Match Review thread

[Broncoman]

1997 Minor Qualifying Final, Parramatta Eels V Newcastle Knights, 5th September 1997 SFS

The Knights come from behind to win a bruising encounter over the Eels by 28-20 on their way to the 1997 Grand Final

Road to the finals

In the worst year in Rugby League history with divided competitions the ARL went for a 12 team competition with a top 7 finals series. The Knights finished second behind the might of the competition Manly with 29 points despite missing Andrew Johns for half the season. Parramatta finished 3rd making their first finals series since winning the premiership since 1986, after winning 11 straight games at one point in the season.

Teams

Parramatta Eels

1: Paul Carige
2: Ian Herron
3: Karl Lovell
4: Nathan Barnes
5: Eparama Navale
6: Jason Bell
7: John Simon
8: Dean Pay (Captain)
9: Aaron Raper
10: Justin Morgan
11: Jason Smith
12: Jarrod McCracken
13: Jim Dymock

14: Troy Campbell
15: Brett Horsenell
16: Russel Wyer
17: Darren Pettet

Coach: Brian Smith

Newcastle Knights

1: Robbie O'Davis
2: Darren Albert
3: Matt Gidley
4: Owen Craigie
5: Adam McDougall
6: Matthew Johns
7: Andrew Johns
8: Paul Harragon (Captain)
9: Brett Clements
10: Tony Butterfield
11: Bill Peden
12: Adam Muir
13: Mark Glanville

14: Wayne Richards
15: Troy Fletcher
16: Brett Grogan
17: Mark Hughes

Coach: Malcom Reilly

The game

It's great that despite the war raging of the field the quality on the field was as good as ever. A day after the Roosters pulled of a remarkable win in a 100 minute battle with the Bears the previous day, Newcastle carried their momenteum into the finals and continued their 4 game winning streak coming from 18 points behind to beat Parramatta after having players go down injured.

Parramatta fired out of the blocks punishing Newcastle for their terrible start to the game. Nathan Barnes, Jason Bell and Ian Herron scored tries and with Herron kicking 3 goals Parra were 18 points in front. Newcastle started to get some drive and they made it count after having no possession for the first 20 minutes. Running the ball on the last and taking some risks M.Johns put Adam McDougall over for his first try and combined well on the inside with Peden who put Muir over under the posts and after another try to McDougall the Knights were only 2 points behind. The Knights then suffered a huge blow as O'Davis suffered a brutal headknock when attempting to spot a try for Parra on the stroke of halftime which meant he wouldn't be back for the second half.

In an arm wrestle of a second half both sides couldn't take control but Herron extended Parramatta's lead to 4 points with a goal. In the 55th minute the game was tied up as Andrew Johns scored a brilliant individual try, running for 30 meters and beating 5 Parramatta defenders but his injuries returned as he damaged his ribs when going over to score. The Knights now were pumped with confidence and after a goal by Craigie a couple of minutes later that put Newcastle in front for the first time a controversial decision to give Grogan a try when the replays showed he didn't ground it put the Knights 8 points clear. A buffer they held on to, to win 28-20 to kick start their finals campaign in the right way.

Match Summary

High quality finals battle. Great tries, comeback from nowhere, strong individual performances, controversy, good story to tell afterwards. The game had everything and is everything a finals game should be. Crowds really tuned out during 1997 but those who showed up really got their moneys worth. Parramatta started strongly but after that they just couldn't finish the Knights off and some big plays from Matthew Johns and some luck went their way and they finished with a deserving victory.

How well did Andrew Johns play?

Apart from that great individual effort that got the scores tied up Johns was pretty loose in this game and was obviously not at 100% which really impacted him. Johns was picked for NSW in 1997 on the back of 30 minutes of game time and was reportedly going to die if he played in the Grand Final, he played with broken ribs, ankle injuries and punctured lungs. He still had an impact on the game but there were other players on his team that were better. Came up with some good kicks, only had 1 strong run which was the try and came up with some good tackles. Not great but not bad.

Newcastle Knights 28: 2 tries by Adam McDougall and tries by Adam Muir, Andrew Johns and Brett Grogan, 4 goals by Matthew Johns
Parramatta Eels 20: Tries by Jason Bell, Nathan Barnes and Ian Herron, 4 goals by Ian Herron

Notes

- It seems like the 1997 ARL finals series was great to watch from start to finish. There were some great games throughout that finals series which really showed just how great a game Rugby League is. The 1997 Grand Final is imo the greatest Grand Final in history and it was a high quality game from start to finish but the rest of the finals sounds like it was awesome to watch. The Roosters and Bears played a 100 minute battle, this Knights game, Paul Harragon V Mark Carroll, both preliminary finals went right down to the wire (Newcastle beat Bears 17-12 and Manly beat Roosters 17-16) and the of course the magnificent grand final, the Gold Coast also made their only finals appearance in 1997. The Super League season on the other hand and it's finals seem pretty farcical, tbh the Super League season looks like a real failure and i have heard it wasn't that good.

- It was a very bruising encounter. Robbie O'Davis, Matt Gidley and Andrew Johns suffered injuries whilst for Parramatta Jason Bell, Dean Pay, Paul Carige and Ian Herron were forced off.

- There was some very controversial referring decisions. Bell dropped the ball when attempting to ground the ball and the Grogan try was pathetic as it was obvious on replay that he didn't ground the ball or get near out.

- Darren Albert is famous for his try in the 1997 Grand Final but he did some very good things throughout that finals series for the Knights. He came up with some desperate try savers in this game, came up with a great tackle on Matt Seers in their game against Norths and in the Grand Final he came up with some very good plays in that second half that got them out of trouble. He deserves a bit more credit for their premiership.

- Aaron Raper looks like a 1999 eminem

 

[Big Pete]

ROUND 26 2006
Penrith Panthers vs The Bulldogs

Penrith Panthers
Rhys WESSER, Michael GORDON, Danny GALEA, Lee HOOKEY, Luke ROONEY
Preston CAMPBELL, Craig TRINDALL
Frank PULETUA, Luke PRIDDIS, Craig STAPLETON, Frank PRITCHARD, Tony PULETUA, Trent WATERHOUSE
Interchange: Bryan NORRIE, Luke SWAIN, Paul AITON, Matt BELL

The Bulldogs
Luke PATTEN, Hazem EL MASRI, Andrew EMELIO, Sonny-Bill WILLIAMS, Matt UTAI
Daniel HOLDSWORTH, Brent SHERWIN
Mark O'MELEY, Corey HUGHES, Chris ARMIT, Dallas MCILWAIN, Andrew RYAN, Reni MAITUA
Interchange: Nate MYLES, Adam PERRY, Nick KOUSPARITSAS, Jarrad HICKEY

The Bulldogs '06 were one of those weird sides I don't recall ever being especially good and yet they found themselves sitting comfortably in second place. My memory of the Bulldogs consists of them getting smashed by Newcastle, beaten on the buzzer by Melbourne, losing a tight one to the Raiders and being humbled on three separate occasions by the Broncos. Actually I lie, I do recall one game. It was against Wests where Mark O'Meley knocked out Gibbs. Even then, I recall Wests were like the lamb to the slaughters before the ball was even kicked.

So going into this game, I'm expecting the Bulldogs to showcase their skills. They're a week out from the finals against a team that has nothing to play for. In Queensland, the Broncos are running a train through the Warriors, TC is smashing ribs, Hodges is making the defence look like statues so I would have thought the Bulldogs would be keen to make a statement.

Honestly, I thought they were lucky to take this win.

Canterbury won 30-22, but the difference was the boot of Hazem El Masri who nailed 5/5, in contrast to the Panthers 1/5. I don't think any of their tries came from good pieces of play either. Armit just crashed his way over one pass off the ruck, easy as you like. Patten received an offload and tore through a lazy gap from Puletua. He then did the same thing when Pritchard failed to close a gap and Trindall was too lazy to turn inside. Their forth try was a result of Galea racing off the line and taking no one, giving the Dogs an easy 3-1. Finally, McIlwain's 80m try was against the run of play as the Dogs received a lucky ricochet and it went to the one player who happened to be on-side.

Meanwhile, Penrith looked the most likely despite losing Rooney and Campbell part-way through the clash. They had a proverbial skeleton crew out there, but in Puletua & Pritchard they had enough rocks and diamonds to trouble the Dogs and Wesser constantly kept them on high alert.

As an aside, I thought Michael Gordon had a quality game. He reminded me a lot of Anthony Minichiello back in his prime where it seemed like he was good for at least one tackle-break. Very reminiscent of Mansour these days, except Gordon had more pace. Outside of him and Wesser, it's amazing how poor the rest of the backline was. Rooney at 23 was a has-been, Hookey was all-pace and not much else and Galea was just awful. I know they had Lewis missing, but it amazes me how they had to carry those three players. Especially now that Penrith seem to have a treasure trove of backs and would unearth Michael Jennings next year.

I had a real soft spot for Gordon back then and recall him being a shining light in an otherwise forgettable year. I also remember Aiton being a quality player as well...and it just wasn't the case. I guess it's because quick dummy halves impressed me back then, but Aiton had no real sense of direction and his play from dummy half really hurt the Panthers flow. My only defence is that Priddis by this point was a shadow of himself and there were probably performances where Aiton came on and looked much better than he really was.

As for the Bulldogs, I was really intrigued by their halves. I remember Holdsworth was fairly gun in 2006 and you could make the argument that he was a better player than Anasta at that time. Whatever inspired that thinking wasn't on display here. He controlled most of the Bulldogs attack in the first half and it was dreadful. He must have had some decent performances because here he looked like he was playing up a grade. Sherwin was mostly invisible and only contributed with some of the kicks. Sherwin reminds me a lot of Adam Reynolds in the sense that he had one facet to his game that was world class. However, everything else was shockingly average. The only try assist he came up with was putting McIlwain into space while Penrith were trying to recover from the ricochet.

I also remember SBW was really average in 2006. He'd really come into his own in 2007 and was my choice for Dally M backrow of the year, but in 06 he seemed like the type of player who would just as likely make a mistake as he would create something. Fortunately he was better than Andrew Emelio who honestly would have to make a worst ever 17 for the Bulldogs. The Panthers kept targeting him and it paid dividends for the most part.

I sort of miss the way the game was played in 06. It seemed a little rougher around the edges, with a lot more common sense involved. The only commonality is that Gus is still complaining about correct calls. This time, it was about double movements and how the rule shouldn't exist. All this, when Pritchard is denied for a text-book example. 10 years on, and we still have Gus trying to defend the indefensible.

 

[Broncoman]

2007 Grand Final Melbourne Storm V Manly Sea Eagles

In a shootout between 1st and 2nd the Storm power their way to the 2007 premiership with a dominant 34-8 victory over the Sea Eagles.

Road to Grand Final

In a hotly contested season celebrating the 100th season of professional rugby league in Australia Melbourne powered their way to the minor premiership winning every game at Olympic Park and losing only 3 games finishing 6 points clear at the top. They destroyed a severely understrength Broncos team 40-0 in the first week of the finals to earn the week off before defeating a competitive Parramatta 26-10 to reach their 2nd straight grand final.

After a struggle after the Northern Eagles debacle Manly enjoyed their best season since the 90's coming in 2nd with 18 wins from 24 games and finishing 6 points clear of their nearest rival. After beating South Sydney who made their first finals series for 18 years 30-6 in the first week they accounted for the Cowboys 28-6 to ensure the 2007 decider would be played between the best 2 teams all year.

Would Des Hasler take home his first premiership or will the Storm have learnt their lesson from their crushing defeat in last year's decider?

Melbourne Storm

1: Billy Slater
2: Steve Turner
3: Matt King
4: Israel Folau
5: Anthony Quinn
6: Greg Inglis
7: Cooper Cronk
8: Ben Cross
9: Cameron Smith (captain)
10: Brett White
11: Clint Newton
12: Ryan Hoffman
13: Dallas Johnson

14: Matt Geyer
15: Jeremy Smith
16: Michael Croker
17: Jeff Lima

Coach: Craig Bellamy

Manly Sea Eagles

1: Brett Stewart
2: Michael Robertson
3: Steve Bell
4: Steve Matai
5: Chris Hicks
6: Jamie Lyon
7: Matt Orford (Captain)
8: Jason King
9: Michael Monaghan
10 Brent Kite
11: Anthony Watmough
12: Glenn Stewart
13: Luke Williamson

16: Mark Bryant
17: Steve Menzies
20: Jack Afamasaga
21: Adam Cuthbertson

Coach: Des Hasler

The game

Both teams got stuck into their work with hard chargers from the forwards and determined tackling playing a part in a big first 10 minutes. With Manly hanging deep in defence after Cronk had applied pressure a smart move on the left by using decoys allowed Inglis to send Quinn over in the corner untouched, with Smith's conversion Melbourne lead 6-0. The Storm lead by Ben Cross up front and Slater at the back continued their crusade but some desperate defence by Manly kept them at 6. After a superb set after a Slater line break and Cronk kick Inglis powered over to score brushing hardman Anthony Watmough aside. Smith's kick hit the post keeping the score at 10-0 after 24 minutes. Steve Matai got Manly back in the game with a try on the stroke of halftime but the game was all Melbourne. The lower profile storm players like Cross and Newton were working superbly with Slater who was running perfect lines at the back and GI's control in the halves was working wonders. Manly were hanging in but with almost no possession they would have to lift after halftime.

Manly were dealt a major blow with star fullback Brett Stewart forced of after coping a hit from Slater and Croker after taking a bomb. 3 minutes later Croker powered over to score which lifted Melbourne who went on a blitz as Matt King crossed over to put the score out to 18-4 before a superb run by Inglis after an offload from White sealed the deal and Melbourne looked home with 25 minutes to go with a 22-4 lead. Only Smith's off day with the boot was keeping the score from looking more emphatic. Lyon who was one of the better Manly players on the night sent Chris Hicks over to score but that was all she wrote for Manly as Newton capped of a superb game with a try of his own and Quinn crossed for a double sending the final margin out to 34-8 delivering a 2nd premiership to the Storm and erasing memories of their 2006 grand final defeat to Brisbane.

Match Summary

Totally dominant performance by the Storm and the scoreline certainly reflects that. They scored 7 tries to 2 but with Smith only landing 3/8 with the boot they could've scored a lot more points. The whole Storm team worked superbly on the night and everybody made a contribution which is what you need in grand finals. I can see why this grand final doesn't get mentioned often. With such a dominant performance by 1 team while the other offered little resistance compounded with the Storm scandal which was revealed in 2010 you can see why this never gets much coverage or mentions around grand final time.

Clive Churchill medal debate

Greg Inglis was awarded the clive Churchill medal after a strong performance in the halves. His bombs had Manly guessing, his 70 meter solo effort pretty much ended all hope for Manly, he played a hand in a couple of the tries and came up with some important tackles as well. It was one of those awards where you could've given it to a fair few winning players. Ben Cross laid the platform up front, Newton ran some great lines tackled hard and scored a try to cap it off and even Croker and Lima drew the game Melbourne's way but GI deserved the award. This decision was a good one.

Observations

- Still to this day not to many of the Storm players outside the big ones get the credit they deserve according to me. In this grand final Clint Newton who was transferred from Newcastle played a blinder as did Ben Cross and Jeff Lima played a strong part of the bench. Cronk, Slater and Smith off course played well but Slater went quit in the second half after a big first half, Cronk was good without being spectacular and Smith's bad goal kicking sort of turned me off him a little bit

- Folau had such an amazing debut year but he was very quite in the grand final and made no impact. Didn't get many touches but did his job without making mistakes

- Bit strange to see Matt Geyer on the bench, just find it a bit different having a back on the bench who isn't a utility player.

- Some after the game said the Stewart hit was the decisive moment but even if Stewart stayed on I don't think he would've made any difference. The Storm were at their best in this game and after being denied in 06 they weren't going to let any slip through their fingers.

- Orford had an absolute shocker apart from Lyon the Manly spine didn't offer any impact.

- Manly's best were Matai, Lyon and Watmough who didn't stop trying the whole. Probably the best Sea Eagle was Lyon who came up with some great tackles and made the break and set up Hick's try.

Melbourne Storm 34: 2 tries by Anthony Quinn 2 tries by Greg Inglis, tries by Michael Croker, Matt King and Clint Newton, 3 goals by Cameron Smith
Manly Sea Eagles 8: Tries by Steve Matai and Chris Hicks

 

[Big Pete]

I'm enjoying these old FoxSports marathons.

They just aired the 2010 Grand Final between St George & Sydney. After watching it again, it maybe the worst grand final I've seen. The officiating reached an all-time low and the Roosters produced the worst half of football I've seen from a grand final team. True, they didn't have 40 put on them, but then again they weren't up against a red-hot side like Manly. In fact, the Dragons were ordinary on the afternoon and still managed to win comfortably. While I'm happy for their fans, I think any year where a top side is caught cheating makes for an odd conclusion.

I also caught Manly versus St George from 06. I never gave Manly enough credit back in the day. To me, they were a side that was trying to buy it's way to a premiership without sorting their fundamentals. Looking back, they were displaying premiership qualities, the problem is that Rome wasn't built in a day. The squad wasn't quite there yet and players like Matai, G. Stewart and Watmough wouldn't come into their own next year. So you had blokes like Shayne Dunley, Luke Williamson, Kylie Leuluai, Travis Burns filling spots in the side before the likes of Jamie Lyon, Josh Perry, Glenn Stewart and Brent Kite would come into their own.

The match itself saw the Dragons hold Manly off 26-24. Despite it showing up on a Dragons marathon, I thought this was a better illustration of where Manly were at. They were a patchy side that were their own worst enemy at times but you could see the pieces coming together. On the other hand, the Dragons were this gun side that just had enough stars to make the most of their opportunities. From 04-06, Matt Head was a gun player, it's a shame injury got the best of him. Apart of me wishes he had have remained injury free, found his feet at Wests and he could have helped steer the Tigers around following the departure of Prince. Unfortunately by the time he got there, he was completely busted and joined Moltzen (another player with no luck) on the sideline. I feel for the Tigers, they had no other choice but to go with Morris and once he over-stayed their welcome their gun NYC prospect was a no-good piece of shit...

Back on topic, Cooper, Gaz, Poore and Young were impressive. Considering the Dragons got the job done without Jason Ryles and Luke Bailey on the road it was a quality win all things considered.

 

[Super Freak]

Wasn't that 05?

 

[Big Pete]

What makes you say that?

http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/s...warringah-vs-st-george-illawarra/summary.html

Is the match I was referring to.

 

[Super Freak]

I was thinking of the wrong game against Manly.

Didn't even get the year right of the game I was thinking of. I was thinking of the 04 clash where Dragons came from behind and held out Manly 36-34.

 

[Broncoman]

@Big Pete

What is your view on Darius Boyd winning the Clive Churchill medal in that 2010 Grand Final. I thought it was very wierd considering how much better Soward, Nightingale, Young and Hornby were.

 

[Big Pete]

At the time I thought Jeremy Smith & Ben Hornby were hard done by.

I'd have to see a full replay to give a definitive answer but from the vision I saw, Boyd was better than what I remembered. He was the go-to guy for the Dragons and was responsible for a lot of their more effective raids. At the back, he was safe and did a good job of keeping Pearce's long-distance kicking game (Mitch's best attribute) in check.

Then again, you're asking the wrong person. Rugby League is a team sport and it's rare that one individual deserves praise above all else. Especially when you're forced to make a snap decision ten minutes before full-time.

 

[Big Pete]

Round 3 2008
Brisbane Broncos vs North Queensland Cowboys

This was one of my favourite wins of the season. You could just feel like the Broncos were onto something special that season. No Karmichael Hunt & Darren Lockyer yet they were able to flog one of the competition favourites with their fearsome Bowen-Thurston-Payne combo in-tact.

I only watched through the first half but it's amazing how different the game is from my memory. Maybe it's because I watched it at the game and never bothered with a full-game replay?

North Queensland had all the running in the first thirty minutes but the only score they could manage was a penalty goal right in-front. Brisbane would even the scores in the 17th minute after an over-zealous tackle from Justin Smith on Peter Wallace gave Brisbane a free shot. The Cowboys continued to roll through the Broncos but poor execution let them down. After struggling for territory, Brisbane finally earn their first repeat set in the 27th minute after a wonderful kick and chase. Peter Wallace found Obe Geia out of position on the forth, allowing Steve Michaels and Denan Kemp to chase hard and round Matt Bowen up in the in-goal. It may not have resulted in a try in the ensuing set, but it turned the tide and in 31st minute, Ben Hannant scored a remarkable try. In the first play of the game, Hannant knocked himself loopy trying to put a hit on Cashmere. If the game took place in 2016, he would have been escorted from the field never to return. However, it was a different time and after an absorbing 30 minute stint, Hannant was rewarded with a fortunate try. With little momentum, Wallace had no choice but to launch a mid-field cross-kick to jag a try. Despite the attention of Bowen & Thurston, David Stagg leaped past both of them, got the bat back and Hannant was johnny on the spot.

It wasn't the most convincing try for the home-side, but it changed the complexion of the game. What had been a tense stand-off turned into a cake-walk for the Broncos. A poor read by Cowboys centre Ty Williams allowed David Stagg to put Tonie Carroll through a big gap. Despite it only being the second tackle, TC wasn't afraid to roll the dice and produced a kick for the in-goal that was pounced on by new recruit PJ Marsh. With only minutes remaining, Darius Boyd caught the Cowboys off-side before scoring a strong solo try. A simple second man shift saw Darius Boyd step pass Williams, beat the tackle of Mark Henry, palm off O'Donnell and Thurston before dotting down in the right corridor. At 18-2, the game had changed dramatically.

As a Broncos fan, the most pleasing aspect of that first half was the defence. Hodges in particular was outstanding as he did an amazing job of shutting Johnathan Thurston down. JT received next to no-time, causing the Cowboys to go with alternative options that were easily accounted for. He received plenty of support, with Stagg, Wallace, Hannant and Carroll all contributing and Ashton Sims laid a nice tempo putting two big hits on Matt Scott that looked incredible.

On the other side of the coin, the Cowboys looked lost. They had no issue rolling through the Broncos, but their approach left a lot to be desired. Instead of basing the attack around Matt Bowen who had been a constant thorn in the Broncos side, they opted to spread the ball laterally which was easily accounted for. It was a quiet night for Mango and with little support from Travis Burns or the backline, the Cowboys were decidedly poor in attack.

 

[Super Freak]

IIRC the Cowboys discipline was also quite poor that night.

Two of those tries came off the back of penalties, and they were back-to-back tries.

 

[Horseheadsup]

How good was Tonie Carroll and Hannett back then, certainly could hammer the opposition.

 

[Big Pete]

IIRC the Cowboys discipline was also quite poor that night.

Two of those tries came off the back of penalties, and they were back-to-back tries.

They completely lost the plot.

The Travis Burns penalty was fair enough, he hit Kemp with a good tackle but just happened to drive him slightly pass the horizontal. Unfortunately for him, Wallace placed that hail mary kick and David Stagg put forward an exceptional chase.

After that was where it became comical.

The Cowboys failed to wrap up Hannant, allowing him to offload to Boyd who went through a short-gap only to get clipped by O'Donnell up high. Two plays later, Hannant draws in three defenders with a simple pass and decoy from Eastwood allowing Stagg to put TC through that big gap.

Then the next possession, Boyd was able to catch Webb off-side at marker after Thaiday did a great job at playing the ball as quickly as possible.

I remember being amazed by the Broncos performance at the time and while they were good, the Cowboys performance flattered them. It's a shame that tracking down those earlier 08 games is so difficult because I'd be keen to see where they went wrong against the Titans and Wests.

 

[holdzy]

2016 Round 4 vs Cowboys - love to see some genuine aggression against the cowboys, some signs that players take it personally. Alex Glenn stood out as far that.

 

[Big Pete]

There aren't too many games I'll actively revisit from 2016.

Round 4 is an exception, that was an unbelievable game and I still get shivers when I think about the Roberts try and Milford field goal.

Just the amount of times they crossed our line only to be denied...

I can't wait until Round 2 2017.

Speaking of can't wait, we're only two weeks out until the launch of Fox League. I'm really hoping that they include more classics, I'd be so keen to watch some old Cronulla v Brisbane games.

 

[holdzy]

There aren't too many games I'll actively revisit from 2016.

Round 4 is an exception, that was an unbelievable game and I still get shivers when I think about the Roberts try and Milford field goal.

Just the amount of times they crossed our line only to be denied...

I can't wait until Round 2 2017.

Speaking of can't wait, we're only two weeks out until the launch of Fox League. I'm really hoping that they include more classics, I'd be so keen to watch some old Cronulla v Brisbane games.

Milford was amazing during that game, in all areas, great kicks, try saving tackles, tackle busts and of course the field goal. Classic game.

An easy pleaser is to have a classic game or two on the day of the game or during the week. Hoping they show a few old internationals as well. The Fox channel has so much potential, I just hope they don't add too many opinion shows - one of the worst things about league is how it's footage vault is handled. Pack the schedule full of quality replays and rarely seen games.

 

[Cult]

Off topic but would the rugby league channel be on Foxtel Go? I'd get it again if it was. Foxtel should do a deal and charge $2 a channel and just let you pick which ones you want. I'd pay $4 a month for the league channel and CI.

 

[Super Freak]

Off topic but would the rugby league channel be on Foxtel Go? I'd get it again if it was. Foxtel should do a deal and charge $2 a channel and just let you pick which ones you want. I'd pay $4 a month for the league channel and CI.

It would likely be on Foxtel Go.

Foxtel Go has the same channels as what the standard Foxtel does, doesn't it? It's going to be on Foxtel Play from what I heard.