2010 NRL Season

My top 8 for this year (In Order)
1: Melbourne- They are just so good. To be honest, they are one of the great teams of the modern era with starts like Slater, Inglis,Cronk,Finch,White,Hoffman and Johnson. How can you not have them on top. They will be there for Grand Final Day.

2. Penrith- So many good signs last year for this team, they had the talent but just couldnt play a strong 80 minutes. Now that they have a genuine halfback in Luke Walsh and the inclusion of big Daine Laurie, who can less the workload of Franky boy, the mountain men are due for a big season.

3. Parramatta- Memorable run last year only to be pipped on the line. 2010 is going to be the best chance parra have of winning a comp with big name signings of Poore, Shackleton and Timana Tahu, who is fitter than he has ever been before, which is a bad sign for other teams, not just nrl teams but rep teams like queensland and the kiwis.

4. Brisbane- Hot/cold team. Ivan Henjak has had a full season and charge and now knows whats required to win the tight games with his men, expect a big season from these blokes.

5. Canterbury- Brilliant season last year. Their hopes rely heavily on Jamal Idris. A freak in my opinion but his big downer is his defence, I could defend better than he does. If he improves that and remains like a bull when he has the ball in his hands, shut the gate.

6. North Queensland- I dont know why I have put them in here. Their hopes rely on the big 3: Bowen, JT and Payne. If this combo plays together all season, then they are a huge chance.

7. St George Illawarra- I think they will battle into the 8 this year because of last year and mentally it will hurt for a long time. I have seen some shattered faces but none more so than Soward last year against the broncs. I think he is hurting from that still and that will hinder on his game this year.

8. Gold Coast- Again, another side who will battle into the 8 because of last year. The last 2 months were just awful for them but that was due to their key player, Scott Prince, not being 100%. If he remains injury free, the titans can play a part in the finals.

MELBOURNE VS PENRITH GRAND FINAL

SOUTHS TO GET THE SPOON

ROOSTERS TO IMPROVE BIG TIME

haha bunny basher!!!! we played really well without our star forwards mate... dominated the first half and then SCOTTY went to town... was a very good trial.

real test comes this weekend against the DRAGONS in the challenge cup... this would be the first serious club hitout of the season... cant bloody wait.

$4 Knights to get the spoon? Take some. Word on the street is as many as 4 more more players may be charged and 6 more named/implicated in court. That equals 8 of the top 25 players...not counting injuries. Big names are not immune either.
Dark days ahead.

On the bright side, the Charity Shield was good to watch. Both teams blowing out the cobwebs.
But the Bunnies were good chilli! good to see. Only negative for them was that they didn't win and nearly lost. The Bunnies have got some points in them this year.

Anyone see the top 50 players in the Daily Tele this week (Phil Rothfield)? There is only 200-250 players in the comp....25% on the list is a high %. Still, I thought Jamie Lyon was lucky to get a start.......

I think he was spot with the top 5... UP THOSE QUEENSLANDERS!!!

CHILLI souths would win the comp if they treated every game as a Charity Sheild. The intensity they show every year in this game is great.
YOU WONT BEAT THE MIGHTY TITANS

This should make you happy too Nudgey. IMO the bet of the week for round 1 is Panthers 13+ or -7.5 @ $1.90. Raiders have little overall and 4 or more of their best out injured already. Saver for the spoon.
The choccy soldiers are S-P-E-C-I-A-L-S.

yeah, they do look specials Whiz. This is going to be a really good year for the mountain men

LOL WONGY... yeah i reckon TITANS are in for a super year as well as the rabbits... i dunno about the PANTHERS whiz and nudgey... they are severely lacking in the halves and i think if CAMPESE and HE$RBERT fire early they could fall into disarray... Panthers forward pack look formidable and their hooker could win them the game on his own... like the look of the RAIDERS pack with the likes of TILSE and THOMPSON off the bench they could very well hold their own and let the dominant halves combination control the match.. probably give the nod to the PANTHERS but am hoping their creativity will come from a rampaging LEWIS, PRITCHARD and WATERHOUSE cos i cant find any other creative sparks there... hope JENNINGS gets some ball. RAIDERS wont be wooden spoons this year... very much doubt it. CAMPESE is a match winner and we forget just how good he can be.

Easy money with Panthers 13+... but the rabbits... there are some bad signs there... they looked very ordinary on sunday and that worries, even though its only round 1

dunno nudgey... thought we were terribly unlucky not to post a few tries when the game was in the balance and i dont just mean MERRITs dipsy doodle although it was the obvious one at a key moment... everything the chookies tried stuck like glue and nothing we did came off... gotta remember this is round 1 and we have a huge team in size... is always gonna take a bit of time to get it together... BURGESS, TAYLOR, SUTTON, STUART all look like blokes resuming from a spell and will only get fitter and better... is very hard to be skillful when you are having a big blow... thought there were some really good signs there especially when we started rolling down the middle with our big pack... they were absolutely killing the chooks and that was early on in the show as well... way too much drop ball and our defence down the right edge was a bit ordinary which was exploited by CARNEY on several occassions... i agree with LANGY who said you cant go into a game in the NRL and expecting to win... ya still gotta earn it. I generally judge a team by who is firing and who isnt firing... nobody int he bunnies fired which is a good thing... same as the PANTHERS mate... Jennings, pritchard (fired one shot), no waterhouse makes me think they could be in for a decent year but there still remains massive questions about their halves combo... thought KEATING was very very good for them. STill Raiders put on some very basic tries and CAMPESE, HERBERT didnt fire a shot the whole match and if PURTELL didnt get hands on that intercept the PANTHERS were just about gooone... i tell ya something for free... this is gonna be a terrible terrible season on the punt for the NRL... two of the worst perfoming teams in Rd 1 are up against each other Friday night in TITANS and RABBITS and i absolutely believe that both teams will play out of their skins and everyone will be saying WOW two genuine contenders just had a cracka of a match...

The Bunnies were rolling down the middle early and got a couple of early penalties too (always happens when a team is on a roll). But for mine that was the problem.....field position + possession but no points. The big fellas will start fast every week but they will be put under pressure from the 30 minute mark each week. I knock around with a former NRL front rower who backed the Chooks, he said all week that if the Rabbits don't score early points they will slow down and be vulnerable. The Chooks have a much fitter/quicker pack this year and wingers who like hard work. They got too many easy metres after the opening exchanges. That blueprint is no secret, but it still has to executed.
Yes, things stuck for Easts but that happens when you have blokes like Carney and Pearce running things, and they stuck to the game plan.
Sandow seemed more interested in putting on hits and yapping than running the team and Sutton was cold, put that down to round 1. After the "softening up period" those two have to step up and take advantage and run the game.....much the way Carney and Pearce did.
Great to see Mini Minichello back too, and Carney looked as though he hasn't missed a beat (I won't be comparing him to the big fella from Macksville yet though, unlike some in the media!). Top work from Brian Smith too, has obviously had a great effect on the club so far and his game plans are obviously very good. If the halves can hold form and stick to the game plan the Chooks will go ok this year.

Beware the wounded rabbit, they'll have steam coming out of their ears this weekend, and they will be ready to rumble! I doubt Dave Taylor will be doing any interviews this week.

Best formline from round 1 will obviously be the Saints vs Parra game. I tipped Parra to win the comp but no way was I going to put money on them against the Saints, it's like we forgot how well they started last year.

This was a tipsy turvy round... I think Melbourne are the benchmark by a long way

You could hear their underlying confidence after the game when Brett Finch was asked about Cronk returning. Finch said they would love to have him fit but they won the World challenge and the first 2 matches without him so they are going quite nicely and won't rush him. I reckon every other team in the comp would be rushing their no 7 back.
Cronk back in the 7, Smith back to 9, and Hoffman to return. Scary.

If they remain injury free, I think they are just about good things for the comp and I'd take the $5 or $6 thats offered for them now

I told you $7.50 was a gift. I guarantee you wont see that price again.

they cant win again lads... they dont look the goods this year at all... in saying that they do come good when it matters and win enough games to make sure they are their to capitalise on any opportunity... still i can see them make the 8 but i think their time is well and truly over... will be taking them on when they play some of the strong teams... SHARKS shouldve beaten them and KNIGHTS had it on toast... some of these stronger teams will put the knife to their throat... in fact KNIGHTS with GIDLEY in wouldve flogged them... Benchmark team at the moment is the DRAGONS and thats by a long long way after 2 rounds.

go the chooks cock-a-doodle-doo

ok, what are your tips for this upcoming round??? I have no idea who to pick

Have to say it's a nightmare round to be tipping.

I reckon Roosters to bounce back and Manly are my multi. Maybe toss in Tigers, not sure yet.

Knights can pip the Panthers at home but wouldn't put money on it.

Eels, Cowboys, Dogs

And the Storm by 1 point in the game of the round.