CGD
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Posts
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Posts posted by CGD
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Kate should've sung
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Was it really the mics or did England deserve a much better crowd than that? That atmosphere was a real shame for such an all conquering tournament opening performance.
Samoa. More like Samold, Samold. Very disapponting effort with their best side on paper maybe ever. Parish has repeatedly been responsible for poor team culture.
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Whitehead?
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Thanks for all the Poms, ESL!
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And possibly Fensom to Cows.
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Speculative list, but Blake Green is best value there by far.
Raiders probably have Austin, Sezer and Williams for the price of Cronk.
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Hodgo re-signing was always coming but still glad to hear it in the news.
He is the most important player for the Raiders now, and going by the trial against the Knights, he's in for an even bigger year than 2015.
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Tamou to Raiders doesn't look like happening, apparently he is asking too much. May sign Grevsmuhl instead.
Leilua could be announced next week
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That is a fantastic squad. Very impressive.
No team will beat this Kangaroos team by luck. Any team that does beat them, will certainly have earnt it, no two ways about it.
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Wow.
I remember watching the 2008 Grand Final with a fair few people at a mate's place. None of us were Manly fans, but when Menzies went over for his try, we all got to our feet as one and cheered for him.
We were farewelling him from the Australian game, and never did I expect him to play on for another 5 years elsewhere.
He never had the skills of a Johns or Lockyer, but his records and longevity put him in a league of his own, separate to more celebrated league greats but proven to be held in very high esteem by everyone.
I take off my hat to you, Beaver.
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If you can't contribute to a discussion, then try to stay out of it.
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Campbell is first choice fullback for the Titans, as is Boyd for the Dragons (he just won Dally M Fullback of the Year actually).
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Love your work, Paris.
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Hayne is simply a "victim" of being a player playing in the most hotly contested position in the NRL. Established rep players playing important positions aren't unseated very easily. It took two whole series worth of Origins before Hayne even got a shot at fullback (while, for the grand majority of the time, he dominated from the wing of all positions). For Australia, he's stuck behind Billy Slater. And AndyCapp is right, take a look at Hayne's game in the Four Nations Final again. He ripped up.
Anyway, it's the same predicament Josh Dugan and Lachlan Coote will soon (if they're not already) find themselves in. Those two were just about the two best players on the pitch in their debut rep match, playing opposite eachother. Indeed, Dugan was officially Man of the Match in that City/Country game. While Coote's size will count against him in earning rep caps, Dugan will be squeezed into Origin and Tests, somewhere, sooner rather than later. In my honest opinion, I believe Dugan is in the top 3 fullbacks in the game, with Slater and Hayne. It's arguable that he is a better fullback than Hayne. Hayne is easily the better athlete of the three, but as a specialist fullback, his ranking is questionable. Like already suggested, Hayne is still too inconsistent. Yes, even in his "quiet" games, his stats often impress, but he can struggle to star when he's not the absolute focal point of an attack. You can forget just how young he still is, so there's no reason to doubt that he'll improve his game in years to come. Slater just has just been such an executioner of opposite rep teams over the years to not name him as no.1 fullback in the game.
Last year, after making his debut, Dugan ended up playing 16 games. When you look at averages in stats, he was the leading metre gainer, leading kick-returner and i'm pretty sure he was the out and out leader for tackle breaks for 2009, as in game average and total for the year. This year he has been in first-grade since Round 1. He is currently third in metre gaining, behind Gallen and Hayne. He is second in kick-return metres, behind Coote. He is again first in tackle breaks, by a long way. He is fourth in line-breaks, and first in linebreaks from kick-returns. He turned 20 in May. He WILL play for NSW and Australia.
As for Carney and not being picked for Origin. By Origin 1, he had played 9 NRL games in the previous 1.5 years, and up to that point, had been playing fullback for the Roosters. It's not hard to see how he missed out on his NSW debut this year. While I also don't really like players playing for Australia before making it through the Origin furnace, I definitely believe Carney can be a successful Test player. For a 5/8, he's big and strong, has good pace and good footwork. Physically, he'll do just fine. It's plain to see that his skills are worthy of a Test jersey, it's just a matter of when, and if he can handle the responsibility mentally. If worst comes to worst and we're hit with injury to the halves as mentioned, there's no real harm in trying Carney, is there? It's not like he'll have to do it all himself, with Cronk or Prince inside him.
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Will the Aussie selectors forget about (snub?) Jamie Soward in the way the NSW selectors did?
Hopefully.
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While I agree that you can come across as a bit aggressive, ECT, at least you get a response. I try a more down played tone and get completely ignored almost every time. Lose/lose situation here.
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Unless you've read something I haven't, I wouldn't quite draw a line through Lockyer and Thurston yet. Lockyer in particular sounds like he'd be fit to play by the time the tournament begins. Slot Cooper Cronk inside him and we don't lose much in the halves at all. Even if Lockyer is ruled out, there's always Prince or perhaps even Carney.
Folau hasn't come into calculations since he signed with you know who, so that doesn't matter. Inglis is certainly a loss, but really, against England, all we need is someone better than his opposite, which we have in spades. It's the Kiwis who we might lose more significant ground to there.
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Funny, because I would've very much agreed with the concern over English players and the high-ball this time last year, but have a look at the Four Nations Final again and tell me which team was the better exponent of the tactic? It wasn't Australia. In particular, I remember Eastmond putting up a bomb into the right corner and Fox outjumped a static Jarryd Hayne for a try. And that's the key, save for Inglis and Folau (who will no longer be a rugby league player come this Four Nations), everyone is susceptible to being outjumped for a high ball if flat footed. It's all about the timing.
I am alarmed at the fact that so many people over here harp on so consistently about our forwards matching even overshadowing those of the S/Hemi. Having watched the NRL in some depth this season, I would go so far as to state that their backs are not as threatening as the forwards, in both Oz and Kiwiland!!Mmm, I wouldn't go that far, but your point about Southern Hemisphere forwards being underrated is right. For the last 5 years, the Australian pack has been quite underrated.
vatuvei is the only real worry for me, and only from 10-15 yards out with one man to beat.. kenny-dowell is a handy player, but not someone who is going to cause any real problems, same for nightingale.Really? Vatuvei is the best winger in the NRL in my opinion. SKD is a huge threat. Nightingale is one of the safest wingers under the high ball, and he's quite short.
Vatuvei would not play if I was selecting a Kiwi side, Perret, Nightingale, Locke and the winger at the Titan's also( forget his name) would all be in my side before him.Whaaat? No Vatuvei? Are you sure you've been watching the NRL this season? If he wasn't injured for about 10 rounds, he would romp the Dally M Winger of the Year. Akuila Uate will probably win it instead. Where are you suggesting Locke plays? I'd say fullback or not in the team at all. And the winger from the Titans? David Mead or Kevin Gordon? Mead is PNG and ruled out injured. Gordon is a New South Welshman/Australian.
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It's not really how they perform in SL. I just don't believe they have the full set of skills to be a top half in the NRL. As I said, I believe there's only 4 in the NRL currently to meet the criteria, neither of them are anywhere near that level.
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After going through the pages I almost forgot what I was going to say.
I agree with whoever brought up the point of too many playmakers. I see that in England, and especially don't like it when it's a forward. Might as well play one man down instead cus that's effectively how it plays out. Ball-handling forwards are different, and some might put Graham in that category, but i've seen him try passing in Tests and it hasn't produced anything yet. Just cart it up, you big lump, that's what'll worry the defence most. Likewise, Sinfield should stop being a second 5/8 at lock and just stay at hooker where he can direct attack from the distribution point and engage the line with with scoots out of dummy half. In short, stay close to the ruck.
EDIT: I did forget my other point. Biggest blunder for England last Four Nations was the almost robotic refusal to spread the ball wide against Australia. There were times when they earnt the space out wide, but just send it straight up the middle again. Had to be part of the gameplan, there's no other reason for it. I got told it was because your backs can't match ours. That's true, but there's nothing but empty space to match in the examples i'm thinking of.
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I agree on the quality of the list, but I also agree that Peacock is too old now. What point would it have? Much better he spends he final years in England. On the same train of thought, I don't think O'Loughlin is too old to come over. I'd count on him being as successful as Ellis.
No comment really needed on Graham, except that he needs to get over here ASAP.
Tomkins and Eastmond, despite their obvious talent, will have it much harder. They might find themselves at fullback, but would depend on the club (very few clubs without a very good fullback). If they played in the halves, i'd be pretty sure about failure, too much expectation and responsibility in that position. You have to be exceptional to be seen as good enough. Most NRL halves cop it as not being good enough, the rest are Queenslanders (all 4 of them), and their clubs never let go of them. Very hard for an English back to star in the NRL.
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I'll wait to see the squads, but it might turn out that the NZ Maori side is stronger than Fiji anyway.
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Canberra fans are excited about the prospects of having Matt Orford there.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl...r-1225895857488
I would like to know what the dispute is between Orford and Bradford.
That article has nothing from the Raiders saying they're interested in Orford. Also, fans are much more interested in Kimmorley than Orford.
This article states the Raiders' position quite clearly.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,2...1-23214,00.html
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Perhaps Tomkins and Eastmond could be next?
It's my opinion that Eastmond would be played at fullback here, and for that reason (strength of depth at fullback in the NRL), there would be very little interest in him.
EDIT: Tomkins I would have at the Raiders in a second.
Sat 5th Nov: RLWC: England v Papua New Guinea KO 14:30
in The General Rugby League Forum
Posted
Better hope Kate chats the team up for the final too