Season 2008: Round 19

From The Couch

The Tedeschi Awards…In the spirit of the Rugby League Week players’ poll, here are the real results:

Top Position Players
Fullback: 1. Kurt Gidley 2. Billy Slater 3. Karmichael Hunt/Brett Stewart
Wing: 1. Darius Boyd 2. Colin Best 3. Jason Nightingale
Centre: 1. Greg Inglis 2. Israel Folau 3. Justin Hodges
Five Eighth: 1. Darren Lockyer 2. Feleti Mateo 3. Craig Wing
Halfback: 1. Johnathan Thurston 2. Scott Prince 3. Cooper Cronk
Lock: 1. Greg Bird 2. Dallas Johnson 3. John Sutton
Second Row: 1. Anthony Laffranchi 2. Sonny Bill Williams 3. Chris Heighington
Prop: 1. Petero Civoniceva 2. Steve Price 3. Luke Bailey
Hooker: 1. Cameron Smith 2. Danny Buderus 3. Robbie Farah

Best Player: 1. Greg Inglis 2.Cameron Smith 3. Kurt Gidley 4. Anthony Laffranchi
Best New Talent: 1. Tony Williams 2. Daine Laurie 3. Joe Picker 4. Chris Sandow
Biggest Sook: 1. Paul Gallen 2. Michael Ennis 3. Jason Ryles 4. Luke O’Donnell
Dirtiest Player: 1. Paul Gallen 2. Luke O’Donnell 3. Josh Perry 4. Steve Matai
Most Under-rated: 1. Anthony Laffranchi 2. Luke Patten 3. Alan Tongue 4. Colin Best
Most Over-rated: 1. Willie Mason 2.Anthony Tupou 3. Ryan Hoffman 4. Braith Anasta
Worst Defender: 1. Benji Marshall 2. Shannon Walker 3. Matt Utai 4. Chris Sandow
Best Coach: 1. Craig Bellamy 2. Wayne Bennett 3. Tim Sheens 4. John Cartwright
Worst Coach: 1. Nathan Brown 2. Ian Millward 3. Jason Taylor 4. Ivan Cleary
Most Over-rated Team: 1. Parramatta 2. North Queensland 3. Cronulla
Most Under-rated Team: 1. Canberra 2.Manly 3. Newcastle
Grand Final Winner: Melbourne Storm
Worst Ground: 1. ANZ Stadium 2. Daylight
Best Ground: 1. Suncorp Stadium 2. Canberra Stadium 3. Parramatta Stadium
Best Referee: 1. Tony Archer 2. Jared Maxwell 3. Ben Cummins
Worst Referee: 1. Sean Hampstead 2. Shayne Hayne 3. Tony De Las Heras
Best Video Referee: n/a
Worst Video Referee: Tie…all of them
Biggest Blight on the Game: Robert Finch

Issues

Are you frustrated by the number of stoppages? YES
Does the video referee have too much say? YES
Are the players’ personal lives too heavily scrutinized? YES
Should Polynesians/Kiwis be allowed to play Origin? NO
Should players honour signed contracts? YES
Is the player drain damaging the quality of the NRL? NO
Should the salary cap be increased? NO
Should the clock stop in all dead ball situations? YES
Should players who defect to rugby be barred for life? YES
Should the video referee system be scrapped? YES
Should the Central Coast have a team? YES

Oust Doust…I don’t say this as a Dragons fan. I loathe the team and their belief that they are more relevant than other teams in the competition for something they achieved over forty seasons ago. I wish the team nothing but further misery. No, Doust should go for the good of rugby league. To suggest that rugby league and the NRL should lower the standing of the code by allowing players to play both rugby league and rugby union is disgraceful and stupid and is nothing more than an attempt to distract the public from his own failings in securing players and winning premierships. Doust’s plan is not only unsustainable, particularly for a player like Gasnier who has spent more time on the sidelines than on the field in recent seasons, but is insulting to those who have fought the good fight for over a century. The Dragons board should do the right thing immediately and throw him to the wolves.

Jason Ryles…You are a gimp. They don’t come much stupider than Jason Ryles and he proved himself the King of the Fools once again on Monday night by getting himself sent off by lashing out with his foot in a highly volatile moment of the match. Oh Jason Ryles, you will be as sorely missed as your old pal Gasnier.

Coaching Stocks…

Value	LW	Coach	Comment
5	5	Craig Bellamy	The Storm are true professionals.
4.5	5	Des Hasler	Lost Orford before the game and Lyon early on but were still clinical in hammering the Eels.
4	4	Ricky Stuart	Cronulla got the win but they were again lifeless in doing so. Will be found out come finals time.
4	4	Wayne Bennett	Got the two points but wasmost unhappy. He will wield the axe. No better judge in the game of how a team is going.
3.5	4	John Cartwright	Titans tried hard against Penrith but are struggling with injury. No doubt Titans players perform for Cartwright.
3.5	3.5	Brian Smith	The Knights were gritty in defense but struggled with the ball. Getting no favours from the referees.
3.5	3	Tim Sheens	Shifting Farah to halfback was genius. The Tigers now just have to toughen up defensively.
3.5	2.5	Neil Henry	Smashed the Roosters and are on track for a finals berth. Henry has the Raiders playing exciting footy.
3	3.5	Brad Fittler	The Roosters suffered another bad loss and may have been overrated by pundits. They seem mentally weak.
2	2	Nathan Brown	Welcome back to reality…though he did land another job, which has shocked most.
2	1.5	Matt Elliott	The Panthers were good against an understrength Titans team. Good to see them win a game they were meant to.
1.5	1.5	Ivan Cleary	The Warriors won, as expected. Still, a road win is crucial at this time of year for a team who struggles away.
1	2	Jason Taylor	Souths were back…and then they reverted to their ordinary selves against the Tigers. 2008 is over.
1	1.5	Michael Hagan	The Eels are in free fall and now the players appear to be running the show. A team divided.
-0.5	0	Steve Folkes	Another embarassing defeat. The over-reliance on SBW is appalling and goes back to the top.
-0.5	-0.5	Ian Millward	The Cowboys again humiliated themselves and each loss is one more nail in Millward's coaching career.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Colin Best Express Fan Revue…What a delight, what an absolute star. If the Origin side was picked this week, the Colin Best Express would be the first outside back selected. He is surely a hope for the World Cup, come season’s end. Sunday was a good day for the Colin Best Express. He woke up to read that he was a target of rugby. CBE, of course, stayed strong and loyal to the greatest game of all. It was that unemployed geriatric old boy “Knuckles” Connolly who was keen to spruik Best as a rugby target…but a compliment is a compliment, even if it does come from some punch drunk private schoolboy who has wasted a life on The Game They Play in Pugatory. It was then out to Canberra Stadium where the Colin Best Express was at full steam, running rampant and straight over the top of the more lauded Roosters team. Choo, choo, hear comes the Colin Best Express. Best laid on three tries and all were sensational. His first try assist came after he made a break, drew the fullback and lobbed a lovely ball into the hands of Terry Campese. His second assist was his finest and was as spectacular as anything you will see on a paddock. Best collected a Campese chip, just before the break, on his foot and kept it alive, kicking it once more along the slippery turf for Marshall Chalk. He capped it off in the third half with a break and a chip, again for Marshall Chalk. CBE is the form winger of the competition…he should be recognised as such.

Round Nineteen in 1991…In a thrilling Friday Night Football (author note: sarcasm), the Warren Ryan coached Western Suburbs Magpies and the St. George Dragons played out a tryless 6-6 draw with Jason Taylor landing 3/4 and Ricky Walford hitting 3/3. Referee Eddie Ward was, without doubt, man of the match. The Gold Coast Seagulls very nearly defeated two-time defending premiers Canberra, losing 16-10 in what was a gritty performance. Eventual premiers Penrith defeated Canterbury 12-8 in a match that would cost Canterbury, who would go on to lose a controversial playoff to Wests three weeks later, a finals berth. Michael Hancock scored three tries in Brisbane’s 40-16 mauling of Parramatta at Lang Park. Ian Roberts scored a try and Matthew Ridge kicked five goals and a field goal in Manly’s impressive 15-0 win over arch-rivals Norths. Rod Wishart scored 20 points in Illawarra’s 44-6 demolition of Cronulla.

Game of the Year Nomination, Round 19…Canberra-Sydney Roosters, 34-12. The rain was pouring and the mercury was low yet the Raiders turned in one of the most exciting displays of the season, playing a thrilling brand of rugby league that is as brilliant as that of any team in the competition. Canberra’s outside backs were outstanding while Terry Campese had his finest first grade game. If more teams played with the Raiders enthusiasm, we would have a much better competition. If the Raiders had of pushed it, they could have put on fifty.

Great Canterbury Prop of Yesteryear…Bruce McGuire. McGuire spent only two seasons and thirty five games at the Bulldogs but he was so highly regarded that he captained the team on six occasions in the absence of Terry Lamb. Having arrived from Balmain as a player who had already represented New South Wales and Australia, McGuire added some much needed class and experience to a Bulldogs outfit in 1991 that really required both after the treacherous departure of Langmack, Gillespie, Thomas and Farrar to Wests. McGuire was tough and relentless and was a favourite of Chris Anderson thanks to his uncompromising style. These days those who call Belmore home yearn for someone of McGuire’s ilk.

Fantasy Players of the Week…Frank Pritchard, Brent Tate, Joel Monaghan, Anthony Laffranchi, Luke Lewis, Simon Mannering, Colin Best, Sam Thaiday, Israel Folau, Chris Lawrence, Chris Heighington, Robbie Farah, Braith Anasta, Anthony Watmough.

Surprise Fantasy Players of the Week…Lance Hohaia, Benji Marshall, Michael Gordon, Steve Matai, Terry Campese, Jeremy Smith, Malo Solomona, Marshall Chalk, Beau Ryan.

Rebecca Wilson-Danny Wiedler, Scorecard…Well, this week is a clear win for Wiedler. It would appear that Rebecca Wilson, in all her public nastiness, has sunk even lower and has taken to appearing on Big Brother. I can’t comment on her appearances as the tied leaderboard for “Things I Would Prefer to Cut Myself than Do” is watching Big Brother and listening to Rebecca Wilson. I can, however, pass plenty of judgment on the petition being circulated by Big Brother fans demanding her removal due to her entirely offensive nature. It doesn’t get much worse than being rejected by Big Brother viewers. That must really hurt. We are building momentum and it will hopefully have gathered enough steam to finish her public life. For this looking for a chuckle, this is well worth a read. Nice fightback, Nine. Wiedler 10-2.

And One Final Thought…The overreaction to Mark Gasnier leaving the NRL is mind boggling. Rugby apologists seem to be reveling in what they figure will be the opening of the floodgates while rugby league critics have again entered a stage of frightening panic, believing this is the next nail in the coffin of the game. Here is the truth: Gasnier’s departure will hurt rugby league as much as the departure of Mat Rogers, Wendell Sailor, Lote Tuqiri, Ryan Cross and Timana Tahu has. How much damage did their respective departures cause rugby league? Minimal at most and none in truth. Rugby league has a depth of talent that rugby can only dream of and will always replace the traitors. Only a very few are irreplaceable. Andrew Johns, had he of gone, would have done rugby league great damage. The same can be said about Darren Lockyer and Greg Inglis. To the latter’s credit, he refused to even entertain an offer, labeling the game, quite rightfully, boring. Gasnier is no longer a superstar or even a marquee player. He is living off past deeds. He has scored a measly two tries this season and has been outplayed by not only the likes of Inglis but by the likes of Colin Best. There is no need to change the rules. Even if the salary cap did not exist, it is doubtful any club would pay anywhere near what French rugby are paying him. He is a bum with diminishing skills and no marketability. Good riddance Gasnier and anyone who thinks I’m wrong can come and see me in 2010.