Josh McGuire signs with Cowboys - Immediate Switch

[Wolfie]

Anyone know if my theory that Gallen, once one of the most penalised players cleaned up his act and each successive year from a big peak about 5 or 6 years ago up until the end of 2018 his numbers (stats for ill discipline) showed a strong downward trend?

It may just be me dreaming but I'm pretty sure he was labelled the dirtiest most penalised player several years back but I had an idea he'd taken a decision to change, could be way off here.

I guess you can still be a dirty grub and not give away penalties, and he certainly is a cheating, dirty grub.

 

[Nashy]

I bet Cam Smith had a good penalty record. But he's a grubby prick too.

 

[Huge]

I remember reading somewhere where Flanagan sent Gallen to have a yarn with an old timer (not sure who) any way the story goes that as soon as Gal walked in the door the old timer called him a soft cu** due to his cowardly underhand and grubby antics on the field. Gallen claims it was from that point on he made a concerted effort to clean up his game.

Wow. I think I hadn't focused on Gallen all that much, I tend to single out a player and watch like a hawk at times and after seeing him labelled as the worst of the worst one year I watched when the new season began. I was surprised (I watched all Sharks and Bronco games as I was a fan in my early days of the Sharks) to see Gallen not do anything much at all, in fact he was Webcke like. I wondered where the monster had gone!

 

[Jedhead]

Wow. I think I hadn't focused on Gallen all that much, I tend to single out a player and watch like a hawk at times and after seeing him labelled as the worst of the worst one year I watched when the new season began. I was surprised (I watched all Sharks and Bronco games as I was a fan in my early days of the Sharks) to see Gallen not do anything much at all, in fact he was Webcke like. I wondered where the monster had gone!

Yeh for some reason I want to say it was Ron Massey, but I'm not 100% sure. In any event it was some old league legend on his last legs and Gallen really looked up to him and he absolutely destroyed Gallen during that man to man yarn.

 

[Super Freak]

This will make it easier to keep the likes of Lodge and Ofahengaue who are going to better than McGuire.

Losing McGuire's experience is a blow, but that's about it. He's just not a lock and as a prop, we have options that can bend the line better.

 

[Huge]

This will make it easier to keep the likes of Lodge and Ofahengaue who are going to better than McGuire.

Losing McGuire's experience is a blow, but that's about it. He's just not a lock and as a prop, we have options that can bend the line better.

Totally agree with this. It's not that I don't think McGuire wasn't a great contributor but I always felt during the last few years we were missing one big body up front and even two for that matter. I was stoked with Lodge coming into the team and even had hopes for Kennedy years ago. As a lock McGuire was better suited for the position and I think he should have been there a long time before he was.

I suggested many years ago that McGuire would have been better placed in the second row and some others at the time suggested lock but I copped a fair bit of flak from many who proclaimed that prop was the only position for him. He was always willing but he just never seemed to poke his nose through although it happened on occasion.

 

[Gaz]

Totally agree with this. It's not that I don't think McGuire wasn't a great contributor but I always felt during the last few years we were missing one big body up front and even two for that matter. I was stoked with Lodge coming into the team and even had hopes for Kennedy years ago. As a lock McGuire was better suited for the position and I think he should have been there a long time before he was.

I suggested many years ago that McGuire would have been better placed in the second row and some others at the time suggested lock but I copped a fair bit of flak from many who proclaimed that prop was the only position for him. He was always willing but he just never seemed to poke his nose through although it happened on occasion.

Yes, prop was his spot, just needed to be a tad bigger.

 

[Huge]

Yes, prop was his spot, just needed to be a tad bigger.

Huh? Ha ha. I never thought prop was his spot!

 

[Gaz]

Huh? Ha ha. I never thought prop was his spot!

I should have known better!

 

[Huge]

I should have known better!

Lol, thought I'd made that abundantly clear :aplastao:

 

[Pub Steak]

I once had an old timer at lawn bowls give me the finger. Fuckin grub. Can Smith is the dirtiest grub in the nrl but is also the smartest guy in the nrl. Perfect combo to make sure you get away with it. Knows all the refs and their families by name and engages them in a way that makes them think he’s in charge. Half of them are too scared to penalise him as they don’t want to disappoint him.

 

[Harry Sack]

I once had an old timer at lawn bowls give me the finger. Fuckin grub. Can Smith is the dirtiest grub in the nrl but is also the smartest guy in the nrl. Perfect combo to make sure you get away with it. Knows all the refs and their families by name and engages them in a way that makes them think he’s in charge. Half of them are too scared to penalise him as they don’t want to disappoint him.

Yep, hate him all you want but he's fucking smart. I don't blame him for doing it, I blame the refs for letting it happen.

 

[Big Pete]

I'm not saying we don't see it from a lot more players, where did you get that from?

The point is the game of Rugby League is a tough physical game where players will do just about anything to get on top of their opponents. That means facials, forearms to the face etc. you name it. It's all against the rules, but the referees provide discretion for the sake of the contest. Every player is afforded the same amount of leeway in the ruck, and the ones who tend to take it too far, are the ones who appear in the most penalised players in the competition. So in order to stand out among other Rugby League players to be labelled a grub, you'd think a player like McGuire would have either had to have done something incredibly heinous or been a constant feature on that list, neither has been the case.

So in the grand scheme of things, McGuire isn't that bad, especially in relation to an Andrew Fifita type.

Then again, maybe grub is just a superfluous adjective that is merely in the eye of the beholder. For instance, I don't think Cameron Smith is that big of a grub in the grand scheme of things. Compared to Slater, Vunivalu, Chambers, Scott, Munster, Bromwich, Asofa-Solomona, Kasiano etc. he doesn't rate a mention. The worst thing he did all of last year was take an age to get off the field against Cronulla, which was poor but a ton of players were guilty of that.

I'm not a fan of the way he talks to referees, but relative to the rest of the competition he's easily the best. He'll actually make constructive points the majority of the time and forces the referee to engage with him. It's much better than say having JT swear at the referee. Personally I prefer the relationship players have with the officials in Rugby Union where it's far more diplomatic. It sends a better message and gives the referee the respect they deserve to officiate the game.

 

[Jedhead]

The point is the game of Rugby League is a tough physical game where players will do just about anything to get on top of their opponents. That means facials, forearms to the face etc. you name it. It's all against the rules, but the referees provide discretion for the sake of the contest. Every player is afforded the same amount of leeway in the ruck, and the ones who tend to take it too far, are the ones who appear in the most penalised players in the competition. So in order to stand out among other Rugby League players to be labelled a grub, you'd think a player like McGuire would have either had to have done something incredibly heinous or been a constant feature on that list, neither has been the case.

So in the grand scheme of things, McGuire isn't that bad, especially in relation to an Andrew Fifita type.

Then again, maybe grub is just a superfluous adjective that is merely in the eye of the beholder.

Nah, that Greg Bird was a real grub.

 

[Thelmus]

players disrespect for officialdom is pet-hate of mine too. It doesn't help that certain tv commentators make it an art to criticise a ref for one week being soft on interference in the ruck and the next for over-penalizing, particularly when they are CEO's of clubs on their day off. that sort of thing tends to flow through the ranks.
Granted you want the media to be outspoken when they see a need to but at the moment its pettiness for ratings. How do you tell a player, emotional from 80 minutes of hard slog, with a decision of officialdom that may affect his playing future to practice self-discipline when coaches, CEO's and others they look up to do the opposite.
For what its worth I want a game where players and coaches can speak their mind, but this needs to happen with thought and reason. I'm torn between wanting the characters of the sport to express themselves, but also for the sport's contests to be given due respect for the meeting of elite athletes it is.
For me, the biggest problem is what is said pre-contest and immediately after. Criticizing the referees two days later seems to be less an issue unless it impacts on the way the game is run. So much of what is said it is encrypted in double-speak and innuendo to avoid fines that you wonder what the point of press conferences are sometimes.
We need for those covering the sport to respect the game. Printing a players miss-interpreted or taken out-of-context words to fill a story narrative leads to trust issues by everyone. Likewise criticising players for being emotional on gameday is like putting red meat out for your dog and punishing him for eating it.
The NRL has caved in to giving overt coverage and unprecedented player access, then attacks players for saying something stupid. Some of these players have suffered injury, others setbacks in careers and others still possibly the end of theirs. Sure the players need to display self-dicipline but so do a lot of others that have let the game down.

 

[Jedhead]

Well thought out. I find myself agreeing with much of what you say. Many say Locky is hopeless as a commentator yet he rarely gets involved with the media tarts and tries to stick to commenting on the game and the players' talent. I dare say some of the others genuinely believe they are the sole arbiters of our game.

 

[Huge]

I guess you can still be a dirty grub and not give away penalties, and he certainly is a cheating, dirty grub.

I watched a lot of Gallens games over the years and his early days contrasted strongly with his later years. He seemed to have cleaned up his act but most wouldn't have noticed because it's a human tendency to pigeon hole people. The old saying about giving a dog a bad name is based on the way we tend to view things. I probably would feel the same but I watched instead of assuming I already knew all that was needed. He was very grubby early on no doubt.

 

[Alec]

Well thought out. I find myself agreeing with much of what you say. Many say Locky is hopeless as a commentator yet he rarely gets involved with the media tarts and tries to stick to commenting on the game and the players' talent. I dare say some of the others genuinely believe they are the sole arbiters of our game.

Yeah, but he's still hopeless at it.