**Official** NRL 2009 Thread

[Burgey]

Are other people sharing the view that is supposed to be the best NRL season in a long time?

Thought 2005 was tbh, but this year just got a whole lot ****ing better baby!! YEAH!!!!!

Titans to fall in two straight as the blue and gold juggernaut will roll on. Only thing which might stop us is a 5 day turn around after playing in that heat.

Word down here is Parra can't afford Luke Burt - I'm going to pay his salary if he keeps playing like that. Fantastic stuff. Fui and Cayless really stood up to Saints today, and Manna off the bench was fantastic. Mateo is an X factor but, as he showed today, can cost you a try with errors. Never mind, he'll lay on three next week.

Oh, and suck **** Manly.

 

[howardj]

After a one week hiatus, the Jarryd Hayne parade is back showing at a stadium near you.

Love you, Jarryd.

 

[Burgey]

Man's a freak. Now I have to disrobe and run down Martin Place tomorrow at lunch time....

 

[Mister Wright]

Wow! Watched the last 20 minutes of today's game. What a cracker! Broncos don't have a great record in finals games at Suncorp, I think it's actually 0%. Hopefully we can turn that around.

 

[chaminda_00]

Pretty happy we are out after we played like retards on Friday. Didn't deserve another chance after that joke of a performance. Apart from the Titans reckon anyone can win it, through adding Zilman would make a massive difference to their side. Very under rated player.

 

[Mister Wright]

Fair few people go for Manly at work, so it's going to be a pretty good Monday.

 

[howardj]

Ah, the McIntyre System...

Brisbane's 'reward' for beating the Gold Coast is to play a knock out game against the Minor Premiers.

By contrast, Gold Coast's 'punishment' for losing to the Broncos is to play a knock out game against the eighth-placed team.

That's the thing with this system - some games are meaningless.

What did the Gold Coast v Broncos game actually mean the other night?

Nothing really - both the winner and loser do not get a week off, neither get knocked out, and they both have to play a sudden death game this weekend.

The game, essentially, was meaningless.

Whether they won or lost...they're in exactly the same situation as each other this weekend.

 

[Mister Wright]

Except that if Brisbane lost they'd currently be at the pub instead of hosting a home final this weekend.

 

[howardj]

Point taken, but a good system accounts for, and has consequences for, all scenarios.

For the scenario that actually occurred, the consequences for the victor and the loser are the same.

 

[Burgey]

Hayne's try yesterday had shades of Grothe senrior v Canterbury in the 83 final, where he beat 7 and carried Mortimer over the line under the sticks. Kid's having an amazing run.

 

[Simon]

Really think we can beat the Dragons this week. I reckon we learnt a lot in our second half against the Titans, I doubt we'll concede points like that again. Also Dragons have looked pretty one dimentional for the past few weeks, their only play attacking the line is the high ball out wide and I think we can cover that.
Eels should do it pretty easily against the Titans.

I wonder what odds you could have gotten 6 weeks ago on a Broncos vs Eels grand final??

 

[Burgey]

Could've written your own ticket tbh

 

[howardj]

JCartwright really getting a rep as a whinger.

 

[Simon]

Yeh, the Titans in general are starting to come across as sore losers etc... imo. Probably becoming one of my most hated sides.

 

[howardj]

Got my early tickets to the big game against The Chokers!

Weeing my pants with excitement!

 

[Burgey]

AWTA re. the Titans.

I think Parra can take them tbh, but I am a bit worried about the short turn around after playing in that heat and doing so much defensive work.

 

[Ausage]

Yeh, the Titans in general are starting to come across as sore losers etc... imo. Probably becoming one of my most hated sides.

Disagree with this personally, although it's an understandable sentiment from a Broncos supporter. They were (are) my personal preference for the whole thing without the Panthers in the mix tbh. They're well run, growing league in an important area, and they have Preston Campbell in their team.

Oh and Cartwright is a legend

 

[Simon]

Got my early tickets to the big game against The Chokers!

Weeing my pants with excitement!

Hope the game isn't a let down, the Dragons have played some shoddy football in the past month and our previous game against them was hardly exciting. I hope the occasion is enough to lift it.

 

[howardj]

Hope the game isn't a let down, the Dragons have played some shoddy football in the past month and our previous game against them was hardly exciting. I hope the occasion is enough to lift it.

Yeah, I generally find the Broncos home games underwhelming in terms of atmosphere - this is only my 2nd game for the year. It's nothing like the old Lang Park. The crowd is very passive also, in contrast to the Brisbane Lions home games where the crowd is incredibly into the game.

 

[Burgey]

Should be a good forward clash tbh, with Weyman and Poore up against the likes of Thaiday. Good clashes in the centres too if Hodges or Taylor line up on Cooper.

Saints just seemed too patient yesterday, if that's possible. Seemed content to grind it out for too long. Had some success down their left side, but when that didn't work, seemed bereft. A little bit too set in their ways imo. Personally think Boyd needs to get more involved from the back.

I'd think Lockyer will get you home somehow. He generally does. There surely can never have been a player who has produced as many lasy-gasp winning plays for a side as he has over the years.