the kicker. He is entitled to have an option - Leota - even if it’s obvious he’s 99.9 per cent not going to pass it to him. It’s no different to Leota being the lead runner in a block play and even in a block play he’s actually allowed to run INTO THE LINE of the Melbourne defence provided he is careful about where he goes.

3. I get the whole ‘he moved to his left’ part. I would be more sympathetic to that argument, though, if that was the actual line Grant needed to go in order to get to Cleary. He didn’t. Grant needed to go to the other side. He chose to go the longer way to make sure he initiated contact

They need to put some accountability on players to make a genuine attempt to make a play.

He probably wasn’t the first I’m sure but Paul Gallen was the player I remember who first began making a habit of this stuff - deliberately not trying to tackle players when he knew he couldn’t reach an attacker and finding a decoy runner to barge into etc and it has become an epidemic. As I’ve said my own team has players who do it. It’s filtered into every aspect of the game - players clutching at the neck when they feel pressure even if it’s not really there. Players lying down when they get a hand brush the face etc.

How about the kicker not setting up directly behind him.

 

[Carn The Berries]

Where is he supposed to go? Someone just give me that answer.

1. He’s onside. Not breaking any rules there. He’s behind the play the ball. So there is no logical reason that they can make a player in his position ‘illegal’ on that score.

2. The dummy half needs to be able to give the ball to other players if he chooses. He doesn’t HAVE to pass it to the kicker. He is entitled to have an option - Leota - even if it’s obvious he’s 99.9 per cent not going to pass it to him. It’s no different to Leota being the lead runner in a block play and even in a block play he’s actually allowed to run INTO THE LINE of the Melbourne defence provided he is careful about where he goes.

3. I get the whole ‘he moved to his left’ part. I would be more sympathetic to that argument, though, if that was the actual line Grant needed to go in order to get to Cleary. He didn’t. Grant needed to go to the other side. He chose to go the longer way to make sure he initiated contact

They need to put some accountability on players to make a genuine attempt to make a play.

He probably wasn’t the first I’m sure but Paul Gallen was the player I remember who first began making a habit of this stuff - deliberately not trying to tackle players when he knew he couldn’t reach an attacker and finding a decoy runner to barge into etc and it has become an epidemic. As I’ve said my own team has players who do it. It’s filtered into every aspect of the game - players clutching at the neck when they feel pressure even if it’s not really there. Players lying down when they get a hand brush the face etc.

What Grant did or did not need to do in order to get to the kicker is irrelevant. Leota's first movement was TOWARDS the kicker. If he moves to his right then there is no issue.

His 2 options there are

1) Move in a direction that is away from the guy who is going to kick; or
2) Stand completely still

He chose the third of 2 options and got called for it.

Gotta say though... I'm loving the salty Panthers supporters... The exact same people who were outraged that their trainer got sanctioned for "accidentally" running across the line of a kicker. Seems that hasn't really taught them anything. Did anyone notice how long the trainer hung around in the ruck after the ref told the Panthers player who was supposedly hurt to just play the ball (I can't recall who it was, about half way though the second half).

 

[PhatBoy]

It is interesting that last years grand finalists have played the least amount of games against other top 8 sides…

It’s interesting that Canberra, the Warriors, the Dolphins and Broncos all weren’t IN last year’s top 8.

Penrith play twice against every side from last year’s top 8 aside from Manly - who are garbage - and Cronulla.

Melbourne play twice against all except the Bulldogs and the Knights from last year.

They can’t predict who is going to be in or out year to year.

 

[PhatBoy]

How about the kicker not setting up directly behind him.

He didn’t. He was about 1-2 metres left of him. It’s very clear in the replay.