2016 NRL Match Thread Round 9

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5min: Widdop try chalked off for obstruction

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7min: Dragons 2-0

 

Silly penalty kick. They were 10m out and they've had all the ball and they've already crossed in their first set in good position.

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10min: Shaun Johnson scores and converts. 6-2

 

Suddenly that 2-pointer at the other end looks even dumber.

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.....but then the Warriors knock on from the 2nd play after the restart AND give St George a penalty before the first tackle is finished.

 

14min: Euan Aitken scores - Widdop misses. 6-6

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17min: Matt Allwood scores for Warriors. Johnson converts. 12-6 to the NZers

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26min: Benji try chalked off for... guess. Yes, obstruction.

 

A couple of minutes back there was a great front-on tackle on Ryan Hoffman. You could hear the amazement in the commentator's voice when the tackler stood up and it was Benji Marshall.

[Farmduck]

28min: Charlie Gubb scores his first NRL try. Johnson converts. 18-6

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33min: Badger says TRY but it was a messy kick contest so sent downstairs to the video dungeon. Closer than I thought but Warriors FB grounded ball on goal line so: line drop out

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35min: Fai Fai Loa scores in corner. What? No video ref? A St George runner clearly hit a defender but it was 20m away from where the try was scored. Is this the resurrection of common sense?

 

Warriors lead 18-10

[Farmduck]

HT: Warriors up 18-10

 

Warriors look quite good BUT.... they have had a strong breeze behind them and St George had 2 tries chalked off. Even with the current obstruction interpretations, some of these chalked-off tries are only a split second off legit. On the St George tries, another half-second and the ball would have been grounded and all the rest would be irrelevant.

[Farmduck]

54min: Mitch Rein crosses for Dragons but drops the ball. In the resulting scrum, the Warriors drop the ball before the first tackle. The the Dragons drop it on the first tackle.

 

Refs overlook obvious trip/kick attempt on Rein by Shaun Johnson.

[Farmduck]

60min: Jeff Robson try. Johnson converts from straight in front. Warriors lead 24-10

[Farmduck]

75min: penalty goal to Johnson. Warriors 26-10

 

St George average about 3 points per second half this year. You would think if they just put up the high kick at the end of each set, the law of averages would give them a better harvest.

 

FT: Warriors 26 - 10 St George

[Farmduck]

So, does this vindicate McFadden's decision to drop 5 players? The Warriors players were in the NSW Cup and beat a very poor Canterbury Bulldogs, who have only 1 draw this season. The guys who came in today played well but their opposition wasn't great either.

[Farmduck]

STORM  V TITANS

 

 

 

both sides chopped/changed. Shillington out, Ash TAylor back.

 

The little kids forming the guard of honour today are from the Mungindi Grasshoppers. I once had a girlfriend from Mungindi. She drank herself to death at 29. Yes I know it doesn't rhyme.

[Farmduck]

This game is off to a very strange start. The Storm were caught in possession on the first set, 25m from their own line?@?#?$? Un-Storm-like. And then the Titans get a penalty but couldn't work out who was taking the tap. They dropped it on the second tackle anyway. That's the first 5 minutes.

 

6min: forget that. Cheyse Blair fields a kick and runs 65m to score on his club debut.

 

Smith misses kick. Storm lead 4-0

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26min: try to Suliasi Vunivalu. Smith misses. Storm 8-0

 

Someone fell over in the lead-up to that try but there was no referral to the bunker to find an obstruction?@?#?$? What's going on?

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31min: Tohu Harris scores out wide. Storm 12-0, kick to come. Smith converts from sideline. 14-0

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Rain starting which, according to Kevin Walters, will make it "more tougher" for the Titans.

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35min: try to Cronk off a 30m break by Asofa-Solomona. Storm 20-0

[Farmduck]

HT: 20-0

 

Statistically, the Titans are gone. The Storm haven't conceded 20pts in any game this year. The Titans would need to not only crack that stat, but also keep the Storm scoreless (or very close to it.)

[Farmduck]

43min: 40/20 by Blake Green.

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45min: try to Vunivalu off a Blake Green kick. He's now averaging 2 tries per game. Smith to take the kick from the chalk.

 

Smith misses. Storm 24-0

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54min: Kenny Bromwich sin binned for a punch after a bit of faux biff.

[Farmduck]

58min: Cronk scores behind the posts. Storm 30-0