Roosters and Carney the Real Deal

The Match of the Round being at 5.30 on a Saturday is a rare thing. Jarryd Hayne being shut down is a rare thing. The Roosters combined these two rarities, in an absolute demolition of the Parramatta Eels, winning 48-12. The Hayne Train/Plane only had one shining opportunity and he modestly put the plane away as Jarryd scored the first try for the Eels as the fought against an opening onslaught from the Chooks. Pegging back to 18-6 was not a chance for the Hayne Plane to show off, and as it was to become evident, no false boasting here from the Eels.

Bulldogs and Panthers in Friday Night Wins

The Bulldogs and the Panthers enjoyed Friday Night wins in Round 21 of the NRL. The Panthers came from behind to secure a 24-16 victory over a resilient Cowboys team, who just seem to have forgotten how to win the close ones.

In the other game, Souths have stumbled on their way to the finals with a surprise loss to the Bulldogs 32-12. Many Bulldogs fans cling to the hope of finals footy, by finishing the season with six straight wins, and on tonights form they stand a chance to do so. But in reality, Souths were the team driving towards the finals, and tonight's performance is one of the main causes of frustration, fans of the Bunnies endure.

Afl Previews Round 18

AFL Preview Rd 18
 Just the 5 rounds to go tipsters and it seems we will have no change to the top 4 this year either as the same teams finish 1 to 4 like 2009. Hawthorn, after a disastrous season start, has settled into 5th position from which they will find it difficult, but not impossible, to win the flag. However, without a competent ruckman, the Hawks may struggle against the top 4 teams.

NRL Line-Ups Round 21

Bulldogs

vs

Rabbitohs

Friday July 30, ANZ Stadium. Match start: 07:35pm Referee: Matt Cecchin, Jared Maxwell

Soward Makes 100

Five-eighth Jamie Soward will this week play his 100th career NRL match when the Dragons take on the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium this Sunday.

Soward made his NRL debut for the Roosters back in round nine of season 2005 before joining the Dragons mid-way through 2007. The Wagga Kangaroos junior played 22 games for the Roosters and will play his 78th match in the red and white this weekend.

Roosters beat Broncos in a thriller

By Wayne Heming AAP


The Sydney Roosters won a remarkable NRL contest against Brisbane with centre Shaun Kenny-Dowall scoring four tries in the high-paced 34-30 victory at Suncorp Stadium on Monday night.
Kenny-Dowall's fourth try regained the lead for the Roosters after the Broncos had staged a stunning comeback from 28-6 down in the second half to lead 30-28 following a hotly disputed try to prop Nick Kenny.

The Tale of Two Contenders

The Sunday Edition of NRL Round 20, threw up two very contrasting peformances from Premiership Contenders. We saw the Souths Sydney Rabbitohs confront a New Zealand Warriors team on a winning streak. At the end of the game, it was the Pride of the League looking the goods for a run at the Flag with an emphatic 38-28 win.

Coach Tim Sheens, today rued the lack of credit his Tigers team have received in the NRL2010. Today, they highlighted the reason why as they stumbled against a fired-up Manly team 38-20 in front of a great Blue Tongue Stadium crowd. The Tigers are just seen as too inconsistent  to be real contenders for the flag.

Round 20 Saturday Night

A draw was good enough in the AFL, as heavyweights St Kilda and Hawthorn played out a thrilling draw. Its also good enough in the Qld State League with Norths and Redcliffe also playing out a thrilling draw. In the NRL, a draw isn't good enough, so we have Golden Point and Saturday Night saw our second Golden Point shootout this weekend. The Cowboys this time, ended up on the "luck" side of the Golden Point equation with a 28-24 win with a try sealing the victory. In other results, the Raiders defeated the Sharks 20-13, while Craig Bellamy continued his Mathew Elliot winning streak when the Storm defeated the Panthers 18-10

Friday Night Thriller at Kogarah

Sometimes the ole Friday Night Footy, doesn't throw up the best quality football games. This can be due to the wet a slipperies that affect the ball on those dewy night games. Friday nigh was another example of this, with the Dragons playing the Gold Coast Titans, which ended in a thriller, but most certainly wasn't a glowing example of how our game should be played. The Titans won 11-10, with a sneaky Matt Rogers field goal in the second stanza of Golden Point, the deadlock breaker. At the end of the day, this game deserved to be a draw and this is what makes Golden Point just so wrong.

AFL Preview Rd 17

Akermanis got the chop his time is up down south
What did he think? Opinionated, brash, he would not shut his mouth!
The Bulldogs knew when recruiting him just what the guy was like
Seems strange to cut him out so late and tell him “Take a hike!”
Choco’s also gone from Port, was he sacked or did he leave?

Weekend NRL SHORTCUTS

We have had a frustrating week, caught up in the slow world of Telstra Cable at 64kps. It's hard to achieve anything on the internet these days with these speeds. However, finally had the patience to load up the blog to give our view of the world for the Round 20 of the NRL

Round 20 opens up with two blockbuster games, with the Titans playing the Dragons and the Sydney derby featuring the Bulldogs and the Eels. Both games have an element of last chance about them, with the Doggies definitely on a last chance to make a winning run into the finals and the Titans also on a bit of a last chance to show themselves they are capable of featuring in the top four

News Covers Up ????

Just maybe Snowy is right on this one. News of recent days speaks of many gaps now appearing in the "official" version of the Storm Salary Cap events. Just read some of the related coverage at LeagueHQ.

Conversation the Club Chief Had to Have

There is a gap somewhere

News Knew

Cowboys Lose After Leading from the Front

Schoolboy errors and continued invites to the Wests Tigers, were finally taken by Benji Marshall as the Wests Tigers defeated the North Queensland Cowboys 26-16 at Leichardt Oval. The Cowboys led 16-0 at apepared to be finally playing the football that we all know they are capable of. However, continued poor decisions, both from the refs and the Cowboys, continually handed the Wests Tigers the ball in great field position.

Inglis to Brisbane?

The rumour just doesn't go away. Greg Inglis to come to Brisbane and there has been some talk that it will cost the Broncos Sammy Thiaday. This will be a huge blow to Brisbane fans, who have Thiaday up on the pedestal as one of the most favourite players in the Broncos. To lose him to the Cowboys and pick up Inglis would see the potential of a fan drain away from the Brisbane club. There is no doubting that Inglis will be a huge pick-up, and the potential loss of Thiaday may have happened anyway, due to his increasing stature in the game, many will link the two. This will be unfortunate, but is one the Broncos PR team will need to be on their toes about.

Raiders ROMP, Bulldogs - Roosters Thriller

The Raiders set the cat amongst the pidgeons with an amazing 52-18 victory over the Newcastle Knights, after leading 40-nil before half-time. Fullback Josh Dugan scored a hatrick of tries as the Raiders ran rampant over a Knights outfit, who simply didn't know what hit them.

In the other game, the Sydney Roosters halted the winning run of the Bulldogs, knocking them over 36-32.

Saturday NRL Results

Some Jaryd Hayne magic was the main talking point with Saturday NRL results. Down 22-0 against the Penrith Panthers, Jaryd Hayne exploded again and brought the game back from the fire to lead the Eels to a 34-28 victory. In other games, the New Zealand Warriors maintained their winning ways with a victory over the Melbourne Storm, while Manly thrashed the hapless Cronulla Sharks

Dragons Squeak Home, Broncos Romp Home

Friday Night saw two brave performances from the winning teams. In Qld, the loyal fans witnessed an incredibly defensive effort from the Broncos, as they repelled a Titans team who continually held better field position and possession. The Broncos clawed to the front on the back of a dodgy sin-bin call on Matt Rogers and were never headed as the Broncos romped home 24-10. Brisbane found a way to bomb two tries as well, as they came home so strongly. Their is a real feel that this Broncos side, could do something special this year... and on tonights performance you would have to agree.

AFL Preview Round 16

As one of many tipsters who have had a sorry season tipping, my future, weekly predictions will carry a bit of desperation in them. This is simply to try and make up some ground on the leaders in tipping comps who are now sitting some 8 to 11 points ahead with only 7 rounds to go. This week there are a few games that could go either way so you need to apply a mixture of bravery, knowledge and stupidity.

The Bleeding has to stop

Snowy can have his corporate cover-up conspiracy theories, I just want the pain to stop. I have no idea what Davie Gallop and News have set out to achieve with today's drama, but I am sick to death of it. The ONLY pleasing thing is that the coach has finally been cleared, but the players are still clouded by the release of their refusal to talk with the auditors. The stench drags onwards. Can we just please get it all over with. Does it really matter, just how much the club was over. The NRL and News talk about the future of the Storm and the time is now to move forward. Their actions dictate that they are rooted in the past.

Over the Odds

Snowy rang me today from his beautiful Nambucca Heads wanting to rant about the Storm Salary Cap rort. He was perplexed as to why Greg Inglis turned down a $400,000 offer from the Broncos when his NRL contract states that is what he actually earns, or thereabouts. Is this the first admission from a player that they knew they were earning above their "nominated" NRL amount? Snowy asked a heap more questions that perplexed even me, but he asserts that this is a corporate cover-up to exceed all corporate cover-ups.

Origin Stars Return for Red V

The St George Illawarra Dragons welcome back all four of their State of Origin representatives when they meet the seventh placed Rabbitohs at ANZ Stadium on Friday night.

Darius Boyd (fullback), Neville Costigan (second row), Brett Morris (wing) and Beau Scott (centre) all returned to training today after their representative campaigns came to an end are looking forward to getting back in the “Red V” and heading towards the Finals.

NRL Line-Ups Round 19

As usual from our friends at Fox Sports.

Trouble Brewing in Qld

While Qld dominate the Origin series, the club sides in the state are facing very real challenges. The Broncos have walked away from contract negotiations with Greg Inglis, who deemed 400,000 was not attractive enough to join the Broncos.The Cowboys are just a joke, while the Titans are failing to win over fans, and a bit of a money stench still follows them. Bruno Cullen from the Broncos announced his retirement at the end of the year and stated that a second Brisbane side is "workable" after years of denying that it is. Yes, Qld faces some challenges for the future.

What is Wrong with the Cowboys??? Hayne Explodes

The Parramatta Eels, courtesy of some brilliance from Jaryd Hayne and an insipid North Queensland Cowboys side, returned to form with a convincing 36-24 victory. Hayne, stung by criticism, has returned to his brilliant best as the Eels threaten to do the unthinkable, like 2009, and threaten for the title again. Rarely do you see one side so reliant on the form of one player, as the Eels are with Hayne.

AFL Review Round 15

AFL Review Rd 15 (Brought to you by www.footy.com.au)

Collingwood16.9.105 Defeated Port Adelaide 12.7.79

The Power not only lost the game but lost theircoach.  Collingwood fans had reason to beworried until the last quarter after giving Port a 6 goal start. The good startby Port Adelaide was built on emotion and it was obvious from the first fewminutes when Port had 2 goals on the board that Collingwood had a fight ontheir hands. The Power ran out of emotional gas and wind in the final quartergiving the Pies the opportunity to win the game.

Knights and Warriors Big Sunday Winners

The New Zealand Warriors have stood up today to be counted, and let the rest of the competition know they are the real deal. They knocked over the Penrith Panthers 12-6 to firmly entrench themselves as a top 4 contender in NRL 2010. In the other Sunday game, the Nambucca Chooks Reserve Grade side would have played better and more entertaining football than the Knights and the Sharks. For the record, the Knights defeated the Sharks 21-10. For the record neither side will be playing past September.

Manly Dominated by Raiders

The Manly Sea Eagles were disappointing  tonight and just gave the Canberra Raiders too many opportunities and ultimately lost out 24-22. Interestingly both sides in their post match comments made the statement that they came to the game determined to turn their season around, and the score difference would indicate that both teams came out ready to play. Manly didn't, they seemed lethargic and the forward pack from Canberra dominated. They gifted Canberra some tries and just didn't recover.

Benji's Stroke of Genius

A sensational 50m field goal on the stroke of half-time, was the difference between the Tigers and the Titans. Hell-bent on out-doing Darren Lockyer's 45m effort in State of Origin, Marshall's effort hit the cross-bar and rolled over. In a game of inches, it was these ones that counted as the Tigers rolled the Titans 15-14.

In the other Friday night game, the clash of the Federationalists, Todd Carney proved the spark to defeat the Bunnines 18-14 in another nail-biting edition of the NRL2010

AFl Preview Round 15

AFL Preview Rd 15

Well tipsters a slightly better effort last week but theupsets continue and of course close games can go either way. The top 4 issettling down but there is one heck of a fight going on for positions 5 to thebottom. The Ben Cousins story, after a short break, has hit the headlines againand the media gang that made themselves available to do the interview attraining Wednesday night was unbelievable.

Welcome Back NSW

It was Origin and it was great. A very special Qld team wrapped up their first cleansweep in 2010, mounting the trophy earned with their fifth straight series. Qld look to have the goods for the next couple of years, but we all must remember that Darren Lockyer and Petro Civoneceva will be another year closer to 40 next year.

But this article is going to be about NSW. Last night they showed a platform and foundation that will stand them in great stead over the next couple of years.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Thats Origin

Three Nil on their Fifth series in a row....Those stats would indicate that Qld Won the 2010 State Of Origin Series pretty easily. In reality, with ten minutes to go, and NSW leading and with all the momentum, it was looking again to be another anti-climatic series finish for QLD. It was a NSW error, and two missed tackles from Paul Gallon that enabled Qld to come from behind to snare the Clean Sweep they so desperately desired. QLD ended up winning 23-18, after trailing 18-13 with just ten minutes left.

Billy Slater scored off the back of some Darren Lockyer sleight of hand to give the Qlders the lead 19-18 and a Willie Tonga try in the final minutes gave Qld the final scoreline. A well-deserved cleansweep from a team that faced every challenge tonight, weathered the Storm and held on to win. Catch us tomorrow for Curlys review of the game.

No Buts about it Qld

Tonight Qlders everywhere will be looking for no buts. This is our chance to show no mercy to a NSW team and population who still believe they are the centre of the rugby league universe.

This is the day where NO BUTS will be accepted. You know what I am talking about. We don't want to lose tonight and say " Yea But, we already won the series" "Yea But we have won five series in a row" and the worst one, "Yea But it was a dead rubber"

NRL Line-Ups Round 18

Heading into the last couple of months of the competition already, with Round 18 line-ups from FoxSports.

Gasnier Returns with the Dragons Curse

The pain and heartache of years gone by, was evident to all Dragons fans again tonight, with the return of Mark Gasnier, two dropped balls at critical times, and the absolute return of the Dragons Curse.

In saying that, Penrith were superby defensively tonight, reading every play like they wrote the book and were seeing two plays ahead. The lack of a Dragons offensive, "off their heads" was also evident as the Dragons kept throwing the same plays at the Panthers, even though they were handling them with ease. The final scoreline of 12-8 flattered the Dragons.

AFL Review Round 14

Brought to you by www.footy.com.au best place for Footy Tipping.

Carlton 18.12.120 Defeated Brisbane 9.11.65The Lions were able to hold the Blues for a half but late in the 3rd quarter Carlton was far too good. There were eight 50 metre penalties, many of them ridiculous. It was a good lesson on how to spoil a game of footy. Goodbye Lions 2010. Judd steered the boat, Eddie Betts popped up in the forward line continually to kick 5, Garlett kicked just the 2 but seemed to be everywhere, Scotland, Murphy and Gibbs were the main possession winners for Carlton. 

Sunday NRL Results

Sunday NRL presented two ordinary games by the standard set in the NRL. The Sydney Roosters inflicted the second straight home defeat winning 22-12, while the Parramatta Eels fans were calling for Brian Smith and Denis Fitzgerald to return to the club after being flogged by the New Zealand Warriors 35-6

Bulldogs 24 Sharks 12

 Ben Barba bagged two tries as Canterbury-Bankstown decimated an ordinary Cronulla outfit 24-12 at Bluetongue Stadium on Saturday night.

Unlucky Broncos

The Brisbane Broncos were valiant tonight, losing out to the combined guile of Robbie Farrah and Benji Marshal in the dying minutes of a Wet Friday Night Footy. 30,000 flocked to a rainy and cold Suncorp Stadium, and with two minutes left the Broncos led 14-12 and looked to be snaring an unlikely victory against a full strength Tigers outfit.Robbie Farrah with a pin-point cross field kick put paid to that, and the Tigers won 16-14.

What Tha?

Where the hell is Rugby League going? Jaryd Hayne calls a press conference today to state that he is staying with the Eels, even though he was "hurt" by comments made by Daniel Anderson after the loss to the Broncos. I don't know what these overpaid, pampered players want their coaches to do, if asked a question in a press conference about an individuals form? Speak honestly. Jaryd, your form is crap. The sooner you wake up to that, the better off you will be.

AFL Preview Round 14

Don't forget that this round starts on Thursday evening.
The last time I drove across the Nullabor there was over 900 miles of dirt. These days you don’t even have to pack an esky because there are roadhouses, or travel stops they call them, every 200 kilometres or less and of course the whole trip can be done on bitumen.