Well it must be Finals time because all of the contenders are getting their big guns back. Hello everyone and welcome to the 25th edition of my weekly dribble. While players at clubs like the Rabbitohs and Tigers are doing as their premiership hopes are, dropping off the radars, the powerhouse teams are getting their big guns back for the end of season shootout. Tonight I will have a look at the four big names returning this week and how they will shape the 2009 Finals.
Israel Folau
This bloke is a superstar but of the big four he is probably less important to his teams’ success. Make no mistake about it, the Broncos or any other team would move mountains to get this man mountain firing in September. Folau is a try scorer and a real go to man. When Brisbane need a try they can always call ‘kick it to Izzie’ knowing there’s a better than 50% chance of him delivering. He will be returning in the centres though, probably on the left side of the field. In his career Folau has been primarily a right side winger or centre. So the change may take a bit of time or Folau, being the superstar that he is, might have no trouble at all. Regardless, the Broncos attack is much stronger with Folau roaming around somewhere.
Greg Inglis
The Storm lifted his suspension today and the NRL rubber-stamped his return for this weekend. As above, GI is an absolute superstar of the game. Inglis tends to go missing a bit at times during the season but he seems like a bloke that loves the big stage. His best days have been in Origins, Test Matches and Finals so every other team has to look out from here on in. The two weeks off might have been physically good for Inglis as well after a busy rep period. His presence alone makes the Storm a much more formidable team.
Ben Hannant
The Bulldogs haven’t struggled without him in terms of win/loss, but Hannant is their forward leader and has big game experience. In the last couple of years Hannant has risen to Origin level, won a Grand Final and become a regular 70 minute prop forward. The ‘Polar Bear’ leads by example and the rest of the Bulldogs pack follow him, allowing Kimmorley and Ennis to do their thing before guys like Morris, Idris and Patten to score the points. Then there’s Hazem to kick the goals. All of this revolves around the forwards and Hannant is the new ‘Steve Price’ of the Bulldogs. Hannant’s return is a major boost heading into the finals.
Brett Stewart
This is the return that everyone in Sydney is talking about…and most other rugby league regions as well. Stewart played just two games this year before injuring his knee…some five, nearly six months ago. If you believe the papers Stewart is expected to be the ‘saviour’ or the ‘x-factor’ to propel Manly towards another Grand Final. My word that’s a big ask…the guy has had a pretty nasty knee injury. Darren Lockyer and Willie Mason took 18 months to get over their bad knee injuries and most other players follow similar paths.
Granted Stewart did not have a knee reconstruction like Lockyer and Mason, but knee injuries appear to be the hardest to come back from. I would doubt the Manly camp are pinning their hopes solely on Stewart, I would hope they’re not. It’s great for the game to have a star player come back now but realistically it would be unfair to expect anything more from Stewart other than to be solid at the back and to pop up in attack. He won’t be at the level we saw last year, but if he can be even a shadow of that player then Manly will remain a force in season 2009.
So, they are the big four coming back this week into clubs I believe have qualified for the finals. We saw Souths drop out of the race last week and I think a depleted Tigers team will suffer the same fate on the Gold Coast this weekend.
The way I see it the loser of tomorrow night’s Parramatta v Penrith game will probably drop out too. The only way for the loser of that game to qualify would be to win their Rd 26 match and hope one of Manly, Brisbane or Newcastle lose their last two games. Exciting times for all involved.
Tips this week: Brisbane, Eels, Gold Coast, Dragons, Storm, Manly, Bulldogs, Canberra
Last week: 6/8(Total: 100/170)
Winning percentage: 59%
Thanks for reading and if you have a comment or a complaint you can find me at andrew.keyte@gmail.com, Facebook or using the comment function below.
Enjoy your week,
Keyto
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
I Love My Footy!
Good evening everyone and just how good has the footy been? Last weekend was outstanding, one of the most enjoyable weekends of rugby league I can remember. And, we’re in for even more fun this weekend with the official program, Big League, declaring it as the ‘Round of the Decade’. You can smell the Finals and I think it’s fantastic that so many teams are alive and almost every game from here on in really means something.
Let’s jump back a week and walk through just why the footy was so good. Of course we all know what had dominated the headlines…another, must be around at least the 10th, off-field incident was the talk of the town. But just when you think this great game is at its lowest point you get a whole heap of talented, committed footballers delivering some outstanding skills, resulting in some high-class entertainment.
Friday night I loved the Cowboys v Bulldogs game. And, I learnt a lot from it too. I’m not convinced the Cowboys can make the top eight. For the second week in a row they fell away and I’m not saying this is what happened, but seeing it for the second time in a row had me thinking of a kid throwing the toys out of the cot. The Cows didn’t give up or anything like that; they just ran out of questions and then couldn’t find the right answers.
It also told me that the Bulldogs are going to be right up there as the team to beat. Most knew that anyway; but in Townsville they had nothing going for them and lost three props but still won fairly easily.
I stayed on to watch the Titans game against Souths and of course the biting thing was the sticking point. Watching it ‘live’, I did hear Jamie Simpson yell at the touch judge he’d been bitten as soon as it happened. And on replay it did not look good for Zillman. However it happened and whether or not he bit, for mine there’s a clear second movement consistent with a bite. The vision didn’t look good and I think the 4 week suspension he got last night was about right.
I covered the Manly v Roosters game Saturday night and the only thing worth watching was the tries scored by the Sea Eagles. They’re a really funny team at the moment and I don’t quite know what to make of them. This Sunday in Melbourne is a massive test for them.
I watched the game of the season after that, Canberra v Dragons. This game was exactly what rugby league was about…it had drama, entertainment, big hits, fights, sin bins, great tries, big crowd, terrific comeback…it had the lot. As a viewer it was brilliant to watch, and I reckon people want all of that. I’m sure many fans of the NRL watch to see players doing things they could only dream of doing themselves. How many of us fans could do what Canberra’s Josh Miller did to Weyman…pull off such a hit and then pump his side up?
The sheer entertainment in this game was brilliant, I can’t talk highly enough about it. It does make you wonder where the Canberra Raiders could be. They have a magnificent team of kids and footballers down there and all I think are about ready to peak. I think most of them are sticking around next year and if they stay injury free, the Raiders should be thinking Top 4 in 2010.
The Dragons will be sweet, a loss shouldn’t hurt them much.
Parramatta put the Warriors to the sword so good on them. Their big game is tomorrow night against the Wests Tigers…the winner will just about seal a top eight spot I think. As for the Warriors, bring on 2010!
I had a great time at the Broncos on Sunday. After two months of garbage it was good to see my side rack up a few points. People, even me, quickly forget the talent in the side. When you look down the list there aren’t many dud names there. If the Broncos can play like they did Sunday for the rest of the year they’ll give themselves a shot. If they play like they had been, don’t even bother showing up for the finals.
I felt a bit sorry for the Panthers; they simply had no answer to such a second half onslaught. I’m not giving up on them yet and I think they’ll beat the Rabbitohs quite comfortably in Penrith this weekend.
I didn’t see any of the Sharks v Tigers game but it seemed more of the same…Cronulla decimated and not up to NRL standard while the Tigers were at their attacking best. As before, Cronulla looking to 2010 and the Tigers have it all to do tomorrow night against the Eels.
It was good to see Newcastle have a win (which by the way I predicted before Brian Smith left on Saturday). The Knights are a real unknown here too, big test for them against the Cowboys on Saturday. As for Melbourne, I’m not putting the black line through them yet. They’ll still have plenty to say this season.
Tips this week: Brisbane, Eels, Cowboys, Penrith, Warriors, Titans, Storm, Bulldogs
Last week: 5/8(Total: 94/162)
Winning percentage: 58%
Right so that’ll do it for this week. Keep your emails coming in andrew.keyte@gmail.com and I’ll be back next week.
Cheers,
Keyto
Let’s jump back a week and walk through just why the footy was so good. Of course we all know what had dominated the headlines…another, must be around at least the 10th, off-field incident was the talk of the town. But just when you think this great game is at its lowest point you get a whole heap of talented, committed footballers delivering some outstanding skills, resulting in some high-class entertainment.
Friday night I loved the Cowboys v Bulldogs game. And, I learnt a lot from it too. I’m not convinced the Cowboys can make the top eight. For the second week in a row they fell away and I’m not saying this is what happened, but seeing it for the second time in a row had me thinking of a kid throwing the toys out of the cot. The Cows didn’t give up or anything like that; they just ran out of questions and then couldn’t find the right answers.
It also told me that the Bulldogs are going to be right up there as the team to beat. Most knew that anyway; but in Townsville they had nothing going for them and lost three props but still won fairly easily.
I stayed on to watch the Titans game against Souths and of course the biting thing was the sticking point. Watching it ‘live’, I did hear Jamie Simpson yell at the touch judge he’d been bitten as soon as it happened. And on replay it did not look good for Zillman. However it happened and whether or not he bit, for mine there’s a clear second movement consistent with a bite. The vision didn’t look good and I think the 4 week suspension he got last night was about right.
I covered the Manly v Roosters game Saturday night and the only thing worth watching was the tries scored by the Sea Eagles. They’re a really funny team at the moment and I don’t quite know what to make of them. This Sunday in Melbourne is a massive test for them.
I watched the game of the season after that, Canberra v Dragons. This game was exactly what rugby league was about…it had drama, entertainment, big hits, fights, sin bins, great tries, big crowd, terrific comeback…it had the lot. As a viewer it was brilliant to watch, and I reckon people want all of that. I’m sure many fans of the NRL watch to see players doing things they could only dream of doing themselves. How many of us fans could do what Canberra’s Josh Miller did to Weyman…pull off such a hit and then pump his side up?
The sheer entertainment in this game was brilliant, I can’t talk highly enough about it. It does make you wonder where the Canberra Raiders could be. They have a magnificent team of kids and footballers down there and all I think are about ready to peak. I think most of them are sticking around next year and if they stay injury free, the Raiders should be thinking Top 4 in 2010.
The Dragons will be sweet, a loss shouldn’t hurt them much.
Parramatta put the Warriors to the sword so good on them. Their big game is tomorrow night against the Wests Tigers…the winner will just about seal a top eight spot I think. As for the Warriors, bring on 2010!
I had a great time at the Broncos on Sunday. After two months of garbage it was good to see my side rack up a few points. People, even me, quickly forget the talent in the side. When you look down the list there aren’t many dud names there. If the Broncos can play like they did Sunday for the rest of the year they’ll give themselves a shot. If they play like they had been, don’t even bother showing up for the finals.
I felt a bit sorry for the Panthers; they simply had no answer to such a second half onslaught. I’m not giving up on them yet and I think they’ll beat the Rabbitohs quite comfortably in Penrith this weekend.
I didn’t see any of the Sharks v Tigers game but it seemed more of the same…Cronulla decimated and not up to NRL standard while the Tigers were at their attacking best. As before, Cronulla looking to 2010 and the Tigers have it all to do tomorrow night against the Eels.
It was good to see Newcastle have a win (which by the way I predicted before Brian Smith left on Saturday). The Knights are a real unknown here too, big test for them against the Cowboys on Saturday. As for Melbourne, I’m not putting the black line through them yet. They’ll still have plenty to say this season.
Tips this week: Brisbane, Eels, Cowboys, Penrith, Warriors, Titans, Storm, Bulldogs
Last week: 5/8(Total: 94/162)
Winning percentage: 58%
Right so that’ll do it for this week. Keep your emails coming in andrew.keyte@gmail.com and I’ll be back next week.
Cheers,
Keyto
Thursday, August 13, 2009
My GOD...I agree with Gus!
Phil ‘Gus’ Gould is arguably the most opinionated man and expert in the rugby league world. He has managed to irk just about everyone at some point, especially Queenslanders, with his opinions on all things he perceives to be right and wrong with the game. But, you know, the man is nearly always right! Where he goes wrong is that he often comes across as such an arrogant prick and most people tend to switch off, bag him or rebel against him. Hello everyone and welcome to a week where I agree with the great Gus-Wonder!!
Video Referees...Gould has been so vocal against these guys and the whole refereeing system and structure in 2009. And you know what, he’s banged on so much about these things that I finally agree with him. Listening to Monday Night Football last week on Triple M, where Gus is the co-commentator, it became painstakingly obvious to me that he is on to something. In a nutshell, the video refereeing system is boring. It slows the game down and it bores the fans as they take minutes to scrutinise super slow-motion vision.
It was painful to listen to let alone watch on TV...not to mention those poor hearty souls at the ground who had to sit through it. Here you had a classic example of two shit teams (Brisbane and Cronulla) in a real dog of a match that was slowed down by the ground officials constantly checking upstairs.
Seriously, are there any league fans that care if a player has lost control of a ball for a split second and therefore isn’t awarded a try? On Monday Night Football Gus makes two points:
“If it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it’s a duck!”
Translation – If it looks like a try, it’s a try!!
We don’t need to slow every little thing down by going upstairs to see who touched what or who bumped who...there are FOUR on-ground officials to make those decisions man!! And if they can’t see blatant discretions, than good luck to the team that benefits! Things like that over a long season will eventually even themselves out.
The other point Gus regularly makes is the video referee should only be used for grounding of the ball. I can live with that, but I don’t really want to see the super slow motion stuff. I don’t care about separation and things like that...all players and most fans like myself know when something looks like a try and we could all live with it.
I regularly follow the Queensland Cup and it seems to get by fine without video referees, in fact it gets by fine with just one actual referee! While on that subject, I’m not sold on these two officials we have had in the NRL this season. They are just getting things wrong and it’s very frustrating when, normally, the younger ref blows a penalty that just makes no sense. Some of these blokes have no idea...it’s not their fault, they aren’t ready, but under the current set up they need to be.
There are however two refs I can’t stand watching and they have been around for a few years now. Part of my job is to watch rugby league and I cringe when I check my games each week and see either of these two blokes in control. And for the record Tonie Carroll and his stray knee a month or so ago took out the wrong bloke!
While the referee’s are hurting the game a bit, it’s something we can overcome. As for off-field dramas, when is ENOUGH GOING TO BE ENOUGH!!
A few players’ antics away from the field are hurting the most. You can argue player’s aren’t role models and are over-scrutinised until the cows come home but the actions of Greg Inglis, whatever they were, have already hurt the code, again.
Obviously the matter is before the courts and will be played out in due process, but Greg’s NRL career could be over. What a damn shame.
The worst part is, as good as GI is on the field he seemed to have come on in leaps and bounds off the field. I watched him on the Footy Show two weeks ago and sat there thinking how good it was to see this bloke all grown up. He wasn’t that shy kid who broke in a few years ago, he was funny and spoke confidently. He’s done charity work, carved it up on the field at all levels and was a star.
Now, whatever happened on the weekend, it may be tarnished forever. Brett Stewart’s name hasn’t been the same since the start of the season. These guys can turn it all around (see: Sailor, W) but as a fan it’s so disappointing to see this stuff dominating the news.
But to finish on a positive...how exciting is the run home to the finals!! Plenty of teams are still in contention, I can’t tip a winner to save my life and just about every game has something of great importance riding on it.
For whatever it’s worth, in my opinion the top five (Dragons, Dogs, Titans, Storm and Panthers) are all pretty much locked in. As for the other three spots...I have no idea. Without having an in-depth look at the runs home for all the sides, I would say Manly and North Queensland will likely play in the finals.
As for the last spot, I would like to say Brisbane but on current form they won’t do anything even if they get there. Same with Newcastle. I would like to see the Tigers make it but if the Eels or Souths continue their good form they will be worthy finishers as well.
Tips this week: Cowboys, Souths, Manly, Parramatta, Dragons, Tigers, Broncos, Newcastle
Last week: 6/8(Total: 89/154)
Winning percentage: 58%
I’m off to a game this weekend, got an afternoon off so heading out to my first Broncos game of the season to watch them play my number two team Penrith. Should be good fun and I’m really looking forward to the battle between Hodges and Jennings. Anyway, any thoughts before then hit me up at andrew.keyte@gmail.com or comment below.
See ya later,
Keyto
Video Referees...Gould has been so vocal against these guys and the whole refereeing system and structure in 2009. And you know what, he’s banged on so much about these things that I finally agree with him. Listening to Monday Night Football last week on Triple M, where Gus is the co-commentator, it became painstakingly obvious to me that he is on to something. In a nutshell, the video refereeing system is boring. It slows the game down and it bores the fans as they take minutes to scrutinise super slow-motion vision.
It was painful to listen to let alone watch on TV...not to mention those poor hearty souls at the ground who had to sit through it. Here you had a classic example of two shit teams (Brisbane and Cronulla) in a real dog of a match that was slowed down by the ground officials constantly checking upstairs.
Seriously, are there any league fans that care if a player has lost control of a ball for a split second and therefore isn’t awarded a try? On Monday Night Football Gus makes two points:
“If it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it’s a duck!”
Translation – If it looks like a try, it’s a try!!
We don’t need to slow every little thing down by going upstairs to see who touched what or who bumped who...there are FOUR on-ground officials to make those decisions man!! And if they can’t see blatant discretions, than good luck to the team that benefits! Things like that over a long season will eventually even themselves out.
The other point Gus regularly makes is the video referee should only be used for grounding of the ball. I can live with that, but I don’t really want to see the super slow motion stuff. I don’t care about separation and things like that...all players and most fans like myself know when something looks like a try and we could all live with it.
I regularly follow the Queensland Cup and it seems to get by fine without video referees, in fact it gets by fine with just one actual referee! While on that subject, I’m not sold on these two officials we have had in the NRL this season. They are just getting things wrong and it’s very frustrating when, normally, the younger ref blows a penalty that just makes no sense. Some of these blokes have no idea...it’s not their fault, they aren’t ready, but under the current set up they need to be.
There are however two refs I can’t stand watching and they have been around for a few years now. Part of my job is to watch rugby league and I cringe when I check my games each week and see either of these two blokes in control. And for the record Tonie Carroll and his stray knee a month or so ago took out the wrong bloke!
While the referee’s are hurting the game a bit, it’s something we can overcome. As for off-field dramas, when is ENOUGH GOING TO BE ENOUGH!!
A few players’ antics away from the field are hurting the most. You can argue player’s aren’t role models and are over-scrutinised until the cows come home but the actions of Greg Inglis, whatever they were, have already hurt the code, again.
Obviously the matter is before the courts and will be played out in due process, but Greg’s NRL career could be over. What a damn shame.
The worst part is, as good as GI is on the field he seemed to have come on in leaps and bounds off the field. I watched him on the Footy Show two weeks ago and sat there thinking how good it was to see this bloke all grown up. He wasn’t that shy kid who broke in a few years ago, he was funny and spoke confidently. He’s done charity work, carved it up on the field at all levels and was a star.
Now, whatever happened on the weekend, it may be tarnished forever. Brett Stewart’s name hasn’t been the same since the start of the season. These guys can turn it all around (see: Sailor, W) but as a fan it’s so disappointing to see this stuff dominating the news.
But to finish on a positive...how exciting is the run home to the finals!! Plenty of teams are still in contention, I can’t tip a winner to save my life and just about every game has something of great importance riding on it.
For whatever it’s worth, in my opinion the top five (Dragons, Dogs, Titans, Storm and Panthers) are all pretty much locked in. As for the other three spots...I have no idea. Without having an in-depth look at the runs home for all the sides, I would say Manly and North Queensland will likely play in the finals.
As for the last spot, I would like to say Brisbane but on current form they won’t do anything even if they get there. Same with Newcastle. I would like to see the Tigers make it but if the Eels or Souths continue their good form they will be worthy finishers as well.
Tips this week: Cowboys, Souths, Manly, Parramatta, Dragons, Tigers, Broncos, Newcastle
Last week: 6/8(Total: 89/154)
Winning percentage: 58%
I’m off to a game this weekend, got an afternoon off so heading out to my first Broncos game of the season to watch them play my number two team Penrith. Should be good fun and I’m really looking forward to the battle between Hodges and Jennings. Anyway, any thoughts before then hit me up at andrew.keyte@gmail.com or comment below.
See ya later,
Keyto
Thursday, August 6, 2009
The night it all went to very wrong...
Evening all and thanks again for stopping by…so my team the Brisbane Broncos are in trouble huh? Worst crop of Broncos ever? They gave up against Canberra and were flogged? Yep…that’s just about the gist of what I’m going to write about.
As regular readers would know the Broncos are my team. I have followed them for at least the last 15 years and as a fan have enjoyed tremendous success. Six Premierships, countless superstars and every year experiencing the thrill of the one in eight chance to win the title. I can’t see that happening in 2009…in fact last weekend I was questioning if we would even win another game this season.
The surprise wasn’t so much that the Broncos lost 56-0, but we lost to Canberra! The freakin CANBERRA RAIDERS towelled us up? No disrespect to the Raiders but My God, the RAIDERS beat US…no they didn’t beat us…they smashed us!! Canberra pulled our pants down and had their way with us. It was the most embarrassing night ever to be a Broncos fan.
Stupidly I sat and watched the whole thing. By the end I was so appalled that I didn’t even want us to get a try. I remember texting a mate of mine saying how lucky it was we weren’t playing a ‘good team’. The Dragons would have deadset beat us by 100. I don’t think I’m exaggerating either, if the current Dragons team came up against those imposters the other night they would have won by 100 points.
I turned the game on expecting a win. There were no more excuses, yes there have been injuries but Broncos teams of yesteryear know when they need a win to launch an assault on the finals. Last week was it…it didn’t have to be pretty, but they needed to win. Not only did they not win, they didn’t even compete. Then, they gave up. And that was the worst thing.
I was very vocal earlier this season about the way Parramatta were playing, but when it’s your own team that dishes up such garbage…embarrassing is the term that keeps popping up and that doesn’t even describe it properly. Early-season Parramatta would have beaten Brisbane the other night…my Queensland Cup side Wynnum-Manly would have beat them by 13+!!
Full credit to Canberra because they played what was in front of them and put on a nice show for their fans. But jeez the Broncos were ordinary.
So where did it come from? Injuries, the opposition, conditions, pressure, the coach?? I won’t confess to seeing a 56-0 drubbing coming up, no supporter would, but I mean the signs were there. People have mentioned this week the Broncos won six of their first seven or whatever it was. But no one has mentioned the fact they nearly got run-over, holding big leads, in almost every one of those wins.
Then there’s the off-field shit which has been building in the public spotlight for 12 months but most likely festering for longer. One of friends suggested there were too many Kiwi’s and New South Welshman in the side who didn’t understand what it meant to wear the Broncos jersey. I laughed it off at first but then had a think…could he be right?
Or is it ‘Ivan the Terrible’; the rookie coach now under a mountain of pressure. I do feel sorry for him and don’t want to see him sacked. But one thing has irked me and that has been talk this isn’t ‘his’ team. Ok, guys like Ashton Sims and Joel Clinton (and no Petero) maybe not…but everyone else at the club (and more importantly everyone who is not) has to be on his watch!
Wayne Bennett announced early last year he was leaving. So for mine that meant Ivan had a say in every signing or releasing of players since Rd 1, 2008. That includes names like Setu, Te’o, Ennis, Hannant and Stagg.
I don’t have any answers, as a fan all I have left is hope. I don’t think we can make the finals, heck I’m not even sure we can beat Cronulla this week. But I still have hope and in rugby league that can be a pretty strong thing.
While not confident, I am adamant in saying nothing short of a win this weekend is good enough. We’ve sat through the mess of last week, heard the apologies this week. Now we don’t want a ‘good’ performance, we don’t want improvement. We want a 100% committed, no excuses, victory over the Sharks on Monday night.
Nothing else will do.
Tips this week: Melbourne, Dragons, Manly, Bulldogs, Titans, Tigers, Newcastle, Brisbane
Last week: 2/8(Total: 83/148)
Winning percentage: 56%
Agree, disagree or just feel like a chat you can find me at andrew.keyte@gmail.com or the other little buttons around the page.
Go the Broncos, please,
Keyto
As regular readers would know the Broncos are my team. I have followed them for at least the last 15 years and as a fan have enjoyed tremendous success. Six Premierships, countless superstars and every year experiencing the thrill of the one in eight chance to win the title. I can’t see that happening in 2009…in fact last weekend I was questioning if we would even win another game this season.
The surprise wasn’t so much that the Broncos lost 56-0, but we lost to Canberra! The freakin CANBERRA RAIDERS towelled us up? No disrespect to the Raiders but My God, the RAIDERS beat US…no they didn’t beat us…they smashed us!! Canberra pulled our pants down and had their way with us. It was the most embarrassing night ever to be a Broncos fan.
Stupidly I sat and watched the whole thing. By the end I was so appalled that I didn’t even want us to get a try. I remember texting a mate of mine saying how lucky it was we weren’t playing a ‘good team’. The Dragons would have deadset beat us by 100. I don’t think I’m exaggerating either, if the current Dragons team came up against those imposters the other night they would have won by 100 points.
I turned the game on expecting a win. There were no more excuses, yes there have been injuries but Broncos teams of yesteryear know when they need a win to launch an assault on the finals. Last week was it…it didn’t have to be pretty, but they needed to win. Not only did they not win, they didn’t even compete. Then, they gave up. And that was the worst thing.
I was very vocal earlier this season about the way Parramatta were playing, but when it’s your own team that dishes up such garbage…embarrassing is the term that keeps popping up and that doesn’t even describe it properly. Early-season Parramatta would have beaten Brisbane the other night…my Queensland Cup side Wynnum-Manly would have beat them by 13+!!
Full credit to Canberra because they played what was in front of them and put on a nice show for their fans. But jeez the Broncos were ordinary.
So where did it come from? Injuries, the opposition, conditions, pressure, the coach?? I won’t confess to seeing a 56-0 drubbing coming up, no supporter would, but I mean the signs were there. People have mentioned this week the Broncos won six of their first seven or whatever it was. But no one has mentioned the fact they nearly got run-over, holding big leads, in almost every one of those wins.
Then there’s the off-field shit which has been building in the public spotlight for 12 months but most likely festering for longer. One of friends suggested there were too many Kiwi’s and New South Welshman in the side who didn’t understand what it meant to wear the Broncos jersey. I laughed it off at first but then had a think…could he be right?
Or is it ‘Ivan the Terrible’; the rookie coach now under a mountain of pressure. I do feel sorry for him and don’t want to see him sacked. But one thing has irked me and that has been talk this isn’t ‘his’ team. Ok, guys like Ashton Sims and Joel Clinton (and no Petero) maybe not…but everyone else at the club (and more importantly everyone who is not) has to be on his watch!
Wayne Bennett announced early last year he was leaving. So for mine that meant Ivan had a say in every signing or releasing of players since Rd 1, 2008. That includes names like Setu, Te’o, Ennis, Hannant and Stagg.
I don’t have any answers, as a fan all I have left is hope. I don’t think we can make the finals, heck I’m not even sure we can beat Cronulla this week. But I still have hope and in rugby league that can be a pretty strong thing.
While not confident, I am adamant in saying nothing short of a win this weekend is good enough. We’ve sat through the mess of last week, heard the apologies this week. Now we don’t want a ‘good’ performance, we don’t want improvement. We want a 100% committed, no excuses, victory over the Sharks on Monday night.
Nothing else will do.
Tips this week: Melbourne, Dragons, Manly, Bulldogs, Titans, Tigers, Newcastle, Brisbane
Last week: 2/8(Total: 83/148)
Winning percentage: 56%
Agree, disagree or just feel like a chat you can find me at andrew.keyte@gmail.com or the other little buttons around the page.
Go the Broncos, please,
Keyto
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