The Rocket

When they are all crowded around their televisions in Samoa, Tonga, Fiji et.al. and those teams are giving it to the so-called `big ` nations, don`t you worry it will grow the game both in their home nations i.e. nationally and in turn internationally.

Glad someone laughed @Sports Prophet.

Dolphin speak ?

Oh dear !!

As you said elsewhere I noted : relocations, save your breath, ain`t going to happen. Parra, Dogs and Wests, oops I mean Tigers, dominate that vast swathe across Western Sydney and Penrith might well be considered a completely different region. Souths and Easts, extremely wealthy clubs despite their small footprint, no need to go anywhere. Dragons to the `Gong and Sharks, they seem to be well run and why would you shift them anywhere unless they go broke. Leave well enough alone.

Totally agree, I`d be getting very nervous if I were a Pom. Suaalii will join a Penrith dominated backline which includes Luai, To’o, Stephen Crichton, Izack Tago, Taylan May and Charlie Staines, and is likely to be considered at fullback for the World Cup opener against England on October 15. Throw in Junior Paulo and Josh Papaali`i their pack will hold their own against anybody, and then they`ve got a backline that will either run you ragged or tear you to shreds. Hope your fit fella`s and I mean NRL fit.

Absolutely, we don`t have to be a game full of madcap moments but certainly a few more to break the monotony would be nice. It might even make the game more attractive to casuals instead of relying on us diehards. Dare I say it but even union down here does it better than us in that regard although they have other problems which unfortunately for them don`t compensate. Yeah it was a beauty the post I think you`re referring to. According to the poster we might well have Foxtel over the barrel of a gun in our next broadcast negotiations. In that case I wonder what we are holding to their head. Given V`landy`s last effort, a gun that fires blank cheques.

It does appear to me that the NRL are caught between having either a game that is either inch perfect where each play is perfectly executed and on the other hand allowing some latitude when the ball hits the deck, which despite looking messy and being open to more controversy, allows play on and the unpredictability in play that often ensues. A situation our main rival avoids ( in the extreme ) by having no knock-ons, offside or obstruction. Our referees seem to be caught up in this dualism, sometimes waving play-on or even ignoring marginal potential knock-ons but all too often I fear calling knock-on out of safety ( the avoidance of making a controversial call ) and letting the Captain decide through the use of the Captain`s Challenge. How often do we hear " you can challenge, you can challenge ! ". Which I`m sure wasn`t designed for that purpose, or certainly not as much as it is being used for. As V`landy`s like to state ` we are in the entertainment business ` and I honestly believe that we in League have the potential, with a bit of judicious refereeing, in our game to provide a bit of that helter-skelter. That same helter-skelter fans find so appealing in fumbleball, but whos` over the top nature may alternatively be found ridiculous to those not inside the cult. That`s not to mention though the same mad-cap nature that may well appeal to modern audiences. The broadcasters over here certainly seem to think so. Ignore all but the most egregious knock-ons, get rid of the six-again for the charge-down and let`s see more kicks ( not kickers ) on the deck and get the head high stuff right out of the game and make it safer for the little blokes ( the exciting ones ) and we`ll have a game that combines nicely the toughness and skillfulness of League with the unpredictabilty of fumbleball, but without the circus act.

As well as being in the GF of the state-wide mens-open competition the Hostplus Cup, the Dolphins are into the final of the State`s u20`s competition as well. There`s a real buzz around the Dolphins. Jacob Laban's double propels Dolphins into colts grand final | Warriors

With all due respect you`ve been listening to that great nong Andrew Johns too much and his endless idolising of any one who a) went to a private school and b ) played union while they were there, all the time forgetting that a lot of those kids were literally poached from the Rugby League sporting fields of western Sydney and offered fully-paid scholarships ( $ 35 000/ yr at Kings ) on the condition that they carry their ailing school boy union teams. Suaalli played League since he was 4 years old, a decade before he had anything to do with either Kings or their union team.

My favourite toad was Touchwood, of Catweazle fame. There`s a bloke who knew how to live.

Mine`s not a quote but a line from Robbie Burns poem " To a Mouse ". " an` fellow-mortal ". It`s sums up how I feel about all the little creatures I meet when I walk around my farm or where ever I go or all of our fellow creatures in general.

The words " like the colosseum " is one of the most hackneyed expressions in sport. A couple of times during last weekend`s Souths/Roosters game when the commentators crossed to Brad Fittler on the sideline I`d have to say it was probably the closest I`ve ever heard a sporting event generating noise that deserves that description. The roar being generated was off the charts. This was no doubt abetted by the hostility between the two sets of fans but I did wonder whether the new stadium`s design also contributed. I`d even go as far to say that it was the crowd noise and atmosphere that hyped the players up so much that led to the record number of sin-binnings which in turn only made the crowd noise louder.

One could almost say " fowl play ".

Haas can`t seem to help but make metres it seems, he`s just so powerful and mobile, but he never or very, very rarely seems to off-load or even try to. I wonder if Haas is completely happy at the Broncos and is only serving time now, doing his bit but no more, and his lack at attempted off-loading is a symptom of that. Tapine is a special, I saw him at Indigenous round and he was on-fire, three try assists and numerous tackle-breaks I think I recall. He shows week-in week-out that he is always looking to promote the football unlike Haas. Can`t wait to see him playing for N.Z.

I agree with this up to a point but I feel defences, especially the top teams, are just so damn good these days that I`ll take anything to see a bit more open footy.

Fair enough, but I`m just happy to see fast PTB`s especially when so much of the game these days revolves around slowing down the PTB so defences can get set. There`s nothing like a retreating or staggered defensive line to provide opportunities for opening the game up.

As an aside, something I`ve noticed a lot more in the NRL this year - especially due to players attempting fast PTB`s usually with players hanging all over them - planting the ball on the ground and leveraging themselves to their feet with hand on ball then lurching forward, playing the ball with foot. Clever I thought, removes the chance of the fumble from players attempting to stand and PTB, and ball being dislodged by a stray knee, elbow, arm et.al. Just a little thing, but clever technique to remove likelihood of knock-on at the PTB.

When I put that post up, I was thinking of adding, " let the good natured ribbing begin ". Looks like I didn`t need to.

Not sure about the 50:50, possibly more like 50:0.

I always thought it was " God Help New Zealand "

It`s being reported over here that Joey Manu will only be out for 2 to 3 weeks. Probably means he won`t play for the Roosters again this year but be fresh and ready to go for the W.C. Great news for the Kiwi`s and the Cup in general, the bloke`s a super star that makes exciting things happen and everyone better around him.

Could this possibly an echo of our union past where the team kicking the ball into touch off a penalty take the line out throw into the field of play. We`ve, like a lot of things in League have abbreviated it and just got rid of the line-out part so now the ball is thrown directly to one of your own players who doesn`t even have to tap it on the ground but tap with his/her foot and play on. The other classic example of course is the PTB being an abbreviated version of the ruck/scrum. Interesting that the ball is not required to be thrown from the sideline backwards, but perpendicular to the sideline like a lineout throw. Like the line-out throw as well there is no time limit to how quickly the throw in field can be made once the touch judge has marked the spot.

NRL 2022: New Zealand Kiwis coach Michael Maguire has no problems with Roosters enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Melbourne Storm prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona becoming teammates for World Cup (smh.com.au) What league is all about’: Frenemies JWH and NAS to become Kiwi teammates "They ripped into each other in the most brutal forward battle of the season, but New Zealand coach Michael Maguire is adamant there will be no issues when Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Nelson Asofa-Solomona come together for Test duty. "Waerea-Hargreaves and Nelson Asofa-Solomona were engaged in a running battle throughout the Roosters’ win over Melbourne on Friday. Both received charges from the match-review committee, but escaped with fines rather than suspensions. "Waerea-Hargreaves will join a formidable Kiwis rotation that also includes Asofa-Solomona, Jesse Bromwich, James Fisher-Harris, Isaiah Papali’i, Joseph Tapine, Tohu Harris, Kenny Bromwich, Moses Leota and Briton Nikora." That`s one hell of a list of forwards, anyone missing. God help us all.

Despite only having a couple of years left in them I`m hopeful that Bennett will be able to get enough out of the forwards he has bought for the Dolphins to a) put together a pretty formidable pack b) buy them a couple of years to buy a more sustainable pack moving forward. The Melbourne blokes he has bought for starters are bound to be professionals. Jeremy Marshall-King looks pretty handy and Stone from Parramatta was no slouch when he filled in for Marney last year. I`m thinking if he can the best out of that lot it`s going to make life a lot easier for the backs. There`s got to be a good footballer still in Anthony Milford somewhere that Bennett might unlock, he certainly got the best out of Jamie Soward. On Ponga though. a superstar player like him deserves to be at a superstar club, not that long ago it would have been the Broncos` but that ain`t going to happen. I just think that with their budget I can`t see the Dolphins not being a there or there abouts club pretty quickly.