NRL MATCH THREAD - GRAND FINAL 2020

[Graham]

Well done Storm

Great speech by Cameron Smith

Then the lifting of the trophy:

[Irish Saint]

Congratulations to the Storm, I havent watched yet just read this and the thread on The Roar.

You really shouldnt be surprised at Gus's commentary as I said before he must have felt like Moses today all the work he did there but he had to be imo correctly pushed out for the Panthers  to show their true potential..

Enjoy the victory Graham

[Futtocks]

As regards the commentary team, Gus was always going to be pro-Panthers. I think Ray was just hoping for a more even contest and better spectacle in that first half.

[Graham]

I notice that in the re-runs on Watch NRL its the Fox Sports Commentary team.

Will watch again and compare their views.

[Graham]

2 hours ago, Irish Saint said:

Congratulations to the Storm, I havent watched yet just read this and the thread on The Roar.

You really shouldnt be surprised at Gus's commentary as I said before he must have felt like Moses today all the work he did there but he had to be imo correctly pushed out for the Panthers  to show their true potential..

Enjoy the victory Graham

Thanks for that, Irish Saint.

I realise not everyone likes Storm in fact they have plenty of vocal critics. 

I admire their positive qualities and especially the way they work hard to spread the game in Victoria. Yes, they have star players and performers who catch the eye. They have had some of the best players ever to play our great game during their existence. There have been some dark days too. One of the best aspects for me though is how they can take standard players and improve them within their system to a higher level of performance. In Craig Bellamy and Cameron Smith they have people who have vision and experience to often give them the edge when all else is equal.

[The Rocket]

2 hours ago, Graham said:

This commentary team on Ch 9 are not even handed. I’ll leave it at that and move on...

Pretty funny really wasn`t it. Gould bigging them up. Johns telling them what to do, God help them, and Freddy sulking on the sidelines. All to no avail. Probably not much different to most people at home though, I know was going for the Panthers.

If only they could have converted a couple of those early chances the whole thing might have been different.

[Graham]

1 hour ago, The Rocket said:

Pretty funny really wasn`t it. Gould bigging them up. Johns telling them what to do, God help them, and Freddy sulking on the sidelines. All to no avail. Probably not much different to most people at home though, I know was going for the Panthers.

If only they could have converted a couple of those early chances the whole thing might have been different.

 4 tries apiece in the end. Panthers were  better in the second half and clawed their way back.

They could have pinched it  when Storm were down to 11 men in the last few minutes.

I really rate Nathan Cleary. He's had a fantastic season and showed a never-say-die attitude today. That solo effort try of his at the end really lifted his team mates to give one final push that might have come off. Storm kept him quiet in that first half and at the same time accumulated their points. You can't keep a good player and team down though and Panthers fought their way back into contention but just ran out of time.

Not a classic game, but one to tough out. Two well balanced teams who deserved to compete in the final - where they scrapped it out in a fair way.

 

[DoubleD]

Storms phenomenal scramble defence won the game in the first half. They shut down the halves and Cleary and Luai had no answer. They both looked like rabbits in headlights. It’s a shame because both had poor games. Melbourne’s back 3 showed their class vs the Panthers and Smith was brilliant. 

That said, Melbourne were very poor in the second half and let Penrith back in. It became a very scrappy game and I’m not surprised Bellamy was losing it. It’ll be interesting to see how Penrith come back next year, i think it will stand them in good stead as a learning experience 

[Graham]

1 hour ago, DoubleD said:

Storms phenomenal scramble defence won the game in the first half. They shut down the halves and Cleary and Luai had no answer. They both looked like rabbits in headlights. It’s a shame because both had poor games. Melbourne’s back 3 showed their class vs the Panthers and Smith was brilliant. 

That said, Melbourne were very poor in the second half and let Penrith back in. It became a very scrappy game and I’m not surprised Bellamy was losing it. It’ll be interesting to see how Penrith come back next year, i think it will stand them in good stead as a learning experience 

Did you see him get up shouting, rage to the back of the room and kick that chair over? His pen name should be Buster Bloodvessel II

You could see how disappointed the Panthers players were at the end. There's a lot of really good young players there who will hopefully have plenty of chances to get to a final again and win it.

[DoubleD]

3 minutes ago, Graham said:

Did you see him get up shouting, rage to the back of the room and kick that chair over?

You could see how disappointed the Panthers players were at the end. There's a lot of really good young players there who will hopefully have plenty of chances to get to a final again and win it.

I’m not surprised, sometimes I think Bellamy goes OTT with his reactions but he was perfectly entitled to today. They nearly threw the game away and probably would have if it wasn’t for Cam Smiths calming influence. Munster was pretty anonymous and they were far too loose, ill disciplined and error prone in the second half

[DiddyDave]

I thought it was a poor game,Penrith didn`t turn up until it was far too late and Melbourne put the cue in the rack midway thru the second half which is highly unusual for them. Bellamy was going ballistic in the coaches box and rightly so. Certainly Penrith had one of those games when nothing goes right,that penalty try in the first couple of minutes really knocked them off their stride,not helped by the disallowed try shortly after. Their star forward Kikau had a nightmare game,so it was never going to happen for them. Still,with the imminent departure from the game for Cameron Smith and the fact that Penrith are mainly a very young side,there`s nothing to suggest they won`t have another top season next year.

[Davo5]

https://www.triplem.com.au/story/like-they-say-s-t-happens-a-gutted-mark-geyer-dissects-the-panthers-grand-final-loss-168465?fbclid=IwAR2APNVbEORx1Tjnp-3kYK_TeobwDcfWUagmeZiIS34weSDnLc1P9S128pc
 

Penrith legend Mark Geyer with a fair & balanced view of the games talking points.

[Graham]

Gus says we should listen again to what he said as he wasn’t being biased but rather being honest.

He and Kent love to stir the pot of their own making, don’t they?
Maybe Gus is just one of those unconsciously biased folk we read about. Biased but doesn’t know it? Or maybe he’s just cocksure that he’s right all the time even when he’s wrong? 
Either way, as my old Dad would say, he’s a ‘big gobbed dog’.