Round 18 Discussion

[ningnangnong]

Thought the Panthers were coming out to The Undertaker's theme song for a moment there.

 

[Galah]

Bet that’s not a knock on against broncos...

 

[ZTop]

I stand by my point from last week, there is linespeed and then there is offside. Penrith are consistently offside

 

[Galah]

I stand by my point from last week, there is linespeed and then there is offside. Penrith are consistently offside

So true, I thought parramatta were the kings of offside/ “line speed” but Penrith it’s just disgraceful it’s being allowed, they’re the new kings.

 

[Galah]

I thought I’d go for Penrith in the finals..definitely hope they get knocked out, there is some serious bias going their way and it’s even against parramatta, oof you know it’s strong.

Come on warriors, some how scrape in and win it all .

 

[rnabokov]

Great (offside) defence by both teams. Impressive. I reckon the Eels are missing Brown. Their backline has lost cohesion and they can't get forward.

 

[mitch222]

It’s hardly a surprise that Penrith are getting all the calls. The nsw media have effectively made Cleary out to be the new Johns and he must be protected and favoured at all costs

 

[The True King]

This season is being perfectly set up for the streak to end in an elimination final and Penrith to go down as chokers.

I still think the refs will find a way to get Parra in the GF.

 

[Organix]

I'm pretty sure it's going to be Penrith/Parra vs Roosters in the final. Penrith were always going to win against Parra this time. It's the two blessed teams going at it a second time. Only difference is that Cleary is being coddled as the Wunderkind of the NSW Origin team (as Mitch said). But I agree, they did set up a nice rematch game in the finals Parra vs Penrith if it comes about.

 

[Sproj]

Don’t stress, we’ll play Parra back into form next week.

 

[ZTop]

Don’t stress, we’ll play Parra back into form next week.

Good! Need Parra back into form again. Won't have anyone to go for

 

[Jedhead]

Since signing up for a free account with Kayo (Thank you @abashii) I've began to watch some of the other games that are not broadcast on free to air television.

Firstly, I’ve enjoyed seeing Vonny Samson again. I think Fox HR team made a very shrewd move when they headhunted her from Channel 9. In the process, they did let James (The Rat) Bracey leave their Skynews team and he’s now, with the addition of Erin Molan, effectively filling the spot Vonny left vacant at nine. When comparing the two there is not much between them in terms of knowing their shit, but if I’m being honest, I still think Vonny knows her league that wee bit better.
Additionally, her warm smile is immeasurably more appealing, especially when you have to listen to the ugly truth that has been our season. If I need to hear of the continuing saga of a once mighty club slowly disintegrating, I’d much rather hear it from someone who genuinely cares.

The commentary teams from both organisations are fairly evenly balanced when you consider Kevvie (Origin coach) commentates on Fox, and old mate Freddy the space-cadet (Cockroach coach) comments on Channel 9. I’ve noticed that they also have an even share of ex-players especially those that have been anointed with the Immortal tag. And despite some of those immortals being less than good role models they still seem to get as much air coverage as their respective networks can cram in. Digressing quickly – Why is Locky or Alfie not named as immortals?

Apart from Yvonne Samson the Fox team has a number of female presenters as do Channel 9. Some are better than others, but the real reason they are there is to increase the female audience participation in our game. Consequently, if they have not played the game their insightful analysis can be sometimes lacking that magic ingredient. This can also be said for the male commentators. Though in the case of Jonathan Thurston, who has played the game, learning to be media savvy when compared to being a near genius on the field are light-years apart. Nevertheless, they all add to the spectacle of our great game.

On coverage of the gameday itself I've noticed that the Foxsports production team will include some camera angles of the play that channel 9 don't have. This does make the game a bit more interesting (provided you watch with the sound turned down). Channel 9 this season seem to concentrate much more in broadcasting the game from a serious of tight angle shots. Whether this is to compensate for the lack of crowd numbers due to the pandemic is quite feasible. I recall reading somewhere that they were using canned crowd noises to create atmosphere. So, it is entirely possible when you think about it.

Alternatively, whether it suits the NRL’s purpose of the viewers at home not seeing that certain teams are given a bit more leeway in the 10-metre rule, or the single referee adjudicating whether a player had extra sharp line speed, or was just standing offside, is still very much up for debate.

In other words, it is only games that feature on Channel 9 that do not give the viewer the full picture with which to judge a team’s (true) performance. I do not have the viewing figures for either organisation, but I’m pretty sure that free-to-air games attract considerably more viewers than the pay-per-channel games do for obvious reasons. So, on the face of it, it seems the greater portion of the League viewing public are being sold quite a significant dummy by Channel 9 in respect to the various rule changes implemented after the resumption of play earlier in the season.

How certain ‘lucky’ teams have managed to benefit greatly from the way the ‘hastily’ re-arranged playing schedule meant they gained extra home games and their style of play just happened to fit into these rule changes is a topic for further discussion.

 

[broncos4life]

Since signing up for a free account with Kayo (Thank you @abashii) I've began to watch some of the other games that are not broadcast on free to air television.

Firstly, I’ve enjoyed seeing Vonny Samson again. I think Fox HR team made a very shrewd move when they headhunted her from Channel 9. In the process, they did let James (The Rat) Bracey leave their Skynews team and he’s now, with the addition of Erin Molan, effectively filling the spot Vonny left vacant at nine. When comparing the two there is not much between them in terms of knowing their shit, but if I’m being honest, I still think Vonny knows her league that wee bit better.
Additionally, her warm smile is immeasurably more appealing, especially when you have to listen to the ugly truth that has been our season. If I need to hear of the continuing saga of a once mighty club slowly disintegrating, I’d much rather hear it from someone who genuinely cares.

The commentary teams from both organisations are fairly evenly balanced when you consider Kevvie (Origin coach) commentates on Fox, and old mate Freddy the space-cadet (Cockroach coach) comments on Channel 9. I’ve noticed that they also have an even share of ex-players especially those that have been anointed with the Immortal tag. And despite some of those immortals being less than good role models they still seem to get as much air coverage as their respective networks can cram in. Digressing quickly – Why is Locky or Alfie not named as immortals?

Apart from Yvonne Samson the Fox team has a number of female presenters as do Channel 9. Some are better than others, but the real reason they are there is to increase the female audience participation in our game. Consequently, if they have not played the game their insightful analysis can be sometimes lacking that magic ingredient. This can also be said for the male commentators. Though in the case of Jonathan Thurston, who has played the game, learning to be media savvy when compared to being a near genius on the field are light-years apart. Nevertheless, they all add to the spectacle of our great game.

On coverage of the gameday itself I've noticed that the Foxsports production team will include some camera angles of the play that channel 9 don't have. This does make the game a bit more interesting (provided you watch with the sound turned down). Channel 9 this season seem to concentrate much more in broadcasting the game from a serious of tight angle shots. Whether this is to compensate for the lack of crowd numbers due to the pandemic is quite feasible. I recall reading somewhere that they were using canned crowd noises to create atmosphere. So, it is entirely possible when you think about it.

Alternatively, whether it suits the NRL’s purpose of the viewers at home not seeing that certain teams are given a bit more leeway in the 10-metre rule, or the single referee adjudicating whether a player had extra sharp line speed, or was just standing offside, is still very much up for debate.

In other words, it is only games that feature on Channel 9 that do not give the viewer the full picture with which to judge a team’s (true) performance. I do not have the viewing figures for either organisation, but I’m pretty sure that free-to-air games attract considerably more viewers than the pay-per-channel games do for obvious reasons. So, on the face of it, it seems the greater portion of the League viewing public are being sold quite a significant dummy by Channel 9 in respect to the various rule changes implemented after the resumption of play earlier in the season.

How certain ‘lucky’ teams have managed to benefit greatly from the way the ‘hastily’ re-arranged playing schedule meant they gained extra home games and their style of play just happened to fit into these rule changes is a topic for further discussion.

You will get sick of Vonny and her over the top presenting pretty quick. Someone needs to tell her that NOT EVERYTHING IS THE GREATEST THING WE HAVE EVER SEEN!!?!!!

 

[Jedhead]

You will get sick of Vonny and her over the top presenting pretty quick. Someone needs to tell her that NOT EVERYTHING IS THE GREATEST THING WE HAVE EVER SEEN!!?!!!

I'm not sure I watch it THAT much.

 

[Sproj]

I still think Vonny is hot.

 

[broncos4life]

I still think Vonny is hot.

Meh.

 

[Fernando]

You will get sick of Vonny and her over the top presenting pretty quick. Someone needs to tell her that NOT EVERYTHING IS THE GREATEST THING WE HAVE EVER SEEN!!?!!!

This!
I liked her early on but she became so over the top and cringeworthy that I can't watch anymore.

 

[BroncsFan]

Of course Mal would be on for a titans game