Controversial Opinions Thread

[Foordy]

The Storm (their legit one in 2012) and Manly both won premierships with out "punch" in the forwards ... in fact at times their forward pack is bordering on shit.

with the spark we will get from the likes of Hunt, Milford, Hodges, Copley, Barba etc. defence is what will take us to the next level. and by that i mean forgetting this arm-grabbing shit and hitting with the shoulder, speed off the line etc

 

[Alec]

Here's one, Boyd's last 2 years were better than Barba's last 2.

 

[Porthoz]

Here's one, Boyd's last 2 years were better than Barba's last 2.

We should start a stand-up comedy thread!

 

[Alec]

If his name was Borba or something instead, he'd be a QLD Cup regular based on the last 2 years. His 2012 saves him and keeps people hopeful.

 

[mieko]

The style of "Bennett ball" is back and it's bloody fantastic.....defence wins matches.

 

[Mr Fourex]

That's just common sense....nothing controversial about that.

 

[1910]

Get out to Lang Park on Sunday and watch the Grand Final or you're not a real Queensland League fan.

 

[Cult]

Get out to Lang Park on Sunday and watch the Grand Final or you're not a real Queensland League fan.

I would but I'm flying to Sydney for Uni Games. I even tried to get my team to fly out late at night just so I could go. Didn't work.

 

[broncos4life]

I would but I'm flying to Sydney for Uni Games. I even tried to get my team to fly out late at night just so I could go. Didn't work.

^^^^^^^^

not a real Queensland League fan.

 

[Broncoman]

Michael Morgan is one of the most overrated players in the game. I think he is a good fullback and did a very good job this year but I don't think he is one of the best fullbacks in the game or close to as the commentators seem to say.

 

[CaptainHook]

The Storm (their legit one in 2012) and Manly both won premierships with out "punch" in the forwards ... in fact at times their forward pack is bordering on ****.

with the spark we will get from the likes of Hunt, Milford, Hodges, Copley, Barba etc. defence is what will take us to the next level. and by that i mean forgetting this arm-grabbing **** and hitting with the shoulder, speed off the line etc

100% Foordy. Those sides rely on forwards that run hard and tackle hard. Non-negotiables. There are far too many arm grabbers in our side. Yet another thing I hope Bennett can address.

 

[CaptainHook]

I can't buy into this belief that next year will be a premiership year. I'm hoping improvement.... maybe top 4, but without our Lazurus/Webke/Civo quality front rower, we still aren't quite the real deal. It'll take WB a season (or two?) to iron things out.

Agreed. I think we played better this year than last year but there is still a long way to go.

Another controversial opinion I have is that I don't think opposition teams had to play well to beat us this year. It's another reason why I think talk of a premiership is a bit premature. A few examples is the last game against Melbourne. The Storm were terrible but were able to capitalise on our unforced errors. The Sharks game as well - Cronulla were poor but took advantage of momentum. Throw in the Panthers game too...In all of our losses, I can't think of a team that genuinely had to dig deep to get the points. They either got to an early lead and held on or just waited for Brisbane to clock off - which happened all too often.

It points to a culture problem, I think. Yes, we have a lot of talented players on the roster and more are on their way but unless we lose this "oh well as long as the effort is there" crap we won't be contenders. At the elite level and with their salaries, I think effort should be a given.

I can't stand other teams treating the trip to Suncorp like an extra bye. I hope next year we see a game that we're in up to our eyeballs for the entire duration. I wanna see a game that win, lose or draw the opposition team know that they're in for one helluva fight. I didn't get that sense from any game this year, despite how narrow some of our losses were, and tbh I haven't seen a performance like that from a Broncos team for a while.

 

[Big Pete]

As somebody who has been posting a lot of numbers as of late...

Stat Obsession - I feel like the media tends to rely on numbers too heavily to make their points and we've gotten to a stage where I find a lot of fans underrate quality and only care about quantity. I think it began when Hindmarsh and Fitzgibbon seemed to be in the midst of stat supremacy and Sterlo would go crazy about them making 30 tackles in a half. It's gotten crazy and it seems like you can't talk footy with some people without having to point to arbitrary numbers to get your points across. I don't like the implication either that fans are trying to turn Rugby League into games like Gridiron where it basically is about the numbers.

 

[CaptainHook]

As somebody who has been posting a lot of numbers as of late...

Stat Obsession - I feel like the media tends to rely on numbers too heavily to make their points and we've gotten to a stage where I find a lot of fans underrate quality and only care about quantity. I think it began when Hindmarsh and Fitzgibbon seemed to be in the midst of stat supremacy and Sterlo would go crazy about them making 30 tackles in a half. It's gotten crazy and it seems like you can't talk footy with some people without having to point to arbitrary numbers to get your points across. I don't like the implication either that fans are trying to turn Rugby League into games like Gridiron where it basically is about the numbers.

Good post, Pete. I agree that the media go a bit stat crazy. The problem with stats is that no matter how comprehensive they are, I think they only tell a part of the story. They're a half truth that some fans choose to embrace fully. Good luck to them but consider this:

1 hit up from Shane Webcke
10 hit ups from Martin Kennedy

I'm a quality over quantity kinda guy so I know what I'd prefer to read. Not the best analogy I admit, but I think it illustrates the problem with over reliance on stats. The stats don't measure quality - still thinking in terms of front rowers that means things like did he bend the line back when making a hit-up, get the team going forward etc. Those things are more important, imo.

 

[Financeguy]

As somebody who has been posting a lot of numbers as of late...

Stat Obsession - I feel like the media tends to rely on numbers too heavily to make their points and we've gotten to a stage where I find a lot of fans underrate quality and only care about quantity. I think it began when Hindmarsh and Fitzgibbon seemed to be in the midst of stat supremacy and Sterlo would go crazy about them making 30 tackles in a half. It's gotten crazy and it seems like you can't talk footy with some people without having to point to arbitrary numbers to get your points across. I don't like the implication either that fans are trying to turn Rugby League into games like Gridiron where it basically is about the numbers.

I think you make a good point but stats started well before Hindmarsh and Fitzgibbon. As a little tacker i can remember commentators such as Rex Mossip and Graeme Hughes banging on about stats such as tackle counts for players like Ray Price and Mal Cochrane and then moving onto Wayne Pearce and Brad Clyde. The hitup and tackle count stats have always been a measuring stick since i have watched league.

I don't think stat obsession has been driven by the media, imo its driven by the average fan having easy access to all sorts of stats in an instant as well as internet forums being an easy medium to produce them as part of an argument.

 

[Big Pete]

Agreed but I believe when the likes of Hindmarsh and Fitzgibbon came onto the scene, the craze really exploded as it basically coincided with fantasy football, the expansion of statistics and social media.

I believe it started off with the media because it predates all forms of message boards and social media and I believe as perceived experts they've misinformed a large group of fans.

I think it's a telling point between old school fans and new school fans.

 

[Unbreakable]

If I had to pick a Halfback to build a team around right now, out of anyone in the NRL, I'd pick Shaun Johnson.

 

[Big Pete]

"We let the wrong one go" is rubbish. In fact, I don't think Te'o is playing any better down south than he ever did up here. The difference is, he's around better players at a better time in their careers - if you threw Glenn or Gillett into the exact same scenario we'd be saying the exact same thing. Honestly, if we threw 300-400K for him to stay just to have him play on the bench I would have been disappointed at the time especially with Oates, Whitchurch & Timu coming through. 1/3's not bad right?

Daly Cherry-Evans had an overrated 2014. Bugger, I sat on this one too long as it would have been far more controversial weeks and weeks ago when he was popping up in a few Team of the Year lists but I hate it when great players get a free ride and basically win the positional awards by default. It rarely reflects what actually happened in the season and just comes off as lazy to me. I'm not even insulted by Ben Hunt's omission - Cooper Cronk was my pick but I'd have both ahead of DCE.