Round 20 Discussion

[Super Freak]

I bet the Bulldogs fans have the bottles ready.

 

[Alec]

I wish I wasn't eating while watching this game, the Bulldogs fans are really ugly and gross, make me lose my appetite.

 

[Fozz]

LOL bulldogs. That is all.

 

[Huge]

Oh how clever I feel ! Tipped the Sharks and Canberra, backed them both early on in the season at 66:1 , with some luck Canberra will squeeze into 8 th and the Sharkies firmly in the eight already it's starting to look like I'll have two teams in the final eight. Just have to back their opponents for easy easy money.... Cannot lose even if only one of them make it but should make around 4 grand if they both get in. That will be equivalent to a weeks wages ! Mmmmm, delicious

 

[Big Pete]

Doubled up and caught the replay of Warriors/Sea Eagles.

This was the Manly side I expected to see last Monday when they faced off against the Cowboys. On that night, they were disjointed and impatient, throwing loose passes that left the Cowboys off the hook time and time again. When the play wasn't unfolding against the Warriors, they just deferred to their defence and forced the Warriors into mistakes which they were able to capitilise on because they have the likes of Brett Stewart (14 tries from 16 games) and Taufua (10 tries from 11 games) who can score points when you need them to.

It was an important game for Jorge as well. He didn't have the best game against the Cowboys and he had Trbojevic breathing down his neck. Fortunately he made it up here with a strong game where he ensured that the Sea Eagles remained on the front foot from the word go.

Also thought the Manly forwards were really good. Jake Trbojevic was relentless, Mateo had some good touches and Mason chimed in with some really good plays that got the Sea Eagles moving.

I can't say I'm overly concerned about the Broncos playing them on Saturday, but they'll be the Broncos toughest contest since the Bulldogs for sure.

Tough night at the office for the Warriors. Was always going to be tough backing up after such a demoralising loss against the Roosters but to do so in a game where they lost their main strike weapon, well, it proved impossible. Things weren't looking good early but the SJ try was just the tonic they needed to spark themselves to action, instead, it had the opposite effect and basically spelled the end for them.

If they were going to win, it was going to be on the back of a dominant forward performance. Unfortunately, their forwards didn't turn up and I thought they were pretty soft around the middle. Matulino is a really skillful player, but some of his efforts in defence aren't good enough for a player of his stature and it's disappointing to see because he's so close to becomine one of the best props in the game. Then you have the likes of Faitala-Mariner, Havili, Lousi and Rapira who don't have much business in first grade. I know some of those selections have been made due to injuries, but I think changes have to be made moving forward.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, I can't see them making the 8. I just think the loss of SJ is a bad omen and they'll miss his ability to spark something out of nothing. It's a shame because they've got enough cattle there to still easily win 3 of their next 6.

In fact let's look at that...

R21 v Sharks (H)
R22 v Dragons (H)
R23 v Panthers (A)
R24 v Cowboys (H)
R25 v Tigers (A)
R26 v Bulldogs (A)

They should be able to put up a fight in all their home games, and really give the likes of Penrith and Wests a run for their money. However if I'm a betting man, I reckon they'll be lucky to win 2/6 (Dragons & Tigers).

Just feels like the Warriors are destined to be another team outside the 8. From a neutral perspective, I'm glad because teams like the Raiders & Sharks offer more value in the finals than the Warriors who will be caught hobbling, but it's disappointing because they have the talent to match it with anyone in the competition.

 

[Alec]

Granville has been killing it.