June 2008 - Posts

• Sharks Break Monday Night Raiders Records

  The Cronulla Sharks ventured down to Canberra on a cold Monday night, to dethrone the Monday Night Kings the Canberra Raiders 36-24. The game was played on a wet and cold slippery paddock, but the attacking play from both sides was strong. The Raiders launched into the game and led 12-0 after just 13 minutes. A Todd Carney 40-20 seemed to highlight the momentum the Raiders had and many were asking " How Much"  Two tries to the Sharks in just 5 minutes from the 20 minute mark, levelled the scores at 12 all. Just minutes later the Sharks have done the unthinkable and lead by 18-12 with another try. This was to remain the half-time score. The second half saw injuries hit the Raiders and a Sharks outfit never headed. They maintained a lead of at least 6 through the entire half, while the Raiders were left to bemoan injuries to some of their key personnel. The bright note for the game was the skills of the goal kickers with 100% records from both Todd Carney (4/4) and Luke Covell (6/6) At the end of the day, the Sharks were dominant and deserved their two try victory. Posted Jun 30 2008, 01:47 AM by rusty with no comments

• Eel Storm Surprise

  It sounds like something out of a third world restaurant, but the Sunday Eels Storm Surpise was certainly an interesting addition the Round 16. Minus nine players from Origin commitments, the Storm were expectant to surrender meekly to an almost full-strength Eels outfit. A Thrashing was on the cards. An early 10 nil lead to the Storm should have snapped the cobwebs, or the bug heads, out of the Eels. It didn't. The undermanned Storm were beaten by just 2 points to the premiership contending Eels 24-22. Who knows what the scoreline would have been with a full strength Storm outfit, but it would be fair to say that the Eels would have been on the other side of the score ledger. The 12,000+ that attended Parramatta Stadium deserved more, I guess. Kudos to the Storm no-names who have benefitted from their NRL exposure, but brickbats to the Eels. The one thing learnt from all this, was that the Storm are in good hands for a couple of years to come, while the Eels will almost certainly not win the comp this year, or for a couple of years. The only winners today, were those that took the start for Melbourne. Posted Jun 29 2008, 02:11 AM by curly with no comments

• Tigers go Down to Warriors

  Went over and watched the Tigers take on the Warriors with my good mate Grover, the mad Tigers fan. Love to watch the game with mates, especially when passion for your team can get out. In front of a huge tribal crowd at Leichardt Oval, the Warriors jumped the Tigers and moved away to an early 10- nil lead. The Tigers worked hard to get back to 10-6, but the Warriros scored last and went to the break at 16-6. A big second half was called on and the Tiges responded. The Tigers scored first in the second half to bring the scores back to 16-12 and then proceeded to dominate the game. The  game went to 16 all, with another Tigers try, and a Hodgson conversion bouncing off the post. The Warriors defence was superb holding out the surging Tigers attack, and then, as so often it happens, the Warriors turned the tide with a long range ripper of a try to take the game to 22-16. The Warriors scored again to put the Tigers away at 28-16, and then the magic happened. Two tigers Tries in the last 4 minutes brought the game to it's thrilling conclusion. A try with just 13 seconds left, gave Brett Hodgson a sideline conversion to take the game to golden point. It didn't happen, and the Warriors were crowned winners at 28-26. An interesting observation was that while Benji Marshall has certainly won many a game for the Tiges, his errors today at critical times proved to be costly for the Tigers. A good game, a great finish and even I was on my feet cheering on an unlikely Tigers victory. Thanks Grover. Posted Jun 28 2008, 08:52 PM by curly with no comments

• Cowboys Sit Bottom of the Ladder: Rabbitohs by a point.

  The North Queensland Cowboys held out for 28 tackles before their first attacking hit-up, then bounced away to an early 12-0 lead, led 12-4 at half-time, scored first in the second half and at one stage led 28-4. However they lost. The last thirty minutes were all the Rabbitohs and a field goal by Chris Sandow gives Souths a 29-28 victory, in a strange bizarre game. Souths played the first 50 minutes of this game, like they were expecting an easy game. It was only in the final 30 minutes that they played consistent, strong football with some great emphasis on defence to hold out several attacking shots from the Cowboys. The other Saturday Night game saw the Manly Sea Eagles play out an easy win at Gosford over the Newcastle Knights by 28 points to 12. Posted Jun 28 2008, 02:41 AM by rusty with no comments

• Snowy Goes to Skilled.

  BJ and some of the Boys from the St Brendans Open Rugby League team, dragged ole Snowy out from his Nambucca Heads Haven, to witness a great come from 6-behind win by the Dragons to inflict the Gold Coast Titans first ever loss 26-22  at Skilled Stadium. CJ, the lone Titans boy in our group, was giving ole Snowy grief, but the wise words of Snowy haunted CJ at the end of the game. "The games not over son" As CJ gloated over the Titans first try. Mate, the big thing in this game was the defence of the Titans. They were superb as the Dragons always seemed to hold the best attacking advantage, but the gutsy Titans defended many sets on their own line. The Titans were also served well by Matt Rogers, and Preston Campbell always looked dangerous. For the Dragons Jamie Soward, Ben Hornby were specials, while the Morris boys were well contained. Jason Ryles gave Dragons supporters, the usual head in the hands stuff, and his biggest brain explosion came in the final two minutes, rucking it out on the first tackle, 10 metres out from his own line, when he inexplicably flicked a pass to no-one, that no-one expected, and no-one wanted. Then to make matters worse, he sooked, put his head in his hands and watched the botched job. He got back in the defensive line, in time to watch the Titans stuff up a play the ball and lose their final chance. The Dragons ultimately won 26-22. Gold Coast Titans 22 Tries: Ben Jeffrey, Brett Delaney, Luke O'Dwyer, Mat Rogers Goals: Mat Rogers (3/5) St George Illawarra Dragons 26 Tries: Ben Hornby, Brett Morris, Chase Stanley, Michael Lett Goals: Jamie Soward (5/5) First time at Skilled Stadium and I must say, while the Stadium itself is good, the food and beverage service is poor, and access is confusing. It really does take a lot of time to clear the Stadium as well and I pity the poor souls going to the Train station as the crowd is channeled into narrow corridors. Additionally the pedestrians put up with very poor footpaths and narrow fenced in breezeways.  Not the greatest experience, but it can only get better. As for Ole Snowy. The Nambucca Heads RSL was buzzing when ole Snowys face flicked up on Fox Sports before, during and after the game. The amount of gee-ups by txt messages confirmed what we all know, Snow is a thing of beauty. Posted Jun 28 2008, 02:09 AM by snowy with no comments

• Friday Night Fortunes

  Friday Night footy highlighted a couple of things tonight. Brisbane, Penrith and Roosters have a bit of fight. Bulldogs, even with Sonny Bill Don't.  Penrith and Brisbane played out a 12 all draw in a tight game between two under manned teams in a cold, frigid night at the foot of the mountains. Lachlan Coote was Man of the Match, in  a puzzling decision based around his kicking game in which he missed 5 from 5, in various guises tonight. Strange. The Roosters overcame the Bulldogs scoring first to score a 24-14 victory in front of a paltry crowd at ANZ AGAIN.The Bulldogs, with Sonny Bill Williams gave up without a fight and this is becoming a usual occurance. The last time the Roosters played at Origin resulted in a 42-0 flogging by Manly. Missing the same players and their halves combination, the Bulldogs couldn't put it over them. Interesting, that the Channel 9 Footy Show are offering veiwers a chance to Win Sonny Bill Williams. Based on his track record this year, the Bulldogs are likelt to enter the comp for a chance for SBW to actually play for them. The other note would be, that potetially the team that does win him, asks for a substitute prize. SBW the great white hoax. Posted Jun 27 2008, 03:07 AM by curly with no comments

• Rabbitohs win in a Thriller

  The Gold Coast Titans, down to just 13 players, went down to the Souths Sydney Rabbitohs by just the one point on Monday Night Football. The Gold Coast have a woeful away record, while Souths recorded just their third victory for the season and have now scored back to back wins. The Titans always seemed in control, and when they slotted a field goal with seven  minutes left, to lead 23-22 it seemed just a formality. But for the second time this weekend, a game was decided by a penalty goal caused by a stupid penalty. Jordan Atkins second effort, caused Steve Lyons to ping them and Issac Luke slotted the goal to win the game 24-23. It was a game that really should have been the Titans, but Souths just never laid down. Chris Sandow, while not the best player, has certainly added some stability and belief in the Rabbitohs. For the Titans, the season kiss will come if they cannot win away from home. The Titans lost four key players through injury and played the last 15minutes with just the 13 on the field. Next Week, the Rabbitohs take on the Cowboys in the battle for the wooden spoon, while the Titans take on the confident Dragons at Robina. Posted Jun 23 2008, 01:45 AM by rusty with no comments

• Sunday Crackers

  From Friday Night Field Goals, Saturday Slaughters brought us to Sunday Crackers. Every game decided today was close and kept the crowd entertained. Firstly in New Zealand we saw a committed effort from the NZ Warriors to dethrone the ladder leading Manly Sea Eagles. It wasn't to be however, with Manly winning 20-14. The Knights and Roosters was there to be won by either team right up until the final whistle. The Roosters held on 16-14 with a video ref decision taking up the final seconds of the game. Lastly, at Shark Park, the Eels were frustrated out of the game by a dour Sharks outfit. The half-time score of 8-6 to the Eels reversed in the second half with the Sharks winning 16-14. Posted Jun 21 2008, 10:04 PM by curly with no comments

• From Friday Night Field Goals to Saturday Night Slaughter

  What a difference a night makes. Friday Night thrillers; Saturday Night smashings. People were hoping the Bulldogs would put on a show at ANZ against the out of town Raiders. Apart from some fight in the first half, they didn't. The crowd didn't bet on the "hope". The crowd was described by some as just 4000, but official figures placed it around 9000. The second woeful crowd in a row at ANZ, yet clubs still line up to go there. This is getting embarassing. Our club officials should be sacked with their approach to the easy dollars for Homebush. Easy dollars, Death of the game. The Raiders flogged the Bulldogs 58-18. Over 10,000 witnessed a better fight from the Cowboys but still the same result when the Storm defeated the Boys 48-20. The Northerners produced a better effort, and added some uncertainty to our game with kick-off alternatives and kicking for touch to try and unsettle the Storm. The Cowboys had a lot of ball, but just couldn't breach the Storm. A game plan to unsettle, must be linked to a defensive attitude and structure of perfection. As we have been saying all year, the Cowboys defence is abysmal, characerised by poor defensive effort and reads, and seemingly devoid of any stucture. Every time the Storm had the ball, they scored. OR SO IT SEEMED. The Cowboys defence was poor, idiotic and stupid. The Storm scored when they wanted, and thwarted the Cowboys when they wanted. The Cowboys return to the bottom of the table courtesy of this attrocious effort, and brings back memories of the nineties when they were the laughing stock of the comp. Tonights effort now gives them most points conceded for season 2008. Not much to look forward here. Posted Jun 21 2008, 02:31 AM by snowy with no comments

• Friday Night Field Goals

  It was games of inches on Friday Night, when the two games, featuring four teams all on the same points tally, were decided by field goals. The Broncos played the Wests Tigers on a fairly cold and slippery night in Brisbane. The Crowd of over 27,000 were high on expectations especially after the Broncos 20's brushed aside the Tigers 48 to nil. From the outset, the Broncos showed this was a different outfit than the one that played the Raiders the previous week. They had sting in their defence and their attack, organised by Karmichael Hunt and Joel Moon was better. The Tigers also played with intensity and after holding out a couple of raids from Brisbane, were the first to score.' Brisbane responded with a penalty goal which brough boos and calls of, "It wouldn't have happened in Alfie's Day". Wally Lewis, on the sideline for Channel 9, appeared bemused by the decision. The Wests Tigers led at the half-time break 12-8 after the Broncos conceded a try on half-time. The second half see-sawed the lead until the scores sat at 18 all in the last 8 stages of the game. The Broncs took the shot at field goal in the 73rd minute, and did enough to thwart two attempts from the Tigers. The defence in the last stages of the game was outstanding. For the Broncos, Dave Taylor created the match winning try with an intercept and 40 metre run. Micheal Ennis and Karmichael Hunt were best of ground, while the winger Kaine Manihera showed no fear in his second first grade game. For the Tigers, Mathew Head was punted in the final stages, certainly not good for a controlling half-back, Benji and Chris Laurence was strong, and Dane Lawrie certainly set the crowd alight, with his approach and style of game. We witnessed a new SBW tonight. In the other Friday Night game, the Penrith Panthers were desperately unlucky to go down 13-12, after leading at the break by 12-nil. The Dragons ground out the second half to score the win that consolidates them in the top 8. Posted Jun 20 2008, 10:25 AM by curly with no comments

• Knights Nails Cowboys Coffin

  A seventh straight loss from the Cowboys have consigned the season for the northerners to the also-rans. The visting Newcastle Knights have defeated the Cowboys 30-18 in what was a thrilling and in many ways strange game. The Knights leapt to an 18 nil lead, to which the Cowboys fought back to level at 18 all. The Cowboys showed some grit realising that their season was on the line. Two final tries to the Knights gave the side their final margin. The story of the Cowboys 2008, should serve as notice and warning for other clubs, of how to handle a coaching change. In a club where player power appears high, the notice of the club in not renewing the services of Graham Murray was just plain silly. The end result has been a season plagued by poor defence and poor results. Make money from your tips Posted Jun 16 2008, 11:55 AM by curly with no comments

• Brisbane and Tigers Embarrassed: Big Wins for Raiders and Eels

  Sunday NRL saw similar games with comprehensive victories for the Canberra Raiders and the Parramatta Eels. An injury ravaged Brisbane Broncos outfit were nothing by fodder for a committed Canberra Raiders unit. Leading at half-time by 28 to nil, the result was never in doubt. The Broncos had a much better second half, restoring some pride but the Raiders won 34-16. For the Raiders Justin Carnet scored a double on debut, but Todd Carney was the most dangerous player on the field. The Parramatta - Wests Tigers games started with ferocious defence from bioh sides. In the 20th minute the game changed complexion with a Luke Burt try for Parramatta and the Eels ground out their dominance. At half-time the score was Parramatta 22, Tigers 0. The same trend continued in the second stanza with the Eels walking away with a44-6 win. Feleti Mateo continues to be the lynchpin behind the Eels resurgance with another Man of the Match game.   Posted Jun 15 2008, 12:19 AM by rusty with no comments

• Sharks too Good for New Zealand Warriors

  The Cronulla Sharks have defeated the New Zealand Warriors 24-8, in front of a poor Toyota Stadium crowd on a cold Sydney Saturday Night. The game started off slowly from a scoring perspective with both sides sitting at nil apiece until the Sharks scored the first try in the 29th minute. Just three minutes later the Warriors had bounced back to lead 6-4. Penalty goals apiece gave the Warriors an 8-6 lead at half-time The second half continued in a similar vein to the first until just before the hour mark when the Sharks scored. From then on, the Sharks continued to build dominance until a try right on full-time which gave the Sharks a comprehensive 24-8 victory. Brent Tate may be in some trouble with a high shot in the first half on Greg Bird. Best players again seemed to be the revitalised Shark 5/8 Brett Seymour. Make money from your tips Posted Jun 14 2008, 02:15 AM by curly with no comments

• Black Friday for Panthers

  A brave Penrith were no match for a roosters outfit, welcoming back their four State of Origin forwards on Black Friday. The Roosters, inspired by Willie Mason, defeated the Panthers 32-12. The Panthers were incredibly brave losing players through injury and effectively only having a one man interchange bench at stages during the game. It was almost a case of what-if, as the Roosters were led a merry dance early by the Panthers, as they took early control. However as the injuries mounted, so did the score against them. Two controversial decisions in relation to tries, did have an effect on the game. Luke Rooney was denied a try by the video ref, after the ball showed signs of being lost, while Mark O'Meley was given one in exact circumstances. On nights like this, it is conceivable to allow teams additional interchange players that allows a bench to stay manned. In the light of day, Penrith were disadvantaged. Get in the Game Click Here Posted Jun 13 2008, 01:17 PM by curly with no comments

• Queensland Superb: NSW ZIP

  Queensland in front of another fantastic fanatic crowd of 47,000 Queenslanders, have tonight thumped the Blues from NSW by 30 points to NIL. The 6,000 NSW fans in the crowd, to bring the crowd to just under 53,000, were left stunned with the ferocity and venom the Queenslanders produced. Queensland jumped early with a quick double to Darius Boyd to give QLD an early 12-0 lead. This was built on the back of an early forward onslaught led by Steve Price, Petro Civoniceva, Ashley Harrison and Dallas Johnson. I was impressed with the work ethic the Qlders produced, the speed of their forward line and their enthusiasm to bring the NSW to their knees. The Qld  forward pack, were then able to bring in Nate Myles, Sam Thiaday and Mick Crocker to add to this. I was really impressed with Ashley Harrison and Steve Price who played the entire first half. It was close to the best game of football I have seen from Ashley Harrison. Tries by Israel Folau and Ben Hannant, combined with a perfect 7 from 7 goals, from Jonathon Thurston gave the Qlders the final score. Brent Tate was (wait for it) superb, in the best game I have seen from Tate. No brain expolsions, no stupid errors. Simple guts for glory. Well Done Brent. His centre partner Greg Inglis was the official Man of the Match, and he certainly got one back on Mark Gasnier. The halves for Qld were great, with Scott Prince and JT great. For NSW, Kurt Gidely was their best. At least he had a go and tried stuff. Steve Turner was completely out of depth and Coach Craig Bellamy must surely be rueing his decision to bring him into the side. Outside of Gidely, hard to recall anything positive from the halves and the forwards and the outside backs, although Matt Cooper was solid in defence, and Mark Gasnier looked dangerous at times in attack. So where does NSW go. Bird will probably go back to the bench and Braith Anasta must come into the side. They must bring in Luke Bailey or another similar specialist prop, while Craig Fitzgibbon almost certainly has played his last game in the sky blue jersey of NSW. They need to get some forward momentum to allow Wallace and Anasta a chance. A 30-0 scoreline in Origin is almost unheard of, especially on the back of the result in Game 1. Qld must now back up and face their Sydney demons to win the series for a third time, while NSW must now come back from this Origin thumping. Here we go for game 3. Tony Archer had a better game, controlling the rucks and penalising both teams for constant infringements in this area. Danny Buderus showed constant frustration with Archers performance, but in most cases the referee was proved right. The game was open for both teams, and it must be said Qld handled it better than the NSW team. Posted Jun 11 2008, 03:16 AM by curly with 1 comment(s)