THE RED ROOSTER

Wahs playing the better wet weather rugby, Bronx also beating themselves with bonehead plays , Obstruction, negating a try, offside negating a try opportunity, aimless kicking near the Warriors line and that forward pass right at the end. 40 mins to resore their premiership credibility as the Dogs are their next opponent.

Been at the Kent Members forum so some snippets off Info that might be of more general Interest Hundred Sale update the dispute now is over control No money has been paid as yet, and when it is it will be released in stages, Kent holding the money as a sort of "rainy day fund". No-one seems tio mention that Tax has to be paid on the sums involved. The dispute now is over control and if you believe the line SKY is taking the ECB are offering the Owners considerable convessions . Below is what the inventor of the IPL thinks. SKY of course as the UK rights Broadcaster take a different view SKY TV on progress in Hundred sale What was stated is that the Counties expect a year on year decline in the value of TV rights (Whiich may be the case with other sports as well...) County Season structure Nothing has been agreed at present, what you are resding in the papers is judicious leaks by parties adancing their agenda's to journalists. What the Non-Hosting grounds want is meanigful cricket during the Hundred window. I.e The County Championship being played in August. This is bitterly opposed by the Host Grounds who want to shave off two rounds of the Couny Championship and two rounds of the T20 blast. Live streaming Again maybe of interest with regards to other sports, the ECB have asked Kent who charged for viewing T20 last year to cease doing so as the ECB wants the focus on being "eyeballs to watch the game". One example being last years Royal London Cup Quarter-final that had Warwickshire offering free coverage with 10,000 plus viewers and Leicestershire who charged to view having about 600 despite being arguably the better game of the two. What will be happenibg is not a paywall but a digital wall whereby you will get details on those who watch online for free which helps with marketing and advertising once you know who, where, and what socio-economic grup they belong to. Deregistering an Overseas player it's not just the case that when your overseas player leaves you get on the ;phone for a replacement. it takes 21 days under ECB rules to deregister an overseas player.

65 305 in attendance and triumph for the Dogs on and off the field with this Bunnies bashing. Reality check for Souths, they have been admirable in grinding out wins in adversity but are not a top 4 side. This has.made by journey to Canterbury brighter as I have tipped the Dogs all along as my "smokey"for this years.premiership. One tip I might be getting right this season.

Steve Mascord has asked his fellow podcaster Tony Adams (AKA the Mole) about the London Broncos saga and Moley will be having a chat with Matt Adamson about this. If we do not hear anything back (and there was nothing in today's podcast between the two) then my supposition remains that the fate of the London Broncos is tied up with the current conversations between the NRL and Super League clubs and broadcasters about the future of Northern Hemisphere Rugby League. By the way, Matt Adamson may be involved in the Australian federal election as he was an unsuccessful candidate for Clive Palmer's Palmer United Party which rebranded to the United Australia party and has further rebranded to the Trumpet of Patriots Party for this federal election. This election is being held on Saturday 3rd May. So postponing the launch for a month from 15th April fits within this timeframe #justsaying. If I was an investor in a consortium, I would want to know the lie of the land so to speak before committing, and I suspect this is not the only takeover sitting in abeyance until there is some clarity as to the way ahead for the game. Responsible journalists do not leak confidential information if their source has requested that this be kept out of the media, so I am not banking on Moley or anyone else breaking confidences for once you do that in the media your out of a job as noone will talk to you. And if Mike Eccles gave a post match press conference, just what question do you think he would he be asked and porbably not be able to answer. Bit of a beard scratcher eh.. Some of the wild speculation in the media about London and about the NRL's intentions is I suspect being done by parties hostile to any change. Please note the principals in this, the NRL management and certain Super League club owners are very reticent on this subject and rightly so as you do not discuss business proposals in public.

New England Cricket Kit (Test, One day and T20), Driven by Toyota. A snip at a mere £ 75 per shirt.... New England Cricket Kit 2025

Big win for SGI this time losing a 14 point lead biut remaining composed enough to be the next on the board. Silvertails beating themselves yes, but you make your own luck in this game.

Can the Silvertails play this badly, especially DCE, in the second half...

And of you are not a Watch NRL Subscriber, Ideal to listen in to if doing houshold chores detc... ABC radio linl

Tigers Press Conference on Galvin West Tigers Press Conference

Winners - Manly Sea Eagles, Canterbury Bulldogs, Melbourne Storm, Brisbane Broncos, Sydney Roosters, Canberra Raiders, Cronulla Sharks and West Tigers Points - 362 Home wins - 4 Poll - Gold Coast Titans v Canberra Raiders

Round seven in a 24 game season so getting to be crunch time for many club’s and another set of close to call fixtures Manly Sea Eagles v St George-Illawarra Manly have the bonus of playing this game at 4 Pines Park combined with the disadvantage of a 5 day turnaround from Perth a 5 hour flight from Sydney. Jason Saab returns for the silvertails but no Tom Turbo. Otherwise Manly are unchanged For SGI the money man Christian Tuipulotu is absent - meaning no Christian celebration at 4 Pines this Easter. If SGI are challenging for the top 8 this year they need to be able to win this kind of game away from home. If this become a battle of the halves then Cherry-Evans and Brooks are better than Ilias and Flanagan, so to win SGI needs to win the forward battle. A close encounter awaits Canterbury Bulldogs v South Sydney The record NRL regular season crowd expected at Accor, thanks to imaginative pricing from the Bulldogs. Going to be interesting to see how; The Dogs handle the weight of expectation from the crowd Souths handle a hostile crowd at their “home” ground. Coming back from the bye week, Matt Burton returns for the Dogs with Sitili Tupouniua coming back from a ban onto the bench. Villame Kikau unlikely to play For Souths the influential Campbell Graham returns and Cody Walker returns to join Latrell in the halves and Lewis Dodd finally makes an appearance off the bench. Who let the Dodd out. Seriously Latrell needs to be more of a factor than he was at Perth for the wabbits for them to be in with an upset chance. Will the Dogs have noticed how vulnerable Souffs are up the middle with the Cows going up and down Optus Stadium last week. If they do it could be a long Good Friday for Souths… The Dolphins v Melbourne Storm Not the nailed on Storm win this game, in that they have the Dolphins at Suncorp, physically big team which does not need much by the way of possession to score tries from anywhere on the field. It’s the recipe to bear the Storm and Krstian woolf names an unchanged side that’s won it’s last two games. Jahrome Hughes is pivotal for the Storm and is currently playing injured and is being managed by the Storm being taken off the field once the game was won. Sua Fa’alogo comes back on the wing for Moses Leo. No Nelson Asoifa-Solomona or Will Warbrick again for the Storm. This game has a bit of a “Kogarah” feel for the Storm. And its not a straightforward tip. New Zealand Warriors v Brisbane Broncos The Bronx crossing the ditch to come to Mount Smart stadium. It’s always difficult playing the Wahs at home but they have some significant absences notably James Fisher-Harris and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstat replaced by Leke Halasina and Taine Tuaupiki respectively. For the Broncos, Jordan Riki comes in for Jack Gosiewski. The big question remins about the Bronx is are they a team or 13 individuals requiring a flash of brilliance from someone, normally Adam Reynolds, to swing the game in their favour. There are questions to be answered Can Reece Walsh aim up against his old club? Can Michael Maguire cure the alleged rockstar culture at the Broncos? Are the Wahs serious top eight contenders? A close game in prospect Sydney Roosters v Penrith Panthers The Penny Panthers are the bookies favourite for this and have Yes, the Roosters won at an underwhelming Brisbane Broncos but that was with Billy Smith who is suspended for this game He is replaced by Mark Nawaqanitawase who up until recently was the Roosters bright spot this season. Sad to say it’s reported that Dom Young is on borrowed time in the starting XII with only injuries keeping him in the starting lune up over the last two weeks. There was an interesting tale about Spencer Leniu and Terrel May that surfaced last week. Allegedly the Roosters coaching staff thought of the two Mount Druitt boys that Terrel May would be the more difficult to handle in a team context and that’s why he was let go to Wests and Leniu retained. As boneheaded moves go….. For the Panthers there is still no Brian To’o and Ivan Cleary has suffled the pack with a new centre paring of Case McLean and Luke Garner with Blaize Talagui retained over Jack Cole to partner Nathan Cleary. The game is pivotal for both clubs season’s, but I am not convinced by either side. It’s a dilemma for me because I have tipped the Panthers 5 out of 6 this season and the time I went for Sharkies is the one they won. Which in itself is an interesting pub question – What NRL team has yet to win a game in Australia this season ? Gold Coast Titans v Canberra Raiders This could be the high scoring game of the round with Ricky Rumbustuous Raiders turning up at Robina fresh from putting fifty on the Ailing Eels in Darwin. Gold Coast at home welcome back captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Jojo Fifita and Izac Fa’asuamaleaui. Often when you are discussing sides you can be unduly influenced by the last time you saw them, I do not have Watch NRL so I only saw their results against the Roosters, who are an ordinary side and Newcastle blunt in attack, as opposed to the majority of their game against the Bulldogs where they had a 20 minute spell after Matt Burton’s Injury but otherwise were torn apart. Which performance is the real Gold Coast?. Well the annual deathride of the franchise has already started on the internet. If the Titans vanished would anyone notioe ? Canberra unchanged from Darwin, They should win here to underscore their top 8 pretensions but as I have posted before about them while the Raiders can score off repeat sets they can often concede off repeat sets. You can apply that to both sides which is why this could be a high scoring encounter that again is not as straightforward as it seems. Newcastle Knights v Cronulla Sharks By contrast this could be what would be politely called a game for the connoisseur,. featuring a Newcastle side solid defensively but not exactly having white line fever against a Sharks side also solid defensively, but as of yet still not fluent in attack. Newcastle have Tyson Gamble and James Schiller back and Phoenix Crossland returning to the role of hooker. Newcastle need a performance in front of the Novocastrian crowd Cronulla do have Adam Fonua-Blake back and are unchanged with at least William Kennedy back to his best at Fullback. I am edging towards Sharkies in a low scoring encounter. West Tigers v Paramatta Eels The Tigers sans Lachlan Galvin, banished to the NSW cup at Lidcombe Oval have brought in Brent Naden and Luke Laulilii as Jeral Skelton is out with Adam Doueihi moving to the halves with Jarome Luai. Mitchell Moses is back for an Eels side tha desperately needs to show some Parra Pride with some in he side seemingly giving up during the debacle in Darwin. Jack Williams is back at Prop with the pack being reshuffled. As for this being a Tigers home game, posting as someone who was actually at Comm Bank for the Paramatta v Wests games in early 2024 and this year, I would have to say that on both occasions it was a Tigers crowd so despite posters on the Tigers forum claiming that they would rather sacrifice their first born than go to Comm Bank, all this proves is that never believe that the internet is a true reflection of opinion and Shane Richardson must be pleased at all those executive boxes. To be honest, if all had been well in Tigertown I might have tipped the Eels on this one but since the leadership group have made their position on Galvin plain I do expect Benji’s boys to win this one boys in this one. Though it could be close.

It is like a form of Kremlinology at present but consider this, for a London Broncos side that at the start of the season seemed not to have the proverbial brass razoo.. London Broncos talent pathway is up and running for juniors with a flyer being distributed at the Hunslet game - Somone is funding this. The Club offered 50% Discounted tickets for the Batley game, though there was a take up of this iot would not generate much by way of concessions (i.e Food and drink) most of which goes to AFC Wimbledon - Revenue generation perhaps not so acute then at this point in time? London Broncos XIII on Saturday did not contain any loan players at all which some found strange. No comment in the media from Mike Eccles about the game on saturday, in fact total media silence in the last week. You have to trust the process here, it's a sensitive time since it is perceived that the backwoodsmen have staged a coup up here and my own hunch is that any London takeover is linked to the NRL Europe plans. Not sure where the Canterbury Bulldog speculation is from apar from someone listening to the Gus Gould podcast, but there is an NRL club that is alleged to be keen on having a close arrangement with the UK game but I will keep silent on this, as it may incidentally not be London, for there has been too much media speculation that is spooking investors. Everything the NRL does is not altrustic but actually benefits the NRL as much as Northern Hemisphere RL. London is for junior development an untapped market, the likes of Jamie Humphries and Kai Pearce-Paul have demonstrated that there is untapped talent down here and with an expanding NRL by 2030 the requirement to have more sources of quality junors coming through increases. Patience is a virtue...

Fianl Newcastle 4 West Tigers 20 Curates egg for Benji pleased with the defensive performance but given the posession they left points out there. Conversely the Knights defensively held up well but offensively are firing blanks, what does Greg Marzhew have to do to get droped I wonder ?. Wests had success attaching the left edge of the knights defence in the first half, yet went away from it in the second half going to the stronger right side of the Knights. Part of the learning curve I suppose.

Unfortunely not, other posters on thjis forum are more up to date on the amateur RL scene in the south.

Newcastle 0- Wests 14 at the half. Newcastle's left edge defence unable to cope with Jahreme Bula. Good job that the Tigers got that third try becaiuse as happened at the end of the half, Newcastle will have time on the ball and the lead is still relatively skinny. Wests need to seal the deal early in the seconfd half converting posession to points as Newcastle will probably not gift them as much ball in the second stanza.

London 14 - Batley 16 (HT - 6-6) Batlety started off by scoring in the corner on the Broncos left fla k which was to be a problem all day, and enjoted the best of the early exchanges despite missing a penalty. London got back int the game as the half progressed and will Lovell had a try called off for crossing before Sadiq Adebiyi, London's man of the match along with Luke Polselli set off on barnstorming run which enabled the Broncos tio draw level through Will Lovell just on the half-time hooter. Broncos took the initiative in the second half with a lot of pressre on the Batley Try line with two attempts held up over the line, but every time there was a left shift in attack momenntum was lost. Before Lewis Bienek tunneled over for 12-6. The London lead did not last long with Batley drawing level at 12-12. There then followed a period of stalemate in which Hellec missed a penalty and Batley missed a drop goal within the last 10 minutes London worked the ball upfield and Hellec this time slotted over the penalty. That left about 90 seconds from the restart, Batley won the ball put pressure on the Broncos line and on the fifth tackle spread the ball from the right wing to the far left corner for the winning try with time expiring. In truth either side could have won this game and both had their opportunities , Batley took theirs so well played. I spent the match surrounded by French junior Rugby League side Grans XIII Les Piranhas, whose juniors spent all game bobbing up and down more intersted in manger a l'exterieur and Buck and Dusty than what was going on the pitch.. Merde.. It would not be a post from me about the Broncos without a whinge, and it remains the 5.00pm kick offs, you can tell by the time this is being typed how late it is for me to get nack to my Kent market town the streets of which resemble a scene from Animal House late saturday evening. The Broncos diaspora is based all over the south east not locally. It also cannot be much fun for northerners with either a very late return or an overnight stay. I will be going to the Sheffield Game (KO 3.00) but my attendance at the preceding weeks game is 50/50 at the time of writing. This is something the new owners need to sort out - Pronto

Full Time - Paramatta 12 Canberra Raiders 50 It's fair to say that a trip to Darwin has not helped the evolution of Jason Ryles Paramatta Eels........

Half-Time Paramatta 6 - Canberra 24. In the heat the odds are that Ricky's Raiders run Parra ragged in the second half.

The Hip drop penalty against Jack Wighton proved pivotal in the game allwing the Cows to square up and after that they were able to exploit the weakness in the Souths Defence up the middle.

Souths winning the game teritorially but losing on the scoreboard to a Cows team that is mining the seam up the middle but failing to complete where it matters. Whoever keeps their composure and competes their sets win s this. Latrell not having the best of games but as an X-Factor player can win the game in the second half.

Two women charged following another 21 year old Woman knocked out in brawl at Accor Stadium

No doubt now its a full blown crisis for the Penny Panthers and something for NRL360 to feast on for the week.. Good job the Panthers face fellow crisis club the Roosters next... But credit should also be given to The Dolphins and Kristian Woolf who have turned things around. Kudos to Woolf for not making panic changes to the starting XIII and backing the players to finally come good.

Panthers need to score first in the second half, by the sound of it Dolphins doing their best to offer opportunities to the Panthers who are failing to take them and subsequently the Dolphins building in confidence as the game goes on. The Dolphins do not need that much posession to score tries because of the way they play. If they score first in the second dig this could become ugly for the Panthers. If the Penny Panthers cannot turn this round this goes from being a form slump to an full blown crisis at 1 and 5 on the season.

Winners - Penrith Panthers, St George-Illawarra, Brisbane Broncos, Cronulla Sharks, South Sydney, Canberra Raiders, Mdlbourne Storm and West Tigers Points - 372 Away Wins = 3 Biggest Margin - Paramatta Eels v Canberra Raiders

Some results by small margins last week, Canberra getting the bounce of the ball, Penrith bombing a 2-1 overlap and Latrell's "magic" pass was FOORRWARRRD.... That said, we are in Round 6 of a 27 round NRL season and truly you cannot styick a fork into anyone's season until about round 10. And in this rouond wityh one or two expections you can easily make a case for either team to win. The Dolphins v Penrith Panthers If you had askred me pre-season about this game I would have said Penrith no doubnt but now, like The Mole, I have been tipping the Penny Panthers to get it right and have been consistently wrong, The Dolphins got off the mark with a pasting of the in-form Titans and have Tom Gilbdert back for the suspended Ray Stone in an otherwise stable ,line up playing at home in Suncorp. For Panthers Brian To'o remains out, Dylan Edwards is back along with Scott Sofrenson and Blaize Talangi partners Nathan Cleary in the halves with Jack Cole Injured. You have to wonder if the weight of expectation and the string of four consecutive defeats has taken its toll on the young Panther Cubs. This is a con-flip game so I will mull over this St George-Illawarra v Gold Coast Titans SGI back at WIN stadium Woollongong, so you feel they should win. However the SGI problem is and remains closing out the ghame with two 12 point second-half leads lost so the onus ios on the veteran players to aim up so Shane Flanagan sticks with the same staring XIII as took on the Eels For Gold Coast the question is are flattering to decieve, two sold win and a heavy home defeat Captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui suspended with Sam Verrills and Winger Jojo Fifita back. They certainly have the firepower to cause an upset here but they lack the consistency. This game is played in the 'gong and I always tip SGI there Brisbane Broncos v Sydney Roosters When I have seen Brisbane it has been the Adam Reynolds show, I will go as far to say he is the fulcrum of the Bronx attack and Brisbane will go as far as he goes his season. The rest of the side has performed in third gear and looks better on paper than what you actually see on the field. If the Bronx have the game won then you will see Adam Reynolds come off well before the final hooter. Roosters by contrast defended well in the first half v Souths but really lack creativity, hence the dropping of Chad Townsend for Hugo Savala. Victor Radley is back for Lindsayy Collins (injured). When you look at the Rooster line up, while its over dependent on James Tedesco, it's also not a line up that should be 1-4 at this point which again highlights my issue about how some sides look better on paper than in reality.. Depending upon how the Broncos start this might be tighter game than people think - Still tipping thre Bronx though Cronulla Sharks v Manly Sea Eagles (Perth) A crunch game for both sides looking to revert from pretenders to contenders Cronulla played it safe agaiunst a 12 man Raiders opting to kick a two point conversion instead of pressing home trhe advantage. They were unable to hang on tonthe lead. As a result, the view that I have expressed about Cronulla not having improved since Craig Fitzgibbon's first year are now more mainstram and putting pressure on the coach. Teig Wilton and Siosifa Talakai back for this game boltering the pack but iots the halves that cause concern. The Silvertails without Tom Turbo and Jason Saab ciome off a hiding from the Storm at 4 Pines Park and with rumoutred trouble bfrewing in the camp. Let me explain, if DCE really is going to the Roosters then he is on a big salar.y By contrast Jake Trbojevic who has come out with the stroke that he would never play for another tetam against brother Tom. But whose $ 1 miilion dollar contract is allegedly droppoing by $400,000 as of 1 st November if he redressing room.signs with Manly. can only view the riches his 6 year older colleague may get. Cannot make for a happy dressing room. This is played at Optus stadium better known as the home of the Perth Scorchers BBL side but I am not expecting this game to be a cricket score. Genuine Coin-Flip this game South Sydney v North Queensland Cowboys (Perth) SKY Not sure why the bookies have the Cows as favourites for this game, though they are rebuliiding if NQ had to be described in on word it would be "workmanlike" as a team. Reuben Cotter returns for the Cows. NQ are a force in Townsville due to conditions but no so much away. Benny retains Jye Gray as full back with Larell Mitchell in a roving role at 5/8th with Jayden Sullivan at half back who impressed me when he played for SGI then was forced out by the plethora of half back options at Wests, but could yet prove to be an astute acquisition. Winger Alec Johnston also due back. This seasons Souths have developed grit and backbone in the face of adversity to grind out unexpected results and if any of the four teams are likely to have fans barracking for them at Optus stadium in Perth then its the Wabbits Lewis Dodd who would have had his opportunity with Jamie Humphries out along with Cody Walker, got suspended in a NSW cup game and cannot catch a break. Going with Souths here Paramatta Eels v Canberra Raiders (Darwin) SKY No sooner does Jason Ryles begin to have a side taking shape with Zak Lomax and the FOXX on the wings than Zak Lomax breaks a foot. If Lmax had been fit the Starting XIII for Parra is beginning to take shape and Mitch Moses is due back around week 9 so while the Eels are solwly being moulded into the side Jason Ryles wants. Just a word about short-memories, Clint Gutherson, Regan Campbell-Gillard, Blaize Talangi and Maika Siva all played for Paramatta last year. The club avoided the spoon in the penultimate "spoonbowl" game with Wests. So its fair to point out if the Eels are not winning without these players, they were also not winning with them Ricky's Riotious Raiders are unchanged and certainly have the attacking tools to win. The form book would have Canberra clear favourites but this is being played at the top-end in Darwin veery much in the tropics and humiity and presumably with 20 minute drinks breaks. The result may be influenced by who copes best with the conditions. Going with the Raiders here. Melbourne Storm v New Zealand Warriors One thing that would concern Craig Bellamy even in the wins is that the Storm seem to switch off for periods of the game, blitzed Manly in the first 20 minutes of the game, let them back into the game for the next 20 up until the half then came out after the break for the Coup de Grace but then fell away allowing Manly to scpore three garbage time tries in the last 10 minutes. Points difference may e critical at the seasons end and if you look at today's table you will see the impact those manly tries had on Melbourne's placing. Same starting XII I for the Storm New Zealand always have heaps of supporters wherever they go and Melbourne will be no exception. They are in form and coming off a bye week Melbourne still do not have Nelson Asofa-Solomona in their ranks so the way to beat the Storm lies with the Wahs forwards achieving dominance in the game. if they do this game could be more interesting than peioople think. I will stick with the Stom Newcastle Knights v West Tigers SKY Another coin-flip game in that Newcastle are vdery good defensively but their attack is firing blanks and they have a plethora of injuries going into this one though have home advantage which in Novocastria is a factor. A lot rests on Ponga and Best. Wests welcome back Jarome Luai to add nous to the young side. As i have posted previously, West Tigers are a work in progress under Benji aand are sstill learning to win in the same way the Bulldogs were two years ago and are learning to win. Another genuine coin-flip game