Auckland 9 Squads

[Unbreakable]

Will Zillman ruled out already with a calf injury, big surprise.

He's gotta be the most injury prone player in the NRL right now.

 

[mitch222]

Will Zillman ruled out already with a calf injury, big surprise.

He's gotta be the most injury prone player in the NRL right now.

Tim Moltzen says hi :hello::hello::hello::hello::hello::hello:

 

[Unbreakable]

Tim Moltzen says hi :hello::hello::hello::hello::hello::hello:

I'd hardly call him "in the NRL right now", hasn't played first grade in 2 seasons, doubt he plays for Manly this season, unless there's mass injuries.

 

[Big Pete]

Chill guys, you're both winners to me.

Sydney Roosters Likely 9
Mitchell, Tupou, Burgess, Kenny-Dowall, Anasta, Liu, Henderson, Papalii, Butcher

The Roosters have opted to go for an all-out backline assault. They've named a couple of guns in Mitchell and Manu who can cause plenty of headaches if given the opportunity. On the other hand, their forward pack is NSW Cup standard and Anasta is simply there as a gimmick. It appears that all Robinson cares about is giving his boys a nice holiday before the season starts.

Player To Look Out For - Latrell Mitchell

Brisbane Broncos Likely 9
Boyd, Anderson, Oates, Scarlett, Nicholls, Blair, McCullough, Thaiday, Glenn

For mine, everyone in Hunua is playing for second-place behind the Warriors. Whether the Broncos have enough strike to take on a Manly side filled with game-breakers will be the big question. Brisbane have named a very solid side with a strong forward pack, accomplished backs but question marks will surround the halves who have yet to see a minute of first grade. It's going to be a tight tussle for second, but being a Broncos fan, I've got to back them.

Player To Watch - Carlin Anderson

 

[mitch222]

I don't think I have every seen a player so hyped up like Anderson yet to play a first grade game. Who knows, he could be a Shannon Walker reincarnation for all we know.

 

[Big Pete]

Maybe.

But then if the 9s existed during Walker's hey-day he'd be the Titans player to watch.

 

[Marty Deutschmann]

The nines. Ahh the nines..

I love the format. It's very entertaining and a good opportunity to see your club's fringe players in action.

Fans love it. It's the first taste of footy after a long summer of obsessing over the year ahead. It's a spectacle, it's exciting and it is an initiative that deserves to stay.

It grows the game in NZ which helps the quality of the league in general.

The players all burn to play it. But the coaches decide what's better for them and denounce it "too high risk" and therefore the best players are never given that chance to run free. .

Coaches don't only rest their stars, but often it seems they rest their entire first grade squad (ie bulldogs etc)

Why won't the coaches give it more merit? Why don't they want to win?

Answer, its irrelevant to the season ahead. They see it as merely an alternative trial setting for which i personally don't necessarily mind. . But i feel like it should showcase better talent than nuffies.

How?

Why not give the winner something more than just pocket first prize money. .?

How about let's say, winner takes home 2 NRL competition points to start the season!?

A bonus 2 points that in this age of the game could prove a handy buffer come September. An extra 2 points that would elevate the club above those looking at for and against or more so, actually put you in that mathematical conversation?

It could give the clubs like titans, tigers, knights or dragons who are all fighting to not win the spoon, the extra breathing room at the end of the year ; an extra reason to risk a better team in auckland.

I say give it a shot. By the "weaker" clubs fielding stronger teams and maybe even dominating the format they may be able to entice new paying members in the later stages of the off season, in turn boosting their longevity as NRL contributors.

Let clubs even recruit second tier players specifically for the format?? Oh the potential! The ceiling for which this format could grow is limited really to the boldness of stake holders (NRL, clubs, coaches, players and fans)

What's there to lose?

 

[Big Pete]

What's there to lose?

Credibility, and lots of it.

It's a pre-season exhibition based around clubs who are training for a completely different version of the game. The 9s has it's own unique strategies and schedule that shares little in common in the real competition and if the minor premiership, top 4 spot or finals spot is decided on some pre-season fixture where a lot of key talent is recovering from post-season surgery it just makes the code look stupid.

There's enough stars as is and the competition flies by so quickly that it's easy for the fans and the media to lose track of events.

 

[Cult]

Does the fact that Hasler always sends a shitty team and then the Bulldogs are shit all season prove that sending a shit team to the 9's doesn't help your season?

 

[Big Pete]

I wouldn't call making the grand final a shitty season.

 

[Cult]

I wouldn't call making the grand final a shitty season.

They were handed a Grand Final appearance by the NRL and were fucking terrible in it. Did it help in 2015?

 

[Big Pete]

How did the NRL hand the Bulldogs a grand final appearance?

 

[Cult]

Same way as the Rabbits. Ridiculous penalties or lack there of, absolutely killing oppositions chances of a quick play the ball without any consequences. They were the best option for the all Sydney GF after the Roosters lost to the Panthers and ended up on the same side of the draw as the Rabbitohs.

Not the NRL's fault though but their run to the Final was easy. Storm and Manly I think both played terrible.

 

[Big Pete]

Ridiculous penalties or lack there of, absolutely killing oppositions chances of a quick play the ball without any consequences.

The Bulldogs were fortunate on one occasion and that was the Round 6 clash against the Warriors where a 50/50 went their way at a pivotal moment enabling them to fight back from 18-20 to win 21-20.

Otherwise there isn't enough substance to suggest the NRL handed them a Grand Final position.

They were the best option for the all Sydney GF after the Roosters lost to the Panthers and ended up on the same side of the draw as the Rabbitohs.

This is verging on tin-foil hat territory.

Don't behave like a Raiders supporter, you're better than that.

Storm and Manly I think both played terrible.

Canterbury blew Melbourne off the park, scoring three tries in twenty odd minutes. Nobody saw it coming, especially after the Dogs embarrassing loss to the Titans which featured that howler of a play from Reynolds.

 

[Marty Deutschmann]

Conspiracy nuts shit me off. Even if you're a broncos supporter. . Wake the **** up

 

[Cult]

Thousands of people have commented on the NRL wanting an all Sydney grand final in 2014. It isn't a new thing at all. The Rabbitohs had their hand held all the way to the Final too. I'm not the first person to say it on here and I don't remember if you responded to it BP. Maybe it was said a few months before you had that stick wedged firmly up your ass :takdir:

 

[Big Pete]

No need to project Cult, I'm just talking footy - not conspiracy rubbish. :)

 

[Porthoz]

Without going into tinfoil hat territory, I did feel there was more than enough referee sympathy towards souffs in their premiership year...

I give more credit to Hasler than referees in the Bulldogs case though. They had one of the worst halves pairing in the comp, so what that team achieved was pretty miraculous.