GO THE BUNNIES....

2010 will be the year of FOR BLOODY SURE... take whatever odds you can get for a top 8 finish and seriously consider the TOP 4... SAM BURGESS and DAVE TAYLOR seem to be by far the best buys of any team coming into the 2010 season with TAYLOR really finding himself late in 2009 as the most exciting up and coming prop in the NRL... with BURGESS stamping himself the real deal over the TRI NATIONS our developing halves combination of SUTTO and SANDOW under the freeflowing game plan of JOHNY LEGEND LANG should have a lot more room to operate this year. Rhys Wesser back from a year off with injury should really fire us up from fullback which was a major problem for us during 2009... i think this could well be a massive year for the Bunnies and although ive gone off early i just cant bloody wait for it.... bring it on!!!!

they'll improve but they cant win the comp

Chilli if souths make the top four i'll buy your tips for a year.. No hope of a top four.. Dave Taylor played 5 good games last year and bludged the rest of them, Now hes on big money watch him bludge even more.. As for sam burgess, hes out here for a party, saw him on new years day hanging out with willie mason in bondi, BOTH of there faces.. You get judged by the people you mix with..

DAVE TAYLOR isnt on big money mate.. he only started playing well after we confirmed his signing... Burgess should stay the hell away from Mason though... i think youre wrong mate... Bunnies are top 4 material... in fact i reckon the minor premiership is ours for the taking.

You dont see Dave Taylor as a potential back rower? He was pretty impressive in those few games. At least he is versatile. And Sam Burgess = Star. As long as he doesn't get too carried away as he can be guilty of 'hogging the ball' for want of better words. But still, I rate him very highly.

he can play anywhere he wants mate.... youre right though with BURGESS tearing down the left defensive side and TAYLOR wide on their right... the defensive line wont know where to hide... its just gonna open up the middle of the field for LUKEY and SUTTON to exploit... can see WESSER get plenty of inside ball and scoring plenty of meat pies thru the middle....ASOTASI will love the free yardage down the guts....and weve got real speed this year with SIMPSON and MERRITT out wide to capitalise on... seriously we are a very very good football team and with LANGY encouraging the lads to play entertaining footy they will be beautiful to watch...glimpses of it last year will come to fruition this year and the next.

im really excited VICEY... were gonna make WATMOUGH and ORFORD have a little cry and hissyfit under the posts again this year...

Origin stars are allowed to hissyfit. Souths might be lucky and get an Origin representative sometime in the next decade.
Now I'm looking to have a top 4 bet on 2 teams this year and need to weigh up the pros and cons of each team.
So what, in your opinion, are some of the cons of the Souths side??

ORIGIN... we got 3 kiwi internationals... 1 GB superstar international and if NSW selectors had halfa brain SUTTON wouldve played ORIGIN this year... CROCKER played ORIGIN last year and TAYLOR is obviously gonna play ORIGIN this year.. SIMPSON had an awesome year ont he flank last year and if it wsnt for the supertsar backline QLD has at its disposal he could play ORIGIN at the drop of a hat... we got our fair share of rep players mate... and no.. ORIGIN players should eb the last blokes to be shedding a tear under the posts... hahaha i still remember CREAGH pushing into the fight in Game 3 and running away as quickly as he could... tut tut tut
Anyway... weaknesses... well last year we had WESSER out for the season and we rotated CAPWELL and MERRITT into the custodian role which with absolutley no disrespect to the both of them but it did hurt us... especially considering the way WESSER was playing leading into the ankle injury. Souths last year had not a lot of competition for 1st grade spots cos we didnt have a lot of depth there... with the buys of the decade in BURGESS and TAYLOR we all of a sudden have serious depth in our forward pack... and im talking serious depth... we can now bring on CROCKER and PETTYBOURNE off the bench as well as taking the pressure off ASOTASI and STUART to get us going forward... BEN ROSS and GEDDES are very good props in their own right and wouldnt look out of place in any NRL team.. they are our second stringers so to speak... the reason im harping on this is that last year we had a serious midseason slump and the catalyst fort hat was our forwards were getting terribly tired and constantly on the backfoot... horrible to watch especialy when our second year playmakers were still inexperienced (SUTTON and SANDOW) and were forced to play pressure football with opposing teams in their faces.. NOT GONNA HAPPEN this year mate... im adamant that we have the best starting forward pack in the NRL and with the depth behind them this year for the first time in many a year.. definately since we returned to the NRL in 2002.. no team in the comp will stand over our pack and our playmakers will have plenty of ball and speed to burn outside... bth sutton and sandow entering their third year as the halves combination should benefit greatly from their experience and will be ready to play behind a go forward pack.. we have already seen how good SANDOW and SUTTO can be with some time on the ball. Can you believe one of our stars from last year TALANOA wont have a starting position in our backline??? huuuge... also our rising superstar VAI VAI should get a crack this year at some stage and i tell ya this kid is gonna be a star.. no doubt. This is where the weakness comes in vicey... and it is our only weakness cos we can beat anybody and everyone this year... if SUTTO and MABO (sandow) get injured this year we have no serious playmakers to step in... NONE!! With the loss of WINGY we dont have a serious substitute who can slot into half or 5/8 and still control the game... we would be forced to bring in CAPEWELL or UNCLE BULLY (isaac luke) into halfback if SANDOW got hurt and would be throwing in young 19yr old DYLAN FARRELL (who is yet to make his 1st grade debut, although he is a very very promising kid) into the 5/8 if sutto got hurt.. very inexperienced and we dont have say a JAMIE LYON or a GREG INGLIS in our centre 3/4 line who can play 5/8 at the drop of a hat... although arguably BEAU CHAMPION has the potential to be a excellent running 5/8... i guess its the same for any team int he comp though.. if you lose your halfback or 5/8 all of a sudden you are in serious trouble but with the bunnies this year with the loss of WINGY it is crucial and potentially season ending. To counteract that we have supercoach JOHNY LANG who as you know protected the smallest player (although by far the biggest heart) PRESTO CAMPBELL through a premiership season with the PANTHERS.. im sure he has worked out a way to keep SANDOW safe and i dont think you will see MABO isolated as much this season in defence... still im gonna cringe everytime he puts WATMOUGH and STEWART to sleep with his right shoulder this year... sooo like most teams our big 3 ISAAC LUKE, SANDOW and SUTTON need to stay safe and sound this season cos our chances of winning the comp heavily rely upon them.. at 3.75 to hit TOP 4 is great value mate... 15s to be minor premiers is great value and the great thing is you can save on us to hit TOP 8 at 1.75 which is a morale and could net you a massive double collect at $5.50 when we make the top 4.. if you 50/50 split your bet you will only realistically be risking 25% of your stake for us to go TOP 4 cos we are TOP 8 certainties.

What do you think of the Tigers? Im gonna have small lash at them finishing in the 8. Im really thinking they can finish 4th or 5th.
And who are your bolters for the year?

I dont think the TIGERS are realistically a good TOP 4 betting proposition mate... not enough depth and way too reliant on injury prone BENJI and FARRAH... great team to watch though when they are in full flight but you would be holding your breath all year. Dont think the $1.70 is good value for the 8 when required stake is substantial to make it worthwhile... the TOP 8 betting is really only there to save on a team you are staking to go TOP 4/PREMIERS to minimise your risk... TIGERS have basically a new team mate.. picked up an incredible 10 new players after letting go 11 regulars including MORRIS, COLLIS, HALATAU, GALLANT, LAWRIE and GALEA... they are gonna struggle big time in my opinion and maybe a bolter for the wooden spoon at 17-1.
In saying that i think you can go to the bank ont he DRAGONS mate... second year under BENNETT and last year they had so many players stamping themselves as stars its kinda like watching a horse swoop home from last to run a hole over 1100m and getting on next start over 1400m.. SOWARD, WEYMAN, YOUNG, COSTIGAN, CREAGH, DARIUS BOYD, BEAU SCOTT and even HORNBY at halfback all had by far their best years under BENNETT last year and you just gotta follow that form up... BENNET has picked up a very promising but yet unheralded forward in GREENFELD .. smart but wouldve got him cheap.. GREENFELD could be anything... $10 to win, $9 minor prem, $1.45 top8, $2.65 top 4... i can play with those figures all day and aim at a massive quadruple collect whilst outlaying large stake on the TOP 8 at 1.45 to minimise risk...
I think the COWBOYS are the bolters mate... played half the year with a crook or missing MATTY BOWEN, KAFUSI and AARON PAYNE.. any team would struggle when you lose 3 marquee players like that.. i thought they played out of their skins last year but struggled to mantain their form with some shock losses.. they should see a lot more quality ball this year with a bit of luck on the injury front... a fit KAFUSI, PAYNE, MASON, WEBB, ODONNELL, BOLTON, SOUTHERN, BEN HARRIS leading the way and nice pickup in SHANNON GALLANT and WILL TUPOU they could be a real smokey for TOP 4... TONGA, BOWEN and JT have to be respected in any backline... only query is they will be playing with a halfback in ROVELLI at 5/8... behind a go forward pack it will work and work well but if the forwards dont turn up they will lose a few... WATTS off the bench can turn a game from hooker and will be vastly improved with the exerience of filling in for PAYNE last year as starting hooker. Good attitude will go a long way for them and that generally means a fit and smiling MATTY BOWEN makes all the difference. BOLTERS.
One team that seriously caught the eye last year was the KNIGHTS... they play a really different style of footy with plenty of skill through their forward packs... i think more than any other team their forwards created more points than any other team and thats with the injury riddled season of MULLEN... the pickup of TUIMAVAVE fromt he warriors is only going to make that backrow sparkle even more...backline played really well and some young blokes really stamped themselves...MCMANUS (state of origin) VUNA, JUNIOR SAU and UATE looked really good and will be only better this year you would have to think... any forward pack with ZEB TAIA, SIMPSON and the very impressive COREY PATTERSON ripping in has to be respected and they have stuck solid to their playing roster... always a good sign. BOLTERS.
all in all i look for teams that have played well but more specifically are playing this season with better aquisitions and little disruption to their playing roster... ont hat criteria the stand out teams are as follows and in order:
SOUTHS- 3 ins- BURGESS, TAYLOR, ROSS by far the best aquisitions of the comp with really only the loss of WINGY a big hurt.. KIDWELL retired but will remain an integral part of our training group.
TITANS- 5 ins but 3 potential standouts- BIRD, TOMANE and TOOPI with no noteable losses. Big year ahead for the coasties and will be virtually unbeatable at home againt his year.
DRAGONS- 2 ins- GREENFIELD and TUGIVE.. only potential hurtful losses being CHASE STANLEY (storm) POORE (eels) and BIG DELL who made a huge impact for them last year. More than enough depth to cover those holes though.
EELS- 4 ins with 3 big ones in TAHU, POORE and SHACKLETON (only player to put his hand up for the roosters last year) only hurtful loss was the very impressive TODD LOWRIE (storm)... not a lot of depth in the EELS this year and could be false faves with a few injuries... heavily reliant on their stars but geez their stars are bloody good- HINDMARSH, METEO, FUI FUI, HAYNE and the new TAHU... still im happy to risk them a bit based upon average injuries to playing rosters in ayear and the fact that their young playmaker MORTIMER is exactly that... young and inexperienced heading into his first full seasonn and will be heavily marked... geez they can turn it on though and cant fault them at full fitness.
PANTHERS- major ins here- SIMMONS, LAWRIE, PLUM, KINGSTON, PURTELL and TRAVIS BURNS... only losses that will hurt were AITON (sharks) and the promising but injury prone JUNIOR MOORS (tigers)... theyve done it on the cheap last year but with players like WATERHOUSE, JENNINGS, PETERO, the tremendous LUKE LEWIS (bunnies nearly nabbed him last year... BUGGAR!!), PRITCHARD... they could upset a few teams but they are still on the rebuild and lack depth and class (or maybe experience is a better word) in the halves.
RAIDERS- one good in and very little disruption after a topsy turvey year could be the tonic for a reall good season.. DANNY GALEA in but have lost PLUM, PURTELL and GRAHAM.
BIGGEST LOSERS IN ORDER:
STORM- massive 11 outs showing that the slary cap squeeze is well and truly on down south- biggest outs are TOMANE, DALLAS JOHNSON, CHAMBERS, TURNER... thats almost their entire 3/4 line... both wingers and centre 3/4 goooone.. also their link man DALLAS JOHNSON goooone.
SHARKS- 12 yes 12 outs- worst of them would be SEEUSEEU, BROWN, SIMMONS, SEYMOUR, GREEN, ROSSY and worst of all BRETT KEARNEY... OUCH!!!
TIGERS- 11 outs and theyre all big- MORRIS, HALATUA, SKANDALIS (ret), PAYNE, GALEA, LAWRIE, COLLIS and the impressive GALLANT... talk about a broom job!!!!
ROOSTERS- only 7 outs but geez they gotta hurt- FITZY, SOLIOLA, SHACKLETON, SETIMATA SA, OMELEY, TANSEY... arguably their best performed players from last season... gooooone!!
BRONCOS- outs are massive- TAYLOR (hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahah), HUNT and TUPOU... gotta hate that.
MANLY get an honorable mention here- only 5 outs but holy cow they are big vicey- ORFORD gooone, CUTHBERTSON gooone (why would ya???), HALL gooone...brought in CROSS from the STORM and SEEUSEEU which is pretty good really... life without ORFORD... i guess it all rest with young KEIRIN FALLON now doesnt it... mmmmm.

IN summary-
TOP 4 bets- SOUTHS, DRAGONS, TITANS, EELS
TOP 4 lays- SHARKS, TIGERS, ROOSTERS, STORM
UNDER ACHIEVERS this year IMO will be BRONCS and BULLDOGS and maybe even the STORM although their big guns are very big guns indeed.
OVER ACHIEVERS this year will be SOUTHS (i guess they qualify?) COWBOYS and KNIGHTS

Hope i havent bored ya mate but enjoyed doing the form for this and was just typing away as i went.

Not bored. Knowledge = Power. But did you mean Keiran FORAN or were you taking the piss? haha. As a Manly supporter im not too concerned about having Foran there. He is young but showed massive confidence on debut for Manly and subsequently on the international stage for New Zealand. Andrew Johns speaks highly of him which is always a massive wrap.
I see he was rated pound for pound the strongest man (boy) in the NRL this year. (which is kind of funny cos im pretty sure last year it was Matt Orford.) So hopefully that equates to some ability in defence. I think Des will either have the Sea Eagles firing hard at the start of the season or be pulling his hair out thinking of what to do. I dont think there will be any in-betweens.

i did mean FORAN mate... hahaha. gonna be a great year of footy... teams are very even this year again. Will be interesting to see how the big traders go with basically a new team... DOGS went well last year but had experience of kimmorley, ennis and the super STAGG to get them through. TIGERS and SHARKS are the ones basically building a new club around a few stars... remains to be seen if they can get them to gel in one season or if it will take 2 or 3 years of more sweeping. FORAN as much as i hate to admit it seems to be a real player of promise mate... i hate MANLY for a number of reasons but seriously why would you get rid of CUTHBERTSON?? Kid was playing the stands down... admittedly he was a bit loose but geeez he has some potential. Either way the EAGLES look really solid this year.. backline of FORAN, LYON, BAILEY, the ever improving FARRAR (what a buy!!), MATAI, ROBERTSON, WOLFMAN and STEWART (if he gets thru the court case).. FORWARDS look exceptional with KING and KITE, ROSE and PERRY rotating the front row...BALIN rucking, G STEWART (great player), SOOKY BUMS WATMOUGH and big TONY WILLIAMS debuting int he second row... a bit light on depth but shouldn't be a problem. Will be a great clash int he forwards with the bunnies mate... giddyup.

Totally agree with you on the Cuthbertson issue.... :(

I think the thing with Cuthbertson was a mutual decision - He wanted to play good minutes but as an attacking back rower he was always behind Stewart and Watmough, and Dessy likes Hall on the bench as a worker. Cuthbertson did a bit of time as 18th man and can't be blamed for wanting a better go.

I can't wait. Should be a good comp if Parra don't run away with it.

great TRIAL in the Charity Shield... just a barrier trial but im telling ya the bunnies reserve pack held their own and more against full strength dragons pack... we have serious depth this year... gonna be bloody great... hopefully SUTTO has a good blow and gets fitter... looked pretty big in the yard!!

THAT WAS THE WORST REFEREEING PERFORMANCE OF ALL TIME!!!!! every penalty was freakin ridiculous... no way FRIEND gets sent off and why did SANDOW get marched??? ASOTASI didnt strip that ball on the 5th tackle... and before that SANDOW didnt do anything wrong to give TITANS that penalty.... it was pedantic and absolutely ridiculous... this bloke should apply to the ARU 21 penalties ina game of RUGBY LEAGUE... BULLSH#T!! Blowing penalties on front rowers who didnt bound off the tackled player like a gazelle.. crap crap crap... watched the DRAGONS DOGGIES match and the difference in interpretation of what constitutes a penalty in the slowing down the play of the ball was ohhh about 5 seconds... still dont think there is an NRL referees MAFIA????... well this little pindick controlled the outcome of that match from minute 1 to minute 85 and all based on his interpretation of which was so far out of whack with the what we come to expect yet still he has nothing to answer for... its a joke. I reckon get some freakin robots or former players... something help please!!!!!!!

Totally agree chilli I am a titans supporter and i can tell you i was screaming at the tv for a couple of penalties that were on souths, like you said slowed the game down and made the whole game frustrating to watch. I hope this gets nipped in the butt early in the season otherwise its going to be a hard season to watch.

Refereeing performance was awful I admit, but gee South Sydney are going to do it tough this year, they had every right to spank Gold Coast in the last 25 minutes but they kept losing the ball, and doing stupid plays... they dont have a plan B, when play A doesnt work they are in trouble... Chris Sandow... he is just crap, all he does is try and produce big hits

Refereeing was crap. Beau Champion in my humble opinion has been the Rabbitohs best player so far this year, but geez he made a blunder when he dived for a 3rd try rather than passing to Merritt who scores for sure.

3 blunders cost us the match... TAYLOR went down a cm from the tryline and later said he thought he was over... LUKEY threw a mugs pass that was gonna be a try but a titans finger got in the road and CHAMPS not throwing that pass AAAARGHH... i couldnt believe the ref... im an out and out fan of the bunnies but even i was shaking my head and yelling at the ref for at least 6 penalties that went our way... it was a joke. 21 penalties?? thats about 24minutes of sudpended play not counting the official team warnings... BULLSHT!!!
Totally disagree NUDGEY and i hope you dont put your money where your mouth is... i was very impressed with them 2nd up... they genuinely look like a G1 horse warming up to the perfect distance... i can see us being almost unbeatable at some stage this year... TAYLOR is warming up.. BURGESS still finding his feet... ASAOTASI getting better and better as he gets fitter... WESSER is getting back to the awesome player we know he is after a year out... SUTTON is starting to get more involved.. MERRITT looks dangerous every time he touches the ball... TULANOA looks awesome... UNCLE BULLY is looking like the comps best hooker at the moment and he is just starting to warm up as the forwards start to roll forward... he is loving playing 80 minutes... SANDOW will settle down and start runnign the ball more and defensively he is being well protected... even more ominous for other teams is that our young bench is dominating through the forwards both defensively and on the hitups... they were awesome. Just wait till our ballplaying forwards in BURGESS and TAYLOR start to get some room to operate and SANDOW will come into his own. They will sort out their kicking options soon enough and they will be a genuine contender no doubt in my mind at all!!!!

Just Sandow needs to sort out his kicks and learn to apply pressure.
You could have had a 20 minute highlights package of shite 5th tackle options from both teams last night.

If Souths are going to be a force this year, Sandow needs to pick up his boots and stop being a cheeky little prick... He has no idea at the moment, and Sutton... he reminds me of Barrett, both are ball runners, not ball players... both love having the ball in their hand and just running at the defensive line. There were some signs for the rabbits there last night, but for mine they arent top 8 material... sure they have the best forward pack on paper, but they dont score the points, the backs do... every team needs a solid 1,6,7,9 combination... Wesser, Sutton,Sandow and Isaac Luke... In my opinion that isnt strong

bloody bunny basher nudgey!!! lol

haha sorry chilli, thats just my opinion, but there are still 22 weeks of football (without the 2 byes) left and I could be wrong, but from what I have seen so far, they have nothing

hey NUDGEY... not sure when the bunnies play the STORM but you interested ina sidebet when the day comes??

hah no thanks... Not a fan of the side bets.. happy to watch but thanks anyway

backed a horse just for the heell of it in NZ midweek thinking about you nudgey... led all the way and fought like a caged lion... the name... DEAD RABBITS

hope you lads are on ISAAC LUKE for the DALLY M.. has top rated for the bunnies every match so far... well a wins a win and we will take it... impressive that they could domintae the normally starch defense of the SHARKS in the tough conditions... BUNNIES are notoriously poor in the wet but their completions improved markably here.. they are rumbling along in the right direction and we still havent seen the best of SUTTO and SANDOW or WESSER... up against the DOGS they will fire.. is gonna be a cracker of a match that one... cant tip the bunnies based upon what we saw from DOGS this week but thats the beauty of the NRL... who wants it more!!! Go RABBITS!!!!!!!!!

Good win, but the last 20 minutes was pretty awful from both South Sydney and Cronulla.. the sharks were desperate and they needed a piece of brilliance or luck but they went for stupid plays that were never going to work. Albert Kelly is a very good ball player, useless at fullback, needs the ball in his hands. The bunnies were good but they should have put another 3 or 4 tries against the sharks in the last 20 minutes but they were going for low percentage plays early in their tackle count... they got the 2 points but Im far from convinced that they are top 8 material.

haha na mate see we just need 50 minutes to win these matches... why play the full 80 when 50 will do...

im telling ya NUDGEY.. the bunnies are rumbling and rolling their way through this comp... their graph is on a steep upward curve as the boys get fitter and faster... only other teams with same improvement are the STORM and possibly MANLY... wait till PETTYBOURNE gets back for us and we will be unstoppable down the middle.... way too many guns for the DOGS. Are you coming around yet mate??

Im coming around, but not 100% just yet. It was a really good game of footy: physical, creative, fast and to help that a 30000 attendance. once again Chilli, they only played 60 minutes of football (Champions last try... even I could have got that)... they switched off and allowed Canterbury to take some gloss of the win... 60 minutes wont win you the big games

that was a big game nudgey and when youre in front by 26 you only need 60 mins to put them to sleep mate... just a thought mate but who is more impressive... the team that flogs its guts out for the full 80 and wins by 12 or so or the team that dominates another team so much that the game is over at the 60 min mark and cruises to the line... hands and heels.

I'd stick with the team busting a gut for the full 80 minutes winning by 12 eg: Melbourne against the dragons... you cant say that the bunnies were more impressive than melbourne??? The bunnies are improving but they are a long way from the top

of course the bunnies were more impressive than MELBOURNE nudgey... were you watching?

Wouldn't you take into account that Melbourne had tougher opposition? But Nudgey you cant be too critical of how they played in the last 20. Especially in this day and age where any team playing on a Monday night will play steady if they can cos they will have a 5/6 day turnaround before their next game.

Now my next comment has nothing to do with the fact that Im a Sea Eagles supporter, i would be making this comment regardless of who did it:
Steve Matai was awarded the final try in the game bewteen Sea Eagles and Warriors on Sunday arvo. He chased a kick in goal, put his hand on the ball while it was touching the ground. Did he apply downward pressure? NO. Did he contact the ball with his hand at the same time as it was touching the ground? YES.
WE HAVE SEEN THE PRECEDENT set by referees in the last 13 months in regards to this ruling.
Do we agree with it? NO
Is it a try by the rules? YES

I couldnt believe when watching news reports that night that they were referring to it as a 'controversial try' SURELY we know the ruling by now? Im sick of people dwelling on these rulings all the time.
We know that scrums are a joke, but if a player scores a match winning try from a scrum that isn't fed the ball in the middle are we gonna blow up about it? NO. So why do people STILL carry on about this grounding rule?
I reckon the video ref was clear on his decision when watching the video.
I was with my girlfriend while the decision was pending and she asked me what I thought the ruling would be.
My exact words were
" It's undoubtedly a try, but you watch, the video ref will label it a 'Benefit of the Doubt' try in case everyone blows up about it afterwards. Sure enough, BOD flashes up. ( and of course those biased NZ commentators shat their pants)

Lets get over it, we dont agree that a player can score a try with a fingernail, but we know its the rules.

Plenty to like about the Bunnies last night (I am currently scrubbing Cronula form lines) but that is going to be the thing with them - they need it going their way. Their big fellas rumbled and Sandow/Luke had a picnic. But they have done little when on an even keel or behind in the other 2 games. The steep improvement was a great sign but the Dogs were poor.

Manly? Ran 5th last year when they lost their best player and played terribly. He's gone again but I reckon they might have had a better team then though, surely the bubble bursts. The Parra form is suss and I don't rate Tigers, Knights, or Warriors. Had they played well would be 4 from 4, but they ain't and that says plenty. Their forwards can sure rock 'n' roll though and that will keep them in some big games. The halves look ok but you can't go past the inexperience.

Then you get to the Storm who have only knocked off the Knights, Sharks, and Panthers...but then got the Dragons and have done most of it without their halfback and 3 of their 1st choice forwards. And the boy from Macksville has hardly made a ripple. Clearly top pick I reckon.

PS. Nudge, I reckon I could have scored Champion's first try.

Im gonna defend Beau Champion here, call me ridiculous but for me he has been Souths best player in all 4 games so far.

As for season predictions so far, you wont get any from me. I reckon its too early, and a lot of players ( Sam Burgess, Keiran Foran, Daniel Mortimer, Tim Moltzen, Greg Bird just to name a few) havent fully spread their wings yet.
We saw what Parramatta did last year, and a lot of people seem to have forgotten quickly.
It can change just like that....

Yeah, I'll take that into account... there are good signs there for the rabbits, they just need to do it again against stiffer opposition. Chilli, If the good friday melbourne side had played last nights souths side, I'd take Mebourne 30+... they are just so far ahead of any other team and the $7.50 I got for the start of the season is gold

Storm look good, but I wouldn't say so far ahead. They won by 13 points against a good Dragons side at Ethihad Stadium which is always an advantage to the Storm. I would have loved to see the same game played in Wollongong.
I really feel that when the Panthers played the Storm, they saw a chance to win, got over excited and blew it, losing to the Storm by 6. Panthers had every opportunity that day.
Newcastle also had the Storm on the ropes with 10 to go.
But I guess the thing that makes the Storm a class act is their ability to rise to the big occasions, as they did against the Dragons.

you wouldve done your dosh in a big way then NUDGEY... no way STORM could put 30 on the bunnies with their bruising defensive attitude that night let alone win by 30.. no way in HADES based upon what weve seen so far... i will say BUNNIES may have struggled to put 30 on them but don underestimate how hard it is for a team to put points on when they are getting bashed by the bunnies meatgrinders down the middle... knocks the stuffing out of you and then you gotta man up when we have the pill.... with the completion rate we showed that night no team in the world wouldve laid 30pts on us let alone a team who hasnt scored 30 at all this season and limped past the PANTHERS and SHARKS who both struggle to create scoring opportunities as well as the proven mentally and defensively weak KNIGHTS. They beat the SAINTS who still have SOWARD missing in action.. hardly a decent formline although i am impressed with their ability to win regardless. The best thing for me is how the bunnies are improving every week... the better you go the higher the benchmark and the more up for the challenge you get... its a great situation for any footy team to be in early on in the piece and right now only 3 teams have that benchmark... bunnies, storm and manly.. they will dominate the rounds for the next few weeks at least so bank on them!!

And you wouldhave to agree Chilli; The battle between the Souths and Manly forward packs is a mouth watering prospect! And im not embarassed to throw in the raiders forward pack as well for one half!

If Prince was playing this week, id be struggling to choose between the Titans and Storm...

yeah mate RAIDERS and KNIGHTS have the most creative forward packs in the comp whereas MANLY and STORM have the most efficient... SOUTHS have the most dominant pack and it will make for some interesting clashes. Im really struggling with most matchups this round... gonna take balls of steel to take the short quote about the EELS ($1.30) over the RAIDERS ($3.85!!)... i think the SHARKS are gonna give your lads all sort of pain and i sincerely hope the EAGLES are mentally prepared for a down and dirty stoush with the sharkies on a high...i think the SHARKS are getting 10.5 start at 1.90 which could well be a good bet cos i dont see many tries being scored... WARRIORS are playing very good footy and could dominate the DOGS through the middle although MANNERING and VATUVEI are major outs which should see the dogs home... everyone struggles at the GOLDY and although no PRINCE the TITANS backline is very speedy and BIRD will be so up for this one he could turn the game on its head... COWBOYS forward pack should be dominant aginst the TIGERS and JTs sideshow bob looks like a bloody good prospect in the 5/8 role but TIGERS are playing ok and can rack up a score in 20 mins against anyone if they are in the mood... flip a coin PANTHERS and ROOSTERS cos they were both very ordinary last week regardless of the result and rumour has it JENNINGS will be out... tough bloody round but at least we can all stack up on the bunnies who will tear the KNIGHTS apart even if it is being played at GOSFORD

P.S VICEY... Uncle Bully has been by far our best player in every game this year... CHAMPS a distant second or third

Im gonna go out on a limb and say Lyon and Champion to play centre in the test against NZ

huge call there vicey, I could think of much better prospects than Lyon. Champion is playing in great form, definitely deserves a city/country jumper, not sure about test jumper

Champs has always been very good for the bunnies and im glad he is getting the room to fire... he will get a crack at CITY COUNTRY for sure... but dont think he or Lyons can oust the MORRIS boys, JENNINGS and INGLIS for country honours... in fact i dont think LYONS will play ORIGIN this year at all... i hope not anyway. No offense to the bloke but there are infinitely more exciting players available before we should pick him and if we do it means the NSW selectors have absolutely screwed up at the selection table again!!!

I hope they screw up chilli... UP THE MIGHTY MAROONS!

True that Lyon isn't exactly the most exciting player, but him beside Cooper in origin and you wont see too many missed tackles from them.

dont get me started on the NSW selectors mate... im still filthy on them!! You know what NUDGEY... i freakin hate the STORM mate... FINCH is the biggest cheat in the comp by a freakin mile, SLATER is a cheeky little sh#t, SMITHY is a great player but has more illegal strips in him than a hooker at home, INGLIS is just a fat steroid pumping retard who sold his soul out to QLD (youre a freakin BLUES mate, freakin BOWRAVILLE brother, you would be 5 times the player if you lined up where your heart is ya knob, and dont bullsh%t us that you love QLD, SOLD OUT), the forward pack are a bunch of cheap shots, QUINN is just the worlds biggest knob, MACDOUGALL has serious anger management issues but i like him, that new centre DANE NILSEN or whatever fair dinkum is just a massive hog and alrerady a glory boy... pass the freakin ball mate... no wonder DOUGAL was frothing at the fangs, CRONK is the ultimate professional and he needs to get out of there as quickly as he can cos he seems like a fair player which must really annoy BELLAMY... if MABO doesnt perform for the RABBITS this year behind that forward pack RUSTY will sign COOPER up... that is as soon as he figures out that No we cant get THURSTON and avoid a Schubert Audit!! Can you imagine JT at the BUNNIES... oh my that is the sweetest of dreams... damn!!
Anyway back to the STORM cos they cost me a serious ALLUP... youre a bunch of big headed cheats and i cant freakin wait till the BUNNIES take you down by 30pts and stamp themselves as the team to beat in 2010 cos you know what... the STORM have struggled all year so far and if they meet a genuine team in form they are gonna get their teeth kicked in. Rip up ya ticket Nudgey they have no chance!!
LOL beware the next team who cost me a sure thing ALLUP!! grrrr

So wattya think about that effort from the mighty rabbits lads... I thought it was excellent for a number of reasons not the least being that they were backing up from MONDAY night and although a bit flat early the longer the match went the better we got. Also finding a way to win and win well when obviously not at your best is the sign of a very very good team. One thing im absolutely pi##ed about is of course the referees... ive got a bigass tele and im telling you for a fact the KNIGHTS were at least 1 to 2m in front of the ref defensively and almost without fail they rushed up early before the ball was played... with the FOX IQ the amount of times i would rewind and have a confirmation look defied belief. The other really upsetting thing is the amount of work the KNIGHTS gave us on the ground... if that was the match against the TITANS we would have got 30 penalties. Both of these major contributing factors really slowed down our play the ball and opportunity to break the line... although LUKE did an outstanding job once again. What i want to know is how can the referees have so much control over the tempo of a match which is a major factor that decides the eventual result? Seriously dont you find it totally scary and i swear that they are in cahoots with the corporate bookies as far as margin or line betting goes... im almost positive now! I took the bunnies at 2.15 with -8.5 and the amount of leniancy shown towards the "protected species" knights during the time when we were up by 8 really does blow my mind with conspiracy theories... the forward pass from wesser when we were on the line and the knights defensive line were always offside and in some freeze frames with the tackled player with ball in hand, UNPLAYED mind you, showed KNIGHTS players either side of the ref at least 3m in front and on the move... by the time the ball was played they were going for an intercept from dummy half. If i was so inconsistent both as a company and an executive i would be sitting on my bum waiting for the salvos to drop some cans of baked beans over... unforgiveable and they really need to at least find some uniformity cos as an individual their interpretations are so different its scary.
Dont get me started ont he touchies either... you guys have basically one freakin job and that is really to ascertain whether or not a forward pass has been thrown?? thats it.. your only bloody job.. you would think they would be getting pretty close to every call spot on wouldnt ya... not even close.. letting some go and pulling some up that werent forward and then trotting onto the field to deliver a penalty to the KNIGHTS for an ISAAC LUKE late charge even though in slow motion frame by frame it was as close to simultaneous as you can get... please!

The Bunnies were ok, but the Knights are getting closer to the spoon each week. They are terrible.

Well I havent heard too many people claiming that games are rigged even when their team is winning......Nice work by the bunnies though, and for all you JAMIE LYON knockers, he did his talking on the field today and now has one hand on a BLUES Jersey.

Many of the rulings that give fans the s$%t's we didn't hardly see 10 years ago or more. Stripping, simultaneous, separation.....without the super slow motion, freeze frame, and ad nauseum replays we never got to see these mistakes in the past. Especially during the game. The ref's made mistakes, but nobody saw them.

maybe a bench spot for Jamie Lyon, thats it

yeah NUDGEY and VICEY... whatever LYONS did JENNINGS did more yesterday and knocked LYON either onto the bench or most likely out of the squad all together cos MORRIS is first centre chosen and i think COOPER still ahead of LYON... depends on what they do with LUKE LEWIS... they either start him at 5/8 cos i dont think there is a better blue 5/8 running around at the moment other than maybe SUTTON who is starting to warm up a bit... most likely they will play LEWIS off the bench as utility... LYON cannot compete with a player like LEWIS who can play lock, second row, halfback, 5/8 and centre and also happens to be the form player of the NRL to boot week in week out. Funny to say but the BLUES should really be building a team around him.

Did you not watch Lyon play?? Not to mention he picked up 3 Dally M points to Jennings 0 points. And if Lewis can do all that then he will go fine off the bench, but I woould not mind at all seeing him in the starting line up.
Unless Lyon does something drastically poor in the next few weeks, the number 3 blues jersey is his. I cant see them picking Jennings over Lyon on the basis of round 5?? Especially when Lyon has been so consistent throughout every game this year.

I dont understand how before Jamie Lyon went walkabout, everyone rated his abilities. He goes and plays in England and is named player of the year, comes back to Australia and performs week in, week out, the same as he did before he left, but now everyone says he is over rated blah blah. He plays the same as when he left for gods sake.
Sounds like sour grapes, especially from bloody Parramatta supporters, GET OVER IT!!

If you asked me before this week, i would have liked to have picked Lyon and Jennings first followed by Cooper. I WOULD REALLY LOVE TO SEE Beau Champion get a crack though, but unfortunately their will probably be no room. (Fingers crossed for ya Beau!!!!)
But in saying ALL OF THAT the blues selectors are total f##kheads and god knows what will happen..

And Chilli Im sure you'll be happy to know, if you didnt already, that Isaac Luke now leads the Dally M points, and well deserved too.

exactly the blues selectors are woeful.... All over LUKEY in the DALLY M mate... giddyup baby

Like I said before, I hope NSW selectors do stuff up, because this is the year that the Blues may get us queenslanders but when you have a backline that has Slater,Boyd,Inglis,Lockyer,Thurston,Tonga... wow, one of the best, if not the best, origin backline of all time

The bunnies were awful yesterday. The worst overall performance by a team this round... How about my Panthers!!! havent they been impressive this season, they could be a dark horse for the premiership.

yeah mate they sucked pretty bad!! Struggled without ROY.. Dave Taylor and Sam Burgess although full of potential are still young and look like they need someone to lead them up into battle. In saying that Nudgey the amount of BS penalties blown it was extremely hard for both teams to find any rhythm and these two teams above and beyond any other team in the NRL are momentum and rhythm teams... No offence but to say they were the worst of the round is a bit silly mate considering the floggings that occurred... obviously Raiders, Warriors, Sharks are in all sorts of trouble!!
Panthers are coming nudgey!!

I will agree there about the raiders, but the sharks and warriors showed glimpses of good footy, souths showed nothing. They need Crocker badly I think.

Every team shows 'glimpses' of good footy. But the tries that the Sharks let in were woeful for christs sake. The Sharks can't take anything good out of that game, lets not sugar coat it.
Dont worry Chilli, a few more games and Burgess is gonna be impossible to stop! I really enjoy watching the lad.
Now for someone we tend to disagree on, and ill keep it simple, CHRIS SANDOW.....what are your thoughts? I'll just straight up say that he has underperformed every game this year. Also...who are your top 5 for the bunnies so far this year?? ( In order)
And ill finish off with a big wrap for the mighty Sea Eagles after they knocked off the Storm last night. Their defence was splendid, but they could have made it a bit easier on the old ticker!

Vicey, I hate Chris Sandow so much. at times he is a good footy player, but most of the time he is arrogant and cocky and I would love for someone to smash his face in. All he does is attempt big hits, thats all

Chris Sandow is #$%@. He runs across field or even worse backwards too much. The rabbits need a half who will take the line on not to mention some tactical nounce. Sutton needs to be shifted to lock and given a roving roll. Merrit needs to go to fullback. When their forwards get good go forward anyone can play half back behind that pack but when the going gets tough they need a half who will stand up and create opportunities. I know this is radical but I would put the worlds best hooker to half and play simpson at rake and capewell at 5/8. Id move Champion to wing and put that junior dude in at centre. The player they missed the most on Sunday was one J Lowe, outside of the worlds best hooker, has been consistently one of their best. I think the forward pack will be better for M Crocker's return. Anyway its a big test this Weekend for the rabbits Canberra at Canberra is no easy task.

Whoa whoa whoa!! Ahracing thats way too many changes mate!! League doesn't work like that. J Lowe can suck my ass, as Isaac Luke is one of, if not the best player in the comp at the moment. You never sacrifice a positional player to fill in a different position, its a recipe for disaster.
Sutton = Halves, not lock. I like the Merrit/Fullback idea though. Rhys Wesser might be past it imo.
Thats nice that you guys hate Sandow but he has the potential, he just needs to find consistency in his running and kicking games. Failing that, id drop him, and im sure the thought will begin to enter John Langs mind very soon.
As for his defence, he was in the top 3 somewhere last year for missed tackles.

I can think of much better players than Luke at the moment, he is over rated. He has produced 2-3 good games this season, thats it. what about Soward,Luke Lewis, Cronk,JT,Folau???

I said he was one of, if not the best player at the moment. But he's not over rated from where im standing.

NUDGEY iSAAC LUKE has been playing out of his skin for 2 years now not just with the bunnies but also for the kiwis... he has been outstanding for a long long time. Cannot move him from hooker... i noticed you didnt mention any hookers in your list cos there is none better at the moment than uncle bully... SANDOW just needs to run the ball and leave the creativity to SUTTO, BURGESS and LUKE... he needs to take the line on and keep the forwards through the middle on edge so that they get tired and start to bunch up and then let SUTTO, BURGESS destroy them out wide whilst LUKEY tears them apart through the guts... nothing wrong with mabo he is just trying to work out his role under a new coach... he is getting better every match and only a matter of time before he unleashes like Presto Campbell does in his role with the titans....
TOP 5 RABBITS TO DATE
1. Uncle Bully
2. Champs
3. Asotasi
4. Burgess
5, Tulanoa
If you havent got your house on the bunnies at $2.10 to beat the Raiders you shouldnt be punting.. ive got them at $4.75 at 13+... easy money lads they will explode here.

what a day lads... got the st leger winner up at 50s... got on the bunnies at half time and collected on the $2.20 as my big bet after the lads were down 24-6 at halftime... you bewdy and AHRACING how bloody good was MABO!! best game of the year from chrissy... giddyup baby!!!

Best of the year from Chris Sandow? Long year ahead Chilli. If the Bunnies burn the Raiders by a kick after being 20 down, and then claim Sandow as one of their best it looks like a long year. Sandow might have played a good 2nd half, but the 1st still counts. Raiders are a couple of admin/court cases from the spoon. Not counting Cronulla.

Exceptionally was exceptionally good! good work.

WTF are the Raiders doing? They love to spank in the 1st half at home and be spanked in the 2nd. Grow up. Seriously, that s**t belongs in the Toyota Cup. (Toyota Cup - That ridiculous substitute for reserve grade)

I just received a long range weather forecast. It seemed pretty acurrate to me. It read,"Fine and sunny with a top of 21 degress with a 0% chance of a STORM"

hahaha... it was a strring effort and even at half time i was confident with some decent ball that we could create some damage... our defence was woeful in the first half but we always looked dangerous with limited opportunity on the ball... look out MANLY we will be firing from all cylinders in the first half and i can see WATMOUGH shedding more tears under the posts.. who do ya reckon he will have a blue with this time?? the WOLFMAN?

The referee no doubt. And if Manly are down by 60 at half time against the Raiders ill still be confident. They are useless.
Sorry mate but Manly are gonna iron the rabbitohs out into a nice pair of slippers!

youre tripping mate... we are gonna tear you up son... manly weak through the middle.. isaac and a running mabo will ignite the flogging.

ha ha, weak through the middle? You must have been watching Toyota Cup mate. If the Storm couldnt get us up the middle, i doubt a team that scraped home against the Raiders will!
Souths can grab an advantage with Talanoa against Williams, plus the home ground advantage, if they make the most of that, they may win. But this is their toughest test yet.

..and the fact that Manly are seemingly weak in the last 20 minutes of their games, and Souths can turn it on late. The last 20 could be exciting.

LOL i see you posted this before the TITANS pantsed ya... its over champ.. your boys dont have enough heart ; )

Lol, yeah and the tragic thing is I kind of/sort of predicted the result -
"Manly are seemingly weak in the last 20 minutes of their games"
Oh dear!!
We are the best 1st half team by a country mile, then the biggest roll overs in the last 10/20mins. :(

In my opinion, there are only 3 realistic winning hopes for the comp: dragons, panthers and the dogs.. followed closely by the Titans and Manly. I cant see any other team threatening those 5. Roosters are over rated, Warriors are inconsistent,Canberra... moving on, Souths are patchy atm, Broncos will be good in a couple of seasons time, Cowboys are in all sorts, same can be said for Newcastle, the tigers arent far away from the top 5, but they need Timmy Moltzen at halfback to be a premiership team, the sharks... no and the eels are playing ok, but need to lift 3 or 4 notches.

I think a handy bet might be a penrith/st george gf quinella at $12

that ebgs teh question ive been dying to ask nudgey... ive smashed the dragons beforre the comp started to go TOP8, TOP4, GF, Winners... are there any deductions from my opening quotes due to the Storm fiasco????

It hasnt happened since the dogs, these shenanigans from the storm. I dont think there'd be any deductions. Might have to ask whoever you smashed them with chilli. I highy doubt there would be deductions because rugby league doesnt have late scratchings.

Had $10 on the Knights last night. And if you ask me the total game score of over 45.5 was a deadset gift from the TAB.
Next bet is an all up Brumbies, Melbourne 13 +, Manly - 7.5 (Sorry Chilli!)
Plus I reckon Carney at half is excellent for last try scorer @ $17

yeah i thought the KNIGHTS were a good thing but didnt have a cent on... was too busy licking my wounds from the races... that allup is looking good mate!! shame you let emotion rule your judgement in the manly match although SUTTON looks like he wont play and we seriously dont have anyone that can slot intot he 5/8 as discussed earlier in this thread... will be very interesting to see what LANGY comes up with.... only options i can come up with is JAMIE SIMPSON into hooker and uncle bully into 5/8 or champion into 5/8 to play a similar role that BEN ROGERS does for the KNIGHTS and one of our promising juniors to cover the centre role. We may have to win this through our forwards with burgess and taylor playing more of a wide playmakers role and PETTYBOURNE and LUKE to terrorise them through the guts. Interesting day ahead for us VICEY

Woo hoo, Carney dives for the ball and grans the last try!!!
And Manly capitulate once again in the last 15 minutes just to make me sweat out my all up. Got there in the end!
Spring Championships Of Online Poker in the morning are preventing me celebrating my punting success!

well done VICEY but thats a hollow hollow victory for the eagles... what a load of crap. We were by far the better of the two teams on the paddock but the ref wouldnt give us the ball until MANLY established a big lead.... when manly was getting tackled they were yelling at the bunnies to get off get off... when the bunnies were getting tackled they were yelling at the bunnies to stand up stand up???? Manl;y were offside at the play the ball all bloody night and just to make it worse you scored 4 bullsh#t tries off 4 bullsh#t kicks on the back off 4 bullsh#t penalties... turn it up thats the 3rd game the bunnies have lost and the 3rd time the ref has given them absolutely no chance!!!

Sandow puts up a bomb, Farrer drops it, Souths score.
Everybody in the world knew this was what needed to happen after Farrer's poor showing under the high ball against the Titans last week. Did Sandow do it? No, pretty ordinairy you have to admit. Cant Souths afford even a VHS player for weekly video sessions? Or does Sandow just have total disrespect for his coach's instructions and does his own thing? I couldn't believe how easy Sandow made it for Farrer. Thanks for coming.
The try Matt Cross scored off a kick was because every single souths player was too bloody lazy to do anything when it went in the air!! That was Souths own bloody fault.
And the one where Farrer kicked for himself was nothing but good work on his behalf. Oh and the fact that Rhys Wesser was just strolling along as usual in some of the worst cover play from a fullback ive seen in years. You can say we had the rub of the green, doesnt bother me, cos I saw a Sea Eagles side with a superior kicking and kick chase game than the Rabbitohs. Once again sandow has no idea how to apply pressure. And Souths have only beat teams outside the 8, hee hee.

Ok now for all you Jamie Lyon knockers....he just got selected for Australia and it seemed pretty obvious to me, but im sure ill hear some rubbish from people about how some other player should have been picked........bring it on fools.

I thought Manly were a good thing yesterday, I had a little on the half/full double. They would have been hurting after last weeks loss & Des would have drilled them not to let this one get away.

Lyon deserves his spot in the side, he is a tough player with plenty of skills.

P.s
GO THE KNIGHTS

wasnt really a surprise VICEY... was one of the positions i knew they would go for safety rather than flair... lyons goalkicking was probably the telling factor in his selection as well as his defense... personally i would have put JENNINGS in there but he is under an injury cloud with his left quad and i think the panthers medical staff wanted as much time as possible for him to recover... i dont think there is a better centre combination than INGLIS and JENNINGS anywhere in the world.... i maybe wouldve also put COOPER in front of LYON but COOPS has only ahd a few games this year after injury and with Josh MOrris out injured i guess LYON was the obvious and safest choice so i guess he deserves a crack at it... i still dont think he will play ORIGIN nor do i think COOPER CRONK will get a gig once PRINCEY reminds them how bloody good he is. Probably the only surprise in the squad was GALLON... i know he can play good footy but overall i dont think he is anywhere near the best lock in the game... too many discipline issues ont he field with stupid penalties and bad defensive decisions... still he is definately trying to change his attitude and i hope he can show us just how good he is cos a disciplined GALLON is one hell of a foooty player and will be invaluable for the BLUES. Cant help but feel really sorry for the KIWIS... every year when the play the aussies they seem to get some of their big guns unavailable for selection... ASOTASI and PRITCHARD, VATUVEI, FUI FUI are 4 massive outs... what does talanou have to de to get a gig?? Whe has been one of the most damaging wingers in the game consistently for 8 weeks..... imagine a potential forward pack of ASOTASI, LUKE, FUI FUI, PRITCHARD, BRONSON HARRISON, MANNERING (throw in SONNY BILL) with BLAIR and PETTYBOURNE off the bench (PETTYB only played one game back from injury).... VATUVEI and TULANOA taking the ball up to relieve the forwards would absolutely knock the stuffing out of any team anywhere.. they just never seem to egt their best team on the paddock when they need to...

They were a good thing alright. Souths cant seem to compete well against good teams. If they get ahead they crumble under pressure, as soon as they are getting beaten they turn on some great footy.Manly still showed some weakness in the last 10 -15 minutes. Phil Gould described it best when he said they panic in defence.

RE: SANDOW... seriously guys... you ahd a crack at him for not talking the line on and in the last few weeks he has been getting better and better.... bunnies never really ahd the field position until late int he match to implement the game plan of bombing FARRAR repeatedly and destroying his confidence under the high ball... whether or not the ref had a lot to do with it is up for conjecture. AT the end of the day when the BUNNIES had the ball they ripped the EAGLES apart effortlessly... MANLY scored a few 50/50 tries off the high ball and never at any stage threatened our line consistently... Bunnies were unlucky in that regard but at the end of the day i thought it was a terrific performance especially without BIG ROY... SUTTO and MABO are really coming into their own lately which is a brilliant sign for the rabbits. One thing MANLY did well was to contain the centre of the ruck defensively which was probably the key to the win. Two very good teams played that match VICEY and i think we both should be really looking forward to the rematch at BUNNIES STADIUM... not only that but there is no doubt both of us will be at the pointy end of the premiership and will get a serious taste of finals action. BRING IT ON BABY

I only said that Sandow needs a consistent running game, I was pretty much defending him on April 21st. And yeah Souths could probably rip any team up for sure, they only seem to do it when the pressure is off. You could go back through these threads for the past 2 years and see that i have said that all along. That annoying Gould bloke said the same thing yesterday.
John Lang was rather impressed:
"They've got a good strong forward pack if they are not the best side in the comp, then they are very close to it," Lang told reporters.

"I can't think of a better one off the top of my head. They were really focussed, they played strongly, they executed well.

"When they do that they are going to be very hard to beat.

"They are going to be one of the sides that are going to be there at the business end.

"I don't think they've got any glaring weaknesses. They are pretty strong across the board."

Cant say I agree with the last bit though when its flaming obvious we struggle at the end of our games.
Yeah looking forward to the rematch mate. Where is it being played?

pull the other one lads.... re: MANLY a good thing... you got lucky with the bounce of the ball and pea of the whistle. Fair enough you got the result but dont start that silvertailed bullsh#t after the match... BUNNIES got 12 off loads to your 10 and 6 linebreaks to your 2... event though the penalty count ended up 7-5 to bunnies we got 4 on end in a 1 minute period so fair to say we lost that battle. At one stage during the first half we had 102 tackles to your 52 yet we still ahsd the audacity to trim back your lucky lead and if it wasnt for two very contentious video ref rulings re: BULLYS double movement and LYONS very much 50/50 call for a TRY when i have a perfect freezeframe showing that he lost the ball forward onto a bunnies leg you would be lamenting a loss and wondering why you backed them against the bunnies. Bloody Manly supporters cant even take a win with grace when all the stats say you got bloody lucky..

Should be at Brooky mate... that will hurt losing in front of your home ground wont it??? : )

Well John Lang disagrees with you if you read above. It might help if you look at the game objectively and not through red and green eyes every time the rabbits lose, and blaming the refs. Souths were outplayed.
Cmon mate, when are you gonna admit that Souths arent the best team and its not always the ref's fault!

how canyou say they were outplayed when the statistiocs say you were outplayed???... LANGY is just being diplomatic mate... sure enough we had the opportunity to win and in fact we scored enough points to win... why dont you print out the bits when LANGY had a bit of a go at the ref for a few fprward pass rulings and the LUKE no try... he even said that our defensive line was excellent and that MANLY scored 4 trys of kicks that could have gone anywhere... he basically and not very subtly said that we were very unlucky??? did you just read what you wanted to read or did you actually watch the conference? I think a career in the media awaits you mate...

I dont think SOUTHS are the ebst team BTW i just reckon we can be the best team. If you want to chip me for the losses to TITANS and to the EELS for blaming the referee then take it up with ROBERT FINCH cos both refs were stood down after both of those matches.

as intangible as it is cos seriously you can never truly know the impact that the refs have on a match unless its as obvious as the afore mentioned... all im saying is i just want to see a match without any 50/50 hypocritical calls and just let the 2 teams dance baby dance... i dont want to see ISAAC LUKE get penalised when a MANLY player lurches forward and loses the ball int he ruck without a hand on him and not a minute later LUKE running from dummy half at a player who was 2m sideways off marker tackle him and not get a penalty.... if they are not going to get it right then as GUS GOULD always says... DONT BLOW A PENALTY in the first bloody place and let them get on with what they have been training thier asses off their whole life for?? simple simple simple.

They were the only bits that were in the match summary I read. Yeah the kicks could have gone either way but it might have helped if the players made an effort, or if Wesser did his job. They got behind 30-6 at one stage and you think souths played better? We'll just have to agree to disagree on this one mate. Its your thread so ill let you have the last word now. Then maybe we can talk test, origin and our favourite..........NSW selectors :(

the modern bomb is proving to be disastrous for fullbacks and wingers isnt it.... lot of points being scored off the floaters... agree to disagree mate... at the end of the day we will both be in the finals on what we saw last night barring injury and not too many teams can match it with us i dont think.... hopefully your view is consistent with the general public though cos im gonna smash the bunnies in a fortnight at what i hope to be overs against the TIGES. LOL im dreading the announcement of the ORIGIN team... cannot believe the same selectors are still on the board????? was dreadful selection last year!!!

Just ask Albert Kelly about bombs. He craps his pants at the mention of the word!
Yeah and the 2 big questions on everyones lips are..
1. Who will the NSW halves be?
2. Why are the NSW selectors such morons?

interesting isnt it... Going by the CITY COUNTRY selections mate i would say they are seriously considering BIRD and KIMMORLEY with CARNEY off the bench or in place of KIMMORLEY?? The mail is that they want CARNEY at 5/8????? what i want to know....where is JOHN SUTTON?? Cant even make a city team and if you try and tell me that his form isnt better than ANASTA or KEATING and as far as NSW goes GREG BIRD or more consistent than CARNEY well im not here. BIRD has been picked on reputation cos he has absolutely no kicking game at all and i dont know why ANASTA is there really cos he has never performed on the big stage at 5/8?? SUTTON like BIRD can play lock second row and 5/8...SUTTO has a superior running game to all of them... a superior kicking game and is a far more potentially destructive ball player than all of them put together. Last year he killed them in CITY COUNTRY and doesnt even get a gig this year regardless that the bunnies were in 4th position coming into the round??? Now just to really do our heads in they have picked JENNINGS on the WING??? I tell ya VICEY its going to once again be that kind of year at the selection table especially at a time when we desparately want to win and QLD sticking to LOCKYER with THURSTON out they are bloody vulnerable. Why you wouldnt pick a NSW team with the big boppers we have at our disposal and throw in some big ballplaying types like SUTTO at 5/8, LEWIS at lock as a ballplayer and BIRD in the second row with WATMOUGH or GALLON is beyond me... QLD wouldnt have anywhere to hide and no way in hades will LOCKYER handle LEWIS and BIRD running at him and then pick himself up to tackle a stepping, offloading 110kgs 5/8 in JOHN SUTTON. WATMOUGH will terrorise the left hand defense of PRINCE and then they have the luxury of bringing a fired up GALLON on to really hurt them through the middle.
QLD know the secret to their demise is the defensive capabilities of LOCKY and yet NSW have only thrown ANASTA and BARRET at him who can barely step off one foot let alone both. Throwing in a featherweight like CARNEY is only going to even out the defensive flaws of both teams in the middle. As far as halfback is concerned tell me what is wrong with throwing in JAMIE SOWARD and how can he miss out on a city country match... he runs the DRAGONS as a halfback/ 5/8 and they are by far the best team in the comp at the moment outside the storm. If you have a mobile forward pack with LEWIS, WATMOUGH, GALLON, BIRD and SUTTO at 5/8 to protect him defensively with his kicking, passing and running game he could set the field alight... he is a much more mature and unselfish player this year and where do the NSW selectors think all the DRAGONS points are coming from?? Its a perfect balance with ballplaying, defense, kicking and running... it will also allow us to have strikeplayers GIDLEY and CARNEY on the bench with one other big bopper cos BIRD, LEWIS, GALLON and WATMOUGH are 120 minute plaeyrs and you know what... SOWARD and SUTTON dont even get a mention as unlucky not to play CITY COUNTRY??? madness...

To put it simply, its a sad state of affairs when a passionate blues supporter like myself gets a bit sick leading up to origin, not because we have a lack of talent, but because our selectors are arse clowns.

:(

Where the frig is this souths V manly press conference Chilli?
Ive looked around and cant find it, the only extra John Lang comments I found were these on the SOUTHS website:
"The better team won so I was happy we could fight back to within eight in the end," Lang said.
"I thought they out did us in the yardage battle.
"I thought we got some rough calls in the first half, but the better team won so that's the end of the story."
Lang said the Sea Eagles were one of the heavyweight teams in the competition.
"They're going to be very hard to beat," Lang explained.
"I was pleased we were able to come back as far as we did. It's good for our for and against.
"We could have played better than what we did, and I thought our effort was good.
"Today's performance will be good for us because we need to test ourselves against the best.
"We found out today that we're not quite up to their level yet but we're on the improve."
Rabbitohs captain Luke Stuart said: "It was good sign the guys didn't give up (the comeback)."

No i didnt cut the comments I want. I got these straight off the souths sydney website. This was the EVERY quote from the article.
There were no quotes from the Manly side of things.
You tried to tell me that Lang was 'subtly' saying they were unlucky. I think a media career awaits you mate, you've twisted Langs words big time!

Its 6 in the morning and im on the poker grind, but was just having a look at some of last years Rabbits thread. Some interesting predictions early in 2009, including one user tipping sharks for the comp!
And this little snippet, lol!

xxvicelifexx: Yeah I generally dont get into the whole bagging of refs. I prefer to take it as it comes, but that ref Brett Suttor is a dead set fuckwit. His name should be Hollywood. He absolutely loves calling out 48 players for a chat so he can get on TV. Have a listen next time he packs a scrum down, the players arent allowed to do anything unless he says. What a knob.

chilli: im with ya there mate... and seriously what is he trying to achieve with that facial hair thing... the guy is obviously not the full picnic is he?

xxvicelifexx: On the contrary he's a picnic choc full of Suttor shitness.

LOL vicey... you know me better than that... you can get the full press conference on foxsports.com.au... Hows this for a laugh and indeed a massive letdown... ANASTA has been ruled ouit of city/country and guess who is citys starting 5/8?? yep KRIS KEATING with Joel Reddy onto the bench?????????? are they for bloody real... are they deadset saying to us that KEATING has more chance of playing origin than SUTTON.... what is going on mate... these selectors are deadset gonna shaft us again... KEATING has only played one decent game all year and is really not a 5/8 at all... UNBELIEVABLE!!!! bunch of deadset idiots... no wonder qld have won 4 in a row

Ha ha yeah not bad of me to say id said the last of it then type one more post, lol. It was 5:30 am, i was playing bad poker, and getting pissed off at my inabilities to find things on the internet as usual. The world is moving forward and i'm getting left behind cos i can never find anything on the net haha.

Maybe Brett Suttor is a NSW selector? Thats the only thing I can come up with :(

im devastated still that the NSW selectors cannot see that SOWARD and SUTTON should be the NSW halves combination... i actually bounced it off an ex NRL coach last night and he was in total agreeance... he is currently coaching abroad and couldnt believe that neither of these blokes are not only the faves for NSW but will not be contesting city/country at all!!! I also hear that Wayne Bennet is absolutely outraged that SOWARD isnt getting a crack at it.

I was a bit miffed that Soward doesn't get a game. I am enjoying seeing Carney making a good fist of his comeback, but I think Soward has him covered over the last year or two! From memory Soward played this game last year and the coach (Daley?) only gave him a few minutes.

Vice - I'm sure Des Hasler is worried about Manly's last 15 mins each week, but I'm sure he'd rather be ahead at that point than behind. Good sign for Manly is that no team has really gone with them from the 10-60 min point. Bad signs are that they almost get run down each week (Sharks and Knights the exceptions). I reckon that an inexperienced halves combo might be the catch, can't close out the game. Maybe with a bit more experience there, a couple of better decisions late in the match, Manly could be undefeated. They've got some good stats ie no team has scored more than 24 points against them and no team has beaten them in the 1st half.
And Manly were due some luck against Souths after having none against Gold Goast, what goes around comes around. Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.

Too true.

This week ive gone for all up - Titans into Melb - 15.5 into Roosters - 10.5 @ $8.00
But i made the mistake of placing it before the Test and now Cam Smith might not play, arrgh!

(Guys Red Bull win the Grand Prix this week @ $1.95)
Post on my wall if you need a more detailed explanation reason

How good were the Sea Eagles last night!! A pleasure to watch them arm wrestle the Dragons into the ground. A pretty even contest but the Sea Eagles simply turned up with more intensity. As a Manly fan I couldn't have been happier.

well that does it i am banning myself from betting on a titans game(i support them), last three bets have done my dough so even when they win i am filthy. 2 weeks in a row i am home only for them to kill me in the dying minutes, had them 1-12 against the panthers last week and over 6.5 points today.

LOL i try to avoid backing my lads RENEGADE... sometimes the heart overrules the head... i generally kick back and be satisfied with the win unless they offer really silly odds... In saying that i think the BUNNIES are absolute specials to beat the TIGERS this weekend and am very interested to see the odds!!

Chilli your rabbitohs are specials this week. Get on @ 13+ !!!

I'll take anyone there with 13+ against the panthers... Panthers 1-12 is the way to go. Souths are pretenders

lol Nudgey.... i think they are good things although i have the utmost respect for the Panthers they rely too much on their forwards and PETERO (gooone) to get their field position... they then rely on the bombs and inside 20 kicking game to get the majority of their points... in the mud i think the Bunnies have by far the superior running game to get field position and Coote will have nightmares for a month after SUTTO lands half a dozen floaters on him... last week Bunnies handling was very ordinary at around the 60% completion mark yet they still should have beaten the kiwis in terrible conditions. They would have learnt a lot about playing in the mud in the hardest of places to play wet footy... back at home they will relish the soft track. Panthers will struggle to get out of their own half with the big bunnies lining up their forwards like ten pins and with Petero gone i think they will struggle for inspiration up front... Bunnies pack too many guns with the ball in hand and if they can hang onto the pill just a little bit better and with captain ASOTASI back they should put 30 on the board and i cant see the Panthers matching that in the wet. ISAAC LUKE will punish them big time and i think RHYS WESSER will play the game of his life here... he is a phenomenal wet tracker and against his old club he will fire. I agree with VICEY... could be a blowout to the rabid rabbits. SUTTON and SANDOW too good for WALSH and BURNS... LUKE lengths ahead of KEATING... MERRIT TALANOA CHAMPION ASOTASI BURGESS TAYLOR LOWE PETTYBOURNE CROCKER should hit too hard in defense for the Panthers to get any momentum. Get on NUDGEY.

$5 wager on this chilli? You have Souths and I have Panthers, and the loser has to buy the winners tips, winner decides what day for the tips to be bought?

done mate... souths have been backed in from 2.30 to 1.85 faves.... easy money i hope.. if the bunnies lose the last thing i will be worried about is $5 mate

I dont think they were backed in its cos Civoniceva has pulled out.
Ill take you on as well for $5 if you like nudgey?
How much do you reckon Penrith will win by Nudgey?

sorry vicey. I'll just take on Chilli for this match. No disrespect to you mate but with all the crap thats happened on here in terms of wagers on races/footy etc I want to start small. Definitely some other time though

i think you have to pay me some credit as well for the tumbling of the odds Vicey... i wasnt shy!

Ha ha, I should of thought of that!

Thats ok nudgey. But in future, Chilli will vouch for me that I pay up on debts. As will Cracka and some others. Good luck with the bets fellas!

yeah Nudge you can trust Vicey 110% plus i know where he lives lol... Vicey i very rarely back the bunnies hard but im gonna teach these mongrels a lesson tomorrow... BUNNIES are the real deal!!

Im with you all the way. Bunnies 13+!
(Watch out for the Sharkies, i can smell the blood of an upset in the water.)

Both my lucky charms Nudgey and Chilli, sheesh who do I back here?

i think you missed the bunnies boat mate... shoulda jumped on at the 2.30... dont think there is much value in them at the 1.80... im alive with the LIONS/BUNNIES allup at 8-1... CMORN RABBITS... stick with the bunnies on this one MIGHTY but only because its a wet track!!

All you have to do is look at the form Mighty and you'll know which team to back. How can you follow Souths after last sunday??? So many chances to win. Very hot and cold team... Im hoping this week they are cold

Melbourne or Canterbury today? Inglis and White arent playing while Slater is a 40/60 chance of playing... canterbury have been poor but is this the game where they fire up?

Its easy to back Souths nudgey regardless of their recent form. Penrith have players backing up and Civoniceva is out. Dont you think they are favourites for a reason despite playing the 2nd placed team in the comp?

Petero is out and there are 2 players backing up, but Lewis and Waterhouse are classy enough to overcome that. A majority of origin players have backed up really well this weekend eg Thurston and Watmough

RHYS LIGHTNING!!!! Panthers scored their tries of kicks and the brilliant Lachlan Coote... seriously if we put the hammer down we would have put 60 on them.... how good was MABO (sandow)... he killed them!! Giddyup the Bunnies!! Lucky i didnt read the storm v dogs post nudgey... i thought the puppies were morales??

Yeah the money was for the dogs because of Inglis,white and Slater all missing, but I still backed the Storm because how can you back the Bulldogs at the moment? In saying that, they are showing signs of form and now that Ben Hannant is back, I wouldnt mind backing the dogs to nail the tigers on Friday Night.

The bunnies were very good, but once again, they didnt play a full 80 minutes which isnt good enough for the finals series. The Panthers did show glimpses of brilliance, or should I say Lachlan Coote showed just brilliance? My excuse for Penrith is the Monday Night Curse. When to buy the tips Chilli?

damn ref cost me my multi on Sat night with the Cowboys... had Broncs 13+ into Cowboys win into Storm win into Titans win for 18-1... how he ruled that Bowen touched that ball late in the game for a knock on I do not know!!! Agree Nudge on the Bulldogs this Friday, they have to win soon don't they?!

cmorn lads... they cant even beat a reserve grade STORM team... they are pathetic at the moment with no signs of coming good at all... hopefully this is the last straw for the origin doggy players and the selectors wake up to themselves.
Nudgey you do realise you are bunny bashing dont you.... yeah the bunnies let down their guard early in the second half but PANTHERS scored 3 times off 50/50 plays and scored every time they got down there in that 20 minute period... Bunnies were by far the most lethal team with the ball and outside a couple of really unlucky losses to TITANS and MANLY who outside of the DRAGONS (rd19) are the only teams above them on the ladder... cant blame them for losing against the WARRIORS in those conditions and they were by far the dominant team but had handling issues on the night in what is a tough trip away, REF ruined the EELS loss and who knows what could have happened there really?? Outside of the RD1 loss to the ROOSTERS the BUNNIES have been in awesome form. Even better they are improving every week and are building up to a devastating attacking force with MABO and SUTTO really starting to support BULLY. TAYLOR and BURGESS are gradually starting to dominate the competition and WESSERs timely reminder of how good he really is after a comeback from serious injury... im telling you now NUDGEY they do not deserve any criticism at all and halfway through the comp they are one of the real genuine form teams in the comp... nobody can match their running game and they are putting massive points on teams... their FOR and AGAINST is the 3rd best in the comp and they just flogged the hell out of the team who WAS above them on F&A. Remember the PANTHERS of 2003 under LANGY... everyone thought they couldnt defend... BUNNIES are playing exactly the same style of footy... massive amount of points in them but when they have to defend they bloody well will... wait till we get through RDS 15-19 before you make any judgements... MANLY, STORM, ROOSTERS (revenge will be sweet) and tops off with the DRAGONS.... by then we will be absolutely flying!!

I will admit Chilli, they played very well yesterday... but in patches. I think they are a definite top 8 team and can certainly trouble the top teams if they bring their A-game, but surely the Dragons are home this year?

I think the Doggies are specials to beat the Tigers. The tigers love to throw the ball around and I think the Dogs defence will muscle up and win a gritty match, something the Tigers cant do. The tide needs to turn for Canterbury very soon and I think Friday night will be the start

Im ina good psoition mate... smashed the DRAGONS for top8, top4, minor premiers, GF winners. Smashed the RABBITS top 8, top 4 and a sentimental bet for GF winners. The way the comp is shaping up barring injury of course, i can see the DRAGONS as minor premiers and BUNNIES in second position... im starting to think we could be in the GF and with our running game anything can happen there. By rights though you would think the DRAGONS will atone for last year and the BUNNIES will be good things next year.

P.S if i was a paranoid man i wouldve sworn the TITANS shanked that match last night.. they were completely unprofessional and i cant understand how a team who plays so tight all of a sudden starts throwing the ball away at every opportunity... wouldnt mind a record of the betting sheets?

Nudge how can you say Dragons are home this year when its bloody round 12?!?! Still 14 left mate and a tight knit finals series to boot. in case you forgot Dragons were in this position last year and never even made it to the qualifying final!

Titans just arent that good Chilli.
They are one team I am never confident about backing as favourite. Same as the Roosters, cant have them when they are favourites.

dunno TA... they have impressed me in a few matches this year but i have NEVER seen them play with such an obvious lack of respect for ball control!! Was very wierd and the usually fired up CARTY was rather subdued... they either shanked it or there is something far more sinister going on... my mail is that STORM wont be the only team who finishes on 0 points this year and its looking more and more likely that the TITANS might be in some serious trouble!!

THURSTON in for the COWBOYS after escaping any penalty for detriment of the game charge... the solicitor argued that the NRL website was promoting the JT rant so exactly how detrimental was it... within minutes JT was cleared and the rant was removed from the website... clever huh!!
Not so clever is that he will now face the bunnies... buggar!!!!

It was funny in the end. But if the ref had turned around and said "F off Jt, you're getting beat because you played s**t in the first half and you're forwards are cats. Don't blame the touchie, pull your effin head in ya big sook"...then the ref gets sacked for a week.
I bet the Souths fans were licking their lips for a couple of days though.

LOL WHIZ... i was very excited mate... easy kill on the COWBOYS and into an origin ravaged BRONCOS for another 50 point drubbing and momentum would have been impossible to stop coming into the dreaded STORM, DRAGONS, MANLY matches.... oh well we will have to earn our win over the COWBOYS now and build up our momentum the hard way... JT is such a damaging player he could do anything to us!! Need to unleash EDDY PETTYBOURNE on him early with only the one goal... knock him on his bum as hard and as often as you legally can... nothing like a ballistic missile coming at you for 80 minutes to rethink throwing a dummy!!

SERIOUSLY THOUGH... HOW FREAKIN BIG was that BURGESS, LOWE tackle last week.... HOLY CRAP!!!

The bunnies will get the win anyway. JT is tough and clever, only Melbourne have succeeded this year in "rushing" him and sitting him on his bum.
A mate of mine that used to play said that one coach's instructions before every game against Brett Kimmorley was "every time he touches the ball we put him on the ground". Ruffle the halfback's feathers and you've ruffled the whole team.

Cowboys are a chance of beating the bunnies if they can pick up their completion rate. That was a very hard game to watch last weekend, they played awful forcing to many passes and giving the ball away. Also if they decide to play 80mins of footy instead of turning up for the second half they got a very good chance of winning.

Lots of ifs there Mark. They have a fair bit to improve on and may have to play at 110% to win this weekend. Good Luck to them though.

lol yeah well i don't have a huge amount of confidence in them but still give them a chance. A player to keep an eye on is Michael Morgan he seems like he might combine well with JT.

well wattya reckon of the BUNNIES now Nudgey... 7 tries to 1 with 3 disallowed.... MABO is really hitting his straps and SUTTON is absolutely devastating... how hard do the bunnies hit in defense... Fair dinkum lads they are the real deal... surely you are now a believer Nudge... OH YER THE BUNNIES ARE COMING!!! TOP 4 with a bullet and CHILLI collects!!!!

Starting to believe they are the real deal Chilli. If they want to be a real premiership contender, they need to grind out upcoming matches. I'd be more confident if they won games 18-10 or 16-12 rather than 32-4. It was a pretty good effort last night, they are travelling along nicely at the moment.

yep after we smash the BRONCOS and yep i will be there in the AWAY warren... we will have a series of matches which wil show us exactly how far we have come... ROOSTERS, MANLY, STORM and DRAGONS... the way we are playing and the complete ignorance of the ORIGIN selectors emans i cant wait till we get a real challenge!!!

smash the BRONCOS?! PUH-LEASE!!!

The bunnies played very well and the cowboys look like they might of let this season get to far out of reach.

BUNNIES ARE PAYING $2.10 to beat an Originless BRONCOS????? Thats the bet of the year lads... LOAD THE F UP!!!!! they will win by 40

How serious are you Chilli? Need to know because I might unleash and you know that when I pull the pin, it's going to go bang BIG TIME!

The only thing that concerns me is the price mate but I've been taking the overs on the bunnies all year so I'm used to it.... Just on form they r morales mate and I would have smashed them to beat broncs with folau and Lockyer??? Can't see how the broncs can win without origin players mate??? Seriously they r ridiculous odds

So true Chilli. Why not take the bunnies -3.5 @ $2.00 ??

Sorry thats + 3.5

cos i hate playing margins mate... i dont trust the referees mafia at all... just heard that BUNNIES will be without BURGESS, ISAAC LUKE and DAVE TAYLOR as well as GEDDES... thats 3 massive outs and 1 bench prop gooone... i would say that JAMIE SIMPSON may come into our team as hooker although he is a winger i think he has the smarts to go ok from dummy half... i think the way that SUTTO and SANDOW have been playing lately along with ASOTASI, STUART, PETTYBOURNE and the man LOWE with the ins of CLARKE, CROSSMAN. tackling machine TYRRELL and CAPEWELL off the bench that we should still be hungry enough to win this one... all in all it may not be as clearcut as one would think... still I think bunnies at 2.20 are really decent overs but i think it may be more of a gamble now than previously thought.

They are still fielding a strong side and i reckon it may be the most interesting match of the round.

Luke,Burgess,Taylor,Geddes and Pettybourne... its hard to go past the Broncos. Yes, Souths have been playing well, but without Luke showing them the way, they will struggle big time. I think the Broncos are a real chance of winning the comp this year. This team reminds me of when they won the comp in 2000: Alfie was gone, it was the start of a new era, they werent supposed to win with no names like Tuquiri,Petero,Dane Carlow, Shaun Berrigan, Luke Priddis. They ended up winning and winning well. I dont know if the 2010 broncos side is as good as the 2000 broncos but with Melbourne gone, I am starting to warm to Brisbane. And when you have the 2 best players in form: Lockyer and Thaiday, plus Folau and Te'o, it makes the task easier.

one thing that worries me atm Nudge... is Henjak... i'm not sure he has the credentials, but I hope i'm wrong... some of the boys are really starting to aim up, namely Teo, Hoffman, Winterstein & Gillett... and lookout once Wallace finds his straps, he's had a terrible run with injuries... if I have a good day on Saturday, i'll have to get along and support the boys...

I'm bypassing the straddy to take the young bloke down to train with the bunnies on sat and will be in the away Warren come Sunday runny...game could get a little scrappy but I think this is the match Mabo and sutto have been waiting for...their form is on a steep upward spiral and I expect a massive game from both of them to get us home

This week Roosters 19+ @ $5.75 will get a little bit of my hard earned.

ahhh the Raiders... how do you follow them? Terry Campese the worst 5/8 in the nrl??? he has dead set got no idea about last tackle options

Well I would say the half back should be doing that or just make Campese half back which is what he really is and he will go better.

How about those MIGHTY BRONCOS?!!! Chilli? :P

not a fan of Gus Gould.. but he makes a good comment... YIPPEE YI YO YOW YEH!

At the moment, I think there are only 3 winning chances for 2010: Dragons, Brissy and the Tigers. The Dragons... their form speaks for itself, the Broncs are on fire at the moment, the form team of the comp, and the Tigers are playing so well, showing great grit. The bunnies cant win, not on that effort against a depleted Broncos side... Yes, Burgess,Taylor,Pettybourne and Luke were out but gee they were very poor today. Sandow is over rated, todays effort proved that.

Yeah but only 3 weeks ago you probably would have had Titans and Sea Eagles in there.
Broncos struggled hardcore with injuries earlier on, and when Manly get 3 internationals back in Lyon, Watmough and Matai then ill be quite happy with their chances.
And the Rabbitohs were sitting in the top 4, and then after one loss when they have players out injured, you write them off??
As Parramatta showed last year, form in the first 14 rounds counts for nothing and current form has nothing to do with being a winning chance.

And you'll find that the bookies disagree with you too.
Sportingbet top 4 'winning chances' in order

1. StGeorge
2. Parramatta
3. Manly
4. Penrith

well that was something special... we were in the RABBITS BURROW and whilst the young bloke is terribly excited that we are on TV a thousand times it was hard to kick back and listen to the broncs supporters going nuts like that.. when PARKER got that goal to get it to 50 it really really hurt!!!!
I dont think even i realised how depleted we were int he forwrds until i saw the official team sheet which included RESERVE FORWARDS Jamie Simpson (helluva player but actually a tiny winger) Luke Capewell (great player but actually a tiny winger/fullback) Dave Tyrell (tackling machine but really not a big bloke)... unfortunately the BRONCS who ive gotta say are really a big team from centre all the way through to the forwards completely exploited that lack of size through the middle. Our little blokes couldnt contain the offloads and all i saw all match was Broncos bouncing off tackles and then ripping through our middle off the back of a massive ground making advantage. With 10 contracted forwards unavailable the communication through the middle in defense was non existant and poor Sandow was isolated every time... FOLAU, LOCKY and even THAIDAY as a running fringe forward are players who can only come into their own after the forwards dominate but BURGESS, TAYLOR, PETTYBOURNE, LUKE and GEDDES are the players who dominate for us and set the platform defensively for our lethal attacking backline. Sandow is definately not overrated NUDGEY he is just a very small but very very tough unit who simply cant take the big boys on defensively when isolated... its just basic physics mate.. mass and acceleration equal power and when youre a little bloke giving away that much advantage it is physically impossible to stop them. He has his role in our team and i can tell you that does not include defense. You should be giving this bloke 5 stars for guts and courage cos NOT once did he roll over when confronted by blokes 30kgs bigger than him... in attack he didnt have any time at all with the ball.. sure he couldve shaked to kick and got the ball out wide but we were completelky dominated and he tried a few things off the cuff.. considering we were down by 30 i cant really blame the bloke. He is a different player both in defense and attack when he is playing alongside BURGESS and TAYLOR protecting him instead of SIMPSON and CAPEWELL

Forgive and forget lads... with LUKE, BURGESS and TAYLOR dominating the middle of the ruck both in defense and attack we are a completely different team and thats when SUTTO and SANDOW can create the opportunities and obviously LUKE shredding them down the middle. Gotta say i really enjoyed the atmosphere in the BURROW.. not once did we slag off our team and we all rose as one when MERRET got that intercept... i challenge any other supporters to be as loyal and as loud as our crew are... we are the best in the game and that will take our team deep into the finals if not the GF... i still think at full strength we are the second best team in the comp and once we take care of the DRAGONS we will be numero uno.
Just a sidenote but our u/20 team is AWESOME!! Junior VAI VAI is a superstar and we really did smash the broncs regardless of the scoreline... im tipping a broncs/bunnies GF in the toyota cup... they are both really talented teams and unfortunately for the broncs Corey Norman and Hoffman are playing NRL otherwise they would be a GREAT team!!!
Giddyup Bunnies and dont drop off them from a punting perspective lads... we are going to get great odds against MANLY next week and we will give them an almighty touchup... onto the STORM and we will take them to the hilt.. onto the bye and then a 40 point drubbing of the ROOSTERS leading into a massive match against teh DRAGONS which will be a top of the table clash by then... CMORN RABBITS

Manly is well off the pace Vicey. Even with those 3 big names back, they cant beat the top teams. They just cant play 80 minutes. Souths are gooooone, a Top 8 spot is theirs, not top 4. Parra are over rated, as is Jarryd Hayne I think. With the exception of the last 3 months of last season, has Hayne done anything???

Manly have beaten Melbourne and St George. They are handy teams to have beaten. Manly won't get their best team on the park till probably round 16 or later, that's what is cruelling them as much as anything. They can't be written off. None of the top 6-8 can be written off I don't think.

The top 6-8 are all in the hunt because I don't think any side has really put fear into their opponents yet. Saints are rolling along nicely, but I don't think any of the top sides would be scared of each other. All teams are 1-2 big injuries from oblivion.

The scariest side to play are Melbourne, and they don't count because they are cheats.

Nudge what bloody comp are you talking about? As Whiz said, Manly beat St George and Melbourne at Ethihad Stadium.
Jamie Lyon is their best player for christs sake.
Parramatta beat Manly twice and beat Melbourne recently. Are you just choosing not to remember these things?!?!
The bookies know what they are on about Nudge, thats why Parra and Manly are 2nd and 3rd favourites, or are you much more informed than them?
The only one well off the pace is you Nudgey.

Bookies arent always right Vicey. Parra are too inconsistent, if they play like they played against Melbourne each week, they'd be right in it... but they dont, unless Jarryd Hayne weaves magic, which I dont think he has done this season and thats why I think he is over rated. Manly are inconsistent too, they need to play 80 minutes each week to be a serious threat. Once they get their big names back, then they might show something. But at the moment, on form, The Dragons,Broncos and Tigers are the 3 teams I'd back to win the comp.

The form is a bit 50/50 at the moment, long way to go. I'd be happy to nominate the Dragons as a big show, but they fell in a heap last year. I know that the Broncs are gone if Locky goes down, and I don't think the Tigers have made the semi's since they won the comp. But I couldn't put my money on any other team either -
Penrith? no. Souths? no. Parra? no. Titans? no...........
Sharks, Knights, Cows, Raiders, Dogs, Roosters?...NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!

The "smokey" could well be Manly. The pundits will say that they haven't played 80 mins yet this year - true. But their first 60 mins has been way too much for most teams to handle, and it is a much better plan to play from in front than try to chase teams down each week. The talk is that the top teams will beat them, fair call, but those top teams are making hard work of it at the moment. Manly have beaten Saints, Storm, and the Rabbits (4th) and only been beaten by a maximum 6 points until the last 2 weeks (Titans, Tigers, Parra x 2). And they have done all that while being severly understrength. With rookie halves, no fullback, and a hooker that is still on his "p" plates. Unbelievable really, they should be running near last.
The problem is that these problems can't be fixed. They are stuck with their halves and hooker. Robertson is likely to go from wing to FB when Lyon, Matai, and Williams return. He aint a FB. They reckon you need 50 x 1st grade games to find your feet - Foran has about 20 and Hodgkinson about 10. Stewart isn't coming back.
It sounds like I'm talking them down almost as much as I'm talking them up, but they've done enough so far to justify their place in the market and be rated a top 4 premiership chance. Especially with Melbourne out. But it's easy to see why people rate them as vulnerable too.
I think home ground advantage will be crucial this year given the closeness of the comp, so I'm going to hold off any tips until there is a clearer picture of how they'll line up in september. But the Dragons got rolled at home last year as minor premiers, maybe the advantage won't matter?
I don't know..........too hard.

All good Nudgey, and if you back the Tiges, Dragons and Broncos then I wish you all the luck in the world, Id never hold that against you. It was just that in the first post you called them the 'only' winning chances which I think is a bit how ya goin.

Dr Whiz: Are you sure about Robertson going to fullback? Not that I know for sure but I thought they'd just drop Whare and Hopoate out of the side and move Williams to the wing?

To Chilli's delight and not to ours I still think we might be in trouble this week and we can only hold our breath until Lyon, Watmough and Matai are all playing together.

I'm thinking their best backline (not counting B Stewart) is Robertson, D Williams, Matai, Lyon, T Williams, Foran, Hodgkinson. Ben Farrar could be the one to miss out.
No idea when they all get on the park at the same time.

The way the T-Rex has been playing i'd honestly drop him and put Farrer on the right wing.

Manly dont have a backline lads... theyve just got a mob of blokes who can jump and catch!

They'll all end up playing AFL then!

Queensland 30+ at $8... gee that sounds appealing to me.

Cmon Nudgey, give me NSW with 13.5 start for $20 in tips on a day of choice!!

How the hell is Luke O'donnell still on the field? That was one of the worst spear tackles i have seen for a long time. If Luke Lewis got one week O"donnell will be rubbed out for at least 6 weeks. Once again QLD lead the penalties thanks to Gallen, O"donnell!!!! Just DUMB footballers

$8 for 30+ looks very good, but it amazes me that O'Donnell is still playing: He does the second worst spear tackle I have ever seen (first one being earlier in the year in the NYC), he headbutts dave taylor, then gives him one in the chops... has to be sent off! rub him out for 8-10 weeks.

He's in trouble, but he won't get 8-10.....nobody has from origin since the 80's. Different judiciary system. Thaiday will be in trouble too, if they decide to cite people.

well when you pick a team of thugs thats what you get... Hopefully this is the last we will see of the selectors and the coach... Sack them now for gods sake they dont deserve the chance to redeem themselves in a dead rubber.. Bring in a new coach now... bring in FARAH,MERRIT, SOWARD, SUTTON, JENNINGS, TAHU immediately... get rid of LEAROYD LARS, GALLON, ODONNELL, SCOTT, BARRET, ENNIS, MONAGHAN, COOPER and lets kick back and watch a modern game of attacking football where players from both teams can score 90 metre tries from anywhere and let the spectacle begin. Open it up and combinations with guys like JENNINGS and HAYNE, SUTTON and HAYNE, SUTTON and JENNINGS, MERRIT and JENNINGS, HAYNE and MERRET, FARAH and SOWARD etc etc etc etc etc can start to develop and give us years to look forward to...
selectors, coach... BUNCH OF IDIOTS!!

that was pathetic from NSW, the worst performance in origin history that was. thats 3 series in a row now that Bellamy has lost... questions have to be asked, is he actually a good coach? He had too good of a team because of salary cap cheating, and his SOO record is poor. Is he over rated? And Jarryd Hayne as well.. you's wanted him at fullback, and look what he did... nothing at all. Something drastic has to happen in the NSWRL very soon... some of these selectors need a good long hard look in the mirror, they picked that based on reputation, not form.

Im not gonna waste my breath so to speak on NSW. Congrats QLD on 5 in a row.

The one positive to come out of the game was Nudgey not seeing my bet offer in time!

As for 8-10 weeks? I think he got 3 ad Gallen got none.

haha yeah vicey, very lucky I didnt see it in time. Well that will do me, 3 weeks for an ugly spear tackle??? I feel sorry for the NYC player who got 10+ weeks... thats just crap from the NRL

The SOO is run by the ARL Nudge........the NRL don't run the judiciary in Origin. Not fair to have a crack at the NRL. Might as well have a crack at the AFL, they have just as much to do with it.
That's why the whole thing is dealt with on the night, in a much different manner. It was just the same as last year when a bloke got no suspension for kicking a player in the head.

The players are on loan from the clubs, and if they start getting suspended for every high shot, grapple, etc in Origin the clubs will blow up. They can't implement any of the contractual penalties in place for players getting suspended in rep footy (ie the 1/30 clause). Same as test footy, nobody gets suspended from test matches. If clubs pay the price for players indiscretion in rep footy, we'll end up like England or NZ......clubs won't release players. They already get the rough end of the injuries, both in time off the park and money spent on rehab. Clubs won't cop players getting 10 weeks if they aren't at least working for the club at the time.

ps if that brawl took place in the NRL, there would/should have been half a dozen players in the sin bin (if not sent off) and as many on report. The only way that fight could take place "fairly" is if Boyd gets up and throws punches at O'Donnell. He didn't, the brawl was going by the time he got up. It was the blokes running in that escalated it, and they all (by the rules) should have been punished. Thaiday, Barrett, Taylor, Monaghan.........these blokes were anywhere up to 50 metres away when the tackle occurred, how do they all stay on the field? Because it aint the NRL.
The result? no citations, no suspensions, no sin bin. Everyone goes back to their club and plays this week. The ARL have a new add for next game, and the NRL get all their players. Happy days all round.

PPS yep that was NSW's worst performance in SOO Nudge, no doubt. But the worst performance ever was QLD game 3 in 2000. No contest.

Thats all good Whiz, and I stand corrected, but seriously, 3 weeks for O'Donnell??? I mean Luke Lewis got 1 week for a nothing throw, O'Donnell gets 3 weeks for one of the ugliest throws in history... thats just ridiculous

My tips for the round:
PANTHERS 1-12
BULLDOGS 13+
COWBOYS 1-12
SOUTHS 1-12
DRAGONS 13+
TIGERS 13+
PARRA 1-12

Yes mate, I agree it is RIDICULOUS. The worst foul in the game is the spear. Stupid, dangerous, and downright dirty. And the bloke that did it has Group 1 form for being a grub. It can turn into a spear by accident, given the pace and strength of players nowadays, but this one was clear.
He should have played in the 70's.

NUDGEY HAS TIPPED THE BUNNIES.... you are a believer after all champion!!!! Have to disagree with JARRYD HAYNE being overrated... every time he touched the balll he made half breaks and was alwasy without fail only just tackled... by this i mean when he has a fraction of time to run the ball back he was never cleanly tackled... they always had him just by the legs and his body position was always forward of the tackler if that makes sense... he is incredibly gifted and in my mind an absolutely lethal player who just needs a bit of room to move and some support to create carnage. I think he is an awesome footballer Nudgey...

in time, he will be a great player, but I think he is getting too many raps atm. Those last 10 weeks last year... We wont see that again, but he hasnt backed that up yet this year.

geez VICEY that hurt... that really bloody hurt... im having a terrible couple of weeks

What a game! I need a double bypass now, my heart was bursting through my shirt! To be honest I had backed Storm 30+ into Manly to be leading at half time @ $10.50 because I really thought that if Manly were behind at half time we were in big trouble.
Then in that space of what seemed like 15 seconds, Isaac Luke scored 2 great tries, the first one his only real danger of not scoring was running into the ref, and Jamie Lyon was taken off with a reaggravated ankle injury.
Looking at the 12 all scoreline I felt it reflected the closeness of the teams, with both making each other pay for laziness with some real classic tries.
13-12 to souths going into the second half and any footy fan had to love the surprise short kick off that Manly used to start the half and subsequently get Ballin over the line for a try. Love it!

I dont know what your thoughts are on the following Chilli but I though Manly looked really tired and gone in the last 10 minutes when they were behind by a point, but was shocked and delighted with the ease in which Hodkinson was allowed to slot that first field goal. No one tried to stop him.
Sweet, we'll take it.
Then we made easy metres up the other end for the second kick and the match winner. Yee Haa!
What a heart starter!

lol... was like watching a bad movie VICEY... i could see we werent at our best and our forwards werent setting the platform but we just kept digging in as did Manly... 1 dropped ball near the line by Champs, Merrett fails to put downward pressure and a disallowed try all wouldve sealed the game in the last 10 mins but not to be... i think both of us hit the wall with 20 mins to go mate and we played like two teams in 3rd gear... bloody Manly!! Had the bunnies into Socceroos to draw or win at bloody good odds... Hopefully both Manly and Bunnies can dig themselves out of this mid season slump mate..

Penrith 13+ tonight. I've got no idea how Manly scored 25 points last week. The soliders at home, friday night crowd, in form, should win.

I would have backed that Whiz, but I wanted to be safe. I have a juicy multi- Newitt at Traralgon into Ward at Canberra (both= jockey challenge) into Penrith into Dragons into Geelong into Federer into Venus tonight

Nudgey, you're into everything. Good luck bud ;)

Brendan Ward was the $1.90 favourite... he only got 3 points haha dear me. I think Panthers 1-12 into Dragons 13+ seems the goods

Ok, the two teams to beat this year are Penrith and St George. St George are just brilliant overall, whilst my beloved Panthers have slipped under the radar this year and are going along in great style. I didnt think they would aim up in the second half of the season, but I am starting to think they are the real deal. Panthers vs Dragons in a couple of weeks...should be the game of the year.

Need your advice lads, I have a multi going and just need your thoughts on the Titans winning this w/e.

mmm without Princey and the injury cloud over Preston, I think the Knights are good value to beat them today. The stats prove that the Titans struggle without Prince and on a dry track I think the Knights can pull off an upset

Its played on the Gold Coast, I think the Titans should win, but its not a game I would be putting my money anywhere near.
Actually there was only one game I bet on this week taking Sharks with a 6.5 point start and total match points for the game being under 43.5 for a bit of beer money :)

Thanks guys. My rugby jinx conitnues ;( Bloody Titans was my last leg. One flat down the drain!

Hey Chilli hope ya didnt back Titans today. Overated team mate. I never go near them as favs...

Cannot believe the pric that was offered for the Knights... This year they are playing better away from home, they'd appreciate the dry track, Prince out for the Titans... $2.65 thank you very much

Ha buggar the titans.. Didn't even think the bunnies were good things...how bloody good were they lads!!!! We shoulda wonby more but scoreline aside we just outdone a full strength storm...was quite happy to concede this one and start our charge.. Bunnies had other ideas, we start now baby!! Look out chookies and dragons we coming hard and thanx to the clueless origin selectors we have a full deck... Giddyup those rabbits.. If penrith and.dragons r top 2, broncs and bunnies are snapping at their heels. If it's a panthers rabbits GF I willb ecstatic

Sportingbet re-opened wooden spoon betting today. It was closed 5 mins later after a few decent bets on the Titans. No doubt this is due to the upcoming 4 Corners report that also apparently implicates Souths, the Broncos, and the Roosters in salary cap cheating.

Atm I think the Panthers and the Dragons are the benchmark for other teams. I think the Tigers,Broncs and Bunnies are just behind them... But seriously, how good were the mountain men on Friday!!! Best half of club footy I have seen for a long time.

Im lovin Ben Barba more than ever. I was hoping he could have been playing full time by the end of last year. Hopefully its not far away now.
If he plays a full season in the starting line up, ill be all over him for top try scorer. Top 10 player for mine currently.

To make things better, he is a queenslander. Ideal origin player to replace Lockyer, who will go around next year, Im thinking Barba will play origin in 2012/2013

If I had to guess, Barba will replace Luke Patten at fullback next year at the dogs and Prince would replace Lockyer for QLD.

Doggies just bought Hodgkinson and Keating for the halves next year.

Yeah looks like Patten is heading to England.

I am starting to believe Penrith are the real deal. What a win last night! The red V looked more dangerous when they went to the left side than to the right, where the Prodigal Son was. After that effort, I think Penrith are the team to beat. I am loving the $21 I got at the start of the year

mmm as happy as i am to see you giving the bunnies a rap nudgey i dont think the PANTHERS have got what it takes...in saying that they really have had a fantastic run and a great draw (especially compared to the BUNNIES) in what is a really underperforming year with the STORM gooone and EELS drowning, SEA EAGLES and TIGERS extremely vulnerable in defence and TITANS being terribly inconsistent and BRONCS rebuilding look like stars one second and muppets the next..BULLDOGS are an old team and its caught up with them finally... i wouldnt read too much into the win last night but granted winning ugly is just as good as winning pretty! Of the last 9 games the PANTHERS play Warriors, Eels, Cowboys, Raiders, Dogs and Sharks... thats a bloody good run home considering they also come up against Storm who dont care anymore and the toothless Tigers. BUNNIES play the DRAGONS twice, TIGERS, STORM, PANTHERS and EELS... i mean seriously thats just not cricket... whilst in years gone by i would be shattered with that run home i truly believe that its the perfect push into the finals for us cos we are genuine contenders this time... still doesnt make the draw fair and equable though does it? If you dont play every team twice how can you justify a top 8 that is a true indication of the best 8 teams... short answer is it doesnt and its as big a joke as the scrum!!!
Dont think you need to go firther than the for and against to work out the best teams int he comp... DRAGONS, PANTHERS, BUNNIES, STORM, SEA EAGLES... i think the BUNNIES have had arguably two of the best wins in the comp this year so will put them in the GF with the DRAGONS as long as Beau Falloon makes the most of his opportunities over the next 6 weeks with uncle Bully out i think the time is right for Sandow and Sutto to dominate the attack... once we are in the finals than i think it will be game on for the lads... TITANS will improve you would think and maybe a taste of ORIGIN for Bird is what he needs (how he got picked is absolutely beyond me though, not exactly dominating is he?) to wake up and start helping Princey out... if they can find a way to gel they would be pretty hard to stop with the speed outside... Going to say top 4 come major semi time will be DRAGONS v TITANS/SEA EAGLES and PANTHERS V BUNNIES

I couldn't judge either team on last night's game. Too many players out. I wouldn't judge Gasnier yet either, might not have played if it wasn't Origin week.

Tough thing about the draw Chilli is nobody knows what a tough run home will be until we get there. Ladder changes each year. Dogs, Cows, and Eels probably looked a hard run home pre season but the way the chocolate soldiers are going it looks like 6 points.

Big call this week: Bulldogs to beat the Storm and Warriors to beat Panthers.
Lets see if I look like a complete idiot on Monday lol. Im ready!!

true whiz but the teams the bunnies play were the top 5 in premiership betting pre-season lol

i just had a look at my preseason bets now that Luke is out of the Dally M.... ive got bunnies at 1.85 and Dragons at 1.45 to make the 8 for a 66% stake outlay for money back plus 10%...the other 33% ive got an incredible $4 for the bunnies to hit top 4, $2.75 for the Dragons to hit TOP 4 (this is all clear profit if the bunnies can hang on to the 8) Dragons to win the minor premiership at a massive $9 and $10 to win the comp... didnt really ackonwledge the fact that im in a position of gunning hard for the DRAGONS ... outlay was 3k and if the bunnies can make top 4 which is probable i will hit 5k as Dragons are top 4 certainties then minor premiership for the DRAGONS will net me $7750 and a GF win will get me over 10k return... i had Isaac Luke for a $100 at 66-1 for Dally M and desparately unlucky with the shoulder injury or it couldve been a monster year for chilli... that loss to the Panthers really causing me some heart palputations now and their draw home worries me en route to the minor premiership... cmorn BUNNIES stick it to the Roosters and cement a spot in the top 8 and hopefully nail a couple of wins over the big guns to hit top 4 and cmorn the DRAGONS... just keep winning cos realistically the Panthers only toughish games are TIGERS away, STORM away and BUNNIES home... DRAGONS have the bye but play the BUNNIES twice including the last round... i can feel the fickle finger of fate twisting me here as it looks like the BUNNIES may hold the key to my cash... i can just see going into the last round of the year BUNNIES v DRAGONS with a top 4 spot for the RABBITS on the line and a minor premiership for the DRAGONS on the line... aaaarrrrghh... the money or the heart!!!!!!

i hope youre right VICEY.... CMORN the WARRIORS!!!

Just completed my ladder predictor:
1. Dragons
2. Panthers
3. Sea Eagles
4. Titans
5. Bunnies (losing both matches against Dragons)
6. Broncos
7. Eels
8. Tigers

How sweet it is to be a Queenslander... To make it even worse for NSW, have a look at the stats: NSW had four more sets of six than QLD, seven penalties to five in favour of NSW, NSW made five less errors than QLD, 21 offloads compared to QLD's six, and all that pressure in the second half that NSW applied to QLD and still couldn't win... I'll admit they played better than the first two games, even I think NSW should have won last night. I just dont know what their problem is... is it belief? Do they actually believe they can beat QLD? I stand by my comment a few weeks ago. NSW wont win a series for another 5-10 years.

That comment is up there with Netra being a Group 1 winner, I'm afraid.

yeah, there was Netra, and lets not forget my comment about you being the PP idiot of 2010

Full marks to the Maroons and congratulations. But I'll bite.

Maybe you've got it wrong Nudge. QLD have 15 Aust players, a million SOO games between them, and only won games one and three by 4 and 5 points respectively. This is despite having the penalty count in game one too. And a bunch of very fresh Storm players. And a full compliment of coaches. They could/should have won each game by 20+ but only did it once. This is despite NSW picking the wrong team 3 times?

Why don't QLD peak more often? Are NSW underrated? It doesn't make sense that a team that good can only beat a team that bad by a handful of points, generally on the back of positive field position and penalty count.

The belief issue is a valid point. It's like the Socceroos playing Germany. Everyone that has watched the game knows Germany have better players, but we hope for the best. But as we've seen with the Australian cricket team, it only takes 12 months, a couple of retirements and injuries for the castle to crumble. Only the supreme optimist would think QLD will have all of Smith, Inglis, Cronk, Slater, Locky, and Petero next year. That's not counting injuries or suspension.

The current QLD team won the first of 5 series when staring down the barrel of 4 straight defeats. Sadly for fans it all changes to quickly.

Once again well done to the QLD players, and with the exception of Darius and maybe Petero, see you next year.

Let's not forget: $5 = loading up

QLDERS had it won at the selection table... cant believe Laurie Daley is putting his hand up to coach next year... fair dinkum the further the current board of selectors get from the blues the better off we will be. Thanks but No Thanks Lozza. Pearce isnt lighting up the Roosters so why would he light up NSW? Oh thats right he didnt light anything up? Barret played to his best which as we all knew wasnt good enough? Scott was too slow as we all knew and everytime we went on the attack we went right and it faltered the second he got his mitts on the ball... why we wouldnt concentrate our attack to Jennings was a joke. The best winger in the game is Merritt... sure Brett Morriss has scored one more try this year but 90% of those were catch and put down jobbies... when it comes to line breaks Merritt leaves him for dead. Jamie Soward must have done something terribly wrong to be continually overlooked at halfback... why he doesnt get the nod over Pearce is beyond me. Sutton is the leading Try Assist (outside of Walsh who has only set up one try off the hand and the rest off the boot) and is also the leading Line Break Assist. He is a massive handful and runs rings around Barrett week in week out and has a superior kicking game... Sharks are last on the ladder and Bunnies are top 4??
Hellllloooooo!
FARAH is the best hooker in the game and we all know that... Ennis hasnt the leg speed to cause any problems through the middle and with the changing of the game you need a speedy dummy half to set your offense up.
The future for Origin NSW revolves around the following key players: HAYNE (who is just brilliant) SOWARD, SUTTON, JENNINGS, LEWIS, FARAH and BIRD. Throw in Merrett and Gasnier next year and we will win 3-0

Gotta agree with the Daley call, he'd be more Meninga than Bennett. And the Farah call.
I like Pearce though. Add the likes of Gordon, Coote, Morris x 2, and Soward to your list Chilli. There are some good young players, just got to wait and see whose available..........for both sides.
I agree the Maroons had it won at the table, but if the Blues team were so wrong and the QLD team so right, why were 2 of 3 games decided by 5 points or less?
QLD keep winning, but they can hardly claim that they dominated this series or use this perfomance to expect a decade of dominance.
Let's not forget that this team has won 3 games a row once 5 years....they should be going better really given their roster.

I agree with you Chilli that the selectors of NSW have to be sent as far away from the NSW team as possible. Some of the selections have been mind boggling but being a QLDer I was more than happy with most of them. The selectors have been all over the shop for the last few years but yet seem to be the ones that escape the axe.

As for this series I have to disagree with Dr Whiz. QLD dominated the first 2 games. You can't seriously say that there was 4 points between the 2 teams in the first game. It may have been on the scoreboard but NSW scored 2 late trys to make the game look a lot closer than it was. They were never a chance of winning with the last try coming within the last minute. QLD dominated the first game as much as they dominated the 2nd one. In saying that I think history shows it is very hard to dominate a 3 match series. There will always be one game where you get the bounce of the ball go your way. NRL is becoming such a possesion game that if you get the majority of it you can beat anyone. I think the NRL proves that.

When will NSW come back.... When they stick by their players. QLD was looking at a 4th series loss but a lot of the players that were involved in those losses were there for that series where they turned it around. They now have awesome combination which is winning them the tight games now. NSW seem to make a host of changes after lossing 1 game. Are QLD that much better than NSW?? As indviduals I would say just but as a Team by a mile.

NSW have to stick with the same team as Wednesday night for 2011, with the exception of Barrett and injuries. They created so many chances and couldnt finish QLD off. The only bloke that can save NSW is Gus. He knows what Origin means, he knows whats required to beat QLD and he is brave enough to make the tough calls. Someone has to put their hand up for NSW's poor performance this year. Geoff Carr? The selectors? Bellamy has partly taken the blame but others have to take responsibility for this because if nobody does, then QLD will continue to dominate and dominate easily, as shown this year

totally agree with ya NUDGEY... GUS is the man!! Gotta agree with NIFTY whiz... QLD were like an odds on fave hands and heels to the line in Game 1. Thats the problem Nudgey our forward pack werent half bad in Game 3 with the inclusion of BIRD and LEWIS but we didnt ahve the strikepower of a SOWARD or SUTTON to put the score on the board....and the ignoring of Jennings in offense was laughable... if you pick the best you generally get the results... it isnt that hard??????? I generally believe we have the potential to outplay, outscore and outmuscle the QLDERS... im not that big a fan of their arsenal and NSW selectors were running scared.

I hope Gus gets the coaching of the N.S.W next year, just so we don't have to listen to the one sided w@nker commentate.

Anyway, back to Friday Night Footy: Roosters are specials at $1.95 (TAB Sportsbet) to beat the Bunnies. Without Luke, the Bunnies have no direction and play park footy. The Titans at $2.30??? Thank you very much. Princey is back, they have had the freshen up, and the Tigers were awful last week yet somehow won. Two good games I think tonight, all 4 sides battling it out for top 8 positions

couldn't agree more Nudgey... only two games all w/end I have a bit of confidence about... Raiders have been better away from home this season and could spring an upset over the Sea Eagles... who knows what Storm outfit will turn up against the Dogs... Knights have been up and down all season and the Sharks are starting to come good, altho you'd really expect the Gidley lead Knights to win at home... Panthers are due a loss and Warriors are building... and who knows which Cowboys & Eels are going to turn up?!

Uh oh......

Im simply looking to how Penrith performed in their post origin match against souths; shithouse. Dont be surprised if Warriors win by 18.
I didnt think the bunnies played bad last night, Todd Carney being the difference (and the man who will play 5/8th for NSW next year)
Runny The cowboys always turn up mate, they are just flat out a poor team, probably at their peak, lol.
podo Not sure about Gus being biased, he always seems pretty quick to complement QLD in my opinion.

nifty1 said: "QLD was looking at a 4th series loss but a lot of the players that were involved in those losses were there for that series where they turned it around."

The difference between NSW constantly changing their side, and QLD not doing the same when they were staring down the barrel of a 4th series defeat was the fact that QLD had no depth.
I heard someone make the point, and I totally agree, do you think a guy like Ashley Harrison would ever get picked if he was a New South Welshman? No chance.

seriously lads... the referee last night in the bunnies game was atrocious.. surely you now subscribe to my nrl mafia theory? Im sorry to rant on but this is the 4th match we have been denied of a win by ridiculous refereeing and its pretty much the same reasons EXCEPT last night was really obvious when it mattered. CHOOKS were all over us in the tackle alll bloody night and the ref just let them get away with it... they completely stalled our go forward coming out of the ruck area and every second tackle we were looking at the ref appealling for some sanity. Pearce was on 3 occassions 2-3m in front of the ref when we were coming out of our own 20metres and on 2 occassions the ref was directly looking at him. To make it worse the chooks were walking off the mark all night and NOT playing the ball correctly. What really really stinks is with 4 mins to go the CHOOKS didnt play the ball in what was the 3 most blatant illegal play of the balls i have ever ever seen AND they were in succession... 3 blatant penalties that wouldve given us the ball in their red zone with the match on the line... to make it worse we get penalised for interfering with the play of the ball on the 5th tackle when the roosters playing was diving around like a landed goldfish and made contact with Champion NOT the other way around... they score and win the match!!! Im sick of it lads!!

Is this mafia just out to get Souths or other teams as well? (Maybe Newcastle)
If you can pick one of these games happening before the fact, ill believe and kiss your feet! Imagine the money we could make. You need to find out which games will be targeted or what the pattern is.

No way will the Panthers beat the Warriors. Yes, the Warriors beat Parra, but Parra were pretty awful and with 15 minutes to go it was still 12-6. Panthers are specials, even with the likelihood of Lewis not playing. They are the team to beat this year and should take care of NZ tomorrow. Last night... wow! Two great games, very entertaining given the conditions. Perretts try last night... I think even QLD would have struggled to pull off such a great backline movement. Bunnies without Isaac Luke=no chance.

"No way will the Panthers beat the Warriors."
Followed by:
"Panthers are specials"
Now I know you are a dribbler nudge

Yeah, I'll cop that haha. No way will the WARRIORS beat the PANTHERS.

1 - The wheel of Orgin will slowly turn boys, remember when QLD had Daniel Wagon at 5/8 and Julian O'Neil at FB?

2 - If their was an NRL mafia it would be helping Souths not hindering them, surely? Nobody wants to mess with Rupert do they? Unless we're talking about the Ibrahims being Roosters fans? If that's the case, where was the help last year?

3 - I reckon the channel 9 commentators favour QLD, everytime Inglis or Slater or Locky etc touch the ball they are referred to as being great, a superstar, a legend, etc.....Gould spends far more time praising QLD and bagging NSW than the other way. Considering that more people watch SOO on TV in Sydney than there are people living in QLD, You'd think they would pander to NSW more. And podo if Gould leaves TV you get Fittler or Johns instead, because the only other option is Fatty and we all know that ain't happening unless swine flu comes back.

4 - nifty I reckon as individuals QLD are further ahead of NSW than they are as a team. And they are miles ahead as a team. I understand the late try argument from game 1, but they are worth the same as early tries, and late tries made a difference in game 3. Points are points, and although NSW never really looked like winning the difference was only a few points, or as you said, a bounce of the ball or set of six.

4 - Most importantly, Manly are specials tonight. Last nights winnings go straight on.

good luck all

dunno Vice.. i know there are some games that ive watched that ive been really adamant the ref has dictated the result or at very least the margin but at the moment im just fed up with the raw deal the bunnies are getting... theoretically with 3 or 4 major decisions at key moments in 4 matches this year we could be sitting on top of the ladder... each decision based upon its merits are very very dubious and have drawn criticism from commentators and the coach alike... Last night there was 3 penalties that were sincerely NOT penalties and then the swing late in the game just defies belief. In any other match with any other ref and arguably this ref as well, any one of those play of the balls wouldve been awarded a penalty to souths... BLATANTLY and OBVIOUSLY!! I have no idea why the penalties werent awarded with both the ref, pocket ref and linesman in absolute clear view in perfect position on each occassion. Souths have the wrost percentage of wins v losses under Robinson by far of any team he has been the referee but that still doesnt explain the two other matches we dropped as ROBINSON was ref for the Eagles and last nights match.. both lost in the dying stages... im teling ya we should be either 3rd or 2nd on the ladder yet we find ourselves struggling to make the 8... you will just have to trust me that on 5 occassions this year including the EELS debacle which really couldve swung either way that Souths have lost each and every match with refereeing calls favouring the opposition under really uncertain and very dubious circumstances that make no sense at all. Last night we never saw the opposition 20metres as the chooks were offside all night and laying all over the tackled player slowing our offence down to a standstill... on two occassions sutton was one pass off the ruck and was being pressured by front row forwards on the kick.. i mean seriously. The refs can get fu%$ed!!

"No way will the WARRIORS beat the PANTHERS."
Thanks for coming Nudge. Bulldogs into Warriors @ $6.12
Warriors were easily the value bet of the year, Penrith struggle backing up from Origin.

The salary cap report is back and it is expected to be revealed that the Storm were $3.4 million over the cap for the last 5 years, double the original estimate of $1.7 million.

I'm looking forward to their stars playing with "average" team mates next year. The backs are only as good as the forwards let them be, aren't they?

True Whiz, but I dont think they should be allowed to keep their stars anymore, even if they are paid ten bucks a year.
It was an illegally constructed team in the first place and should be broken up.

Just heard a whisper the storm players are going to abandon the rest of the season, personally I can't see them doing that. They ll lose a lot of respect if they do. Seems an easy way out.

8 games left, around 30% of the season. That would mean a player like Inglis or Smith who is on $600k woud be giving up about $180k for 2 months work. Can't see that happening. And I bet the players on lower level $$$ don't want to give away $20-$30k, especialy now that they're next contract is going to be signed at the mercy of the market. Broncos already showed Inglis what to expect if he leaves Melbourne.....$200k pay cut!

Not to mention the obligatons tey have to the NRL and sponsors etc

And then they would get charged with bringing the game into disrepute I suppose.

Hartigan cracks me up. Despite working for the same company (News) he has hammered the Storm at every turn by pointing out the most simple things about the rort.
He said the other day that the Storm would need help from the NRL to get back on their feet "but that would be hard to get when you are trying to sue them".

The best thing abut this scandal for me is that News have shown that although high peforming teams are good for them, and although they have a $$$ share in a few clubs, they wil kick your head in if you cheat.

I just think the Dragons are specials this week. The 11 day freshen up, Origin stars back and I think the Bunnies will struggle to back up after a brutal match against the Chooks. Dragons 13+ at $2.60 seems great value I think. Also, the only time the Dragons have lost two games in a row under Wayne Bennett was their finals campaign last year.

Saints are so bloody tight that you have to be 100% to beat them when they are full strength. Without Luke the Rabbits are deserved underdogs. He was flying and will continue to be missed.

Ill be tipping Dragons too Nudge but be careful there mate. If there are 3 teams in the comp this year with big forward packs its the Raiders, Sea Eagles and the Rabbitohs. (Chilli and I have referred to this earlier in this thread).
Manly and the Raiders have both beaten the Dragons this year.
The Rabbitohs are well in it. Not to mention the Rabbitohs flogged the crap out of the Dragons this time last year when the Dragons were $1.05 favourites to win.

Meritt and Champion out wide plus a big pck mean the Rabbits are usualy value when uderdogs they can beat any team. But they miss Luke and I've got the Saints in a H2H all up with Manly. Souths at $2.70 is good value though for those that want to back them.

Gee after last night I'm happy to not take the $3 for the Dragons in 2010...The best way to sum it up is that the Dragons didn't win the game, Souths lost the game (If you know what I mean)

I know what ya mean, but in saying that, its not like the bunnies blew an 18 point lead. I think the bunnies got a bit conservative at the end hoping to close out the game. This was shown with Sandow kicking a field goal still with 15 minutes left.
As I said yesterday, the forwards for souths were going to be the key, and they did a great job too.
Any team besides Souths, Manly and the Raiders probably would have lost by 12 to 18 points last night.
It looks like big forward packs are an achilles heel for the dragons, and they could be in a bit of hurt if they bump into one of these 3 teams in the finals.
Your 13+ was on the money nudge, but never against Souths.....sorry.
Take Manly tonight minus a margin 5.5 or less.
Broncos were the best value this round, $1.94 on betfair was fantastic and will pay for my frothies tonight! :-)

You can only think what might have been had been for the Bunnies had Isaac Luke been there to steer them around. I stiill cannot believe how the Dragons won the game, at no stage did they deserve to win, but unfortunately Souths just gave away cheap ball. Sam Burgess...If he produces that sort of form for GB in the Four Nations, then Australia are in big trouble.

The Broncs were great last night. When they beat Manly several weeks ago, I said they are the team to watch out for and they have proven that statement correct so far. Lockyer is unbelievable and Wallace is starting to hit his straps plus with the likes of Hoffman and Hunt growing in confidence, I am really warming to Brisbane winning the comp this year.

Its funny to think that if Manly won last week they would be 4th on the table, but they lost and dropped all the way to 9th. And then this round they can end up in 4th again.

im shattered... No offence Nudgey but the 13+ for the Dragons was a mugs bet mate... no team in the comp outside RD1 Chooks and a severely depleted team against the BRONCS have dominated the Bunnies all year... at almost full strength there was no way anyone would put a big margin on the mighty Rabbits... as much as you blokes think ive got one green and one red eye i just really wish when the match is on the line with minutes to go that the REF didnt make a serious blunder or 3. Im just really really pi$$ed off and gutted!! The penalty with 10 to go against Burgess lying on the tackled player was a complete JOKE and to rub it if that was regarded as a penalty then we shouldve got 5 of them going our way. Every team knows we have the most devastating attack in the NRL and every team is slowing us down BIG TIME in the ruck... its obvious and deliberate and when we get penalised for something so soft as that it really is upsetting for a fan. Regardless we shouldve won but lost our way when the match was on the line when we were in their 20m to seal it... where was SUTTO's bombs to TULLY on the left??? Where was SANDOW to CHAMPION back on the inside to MERRET or WESSER on the fly?? Where was early ball to BEST to create the offload with his fend to TULLY?? These are our bread and butter plays and all due credit to the DRAGONS defense but we still werent looking for them and that was the major impact of no ISAAC LUKE cos all of thos plays revolve around that little Champion.
Now with 4 minutes to go Tully was on the halfway line when NIGHTINGALE stripped the ball as clear as day and less than 1m from the touchy... it shouldve been a penalty and we shouldve been playing the last 4 minutes of that match attacking the DRAGONS line looking for the sealer... instead ref calls lost ball and Dragons are on the attack hemming us in our own 20m till the siren. I really dont mind losing a match but seriously i HATE losing like that... TITANS got a penalty with 2 mins to go on the 5th tackle for ASOTASI lying on PRINCE... replays showed Prince fell over without ROY touching him. RESULT: Titans equalise with penalty and win with field goal. ROOSTERS: Incorrect penalty, 3 of the dodgiest play of the balls you will ever see and bullsh#t penalty on the 5th with 2 mins to go on Champion who allegedly interfered with the tackled player. Replays show Champs was pushed into him by a roosters player and that the tackled player was in the middle of a self imposed gyration anyway and was already in mid air. RESULT: penalty to Roosters and late try to seal the match. Thats not mentioning the 3 other matches against the WARRIORS, SEA EAGLES and EELS which were ridiculously refereed in the final minutes. It is obvious we are a top 3 side, it is obvious to everyone but the REFS at key moments have killed us... we should be nestled in the top 3 planning for the finals but NONE of those calls have gone our way. Now fair go REFS... WHEN will we get a call going our way when we work our guts off to be leading the match and its all ont he line with a few minutes to go.. its just seriously wrong and its getting very very ridiculous for us now. Im completely IRATE and i cant wait to get LUKEY back so we can shove it up your pink shirted bu77holes!!!!!!!!

On the upside... SANDOW and SUTTO just need Lukey to get them rolling over the advantage line to create havoc with CHAMPS and MERRET arguably the best two attackers in the comp. HOW good is it to have CROCKER back lads... the guy is just enormous and he will egt the bunnies to a crack at the finals whilst LUKE is nursing his shoulder. HOW SCARED is every other team inthe NRL who have had the luxury of the refs calls going their way going to be when the Bunnies nab 8th spot and they look at GAME 1 of the finals and see the BUNNIES grinning back at them with LUKE back and a fit CROCKER complementing BURGESS, TAYLOR, ASOTASI, LOWE and PETTYBOURNE.. you think they would be packing themselves cos i can tell you they will be.. and you know what.. they bloody well should be!!

Who was it that said JARYD HAYNE was Overrated?? Tell me that wasnt you Nudgey?

Yeah, I said that, and at the moment, I stand by it. The Hayne Train? World's best player? Stand up and Applaud? That will do me. State Of Origin 3 and his next two NRL games have been very good, but if he wants those major tags, he has to do it for the rest of the year. Besides the last three games, what has Hayne done in 2010? Bugger all I think.

There are some major concerns for the Penny Panthers after last night... Its illegal to give up a 22-0 scoreline. You can see on Fox how shattered Petero was after the game. It reminded me of the Dragons and Jamie Soward.. When the going gets tough, they crawl back in their shell or they come up with low percentage plays. Who is the team to beat now... Definitely the Broncos. No way can the Dragons win the comp after Friday Night's effort, Panthers I think may choke, Rabbits just might need this year for experience and come out much better in 2011, the Tigers haven't been impressive, The Roosters and Dogs I dont think can handle the big game pressure and the Eels have pretty poor defence at times.

that was the first time i had a chance to watch a souths game & gee was i surprised if they get luke back ???...hayne has been playing solid all year ,hes doing things that matty bowen used to do except he is about 30kg bigger

The thing about Hayne and Parra is that they are in a better spot than this time last year on the ladder, and Hayne is better placed to win the Dally M. And the finals series will be easier. That should scare the crap out of other teams.

Best player in the world? Vacant title at the moment I reckon. JT only wins rep games (ie when surrounded by talent), Storm players don't qualify until next year because they have had too much help (see JT). Boyd? Luke? Thaiday? Low grade field compared to the days when Locky, Langer, Joey, and Freddy were all running around.

Keeping it simple:
I would rate JT, Smith and Inglis within a hair of each other. JT cant be expected to do much with the rubbish playing alongside him at the moment.
Storm are stuffed everytime Smith is out, and Inglis is..well....Inglis.

And f*** me dead nudge, the panthers are having a great season, they lose to Parra by 6 points and they apparently have 'Major concerns'? Turn it up boof head. Then if they win next week you'll be praising them, calling them specials blah blah.
You've shat on the dragons based on 1 game on friday night, ONE GAME. wtf?
You were calling them specials before the game you clown. So they won by 3 points against a top notch forward Souths forward pack, do they have to win by 30?

So lets see Nudge, if the Broncos lose next week, and the Dragons beat the Titans and the Panthers beat the Storm, i bet you'll be posting here saying how the Grand Final is decided and it will be Dragons V Panthers. Or do the Dragons have to win by 58 points for you to convinced?

I know they are having a great season, but in the last two weeks the alarm bells are there in terms of their attacking options. When you lead 22-0 and get beat surely that creates major concerns?

I was calling the Dragons specials to beat the Bunnies, mainly because of the Isaac Luke factor. But after their performance on Friday night, I don't think they deserve to be premiership favourites. The point is they didn't deserve to win the game, I think a majority of people will agree with me on that.

I won't be posting the deciding Grand Final teams, to do that would be stupid. It wouldn't worry me if the Dragons and Panthers won, then the Broncos lose, I still think Brisbane have been very good, based on what they have shown in the last two months. The Dragons are a clinical team when they are allowed to be. Friday night's match proved that there are plenty of ways to beat them. Most teams get frightened when they take on the Dragons because of the hype surrounding them. But Penrith and the Bunnies showed the other 13 teams how to do it by just getting in their face and putting pressure on Soward. When the Dragons are down and out, thats when the 2005 Jamie Soward plays.

Thats why I thought you would post Grand Final teams.
You are supposedly worried about Penrith, then in your next paragraph you basically say that "Penrith showed the other teams how to do it by beating the dragons"
Maybe you should sit this thread out mate.

Cmon Vicey... You're behaving like a jaded rabbitohs supporter?????

"in the last two weeks the alarm bells are there..." not referring to the Dragons game at all. They were fantastic against St George. Its their last two games against NZ and Parra that have me worried about their 2010 chances... and "mate", I am not saying that at all, read carefully. I said Penrith and Souths showed the other 13 teams HOW TO BEAT ST GEORGE. I didn't say at all that the Panthers and Rabbits showed "how to do it" in terms of the whole competition.

Well $10 says that if Cowboys win by a point over the Tigers tomorrow, nudgey will have the Tigers written off for the season, and Cowboys will be 'specials' next week at 13+

Doesn't matter if Tigers win or lose tomorrow, they won't win the comp... you're just talking crap now

So we're 19 rounds in and you've written off the 3rd placed Tigers. It would just help nudge if you had any idea about Rugby League.
Everything you post, the opposite happens. You make stuff up in your head and type it out.
These guys that post here are very handy to have around nudge, a good source of info. Perhaps you should just listen.

You know what, its not even for me to say such things if I have any decency.
Ill leave the post there so this one makes sense, and I want to offer an apology to TheNudge
Ill just stick to my own opinions from now on.

apology accepted.

I thought the Roosters would improve this year, but not for a minute did I think they would be top 4 after 19 rounds. 4th best in attack is great, but 4th worst in defence with 6 x 13+ losses is an issue.

Just having a bit more of a look at the ladder and Parra have the 3rd best defence and have only been beaten by 13+ twice, equal with Saints and Penrith. Awful attack, but solid defence. If they can get their attack in place over the next 6 weeks they will be in the semi's for sure with the tools to do some damage.

Yeah that Roosters v Bulldogs game yesterday clearly illustrated your point Whiz. It seemed like either side were guaranteed a try just by penetrating the opposition 20. I thought it was ludicrous for Kevin Moore to bench Barba. Why isn't he playing 80 minutes?
As for Parra, they are in a better position now compared to last year when they made the Grand Final so anything could happen there.

roosters v bulldogs game.... what was going on there, roosters were getting ripped off something chronic until braith said to the ref ....do you want us to walk off.....then they started to get a few 50 50 calls mometum swung & like you said vicelife what the hell is bulldogs 5/8 doing on the side lines when the game was in the balance ,barba must be dirty!!!....dear oh dear the NRL some odd things happen !!!!!!.....i seen atleast 2 passes(called forward) this round that put players through gaps creating a line break that went clearly back and i mean clearly back ,seriously how do you get that wrong, I think with parra when ben smith was out they struggled ,he is like hindmarsh but goes under the radar ,he just tackles anything and talks talks & talks in defence as soon as he moved to the row parra started there run last year & now he is back so if he stays fit i will be confident in parra making the 8 again

Have to agree xxvicelifexx & netl - have no idea why Moore benched Barba. One thing you should never do is try to defend a 12 point lead as you are just inviting the other side in. That is exactly what Moore did by Benching Barba. That was a clear message to the team to shut up shop & just defend. Pretty clear how important he is to their side in attack & had he been out there they may have scored another try or 2. Bit late sending him back on with 3 mins to go.

Not sure what Moore thought Barba would do in 3 minutes. Boil an egg maybe? Exciting game.
I like Idris in the backrow. Half the backrowers in the comp are former 3/4's, speed + skill + size. I reckon TRex is a big chance of heading that way in the future.

And poor old Stoney will be learning a lot about the Newcastle faithful this week. It can get pretty lonely up there when the season slips away. Again.

Tigers look the goods tonight at Leichardt, should be 13+. FNQ has a transit lounge look about it again. Like the bad old days. I like Peter Parr but something is wrong up there and it is often the front office.

Funny old game last night. Probably saw the best and worst of both teams. Marshall's poor kicking dudded the 13+ result, but more of a concern for them is that no team can afford to give up 4-6 points in a semi due to average goal kicking. Sheens said after the game that the Tigers have "no other players practising" so it looks like Marshall has the job for the season.

Geez is Sheens just being stubborn? If Marshall is the best kicker they have, then the Tigers may just explode come the semi's.

After an early look at the upcoming round the Dragons look like the only red hot bet. The Raiders are obviously going well but always fear a team that has just lost the coach ie the Sharks.

All the other games could legitimately go either way. So if you like an outsider, back it straight out and have something with the start.

Ditto, but i'm fairly confident about the Raiders. Although I won't be betting on the Broncos V Roosters game, I have sneaking suspiscion that the Roosters will get found out. Broncos by 18 points.

Manly V Tigers @ Bluetongue Stadium should be interesting with Manly having won 5 from 5 there, with some massive scores to boot, and the Tigers are 3 from 3 at this ground as well.

Strap yourselves in!

Your assessment of the Many Vs Tigers game virtually illustrates my view of the round. Could go either way.

If Manly put in one of their sub standard efforts (we've seen a couple this year) and the Tigers play well, then the Tigers will win. But if the Tigers play the way they did on monday and Manly's forwards play well, it will be a smash up.

Panthers Vs Storm? If the real Storm show up they can beat anyone, anywhere, anytime. Penrith's place on the ladder shows they can beat anyone. The Panthers scored 4 tries in the first 20 minutes last week but 2 were from kicks and one was an intercept. If you could guarantee that they would get 3 tries that way each week, I'd back them at $2.20+ every start.

Cowboys Vs Knights?......... take your pick, but it's like picking up s**t

Parra Vs Dogs? Parra can't afford to give up 22 point start again. The Dogs have better halves than Penrith and will control a lead like that better. But can Parra play that well again in the 2nd half anyway? Hard to back either team confidently all season.

Rabbits Vs Warriors? Warriors have been outstanding the last month and were excellent playing in Sydney last time. Rabbits have a couple of key players out but can't be written off.

Raiders and Dragons matches I've touched on already. No bet game the Broncos Vs Roosters.

I think Raiders -8 and Warriors straight out are the only two ill be backing as others have said i think there are plenty of games that could go either way.

Doggies v Eels- Do or die for the Dogs tonight. The motivation will be there to win, but the concern for me is backing up from Sunday. The Eels have won their past couple but again their defence is a worry. If Barba is at his best, there will be gaps there for him to burst through. I think Canterbury will win in a close one.

Dragons v Titans- Without Bird and Harrison, the Dragons look the good things of the round. They were ordinary last week against Souths but they have got that run under their belt now and should be ready to rumble at Kograh.

Canberra v Cronulla- Great statistic here: When the Raiders have put 40+ on a team, they have lost the next round nine times. Look, if they bring their recent form, they will be hard to beat. But, with the Flanagan taking over, it might spark something. The Sharks can get this one I think.

Storm v Penrith- If Melbourne turns up, they could put a big number on Penrith I think. But given the circumstances, I think Penrith will win here. I think they will get conditions to suit, more to play for and maybe they have ways to score other than a kick (hopefully).

Cowboys v Knights- The Cowboys are due to win and it should be this week against a Newcastle side that was atrocious last week against Canberra. North Qld will have to win without Willie Tonga but with JT in form they should get the chocolates.

Souths v Warriors- Very keen on Souths this week. Very unlucky the past two weeks and back on a dry track for Sunday they should do a spank job on NZ who although have been very good recently, will struggle in the conditions I think.

Manly v Tigers- Very hard game. Manly returned to form with a convincing win against Cronulla while the Tigers have been winning in ugly style. Manly will be brutal with their forward pack, especially with Watmough who was brilliant last week, whilst the Tigers may struggle to back up from Monday night. Going for Manly.

Brisbane v Roosters- Broncos will be hard to beat. The 10 day freshen up will suit them perfectly whilst the Roosters will find it hard to back up after the brutality the Doggies gave them. Broncos 13+

Hear that?..............Its the deafening silence of all the Jarryd Hayne baggers.

5 big plays last night and before that his last 3 games...and apparently the 'Hayne Train' is back? If he does it for the rest of the season, then he'll get my respect... What amazes me is that everyone praises him and carries on about the brilliant stuff he does, and it is brilliant, but what about the bad stuff eg drop ball, missed tackle/s, getting out-jumped... not one word is said about the negative side of his game. I hope he proves me wrong and lifts Parramatta to the finals series, but besides the first 40 minutes last night, they were pretty awful.

I reckon the first 12-15 rounds people were on his back. Everyone said he was out of form. They were probably right. But they were basing that on his form late last season which won't ever be repeated. 7 MOM's in a row? bugger me.

Now he has won 3 MOM's in a row, which no other player will do this year. And he is still a kid. Scary.

Parra might have looked poor to you in the 2nd half, but they were like Rue Maple at Moonee Valley today - race was over. Parra have the 3rd best defence in the comp, the Dogs weren't going to catch them.

With Pearce and Myles unlikely to play tonight, surely the Broncos win tonight?

Nudge I think you'll find that Billy Slater makes more errors than Hayne. The reason people dislike Hayne is because they expect too much.
Eg: Lets say in an average round all 16 fullbacks play identically good games. Nothing special, just solid efforts. Guess who would get bagged? Yep Jarryd Hayne.

Pearce and Myles being out certainly won't help, but Anasta and Carney may be the keys for the second week running. I'm still sticking with the Broncs.

PS: It's the Hayne PLANE!!!

Hayne is probably the only legitimate "superstar" from the big Sydney clubs too, he'll always get the headlines no matter what.

A couple of good games of footy yesterday. The Tigers had "won ugly" a couple of times lately and really should have beaten Manly. Still don't know what to make of Manly but they've pushed they're way back into the top 4 and showed again yesterday that no team wants to play them in the run home. The Warriors have done enough to prove to me that they are right in the mix. I've always downplayed their chances but this year they are a different team. The Bunnies are going well too, but they don't want to lose any more troops.

Looking into the crystal ball a little, if the Broncos win tonight there will be 5 teams on 24 points from positions four to eight on the ladder (if the Storm were "live" they would have 24 too). That's a log jam, with Parra on 22 points the only other chance.

I'm not sure if any of those teams on 24 points have an easy run home. For and against will almost certainly decide some positions.

Anything over $1.50 for the Warriors this week is value in my opinion.

I think there is a a "threesome" this week (as DJ would call it!) and it doesn't include the Warriors.

Panthers will win (have to win) and push their top2/4 claims. Another win next week against the Raiders sees them well placed.
Tigers will beat the Sharks. maybe have a couple of bob on R Farrah to win the MOM too, he will be primed.
Manly to end the Knights season and press their own top 4 claims. Tough run home, 2 points here are vital. Knights are 50/50 (internal rumblings) and Manly are finding form.

$1.25-$1.45 each or better on Betfair, all up should get you $2.50+. Should make for a casual weekend.

I reckon the Roosters at $2.50+ are overs.

The only thing that turns me off the Roosters is the short turn around from Monday to Saturday.
Elaborating on my previous post, Titans after 90 minutes of footy heading over to NZ seems like a tall ask. I like NZ/NZ half time full time @ $2.10
I was dead keen on Souths for this round as of last week in ready for the return of Isaac Luke but then Taylor goes and gets himself injured. How dare he!
Penrith win with Luke Lewis fronting up once again, but im not particularly interested in the Tigers at that price. Storm and Manly yes but I highly doubt i'll touch the Dragons V Broncos game.

Anyone know if Weyman is playing this week? Im getting conflicting reports.

I think one of the reasons Pearce/Myles sat out Monday night was because Coach Smith knew they were on the short turnaround. Don't risk them in game 1and maybe lose them for the season, play them in game 2.

The Bunnies have a few injuries heading into tonight. They do welcome back Luke but the loss of Taylor,Champion and Stuart is massive. I'll give the Dogs a chance.

Panthers should account for North Queensland easily. Aiming for the minor premiership, that should be enough motivation.

Tigers should beat Cronulla, Roosters to continue their winning ways,Melbourne to charge on for nothing against Canberra, Warriors at home I really like, Broncos are specials to beat St George, and Manly to out grind Newcastle

We are agreeing plenty today Nudgey.

-No bet Rabbits/Dogs.
-Panthers are home.
-Tigers should win.
-I agree that Manly should grind out Newy, but don't be surprised if Manly lead 24-4 at halftme.
-Warriors look the goods now I've read the post's from Vice and Nudge.

No bet the rest, unless you know the Storm will show up.....

bloody hell... BUNNIES were terrible in the wet.. unless they can dominate in defence in the mud they dont seem to be able to keep any rhythm... i think on a good track they wouldve put plenty of points on the dogs but couldnt get any mojo happening. Im starting to resign myself to the fact that the refs have ruined our season this year... not completely their fault though. We seem to be shifting momentum too much which i will put down to a really young team. When SUTTO is hot SANDOW is quiet... now that SANDOW is firing SUTTO goes backwards and plays like SANDOW did when SUTTO was running hot?? its all rather frustrating really... i think WESSER overall has been dissapointing this year and i hate saying that cos i love him as a player but maybe we need to look into a new custodian. He isnt igniting us the way he was hinting he would before the injury to his ankle. All teams play on confidence and none moreso than the RABBITS due to our youth. We really should be in the TOP 3 with 50/50 calls from the men in pink but we dont seem to be up for the fight and are playing angry desparate footy when we should be playing confident free flowing running footy with our spot in the finals assured... i have a feeling we might be on the way out for the remainder of the season which is grossly unfair.
Next year though will be a different story... if those clowns can select a decent ORIGIN team and give the highly promising SUTTO a crack either off the bench or at 5/8 he may realise his potential and become the superstar we all know he is capable of. We can build a team around SUTTO, SANDOW, BURGESS, TAYLOR, ASOTASI and the super impressive ISAAC LUKE. a fit CROCKER is the man we need to keep everyone in balance. I think the blend of experience and youth will come to full fore next year and if the troops are all on deck we will be the ones to beat. Unfortunately i think we have been handed a raw deal and our confidence has been replaced with pressure and we look really tired and angry. 2010 may well have passed us by.

I could have produced better kicks than Sutton last night. Worst game I have seen him play. They had their chance last night to beat the Doggies, but the goal-line defence from Canterbury was outstanding. Where has that form been all year?

i think we flattered their online defence to be honest mate... we threw nothing but head on bricks at them... we just dont like the wet.. must fu%* with our fur or something??

I agree with that point. But im not going to blame Sutton for anything, but I will make this point; He shouldn't be kicking. And im not just making that point based on last night but on 2009 and 2010. Sorry Sutto. And I didn't like Burgess in the 8 at all. Talk about clippin' his wings, the soap dodger needs to rove! He is a lock all the way who should play close into the ruck. Just my opinion.

And from now on, if the Cowboys ever lead at half time, just back the opposition to win the 2nd half. Not the game, just the second half.

Parramatta=gone...Hayne Train/Plane=come to a complete halt. His positioning at fullback this year has been noticed by several commentators eg Gus, but last night he was found out big time. Well done Brian Smith.

Parra can still make it Nudge. They just need everything to go there way to win 4 from 5 games. But it does look like the eight have been decided with Parra the only other team that can make it.

Very interested to see how Manly go tomorrow. It looks like the Panthers and Tigers have seriously choked up and Manly are a serious top 4 chance along with the Roosters....if they can hold some form.
I'd be surprised if anyone would have had those two teams in their top 4 early in the season.

BUNNIES have by far the toughest run home... BRONCOS have a saloon passage to the 8... TITANS second easiest... MANLY have a tough run home as well after todays match they will struggle to pick up another win except for the WARRIORS match which will be crucial... WARRIORS will win another 2.... pencil them in to finish the season on 28pts equal with the SEA EAGLES on 28pts. PANTHERS will struggle a bit with the BUNNIES PANTHERS and TIGERS PANTHERS match the crucial ones... pencil them in to finish on 34 with a win against the SHARKS in the last round and the RAIDERS, TIGERS... TIGERS have a horror run ahead of them with BUNNIES/PANTHERS the key matches... pencil them to finish on 30 but thats a big maybe. ROOSTERS will win 3 more at least so i wont go there. RAIDERS look gooone. I think you need 30 to ensure you are in the 8
. ST GEORGE, ROOSTERS, PANTHERS, BRONCOS theoretically are safe as a house and have their own destiny to look after. TITANS WARRIORS today is a massive game for both clubs. The winner will be in the box seat for the top 8. With the Warriors to benefit the most with upcoming matches against the SHARKS and KNIGHTS. If they win today they will get their 30 pts... if they dont they can only bank on 28pts. Same as the TITANS... if they lose they can only bank on 28pts.EELS can bank on 26pts and possibly a HAYNE PLANE solo effort for 28pts at best.
BUNNIES in a way have their own destiny to look after... TIGERS, PANTHERS, EELS are absolutely critical... the STORM match is 50/50 at best depending on how the STORM shape up... unfairly the STORM hold the cards to the top 8 chances of SEA EAGLES, BUNNIES and TIGERS in their illegal team. Up until now the only team in contention that the STORM have hurt are the PANthers... and they did that twice!!!! Not fair.
This is far from over lads... this could be an absolute logjam coming into the last round. MAIN MATCHES there will be:
TIGERS v TITANS, EELS v WARRIORS, DRAGONS v BUNNIES. It could come down to those 3 matches. I dont think i could handle that pressure. Unfortunately even if DRAGONS have the minor premiership in hand i doubt after what happened last year that BENNET will rest his guns!! Where are you MICHAEL CROCKER!!???!!!!!

If im not mistaken Im pretty sure I saw the Hayne plane last night after another fantastic individual try.

One try...and conceding about three or four tries...It is just crap what the media do. Parra are a one man band, that is a fact for all to see. The defensive side of his game is awful. Just watch Billy Slater and the way he positions himself, one of the best defensive fullbacks of the modern era.

Dragons...Gone. Worst performance from the Red V under Bennett. I think I know what the problem is...The return of Gasnier. Ever since he has returned, the Dragons have been very ordinary. Lucky to beat the Bunnies, but they go to Gasnier a fair bit, like he is the saviour, but other teams have been quick to cease and gaps for Gasnier.

"It's crap what the media do'..............I assume you mean the NSW media? Trying to sell newspapers in Sydney by pumping up the most popular player in the game...that sounds like a smart way to do their job. Or broadcasting the game so that we can see it and bang on about it? How dare they try to earn a quid by following an ironcast, foolproof method.
Show the footy to people then talk about the things they talk about.....almost sounds too simple.

Slater is a top player no doubt, but the reasons Billy Slater isn't in the paper being lauded as a top player every day are simple (in NSW at least).

-He's not popular
-He plays for the least popular team in the history of the sport - a team that is not popular even in their own city/state let alone anywhere else. And that was before they were found to be cheats.
-The team he plays for doesn't even appear on free to air TV at the moment. Who gets to see them? Who cares how they go?

Billy Slater currently rests in the "who cares" basket. If anyone needs proof of that even big Gordy Tallis wrote an article for the QLD press saying that Hayne is the best player in the world. If they need further proof they will look at the NRL player poll that clearly had Hayne rated as the top player (Slater was 2nd with JT). The players either think he is behind Hayne or have forgotten about him. Either way, it's a pretty good reason to write about Hayne again.

Everytime I walk into a pub I see or hear a Parra supporter. In the 13 years that the Storm have been in the comp I have met one Storm supporter and he had no idea. Why would the media talk about them at all? Especially at the moment?

Back to the footy and the only good thing to come out of yesterdays game for the Dragons was that they held the Broncos to 10 points. Defence wins comps, but they still have to score some points themselves.

add to that Slater is a renown sledger and i was ecstatic when Hayne landed the triple combination on his chin... he is a pest but a superb player nonetheless.
Well looks like Manly dont want to play Finals Footy either?? Upcoming matches are very similar to the Bunnies run home and they are no good things now... match against the WARRIORS is by far the most important match for the Eagles... it is a must win cos STORM, DRAGONS and ROOSTERS wont lay down with so much to play for... final match against the DOGS could be all sorts of pressure on. TITANS winning in NZ means that the WARRIORS must beat both the SHARKS and the resurgent KNIGHTS just to get to 28pts. Theoretically and very likely we could very well see 5 teams kicking back on 26 to 28 pts coming into the last round where points differential may be the deciding factor!!
CMORN THE BUNNIES!!!!!!

Manly = toast.

One try? How many players have scored tries like that one this year nudge?
And you say he conceded 3 or 4? Which is it? Were you even watching? And where is your criticism of Luke Burt's failure to back up when the opposition kicked?
Like I said nudge, people like you are quick to criticise Hayne even when other players do the same as him.
And its pathetic that you bag the media for 'talking up' Gasnier.
With players keen to chase a dollar in AFL, Union or England, talking these guys up is EXACTLY what needs to be done.
Eg: Sonny Bill Williams in my opinion dogged his mates when he nicked off overseas and I dont like what he did. But if he was to return to Rugby League in Australia tomorrow, I would welcome him with open arms because it would be good for our game. Im not elaborating further, if you cant work out the benefits then in the words of Ma Sheela "Tough titties"
Look at Mark Gasnier's record in Rugby League nudge. Has your ignorance made you forget him that quickly? To say that he has come back and wrecked the Dragons (playing off the bench!) is one of your best yet.
I thought that keeping the Broncos to 10 points was pretty good. Their mild panic in attack was what let them down.

If the NRL is fair dink-um about getting "bums on seats" then they would change the interchange rule so the creative players like Hayne and Slater stand out even more than what they do now. The media have a job and it is to promote the game of rugby league, which ever way they choose to do it, eg: the "Hayne train now plane".

Hayne may be the best attacking player in the game but he plays fullback which requires a little bit of defensive work which is definitely not his best asset. Tackling is fine but it's positioning that is crucial, stick him in at 5/8 since he touches the ball more than the current halves do anyway, he may as well defend on the fringe then see how fit and explosive he is.

Either the Australian selectors are as stupid as the NSW selectors are or Billy Slater is the No.1 fullback in the game.

I'm a Dragon's supporter and their in real trouble, they went through this last year and it is happening again and i think the players are just relying on Bennett coming up with some master plan, but he is dealing with a team that don't seem to have another gear where as when he was coaching the Broncos he knew he had a team that could score tries when the switch was flicked.

I hope i'm wrong, the ribbing from my mates has started already and won't be a pleasant next 2 months.

Hayne was put in at 5/8th at the start of last year but it was a massive failure.

What do the Dragons and snow have in common?
-They both go to water in September!

I think that the confidence that he has in his game now compared to early last year would see him be better adapted to the role.

I like that, one of many i'll be hearing over the next 2 months

I have criticised him since Day One, not just the last 18 months. Last 10 weeks of last year, plus about five games this year and he is the best fullback in the game? I am sick of people talking him up as a superstar, world class etc...It is unbelievable. He needs consistency in his game. He is a very hot and cold player. If he kept producing his 2009 form week in week out, then I'd be less harsh on the lad, but until then, I think he is overated big time.

Hayne's positioning at fullback on Saturday gave the Roosters three or four tries. What has Gasnier done this year? Absolutely nothing. The attack is directed at him alot which it shouldn't be. Yes, he is a great player, no doubting that, but he has been playing Union for two years. Let him slide back into things this year then let him loose in 2011.

Vicey, are you pissed because Manly played like busteds last night? I didnt say Gasnier wrecked the Dragons, I said he is a problem when it comes to their 2010 premiership aspirations. I didnt bag the media for 'talking up Gasnier'...what the hell is your problem mate? Not allowed to voice my opinion?

I don't think I'd have Gaz as the focal point of the attack yet either. I would definately have him in my starting side though. The more he plays the sooner he'll peak. Beau Scott is an excellent defender but how often do we see him get the ball and just slow up and head infield. I think he stifles the attack. Maybe Wayne will pick a game in a week or 2 and just tell them to let fly and throw the ball around - blow out the cobwebs. I'm sure he can sort them out in 5 weeks.

I thought Manly would beat Newcastle, and hopefully the Warriors and Dogs to get to 30 points. Their for and against would have been healthy enough and any extra wins a bonus. They tossed that out the window in 15 minutes the other night, and even if they made it that brand of footy would see them backdoored.

Not many teams put their hands up last week. Panthers and Tigers were scratchy. Broncos and Saints were good defensively but awful in attack.
Roosters and the Titans would be the 2 best performed contenders for sure last week. I'm really enjoying the Roosters attack and especially Minicello getting amongst it. He was a Golden Boot winner and could have been anything, but was cruelled by injury.

Back to the Hayne Plane, the players know more about the game than me. I don't think Hayne is the best player but they do. I think Hayne is the most exciting player, but not the best. Billy can't be compared to any other player because of the role he plays in the game. He is lucky enough to follow the international pack then wait for the Australian hooker to pass to the Australian halfback who passes it to the Australian centre who hands it to Billy. He doesn't have to compete anywhere near as hard as a player like Dugan, Gardner, or Gidley.....to name 3 fullbacks from clubs that don't cheat. Come to think of it, Melbourne players shouldn't be considered in discussions about who the top players are. None of them have ever played in a legal team, have they? (except Finch and Lowrie?). I'm sure that if Hayne had played his career at Melbourne and Billy had played at Parra they would be viewed differently.
Billy plays for a team that starts it's sets from better position, makes opponents start theirs from bad positions, defends less attacking kicks, and has the depth of talent to use their advantages better than any other team. And it's on the back of their cheating.

Doesn't matter too much though at the moment because it is seeming increasingly likely that neither of them will be playing any meaningful games this year ie the finals.

Cowboys vs Broncos: If ever North QLD were going to fire, it'd be against Brisbane. But, I dont see the Cowboys threatening a side who are just marching on towards that first sunday in October. I think the Broncos 1-12 at $3 is great value (Prices are with TAB Sportsbet)

Titans vs Parra: If the Eels lose, they could be four points away from the eight, so they will be desperate. The Titans were great last week and should continue on their winning streak against a Parramatta team which is struggling big time at the moment with their defence. Titans/Titans HT/FT double at $2.60 is the way to go.

Manly vs Melbourne: The Storm at $2.35??? wow, that is amazing odds. Melbourne were awesome last Sunday whilst Manly were awful against the Knights. Although Manly are at Brookie, I dont think it can classified as a fortress anymore. Melbourne to win.

Cronulla vs Warriors: Very tricky game. Cronulla were a tad unlucky last week against the Tigers. However, they are struggling, as are the Warriors, but I think the Kiwis will be keen to get their 2010 premiership aspirations on track and should beat Cronulla. Warriors Hd2Hd at $2.20 looks good value.

Souths vs Tigers: Everything points to a Tigers victory, except the coaching record (17-1 in favour of Lang). In saying that, I am tipping the Bunnies to cause an upset. The Tigers have been winning, how I do not know, and I think they will turn up and expect to beat a Souths side torn with Injuries and suspension. Souths Hd2Hd at $2.40 looks good.

Knights vs Canterbury: The dogs were very impressive last week and Im expecting them to breeze past Newcastle. Yes, Newcastle won on Monday night, but Manly made them look better. The Doggies look better on paper and 13+ at $3.90 looks good value.

Dragons vs Roosters: How are the Roosters $2.00??? They should be $1.40 at best. They have been awesome the past six weeks and gave Parra a spanking last week. The Dragons...they just keep on choking and although their defence was good last Sunday, their attack was the worst I have seen for a while. Roosters Hd2Hd is the way to go.

Raiders vs Penrith: Tricky game. Canberra will need to rely on their forward pack here to win. The backs just arent doing anything at the moment. Penrith were ordinary against the Cowboys, but they had a 10 day freshen up and should be too classy for Canberra. Penrith Hd2Hd at $1.80 is a solid bet.

BEST BET: BRONCOS 1-12 AT $3