Match Review thread

[Big Pete]

Match #4
North Queensland Cowboys vs South Sydney

This was a nice win to the Cowboys after a couple of crummy weeks in the competition.

Basically they sailed to an early 14 point lead and held onto it relatively well despite Souths challenging late. Cowboys were basically untouchable inside the opening 10 minutes, even their kick off proved to be a real pain in the ass for Souths and I think they had something like 7 sets of six in a row during that rampage.

Some positive signs there for them too - Rona did well to bat a ball back to Wright for the opening try, JT combined with Tariq for a simple fringe try and then Winterstein scored a controversial try to extend the lead. For me, it was one of those ones where the on-field decision had to be respected either way.

I thought Curtis/Wright filled in really well for the injured Tate and with the addition of Moga, I'm actually sort of excited for the future of the Cowboys backline. Morgan has proved to be a real surprise packet at fullback, Wright and Winterstein are two really solid backline additions, Rona has some strong attributes and Moga could be a star. The only member of the backline I don't really rate is Linnett who I feel is like their Reed but he's OK and has his moments. It's a real improvement from like 2010 or so.

Souths just seemed too spotty on the night. Too busy playing out football and not making the most of their opportunities when they were offer. Just forever working to the next play and funny enough that's how they scored their two tries - two kicks destined for the in-goal with just a nice bounce and a good chase or a soft run through the middle. Merritt was also bad, so there's that too.

They were missing some troops Souths - no Walker, Auva'a or Georgie Burgess and think they were a bit rusty coming off the bye. I suspect they'll pelt the Titans again this weekend and they'll be there abouts come the finals.

As for the Cows, think it was just a spirited game from them. Liked what I saw from their backs, their forwards held up their end of the bargain and JT played well. I just think they're one good hooker off doing something special. Kostjasyn would be my contender for the worst hooker in the competition, but Cows just have to make do.

 

[Big Pete]

Match #5
Warriors vs Panthers

My pick for Match of the Round.

I really enjoy watching both teams play when they're on song. The home-side has always had a number of very talented players but have generally let themselves down with the basic fundamentals. That's the biggest aspect McFadden has instilled into the Warriors basic discipline with the ball and in defence and they're so much better for it. Now, they're a real powerhouse in defence and they can absolutely hurt teams in that department while getting through their sets and wearing teams down through their physical forwards, backs and brilliance of SJ.

Penrith on the other hand are a side that has supported the faith a lot of people had in them as dark horses and are playing some quality football. Just a real jack of all trades team, defence? They're handy at that. Offence? They can play structured or ad-lib no problem and they're not going to cough up too much ball either.

So just two quality teams going at it, taking turns at one another.

I anointed Manly the champions of the sweep play but I must say the Warriors can't be too far off since they have two great finishers in Hurrell and Vatuvei. Just give them half a chance and they'll likely take it and they did so here with tries to the aforementioned backs.

Then possession began to swing and Penrith scored three very different tries to take the lead. You had some ad-lib play from Peachey to set up Soward in the middle. Then Soward threw a nice long pass to put Idris on the outside of Hurrell to set Mansour up in the corner while Wallace put through a nice grubber for Moylan to score.

Unfortunately, Soward suffered an ankle injury which ruled him out for the entire second half and outside of a try against the run of play, they didn't really have an answer to the Warriors tries and in the end, lost the game risking their arm with SJ pouncing on a Segs pass and racing 60 odd metres to score.

Bit of talk coming out of the game over Hurrell being the best centre in the competition. I think he's definitely in the conversation but the pool of talent in that position seems so shallow these days that any number of players can lay claim to it any other week. I mean before injury, Dylan Walker was right up there for that honour too. Konnie is a strong runner of the ball and hasn't been as poor in defence although it is an aspect of his game that is weaker than others and he still has the odd brain snap in him. For me, it's a case of 'watch this space' more than anything.

Outside of Koni, just think the Warriors have some of the best 'set-starters' in the game. Guys like Vatuvei, Matagi, Hurrell, Laumape when he's playing create a really good roll on and the Warriors just play off the back of that and usually dominate the ruck with ease as a result. SJ is a freak, Tomkins and Townsend provide stability with the second man play & captain Mannering can be an effective fringe runner when he wants to be.

I think Penrith can definitely bounce back. One of the big problems they had was the Yeo/Whare combination which produced far too many turn overs simply because they're both centres and neither really wanted to play wing. They've dropped Ye'o (who had his winning streak snapped) and that should give Whare a better chance to shine. Outside of that, just a very 'good' side across the park. Only position I'd call weak is really their props and even then they have enough depth in that position to keep things rolling off the bench. Eventually they'll need to sign a leader in that role, but for the time being, they're holding up their end of the bargain just fine.

 

[Big Pete]

Match #7
St. George Illawarra vs Melbourne Storm

Final match of the round and something of a surprise result as the Dragons avenge their controversial loss in Melbourne with a fairly comfortable win against a flat Melbourne Storm outfit.

Dragons have seemingly come out of nowhere to rocket right back into finals contention and as of now boast as many wins as the Broncos do.

McGregor has just got them playing very basic football. A lot of one out footy for the most part and trying to win possession through their kicking game which is very good with Widdop + Marshall and then shifting it to their backs when they're inside the danger zone to score points. Simple but when things go your way like they did against Melbourne, very tough to stop and full credit to them, they deserved the points.

Melbourne were just off. I actually find the Melbourne Storm team very interesting to watch this season. They've been brilliant for years now but this is the first time where they've really struggled this early into the year and it's interesting to see how they're going to deal with it. On this particular occasion I just thought some of their senior players like Jesse Bromwich & Waqa let the team down and a lot of the new faces basically followed suit. It was a real tough night in the office for them as they didn't have a whole lot go their way and the Dragons kicking game was so immaculate they didn't receive too many 20m freebies which for me are just as valuable as receiving a penalty in the modern game.

That was the difference really, the kicking game. While Bromwich and Waqa can always bounce back and become better I just don't know if Roberts or Hampton are a good fit for the Storm side. Hampton in particular seems to be really struggling in the five eigth role and I'd dare say he was the worst player on the park. None of his kicks put much pressure on the Dragons and when the game was in the balance he threw a horrible pass which later gave the Dragons the opportunity to spread it to Dugan who is just too good a player to defend against and really when you're depending on Mann & Fonua to mark up on him, you're not going to be in for a good time.

Moving forward, it's going to be interesting to see how the Dragons go. They have a fairly mixed run home, they take on the two grand finalists but outside of them they have games like the Tigers, Panthers, Raiders, Knights, Titans & Broncos which are all winnable games. I get the feeling that they will wilt but wouldn't be surprised if that Round 25 game is a sudden death match for both Brisbane and St. George.

Melbourne can come back too and with Cooper Cronk all but confirmed for Origin III I'd assume they'd be able to take most of their games on the run home which would be a tremendous result for them given this is the first time they've really been tested and brought back into the fold. I just think it was one of those occasions where their depth was tested, it wasn't up to par and unfortunately their stars weren't good enough to hide it. Although to his credit, Billy didn't stop trying all night.

 

[Broncoman]

State of Origin Game 3 2000

With NSW aiming for a cleansweap tomorrow I decided to relieve the last time NSW won a series 3-0 and enjoy a Canetoad bashing.

After a very controversial win in the 1st game and a breathtaking onslaught in the 2nd NSW stepped up a gear and destroyed a shell shocked Queensland 56-16 to claim their 3rd whitewash in the Origin arena and broke numerous records in the process.

After a tight first 15 minutes where both sides came close to scoring NSW stepped up a gear after Girdler got everything started with an intercept try that began a memorable night for him. The first half was played at a frantic pace with strong attack and defence and with both sides managing some lucky tries as both of the Maroons tries came from kicks and one from NSW from a kick after Lockyer was crash tackled in goal. The Blues took advantage of this and went to halftime ahead 20-10.

The Second Half was a cakewalk for NSW as they put on a incredible show of attacking football scoring 6 tries and displaying great attacking strength and game reading ability and humiliating a battered Maroons outfit who tried their guts out all night but simply had no answers to what was upon them.

Notes

- Queensland were very lucky the Blues scored 56 points as they were denied 3 other tries in the second half and Gidley was denied another in the first.

- David Middleton had probably the busiest night of his career as the Blues broke the following Origin records; Biggest winning margin, most points in a game, most points by an individual, most points by an individual in a series, most goals by an individual and most tries by an individual as Girder equalled the record of Chris Anderson and Kerry Boustead.

- This was the game with the try celebrations that Queensland still complain about

- There is a chance i'll be flamed for saying this but I don't think the Maroons were mentally up for this game considering what Gordon Tallis had to say before it. He questioned why a 3rd game should be bothered with if the series was decided.

Broncoman man of the match

Ryan Girdler. When you score 32 points in a rep game and break numerous records throughout the series who else would you give it to. He played an absolutely superb game and was faultless with the boot landing 10 goals from 10 and scored 3 tries as well. The Blues had plenty of standouts who might've been in contention as well.

New South Wales 56: 3 tries by Ryan Girdler, 2 tries by Matt Gidley, tries by Adam Muir, Andrew Johns, Bryan Fletcher and Adam McDougall. 10 goals by Ryan Girdler

Queensland 16: Tries by Matt Rogers, Darren Smith and Gordon Tallis. 2 goals by Matt Rogers

New South Wales

1: Tim Brasher
2: Adam MacDougall
3: Ryan Girdler
4: Matt Gidley
5: Jamie Ainscough
6: Brad Fittler
7: Andrew Johns
8: Robbie Kearns
9: Geoff Toovey
10: Jason Stevens
11: Bryan Fletcher
12: Ben Kennedy
13: Scott Hill

14: Andrew Johns
15: David Furner
16: Adam Muir
17: Michael Vella

Coach: Wayne Pearce

Queensland

1: Darren Lockyer
2: Matt Rogers
3: Paul Bowman
4: Matt Sing
5: Wendell Sailor
6: Ben Ikin
7: Adrian Lam (captain)
8: Shane Webcke
9: Jason Hetherington
10: Martin Lang
11: Gordon Tallis
12: Chris McKenna
13: Darren Smith

14: Julian O'neill
15: Brad Thorn
16: Tonie Carroll
17: Craig Greenhill

Coach: Mark Murray

 

[Big Pete]

- This was the game with the try celebrations that Queensland still complain about

Complaining is sitting around and doing nothing about it.

Queensland used it as fuel to beat your lot more than they've EVER beaten us in this arena.

It's one thing for some silly solo antics after a try, when you're choreographing that, then it's disrespectful and is going to bite you in the ass down the line.

- There is a chance i'll be flamed for saying this but I don't think the Maroons were mentally up for this game considering what Gordon Tallis had to say before it. He questioned why a 3rd game should be bothered with if the series was decided.

More to it.

Silly from Gordie, but this was a bloke who was never afraid to speak his mind and the whole situation was blown way out of proportion. The journo asked him whether they should play a dead rubber and basically goaded Gordie into sympathising with his view. Gordie said something to the effect of well the NBA does it so maybe the NRL can consider it.

It could have played apart because the Maroons were embarrassing in that game but I think it was a multitude of factors. NSW being a damn good team being at the top of that list.

 

[Big Pete]

Want to try and keep it to a Game of the Round type deal where I watch a replay of the biggest non-Broncos game of the weekend. Already had this on my hard-drive so here we go.

Round 17 2014

Cronulla Sharks 30
Sydney Roosters 28

What a crazy result.

This followed the Sharks amazing 24-0 fightback against the Broncos week before and the bubbler controversy which saw MotM Carney sacked. The game occurred during an Origin weekend, which robbed Cronulla of Paul Gallen but on the flipside left the Roosters without Tupou, Cordner & Guerra amongst injured stars like Tuivasa-Sheck and Jennings so while they went in as favourites, there was an air of inexperience about their side.

Roosters dominated early to take a 24 point lead but the Sharks were never out of it and after being denied one 50/50 try, they got their just desserts when Wade Graham faked out Pearce with a call and took a pass from him to score one of the cheekiest tries of 2014. Pearce haters need to preserve that moment because it'd rank right up there as his worst.

In the second half, the Roosters had their chances but just kept taking the wrong options and the Sharks chased them down. Cronulla were a bit fortunate in that the Chooks lost Mini just at half-time which forced the Roosters to re-shuffle and gave the Sharks some opportunities in offence that probably wouldn't have been there, but at 24-6, the Roosters should have shut the game out.

With that said, it was still an impressive showing from the Sharks. Robson played a nice general role and guided the Sharks around the park nicely, backs like Gagan & Leutele gave the Chooks plenty of head-aches out-wide while forwards like Graham, Tupou, Tagataese & Vave kept asking questions of the Roosters defence and gave the Sharks a nice roll on.

I actually think the Sharks have some nice talent there but the culture right now is just so poisnous and there is just so much deadwood it's difficult for them to seperate the forest from the trees. No doubt under better circumstances, their squad is a Top 8 side but moving forward, it'll take sometime before they're a consistent thread.

On the other-hand Chooks will just see this game as the one that got away. There were actually some nice signs in players like McDonald & Napa (great try-saver) but disappointing in that some of their senior players folded when the game was there to be won. Will be interesting to see how players like Pearce & Maloney go moving forward, I still get the feeling that the Roosters won in 2013 on the back of a perfect storm.

 

[Alec]

Cronulla were a bit fortunate in that the Chooks lost Mini just at half-time

That just doesn't sound right to me.

 

[Big Pete]

Mini was having his best game I've seen him play all season and was one of the Roosters best heading into half-time.

The bigger problem was that it caused a re-shuffle. McDonald went to fullback, SKD to wing and SBW to centre and the Sharks exploited it.

 

[Broncoman]

State of Origin Game 3 2007

The series had been decided but that meant nothing to the players of either state as they turned in a brutal 3rd game that left the Maroon's dressing room looking like a war zone with injured players filling in non stop as the Maroons were reduced to a 14 man team in the end. In the end NSW regained some lost pride and carved out an 18-4 victory ending a 4 game losing streak.

The game was a tale of brutal defence, missed opportunities that were turned over by basic handling errors but I feel the game gets a bad wrap about being one of the worst origin encounters. Sure the standard wasn't great but there were some standout performers in both sides, a good contest and some moments to look back on.

Inside the first 20 minutes Queensland lost Dallas Johnson at the first tackle of the game and Inglis was forced out with a knee injury but despite this it took 21 minutes for points to be scored after Jarryd Hayne beat 4 defenders to score in the corner. El Masri landed the conversion on debut. The Maroons struck back straight after Gallen threw a forward pass, Queensland capitalised as Hunt sucked in the defence and sent Hodges over unmarked to score but NSW still lead after Thurston hooked the conversion. The score remained unchanged at halftime.

The game followed the same script after the break as the injury ridden Maroons held on bravely which was exemplified when Matt Copper went a breath from scoring twice (stopped the first time by Thurston and Hunt and the second time was stopped by Bell less than a meter out). Queensland's depleted bench meant Hunt and Hodges had to play on injured as the Maroons continued to fight bravely and admirably. NSW finally put the Maroons away as Matt King crashed over to score after a poor last tackle option by Lockyer. 3 minutes from the end Paul Gallen charged at the line on the last, was gang tackled but managed to pop an offload to El Masri who planted the ball down and converted his own try for a tally of 10 points and an 18-4 win to NSW.

Notes

- This was the only Origin appearance of Hazem El Masri who was the only debutant. I must say his performance turned out quite well and I watched this game quite keen to see how he played as from memory he played a solid game. He played well scoring a try and landing 3 goals all from difficult positions, positioned himself well defensively and did his job on the wing. Wasn't overawed and didn't look out of place. It made my day watching him play this game. Loved Hazem as a person and as a player.

- Queensland named an unchanged team for the first time but were forced into late changes. Only once in Origin has a side gone through an entire series unchanged and that was the NSW side of 1996

- Greg Bird was played out of position in the halves but he backed it up with a strong willing performance that won him the MOM award

- I don't understand why some say Paul Gallen only shone in rep games in later years. This was his 2nd Origin appearance and I thought he played strongly. Hitting hard in defence and with the ball and managing some offloads and getting through a truckload of work

- Dallas Johnson must be congratulated for his performance after being concussed. Made 62 tackles in game 2 and managed 28 in this game. He was a fine player for the Maroons imo and he showed the guts the Maroons played with as they did very well to keep NSW at bay in the second half and could walk out of this game with their heads held high

New South Wales 18: Tries by Jarryd Hayne, Matt King and Hazem El Masri; 3 goals by El Masri
Queensland 4: Try by Justin Hodges

Queensland

1: Kharmichael Hunt
2: Brent Tate
3: Steve Bell
4: Justin Hodges
5: Greg Inglis
6: Darren Lockyer (captain)
7: Jonathan Thurston
8: Steve Price
9: Cameron Smith
10: Petero Civoniceva
11: Tonie Carroll
12: Carl Webb
13: Dallas Johnson

14: Shaun Berrigan
15: Nate Myles
16: Matt Bowen
17: Dane Carlaw

Coach: Mal Meninga

New South Wales

1: Brett Stewart
2: Hazem El Masri
3: Matt King
4: Matt Cooper
5: Jarryd Hayne
6: Greg Bird
7: Brett Kimmorley
8: Brent Kite
9: Danny Buderus (captain)
10: Willie Mason
11: Nathan Hindmarsh
12: Andrew Ryan
13: Paul Gallen

14: Luke Bailey
15: Steve Simpson
16: Ryan Hoffman
17: Kurt Gidley

Coach: Graham Murray

 

[Alec]

That loss was better than some wins. The way QLD just hung in there until the last few minutes was incredible.

Also Tate never played for the Broncs again after getting injured here.

 

[Super Freak]

Nate Myles playing with a busted shoulder and still came up with some crucial tackles..

 

[Big Pete]

One of those games that held up a lot better on replay.

NSW played well. It's easy to forget too that they lost Kimmorley relatively early into the game so they had to make do with a halves pairing of Bird & Kidley. Still, they played well in spite of that and I thought Brett Stewart played really well here and thought his first three games for NSW were really underrated. Originally, I just thought he was the guy with diabetes who happened to score a simple try on debut but he was pretty deadly on the second man plays and gave the Maroons plenty to think about.

If injuries had have been kinder, I definitely think he would have given Billy Slater a run for the Australian fullback jersey.

Back to the game and basically I thought this game restored a lot of pride for the Blues and reminded fans that they weren't that far off that series. In the end, it was one dodgy Carl Webb pass the difference and had the Blues shown more poise (eg. not throw the ball straight to Lockyer) they could have very well ended the series at 1.

As it stands, they'd bring in Bellamy and would find ways to completely kill whatever chance they have.

My favourite is still their bold declaration to plan for the future...

and then drop Campese for Barrett in the space of one game.

But hey, Trent did his job. He took GI out of the equation and somehow got to stay on the field.

 

[Broncoman]

State of Origin 1980

I know Pete has already reviewed this game but I wanted to drop my 2 cents in and share my thoughts on a night that changed the game and kick started a magnificent contest that has captured the imagination of Australian sport and will continue to do so.

Amid speculation from the NSW press and after a 9-3 vote in favour of the concept from the 12 NSWRL clubs State of Origin was born and the Maroons after years of being thrashed by their own in Blue jerseys finally had something to celebrate as they defeated the old enemy NSW 20-10 with a side containing 8 Sydney players and 7 Brisbane players.

The game has changed completely from 1980 and like Pete did I found it very different from what I've seen my whole life but I still enjoyed the game and found it to be a pretty good exhibition of Rugby League. Queensland deserved their victory as they took any chances they could to score points with the young centre Mal Meninga having a field day with the boot landing 7/7 and contributing 14 points while NSW seemed more focused on scoring tries out of anything and turned over possession far to much and gave away penalties within kicking range and Meninga's accuracy killed them. Both of the halves followed the same story as Queensland worked hard with the ball, scored points when they could and remained patient while NSW seemed to panic and made to many errors that proved the difference along with Mal's kicking.

Notes

- Immortal Arthur Beetson finally achieved his dream of leading Queensland into battle and for a 35 year old playing Sydney reserve grade for most of the year I thought he played very well and played a big role in the win leading the Maroons, getting involved in the play and popping offloads quite often. I had never seen a game with him in it before so I really enjoyed the great man's game and was excited to watch him.

- Pete made note of this but it's quite strange to think 14 players who played that night only played 1 Origin game. The players were Alan Smith, Greg Oliphant, Rod Reddy, Arthur Beetson and John Lang. NSW players were Graham Eadie, Tommy Raudonikis, Jim Leis, Graeme Wynn, Bob Cooper, Steve Edge, Gary Hambly and Robert Stone.

- The referee was a Pom named Billy Thompson

- Queensland players that impressed me were Arthur Beetson, Choppy (who won MOM honours), Wally Lewis who had a promising game, Mal and Johnny Lang that stood out to me while the NSW players that stood out where Mick Cronin, Bob Cooper, Craig Young, Graham Eadie (I didn't think he was bad), Gary Hambly and Jim Leis

- I found the game to be a lot closer than the 20-10 scoreline read as both sides scored 2 tries each and the Maroons won the penalties 11-9 but the difference was that NSW gave away penalties in kicking range and Meninga's accuracy gave Queensland the advantage

- I sometimes wonder what might've happened if NSW won this game and if Origin would've took of the way it did as it was brought in to make Queensland competitive and revive the interstate series. I still believe the concept would've still taken off if NSW won this game but it's still something that makes me wonder from time to time.

Queensland 20: Tries by Kerry Boustead and Chris Close, 7 goals by Mal Meninga
New South Wales 10: Tries by Greg Brentnall and Tommy Raudonikis, 2 goals by Mick Cronin

Queensland

1: Colin Scott
2: Kerry Boustead
3: Mal Meninga
4: Chris Close
5: Brad Backer
6: Alan Smith
7: Greg Oliphant
8: Wally Lewis
9: Rod Reddy
10: Rohan Hancock
11: Arthur Beetson (captain)
12: John Lang
13: Rod Morris

14: Norm Carr (not used)
15: Bruce Astill (not used)

Coach: John McDonald

New South Wales

1: Graham Eadie
2: Chris Anderson
3: Steve Rogers
4: Mick Cronin
5: Greg Brentnall
6: Alan Thompson
7: Tommy Raudonikis
8: Jim Leis
9: Greame Wynn
10: Bob Cooper
11: Craig Young
12: Steve Edge
13: Gary Hambly

14: Steve Martin
15: Robert Stone

Coach: Ted Glossop

 

[Broncoman]

Quotes in the build up to the game (wanted to drop these in for good measure and are worth mentioning

"NSW has built a team of megastars not superstars. They are invincible. No one in the world can beat them which means they look like having to play themselves" Ron McAuliffe chairmen of the QRL

"Rugby League's non-event of the century will be staged in Brisbane next month, a totally useless State of Origin clash between NSW and QLD. No Sydney club could possibly want the match but no doubt it will go ahead. As far as I'm concerned it's strictly a non-event and will achieve absolutely nothing" Bob Fulton

"To the QLD hillbillies in Premier Joh's bananaland the State of Origin match might be a big deal but to those in the land of the living, here in Sydney it's just another match without meaning. When it comes to playing football it doesn't matter to much where anyone was born; what is important is where the player learned his skills of the trade" Ron Casey

"Whenever Queensland produces a good footballer he ends up being cashed through a NSW poker machine" (this if from the 70's sometime I'm not sure who said it but I heard it was Paul Hogan)

 

[Big Pete]

Bman, if we were running a post of the month competition, that post would rank right up there as one of the best. Awesome effort, bro.

The more I've seen from that era, the less I think of that game. It was a very important game but as far as a spectacle went I thought it was very sloppy and it just seemed like the Maroons took it more seriously.

The take-home message I got out of it was that this was Artie's one and only game and he reminded people what he was still capable of. It'd be like if Petero came out today, played and dominated Origin.

Haven't had time to sit through and watch a lot of old games which is a shame. Last game I watched was a highlights package of a Raiders/Tigers game from 2006 which was a pretty famous golden point game with plenty of drama.

So basically, the Tigers had a bunch of field goal opportunities set up but had them thwarted because Raiders players would charge up despite being well off-side. Yet they were never called by Clark and allowed to play on before Carney in the dying seconds nails another beautiful field goal to just sneak the Raiders home.

Couple of things stood out...

- Firstly, Braybrook. Dear god, if I was a Raiders fan I'd be struggling not to put him on mute because he was god awful and did everything to denounce the loss. It's one thing to get invested in the games but to basically outright carry on like he did was really annoying. Was never a fan and to make matters worse his co-commentator was a Tigers legend, Wayne Pearce.

- Raiders in 06 would have to be remembered as one of the most inconsistent teams of that generation. They could be absolutely terrible one moment and then brilliant the next. Maybe TC ruined his chances with some off-field incident that I forgot about, but if not, I can't understand why he wasn't handed a Country jersey in 2007. Blues were short on halves and TC was easily one of the best prospects they had coming through.

- Another prospect was Phil Graham who I feel belongs in a list of unlucky players. He showed some great signs around this time and could have been a NSW centre had injuries been kinder. Had great speed and foot-work.

 

[Broncoman]

Thanks Pete I put a lot of effort into my reviews and always proof read them before I post to make sure I haven't left anything out.

Here is the story of the Todd Carney incident in 2007 that you've forgotten about; He was driving around with Todd Carney in his ute and when Carney decided to take the wheel despite being disqualified from driving things turned ugly. Police started chasing them and Carney took of on a high speed chase which ended when he drove into a dead end street and fled on foot leaving Irwin in the passenger seat. The Raiders sacked Irwin but kept Carney because TC was their rising star and they didn't want to lose him.

Good point about Carney stuffing his chances, he would've been within a good shot of a chance if he wasn't such a dill. He didn't play badly in his Origin series. Had a shocker in his first but put in good performances in the other 2. Preston Campbell got a country jersey in 2007 over Carney from memory.

 

[Big Pete]

The Cowboys recent heart-breaking loss inspired me to check out their controversial 2012 exit against Manly.

Manly 22 (Oldfield 2, B. Stewart, Taufua tries; Lyon 3/5 goals) def North Queensland 12 (Tamou, Winterstein tries; Thurston 2/2 goals)

Were the Cowboys dudded?

On the 'Hand of Foran' try, absolutely but outside of that, the worst call that went against them was a try to Taufua which under the rules was fine. Hardly convincing considering he was tackled short, the ball sort of bobbled underneath and his foot did come very close to going into touch but on the evidence that was provided, try was a fair call.

Nothing else really influenced the game. Even the Taufua 'faux grounding the ball' in the in-goal still lead to the Cowboys receiving possession in Manly territory which may have been the set where Tate bombed it...

Tate sucked in that game. In fact, most of the Cowboys did even JT who outside of two good passes and a few good kicks always seemed to be playing too flat and in very confined spaces which limited his impact. In fact, I thought the Cowboys best were the likes of Ashton & Hall. JT, Scott & Tamou contributed but not to the extent they should have and the rest were fairly poor.

Meanwhile, it was an A grade performance from Manly and just a good team performance where everyone chipped in. They really didn't give the Cowboys a lot of chances and when the game got back to 12 all, they were winning the territory battle. If I had to pick, I'd probably go Watmough who just seemed as involved as ever and outside of an early drop ball was asking plenty of questions of the Cowboys through the middle.

 

[Broncoman]

Yeah Manly were far to good that night and the Cowboys just sucked in general and didn't deserve to win that game. They were far more duded in 2013 but they still could've easily won that game.