September 2008 - Posts

• Best Teams Play Off

  I spent the afternoon at Rabbit's drinking Bacchus and watching the Hawks win their fairytale AFL Grand Final against the Geelong Cats 115-89. The Cats were expected to win easily and as the game wore on, even Jonny beside me kept telling me the Cats were dominating, but just couldn't kick the goals that counted. We got home to watch the Broncos U20's get out of jail and then settled back for the big one. Warriors v Manly. Unlike the NRL, the fairytale finished tonight with the Warriors defeated 32-6. The Warriors just never seemed able to put pressure on the Manly boys, while the Manly boys fullfilled their destiny, and that is to have another crack at the Storm on Grand Final day. At least, the two best teams from the season are playing off, and both come off dominating games to get there. Manly, tonight, showed they have the mental toughness and execution to take the comp for 2008. Posted Sep 27 2008, 03:44 AM by curly with no comments

• Shark Blood in the Water: The Storm Circled.

  The Cronulla Sharks froze on their biggest test this year and at the same time, produced their worst performance of the year to go down to Melbourne 28-0. The superstars of the Storm looked tired, but they circled for Shark blood, as the Sharkies played two uncharacteristic halves of football, littered by mistakes and ill-discipline. The first half saw numerous mistakes around Blake Green, the stand in for injured Brett Seymour. I like Danny Nutley, but geez he made some bad blues in defence, one in particular allowing Adam Blair to score. In fact, the Blair try was the turning point. The set before Anthony Quinn attacked Misi Telipapa after Misi had grounded the ball before in the Cronulla end zone. Quinn should have been penalised, but Archer chose to ignore this indiscretion and the next set saw the Storm build to the Blair try. In fairness to Tony Archer, it was close to his only error in a game that should see him as favourites for the Grand Final.   The Storm led 16 nil at half-time and only the most optimistic Shark fan held onto a glimmer of hope. The Second half started well for the Sharks in attack, but simple errors would occur just when they started building pressure. A case in point was Ben Ross, who always seems to make costly errors, and again a dropped ball on the first tackle from a repeat set of six was another case in point. They went side to side in attack without building any forward dominations down the centre third. As always the Storm covered them well. Outside the Storm were dominated by the larger, faster, and stronger Storm outside backs.   The Storm now go onto to their third Grand Final in a row. They look tired, but when needed in attack and defence they stood tall. Whether they have anything left is the question. The Sharks were just disapointing and they will be incredibly disapointed with their efforts. They looked outclassed and bewlidered, like a deer in the headlights. Ricky Stuart told everyone his side felt no pressure. They played like a side that had all the pressure. Posted Sep 26 2008, 02:44 AM by curly with 1 comment(s)

• Storm win in Final Minute

  The Brisbane Broncos led for 79 minutes and deserved to knock the Melbourne Storm out of the finals race, but an Ashton Sims error on th Broncos 20m line gave the Storm one last throw of the dice, which led to a Greg Inglis try in the corner to win the game 16-14. This game was what rugby league was all about. It had toughness, grit, bits of flair a bit of niggle and heaps of courage and commitment. The Broncos can be understandably shattered as they were the best side all day, but you always had the feeling that a side with Inglis, Faolou and Slater in it would somehow conjure up a victory. Both sides were denied tries and a ty scored by Billy Slater in the second half, was conspicous in lack of debate as ref Shayne Hayne called the try first. The only replay shown, certainly showed a question mark on whether Slater was on-side. The Broncos defence hung tough, but geez they made some errors. Justin Hodges lost the ball in the play-the-ball two or three times, Ashton Sims was a liability most o the game with the ball but they weren't on their Pat Malone. Yes the Broncos were tough, but if they had played the game smart, they would have won, One thing for sure, the Storm are now very unlikely to win this comp. They play the Sharkies next week and with the Sharks minus Brett Seymour and they could get past them. The Warriors play the Sea Eagles and based on what we have seen both these teams have the measure of the Storm. Again, the grapple tackle debate raged all game and some of the Storm players will be facing an anxious wait to see if any charges will be laid by the match review committee. Posted Sep 20 2008, 02:47 AM by curly with no comments

• Toyota Cup Semis Decided

  A thrilling victory by the St George Ilawarra Dragons 23-22 over the Parramatta Eels has now finalised the make-up of the Grand Final Qualifying finals for the Toyota Cup. The New Zealand Warriors face up to the Brisbane Broncos, while the Canberra Raiders sit in wait for the St George Illawarra Dragons. The Toyota Cup has been a huge success for the NRL this season, unearthing some great talent but also providing great attacking games devoid of some of the boring stuff seen in the NRL. Good luck for the for sides left, see you on Grand Final Day. Posted Sep 20 2008, 12:46 AM by curly with no comments

• Warriors Wondering "HOW FAR?"

  The New Zealand Warriors defeated a Sydney Roosters team 30-13 after a dominating second half performance. The Roosters led 13-6 at half-time, but that was the last of the points the Sydneysiders were to score, as the Kiwis pummelled the Chooks line to take the advantage and the game. The Warriors were led superby by their forwards but their hooker Ian Henderson and half Nathan Fien were superb. Additional Fullback Lance Hohoai was great, giving coach Ivan Cleary a dilemma with Wade McKinnon back from suspension this week. The Warriors are really on a momentum drive winning 11 of their last 13 games and they have now progressed to one game away from the Grand Final, againts all odds. The Warriors are quickly becoming the good news story for the NRL; one which is desperately needed after the bad news week it has had. The Warriors now face the Manly Sea Eagles in the Grand Final Qualifier, next week and based on form they stand an even chance of qualifying for their second grand final. Posted Sep 19 2008, 03:20 AM by curly with no comments

• Warriors Stun the Storm

  For the first time ever in the NRL, the eighth placed team have defeated the Minor Premiers. The New Zealand Warriors defeated the Storm 18-15. This game was the best game of the finals series with the Warriors taking it up to the Storm all game. The half-time score was eight all, and the Storm were lucky to be level. The Warriors just stuck it to em, and the scores were locked up at 14 all, with just 15 minute left, when Greg Inglis kicked a field goal to take a one point lead. The Warriors were dragged down close to the line about a dozen times during the game, as they kept chucking it to the Storm. Finally it was a missed tackle by Israel Falou that gave the Warriors the break which led to the winning length of field try. The Warriors now have a home semi next Friday against the Roosters in New Zealand, while the Broncos face the Storm at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday. The Minor Premiers now face a sudden death game against the in-form Broncos while the Sharks and Sea Eagles have the week off and get ready to face the winners of the sudden death games. Posted Sep 13 2008, 10:52 PM by rusty with no comments

• Sea Eagles and Sharks STRONG

  The Saturday games from the first round of the finals were played tonight and the games went with serve, with the third placed team, the Sharks beating the Raiders 36-10 while the second placed Manly flogged the Dragons 38-6. The Canberra Raiders appeared over-awed against the Sharks looking nervous as they bombed several chance early in the game, including a first minute intercept which would have given them an early lead. The Sharks turned the tide from the early scare to post first points and were never headed from then. The Raiders were fairly strong and played the game out, and will be much better for the finals run. THE DRAGONS WERE DISGRACEFUL in their attempt at a game against the Manly Sea Eagles. SIMPLE really. Referee Shayne Hayne had an absolute shocker in the first half, with some disgraceful decisions against the Dragons, but the second half insipid performance cannot be blamed on anything else but the Dragons. They were woeful, but Manly were impressive. The Dragons were slow, predictable and dominated possession for the first 10 minutes, but couldn't post points. Then Steve Menzies scores from a centre field chargedown and all Saints fans then knew that tonight was not going to be the night for the Saints. A Jason Ryles flopback, picked up by the opposition was the departing gift from France bound Jason Ryles. It led to a Manly try, and while we admire much of the work Ryles did, we bid goodbye and good riddance to his brain snaps and poor decision making that has cost the Dragons games. 38-6 in a final is a sad way to say good-bye to your team, but for Nathan Brown it does sum up his tenure at the Dragons. Brilliance combined with schoolboy errors do not mix and have led to years of disapointment. I am not sure if Wayne Bennet is the answer, but this proud club deserves better. A team that plays out every game, plays with pride and commitment and is the embodiment of teamwork. For the last couple of years we havn't gone close. Posted Sep 13 2008, 04:27 AM by curly with no comments

• Qld State League Grand Final: Souths in a Ripper

  The Qld State League has a history of fantastic games and finishes and 2008 was no different. Souths jumped out to lead 18-0 at half-time against Minor Premiers and favourites the Ipswich Jets. But the Jets stormed back in the second half and levelled the game 18 all with 15 minutes left on the clock. Josh Lewis, four times, attempted plays to either win the game or turn the game, but failed at each attempt. With just 90 seconds on the clock, an Ipswich charge down of an attempted field goal gave Souths the final set and final chance to win the game. Which they did, although with some conjecture. The Ipswich players charged towards an expected field goal, only to see the ball go instead to the blind side and onto a charging Magpies player who was grassed just centremetres from the line. However the tackler lost contact, and the player jumped forward to cross the line and post the winning try. It was converted and the Magpies took their first premiership since 1985 24-18. Mate, I love grassroots footy, and the Qld State League is something special. Well Done QRL. Posted Sep 12 2008, 08:48 PM by curly with no comments

• Broncos Draw First Blood.

  The Broncos have defeated the Sydney Roosters 24-16 after being down 16-8 at half-time. The Roosters dominated the first half through the combination of brutal defence, and wide running. While the possession stats showed that it was 50-50, the Roosters dominated field position and arguably should have led by much more. The Roosters scored one try and another by intercept, and led 16-2. When the Broncos scored in the first half, many would have said that the scoreline did not match the match flow. The Broncos scoring the try in the first half, gave many supporters hope for what they would achieve in the second half. The second half was all Broncos. The first big hit, first points and then total second half domination. The Roosters fought on gamely but were no match. The refereeing of Tony Archer was poor in some aspects. Braith Anasta and Michell Pearce milked early penalties for very unlikely challenges. The acting of or selling of the penalties was the sole determinant of the penalty and not the actual act from the defender. To have this sort of crap occurrng in finals  is beyond me. The refs need to be better at determining this ***. In  the second half, Phil Gould the Roosters addition to the coaching field, showed his true colours by asserting that Peter Wallace had in some way impeded the Roosters Sa in the leap of the football. This was laughable, as Wallace was clearly tunring around to field the ball and was taken out by Sa in a contest for the ball. A similar incident against Braith was deemed penalty worthy in the first half and to hear Gus arguing the reverse in the second half was ridiculous. A worthy win by the Broncos over a Roosters team that fought bravely. If the finals goes the way of the lower ranked teams, the Roosters are gone. The McIntyre System is crap. Teams need to know when they are in elimination zone. SIMPLE. Lose your out. Our current system does not allow for that. Posted Sep 12 2008, 03:42 AM by curly with no comments

• What A Season

  Well Team the regular season is now over and we say goodbye to eight teams. However, before we do that we thought we would have a look at the way the ladder changed during the course of the year. We kicked off full of vim and vigour in Round 1, and at the completition o the round we saw the table look like this. Position Team M W D L B For Agst Diff Points 1 Broncos 1 1 0 0 0 48 12 36 2 2 Titans 1 1 0 0 0 36 18 18 2 3 Knights 1 1 0 0 0 30 14 16 2 4 Roosters 1 1 0 0 0 34 20 14 2 5 Storm 1 1 0 0 0 32 18 14 2 6 Eels 1 1 0 0 0 28 20 8 2 7 Wests Tigers 1 1 0 0 0 24 16 8 2 8 Sharks 1 1 0 0 0 16 10 6 2 9 Sea Eagles 1 0 0 1 0 10 16 -6 0 10 Bulldogs 1 0 0 1 0 20 28 -8 0 11 Dragons 1 0 0 1 0 16 24 -8 0 12 Rabbitohs 1 0 0 1 0 20 34 -14 0 13 Warriors 1 0 0 1 0 18 32 -14 0 14 Raiders 1 0 0 1 0 14 30 -16 0 15 Cowboys 1 0 0 1 0 18 36 -18 0 16 Panthers 1 0 0 1 0 12 48 -36 0 The Broncs started the season well, while the Storm struggled early while the Eagles were knocked over by the  Sharks. By Round 3, the eventual wooden spooners were sitting in second behind the Broncos. But by Round 6 there was a decided Qld Flavour at the top of the ladder 1 Titans 6 5 0 1 0 152 108 44 10 2 Broncos 6 4 0 2 0 170 104 66 8 3 Storm 6 4 0 2 0 131 73 58 8 4 Roosters 6 4 0 2 0 146 104 42 8 5 Sharks 6 4 0 2 0 87 91 -4 8 6 Sea Eagles 6 3 0 3 0 118 79 39 6 7 Knights 6 3 0 3 0 142 130 12 6 8 Wests Tigers 6 3 0 3 0 128 128 0 6 9 Bulldogs 6 3 0 3 0 135 146 -11 6 10 Cowboys 6 3 0 3 0 136 152 -16 6 11 Raiders 6 3 0 3 0 113 139 -26 6 12 Panthers 6 3 0 3 0 117 146 -29 6 13 Warriors 6 3 0 3 0 136 184 -48 6 14 Eels 6 2 0 4 0 118 159 -41 4 15 Dragons 6 1 0 5 0 110 125 -15 2 16 Rabbitohs 6 0 0 6 0 76 147 -71 0 On top of the Broncos and Titans, we saw the Cowboys starting their move. We saw the Dragons struggling and the Rabbitohs looking lost. All the big guns were close to the top, with the Storm, Eagles, and Roosters sitting handy. In these days of the comp, it wasn't uncommon for teams to drop 3-4 places with a loss and conversly rise the same with a win. Round 9 saw the Storm take the lead for the first time. NRL Ladder: After 2008 Round 9 Position Team M W D L B For Agst Diff Points 1 Storm 8 6 0 2 1 161 87 74 14 2 Titans 8 6 0 2 1 200 145 55 14 3 Broncos 9 6 0 3 0 248 174 74 12 4 Sea Eagles 8 5 0 3 1 178 113 65 12 5 Roosters 8 5 0 3 1 182 134 48 12 6 Sharks 8 5 0 3 1 127 129 -2 12 7 Knights 8 4 0 4 1 159 160 -1 10 8 Wests Tigers 8 4 0 4 1 170 178 -8 10 9 Panthers 8 4 0 4 1 165 176 -11 10 10 Eels 8 4 0 4 1 163 195 -32 10 11 Warriors 8 4 0 4 1 174 226 -52 10 12 Bulldogs 8 3 0 5 1 161 206 -45 8 13 Raiders 8 3 0 5 1 123 183 -60 8 14 Dragons 8 2 0 6 1 154 150 4 6 15 Cowboys 9 3 0 6 0 188 216 -28 6 16 Rabbitohs 8 1 0 7 1 122 203 -81 4 Other things of note was the downward movement of the Bulldogs, while the Cowboys sit second last. The disapointing season from the Eels is clearly evident as they sit in 10th spot, while the Dragons had still to kick. Round 13 and halfway through the comp saw the comp starting to shape, although with still a lost to do. NRL Ladder: After 2008 Round 13 Position Team M W D L B For Agst Diff Points 1 Sea Eagles 12 8 0 4 1 307 157 150 18 2 Storm 12 8 0 4 1 234 151 83 18 3 Roosters 12 8 0 4 1 271 210 61 18 4 Titans 12 8 0 4 1 274 215 59 18 5 Sharks 12 8 0 4 1 216 201 15 18 6 Broncos 12 7 0 5 1 294 241 53 16 7 Wests Tigers 12 7 0 5 1 278 257 21 16 8 Panthers 11 6 0 5 2 252 240 12 16 9 Dragons 12 6 0 6 1 264 202 62 14 10 Knights 11 5 0 6 2 223 228 -5 14 11 Eels 11 5 0 6 2 231 269 -38 14 12 Raiders 11 4 0 7 2 191 254 -63 12 13 Warriors 12 5 0 7 1 254 361 -107 12 14 Bulldogs 12 4 0 8 1 223 320 -97 10 15 Cowboys 12 3 0 9 1 228 313 -85 8 16 Rabbitohs 12 2 0 10 1 189 310 -121 6   The Titans were equal leaders while the Dragons had crept to within one spot of the eight. Rabbitohs, Bulldogs and Cowboys appeared destined to fight for the wooden spoon, while the EELS sat in 11th. NRL Ladder: After 2008 Round 16 Position Team M W D L B For Agst Diff Points 1 Sea Eagles 14 10 0 4 2 355 183 172 24 2 Roosters 15 11 0 4 1 343 250 93 24 3 Sharks 15 11 0 4 1 292 247 45 24 4 Storm 14 9 0 5 2 304 195 109 22 5 Dragons 14 8 0 6 2 303 236 67 20 6 Titans 14 8 0 6 2 319 265 54 20 7 Broncos 15 8 1 6 1 341 305 36 19 8 Eels 14 7 0 7 2 313 313 0 18 9 Panthers 14 6 1 7 2 288 297 -9 17 10 Knights 14 6 0 8 2 279 290 -11 16 11 Raiders 14 6 0 8 2 307 324 -17 16 12 Wests Tigers 15 7 0 8 1 328 348 -20 16 13 Warriors 15 6 0 9 1 304 431 -127 14 14 Rabbitohs 14 4 0 10 2 242 361 -119 12 15 Bulldogs 14 4 0 10 2 255 402 -147 12 16 Cowboys 15 3 0 12 1 294 420 -126 8   The real deals started to stand up by ROund 16. The Titans started their slide, whilethe bottom of the ladder looked a lost hope for the Dogs and the Cowboys. The Broncos had had their Origin hiccups, while the Eels sat in the eight. The Dragons were sitting on the edge of the top 4. The final 4 would be the final four at the end of the fixture rounds and those four would change chairs, but hold themselves as the top 4 for every round until then. NRL Ladder: After 2008 Round 20 Position Team M W D L B For Agst Diff Points 1 Sea Eagles 18 13 0 5 2 463 247 216 30 2 Storm 18 12 0 6 2 396 235 161 28 3 Roosters 18 12 0 6 2 417 328 89 28 4 Sharks 18 12 0 6 2 326 312 14 28 5 Broncos 18 10 1 7 2 409 361 48 25 6 Dragons 18 10 0 8 2 369 297 72 24 7 Panthers 18 9 1 8 2 388 375 13 23 8 Raiders 18 9 0 9 2 420 382 38 22 9 Titans 18 9 0 9 2 391 409 -18 22 10 Warriors 18 9 0 9 2 376 473 -97 22 11 Knights 18 8 0 10 2 377 360 17 20 12 Wests Tigers 18 8 0 10 2 392 414 -22 20 13 Eels 18 8 0 10 2 375 399 -24 20 14 Rabbitohs 18 6 0 12 2 332 486 -154 16 15 Bulldogs 18 5 0 13 2 333 524 -191 14 16 Cowboys 18 3 0 15 2 330 492 -162 10 Round 20 saw the Titans drop out of the eight, and the Raiders get in. The Eels sat in 11th, while the Wooden Spoon apeared destined for the Cowboys.The Panthers were still looking good, while the Broncos crept back to the verge of the top 4. NRL Ladder: After 2008 Round 23 Position Team M W D L B For Agst Diff Points 1 Storm 21 15 0 6 2 486 255 231 34 2 Sea Eagles 21 14 0 7 2 535 313 222 32 3 Sharks 21 14 0 7 2 371 356 15 32 4 Roosters 21 13 0 8 2 479 406 73 30 5 Broncos 21 11 1 9 2 475 407 68 27 6 Raiders 21 11 0 10 2 538 446 92 26 7 Dragons 21 11 0 10 2 415 348 67 26 8 Warriors 21 11 0 10 2 426 507 -81 26 9 Panthers 21 10 1 10 2 462 495 -33 25 10 Knights 21 10 0 11 2 459 422 37 24 11 Wests Tigers 21 10 0 11 2 478 468 10 24 12 Eels 21 10 0 11 2 455 467 -12 24 13 Titans 21 10 0 11 2 433 505 -72 24 14 Rabbitohs 21 8 0 13 2 404 562 -158 20 15 Bulldogs 21 5 0 16 2 365 668 -303 14 16 Cowboys 21 4 0 17 2 406 562 -156 12   The Titans are gone and Qld fans resign themselves to only the Broncos making the finals. The Cowboys start their quest to thwart the woen spoon, while the Eels sit 12th. Wests Tigers started their woeful final round form. While the final rounds provide some hope for other teams, the finals will eventually be played out by those teams sitting in the eight in Round 23. So we end up in the final round with the following: Team P W D L B For Agn Pts Diff 1 Storm 24 17 0 7 2 584 282 38 +302 2 Sea Eagles 24 17 0 7 2 645 355 38 +290 3 Sharks 24 17 0 7 2 451 384 38 +67 4 Roosters 24 15 0 9 2 511 446 34 +65 5 Broncos 24 14 1 9 2 560 452 33 +108 6 Raiders 24 13 0 11 2 640 527 30 +113 7 Dragons 24 13 0 11 2 489 378 30 +111 8 Warriors 24 13 0 11 2 502 567 30 -65 9 Knights 24 12 0 12 2 516 486 28 +30 10 Tigers 24 11 0 13 2 528 560 26 -32 11 Eels 24 11 0 13 2 501 547 26 -46 12 Panthers 24 10 1 13 2 504 611 25 -107 13 Gold Coast 24 10 0 14 2 476 586 24 -110 14 Rabbitohs 24 8 0 16 2 453 666 20 -213 15 Cowboys 24 5 0 19 2 474 638 14 -164 16 Bulldogs 24 5 0 19 2 433 782 14 -349 Posted Sep 08 2008, 03:16 AM by admin with no comments

• All Sorted Sunday

  The Melbourne Storm are the Minor Premiers for the third year in a row with a commanding victory over the Souths Sydney Rabbitohs by 42-4, giving them the much needed points difference over the Manly Sea Eagles. The Storm were disciplined in their approach to the game, starting well, and finishing well. The fullback for the Storm, Billy Slater had a mixed game, spending time in the sin-bin and scoring two tries in the second half to give the game to the Storm. In the other Sunday games,the Canberra Raiders gave the spoon to the Bulldogs with a dominating 52-34 performance. The Bulldogs showed up to play, and did make a game for it, but the Raiders attack just had too much to offer. It certainly wasn't a game for the defence. The Tigers gave the Titans a hurry up with a final game victory 28-12. The Titans ended their home season having lost the last five game at Robina. The first week of the finals sees the following match ups: Friday NIght :Sydney Roosters v Brisbane Broncos Saturday Evening : Cronulla Sharks v Canberra Raiders Saturday Night : Manly Sea Eagles v St George Illawarra Dragons Sunday : Melbourne Storm v New Zealand Warriors.     Posted Sep 07 2008, 01:48 AM by rusty with no comments

• Final Round Saturday Night Footbal

  The Final chapter of Super Saturday went along form lines for the final round of the comp. The Warriors knocked over the Parramatta Eels 28-6 in front of about 3 people at Parramatta Stadium. The Eels showed some heart, but not a lot as the Warriors did enough to win. The Panthers surprised the Sea Eagles with a bright attacking game, but they were their usual selves on defence. The Eagles bounded away at times, only to be pegged back by the gallant Panthers.After their final comeback that tok the scores to 18-16, Manly locked her up to win 34-16. The Sharks jumped out to a 28-6 lead over the Cowboys early in the second half, however the Cowboys showed some heart to make a game of it with the Sharks ultimate winners 28-22. Posted Sep 06 2008, 12:37 PM by curly with no comments

• Final Four Spots Decided with Chooks win.

  The Broncos did all they could to secure a top 4 spot by knocking over form team the Newcastle Knights by 24-2, but the Dragons didn't play their part when they went down in a poor display of football to the Sydney Roosters 10-2. The Broncos fareweled coach Wayne Bennett from Suncorp Stadium a deserved winner by accounting for the Knights in an ominous display of power football. The Broncos defence was the most hard-edged I have seen for a while, and the attack was in some ways reminiscent of some of the great Broncos teams of the past. The Knight just did not have an answer on the Broncos game and they would freely admit they played poorly and just made too many errors to compete. A telling blow was the sin-binning of Steve Simpson half-way through the second half, with the Broncos putting on two tries during his stint in the bin. The Broncos also farewelled Tonie Carroll (again) from Suncorp and celebrated Karmichael Hunt becoming the youngest player to reach 100 games. Next week the Broncos travel to Sydney to take on the Roosters while the Knights have to rely now on the Eels defeating the Warriors to remain in the competition. The Roosters Dragons game was played in poor conditions and did not reach any heights at all. The Roosters defence won them the game as they thwarted the chances the Dragons had. The Roosters didn't score until the 47th minute with Anthony Minichello scoring on his return from injury, but this was almost certainly enough to keep the Dragons winless. The game was put beyond doubt just over 10 minutes later when Braith Anasta scored. The Dragons now may find themselves in 7th spot after this loss, and the look to face either Manly, Storm or Sharks to continue. A tough ask. Posted Sep 05 2008, 03:57 AM by curly with no comments

• Spiteful Clash for Menzies Final Brooky Clash

  It was one of those games that can cause damage. A team like the Gold Coast with nothing to lose, against a leading contender. A Gold Coast team that contains the terrier like Nathan Friend, who gets on the goat of many an opposing player. And tonight it was Josh Perry, who stirred in a stink. The Eagles won 28-10, but it was the Eagles who now face an anxious wait as Perry, Anthony Watmough and Steve Matai, have cause for concern, as the match review committee will be looking at some of their contentious tackles durng the game, especially during the last spiteful 20 minutes. The Eagles now take top spot on the ladder leading into the final round and have an eight point lead on for and against. The Titans were brave, and hung in there, athough early in the game the Eagles could have been accused of playing touch footy as they seem to under-estimate the Titans. Beaver Menzies, will play again at Brookvale as the Eagles have booked a home semi, but tonight wa his official premiership last game. And the crowd turned up in droves. Well Done Beaver and Manly, and to the Manly fans. Posted Sep 01 2008, 02:00 AM by rusty with no comments