Sports Prophet

I am in an obvious minority who thinks Harry Grant made late contact with the kicking leg intentionally. I think his actions were a deliberate attempt to niggle Atkinson who was having a good game. I am actually supportive with the penalty and comfortable with the decision to sin bin a player for such a deliberate foul, no matter the force.

It should be the only strategy the Bears consider. Every other bid/partnership idea of theirs is a distraction from putting together a very strong bid in Gosford.

I don’t understand

Let alone the many with hindsight.

There is a lot of talk about affordability and cost of living. Whilst I cannot argue the limits of affordability, nor can I ignore the ever diminishing salary cap in relative speak, but, furthermore, if the RFL and the sport of RL want’s to expand, then money and strategy needs to be put where it’s mouth is. Especially in relation to semi pro as some have referenced other non-heartland regions, where the ambition must surely be to produce local players for local teams. The likes of Cornwall, Midlands, Skolars, Crusaders and all others which have gone before them should not be relying on paying imports, be they domestic or international. The sport cannot financially afford to supplement a London SL side in the same manner that Melbourne Storm have been, let alone development areas. The way I see it is the RFL would be far better off financing a national U/18s and U/16s competition, funded by the professional game where players are sourced locally, who do not have cost of living pressures similar to adults. Where there are signs of viability, then let’s push with semi pro footy and winning that, move to FT SL. For now, without a benefactor 10 times the wealth and affection of David Hughes, London Broncos or any other pro RL club of any guise is simply not viable. Need to go back to the drawing board.

I have said this before. A lack of consistency (every Saturday night for example) simply means there is no real opportunity to gain momentum and a following. Neither an opportunity to consistently market and advertise the matches. That’s down to the BBC though. SL needs consistent fixture programming to make any impact on the general audience. Especially if placed on BBC3 or lesser.

Down with the 2 point field goal! Booo, hissss. Field goals need not make their way closer to a value of three!

This is not my thread and I will not die on this hill! Not today, and not tomorrow! FREEDOM!

Maybe so, but it doesn’t change my opinion, the short drop out as far as I am concerned is a far lower percentage play than kicking long and defending and I wouldn’t be deploying the tactic unless it was near on essential my team required possession, most likely due to the fact my team is losing and there is little time remaining in the match.

I’m not going to go through the whole debate about whether this is a deliberate knock on or an attempt to take possession, but, whichever camp you are in, most of us agree, that action should not be penalised.

An alternate scenario with no gamesmanship involved is where a team scores a try with minimal time left to tie the game and the conversion brings the score within 6 or even less points. It happened with the Tigers this very weekend and they had to rush the kick and subsequently missed the kick. I would like to think once the try has been awarded, the clock stops until the match restarts with a kick off, allowing teams a suitable opportunity to convert that try without time ticking away slowly denying another scoring opportunity.

I heard it called a seven tackle set in that scenario. I disagree, a “seven tackle set” would be referring to the number of potential tackles allowed within a specific set of tackles, immaterial of what the tackle numbers a referee may be referring them as.

I e got no problem with that. Pass it out of reach of a defender. It’s competitive play for a ball which is in the air. Any attempt to attack or gather it (whatever your opinion on accidental or not) should be penalised. It goes against the fabric of contesting for the ball.

Sounds like Dolphins should’ve played that one a bit more local then?

NRL crowds have definitely hit a mid season lull. Dolphins v Sea Eagles 14,059 @ Suncorp - showing signs of fatigue and novelty wearing off Panthers v Bulldogs 21,525 @ Panthers another great crowd for Penrith Eels v Broncos 17,393 @ CommBank is pretty underwhelming for a supposed powerhouse club who are definitely underperforming Tigers v Knights 10,107 @ Scully Park is a sell out for a game taken to the country Dragons v Bunnies 7,517 @ Jubilee is a deplorable derby day crowd Storm v Sharks 18,670 @ AAMI is a fail for a Saturday night top of the table clash Roosters v Warriors 17,517 @ Allianz is a below average crowd as well Titans v Cowboys 12,125 @ Cbus is another perfect crowd for all those GC fans who like to have space around them Two well attended matches out of eight I would say there.