PRE-GAME Round 24 - Roosters vs Broncos

[Super Freak]

I try and watch all 8 games each week and a lot of the time I watch the replays as well, I can't get enough... I'm starting to panic because the season is nearly over!!!

Yeah, it's a bit depressing when the season is starting to finish.

Those 5 months after the season is over really suck.

 

[jarro65]

Dobbo reporting tonight that Oates is fine to play and will replace Maranta on the wing.

 

[Alec]

Oates on the wing could be very important in this game. Helps our forward pack try to match theirs.

 

[Mr Fourex]

We are a better side when he is on the field.

 

[Foordy]

That would be unlucky for Maranta, he has been good for us this year ... and that is coming from one of his biggest critics over the last couple of years

 

[I bleed Maroon]

That would be unlucky for Maranta, he has been good for us this year ... and that is coming from one of his biggest critics over the last couple of years

You know Bennett is a flexible coach. It's only because we're going up against the Roosters. He'll probably be back for the Storm game cause I can see Oates lining up against Souffs as well

 

[gordjw]

Nothing wrong with a change of atmosphere.

Just make sure there's some way you can access live-scores and you're well on your way.

Some of my favourite experiences have been out and about, relying on BHQ on whether it's worth watching a replay or not.

That's how I followed Locky's last game while out at a restaurant. The pauses in text commentary on the League Live app were absolutely horrifying.

 

[rnabokov]

Pressuring the halves is not the way to win IMO. Like Souths, it's all in the forwards. The halves are pretty much just ball distributors and kickers. If they're pressured then the forwards will just go direct to the outside backs. The second rowers are the same. Stop the props, we win.

I'm not sure I follow ... do we agree or disagree?

For mine, the Roosters major weapons are their outside backs and RTS, fuelled by Friend, Maloney and Pearce, on the back of field position and offloads by their props.

Stopping the props is critical of course, but it has to be on the front foot, not giving them 5-10 metres of free metres on the run to our defensive line, while their halves have time and space to set their pet plays. The one where Jennings gets the ball with a little room between him and his opposition comes to mind.

Yes, stop the props for sure, but then, one or two play the balls later, the ball is with Friend and or the halves anyway and out wider it goes, and they can be so bloody slick with their execution.

When I say pressure the halves, I mean cutting down their decision making time by moving up and smashing their forwards, just like we did more than less when we beat them.

For mine, this game is won or lost by how much space and time we give their spine to do their thing, and that means us moving up quickly in a straight defensive line, not waiting for them to come to us.

 

[vertigo]

Yeah, it's a bit depressing when the season is starting to finish.

Those 5 months after the season is over really suck.

Honestly, it kinda feels like my year starts in March and ends in October :laugh:

I wouldn't mind heading into summer having been confirmed the last team standing after 7 months of footy though :cool:

 

[Huge]

I don't see us winning this one. We were very good back in round 6 or 7 but that was at home, the Roosters were in ordinary early season form and we only just beat them even with the benefit of the obvious home ground advantage and favourable penalty count. Now they are in great form, we are weakened without McGuire and it's in Sydney. I'll be very pleasantly surprised if we win this one.

 

[Super Freak]

The fact that it's in Sydney kind of works in our favor..

In Brisbane, our record against the Roosters isn't great. 7 wins from 15 games all up, 4 wins from 8 at Suncorp. Hell, that win in Round 6 was our first win against them there in 12 years.

At SFS though, 14 wins from 21 games against the Roosters. 36 from 53 all up. We've won 10 of our past 13 there against the Roosters.

I've always been more confident of a win against the Roosters when playing them in Sydney, because we have a knack of winning there against them.

Their form in the past few weeks hasn't been that good, they have been a bit off. If we play with the same intensity as last time, we'll win.

 

[Broncoman]

That would be unlucky for Maranta, he has been good for us this year ... and that is coming from one of his biggest critics over the last couple of years

Yeah but Oates brings so much more to the table then Maranta its not funny. If all players fit and available I would have Oates starting somewhere.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

I don't see us winning this one. We were very good back in round 6 or 7 but that was at home, the Roosters were in ordinary early season form and we only just beat them even with the benefit of the obvious home ground advantage and favourable penalty count. Now they are in great form, we are weakened without McGuire and it's in Sydney. I'll be very pleasantly surprised if we win this one.

We have a great record at Allianz, far better than the Roosters have at Suncorp

 

[Cult]

The Roosters nearly lost to the Eels. Their "great form" lasted like two weeks.

 

[Huge]

The Roosters nearly lost to the Eels. Their "great form" lasted like two weeks.

I take on board all the above points and our record in Sydney seems better than our homeground record. Cult3, we also nearly lost to crappy teams and I think you would have to agree that any NRL side can beat another if the stars are aligned. As I've always said, it's not how good you are when you're good, it's how good you are when you're bad.

I hope you are all correct and we belt them. I'd really think we were a huge chance at the title then.

 

[Cult]

I take on board all the above points and our record in Sydney seems better than our homeground record. Cult3, we also nearly lost to crappy teams and I think you would have to agree that any NRL side can beat another if the stars are aligned. As I've always said, it's not how good you are when you're good, it's how good you are when you're bad.

I hope you are all correct and we belt them. I'd really think we were a huge chance at the title then.

I'm not saying we have been great in every game this year but the Roosters are copping the sort of media hype that leads to a massive push from the NRL to win the premiership. They haven't been very good at all this year. I think they were ok for two games and before that they were terrible (Titans and Panthers games). Sometimes I feel like the NRL is similar to the WWE universe in that something that happened three weeks ago really doesn't matter when it comes to the media.

 

[M.B.88]

I doubt Oates is in

 

[Morkel]

Jack Reed out, Copley in.

Copley Into Broncos Side - Broncos