POST MORTEM. Cowboys Broncs Grand Final.

[Stix]

I don't get the JT hate.

Let it go.

I don't hate him, but I don't think he deserves all the immortal hype... Not before Locky anyway

 

[Morkel]

JT deserves all the praise he gets, not because of the GF but because of all the years he put in to it. He's been the best player in the world for a long time now. He deserves to be an immortal. Just not right now.

And that's part of what rips at my guts. This is fantastic for NQ. Thurston bowing out without a premiership as their captain would have been a tragedy. But I can't celebrate it. I can't feel anything positive towards it. I see the confetti raining down on them and just think that it should be maroon & gold confetti and you fuckers don't deserve it. Not this year. Not at our expense.

 

[Alec]

JT deserves all the praise he gets, not because of the GF but because of all the years he put in to it. He's been the best player in the world for a long time now. He deserves to be an immortal. Just not right now.

And that's part of what rips at my guts. This is fantastic for NQ. Thurston bowing out without a premiership as their captain would have been a tragedy. But I can't celebrate it. I can't feel anything positive towards it. I see the confetti raining down on them and just think that it should be maroon & gold confetti and you fuckers don't deserve it. Not this year. Not at our expense.

Pretty much 100%.

If we weren't in the grand final, I'd be cheering almost as much as if the Broncos won. But now I feel only emptiness. Hello darkness, my old friend.

But I will get over this loss quicker than if we lost to a pure evil side like the Roosters or something.

 

[Cult]

Why did we ever think we had a chance? Almost everything went the way of the Cowboys. They were the NRL's fairytale. The Cowboys begged the refs to let the teams play so the refs put their whistles away and they laid all over us all night.

Next year it's the Warriors.

 

[vertigo]

But I will get over this loss quicker than if we lost to a pure evil side like the Roosters or something.

Without a doubt, if we got done by the Roosters or Manly I would have vacated this life.

 

[Allo]

Why did we ever think we had a chance? Almost everything went the way of the Cowboys. They were the NRL's fairytale. The Cowboys begged the refs to let the teams play so the refs put their whistles away and they laid all over us all night.

Next year it's the Warriors.

Toss up between them and the Sharkies for the fixed maiden title. RTS, Luke + Johnson v Maloney, Townsend + Gallen (ugh)

 

[Big Pete]

After going back and forth on it, I decided to sit down and watch a replay of the game.

Watching it again, I've got to say, I really disagree with this mentality that the Broncos tried to defend a lead with 30 minutes to go. What other option did they really have other than kick it deep? Most of their sets started deep inside their own half after usually defending back to back sets. Usually on sets, you have one play that's meant to be the impetus for the rest of the set, but everytime the Broncos forced that, the Cowboys did a great job of slowing down the ruck without getting penalised. Normally in a club game, a lot of those second efforts would be penalised and the Broncos would be able to play football. However, this is the grand final, the referees were always going to give teams a bit of lee-way when the game got tough and unfortunately it suited the bigger Cowboys side on the occasion.

Whenever they did get an opportunity to play footy, they over-played their hand a bit too much. Two opportunities come to mind, first off, you had Ben Hunt trying to throw a face ball to Matt Gillett who was well covered by Johnathan Thurston. Personally, I have a question mark on whether Gillett ever had possession of the ball when JT went into make the tackle but the result was a knock on against Brisbane. The other opportunity was later in the game, when Feldt bobbled the ball and Reed was able to force a goal-line drop out. On that occasion, the Broncos decide to go for a long pass on the third play of the set, which was a bit too low for the bullocking Corey Oates. Had the Broncos played patient there and Boyd gone to Reed and looked for a quick play the ball, they may have got an opportunity later in the set.

Unfortunately that was it for them that set. A combination of silly penalties, strong carries and great last tackle options gave the Cowboys all the opportunities they needed to eventually crack the defence.

In fairness to the Broncos, the defence on their line was superb. Some amazing tackles from Reed, Gillett, Blair, Parker & Thaiday as well as some huge plays from Milford really kept the Cowboys at bay for the majority of that second half. I thought they were very unlucky on a few occasions to be at their line as well. For starters, the 'knock on' from Thaiday was clearly knocked out by James Tamou in a three man tackle. How that was not picked up by the referees given the way the ball came out baffles me. How they missed the Lachlan Coote fore-arm to Boyd was also puzzling. It seemed clear to me the referees didn't want to get their hands dirty, so outside of a few relatively soft penalties to both teams in the opening half, they put their whistles away even though one side had earned a penalty on a number of occasions. Again, it isn't going to change anytime soon and nobody outside of the Broncos will bat an eyelid but obviously the Broncos have every right to feel frustrated with that performance from Reynolds and Cummins. The only call they got any lee-way with was the knock back against Boyd. That could have easily been called a knock on, although replays showed the ball went backwards out of the hand. For mine, any doubt over that evened up when it appeared Linnett lost it forward into the Broncos before regathering it in the last set of regular time.

It's all just a bag of sea shells. At the end of the day, the Broncos have a great side on their hands that has plenty of upside in them. A few too many schoolboy errors cost them, but you've got to realise, this has been by and large a Cowboys side that has been playing the same brand of footy for years. I'd say as far back as 2009 in terms of relying on their power through the middle, a bit of guile from the dummy half, a playmaking fullback and of course JT running the show. It took them six years and a fantastic performance for them to get over this team. Somehow, I don't think it's going to take the Broncos that long. For starters, their best performers on the night were largely from their younger brigade. Jordan Kahu, Corey Oates, Anthony Milford, Jarrod Wallace, Joe Ofahengaue all really impressed on the big stage. They weren't alone mind you, it takes more than a handful of players to put in a performance like that, but it isn't like the premiership window is closing either.

Also, I know a lot of people have noted the absence of McGuire, but it appeared to me the Broncos were carrying three players who were quite clearly injured. Alex Glenn, Justin Hodges and Kodi Nikorima all seemed short of a gallop and couldn't get as involved as they normally would. It's a tall order, but if they go into the next finals campaign relatively unscathed I'm sure they'll take the next step.

To lose in that fashion obviously hurts. It was such a cruel way for one of the most entertaining and endearing sides to finish but there were a ton of positives to take out of the game and I believe that needs to be recognised and going into our second year under Bennett there is the genuine possibility it can only get better.

 

[Big Pete]

As for the Clive Churchill, I believe the selectors got it 100% right.

JT was the best half on the field, which is no small feat when he was up against Anthony Milford who may have played the best game of his young career. Slowish start, he really warmed into the contest mid-way through the first half and kept the Broncos on their toes from that point on. Everytime it seemed like the Broncos were about to gain the ascedency, it was JT making or setting up the break, or coming up with the defensive play to stop it. You could argue Tamou, Granville and Milford were all better in that half, however there was no better player in the second. JT was everywhere and was desperately unlucky not to have more TAs or LBAs to his name. That play for Linnett where Kane should have scored was brilliant. Just a lot of fakes going in, hitting Cooper, hitting Coote, early ball, late ball before finally going flat to Linnett. It should have been a try, it should have made for a different game of footy but Kane stuffed it.

I also have a hard time giving it to Tamou. Good performance but I thought JT had more of an influence over the entire game and I thought Tamou was very lucky on a few instances to get away without giving up a penalty. Also, I thought Granville did his best to nearly lose it for the Cowboys late. Terrible pass to Coote off the tap, terrible option to run it himself on the second last set, terrible miss on Milford to nearly give Brisbane one last attacking raid when they were covered and a shocking pass to JT at the death. Great opening stanza and still better than what McCullough dished up but not the best player on the field either.

 

[Nashy]

I don't get the JT hate.

Let it go.

This. Let him have his moment FFS.

 

[Morkel]

He also said that we were 1 tackle away from winning the game, so whatever it was we were doing we were doing it right .... puts it into perspective a little when you hear him say that.

I've cut this from the other thread. It's what I've been saying since the 80 minute siren. This is why I am hesitant to muck around with the playing roster to fit in Te'o, who, I'll admit in his last year was better than say Glenn was this year. But better or not, it's not as simple as adding him to the squad, or a straight swap.

@Porthoz (I think, I'm so tired) said that he doesn't believe we were as conservative as it's been made out, and I was coming on here to say the same thing. So many factors went in to why we played the way we did, and I have to say our game plan was a winning one. My thoughts on why some of the more contentious plays were potentially the right idea:

* Going for two. For one it takes a square-up penalty goal out of the equation. It means that when we next defend our line we can push the limits and know that a penalty won't lose us the game. Conversely, it meant that the Cowboys couldn't afford to give another one away. They'd have to be quick off the tackled players, stay on side, be square at marker, basically do everything that would give the Broncos the breathing room they needed should they have the chance to attack their line. It's just unfortunate that the blatant unwillingness to pull up the Cowboy's slowing tactics meant those attacking opportunities were few and far between.

* Kicking for touch. Regardless of the fact that it helped the Cows as much as us in terms of having a breather, giving them the ball 20 or so metres out is way better than 7 tackles. And the set start means that there isn't the chance for a broken line, should a grubber or bomb be diffused and a counter-attack beat the first tackler. Again, it worked. One of the guys here at work was marvelling at how the Broncos were just suffocating the cowboys. He had $25 on Tamou to score and Cows to win, and the more the game went on the more he was convinced that he'd done his money. We were rock-like in defence. That last tackle, that last fucking play was just a stupid fucking anomaly that no one saw coming.

* For the same reason as above, not trying to push passes or go for the heroes victory was the way to go. Drop a ball and they collect it and race 80 metres? Everyone here would be tearing whoever passed the ball to shreds, saying that we were ahead and didn't need to throw low-percentage miracle passes.

Poor Hunt. This will be the making of him though. It'll give him that bit more experience, teach him some valuable lessons in choosing the right option. In hindsight, the Cowboys were well contained - he didn't need to pull out a belter to fire up our defence. We were already on our toes and repelling every run safe in the knowledge that they just needed to hold out one more set. The hard, aggressive, low tackle was a risk because it also left the opponent open for an offload. It's the exact same thing as a high-risk, high-reward pass, in that it didn't need to be done, and by going wrong it put us under unnecessary pressure, and ultimately was one of the dominos that fell to lose us the game.

 

[Aldo]

Hats off to Big Pete for watching that again. Better man than me :takdir:

 

[Unbreakable]

Yeah there's actually no chance I'm ever watching that game again, I still haven't even watched a highlights reel from the game.

 

[QUEENSLANDER]

Lockyer was the best player i had ever seen play the game.

Until JT came along.

All this talk of "he hasnt lead his team to many premierships" is rubbish. One man doesnt make a team. One man cant carry a team to a title.

Lockyer was the best at chiming in when he needed to. He was the best clutch player too, probably will always be the best. But to me, he didnt control games as much as JT can. He was more the player that let his halves partner look after the majority of the game, and he would chime in when he saw fit. Absoutely nothing wrong with this, but to me, JT has more pressure on him as the player controlling the game. His record speaks for itself. He hasnt missed an origin game in 11 years, and of those years we have won 9 series. It's no coincidence. The guy is a freak, and I absolutely believe he is the best player I have ever seen. No doubt in my mind whatsoever. Both players leave Johns for dead imo. Johns had a few dominant years, but he couldnt even lock down the blues halfback jersey.


Whether or not JT is inducted into the immortals before locky or not is not something I care about. I think both of them should be eventually. I dont think JT is overrated however, and all of the people saying the cowboys win was set up by the NRL so they could get their fairytale is just being a bad loser. The broncos did not play well enough to win that game. They shouldnt have been trying to hold a 4 point lead for nearly half of the game. Horrible tactics. The cowboys worked their asses off for that win and totally deserve it. No-one should be trying to take any gloss off that.

 

[Alec]

I rate Lockyer is a better player because he dominated in two different positions. Thurston is probably the better half though.

 

[BroncO(SM)]

Lockyer was the best player i had ever seen play the game.

Until JT came along.

All this talk of "he hasnt lead his team to many premierships" is rubbish. One man doesnt make a team. One man cant carry a team to a title.

Lockyer was the best at chiming in when he needed to. He was the best clutch player too, probably will always be the best. But to me, he didnt control games as much as JT can. He was more the player that let his halves partner look after the majority of the game, and he would chime in when he saw fit. Absoutely nothing wrong with this, but to me, JT has more pressure on him as the player controlling the game. His record speaks for itself. He hasnt missed an origin game in 11 years, and of those years we have won 9 series. It's no coincidence. The guy is a freak, and I absolutely believe he is the best player I have ever seen. No doubt in my mind whatsoever. Both players leave Johns for dead imo. Johns had a few dominant years, but he couldnt even lock down the blues halfback jersey.


Whether or not JT is inducted into the immortals before locky or not is not something I care about. I think both of them should be eventually. I dont think JT is overrated however, and all of the people saying the cowboys win was set up by the NRL so they could get their fairytale is just being a bad loser. The broncos did not play well enough to win that game. They shouldnt have been trying to hold a 4 point lead for nearly half of the game. Horrible tactics. The cowboys worked their asses off for that win and totally deserve it. No-one should be trying to take any gloss off that.

JT has in my mind been the best player in the game since approx. 2005 and long before this season, I was calling him the best I have seen since the King.

It's unfortunate that Johns was inducted prematurely (primarily based on the Sydney media's infatuation) as I would argue a host of players I have seen are on par or better, particularly Alf and Locky.
Given QLD's State of Origin success over the last decade, there is also going to be another swarn of players coming through which are all worthy candidates.

 

[sus]

the only thing that would be better than romping home in the 2016 GF would be straddling the cowboys..

6 bags ffs. eat 6 bags of dicks thurston

or possibly a n(sw)rl commission and admin led team..

 

[abashii]

I'd prefer a 51 - 0 thumping of the Raiders with Milford kicking a 78th minute field goal just to rub their noses in it.

 

[mieko]

What a great game with a shitty result. Feel real bad for Hunt though I'm pretty sure he'll bounce back better and stronger next year. As all have said, question marks over the second half tactics of defending rather than attacking till the end. I reckon you should never stop attacking no matter how far or close you are in front. Reckon Milf feels the same when he made that break at the end and no one was around to support till to late.

Looking back on it, you see the part where Bennett was walking around the shed by himself at half time stroking his head. Probably just told them or was about to tell them to defend the game out and we'll be sweet and thinking, **** this is a big call, is it the right one. Nearly came off but just unlucky, oh well.

The atmos was awesome with a healthy fifty fifty support and full credit to the cowboys supporters who were quite gracious in their victory, especially walking out and on the train. Also was on the field for Barnsey, wow the stadium is absolutely huge when full to the brim looking up.

anyway, thanks for a fantastic season and. Massive well done to the lads, coaches and all in sundry. 2016 is going to be our year!

oh and well done to JT and the cowboys, never gave up and well....