Round 1 Discussion

[ZTop]

Anyone else want to punch jahrome Hughes in the head? He's such a little wanker

 

[Sproj]

Bunker right again, wow!

 

[Sproj]

This second half, like most second halves, in the last 12 months, has been atrocious. Absolute rubbish to watch.

 

[BroncsFan]

The game is also just grinding down to nothing, because a team cant get down the other end of the field without the ref helping them out

 

[Sproj]

We need more speed!! But we will wait for that injured bloke 30m behind the play.

 

[Twbapony]

Once play restarts take the field goal for the points, and the restart. Game Set Bingo

 

[BroncsFan]

That's the second time this half the storm have meekly run it on the last to turn it over.

Are they suddenly scared of kicking it dead or do they realise a team going 90m is just not going to happen in the 6 again era

 

[Sproj]

That second half was like watching a pile of garbage.

 

[Fernando]

Enjoyed that

 

[Galah]

It’s so obvious if you’re down the other end and in front just take the 6 again in the first or second tackle, reset defensive line she’s all good.
Storm have found their new thing.

YAY

 

[Dexter]

Melbourne are njow seeing the difference Smith made. Something he got off locky. Composure, calmness, consistency throughout the game. Mark my words, storm will not be the team they have been. Sure they'll have moments of insanely precise execution and structure thanks to bellamys authoritarian style, but Smith was his opposite and it helped them on the field.
Smith retiring last will also not help them I think. If Smith retired but Slater or cronks were around they'd have a little drop and realise the system would need tweaking, but they will get lulled into a false sense of security "every One said itd happen when slater/cronks left but it didnt". But Smith is a far bigger loss. They will keep up the top this year, but their aura will fade, just like ours did. You can't replace immortals and when expectations are high rash decisions are made to try to keep up with them. Just ask Broncos 2012-2020

Or maybe we are going to find out Bellamy just is that good.

 

[Kimlo]

It’s so obvious if you’re down the other end and in front just take the 6 again in the first or second tackle, reset defensive line she’s all good.
Storm have found their new thing.

YAY

Yep, another rule bend.

I hate the 6 again, if it's the first 2 tackles it should be a penalty.

 

[Dexter]

Storms biggest advantage is still their wrestle.
Hand on the ball on the way up is a penalty. Tackle and hold the ball for 2 seconds on the ground is fine.
Souths won't win shit unless Bennett embraces the wrestle .

 

[BroncsFan]

Yep, another rule bend.

I hate the 6 again, if it's the first 2 tackles it should be a penalty.

Just wait till a team gets kicked to a corner and instead of offside being a penalty it'll just be 6 agains until they drop the ball

 

[Galah]

Yep, another rule bend.

I hate the 6 again, if it's the first 2 tackles it should be a penalty.

It would make sense then so obviously let’s not do that.

 

[Big Pete]

I was really disappointed in Jaydn Su'A in those opening exchanges. Two of Melbourne's opening tries came directly from the Storm targeting him with speed men with Munster's try being the most egregious. Before the game I highlighted how loose the South Sydney pack could be and he's a prime example. Nice work from Melbourne to test him out with those shifts but for a State of Origin rep player I'd expect better.

That's something for Jaydn to work on in the future.

They're just so good at these big games Melbourne. Whether it's the season opener or a milestone game, they just always play their A game and that was true tonight, especially in that opening 15 minutes. I expected better from Souths, but I can't blame them too much for that Olam try, that was just incredible. Trapped on their 10m, Smith floats a pass that has danger written all over it, but the Storm just nail the play and Addo-Carr turns an awful situation right on it's head. When those plays come off, you can't defend them, especially when you have elite talent like Addo-Carr and Papenhuyzen involved.

I think that last try to Papenhuyzen was more down to desperation than anything else. Souths had started getting back in the contest, but they panicked came up with the mistake and Papenhuyzen just forced his way over. Again, not too many teams will score in that position, that's just one of those tries the elite teams will put on you.

I thought Bennett handled half-time extremely well. He didn't seem too fazed and just got their minds on the job, I'm sure he saw that the tide was turning towards the end of that first half. They were right in that game at 18-24, but they played a little loose and it just allowed Melbourne to play a really cynical brand of football. Melbourne were fairly rudderless, but it didn't matter because all they had to do was turn it over without conceding a seven tackle set.

One thing I didn't see coming was the impact of Benji Marshall. I knew he'd help them lay on a try, but I thought he'd be exposed defensively. With 19 tackles, he performed very well and Souths' defence on their line kept the Storm's attack honest.

Credit to the captain's challenge. Now I'm of the opinion that Reynolds played at the ball, but to his credit he created enough doubt to get away with it. I thought he got lucky on the Storm's challenge with Olam, I thought he could have easily been binned for the challenge on the Storm chaser given how soft they are on those these days but at the end of the day I'm glad the right team ended up with the ball there. It's one of those calls I can forgive the referee for getting wrong live, there was a bobble, but the replay showed that Justin held onto the ball.

I thought there were some dubious HIAs. I hope he's alright, but on first view it looked like a stretch to call it a concussion. I also noticed an incident where Tui Kamikamica 'fell down' got called out by a South Sydney defender and immediately sprung up to his feet. It was sometime around the 50th minute, but it seemed like a very convenient time to squeeze an HIA.

I just hope this doesn't become the trend of weekend and we see a bit more back and forth action. This whole scoring points in waves just isn't that entertaining.

 

[Jedhead]

I was really disappointed in Jaydn Su'A in those opening exchanges. Two of Melbourne's opening tries came directly from the Storm targeting him with speed men with Munster's try being the most egregious. Before the game I highlighted how loose the South Sydney pack could be and he's a prime example. Nice work from Melbourne to test him out with those shifts but for a State of Origin rep player I'd expect better.

That's something for Jaydn to work on in the future.

They're just so good at these big games Melbourne. Whether it's the season opener or a milestone game, they just always play their A game and that was true tonight, especially in that opening 15 minutes. I expected better from Souths, but I can't blame them too much for that Olam try, that was just incredible. Trapped on their 10m, Smith floats a pass that has danger written all over it, but the Storm just nail the play and Addo-Carr turns an awful situation right on it's head. When those plays come off, you can't defend them, especially when you have elite talent like Addo-Carr and Papenhuyzen involved.

I think that last try to Papenhuyzen was more down to desperation than anything else. Souths had started getting back in the contest, but they panicked came up with the mistake and Papenhuyzen just forced his way over. Again, not too many teams will score in that position, that's just one of those tries the elite teams will put on you.

I thought Bennett handled half-time extremely well. He didn't seem too fazed and just got their minds on the job, I'm sure he saw that the tide was turning towards the end of that first half. They were right in that game at 18-24, but they played a little loose and it just allowed Melbourne to play a really cynical brand of football. Melbourne were fairly rudderless, but it didn't matter because all they had to do was turn it over without conceding a seven tackle set.

One thing I didn't see coming was the impact of Benji Marshall. I knew he'd help them lay on a try, but I thought he'd be exposed defensively. With 19 tackles, he performed very well and Souths' defence on their line kept the Storm's attack honest.

Credit to the captain's challenge. Now I'm of the opinion that Reynolds played at the ball, but to his credit he created enough doubt to get away with it. I thought he got lucky on the Storm's challenge with Olam, I thought he could have easily been binned for the challenge on the Storm chaser given how soft they are on those these days but at the end of the day I'm glad the right team ended up with the ball there. It's one of those calls I can forgive the referee for getting wrong live, there was a bobble, but the replay showed that Justin held onto the ball.

I thought there were some dubious HIAs. I hope he's alright, but on first view it looked like a stretch to call it a concussion. I also noticed an incident where Tui Kamikamica 'fell down' got called out by a South Sydney defender and immediately sprung up to his feet. It was sometime around the 50th minute, but it seemed like a very convenient time to squeeze an HIA.

I just hope this doesn't become the trend of weekend and we see a bit more back and forth action. This whole scoring points in waves just isn't that entertaining.

I'm with you Pete, the whole scoring in waves is not entertainment. I miss the ebb and flow to carry on the metaphor. When the game becomes so one-sided I begin to lose interest. last night's game had periods where it resembled touch-footy. I think the NRL are in danger of ruining our beautiful game with all these changes on the go.

 

[Financeguy]

Enjoyed the game mostly just due to being starved of a meaningful league game for so long.

Storm were both impressive and showed they are beatable all in the one game. Souths could have let the game get away from them but they gave their fans enough hope for the season by finishing strongly.

Arrow was immense for Souths, if round 1 is anything to go by he will be a great signing for them. Mansour looked keen for work but had a few bad moments, not sure he will have a mortgage on the wing position if he doesn't cut out his errors with Burns and Paulo breathing down his neck. I thought Latrell looked good at the back when he gets involved.

Is Papenhuyzen the only player in the game that could have scored his individual try in the corner? Just great acceleration, speed and determination and for a little guy has no issues about putting his body on the line it attack. I keep waiting for him to be smashed during the game due to him seemingly giving up 10+ kg's to everyone else but he keeps coming. Tedesco might be fortunate he is going to be NSW captain to help eliminate the NSW no. 1 debate...