Old School Footy Discussion

[Big Pete]

I was thinking about the Knights and how it all went pear shape for them.

The narrative seems to be that Bennett and Tinkler left them in a mess and while that's true to an extent, I think it runs deeper than that. Time has seemingly forgotten that in 2005 Newcastle didn't win their first game until Round 16. While they were able to bounce back through Joey, they were no longer a force in the game and really hadn't been since 2002.

I think Hagan fell asleep at the wheel and let a lot of good talent fall between the cracks like Greg Inglis and his signings left so much to be desired. One of the reasons why Newcastle were so successful is that they had the best of both worlds and while they had some of the best players coming through their system they complimented them with promising players like Adam MacDougall, Ben Kennedy, Matt Parsons etc. You look at the signings that came later like Kirk Reynoldson, Dustin Cooper, Russell Richardson, Tim Maddison and it was just a far cry for what happened.

Brian Smith came into the club and he was brought into really change the culture of the club. The issue is that Smith made a lot of enemies at the club along the way and it fed the media machine. Smith constantly found himself in the headlines for the wrong reasons, to the point where once he was offered the job at the Roosters he jumped at it.

Smith was a very talented coach who could identify things in players that other coaches would often overlook. He was fantastic at making some very astute signings and drafting up gameplans that highlighted weaknesses in the opposition. The problem was the Knights were still a work in progress when Smith left and things were about to get worse. Arguably his two best signings were Danny Wicks and Chris Houston, two very strong prospects from the St George Illawarra system and both of them were charged with drug related offences.

On top of that a lot of the Knights success came down to the form of Kurt Gidley who was so highly involved he performed the job of three players. I think fans forget just how good he was from 2007-09 before the weight of the New South Wales captaincy got to him and injuries started to pile up. He missed a fair portion of the Knights 2010 season and really struggled to find that form that form that made him one of the top players in the game.

Still, the Knights played above themselves and finished with an acceptable 10-14 record. The following year, they'd go 2 games better going 12-12 and qualifying for the finals. The problem was, that was their ceiling and a lot of players from that time period peaked then and there.

The concerning thing is that Newcastle really didn't have a lot of talent coming through. They couldn't afford to run a NSW Cup side, so they organised an affiliation with the Central Coast where they'd send their depth players so they could play some footy. Their U/20s, which was a competition they usually performed well in, struggled with their highest finish being 8th in 2011.

It's actually why I find the discussion surrounding Bennett and the long term future at the Knights to be so misconstrued. Bennett made a number of mistakes but Newcastle went from a team that was struggling to make the numbers to one of the top teams in the NSW Cup. They finished minor premiers in Bennett's final season and would go one better the next year. The Knights NYC side went from an also-ran to minor premiers with some genuinely exciting talent.

I don't blame Knights fans for being upset with Bennett. He had an optional year in his contract but he chose to go in a different direction and in his own words 'sack himself'. However this talk about how he was hellbent on winning the premiership isn't true.

What he tried to do was build a culture at the club which is why a lot of his signings were former Knights players who had been involved with Newcastle during their last glory period. On top of that, he brought a few Dragons players with him to help guide them. The issue was he tried to do too much at once and fell for the trick a lot of premiership coaches do where they stick with players beyond their prime. Newcastle didn't need Jeremy Smith, they needed the next Jeremy Smith. There were other problems as well, it was highly rumoured that he was overruled on signing Kade Snowden to a big money deal so he had to be far more selective with his signings.

Nathan Brown was afforded a luxury very few coaches are. He was given three seasons to rebuild and while they eventually landed the signing of Kalyn Ponga which in turn brought over the likes of Mitchell Pearce, David Klemmer and Tyson Frizell the Knights haven't managed to win a finals game since Bennett. It remains to be seen whether they can amend that this season, but with their skipper on the sideline for a fair portion of the season and the whispers surrounding Ponga growing louder, it looks like the Knights woes are set to continue.

 

[Sproj]

I was thinking about the Knights and how it all went pear shape for them.

The narrative seems to be that Bennett and Tinkler left them in a mess and while that's true to an extent, I think it runs deeper than that. Time has seemingly forgotten that in 2005 Newcastle didn't win their first game until Round 16. While they were able to bounce back through Joey, they were no longer a force in the game and really hadn't been since 2002.

I think Hagan fell asleep at the wheel and let a lot of good talent fall between the cracks like Greg Inglis and his signings left so much to be desired. One of the reasons why Newcastle were so successful is that they had the best of both worlds and while they had some of the best players coming through their system they complimented them with promising players like Adam MacDougall, Ben Kennedy, Matt Parsons etc. You look at the signings that came later like Kirk Reynoldson, Dustin Cooper, Russell Richardson, Tim Maddison and it was just a far cry for what happened.

Brian Smith came into the club and he was brought into really change the culture of the club. The issue is that Smith made a lot of enemies at the club along the way and it fed the media machine. Smith constantly found himself in the headlines for the wrong reasons, to the point where once he was offered the job at the Roosters he jumped at it.

Smith was a very talented coach who could identify things in players that other coaches would often overlook. He was fantastic at making some very astute signings and drafting up gameplans that highlighted weaknesses in the opposition. The problem was the Knights were still a work in progress when Smith left and things were about to get worse. Arguably his two best signings were Danny Wicks and Chris Houston, two very strong prospects from the St George Illawarra system and both of them were charged with drug related offences.

On top of that a lot of the Knights success came down to the form of Kurt Gidley who was so highly involved he performed the job of three players. I think fans forget just how good he was from 2007-09 before the weight of the New South Wales captaincy got to him and injuries started to pile up. He missed a fair portion of the Knights 2010 season and really struggled to find that form that form that made him one of the top players in the game.

Still, the Knights played above themselves and finished with an acceptable 10-14 record. The following year, they'd go 2 games better going 12-12 and qualifying for the finals. The problem was, that was their ceiling and a lot of players from that time period peaked then and there.

The concerning thing is that Newcastle really didn't have a lot of talent coming through. They couldn't afford to run a NSW Cup side, so they organised an affiliation with the Central Coast where they'd send their depth players so they could play some footy. Their U/20s, which was a competition they usually performed well in, struggled with their highest finish being 8th in 2011.

It's actually why I find the discussion surrounding Bennett and the long term future at the Knights to be so misconstrued. Bennett made a number of mistakes but Newcastle went from a team that was struggling to make the numbers to one of the top teams in the NSW Cup. They finished minor premiers in Bennett's final season and would go one better the next year. The Knights NYC side went from an also-ran to minor premiers with some genuinely exciting talent.

I don't blame Knights fans for being upset with Bennett. He had an optional year in his contract but he chose to go in a different direction and in his own words 'sack himself'. However this talk about how he was hellbent on winning the premiership isn't true.

What he tried to do was build a culture at the club which is why a lot of his signings were former Knights players who had been involved with Newcastle during their last glory period. On top of that, he brought a few Dragons players with him to help guide them. The issue was he tried to do too much at once and fell for the trick a lot of premiership coaches do where they stick with players beyond their prime. Newcastle didn't need Jeremy Smith, they needed the next Jeremy Smith. There were other problems as well, it was highly rumoured that he was overruled on signing Kade Snowden to a big money deal so he had to be far more selective with his signings.

Nathan Brown was afforded a luxury very few coaches are. He was given three seasons to rebuild and while they eventually landed the signing of Kalyn Ponga which in turn brought over the likes of Mitchell Pearce, David Klemmer and Tyson Frizell the Knights haven't managed to win a finals game since Bennett. It remains to be seen whether they can amend that this season, but with their skipper on the sideline for a fair portion of the season and the whispers surrounding Ponga growing louder, it looks like the Knights woes are set to continue.

Which is all a shame that they continue to be also rans, they have some of the most devout and loyal fans in the game. A strong Knights team is good for the NRL in general.

 

[Big Pete]

I decided to take up @Super Freak's trip down memory lane and watched the R5 2007 game vs. the Gold Coast Titans.

Titans won 28-16 in a frustrating loss for the Broncos.

The main observation I took out of it was that the Broncos tried to play too fast. They'd earn good quick play the balls, but the attack would be completely out of sync with decoys getting in the road or the players standing flat on a big backline shift.

Berrigan is remembered as one of the best dummy halves in club history, but based on performances like this I'd argue he was a quality player who happened to be at 9. He had a real issue with putting passes out in front of players and just getting the ball to the right parts of the field. The width of a Rugby League field is 68m wide, yet the Broncos attack only seemed to be concerned with the space 23m out from the right touchline.

The idea is that they'd play through that channel and give Hodges good early ball, but by only playing through that part of the field, they didn't give Hodges & Tate any space to operate in.

Frustration seeped in which led to errors which led to poor defensive efforts. Lockyer & Hodges in particular really stood out to me, with Mark Minichiello bumping both off easily when they had him covered. Then off a Titans loose ball, Hodges comes in off his centre and gives the Gold Coast a major overlap for no reason. The Titans go through the hands one side of the field to the other and make it 12-0.

I had to have a look at my 3-2-1s apparently I went Civoniceiva, Eastwood & Karmichael. Based on what I saw, I would have voted for Karmichael who did his job at the back and was one of the few who looked likely with the ball. However I'd have to go through with a fine tooth comb for my other two players. It wouldn't take a strong argument for me to vote Civoniceiva, but if anything it seemed like a below par performance from his standards. Eastwood came up with two-three good plays, but not a whole lot else. If anything, he never seemed to be in position and it effectively hurt Locky's game who loves that crash ball.

The Broncos tried to wind back the clock and had Tunza out in the centres so he and Berrigan could swap positions in defence. It started well with Tunza's defence forcing a goal line drop out, but as the game wore on he had 2-3 missed assignments that allowed the Titans to work it out of danger or led to tries. Apparantly I had no thoughts on this at the time, but 16 years later I can tell you it was a silly move and Bennett should have told Tate to suck it up and play on the left.

I wonder why Bennett changed a winning team the week before? I was still off Darbs for ruining my birthday weekend, but still a comprehensive 32-10 win, I wonder what the story was?

A couple of other notes

- We need to keep track of Rugby League anamolies like scrums going against the feed, falcon tries etc. In this game we had a Lance Thompson style knock on off the goal-line drop out.

- Speaking of goal-line drop-outs, nothing annoyed me more than the 'Terry Campese style drop-out kick' when Lockyer was banging those out on the regular for years prior. He was always good for a 50m+ drop out.

- This game certainly put the Battle of Brisbane into perspective, namely on how to keep in touch even when things are going wrong. I was really impressed with the Capewell try for the Broncos, well executed and at a time where players were out on their feet.

 

[Xzei]

was thinking the other day remembering back when i was a kid going to one of the panasonic cup games at tamworth i cant remember the year or who we were playing but i seem to have a vague memory of ending up in the middle of the broncos huddle pre game when they were warming up lol gotta wonder where my parents were, also remember around the same time going to a raiders game i think it was in armidale crawling underneath those upside down v shaped crowd barriers the whole game.

 

[Big Pete]

was thinking the other day remembering back when i was a kid going to one of the panasonic cup games at tamworth i cant remember the year or who we were playing but i seem to have a vague memory of ending up in the middle of the broncos huddle pre game when they were warming up lol gotta wonder where my parents were, also remember around the same time going to a raiders game i think it was in armidale crawling underneath those upside down v shaped crowd barriers the whole game.

Ha, that's amazing. It didn't happen to be this game?

Lotto Challenge Cup 1991 - Brisbane Broncos 28 def. Newcastle Knights 13

Match info page for the Brisbane Broncos vs. Newcastle Knights game in . Broncos won 28 to 13 at Scully Park.

www.rugbyleagueproject.org

Was it definitely a Panasonic Cup game?

 

[Xzei]

Ha, that's amazing. It didn't happen to be this game?

Lotto Challenge Cup 1991 - Brisbane Broncos 28 def. Newcastle Knights 13

Match info page for the Brisbane Broncos vs. Newcastle Knights game in . Broncos won 28 to 13 at Scully Park.

www.rugbyleagueproject.org

Was it definitely a Panasonic Cup game?

Could be it was a few years ago lol think it was back when you got a few games the same night,looking at it was most likely it my father would have went to watch st george no doubt lol

 

[Big Pete]

I'm really beginning to chomp at the bit now for the season. Over the past week I've been looking at the Eels circa 2007-09, Wentworthville Magpies 08, Eels NYC 08-09, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2012 etc. etc.

There was a lot to take away, but one point that stood out to me was how much separation there was between NSW Cup and U/20s. It's something you don't see in the modern game with clubs usually withholding their star juniors from the U/21 competitions until they're ready for seniors.

However back then they'd hold players like Tony Williams and Tim Mannah back and the only NSW Cup games they'd play were the ones where the U/20s were on a bye.

Tony Williams would go onto sign with Manly but they clearly had big plans for both players and despite finishing outside the 8, there was no real effort to rush Mannah along despite Cardoba, Paulo, Hauraki, Oake etc. not panning out.

It got me thinking about how stringent clubs used to be about their 25 Man squads and how things have been skewed over the years.

It got me thinking about the Broncos 2020 squad and how it all went wrong. If you allow me to put my Sproj hat on, this was how the squad was shaping up when you limit it to 25:

1. Jack Bird 2. Corey Oates 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Darius Boyd 5. Jamayne Isaako
6. Anthony Milford 7. Brodie Croft
8. Payne Haas 9. Jake Turpin 10. Matt Lodge 11. Alex Glenn (c) 12. Tevita Pangai Jr 13. Patrick Carrigan

14. Andrew McCullough 15. Joe Ofahengaue 16. David Fifita 17. Thomas Flegler

18. Jesse Arthars 19. Xavier Coates 20. Tom Dearden 21. Herbie Farnworth 22. Jordan Kahu 23. Rhys Kennedy 24. Sean O'Sullivan 25. Keenan Palasia

With the rest of the squad looking like:

Ethan Bullemor, Tyson Gamble, Kobe Hetherington, Jamil Hopoate, Josh James, Tesi Niu, Cory Paix, Izaia Perese, Pride Petterson-Robati, Jordan Riki, Reece Walsh, Ilkena Vudogo

As your extended/development squad.

Even taking into account the mediocre spine, the imbalanced depth etc. that's still a team well in the mix for a Top 8 spot with plenty of talent coming through.

Then you look at the injuries and before a ball was even kicked - Bird, Lodge, Glenn, Kahu, O'Sullivan & Palasia were all missing in action. Outside of Alex Glenn, all those players had long term injuries and were set to miss the entire season. Then Ofahengaue got himself suspended for two weeks for a drink driving related offence just prior to the season launch, so you're down to 18/25 with Pangai Jr set to get himself suspended with his first tackle back after already serving a hefty suspension prior.

Then to add insult to injury, Perese gets himself sacked and a few of those players in the extended squad also have long term injuries. Riki suffers a horrible foot injury and Walsh had a shoulder reconstruction, so pandemic or no, he was never going to play QCup.

Typically when you look at extended squads you're lucky if there are 2-3 players who become regulars. I see seven players who have played 20+ games.

It really goes to show how much coaching nous and good fortune comes into the mix. In the end the only players in that 17 who didn't have long stints on the sideline (let's say 6+ weeks) were Boyd, Carrigan, Haas & Ofahengaue.

 

[Morkel]

I'm really beginning to chomp at the bit now for the season. Over the past week I've been looking at the Eels circa 2007-09, Wentworthville Magpies 08, Eels NYC 08-09, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2012 etc. etc.

There was a lot to take away, but one point that stood out to me was how much separation there was between NSW Cup and U/20s. It's something you don't see in the modern game with clubs usually withholding their star juniors from the U/21 competitions until they're ready for seniors.

However back then they'd hold players like Tony Williams and Tim Mannah back and the only NSW Cup games they'd play were the ones where the U/20s were on a bye.

Tony Williams would go onto sign with Manly but they clearly had big plans for both players and despite finishing outside the 8, there was no real effort to rush Mannah along despite Cardoba, Paulo, Hauraki, Oake etc. not panning out.

It got me thinking about how stringent clubs used to be about their 25 Man squads and how things have been skewed over the years.

It got me thinking about the Broncos 2020 squad and how it all went wrong. If you allow me to put my Sproj hat on, this was how the squad was shaping up when you limit it to 25:

1. Jack Bird 2. Corey Oates 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Darius Boyd 5. Jamayne Isaako
6. Anthony Milford 7. Brodie Croft
8. Payne Haas 9. Jake Turpin 10. Matt Lodge 11. Alex Glenn (c) 12. Tevita Pangai Jr 13. Patrick Carrigan

14. Andrew McCullough 15. Joe Ofahengaue 16. David Fifita 17. Thomas Flegler

18. Jesse Arthars 19. Xavier Coates 20. Tom Dearden 21. Herbie Farnworth 22. Jordan Kahu 23. Rhys Kennedy 24. Sean O'Sullivan 25. Keenan Palasia

With the rest of the squad looking like:

Ethan Bullemor, Tyson Gamble, Kobe Hetherington, Jamil Hopoate, Josh James, Tesi Niu, Cory Paix, Izaia Perese, Pride Petterson-Robati, Jordan Riki, Reece Walsh, Ilkena Vudogo

As your extended/development squad.

Even taking into account the mediocre spine, the imbalanced depth etc. that's still a team well in the mix for a Top 8 spot with plenty of talent coming through.

Then you look at the injuries and before a ball was even kicked - Bird, Lodge, Glenn, Kahu, O'Sullivan & Palasia were all missing in action. Outside of Alex Glenn, all those players had long term injuries and were set to miss the entire season. Then Ofahengaue got himself suspended for two weeks for a drink driving related offence just prior to the season launch, so you're down to 18/25 with Pangai Jr set to get himself suspended with his first tackle back after already serving a hefty suspension prior.

Then to add insult to injury, Perese gets himself sacked and a few of those players in the extended squad also have long term injuries. Riki suffers a horrible foot injury and Walsh had a shoulder reconstruction, so pandemic or no, he was never going to play QCup.

Typically when you look at extended squads you're lucky if there are 2-3 players who become regulars. I see seven players who have played 20+ games.

It really goes to show how much coaching nous and good fortune comes into the mix. In the end the only players in that 17 who didn't have long stints on the sideline (let's say 6+ weeks) were Boyd, Carrigan, Haas & Ofahengaue.

You just can't underestimate the difference injuries make to a side during each season. It would be interesting to go through each premiership team and see how many Best 17 were missing from each.

 

[Sproj]

I'm really beginning to chomp at the bit now for the season. Over the past week I've been looking at the Eels circa 2007-09, Wentworthville Magpies 08, Eels NYC 08-09, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2012 etc. etc.

There was a lot to take away, but one point that stood out to me was how much separation there was between NSW Cup and U/20s. It's something you don't see in the modern game with clubs usually withholding their star juniors from the U/21 competitions until they're ready for seniors.

However back then they'd hold players like Tony Williams and Tim Mannah back and the only NSW Cup games they'd play were the ones where the U/20s were on a bye.

Tony Williams would go onto sign with Manly but they clearly had big plans for both players and despite finishing outside the 8, there was no real effort to rush Mannah along despite Cardoba, Paulo, Hauraki, Oake etc. not panning out.

It got me thinking about how stringent clubs used to be about their 25 Man squads and how things have been skewed over the years.

It got me thinking about the Broncos 2020 squad and how it all went wrong. If you allow me to put my Sproj hat on, this was how the squad was shaping up when you limit it to 25:

1. Jack Bird 2. Corey Oates 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Darius Boyd 5. Jamayne Isaako
6. Anthony Milford 7. Brodie Croft
8. Payne Haas 9. Jake Turpin 10. Matt Lodge 11. Alex Glenn (c) 12. Tevita Pangai Jr 13. Patrick Carrigan

14. Andrew McCullough 15. Joe Ofahengaue 16. David Fifita 17. Thomas Flegler

18. Jesse Arthars 19. Xavier Coates 20. Tom Dearden 21. Herbie Farnworth 22. Jordan Kahu 23. Rhys Kennedy 24. Sean O'Sullivan 25. Keenan Palasia

With the rest of the squad looking like:

Ethan Bullemor, Tyson Gamble, Kobe Hetherington, Jamil Hopoate, Josh James, Tesi Niu, Cory Paix, Izaia Perese, Pride Petterson-Robati, Jordan Riki, Reece Walsh, Ilkena Vudogo

As your extended/development squad.

Even taking into account the mediocre spine, the imbalanced depth etc. that's still a team well in the mix for a Top 8 spot with plenty of talent coming through.

Then you look at the injuries and before a ball was even kicked - Bird, Lodge, Glenn, Kahu, O'Sullivan & Palasia were all missing in action. Outside of Alex Glenn, all those players had long term injuries and were set to miss the entire season. Then Ofahengaue got himself suspended for two weeks for a drink driving related offence just prior to the season launch, so you're down to 18/25 with Pangai Jr set to get himself suspended with his first tackle back after already serving a hefty suspension prior.

Then to add insult to injury, Perese gets himself sacked and a few of those players in the extended squad also have long term injuries. Riki suffers a horrible foot injury and Walsh had a shoulder reconstruction, so pandemic or no, he was never going to play QCup.

Typically when you look at extended squads you're lucky if there are 2-3 players who become regulars. I see seven players who have played 20+ games.

It really goes to show how much coaching nous and good fortune comes into the mix. In the end the only players in that 17 who didn't have long stints on the sideline (let's say 6+ weeks) were Boyd, Carrigan, Haas & Ofahengaue.

Speaking of old games, did you see many of the top 150 on Kayo recently?

 

[Big Pete]

Speaking of old games, did you see many of the top 150 on Kayo recently?

Just the odd game here and there. They've replayed a lot of those games to death so I haven't felt that compelled.

What about you mate? Any games stick out? I did catch a Cowboys/Panthers 03 game where a young Steve Turner only had the fullback to beat with support either side and he puts in the worst grubber kick you'll see. Penrith still won after the Cowboys gave away a ridiculous amount of charge

I usually check out their replay of 90s games. They've been digging a little deeper into their vault and putting up some 93 Brisbane that has been a blast to revisit. Renouf in particular around this period was just a joy to watch.

I was going to make a post earlier, but the Brisbane/Balmain 93 game in particular was awesome to revisit. Brisbane started terribly put turned the tables and it turned into a really fun night out. Renouf in particular was in fine touch and was laying on some awesome tries. It's up on Youtube which has slowly but surely become an awesome resource for League.

Thanks in part to the greatest anti-Newcastle Knights channel: Nomad Productions. You don't happen to have anymore Parramatta 07-08 do you @Super Freak? I was watching the Eels/Knights game, trying to figure out what made it memorable when Nathan Cayless kicked a field goal. I forgot that was the unofficial sequel to the Eels/Panthers game the year prior where Ian Hindmarsh kicked it to win it.

 

[Big Pete]

You just can't underestimate the difference injuries make to a side during each season. It would be interesting to go through each premiership team and see how many Best 17 were missing from each.

You'll find it's typically just one player come game day. Still, they would had to have overcome some adversity at some point to get there. Look at Brisbane 2006 for instance and a fifth of their original 25 man squad was unavailable come game day. They also had their share of long term injuries, off-field issues and rep commitments to juggle as well.

Still, I forgot how bad it was and I think time has been a lot kinder to that squad. Certainly a lot kinder than the 2016-17 Knights.

 

[Sproj]

Just the odd game here and there. They've replayed a lot of those games to death so I haven't felt that compelled.

What about you mate? Any games stick out? I did catch a Cowboys/Panthers 03 game where a young Steve Turner only had the fullback to beat with support either side and he puts in the worst grubber kick you'll see. Penrith still won after the Cowboys gave away a ridiculous amount of charge

I usually check out their replay of 90s games. They've been digging a little deeper into their vault and putting up some 93 Brisbane that has been a blast to revisit. Renouf in particular around this period was just a joy to watch.

I was going to make a post earlier, but the Brisbane/Balmain 93 game in particular was awesome to revisit. Brisbane started terribly put turned the tables and it turned into a really fun night out. Renouf in particular was in fine touch and was laying on some awesome tries. It's up on Youtube which has slowly but surely become an awesome resource for League.

Thanks in part to the greatest anti-Newcastle Knights channel: Nomad Productions. You don't happen to have anymore Parramatta 07-08 do you @Super Freak? I was watching the Eels/Knights game, trying to figure out what made it memorable when Nathan Cayless kicked a field goal. I forgot that was the unofficial sequel to the Eels/Panthers game the year prior where Ian Hindmarsh kicked it to win it.

They had the game I am guessing was 03 but can’t remember where Tallis plucked the ball out at the death and won it over Souths. The 08 game I think where Kemp won it at the death from a Lockyer kick when he was just coming back from injury. Kemp will also be a what could have been story, he was just so good at the Broncs before leaving.

 

[Big Pete]

They had the game I am guessing was 03 but can’t remember where Tallis plucked the ball out at the death and won it over Souths. The 08 game I think where Kemp won it at the death from a Lockyer kick when he was just coming back from injury. Kemp will also be a what could have been story, he was just so good at the Broncs before leaving.

I remember being so embarrassed with that Souths game, storming into the kitchen and contemplating all my life decisions only to hear ONE-ON-ONE. I'm pretty sure Fletch told the story that the coach was popping champagne in the dressing shed only to be informed of the bad news.

That was a shocking performance from the Broncos. They clearly didn't respect Souths at all and only turned it on late. They got away with it, but it eventually caught up on them and their run home was some of the worst football in club history.

Does Denan know how much he's worshipped on BHQ? It really goes to show how ruthless the NRL is and how tough it is to be a journeyman winger. As great as Kemp was, Brisbane went ahead and brought through Antonio Winterstein and Jharal Yow Yeh. The following year they bring through Dane Gagai.

I just think it goes to show how special one good season can look like. Even after all these years, we still think of him as this freakish talent and still think of the night against the Eels or the buzzer beater against the Raiders. I'd like to think that 2010 season opener against the Cowboys was an encore and his final game was grabbing that emblem as 40,000+ were in raptures.

I'm so glad he isn't lost to the game and has found some success in the media.

 

[Sproj]

I remember being so embarrassed with that Souths game, storming into the kitchen and contemplating all my life decisions only to hear ONE-ON-ONE. I'm pretty sure Fletch told the story that the coach was popping champagne in the dressing shed only to be informed of the bad news.

That was a shocking performance from the Broncos. They clearly didn't respect Souths at all and only turned it on late. They got away with it, but it eventually caught up on them and their run home was some of the worst football in club history.

Does Denan know how much he's worshipped on BHQ? It really goes to show how ruthless the NRL is and how tough it is to be a journeyman winger. As great as Kemp was, Brisbane went ahead and brought through Antonio Winterstein and Jharal Yow Yeh. The following year they bring through Dane Gagai.

I just think it goes to show how special one good season can look like. Even after all these years, we still think of him as this freakish talent and still think of the night against the Eels or the buzzer beater against the Raiders. I'd like to think that 2010 season opener against the Cowboys was an encore and his final game was grabbing that emblem as 40,000+ were in raptures.

I'm so glad he isn't lost to the game and has found some success in the media.

The other interesting thing for me in that Kemp game was some of the players and positions. Clinton and Hannant as starting props and dare I say it, Clinton was actually pretty impressive in that game. Parker in the second row, Stagg at 6 but not really, only place holding in between Lockyer stints. Ennis tearing it up a 9. Reece Robinson on the wing. Eastwood off the bench.

 

[Big Pete]

The other interesting thing for me in that Kemp game was some of the players and positions. Clinton and Hannant as starting props and dare I say it, Clinton was actually pretty impressive in that game. Parker in the second row, Stagg at 6 but not really, only place holding in between Lockyer stints. Ennis tearing it up a 9. Reece Robinson on the wing. Eastwood off the bench.

When he wasn't injured, unconscious, sneaking women into hotels, landing BHQ into hot-water or losing the ball, Clinton was alright.

I've always wondered what the story was with Robinson. Brisbane had plenty of wingers on their books in Kemp, Hewitt, Davies, Frawley with Beale & W. Tupou coming through. I just presume he impressed enough during the pre-season that Bennett was willing to bend over backwards to keep him here.

It ended up being a fair call, 120 NRL games is nothing to sneeze at and was still getting gigs at 31.

I think we'll need to resurrect Robert Stack from the dead to try and uncover what the Kaine Manihera deal was about. What do the Dolphins have over Wayne?

 

[Sproj]

When he wasn't injured, unconscious, sneaking women into hotels, landing BHQ into hot-water or losing the ball, Clinton was alright.

I've always wondered what the story was with Robinson. Brisbane had plenty of wingers on their books in Kemp, Hewitt, Davies, Frawley with Beale & W. Tupou coming through. I just presume he impressed enough during the pre-season that Bennett was willing to bend over backwards to keep him here.

It ended up being a fair call, 120 NRL games is nothing to sneeze at and was still getting gigs at 31.

I think we'll need to resurrect Robert Stack from the dead to try and uncover what the Kaine Manihera deal was about. What do the Dolphins have over Wayne?

Oh don’t get me started on Manihera. I still remember the hype around him on debut and hen actually watching and thinking, has there ever been a slower, more useless player in the history of the game?

 

[Super Freak]

Thanks in part to the greatest anti-Newcastle Knights channel: Nomad Productions. You don't happen to have anymore Parramatta 07-08 do you @

Super Freak? I was watching the Eels/Knights game, trying to figure out what made it memorable when Nathan Cayless kicked a field goal. I forgot that was the unofficial sequel to the Eels/Panthers game the year prior where Ian Hindmarsh kicked it to win it.

I've got the Round 19 game against us at Suncorp in '07 and Round 23 vs Tigers 08.

The others I have you can find on YouTube, their '07 SF against Bulldogs, Round 9 & 20 vs Manly and Round 6 07 vs Bulldogs.

 

[GCBRONCO]

I remember watching this one and being a bit surprised that they actually went ahead with it. Reminds me of the muddy water affairs you would see back in the 80's and earlier.