Season 2008: Round 20

From The Couch

The Cheapest Whore of Them All…Sonny William Williams is a gutter snipe and he deserves all the misfortune coming his way. There has never been a greater act of disloyalty in rugby league. In true cowardly fashion, Williams fled the country on the eve of the Bulldogs game against the Dragons without even having the courtesy of informing the club that has turned him into a star. He is a disgrace with his behaviour as low as anything I have ever had the misfortune of witnessing. He is ungrateful for the money, opportunity and leniency afforded him by the Bulldogs. Throughout his time at Canterbury he has embarrassed the club with his off-field behaviour and his greed while he has never been able to make it though a season injury free. If the Gods are fair, he will be made to bleed from the nose for many years to come. He respects nothing but money and we all know how the tale of the whore ends.

Bush League Bitterness…Steve Irwin should return to the rock that he crawled out from and he should do so immediately. His comments last week in regards Todd Carney were nothing short of inappropriate and reeked of personal bitterness. 'Croc' last week claimed that the Raiders induced him to lie to police. He has provided no evidence to corroborate his claims. Irwin was sacked by the Raiders last season after being involved in some drunken escapades with Todd Carney. There is no doubt that had he have had Carney’s ability, he would not have been sacked. That, however, is beside the point. Nobody is interested in Irwin’s scurrilous accusations as it is quite clear to everyone in rugby league that he is clutching at the small level of notoriety he has remaining. The Raiders have dealt with the current issue of player misbehaviour well, sacrificing their best player with the finals still beckoning in order to punish anti-social behaviour. It would also appear that the club made the right decision in sacking Steve Irwin.

Cat Call…Jarryd Hayne is a niggler and a cat and it is beyond belief that he escaped penalty after his vicious stomping of Cowboy Dayne Weston. Hayne, who has long been regarded as a filthy player by the rugby league community (he came in equal second in this year’s rugby league poll in the category of dirtiest player), engaged in a personal war of words with Weston in regards a female. Hayne then clearly stomped on Weston’s head. As Hayne struck Weston’s head with his boot, his eyes were clearly fixed on Weston. It was a deliberate act of malice delivered with great cowardice. Yet Hayne, miraculously, escaped charge. The Cowboys have every reason to be livid. Hayne is seemingly a protected species. It is disgraceful and he needs to be bought into line immediately.

Coaching Stocks…

Value	LW	Coach	Comment
5	5	Craig Bellamy	The Warriors loss was a surprise but Bellamy won't be too worried. Grapple tackle issue may be taking its toll.
4.5	4.5	Des Hasler	The big loss hurt the Eagles but they were missing key players. Can definitely be forgiven.
4.5	4	Wayne Bennett	Bennett has the Broncos back on track. They will only improve on the run home.
4	3.5	Brian Smith	Newcastle are right in the finals race. Smith must be applauded for how he has turned around the team.
4	3.5	Neil Henry	The Raiders are playing great footy and winning. His handling of Carney was exceptional. A fine tactician.
4	3	Brad Fittler	The Eagles were injured but the Roosters bounced back from some bad losses with a ton of class.
3.5	4	Ricky Stuart	The Sharks ineptitude in attack was again exposed. They simply won't make a peep in September.
3	3.5	John Cartwright	Titans decimated by injury to key personnel. Still, there was not a lot of pride shown against the Raiders.
3	3.5	Tim Sheens	The Tigers are struggling with injury and inconsistency. Sheens is struggling to find a winning formula.
2.5	2	Matt Elliott	Elliott has thrown the dice on youth and it is now reaping its rewards.
2.5	1.5	Ivan Cleary	The Warriors were tough and ground out a massive win over the Storm. That form will put them in the finals.
2	2	Nathan Brown	The Dragons came out firing against an inept Dogs but their second half was abysmal.
0.5	1	Jason Taylor	Newcastle do not flog anybody. Except Souths. The Bunnies are back to their mediocre norm now.
0.5	1	Michael Hagan	The Eels won but it was an inept performance. Rumours are now circulating that he will be replaced by D.Anderson.
-0.5	-0.5	Steve Folkes	Folkes can't be blamed. It was just a bad week for the Dogs. He should be happy he is leaving.
-1.5	-0.5	Ian Millward	The Cowboys stumble from bad to worse and as they sink so too does Millward's dream of a permanent gig.

The Colin Best Express Fan Revue…Runaway train never comin’ back. Runaway train tearin’ up the track. Runaway train burnin’ in my veins. The Colin Best Express is unstoppable right now. The public momentum for him has gained as an unmarked CBE in open spaces. He has been simply brilliant in recent weeks and he is only getting better. He scored another two sensational tries on the weekend and is now only two off leading the NRL. It would be silly not to load up on him right now to become the first Caucasian to top the try scoring list in a decade. He has plenty of meat pies in him yet. It is also grand to see the mainstream media getting behind CBE with this fine spread from the pen of Neil Cadigan. The highlight, without doubt, was John Lang noting with absolute accuracy that Mark Gasnier was to blame for the myth that Best was a weak defender. "It used to bug me when he was playing for St George and players inside him made mistakes but he was criticised because it was easier for commentators to be critical of the lesser light.” Damn straight. The Colin Best Express is flying and anybody in his way will be flattened beyond recognition. It would be a travesty if he was not named in the Australian World Cup squad at season’s end.

Round Twenty in 1995…Try scoring was the order of the weekend with four teams scoring in excess of 48 points. The two biggest blow-outs of the week were 56-6 demolition jobs, handed out by both Brisbane and Canberra. The Broncos absolutely decimated South Sydney, with Darren Smith and Michael Hancock both claiming hat-tricks in the victory. Noa Nadruku also scored three in the Raiders touch up of the Gold Coast at Bruce Stadium. Ruben Wiki, Ken Nagas and Laurie Daley all scored double’s. In a crazy game at Brookvale Oval, Manly defeated Penrith 54-26. “Beaver” Menzies, John Hopoate and Solomon Haumono all got two tries for the Eagles while Matt Adamson scored two for the Panthers. Matthew Ridge scored 22 points, kicking nine from nine and touching down once. Andrew Ettingshausen and Mitch Healey scored doubles in another game bereft of defense where Cronulla defeated Parramatta 48-18. Paul McGregor also scored three tries in Illawarra’s 32-6 win over the Sydney Tigers.

Game of the Year Nomination, Round 20…New Zealand-Melbourne, 8-6. This was an awful weekend of rugby league with the pall of Sonny William Williams seemingly hanging over every game. The Warriors-Storm game gets the nod for the defensive grit shown by both teams in trying conditions. There was plenty of courage on display and the Warriors were worthy victors. An offensive penalty being the deciding factor is also a most entertaining manner for a game of rugby league to finish on.

Great Canterbury Prop of Yesteryear…Gavin Hill. A burly prop from New Zealand rugby, Hill’s career at Canterbury was brief but it was most entertaining. The reason was simple: Hill was a goal-kicking prop and those are a rarity in the modern game. In two seasons and thirty-three games, Hill slotted seventy-three goals. There is little more entertaining than watching a big man kick. He was also selected to represent New Zealand after only five games with the Bullies. The acquisition of Daryl Halligan rendered Hill surplus and he subsequently spent a season in England before two seasons with the newly formed Auckland Warriors.

Fantasy Players of the Week…Terry Campese, Jamie Soward, Zeb Taia, Josh Morris, Adam Macdougall, Kurt Gidley, Colin Best, Michael Gordon, Michael Jennings, Jason Ryles, Paul Gallen, Matt Cooper, Anthony Laffranchi.

Surprise Fantasy Players of the Week…Iosia Soliolia, Amos Roberts, Grant Millington, Scott Dureau, Akuila Uate, Cory Paterson, Greg Eastwood, Jarrod Saffy, Denan Kemp, Ian Henderson.

Rebecca Wilson-Danny Wiedler, Scorecard…The knockout blow was landed this weekend. Wiedler is a grub and his ignorant and pathetic defense of Sonny William Williams’ abandonment of the Bulldogs and rugby league was as disgusting as anything you are likely to ever hear. His gushing justification was nothing but pathetic lies and incoherent rambling. Worse, it was alleged on 2GB that Wiedler acted as Williams agent in dealing him around to French rugby clubs. Mark Geyer should have punched him in the ear and stomped on his head until Wiedler could no longer see straight. Wiedler has plummeted to such extraordinary depths that I would rather spend a week eating beetroot cake in a rat infested room with a bikini clad Rebecca Wilson than I would listening or reading one more utterance from Wiedler. This writer will no longer purchase the Sun Herald or watch any Nine programming that features this worm until he is fired. Wiedler is as morally filthy as the man who marries his pig. A severe beating that left every bone in his body broken would not be nearly good enough for him. Wilson wins this fight and every other between the two.

And One Final Thought…David Gallop should be applauded for his strong handling of the Sonny William Williams affair. He is aware that there is a lot at stake and he is taking a hard line. He has been vigorous in his support of Canterbury and has offered the resources of the NRL in an attempt to force Williams to honour his contract. He has also threatened Williams with a lifetime ban if he were to play French rugby. He has even gone cap in hand to the International Rugby Board in an attempt to gain their assistance. David Gallop should be applauded for not taking this lying down. He has been strong and needs to stay strong if rugby league is to preserve its current contractual system. Those critical of him-namely Phil Gould and that myth Wiedler – are nothing more than narks and apologists. While they are attempting to constantly undermine the game, Gallop is at least making an effort to protect it.