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THE RED ROOSTER

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  1. Back on topic it is reported in the Australian press (Courier Mail) that: Almost 1 million Australians tuned in to the Vegas double header Thousands more watched in 5000 pubs and clubs nationwide. Fox Sports MD Steve Crawley is quoted as saying " there is no doubt it (Vegas) could displace Origin as the event of the rugby league year" The double header was the most watched NRL games of all time across Fox and Kayo sports NRL bosses are looking at plans to build Vegas Sunday in Australia including barbecues in stadiums for fans and Vegas themed events in venues. So it matters not whether the NRL has impacted in the US as much as the domestic hype surrounding the event has turned up the volume for the NRL in Australia.
  2. Seems like I missed nothing being on the far side of the world at present. You can have as many Brewdog pints and easter egg hunts as you like but if the on field product is poor then newbies are not going to be coming back. And Londons attendances are predictably going through a steady decline.
  3. I was at the Cows and Dolphins games. It rainedcin Townsville pre-game and the temperature in tropical Townsville dropped which helped the Knights. Having posted that this was a game the Kinghts lost as much as the Cows won it. They dominated possession in the first half and really should have been more than 12 points up over the misfiring Cows for whom Valentine Holmes had an off day. In the second half again after two quick scores for the Cows early in the half. The Knights went back to a 10 point lead that they could not hold onto with NQ drawing level six minutes before the end only for Valentine Holmes to miss a conversion he would normally make 8 times out-of 10. NQ winning in golden point was a good sign for the Cows in winning ugly which is what premiership contenders do. Buzz Rothfield has been laying into golden point today in print and rightly so. There is nothing wrong in a draw Onto ugly and that was last night havin srambled from Townsvlle to Redcliff for the game a monsoon hit town andbi arrived like a drowned rat for the second half of Redcliffe v North's priority the main game. I was sitting with the SGI fans and it was indeed tough watching. SGI were ordinary in the first half going in 0-10. The second stanza was a total collapse with SGI hardly gettingnoutnof their own half. Now one of the big thi is about the Dolphins is they are not your average NRL side as they play islander football and can score from anywhere which makes them dangerous and always in the game but they also have defensive issues which were not properly tested as even when SGI had possession in the first half they looked pedestrian in attack. I was very disappointed in an SGI side that I tipped had turned the corner only Zak Lomax and Tyrell Sloan had a reasonable game. The game got so bad in the second half I ended up being distracted by the brunette in the low cut pink dress and Louis vutton bag who seemed out of place at a rugby league ground. One final note on the somnolent Dolphins crowd. Talk about needing to be geed up the entire.match was spend with a bombastic PA announcer booming out DOLPHINS or PHINS UP or LET ME HEAR YOU MAKE SOME NOISE. Last play of the game the Dragons fumbled the ball over the try line to end deservedly nilled. At least the crowd avoided last nights rainstorm.
  4. The truth is that Latrell is a controversy magnet. Some of it well deserved some of it not deserved. He would actually benefit by spending a couple if years in Super League as like many a wayward aussie waif that has arrived on UK shores once out of the media goldfish bowl that is sydney and in a foreign country he would have time to reflrct on his own game in a country where league hardly moves the media dial. He would return to Australia a more focused player and a better bloke capable of handling the demands of the media spotlight.
  5. In truth from my eyrie in section 714 a poor quality game that at times resembled a knockonathon. South's had enough possession gifted try to them in the first 10 minutes to have built a handy lead but in the spirit if giving handed possession right back. Broncos finally broke the deadlock and. the second Reece Walsh try was schoolboy rugby defence. With Damien Cook sin binned for all but the last minute of the first half.Bronx fans should have been troubled by their inability to kill the game. The second half saw two soft tries conceded by the Broncos to draw scores level. That flattered the Wabbits and the bunnies conceded three more soft tries before a Latrell score in garbage time gave the scoreline an air of respectability. OK it's round two and three is room for improvement but although it's hard for me to feel sorry for anyone wearing myrtle and green, of which there were many at Suncorp. South's look a really poorly coached side and nowhere near contenders.
  6. Winners - Brisbane Broncos, Cronulla Sharks, Penrith Panthers, Canberra Raiders, North Queensland Cowboys, Melbourne Storm, Sydney Roosters and St George-Ilawarra. Points - 340 Away Wins - 2 Poll- Manly Sea Eagles v Sydney Roosters
  7. Round one proved one truth about the NRL in that teams based pride themselves on their defence Look at the winners, Storm, Sharkies, Roosters, SGI all able to absorb pressure. Brisbane Broncos v South Sydney The rabbits like Paramatta last year have a tough opening schedule and the sound of grumbling coming out of the Burrow against Jason Demotriou. The Bronx by contrast would see this as a get right game. The comment in the Courier Mail has been about culinary improvements at Suncorp.Will rabbit pie also be on the menu? Cronulla Sharks v Canterbury Bulldogs Sharkies big winners last week against a Bulldogs side without the fox hounded out of the game by the Eels. WIll the Sharks take another bite out of the Bulldogs? Penrith Panthers v Paramatta Eels Rumours of the Penny Panthers demise are exaggerated.But they are up against the one side that recently got the wood on them in the regular season in the battle of the West. A statement game for both teams. Will the Eels slip pat the Penny Panthers ? Canberra Raiders v West Tigers Ricky's rampant raiders at home against a West Tigers featuring young Lachlan Galvin as a starter. The ides of March have struck for Aidan Sezer but will it pay off for Benji ? North Queensland Cowboys v Newcastle Knights The Cows come home to tropical townsville against a Knights side unhorsed in round one by the Raiders. Can the Knights get back in the saddle? Melbourne Storm v New Zealand Warriors No Cameron Munster, but question marks against a Warriors side that traditionally does not travel well across the ditch. Storm warning? Manly Sea Eagles v Sydney Roosters A rampant silvertails face the other unexpected Vegas winners. The big issue here may well be can the Roosters maintain the intensity and discipline shown last week or will Manly hit the jackpot two weeks running? Dolphins v St George-Illawarra Dragons Benny has reportedly put the whole Dolphins playing staff on notice following the sort of start this season predictedcfor last. Flanno working his magic on SGI in respect of organisation and defensive discipline. Will the 'phins finally make a splash against the Dragons?
  8. Full in the Wigan end and pretty much full in the East stand where I was. Sorry to read your second paragraph.
  9. Attendance 4116 (no freebies). Strange to post this after a 22-60 loss but I took some positives from this London looked more fluent in attack and dud put 22 points on the board which they seemed incapable of doing in the first two games. Rob Butler had a good game. Illness Macani had a solid game. Alex Walker returned at the end. Always positive to get Oli Leyland in the attack and while not Greg Barwick with the boot he has.improved. London have got the top four teams in the comp in 4 of their first five games St Helens, Catalans, Wigan and Warrington .Other teams are not if thar calibre so Lo Don will have a punchers chance as at Hull zFC. The Negatives No hiding the fact that losing 22-60 at home is a spanking. London continue to give away stupid penalties and field position which is punished at this level. London badly need new overseas players. Jack Campansero from the Quuensland Cup beingc18th man today. NNot a good sign. Otherwise the ara has changed a lot in the in the 30 years since I left. Good to see a model of the old Plough Lane of.my youth in the entrance. London meagre shop offerings could have done with some price tags though I understand why ther are no new shirts at present. Of the 4116 about 2000 were Wiganers and I am sad to say they also eon not just the match but the battle of the drums in the stand.
  10. What a stoush between the Storm and the Panthers. Proof positive that a high quality game of Rugby League does not have to be a try-fest. Massive for the Storm who were without their most influential player in Cameron Munster. Superb defence on display. The first five results go to prove what I have said in the past about the NRL being a week by week league and there much more to come. On a personal note, having tipped the Storm it saves me from becoming what is known as The Scotsman - Owen Fife -
  11. As Jamie Soward once said close enough is not good enough. Credit to the Broncos for taking it for the full 80 minutes. But we are not doing moral victories here. As for Hull FC I have always said on this forum that they are the other big club east of the pennines but still are not playing like it.That was not a good performance From a Broncos perspective it may convince the players that they can be competitive with the lower half of Super League and with returnees, and some savvy signings they may yet pull off a result or two against certain Super League sides.
  12. Predictable at the half, unfortunately the interception try now makes it beyond this London side. There is an improvement in the London performance but this is relative to the quality of the opposition and given the start to the season Hull have had they are not playing at the level of St Helens or Catalans at this point in time. I expect Hull to.pull away early in the second half and send the Faithfull home happy. On a bright note there is a Wimbledon FC circa 1995 shirt amount the travelling Broncos....
  13. On paper this is a get right game for Hull FC and I would expect te faithfull to be in loud opice by the end. You culd tell by the smirk on Sam Tomkins face when asked if London had any chance yesterday what he really felt and to be honest as things stand you would get good odds on any different result. London now have a shirt sponsor in Brewdog and I think most fans would want to see a little more "dog" from the Broncos in looking like scoring tries. Bevan French said post world club challenge, it felt like his Wigan side were defending for 80 minutes and while Bevan does his own side a misjustice, it would accurately describe London v Catalans where the Broncos barely got out of their own half. The omission of Alex Walker and Gideon Boafo from the starting XIII depresses me greatly and it's sad to say that even at this stage what I am looking for is a performance rather than a result and I do not think I am going to get one with the side being put out. If they could get a halfback like Toby Sexton from the Bulldogs on a season loan it would be transformative for the Broncos, but serious money buys are beyond a club that does have the proverbial brass razoo to spend. One reason for that, and the lack of sponsorship is that of all the Super League Clubs London is the one that will not feature on any BBC telecast this season https://twitter.com/rugbyleagueontv/status/1761757655192752260. While I am a critic of David Hughes, he within his rights to complain about this to the powers that be and IMG. that's no way to treat an expansion club
  14. The NRL never fails to deliver with two upset wins in Vegas. The first game was a match Souths lost as much as the Silvertails won it. The Wabbits had a lot of posession, but failed to turn it into points then went through a phase in late in the first half with the Saab interception try and thrice in succession in the second half where once they had established a two score lead of three successive turnovers giving good field position capitalised on by Manly. That combined with Latrell missing three conversions as opposed to Reuben Garrick's "dead eye dick" performance, made the scoreline an emphatic win for the Sea Eagles. Now I am not getting out the golden crank here when I say that Souffs aging side have a closing window on which to secure a premiership. On commentary it was noted that Souths kick chase was noticably slower than Manly's and the aging legs were wilting towards the end of the game. The plus points for South's was the performance of Damien Cook and Latrell looking fitter than he has done for a couple of seasons. Nevertheless,South's reserve grade was unimpressive when being tonked by the Roosters and if the departed Sam Burgess finally unlocks the potential of Warrington Wolves, I can see Jason Demitriou coming under pressure to keep his job. On to the Roosters, and boy was it a vintage performancer from Teddy, Victor and Joey Manu among others, and it needed to be against a side of the qualify of the Bronx. A superb game for the neutral spectator. Though the Broncos missed Farnworth and in particular Thomas Flegler. They do have some quality reserves coming through in reserve grade and they will be there or thereabouts coming the end of the season. The three standout clubs in the NRL are Penrith, Melbourne and Roosters on reputation, Brisbane are now the fourth with a lock on Queensland talent and I am reliably informed that the best source of juniors these days is New Zealand and Queensland. So the future's bright for the Bronx. Roosters showed discipline in this game that was sorely lacking last year and dare I say it benefited from JWH not playing (though coming to Super League). The point was also made on commentary about Sam Walker that though there are those who consider him too lightweight they ignore the career of Alf Langer who was of similar build. There is however one cloud on the Roosters silver lining and that is with Teedy heading for the end of his career his two most obvious replacements in Manu and Sua'ali are both going to Rugby Union. Now in the northern hemisphere, I can understand why players would go to a sport with a higher profile and more money, but this does not apply in the southern hemisphere, so their decisions are to say the least disappointing in that if they want a big money offer there is always Super League. 40,746 in attebndance at Allegant Stadium, so NRL in vegas undoubtably a success, and an event that is now a lock until 2028.
  15. I also thank you Graham for running this comp again. Winners, South Sydney, Brisbane Broncos, Newcastle Knights, New Zealand Warriors, Melbourne Storm, Paramatta Eels, St George-Illawarra and North Queensland Cowboys Points - 280 Home Wins - 4 Poll - Newcastle v Canberra
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