Round 19 Discussion

[Big Pete]

Pretty disappointing end to the Panthers streak. They didn't embarrass themselves, but despite having all the territory, they were comprehensively beaten six tries to three.

Penrith really missed having Kikau. They kept aiming their play down his side of the field, but Canberra were able to handle it comfortably. It seems to me that Maloney is the dominant playmaker and Cleary will only come into the play if Maloney wants him to. It got to the point where Whare was so sick of not getting any good ball, he went searching for it in-field only to look completely lost.

It seems odd to me because To'o has been one of their best performers in recent weeks and that Croker-Simonsson combination can be pretty sketchy.

The play that sums the Raiders up at the moment is their propensity to strip the ball. They're the best exponents of the rule at the moment and they've turned a lot of games on the back of it. I'd have to see it again, but at 26-18, Bateman came up with a strip that actually may have been 1-1 with no other involvement.

Speaking of John Bateman, is there a better edge forward in the game at the moment? There's some quality players like Ryan Matterson, Curtis Sironen, Viliame Kikau etc. but Bateman just seems more assertive.

 

[tommy]

Ivan Cleary in some trouble

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...e/news-story/19a9533d9c55ead00681edef8dc2dac7

 

[Jedhead]

Pretty disappointing end to the Panthers streak. They didn't embarrass themselves, but despite having all the territory, they were comprehensively beaten six tries to three.

Penrith really missed having Kikau. They kept aiming their play down his side of the field, but Canberra were able to handle it comfortably. It seems to me that Maloney is the dominant playmaker and Cleary will only come into the play if Maloney wants him to. It got to the point where Whare was so sick of not getting any good ball, he went searching for it in-field only to look completely lost.

It seems odd to me because To'o has been one of their best performers in recent weeks and that Croker-Simonsson combination can be pretty sketchy.

The play that sums the Raiders up at the moment is their propensity to strip the ball. They're the best exponents of the rule at the moment and they've turned a lot of games on the back of it. I'd have to see it again, but at 26-18, Bateman came up with a strip that actually may have been 1-1 with no other involvement.

Speaking of John Bateman, is there a better edge forward in the game at the moment? There's some quality players like Ryan Matterson, Curtis Sironen, Viliame Kikau etc. but Bateman just seems more assertive.

Eh..Dave Fifita says hello

 

[Big Pete]

Eh..Dave Fifita says hello

Fantastic prospect, but he hasn't had the opportunities to impress like the others.

 

[Jedhead]

Fantastic prospect, but he hasn't had the opportunities to impress like the others.

I've already seen enough to say he's the best edge forward running around in the NRL. Three games of origin at 19 says it all.

 

[Sproj]

Ivan Cleary in some trouble

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...e/news-story/19a9533d9c55ead00681edef8dc2dac7

This is one of many problems with the NRL. Whether he did something wrong or not, the refs shouldn’t be talking to players or coaches in the tunnel, it is just such an amateurish organization.

 

[Big Pete]

In his press conference, Trent Robinson suggested the NRL should look a benefit of the doubt system for forward passes where the attacking team receives the advantage. Incidentally, the Sydney Roosters had a try denied in the third minute of the contest when James Tedesco was ruled to have thrown a forward pass to Cooper Cronk. Greg Alexander and Mark Gasnier were of the belief that it was backwards out of the hands.

I actually think this rule change would be popular in the NRL ranks. However as the stripping rule has shown, if you give the players an inch they'll take a mile and it will just create more confusion and frustration. Personally I thought Tedesco didn't turn his body enough and didn't have enough control on the pass to throw it backwards.

As it stands, the players are already being shown far too much leeway with passes. The only reason the fans are frustrated is because of the lack of consistensy and how many passes are let go. In particular they rarely call short passes forward, even when the receiver is in-front of the passer.

Also worth noting that Kearney mentioned in his press conference that Annesley admitted the referees missed two forward passes in lead up to tries. Annesley didn't address the Townsend try in his weekly media address which I thought was odd given how controversial it was.

 

[mrslong]

Oh Good Lord no. Getting rid of forward passes? The very fabric of rugby league.