Dunbar

Bateman, Whitehead and Hodgson were key players in a great Canberra win this morning. Hodgson gave away his usual dumb penalty but most of his game was good. Whitehead and Bateman are so solid on the edges for the Raiders. The win puts Melbourne and the Roosters in the same half of the draw so they can't meet in the Grand Final now. I think the Raiders are a real chance of getting to the final now.

No idea why Tom Burgess was left on the bench for the first 50 minutes of the game. He provided some actual go forward for Souths when he finally got on.

I agree with the point of Leilua. While he can be utterly devastating at times he can equally be a liability with his discipline... both his discipline with ball control and his foul play. I don't think it is any coincidence that the Raiders have got over the line in tight games more often this year as their discipline has improved massively. I just don't think a player like Leilua fits into this.

I worry about a Wighton and William's half back combination. While Wighton has improved his tactical kicking game as the season has progressed, he is by no means the finished article and it is a running line threat that is his biggest asset. William's short kicking game is better than his long and again he is more of an individual threat. For me, I think the Raiders will lack game management next year which was one of their weaknesses last season.

This sums up my original point. If he cuts out the stupid bits, concentrates on his game and reduces the unforced errors, Burgess will be back to being one of the very best forwards in the game... if not the best.

I agree with part of this. Burgess has a stupid part of his game. Hair pulling to get a ban from the finals is just an idiot play. It's not tough and it's not being an enforcer pulling someones hair. But, when he concentrates on the proper stuff he is as tough as they come, I would say as tough as JWH and Gallen.

Sam Burgess looks set to miss the start of the finals for hair pulling https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/teams/rabbitohs/burgess-banned-for-a-week-for-hair-pull-on-roosters-rookie/news-story/f4a3d87e6666febccb7bfebd259017b5 Hair pulling! What the hell I am fast coming to the conclusion that with his error rate and disciplinary issues that Burgess is more of a liability than an asset these days. He really needs to sort himself out and return to being one of the best players in the world.

Why is Hall a flop. He has been restricted to just 6 appearances due to injury but flop implies that he has not performed. One of the key measures for a winger (and in particular at the Roosters with the way Robinson likes his teams to play) is the metres gained. At an average of 164 metres per game, Hall is 9th overall in the NRL and 3rd in the wingers. When compared to Brett Morris who is Hall's main competitor for the wing spot at the Roosters, Hall has higher run metres, fewer missed tackles, fewer errors and fewer penalties per game. He actually outperforms Daniel Tupou in all these categories as well who is pretty much nailed down for a spot in the 13 at the Roosters. Hall has hardly been a flop.

I hope this is true. When he was at his best, Watkins would have been up there with the best centres in the NRL... not the stand out he was in Super League as the quality is higher across the board but certainly as good as the top class centres they have. It would be a huge shame if a successful career was capped by a stint where he is deemed to have failed as he is a better player than that.

Jai Arrow is a fantastic player. An absolute machine. If were assembling a squad of players he would be right at the top of the list.

If I was Hall I would stay out there. The Roosters are a strong chance to go back to back and he has done well when he has played. An injury has meant he has lost his place to Brett Morris but who knows what could happen in the next six weeks. He could easily be running out in the NRL Grand Final, as I say, I would stay there if I was him.

I'm OK with the way the NRL has the ball steal law now... a one on one ball steal even if there was previously more than one defender in the tackle adds a bit of variety to the sport and is in itself a skill (both individual and team skill as they clearly practice players dropping off the tackle if a defender is in a position to attempt a steal). It's a high risk defensive play as a penalty or a new set could be conceded but I am all for a bit of innovation and variety in the game. I see that Trent Robinson was against it https://www.nrl.com/news/2019/08/11/robinson-stripping-rule-placing-unnecessary-pressure-on-referees/ but I was surprised to read that Ricky Stuart is also against it seeing as though the Raiders have all but perfected the tactic.

I agree that the Roosters and Storm are the teams to beat and should make up the Grand Final but the Raiders pushed the Roosters all the way this morning and so it's not a done deal by any means. In the top 4, I think the Rabbitohs are the one's under pressure... coming off the back of two losses and their final three games of the season are a massive grudge match against the Broncos, a trip across the Tasman to the Warriors and then the local derby against the Roosters. I can see them dropping out of the four if the Eels or Manly can maintain a bit of form.

I remember him being interviewed a while ago (several years) on Sky after a game and he had got a knock on his knee and he said something like "and it was my bad knee as well". As he had not been injured for a while I can only assume the knee that injured a couple of times early in his career continued to cause him problems. Only speculation but maybe it is just a recurring thing he manages.

I saw the second half of the Dragons Titans game. I would describe Watkins performance as quiet rather than ineffective. The Titans threatened a comeback midway through the half and all their attack was on their left edge away from Watkins. This season is lost to the Titans and Watkins, we will see what Watkins can do next year with a full pre season and a new coach.

I think Canberra are contenders as are Souths and probably Manly. But I think all three fall a little short on quality come the really big games and I can't look past Melbourne and the Roosters for the Grand Final if they don't play each other in a qualifying semi.

Agreed, I hope he goes well. Back in his proper position and after some rest and conditioning work and with little pressure on him.

Gareth Widdop has been named at 6 for St George this weekend. The Dragons are desperate for a winning run to try and make the finals. I just hope Widdop is ready as I felt that he was rushed back last year in the finals and suffered a recurrence of his injury.

I would love to see Graham passing more. This part of his game has fallen away a lot in the last couple of years... not the talent, he just seems to be a workhorse prop these days which is a real shame as he is a very creative passer of the ball.

I see that James Graham has been named to start at 13 for the Dragons in his comeback game from injury. Not that 8, 10 and 13 are very different these days in the majority of teams.

Thanks. Well, that's sorted that conversation out then!

According to Wikipedia its these two and Central Queensland Capras but I don't know how accurate this is.

Is he playing Queensland Cup?

Pleased for Farnworth that he has kept his centre spot and he has had a nice run in the Broncos team. He will probably miss our when all their personnel are back but this experience will serve him well as he progresses.

I have high hopes for Morgan Smithies to fill the void left by O'Loughlin when he calls it a day. He is tough and skilful... could be the UK equivalent of the likes of Radley and Murray.