Off-Season Viewing 18/19

[Big Pete]

With only one International game remaining, it's high time to dust off the DVD player, set the Foxtel IQ and reminisce about the classic moments the greatest game of all has given us.

 

[Big Pete]

State of Origin 2008
Game III

Get a load of this NSW side.

Kurt Gidley, Jarryd Hayne, Joel Monaghan, Matt Cooper, Anthony Quinn
Braith Anasta, Mitchell Pearce
Ben Cross, Danny Buderus, Brett White, Craig Fitzgibbon, Ryan Hoffman, Paul Gallen

Brett Stewart, Willie Mason, Anthony Laffranchi, Anthony Tupou

A fullback on the bench, a 19-year old rookie halfback, a middle forward on an edge and an 'impact' workhorse.

This indecisiveness from the selectors slipped into the team's mentality and prevented them from truly challenging the Maroons. Set after set NSW persisted with one off the ruck footy and when they felt adventurous, they'd play short to Hoffman.

I feel for Pearce. At 19 he wasn't ready for this level of footy. Like Mullen the previous year, his first half wasn't bad. He was quiet, but when it was his turn to put in a kick, he nailed most of them and his defence was on the money. Nerves got the better of him in the second half, but he received little support.

Anasta was MIA and Gidley decided to retire his passing game after he put Cooper over in the first half. Buderus was as tenacious as ever, but tunnel vision got the better of him. In comparison to Smith, Buderus only had one gear, flat-out. Nobody, not even his own team-mates could keep up with him, which made even the most basic of set-plays look clunky.

The Stewart selection was baffling. It was a case of monkey see, monkey do with NSW imitating the Maroons selection policy without understanding the logic. NSW bullied Slater in the first game and forced the Maroons to play from behind the entire evening. Stewart had been the Blue's best since Game II 2007 and didn't require the same protection. To make matters worse, he didn't enter the game until the 50th minute and he was starved of good ball.

The Blues tried hard all game but lacked the team work to beat the Maroons. On the rare occassions where they decided to spread the football, they looked dangerous but it was too little, too late.

 

[Big Pete]

This is peak Rugby League nerdom, but this is the side New South Wales should have gone with in that game.

Brett Stewart, Joel Monaghan, Jamie Lyon, Matt Cooper, Jarryd Hayne
Kurt Gidley, Matt Orford
Willie Mason, Danny Buderus, Jason Ryles, Nathan Hindmarsh, Ryan Hoffman, Paul Gallen

Robbie Farah, Brent Kite, Anthony Watmough, Mark O'Meley

Did it bother anyone else that Manly rarely had to put up their best players in Origin? Sure, they had to give up Stewart, but the only way the 'monkey see, monkey do' logic doesn't pass muster is if you don a tin-foil hat and believe Bozo wanted to wrap Brett in cotton for the premeirship race.

Lyon, Orford and Watmough I'd consider no-brainers. Kite had never been that impressive in the Origin arena, but he had a career year in '08 and if there was ever a time he deserved to be there, it was 08.

I didn't have enough words, but Hayne was one of the Blues worst in Game III. He's never looked comfortable on the right hand-side for whatever reason. In 2009 Hayne would play down the left for NSW and was arguably the best player of the entire series. As Queensland found out with Israel, it's crazy what a positional swap will do for a player.

Five-Eighth was always a concern for NSW. Anasta was a logical choice, but not enough had changed in his game to earn a reprieve. Finch, Mateo, Mullen, Campese and Soward would have all been in the conversation but either didn't have the runs on the board or their form was too up and down to be selected. The Blues were high on Gidley, he had a combination with Buderus and could play that running five-eighth which suited Orford's game.

I never understood what Ryles, O'Meley or Hindmarsh did to be exiled from the Blues squad. Ryles and O'Meley in particular rarely got out-muscled in the middle and usually offered something in the middle of the ruck. I could understand possibly wanting more spark on the edge, so I would have been OK with G. Stewart on the right edge, but the wholesale changes messed the Blues up.

Finally, Buderus needed a proper relief hooker. Farah was close to the best player in 2007 and was more than deserving of an opportunity.

Queensland would still find a way to win, but at least the game would have been a chance of being more entertaining.

 

[Morkel]

Was this during Lyon's self-imposed Origin exile though?

Interesting theory on Manly / Fulton and wanting to shield the Sea Eagles' players, because more recently (while Fulton was still a selector) it seems the opposite - he arguably used his Blues affiliation to lure players to Manly with the promise of NSW selection (Dylan Walker etc).

 

[Big Pete]

Was this during Lyon's self-imposed Origin exile though?

Interesting theory on Manly / Fulton and wanting to shield the Sea Eagles' players, because more recently (while Fulton was still a selector) it seems the opposite - he arguably used his Blues affiliation to lure players to Manly with the promise of NSW selection (Dylan Walker etc).

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/lyons-rep-in-tatters-after-snubbing-blues-20080625-gdsjgy.html

Right you are.

Originally I thought he was overlooked given he played 2007 then 2009-10. I wonder if he still would have played if he wasn't overlooked for Gasnier & Cooper in the opener? It certainly would have more appealing to have the entire series than to come in as a replacement after a record loss.

Outside of having Hayne play on the right instead of the left, I can't fault the selectors. J. Morris, Jennings, Lawrence were the only viable alternatives. Players like El Masi, Robertson, D. Williams, M. Gordon would have been in the mix, but it's difficult envisioning them doing any better than Quinn.

Outside of gifting Queensland their first try, I thought Quinn was one of the Blues better players on field. There were a few times where he'd get their sets off with a tough run where he'd bounce off a tackle or two, very Hancock esque.

My take on Bozo is that he was very selective on which Manly players made the team. So every so often he was more than happy to vouch for players like Jason King, Josh Perry, Will Hopoate, Jamie Buhrer since they wouldn't upset the apple cart that much. However when it came to key players like Lyon, Orford, G. Stewart, Watmough etc. there was always a hesitance to select them despite their form.

Taking it a step further, I wouldn't be surprised if Lyon's decision was influenced heavily by Bozo. It doesn't take a lot of creativity to imagine Lyon and Bozo sitting down and discussing the upcoming Origin series and Bozo telling him straight he'd be better off skipping it.

Maybe I'm giving Manly far too much credit. However, something doesn't sit right about the selector's incompetence. Supposedly even Gus touched on it during the the post-series wash up.

 

[GCBRONCO]

Western Suburbs Magpies 17(Tries: Tony Cosatto David Gillespie Goals: Jason Taylor 4/4 field goal: Jason Taylor)vs Brisbane Broncos 16(Tries: Chris Johns Allan Langer Brett Plowman Goals: Terry Matterson 2/4) Round 7 1991

Magpies:
1. Shaun Devine 2. Stephen Burns 16. Trevor Cogger 4. Jamie Ainscough 5. Tony Cosatto 6. Ivan Henjak (C) 7. Jason Taylor 8. Tony Rampling 9. Joe Thomas 10. David Gillespie 11. Graeme Wynn 12. Jason Lidden 40. Ron Gibbs Bench: Steve Jackson 13. Jim Dymock 19. Reece Webb

Broncos:
1. Paul Hauff 41. Willie Carne 3. Steve Renouf 4. Chris Johns 5. Brett Plowman 6. Kevin Walters 7. Allan Langer (C) 8. Andrew Tessmann 9. Kerrod Walters 43. James Donnelly 11. Andrew Gee 12. Trevor Gillmeister 13. Terry Matterson Bench: 42. Mark Hohn 26. Brett Le Mann 40. Tony Currie


Fans will remember this match for Kerrod Walters getting sent off early on for a cheap shot on a tackled Magpies player. Interesting to watch 3 quality youngsters in Jamie Ainscough, Jim Dymock and Jason Taylor playing for the Magpies only to end up at other teams a few years later which certainly hurt the Magpies future. Taylor really showed his class with his kicking game, especially as a goalkicker and field goal expert with both proving the difference in a 17-16 finish. Broncos also had some quality youngsters to watch including Andrew Gee, Steve Renouf, Willie Carne and Paul Hauff. It was also tough to see Andrew Tessmann come back from such a horrible knee injury after getting hit by a stretch limo only to injury it again, to his credit he managed to get back onto the field again in this game and did what he could.

In a losing side Langer managed to get man of the match and it's one of those cases it was well deserved, though you could have also given it to the youngster Jason Taylor. The Broncos may have lost, but they did extremely well to keep the margin just to a field goal(they could have even won it if Matterson had of kicked one more goal!). One of those efforts that even though you lost you could walk away knowing you had a real dig.

 

[Big Pete]

The list for those curious:

Round 5 2015 vs. Gold Coast Titans
Round 8 2015 vs. Parramatta Eels
Round 25 2015 vs. South Sydney Rabbitohs
Qualifying Final 2015 vs. North Queensland
Prelim Final 2015 vs. Sydney Roosters
Round 4 2016 vs. North Queensland Cowboys
Round 7 2016 vs. Newcastle Knights
Round 10 2016 vs. Manly Sea Eagles
Elimination Final 2016 vs. Gold Coast Titans
Round 8 2017 vs. South Sydney Rabbitohs
Semi Final 2017 vs. Penrith Panthers
Round 15 2018 vs. Cronulla Sharks
Round 16 2018 vs. Canberra Raiders
Round 25 2018 vs. Manly Sea Eagles

It's a 'Best of Milford in Brisbane' compilation for those wondering. A pretty decent list, albeit I can barely remember his performances in the 2016 and 2017 finals series.

 

[GCBRONCO]

Brisbane Broncos 26 vs Canberra Raiders 12 @ Lang Park Round 3 1991 Crowd: 23801


Brisbane Broncos 26(Tries: Steve Renouf 2, Andrew Gee, Michael Hancock, Gene Miles Goals: Terry Matterson (2/3) Allan Langer (1/3) vs Canberrra Raiders 12(Tries: Scott Gale, Steve Walters Goals: 2/4)

Brisbane Broncos: 1. Tony Currie 2. Brett Plowman 3. Steve Renouf 4. Chris Johns 5. Michael Hancock 6. Kevin Walters 7. Allan Langer 8. Andrew Tessman 9. Kerrod Walters 10. Gavin Allen 11. Trevor Gillmeister 12. Andrew Gee 13. Gene Miles (C) Bench: 14. Greg Dowling 15. Terry Matterson 16. John Plath 17. Willie Morganson

Canberra Raiders: 1. Darrell McDonald 2. Paul Martin 3. Mal Meninga (c) 4. Scott Gale 5. Mark Bell 6. Matthew Wood 7. Ricky Stuart 8. Brent Todd 9. Steve Walters 10. Glenn Lazarus 11. David Barnhill 12. Gary Coyne 13. Laurie Daley Bench: 14. Phil Carey 15. Glenn Ryan 16. Brett Boyd 17. Jason Croker

Canberra Raiders despite missing a fair few players to injuries started the match the stronger, Meninga kicking an early penalty goal to give the Raiders an early 2-0 lead and then a switch of play from side to side saw Scott Gale with an angled run to score next to the posts. Surprisingly Meninga fails to convert and it's 6-0. A mistake on the returning set by Canberra sees the Broncos on the attack, Tessmann the prop puts up the bomb and McDonald drops it cold in goal and it's a line dropout. The Broncos are starting to look more lively and Gee despite copping a swinging arm does a dive act and though the Broncos get the penalty, Gee gets a deserved warning.

Now here is something you would rarely ever see from Langer! Him actually taking attempts at penalties or conversions and for good reason, he really wasn't up for it. Despite being right in front it hits the goal sticks and bounces in goal for which the Raiders regather and make it out of their in-goal, the Broncos didn't even bother to chase it to try to trap them which was pretty disappointing.

McDonald is sent off for 5 minutes for tackling Currie without the ball and the Broncos take the tap and spread it out wide, Renouf gets the ball, shows amazing footwork and looks certain to score when the ball is knocked back in a tackle attempt and Andrew Gee scoops it up to go over to score. 6-4 kick to come. Langer takes a second attempt with a harder attempt and actually makes it 6 all.

On kick return the Broncos spread it wide, make a break through Currie, Langer, Kerrod Walters, hancock all playing their part to get the Broncos deep in attack. Miles to Kevin Walters to Andrew Gee. Plowman up the middle, Langer looks certain to score but Stuart kicks it out of his hands and it should have been play on with Plowman gathering and going over to score, Broncos definitely robbed!

Currie makes use of the newly introduced 10 metre rule for kick returns by slowly working out of the in goal and making the Raider defenders wait for him for which he then accelerates and gets tackled while they are offside. Both sides have been making soft mistakes ever since that last Broncos try and it's cost both sides field position and possible points before halftime. 6-6 at half-time and really there should have been a lot more points in this match, dodgy call against the Broncos and poor ball handling from both sides really hampered that.

Both coaches at halftime hammered it home, ball control! Whoever holds onto the ball would go onto win this match both coaches agreed and so did the commentators. Early into the match Plowman looks certain to score thanks to a great Miles offload but just tackled before the line. Broncos get a quick play the ball and Kevin Walters sends it out wide to Miles who goes over to score an early second half try to make it 10-6 with a kick to come. Matterson must have been interchanged prior to half time as Langer takes the attempt and he misses so it remains 10-6.

Not long after Raiders deep in attack get a penalty and Meninga decides to go for the 2 right in front and he makes it 10-8. The Raiders also look like they got robbed with Meninga putting it down in the ingoal corner before going over the sideline. One thing I notice and certainly so do the commentators, the introduction of the 10 metre defensive onside rule really was a great addition to the game, defensive teams just easily exploited the 5 metre rule.

And again both sides are just too guilty of poor ball control I have seriously lost count of how many mistakes made so many points on offer but cheap turnovers just prove costly 18 points scored so far but really should be 40 in total by now given how great these teams were in attack.

Then all of the sudden deep in the Broncos field Kevin Walters makes a great break, Renouf in support positions himself perfectly to go in under the post untouched, easily the best try and attacking raid of the game so far. 14-8 before Matterson converts to make it 16-8. Broncos make another break through Miles but Matterson unfortunately knocks it on. Daley gets penalised for not playing the ball correctly and Broncos are deep in attack. Again sloppy ball control sees the Raiders counterattack only to lose it with no one to receive the play the ball and the Broncos diving on it. A few tackles later Langer puts up a bomb, Bell takes the ball and Plowman absolutely crunches him which makes Bell lose the ball and Steve Renouf pounces on the ball and goes over to score his second of the match to make it 20-8 with Matterson failing to convert and the match remains 20-8.

Raiders respond with Steve Walters strolling through some soft Broncos defence to make it 20-12 but Meninga fails to convert. Interesting to note the commentators talking about Bennett's days at the Raiders and Bennett crediting Don Furner for recruiting a lot of the stars the Raiders would produce that would make them a force in the coming seasons.

Oh what a try combination from Currie and Hancock absolutely outstanding! Meninga puts in a well placed chip kick but Currie cleans it up so very nicely to make a break and sends it inside to Hancock who goes over under the sticks untouched, Matterson converts and it's 26-12.

Langer makes a trademark break up the middle, Currie supports him on the outside and looks certain to score but just brought down. Raiders lucky not to be penalised for being offside on the last tackle, Steve Walters especially lucky not to be binned for making the tackle and he was still getting back onside! Not long after it looks like Kevin Walters will make a break up the middle but knocks it on and the match is over. Final score 26-12.

What could have been an electrifying match from both sides was hampered by poor ball control and sloppy passes. But to be fair it was only round 3 of the competition and you could hardly expect either side to be at their peak. Currie, Hancock, Tessmann were probably the best 3 for the Broncos. While for the Raiders I would say Meninga, Lazo and Walters were their best in a beaten side. I don't think I'll forget seeing Langer attempting penalty and conversion attempts! Trust me people, there has been worse then Parker in our history as a club when it comes to kicking goals!

 

[holdzy]

Re-watching some old games from the early nineties, it was really uncanny how similar Milf and Hunt were to Kev and Alf.

Canberra vs Broncos in the finals 93 a classic example of this.

 

[Big Pete]

2013 Grand Final
Sydney Roosters vs. Manly Sea Eagles

After years of anticipation, 2013 was set to be the year the Sydney Roosters would finally meet South Sydney in a Grand Final. Finally a match worthy of the rivalry, the stars had all aligned and it was a promoter's dream...

...only Souths decided to implode in the second half against Manly. Oh well, Sydney/Manly in the first week of the finals was a great match, so this was a decent consolation.

In my review of the Blues Game 3 08 loss, I described their obsession with the inside pass and their unwillingness to go long. In this case, it was the complete opposite. Manly refused to run the ball straight, opting instead to play laterally, making their edge players sitting ducks for the aggressive Roosters defence.

What Toovey would have given to have some more of his props available. Jason King, Joe Galuvao, Richard Fa'aoso were all unavailable, which meant that after Kite came from the field, Jamie Buhrer suddenly found himself as the chief prop forward in the Sea Eagle's pack. It's where the Sea Eagles needed G. Stewart & Watmough to stand up, but neither player was able to play with the authority they needed. Actually early on Watmough threatened to be the player the Sea Eagles needed with some strong hits and surging runs, but then he decided to play cute. On the other hand, G. Stewart had the luxury of running at Maloney, but appeared to be playing in a dinner suit. G. Stewart did go down in the first tackle in the game, so I wonder if he broke a rib in that exchange? I never heard anything, but it would explain a lot.

I thought the Roosters were a team that had too much talent for their opposition, but made their night harder than it had to be. They struggled to get into any sort of rhythm and kept making turnovers at inopportune times. Fortunately for them they just had too much talent and when you've got so many kicking targets like Tupou and Jennings it makes life so much easier. Once Kite went off the field, the Rooster's forwards took over the contest, allowing the Roosters to put in kick after kick which the Sea Eagles couldn't defend.

One player that surprised me was Minichiello. I've always been under the assumption that once his back went in 2007, he was a mere shadow of a first grade player. Truthfully that wasn't a fair take and while Minichiello was no longer the best player in the game like he was in 2004/05, he could still hold his own and be counted on when the moment called. His support play for the Kenny-Dowall try was pivotal and the way he'd return the football gave the Roosters an edge over Manly.

Another player who surprised me for all the wrong reasons was Lyon. At the time I was critical of Wolfman's performance and while his defence was poor, a lot of mistakes he made in attack can be put down to Lyon's poor judgement. Jamie didn't have the type of performance you'd come to suspect, with his best play milking a penalty try when the bounce of the ball would have beaten him. His inability to field a cross-field kick led directly to the Roosters' comeback and gave the opposition all the momentum.

CC Medal - Should have gone to Moa. He was a machine in the middle, bruising the Sea Eagles with and without the ball and even laying on great passes. If it wasn't for Rose's incredible try saver, he would have been a shoe in.

Based on the criteria the Aus selectors usually go on (aka how many times do they appear on the highlights video) it should have gone to Maloney. Played a hand in three of their tries, most of his kicks were on-song and his goal kicking was on-point.

At the time I was fine with the decision of giving it to DCE, but that's when I valued faultless performances over impactful ones. Outside of a five minute window, DCE didn't appear that threatening and struggled to straighten the Sea Eagles attack. This felt like one of those performances where DCE was in his own world and while it was a good individual performance, in a team environment it was lacking.

 

[holdzy]

Petero’s 300th game is coming up on Fox, rd 16 2012 against the Rabbitohs.

 

[TonyTheJugoslav]

Petero’s 300th game is coming up on Fox, rd 16 2012 against the Rabbitohs.

Unfortunately it would seem Maccas game has not evolved much in 6 years.

 

[Big Pete]

On the 11th of January, Fox League will be screening some of the greatest Broncos victories.

12:00am - Round 24, 2008 - Broncos vs Titans
1:00am - Round 8, 2005 - Broncos vs Sea Eagles
2:00am - Round 3, 1998 - Broncos vs Panthers
3:00am - Round 4, 2000 - Broncos vs Sharks
4:00am - Round 1, 2009 - Broncos vs Cowboys
5:00am - Round 4, 1996 - Broncos vs Crushers
6:00am - Round 4, 2012 - Broncos vs. Rabbitohs
7:00am - Round 8, 1992 - Broncos vs Dragons
8:00am - Round 1, 2004 - Broncos vs Warriors
9:00am - Round 14, 1990 - Broncos vs Raiders
10:00am - Round 24, 2008 - Broncos vs. Titans
11:00am - Round 19, 2018 - Broncos vs Panthers
1:00pm - Round 4, 1996 - Broncos vs. Crushers
2:00pm - Round 22, 2011 - Broncos vs. Warriors
3:00pm - Round 22, 2000 - Broncos vs. Panthers
4:00pm - Round 14, 1990 - Broncos vs. Raiders
5:00pm - 1992 Grand Final
6:30pm - 1993 Grand Final
8:00pm - 1998 Grand Final
9:00pm - 2000 Grand Final
10:30pm - 2006 Grand Final

For those playing at home, yes, this is nearly the exact same line-up from 3 years ago, with only the 2018 game being the major difference. It's a great starting spot for any fan and it's well worth a trip down memory lane, but as somebody who enjoys watching pre-2005 footage, it's disheartening to see the same games replayed over and over again.

Also I hate how they include the 2012 Rabbits game. They may as well throw in the 2008 Semi Final while they're at it.

 

[GCBRONCO]

Highly recommend the Round 14 1990 game against the Raiders, intense match from both sides with a thrilling finish thanks to some Hauff magic. I would have liked to have seen the first win against the Tigers of that same year on that list, it was a huge win for the Broncos over a side that trouble the Broncos in their first two seasons.

 

[Big Pete]

2001 Grand Final
Parramatta Eels vs. Newcastle Knights

This was the perfect example of what happens when teams find themselves in uncomfortable positions. Parramatta had been the first team to score in their past 22 games, but within minutes of the biggest game of the season, they found themselves down by 10 points. It wasn't like the Knights had to do anything special to score those points either.

Their first try came off a Gidley tackle where it appeared he took Hindmarsh without the ball. Then moments later, Peden dummied his way over the line in an unconving try. To the naked eye, it appeared Kennedy had impeded the defence. Replays proved the opposite, with the Eels defence of Brad Drew, Michael Buettner and Jamie Lyon all getting it horribly wrong.

Their second was off a horrible attempt at charge down. Newcastle had their tails up at that point and that extra set of six helped them set up a nice play for Simpson who crashed over on the fringe.

It really bent the Eels nose out of shape and the qualities the team was known for like their interchange of passing and support play eluded them. The Eels found themselves in a hole and the Knights were happy to keep them there with some amazing goal-line defence. Steve Simpson's tackle on Andrew Ryan has to go down as one of the best try-savers in grand final history. 9/10 the Eels score and suddenly they're back into the game, the Knights wouldn't let the Eels cross until the 58th minute.

The key for this game was the speed around the ruck. The Knights did a fantastic job of utilising their backs around the middle of the pack to give Johns and Kennedy the space to inflict damage. A lot has been made about Joey's completeness as a player, but what I liked about his game was his obsession with targeting that space behind the ruck. What I like about that play is that it forces the defence to come in, creating space out-wide which Johns would invariably capitilise on. He'd play straight, then stand two passes wide and hand the ball to BK or one of his backs, whoever was in position to utilise that space.

It was a near immaculate performance from Joey, with the only real blemish being his obsession with the field goal. He made three attempts, including one from dead centre 20 metres out and he missed all of them. By that point, the game was all but over, but he could have made it a sure thing by simply looking for the try.

Outside of that, one thing I took out of this rewatch was just how absurd Jamie Lyon's first try was. The Eels attempt a kick into the corner which MacDougall knocks down. MacDougall fails to ground the ball, then Jamie Lyon fails to ground the ball, brushes it with his right arm before eventually grounding it. The video referee eventually gives them a pity try, supposedly on this old interpretation that he didn't 'play at the ball' which was this awful grey area. @Morkel do you know the try I'm talking about?

 

[Morkel]

I don't recall seeing it myself, unfortunately the late 90s and early 2000s was my Uni / Cars / Girls (attempted anyway) phase.

But the talk of it lived a lot longer. By the time I got to witness multiple Jamie Lyon torso tries, including one where it pinballed multiple times between the ground and his chest before he fell on it like a live grenade, the legend was well and truly alive.

 

[Big Pete]

Serious trigger warning.

 

[Morkel]

Correct. Triggered.