Brits in the NRL: 2024 Edition

[Futtocks]

A nightmare first half all round for the Roosters. Sam Walker and James Tedesco both failed HIAs as well as Young's sending off and the errors came from pretty much everyone.

Both teams needed to activate their 18th man option, which might be a first.

Edited April 5 by Futtocks

[DavidM]

The Roosters are way better than that first half … and I think the second half is a fairer reflection of the  Bulldogs . To nearly get run down by 11 men , two main cogs out and a guy with grey hair playing his first game in 4 years is something 

[NRLandSL]

Not a good weekend Brits in the NRL, Herbie Farnworth suspected torn pec, could be out for up to 6 months if fully ruptured. Also a failed HIA from John Bateman.

[NRLandSL]

Good news, not a torn pec I hear. Rather an AC Joint sprain. 2-6 Weeks

[StandOffHalf]

I think Smithies looks like a physical lynchpin and leader in the middle for this Green Machine outfit. Imposing and solid in everything he is doing. His fight for quick PTBs is resulting in several 6 agains.

I think he looks really central for them and makes them a more complete football side.

[bobbruce]

46 minutes ago, StandOffHalf said:

I think Smithies looks like a physical lynchpin and leader in the middle for this Green Machine outfit. Imposing and solid in everything he is doing. His fight for quick PTBs is resulting in several 6 agains.

I think he looks really central for them and makes them a more complete football side.

He’s the kind of player who hardly gets noticed but is vital for every successful team. 

[NRLandSL]

153 Metres and 42 Tackles (0 Missed) for Smithies tonight. Definitely would be MOTM if not for Matt Timoko playing one of the greatest games you’ll ever see from a centre.

Smithies slowly starting to establish himself as one of the top 10 or so Locks in the world. England are Spoiled for choice at the 13 Knowles, Radley, Minichella and Now Smithies.

Edited April 7 by NRLandSL

[StandOffHalf]

41 minutes ago, NRLandSL said:

153 Metres and 42 Tackles (0 Missed) for Smithies tonight. Definitely would be MOTM if not for Matt Timoko playing one of the greatest games you’ll ever see from a centre.

Smithies slowly starting to establish himself as one of the top 10 or so Locks in the world. England are Spoiled for choice at the 13 Knowles, Radley, Minichella and Now Smithies.

The physical presence impressed me. The glue that makes thing come together and makes the flashy stuff possible. He wasn't as noticable in the second half, but he certainly would have been up there for Homme du Match. Timoko was a real menace, so he probably deserved it.

[Damien]

1 hour ago, StandOffHalf said:

I think Smithies looks like a physical lynchpin and leader in the middle for this Green Machine outfit. Imposing and solid in everything he is doing. His fight for quick PTBs is resulting in several 6 agains.

I think he looks really central for them and makes them a more complete football side.

He is just doing everything that I knew he would in the NRL. Physically he is pretty much that typical rugged, tough, forward build that does well over there.

[Exiled Wiganer]

44 minutes ago, Damien said:

He is just doing everything that I knew he would in the NRL. Physically he is pretty much that typical rugged, tough, forward build that does well over there.

He has gone from playing for Wigan to becoming Canberra’s best player. There is nothing startling about that. Sutton went from fringe Wigan player to first choice in their 17. Leaving aside that this is a slightly backward step for him in terms of quality, I wonder about what it must feel like to swap the wonders and potential of north west England for Canberra. 

[dkw]

51 minutes ago, Damien said:

He is just doing everything that I knew he would in the NRL. Physically he is pretty much that typical rugged, tough, forward build that does well over there.

And stopped doing the stupid d-head stuff he was doing a few seasons ago (weirdly).

[Anita Bath]

7 hours ago, Exiled Wiganer said:

He has gone from playing for Wigan to becoming Canberra’s best player. There is nothing startling about that. Sutton went from fringe Wigan player to first choice in their 17. Leaving aside that this is a slightly backward step for him in terms of quality, I wonder about what it must feel like to swap the wonders and potential of north west England for Canberra. 

He will be missing not be as close to the beach as at Wigan.

Say what you will about Ricky but he knows how to pick players from SL.

[WN83]

He's doing for Canberra what he has been doing for Wigan for a good while. We really under value players like Smithies in this country (especially when he doesn't play for your club) but that isn't the case in the NRL. A lad who can make 50 tackles a game, in the middle of the field, while carting the ball up none stop, who can ball play and who leads your line speed and aggression is invaluable. He's the sort of player the coach would never need to worry about. You know exactly what you'll get from him from the first minute, to the last minute of every single game. There was a lot of talk in this country about his discipline, even up to last year but he sorted that 2 or 3 seasons ago. 

[dkw]

5 minutes ago, WN83 said:

 We really under value players like Smithies in this country (especially when he doesn't play for your club) but that isn't the case in the NRL. 

No we don't, no idea where you got that from, just reads like someone making a point so you can praise the amazing NRL. "That kind of player" has always been praised and appreciated in this country, more so than most other types.

[hunsletgreenandgold]

21 hours ago, Exiled Wiganer said:

He has gone from playing for Wigan to becoming Canberra’s best player. There is nothing startling about that. Sutton went from fringe Wigan player to first choice in their 17. Leaving aside that this is a slightly backward step for him in terms of quality, I wonder about what it must feel like to swap the wonders and potential of north west England for Canberra. 

Lol. Nothing like getting ahead of yourself. He's doing great - long may it continue. Then we'll start to talk about him being one of Raiders best players. 

[WN83]

3 hours ago, dkw said:

No we don't, no idea where you got that from, just reads like someone making a point so you can praise the amazing NRL. "That kind of player" has always been praised and appreciated in this country, more so than most other types.

I'm the last person who'll praise the NRL for the sake of it, believe me. I've been battering on for the last few days on other forums about how disrespectful the media are over there when they talk about guys like KPP and Smithies coping with the pace and physicality of the NRL, as though they've come from an English pub league and they've all of a sudden been made in to better players and athletes by one Aussie pre season. 

I think we do generally undervalue loose forwards like Smithies in this country compared to Australia. To put some context on that comment, I think it comes from the fact that we've had some amazing loose forwards over the years, who not only defend and cart the ball up but they've been huge attacking threats, can play as an extra stand off and have generally been some of the best players in our history. Guys like Hanley, Sculthorpe, Farrell, Sinfield and O'Loughlin are the ones I'm thinking about. We've been spoiled and unlike Australia, who moved towards having an extra prop at loose forward a good few years ago, that has only been creeping in here in more recent years. I think that has meant guys like Smithies and Knowles are then seen as a bit of a step down on what has come before but the Aussies are more used to that type of loose forward and they're quicker to acknowledge the attributes they bring then our media here can be. It took Wilkin banging the drum for Knowles for his rep to shoot up and I don't think Smithies ever got the praise here in 5 seasons that he has had already in Australia and he's doing nothing different. 

Edited April 8 by WN83

[Dunbar]

On 11/03/2024 at 12:49, Dunbar said:

And a place in the NRL.com team on the week.

https://www.nrl.com/news/2024/03/11/new-recruits-sizzle-in-round-1-team-of-the-week/

Smithies picked up a place in the NRL Team of the Week for the second time in the first 5 rounds.

https://www.nrl.com/news/2024/04/08/freakish-forwards-a-feature-in-round-5-team-of-the-week/

[DavidM]

Two matches for Dom I see 

[Farmduck]

Meanwhile in NSW Cup:

"The Roosters’ English recruit Lewis Murphy looked a lot more comfortable in what was his second NSW Cup game since making the move from the Super League. Murphy set up a try, got a linebreak, five tackle busts and 144 metres on the wing."

[NRLandSL]

4 hours ago, Farmduck said:

Meanwhile in NSW Cup:

"The Roosters’ English recruit Lewis Murphy looked a lot more comfortable in what was his second NSW Cup game since making the move from the Super League. Murphy set up a try, got a linebreak, five tackle busts and 144 metres on the wing."

Watch the highlights, he had one the greatest try assists i’ve ever seen. Similar to the Taulagi Pass a few years ago. He looked out for all money but then threw a behind the back flick pass into Fekitoa.

Could make his debut this round, doubt it though as Pauga has been very solid as replacement winger and has locked down that role. Guess we will see in an hour though.

Edited April 9 by NRLandSL

[StandOffHalf]

37 minutes ago, NRLandSL said:

Watch the highlights, he had one the greatest try assists i’ve ever seen. Similar to the Taulagi Pass a few years ago. He looked out for all money but then threw a behind the back flick pass into Fekitoa.

Could make his debut this round, doubt it though as Pauga has been very solid as replacement winger and has locked down that role. Guess we will see in an hour though.

It was a nice flick to his inside player, but he had broken the tackle and was regaining his feet. A nice bit of skill, but not quite on the level of the Taulagi assist.

Hope he continues to find his feet in the NSW Cup. I'm not sure he's quite ready for First Grade yet, but I do like him in attack with open field in front of him.

[NRLandSL]

9 minutes ago, StandOffHalf said:

Hope he continues to find his feet in the NSW Cup. I'm not sure he's quite ready for First Grade yet, but I do like him in attack with open field in front of him.

?, can’t agree with that one bit. He is an established first grade quality winger. The injury has set him back a bit but there is no denying his talent. He has been “ready” for NRL first grade for a good 2 years now. He is probably the best winger in the whole NSW Cup.

Edited April 9 by NRLandSL

[NRLandSL]

Murphy named at number 19, will debut if any back line players drop out.

[StandOffHalf]

1 minute ago, NRLandSL said:

?, can’t agree with that one bit. He is an established first grade quality winger. The injury has set him back a bit but there is no denying his talent. He has been “ready” for NRL first grade for a good 2 years now. 

I think he would benefit from more NSW Cup gametime. I am excited to see how he goes, but he is still pretty young.

[NRLandSL]

37 minutes ago, StandOffHalf said:

I think he would benefit from more NSW Cup gametime. I am excited to see how he goes, but he is still pretty young.

yeah of course, especially coming back off an ACL injury. But he's been ready to play at the highest standard since his first few games of 2022. He proved himself as a quality player a while ago now.

Don't forget, the bloke scored 19 tries In 2022, FOR WAKEFIELD. Including a 4 piece against St Helens

Edited April 9 by NRLandSL