NRL General Discussion Thread - 2016

[Cult]

There wasn't much in that elbow. It made contact with the top of the head, but it was minimal.

The tackle would have been what caused the damage..

It was a solid tackle from a bloke much bigger than him and it did appear his body was twisted a bit.

Minimal but intentional. No doubt he was intending to land the elbow. It shouldn't matter if it didn't land. Dime a dozen, BP? Yeah 10 to Gallen and 2 to someone reacting to him.

 

[Morkel]

Turner slipping (or ducking) nothwithstanding, was that not a clear new-school Shoulder Charge? Where the onus is on the defender to not strike the head with their shoulder? If the "original tackle" is what did the damage, how come Gallen's not getting 7 weeks, since it was clearly illegal?

 

[Big Pete]

For reference.

They wouldn't classify that a shoulder charge since Gal used his arm in the tackle. It's only a shoulder charge when the guy decides to tuck his arm.

I get it, some people want to use this place as a way to bag Gal or anyone affiliated with NSW. And usually it's no skin off my nose but I just wanted to point out that I disagree with the notion that a player should be suspended because another happened to suffer an injury. If the person did something that was deemed a suspension regardless of, suspend them, if not then play on. What Gal did was a dime a dozen and I would be pissed if Parker had to sit seven weeks out for it as I'm sure a lot of you guys would be too.

 

[broncos4life]

I wasn't just trying to have a go at gal. As I said earlier I thought the issue was caused by the elbow to the neck and I would have taken as much exception to that as if Parker did it

 

[Big Pete]

A couple of interesting notes from the Preview edition of Big League...

They decided to use stats in order to rank each team.

Stats were based on different key stastical categories including tries, try assists, kicking metres, goal-kicking percentages, runs, running metres, line-breaks, line-break assists, offloads, tackles and tackle breaks across the NRL and Super League.

This is how they ranked...

1. Brisbane Broncos
2. South Sydney Rabbitohs
3. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
4. North Queensland Cowboys
5. Cronulla Sharks
6. St. George Illawarra Dragons
7. Warriors
8. Manly Sea Eagles
9. Newcastle Knights
10. Melbourne Storm
11. Penrith Panthers
12. Sydney Roosters
13. Parramatta Eels
14. Canberra Raiders
15. Wests Tigers
16. Gold Coast Titans

Best Backs: Souths
Best Halves: Brisbane
Best Forwards: Cronulla

Big League Top 8 Predictions (on average)
1. Sydney Roosters
2. North Queensland Cowboys
3. South Sydney Rabbitohs
4. Penrith Panthers
5. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
6. Cronulla Sharks
7. Manly Sea Eagles
8. Brisbane Broncos

Wooden Spoon: Gold Coast Titans

Warriors, Melbourne, Newcastle and Parramatta were also nominated for a spot.

Interesting selections...

Brisbane: Daniel Vidot & Todd Lowrie on the bench
Canberra: Paul Vaughan second row, FPN starting prop, Shillington bench, no Soliola.
Cronulla: Bird on the bench
Gold Coast: Hoffman fullback, Moseley, Pettybourne and Burr bench
Newcastle: Sione at fulback, Kidley hooker.
Cowboys: Hall lock
Eels: Robinson fullback, Fa'aoso bench
Roosters: McDonald > Ferguson
Warriors: Fusitua wing
Wests Tigers: Funaki on the bench

 

[Super Freak]

Bulldogs announced James Graham as the new captain.

Good choice IMO.

 

[Rally Towel]

Bulldogs announced James Graham as the new captain.

Good choice IMO.

Can't fault that. May not play 80 but still big minutes and always gives 110%.

Wonder if he'll have any problems communicating with refs?

 

[ivanhungryjak]

Can't fault that. May not play 80 but still big minutes and always gives 110%.

Wonder if he'll have any problems communicating with refs?

Sure he'll be able to chew their ears. Boom tish

 

[abashii]

Can't fault that. May not play 80 but still big minutes and always gives 110%.

Wonder if he'll have any problems communicating with refs?

Unlikely. They may not get the precise wording but he manages to get his point across pretty clearly.

 

[Cult]

Oh man, I'm so keen!

 

[broncos4life]

Oh man, I'm so keen!

Gotta say I love this years ad, best one they have had in a while and soooo much better than last years imo

 

[Rally Towel]

Good ad. Well targeted to many demographics as well as the core fan base.

I'm not a huge fan of the song itself, but it's implemented well.

 

[Mr Fourex]

EDIT Homophobic language.

 

[Morkel]

So the refs have been given the green light to stamp out wrestling. My first thought is: Why the **** didn't they crack down during the trials?!?!? From what I hear it was the same old bullshit, three or four in a tackle, peel off one-by-one. IMO, when the ref says held, the tacklers should get two seconds, max, before the tackled player is able to stand up and play it unimpeded. Too many tacklers for that to happen? Too bad. Can't get on-side in time? Too bad.

NRL coaches warned the penalties will be severe for wrestling

THE NRL is preparing to launch a major crackdown aimed at minimising “the wrestle” this season, with all clubs warned to expect to be penalised for bending the rules.
In the countdown to the season kick-off on Thursday, NRL head of football Todd Greenberg has given referees a green light to enforce the new “interpretation” about when a tackled player must be released.
With coaches guaranteed to blow up at heavy penalty counts over the opening rounds, Greenberg has reminded all clubs the NRL will not be backing down.

The rule change has already created outrage among rival coaches, with many fuming about Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson and Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett being privy to the new “interpretation” change prior to the rest of the NRL two days before Christmas.

Some coaches even threatened to boycott their next annual conference, but Greenberg maintains the NRL has been working with the clubs to ensure a smooth-as-possible transition.

Fundamentally, the NRL has designed the rule change to try to eradicate or lessen the influence of wrestling tactics in the game.

“If our referees need to blow penalties, they will,” Greenberg said.

“Our referees have spent countless hours with all clubs over pre-season, running through the finer points of this interpretation change. This will not come as any surprise to the coaches and to the clubs.

“The referees know that they have our full support to implement and to properly police these changes. Dave Smith (CEO) and I are right behind Tony Archer and his squad.

“This is certainly not something we see as a short-term change. These decisions are not taken lightly and this was discussed at length by the competition committee and thought through vigilantly.

“We see enormous benefits in this interpretation change, not least being the potential for less wrestling in the game.

“I have no doubt that the coaches and the players will look to push the boundaries in the early rounds but we are very clear on our direction.

“There should be no ambiguity for the players, the coaches and the clubs.”

The Sunday Telegraph as been told all clubs were visited by NRL referees over the course of the past two months, with many using wrestling coaches to question the whistleblowers about what was acceptable during opposed *sessions.

The new season will commence on Thursday night with premiers South Sydney travelling to meet the Broncos in Brisbane where Bennett has returned to the helm as head coach.

 

[Kimlo]

Great, I hate the wrestle, I just hope it's not something they'll do for a few weeks then slowly completely forget the new rule.

Should also benefit our playing style.

 

[Broncoman]

I just hope it doesn't slow the speed of the game and it becomes a penalty slugfest. A fast moving and flowing game is essential to the games image and better for the fans.

 

[Big Pete]

That's going to be one of the realities of the situation.

The sooner teams wake up to themselves and adjust, the better for the game.

Of course if the referees are true to their word, I expect there will be a few games with ridiculous penalty counts, commentators will have a whinge instead of supporting it and the public will tell the referees to stop getting involved.

The referees need to draw a line in the sand and stick with it.

 

[Morkel]

That's going to be one of the realities of the situation.

The sooner teams wake up to themselves and adjust, the better for the game.

Of course if the referees are true to their word, I expect there will be a few games with ridiculous penalty counts, commentators will have a whinge instead of supporting it and the public will tell the referees to stop getting involved.

The referees need to draw a line in the sand and stick with it.

They're going to have to stick with it. This was supposed to happen last year, but they went soft and it was back to a ground show. They wouldn't be publicly declaring it again if they didn't intend to follow it through, the backlash will be immense.