NRL : The Official NRL Thread 2006 (1 Viewer)

[ledzeppelin]

Seeing that this year is dead and buried for the Roosters, I may as well speculate as to next year
From what I hear, Wing and Finch are gone
I doubt we'll be signing anyone major
So, all things considered, here's the team I'd pick:

01. Anthony Minichiello
02. Amos Roberts
03. Iosia Soliola
04. Sam Perrett
05. Troy Malcolm

06. Josh Lewis
07. Jamie Soward (GK)

08. Charlie Tonga
09. Heath L'Estrange
10. David Shillington
11. Craig Fitzgibbon
12. Mickey Paea
13. Ashley Harrison (C)

14. John Doyle
15. Chris Flannery
16. Braith Anasta
17. Frank-Paul Nuuasala

Numbers 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, and 15 are self-explanatory (I think).
Perrett and Malcolm have been carving up for Newtown together, as have Lewis and Soward.
Soward just has to be at halfback next season. Every week, he has been the Jets best player. I also have him at goal-kicker, seeing as Fitzgibbon is playing less minutes.
Tonga should be one of the starting props, as he bends the line, and can make an impact early on.
L'Estrange should start, doing the hard yakka, tackling, before Doyle comes on later in the game, making inroads against tiring forwards.
I put Mickey Paea as starting second-rower. He can either run wide against the halves and centres, or in the middle if need be. He's solid, tough and young, which are things we need.
Harrison should be starting lock, playing in the same manner he did at Souths, as somewhat of a ball player. I also put him as captain, as I think it brings out the best in him, and he's a natural leader.
On the bench, Anasta can come on as a ball-running backrower, which is his only strength. He just isn't cutting it at the moment playing at stand off.
Frank-Paul Nuuasala is a big, young prop we got from New Zealand. I really like the look of him. After another off season, I reckon he should be right for first grade.
Of course, unless Stuart is sacked, this team would have no chance of running out.

 

[DRAGONZ]

Ohhh man, this is awesome! Finally some proper rugby league talk, I'm so happy!!

Yeah, no doubt that when finals come around, anyone in the top 8 is in with a chance. Bulldogs are looking red hot at the moment, especially with Ben Roberts and Nate Myles doing what they are doing ......

Melbourne will obviously fancy their chances during the Finals .. they've had a lot of practice now. I'm not saying they will fail .. just saying that quite a few people expect that's what will happen.

How long is Scott Hill out for? Is he even out at all? I think he's vital to Melbourne's chances.

Broncos should definitely have a much better squad come Finals time .. and they haven't really shown signs of fading as they have in recent seasons. The next month will be critical to Brisbane's chances in September, I think.

Obviously the Dragons are renowned for being chokers. Parramatta are just as bad but don't get talked about as much. The way I see it this season, though, is that we are playing shithouse at the moment. And yet we still haven't managed to lose a match for two months. Granted, only three of the seven matches have been against current top eight sides .. and two of those were the out-of-form Knights and Cowboys.

This is a vital difference to seasons gone by since the JV started in 1999. Previously, when the Dragons played bad, they would definitely lose. This season, however, we have played poorly, had a large bunch of injuries, but still come out on top regularly. This will at least give the players confidence that even if they do play shit in the Finals, they have a shot at winning the game anyway.

Unless Knights and Cowboys change rapidly, they are finished for 2006. Both will be hoping that this is a mid-season slump which will reverse in time for the Finals .. but if their slumps last much longer, they won't be there in September to change that. Panthers, Raiders, Warriors (and even possibly Tigers) are all knocking on the door.

I actually think the Dogs side of 2006 is even stronger than 2004 (barring Steve Price of course). Ben Roberts will not play a final this year unless Brent Sherwin gets injured. I think he's better at hooker, Steve Folkes should definitely consider him coming off the bench for Corey Hughes in the future .....

Grimaldi is the wrong choice at nine, simple. Despite being one of the NRL's underrated players (and former Dragon, hehe), he is just too slow to wear the 9 in the NRL today. Roberts is another option at hooker, as is Billy Ngawini, who is awesome.

Your current backline wouldn't frighten any team in the NRL .. with the exception of maybe Souths. Patten is playing solidly this season but is past his best; El Masri is a very good winger, granted .. but he will be too slow if Morris breaks the line; Emelio will get towelled up by Gasnier if, despite wearing the 6 this Friday, he plays in the centres when we attack; Tonga is classy, but Cooper is one of the very few centres in the NRL who can contain him if he defends well; Phelps is nothing spectacular, but that said, there aren't too many wingers in the NRL at the moment who are setting the comp alight; Holdsworth+Sherwin is a decent halves pairing, but isn't a feared one. Leading into the Finals, people would be more concerned with the following halves combinations:
Hill+Cronk - Storm; Barrett+Head - Dragons; Lockyer+whoever-is-chosen-inside-him - Broncos; Random+Thurston - Cowboys; Burns+Orford - Sea Eagles; Mullen/Gidley+Johns - Knights; Campbell+Gower - Panthers .. Dykes+Kimmorley is definitely scary, when both players are firing.

So in reality, Holdsworth+Sherwin is probably the weakest halves combination of the sides in contention this season. Marshall+Prince would have been amazing again .. but Marshall isn't there. Sherwin just hasn't reached the level of 2004 .. Holdsworth is actually playing better than him at the moment.

Your bench looks fearsome, though. Hickey isn't good enough, but as you said, Perry/Armit can replace him .. Williams, Myles, Hughes looks very strong, though. Our bench will have a bit of firepower on Friday .. Ryles, Wicks and Payne can all provide a lot of impact too.

I'm not going to the match on Friday .. I can't afford it! I went to watch Souths on Sunday, and I'm going to watch Storm in a couple of weeks, but I don't have a job, and going out during the holidays has been driving me broke! snickerdoodle, if you buy me a ticket I will love you forever, regardless of the result. And I would even pay you back the next time I would see you. Here's to hoping

Best is still very doubtful for the match, despite being named. Bailey and Wicks should be fine, though, which is a huge plus for the forward pack (which is nevertheless weaker than that of the Bulldogs). Naiqama is still listed as being out for the rest of the season, but a guy on Jubilee Avenue said that his mate spoke to Wes and was told that a return could be on the cards in as early as six weeks. Which I guess means about two months. If that's the case, he'd be back right when the Finals are starting .. and that would be awesome for our team. Nobody here rates Naiqama, but he is already a super player .. and will be even better each year.

Anyhoo, the match should be an absolute cracker if both sides turn up.

If Head's fit, the Dragons can win
If not, they can't

I agree. One million per cent.

That said, even with Head, if Dragons get Steve Clark in one of the Finals, we're fucked. He absolutely despises the Dragons club .. a long story, which I may have told on here before.

We have Steve Clark on Friday night .. which is interesting. He is known as being a home-town referee, but he is also known for hating the Dragons. The conflict he has in his mind should be funny. However, I expect that the Dogs will get the rub of the green.

 

[DRAGONZ]

Seeing that this year is dead and buried for the Roosters, I may as well speculate as to next year
From what I hear, Wing and Finch are gone
I doubt we'll be signing anyone major
So, all things considered, here's the team I'd pick: .......

Finch is definitely gone. Wing isn't a certainty, but I heard that he wants out.

If Roosters don't grab a major signing or two, I would be very surprised. They just have too much left over money by the looks of it.

That's definitely a top four side there. With the exception of Anasta, who is completely useless in that lineup. Flannery is already on the bench to be the impact player in the second row .. having two players like that on a four man bench is a waste. It seems three props and a ball-playing second-rower are the way to go these days, and Flannery cuts it just fine. If you were determined to play two players like that, though, I'd take Setaimata Sa ahead of Anasta anyway .. he looks a good'un.

Personally, I'd have Monaghan on the wing. He's been forgotten this season .. and it's not as if he's crap or anything. A solid defender, a good finisher.

And I don't know who Nuuasala is, so I can't comment. You know about him, so I won't say yes or no.

Perhaps finally people have realised that Stuart is a shit coach. More particularly, Roosters supporters. If, say, Gus Gould was coaching them (as he did in 2002, despite only being called an 'assistant'), the Roosters would definitely not be in 14th place at the moment. They would be closer to 4th, which is where I thought they would finish on the table before the season started. I clearly grossly overestimated the ability of the players to overcome the shittyness of the coach.

Definitely good times on the horizon for the Roosters. But as long as Stuart is coaching the Bondi boys, they won't be in the Finals for another two or three seasons.

 

[DRAGONZ]

Ja, I know. He did it in the trial match against Dragons at Wollongong, actually.

But he'll be back for 2007, which is what I was referring to.

 

[ledzeppelin]

Finch is definitely gone. Wing isn't a certainty, but I heard that he wants out.

If Roosters don't grab a major signing or two, I would be very surprised. They just have too much left over money by the looks of it.

We'd certainly have enough money, but the question is, who'd want to come here?

That's definitely a top four side there. With the exception of Anasta, who is completely useless in that lineup. Flannery is already on the bench to be the impact player in the second row .. having two players like that on a four man bench is a waste. It seems three props and a ball-playing second-rower are the way to go these days, and Flannery cuts it just fine. If you were determined to play two players like that, though, I'd take Setaimata Sa ahead of Anasta anyway .. he looks a good'un.

Good point
Anasta can go back to Henson Park
What I'd do in that case, is move Mickey Paea to the bench, and promote Daniel Dumas to the back row. I really like this guy from what I've seen. Hits very hard and isn't afraid to take the ball up.

Personally, I'd have Monaghan on the wing. He's been forgotten this season .. and it's not as if he's crap or anything. A solid defender, a good finisher.

I thought about Monaghan, but he's just not fast enough IMO to cut it on the wing. I just can't handle slow wingers, especially after the infamous T. Byrne incident.

And I don't know who Nuuasala is, so I can't comment. You know about him, so I won't say yes or no.

He reminds me of your young props, like Wicks, only he's a Kiwi

Perhaps finally people have realised that Stuart is a shit coach. More particularly, Roosters supporters. If, say, Gus Gould was coaching them (as he did in 2002, despite only being called an 'assistant'), the Roosters would definitely not be in 14th place at the moment. They would be closer to 4th, which is where I thought they would finish on the table before the season started. I clearly grossly overestimated the ability of the players to overcome the shittyness of the coach.

Definitely good times on the horizon for the Roosters. But as long as Stuart is coaching the Bondi boys, they won't be in the Finals for another two or three seasons.

The 2002 Premiership can be solely credited to Dean Pay, in my opinion. He was our defensive coach for that year only, and introduced our awesome rushing defence.
Stuart was carried by Fittler. Stuart doesn't seem to have a gameplan, he constantly picks players out of position, and the players' basic skills just aren't there. The sooner he's gone, the better

 

[ledzeppelin]

Ohhh man, this is awesome! Finally some proper rugby league talk, I'm so happy!!

Agreed

Melbourne will obviously fancy their chances during the Finals .. they've had a lot of practice now. I'm not saying they will fail .. just saying that quite a few people expect that's what will happen.

How long is Scott Hill out for? Is he even out at all? I think he's vital to Melbourne's chances.

Melbourne's only weakness that I can see is playing at bigger grounds, like Telstra. Olympic Park is narrower than all the other fields, which benefits their defence greatly, so they might struggle to adjust to defending on larger grounds.
Scott Hill's fine. I think Inglis is the player most vital to Melbourne, although they've shown this year that all their players can do the job if need be.

Broncos should definitely have a much better squad come Finals time .. and they haven't really shown signs of fading as they have in recent seasons. The next month will be critical to Brisbane's chances in September, I think.

They certainly are looking better this season. Their downfall might be injuries though, especially at hooker. They can't win with Seymour either, Perry needs to be there for them to have a chance.

Obviously the Dragons are renowned for being chokers. Parramatta are just as bad but don't get talked about as much. The way I see it this season, though, is that we are playing shithouse at the moment. And yet we still haven't managed to lose a match for two months. Granted, only three of the seven matches have been against current top eight sides .. and two of those were the out-of-form Knights and Cowboys.

This is a vital difference to seasons gone by since the JV started in 1999. Previously, when the Dragons played bad, they would definitely lose. This season, however, we have played poorly, had a large bunch of injuries, but still come out on top regularly. This will at least give the players confidence that even if they do play shit in the Finals, they have a shot at winning the game anyway.

I read another Dragons fan say that he thought Brown had matured as a coach this year, and I agree.
They seem to be playing a lot more cohesively, and the constant changes aren't affecting them as much.
As I said before, with Head, they can win it.

Unless Knights and Cowboys change rapidly, they are finished for 2006. Both will be hoping that this is a mid-season slump which will reverse in time for the Finals .. but if their slumps last much longer, they won't be there in September to change that. Panthers, Raiders, Warriors (and even possibly Tigers) are all knocking on the door.

The Cowboys might improve now with Thurston back in 6 and McConnell at half. Thurston's being carrying that team for a while now.
The Knights, though, seem to be in a real slump, and I don't think Hagan is a good enough coach to pull them out of it. Will need some Joey magic to challenge for the title.

Grimaldi is the wrong choice at nine, simple. Despite being one of the NRL's underrated players (and former Dragon, hehe), he is just too slow to wear the 9 in the NRL today. Roberts is another option at hooker, as is Billy Ngawini, who is awesome.

Folkes doesn't seem to be willing to give Ngawini a real shot at hooker, which is suprising, given that the other options there aren't too good.

Your current backline wouldn't frighten any team in the NRL .. with the exception of maybe Souths. Patten is playing solidly this season but is past his best; El Masri is a very good winger, granted .. but he will be too slow if Morris breaks the line; Emelio will get towelled up by Gasnier if, despite wearing the 6 this Friday, he plays in the centres when we attack; Tonga is classy, but Cooper is one of the very few centres in the NRL who can contain him if he defends well; Phelps is nothing spectacular, but that said, there aren't too many wingers in the NRL at the moment who are setting the comp alight; Holdsworth+Sherwin is a decent halves pairing, but isn't a feared one. Leading into the Finals, people would be more concerned with the following halves combinations:

The Bulldogs strength this season certainly is their forward pack. If they are to win, it wont be because of their backs.
Next season though, they have a pretty decent backline, with Millard and Tonga in the centres.
Not many weaknesses for them next year.

 

[snickerdoodle]

Grimaldi is the wrong choice at nine, simple. Despite being one of the NRL's underrated players (and former Dragon, hehe), he is just too slow to wear the 9 in the NRL today. Roberts is another option at hooker, as is Billy Ngawini, who is awesome.

Your current backline wouldn't frighten any team in the NRL .. with the exception of maybe Souths. .

I definitely agree our backline isn't as good as it should be, thus the decision to buy Millard. However, the only really useless components of it are Emelio and Phelps. The others have actually played fairly well in 2006, even Patten (who I usually despise). I actually think DJ+Sherwin is in the same league with any of the half combos in the comp. In recent games especially they've started to gel together, although Holdsworth needs to leave the short kicking game to Shifty. I don't think it's a bad thing that other teams won't be too concerned with our halves. Easier to spring attack on them that way. They both have it in them.

It's no secret that we've been winning games off our forwad pack this year. If Sherwin can get his act together, it bodes well for us, despite the less than spectacular backline. With the known Shifty/El Masri combo, his height isn't a problem. Patten has never been a scoring fullback. Tonga is just good, and with Utai back soonish there's plenty of scoring ability in the team. We have scored the second most points in the comp with this backline (more or less).

My biggest problem is the hooking poisition. Grimaldi can always be counted on to make the most tackles of the team, but his attack is non-existant. Corey Hughes is just....ugh. I'd bring in Ngawini but Folkes seems set in his decisions, so unfortunately all Dogs fans just to deal with it.

Sorry DRAGONZ, I'm probably more broke than you! I had to actually beg and plead with my my parents for money to go out with until I go back to work lol.

Kinda off topic, but I heard that Thurston slept with Steve Southern's wife (which coincided with their slide down the ladder). It's probably just a malicious rumour, but a lot of people have actually pinpointed Thurston as the reason for the Coffs Harbour scandal so who knows?

PS- It'll be El Masri v Best and Phelps v Morris on Friday...can't say I've seen Morris but I'd pick El Masri over Best anyday.

 

[DRAGONZ]

I definitely agree our backline isn't as good as it should be, thus the decision to buy Millard. However, the only really useless components of it are Emelio and Phelps. The others have actually played fairly well in 2006, even Patten (who I usually despise). I actually think DJ+Sherwin is in the same league with any of the half combos in the comp. In recent games especially they've started to gel together, although Holdsworth needs to leave the short kicking game to Shifty. I don't think it's a bad thing that other teams won't be too concerned with our halves. Easier to spring attack on them that way. They both have it in them.

It's no secret that we've been winning games off our forwad pack this year. If Sherwin can get his act together, it bodes well for us, despite the less than spectacular backline. With the known Shifty/El Masri combo, his height isn't a problem. Patten has never been a scoring fullback. Tonga is just good, and with Utai back soonish there's plenty of scoring ability in the team. We have scored the second most points in the comp with this backline (more or less).

My biggest problem is the hooking poisition. Grimaldi can always be counted on to make the most tackles of the team, but his attack is non-existant. Corey Hughes is just....ugh. I'd bring in Ngawini but Folkes seems set in his decisions, so unfortunately all Dogs fans just to deal with it.

Sorry DRAGONZ, I'm probably more broke than you! I had to actually beg and plead with my my parents for money to go out with until I go back to work lol.

Kinda off topic, but I heard that Thurston slept with Steve Southern's wife (which coincided with their slide down the ladder). It's probably just a malicious rumour, but a lot of people have actually pinpointed Thurston as the reason for the Coffs Harbour scandal so who knows?

PS- It'll be El Masri v Best and Phelps v Morris on Friday...can't say I've seen Morris but I'd pick El Masri over Best anyday.

No love for you.

And yeah, I thought I wrote on here about six weeks ago that the Cowboys were rocked by internal problems, and they proceeded to lose six matches in a row. Perhaps I didn't write it here.

But yes .. the pre-eminent rumour is that Thurston slept with Southern's wife .. Southern got into a few punchups at training and was dropped from the squad .. he ended up getting an injury at the right time, and the Cowboys used that as their excuse for him not being in the 17.

I was telling my dad in the car on the way to Sharks vs Dragons (which may May 7th) about the problems at the Cowboys, because I'd heard about it at Jubilee Avenue.

Took the media a while to get a hold of it .. but they got there in the end.

Cowboys have done a terrible job in trying to cover it up.

 

[ledzeppelin]

Where's Tupou?

:O My bad
Out of sight, out of mind I guess
He can take Anasta's spot on the bench

 

[ledzeppelin]

No love for you.

And yeah, I thought I wrote on here about six weeks ago that the Cowboys were rocked by internal problems, and they proceeded to lose six matches in a row. Perhaps I didn't write it here.

But yes .. the pre-eminent rumour is that Thurston slept with Southern's wife .. Southern got into a few punchups at training and was dropped from the squad .. he ended up getting an injury at the right time, and the Cowboys used that as their excuse for him not being in the 17.

I was telling my dad in the car on the way to Sharks vs Dragons (which may May 7th) about the problems at the Cowboys, because I'd heard about it at Jubilee Avenue.

Took the media a while to get a hold of it .. but they got there in the end.

Cowboys have done a terrible job in trying to cover it up.

The strange thing is, what kind of scrubber would cheat on her husband with Jonathon Thurston?

 

[DRAGONZ]

The strange thing is, what kind of scrubber would cheat on her husband with Jonathon Thurston?

Mate, I'd be betting that a man with the looks and the paypacket of Steve Southern wouldn't be pulling in the hotties.

 

[Mc_Meaney]

Roosters Cursed!!

Finally!

 

[shortygb]

Roosters Cursed!!

excuses, excuses...

 

[kimi]

excuses, excuses...

You're doing shit too. STFU Greg.

 

[shortygb]

but im not blaming the shitness on a "curse", im blaming it on shit players.

 

[blue_chameleon]

You're doing shit too. STFU Greg.

Can I use the "exuses, excuses" remark then? Hahaha.

 

[DRAGONZ]

um guys, i wasn't being serious.

:tards:

Hehe. It was actually a good little article .. hopefully Roosters fans had a smile at the lighter side of their problems at the moment.

 

[4DOGS]

We are the St George Boys
We had a win today
We are the boys you know of
Who show them how to play
No matter where you'll be
The Red and White you'll see
Oh what a wonderful credit
To Kogarah Jubilee[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]

 

[DRAGONZ]

What a champion

GO THE MIGHTIES.

I hope we can win tonight .. but something tells me we will get thumped.

That something being the fact that Bulldogs have an almost full-strength side, and we have roughly 1/3 of our team out injured/suspended.

Oh well .. seven wins in a row was nice while it lasted.

 

[chocolate_lover]

One win in a row was nice while it lasted.