Season 2010: Round 11

From The Couch

Farewell and Goodbye, Ricky Stuart: Well, it appears as if it is farewell and goodbye to Ricky Stuart. At least that is the great news Sharks fans received on Monday when knocking back their sandwiches as Stuart resigned his post. He will not coach the Sharks next season and he is better than odds-on to be replaced before the end of the 2010 season by assistant Shane Flanagan, the man who has been announced as the head coach for the 2011 season.

In recent weeks Stuart has been touted as the next Wests Tigers coach and I find it very hard to believe that a stubborn son of a bitch like Stuart would leave a job without another. He saw the writing on the wall and with Tim Sheens on the outer at the Tigers due to some boardroom manoeuvring; Stuart has most likely been sounded out by the Tigers. Stuart is exactly the kind of coach who would walk over another for a job and he is certainly a little bitter that Sheens took over the Australian job from Stuart.

The other destination touted for Stuart is the Melbourne Rebels. That would be a real boon for rugby league, losing one of rugby league’s worst performed and innovatively blunt coaches. He did, of course, start with union and as far as the league world should be concerned it would be a pleasure to see Stuart bugger off to rugby where he would quickly be out of sight and out of mind. A move to the Rebels is unlikely though with Stuart probably headed to the Tigers.

He came in talking a big game about lifting Cronulla to their first premiership but he didn’t get close. In fact he is arguably the worst coach of the club in the last two decades. His record at Cronulla is a lowly 34-46. In 2007 the club finished 11th with a 10-14 record. 2008 was his piece de resistance with the Sharks making a preliminary final after a 17-7 season but what was hidden in the record was the Sharks last-ranked attack and the great deal of luck the Sharks benefited from 10-3 record in games decided by less than six points. The Sharks, of course, regressed back to their rightful place in 2009 when finishing 15th with only 5 lowly wins. There were separate losing streaks of 9 and 10 matches.

This year the Sharks have won only 3 matches with 2 of those coming against bogey side Parramatta. During his time at the Sharks Stuart recruited the likes of Reni Maitua, Corey Hughes, Adam Cuthbertson, John Morris, Fraser Anderson and Brett Seymour along with internationals Trent Barrett and Anthony Tupou, both of whom have arguably underperformed. Brett Kimmorley, Beau Scott, Isaac De Gois, Bryson Goodwin, Kevin Kingston, Dane Nielsen and Bryan Norrie have all left the club during his tenure and played better in new systems under better coaches at different teams. His legacy at Cronulla will be systemic failure, a lack of attacking spark, the constant absolution of responsibility and the complete wreck of a recruitment system that was, before he arrived, competent. No Sharks fan who knows anything about rugby league will miss him.

A Comment on Ben Hannant: It would be somewhat manufactured if I was to claim that I loathed Ben Hannant. I don’t. He is one of the most talented prop forwards in the game and plays rugby league the way it should be: hard, tough, gritty and with energy. He has the best footwork of any prop under the age of thirty, he plays long minutes, he takes his hits and makes his tackles and most of all he gets his team on the front foot. Unfortunately, that team will not be the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in 2011 with Hannant released from the final year of his obligations at Belmore to return home to Queensland. Hannant claims home-sickness but all the mail is that the move is money related. For that, I have lost a great deal of respect for Hannant. He always seemed like an upstanding kid who was never any trouble off the field. That, seemingly, isn’t the case with Hannant having a fair bit to do with the Bulldogs horrid early season form thanks to the fracture he caused at the club through his requests for more money and a release. Well, he has got his wish and we have Aiden Tolman so from a Bulldogs perspective we have come out square. Hannant goes to Brisbane and though I would like to wish him well I cannot. I wish him no ill but for the meanwhile he is a cheap contract breaker who destabilised a premiership contender for his own personal gain. That is unacceptable.

Who the Hell is Brendan Cannon? Brendan Cannon is a delusional, nasty fool. More tellingly, he is a nobody. Far be it from me to jump to the defence of that traitor Timana Tahu but even I cringed after reading Cannon’s pathetic rant in the Sunday Telegraph where he let the world know how affronted he was at Tahu’s claim that the New South Wales State of Origin jersey meant more to him than the Wallabies jersey before laying a personal attack on Tahu for dishing out some home truths to Cannon about the joke of a sport called rugby union. Well, Cannon, whoever you are, the simple truth is this: the vast majority of people in New South Wales rate the blue Origin jersey above the Wallabies one and in Queensland they to a man rate the maroon Origin jersey above the Australian rugby one. Cannon is simply a naïve idiot if he believes otherwise. Cannon called Tahu a “space cadet, peanut, pelican, impostor, mercenary and a muppet” for stating such an obvious fact that he may as well have suggested the sky was blue and Christina Hendricks was the hottest woman in the world. The quicker Cannon gets it into his thick head that nobody cares about rugby union, the calmer he will be. Perhaps he will find some serenity. Cannon is so unrecognisable that outside of the eastern suburbs he is more anonymous than Brad Tighe, Scott Porter and Daniel Fitzhenry. That is how valuable the Wallabies jersey is. I would argue that the Country and City Origin jersey has more value and respect. At least those who wear the Country or City jerseys are recognisable and respected for the sport they play. Cannon wants Tahu to hand his Wallaby jersey back. Perhaps Cannon should also go after those foolish administrators who lured him across on so much cash where he was shuttled straight into the Test team. League didn’t really do the same when Garrick Morgan came across in the min-nineties, spending his time in reserve grade before being cut loose by the South East Queensland Crushers. He then went straight back into the Wallabies team. Personally, I think Tahu is a cheap, arrogant, money hungry Judas. But he is far more relevant than Brendan Cannon is or ever has been and he is spot on the money in saying that the New South Wales Origin jersey is far more important than the Wallabies jersey.

State of Origin I Preview: After a frenzied finish to last year’s series where a Blues team jacked on the prospect of a long awaited victory and a Maroons outfit high on Stilnox and Red Bull and a series win, the opening of game one this year is sure to be a torrid affair. It is in these early showings that the Blues will get softened up and Queensland will gain the ascendancy and the confidence to propel them the victory.

The Maroons are certainly missing some stars, particularly in their pack: Cameron Smith, Steven Price, Ben Hannant, Dallas Johnson, Michael Crocker, Justin Hodges and Karmichael Hunt. There are some big losses there and the omission of the likes of David Stagg and Corey Parker also causes some concerns but they have talent all through the spine in Slater, Lockyer, Thurston and Ballin/Cronk and Queensland always put the right pieces around them.

The Maroons pack is tough enough and will win the arm wrestle with New South Wales. Petero always makes inroads, Nate Myles and Sam Thaiday are arguably the two form backrowers in the NRL and Dave Taylor will be very difficult to contain on the edges against lazy defenders like Anthony Watmough. The Blues have Mick Weyman but lack any punch with their other props in Perry, White and the hot and cold Learoyd-Lars. New South Wales have some very good fringe runners in the backrow in Creagh and Watmough but they are lacking an out-and-out workhorse like Nathan Hindmarsh or Anthony Laffranchi. They are also lacking quality middle players.

With the Maroons almost certain to win the forward battle, it is tough to see Queensland not putting on points with their talent-laden backline. Led by two of the great modern-day halves, the Queensland back five are all capable of scoring tries from anywhere. Greg Inglis is looking fat but he showed some positive signs against the Raiders. Israel Folau will appreciate playing behind a decent forward pack. Darius Boyd has been one of the best players in the NRL this season. Billy Slater will lift playing competitive rugby league. The Blues team is not constructed for points. It is based on defence thanks to some foolish selection decisions. Matt Cooper and Timana Tahu were both chosen on the back of their defence while Jamie Lyon, considered the best defensive centre in the world, is playing in the six thanks to Bob Fulton’s insistence. Lyon is not a playmaker, however, and the Blues attack will be disjointed and slow. I doubt Brett Morris or Jarryd Hayne will get any quality ball on the flanks. The Blues only ability to way to score points will come from inside balls from Ennis to a big forward close to the line or poor reads from Queensland defenders on the fringes as Noddy looks to hit Creagh.

With no punch, no kicking game and a fairly pedestrian looking attack, the Blues won’t score the points or have the field position to worry Queensland. Despite the money for the Blues, Queensland are the team to beat, even in Sydney and even with all their injury worries. Hopefully this leads to the axing of selectors because until they go New South Wales stand no chance.

QUEENSLAND 25 NEW SOUTH WALES 12

Fun Fact #1: The last Queensland hooker before Cameron Smith was Michael Crocker, who wore the number 9 jersey in Game 2, 2003. The other Queensland starting hooker that series was P.J Marsh, who raked in Game 1.

Fun Fact #2: The only hooker to have played more games for Queensland than Cameron Smith is Greg “The Turtle” Conescu who played 20 games at hooker for Queensland between 1981 and 1988. The Turtle was replaced by Kerrod Walters in 1989.

Fun Fact #3: Queensland have had 4 captains this century: Darren Lockyer, Cameron Smith, Gorden Tallis and Shane Webcke. New South Wales have also had 4: Brad Fittler, Andrew Johns, Danny Buderus and Kurt Gidley.

Fun Fact #4: 20 referees have officiated an Origin match with Bill Harrigan leading the way on 21 with David Manson’s 10 the only other in double figures.

Fun Fact #5: 8 referees have officiated only a single Origin match: English referees Billy Thompson, Kevin Steele, Don Wilson and Robin Whitfield and Australians John Gocher (1983), Graeme Annesley (1994), Kelvin Jeffes (1997) and Tim Mander (2005).

Fun Fact #6: This Wednesday Brett Kimmorley will become only the fourth New South Wales halfback to play 10-plus matches after Andrew Johns (16), Ricky Stuart (14) and Peter Sterling (13).

Fun Fact #7: 10 players have started more than 9 Origin games from the bench: 5 for New South Wales (Steve Menzies 14, Craig Wing 12, Michael Vella 10, David Gillespie 10, David Fairleigh 9) and 5 for Queensland (Steve Price 12, Andrew Gee 10, Kevin Walters 9, Gary Coyne 9, Tonie Carroll 9)

Meaningless Field Goal Update: Luke Walsh took an arrogant and completely meaningless field goal to finish up Monday night’s clash with the Bulldogs. The Panthers up 30-16, Walsh stepped back and slotted the one. It was Walsh’s fourth career field goal and first career meaningless field goal. Even in defeat I had no choice but to smile.

Willie M Medal Voting: Giving an outlet to those who cause gambling grief, football fury and sports suffering.
 

Newcastle-Tigers	3-Scott Dureau (New)
	2-Zeb Taia (New)
	1-George Ndaira (New)
Parramatta-Cronulla	3-Krisnan Inu (Par)
	2-Eric Grothe (Par)
	1-Fuifui Moimos (Par)
Warriors-Souths	3-Michael Crocker (Sou)
	2-Beau Champion (Sou)
	1-Isaac Luke (Sou)
Dragons-Canberra	3-Jason Nightingale (Dra)
	2-Ricky Thorby (Dra)
	1-Michael Lett (Dra)
Penrith-Bulldogs	3-Bryson Goodwin (Bul)
	2-Dene Halatau (Bul)
	1-Mickey Paea (Bul)
Leaderboard	10-Chris Sandow (Sou), Joseph Tomane (GC),
	9-Scott Dureau (NC)
	8-Greg Bird (GC), Preston Campbell (GC), Todd Carney (Roo), Eric Grothe (Par), Denan Kemp (Brs), Josh McCrone (Can).
	7-Trent Barrett (Cro), James Maloney (War), Ben Roberts (Bul)

 

Rumour File: Ricky Stuart is the talk of the town this week and rumours are flying all over the shop. One school of thought is that a prominent, well known Tigers board member has been angling for him to take over from Tim Sheens in 2011. That board member is not believed to have the support of the entire board however. There is also a school of thought that Stuart could be off to join the Melbourne Rebels. Another rumour has him headed to Brisbane where he could be either an assistant to Ivan Henjak or, if the Broncos miss the finals, take over as head coach. While on Tim Sheens, it is believed he is unhappy at the Tigers at being hamstrung from seriously disciplining a senior player due to his marketability. Despite reports, be sure and certain that Nathan Brown was offered the Cronulla job but with desires to coach in the NRL long-term he was advised against it. It is believed he consulted Wayne Bennett. Brown is a better than even money chance to be an assistant under Bennett at the Dragons next year. Kurt Wrigley may also have turned down the Sharks job. Word coming out of Auckland is that Steven Price may have played his last match. His heel injury simply isn’t getting any better and each attempt at a comeback has ended in tears. The Bulldogs have made a huge play for outstanding Manly halfback Trent Hodkinson and the size of the offer has Hodkinson seriously considering the move. Brisbane are set to make an offer to Cameron Smith with Smith a very real possibility of leaving Melbourne.

Power Rankings:

Rank	Team	Record	Last Week	High	Low
1	Dragons	8-3	1	1	2
2	Gold Coast	7-3	2	2	5
3	Penrith	7-3	3	3	11
4	Manly	6-4	5	2	10
5	Parramatta	5-5	4	3	13
6	Souths	5-5	6	6	16
7	West Tigers	5-5	8	3	8
8	Roosters	5-5	8	4	9
9	Warriors	5-5	12	7	13
10	Canterbury	3-7	7	5	10
11	Brisbane	4-6	10	7	15
12	Canberra	4-6	13	10	15
13	Newcastle	4-7	11	10	14
14	Cronulla	3-7	15	12	15
15	Cowboys	3-7	14	12	15
*	Melbourne	7-3	*	*	*

Where Would the Storm Be If: The Storm would have dropped from second to third on the ladder after the bye and Penrith’s touching up of Canterbury. With the inconsistent and poor form of nearly every team, the Storm would be in a three-horse war with the Dragons and Manly for the two Grand Final spots.

Game of the Year Nomination, Round 11: Dragons-Canberra, 14-22. Despite the talent missing on both sides due to Origin and injury this was a highly entertaining affair. The Raiders are the Dragons bogey team and that hex appeared to continue before even kick off with Dragons prop Dan Hunt rupturing a tendon in warm-up and will now miss the rest of the season. That led to an unusual happening: Toyota Cup player Alex McKinnon being called up to sit on the bench after playing 80 minutes in the 20’s. McKinnon didn’t get on but it was a great moment nonetheless. The first half started off slowly but finished with Glen Buttriss scoring his first career try and Jason Nightingale scoring a fantastic try off the back of a spastic Jarrod Saffy lob and then a Kyle Stanley flick pass. It was all Canberra in the second half, however, with the Raiders scoring three tries in three straight sets and six minutes to blow the game wide open. Joel Thompson started it all with a powerful run before Jarrod Croker and Josh Dugan finished off free flowing plays. Thompson was the best on ground and is a future Origin player. Dugan was electric. Campese played the conductor. For the Dragons, their rookies were fantastic with Kyle Stanley and Kalifa Faifai-Loa certain top graders over the next decade.

The Queanbeyan Kangaroos 2010 Campaign: The Kangaroos march towards premiership glory continued with a huge win over the previously undefeated competition leaders Belconnen United. The Sharks, surprisingly in contention for the Canberra Raiders Cup given their moniker, suffered their first loss of the season as the mighty men in maroon and white recorded a 30-26 win. The Kangaroos were outstanding, establishing a 30-16 lead before as late comeback from the Sharks left the final few minutes a little scarier than they should have been. Once again the Kangaroos were led by inspirational captain-coach Aaron Gorrell who, aside from setting up tries and leading the way, kicked 5 from 6 including a couple from the sideline. Club President Mark “Boof” Nichols also offered this: “Young Raiders SG Ball player Luke Berkery was best on ground in the number 6 jumper. Pat Matulino (Ben’s big brother) has also adapted to the step up in pace and physicality from the Bartercard Cup (his view) and followed up last weeks strong effort with a massive game and his best in Roos colours” The Kangaroos this week take on the West Belconnen Warriors, the bogey side of the Roos and victors over the loathed, hated and despised Queanbeyan Blues last round.

The Kangaroos are now third on 9 competition points, 3 behind competition leaders Gungahlin and 2 ahead of the fourth placed Blues.

Obscure Score of the Week: Earlwood Saints 56- Penshurst RSL 0, NSWRL Under 15’s Inner Combined competition at Doc Evatt Park. Former notable residents of Earlwood include the Right Honourable John Howard, former Newtown great Dick Poole, Johnny Warren, Grahame Bond and Alex Dimitriades.

Coaching Stocks:

Wayne Bennett [5] Turned in a very good show without 10 first graders. No shame in loss to Raiders.

Des Hasler [4] BYE

Craig Bellamy [4] BYE

Matt Elliott [4] The Panthers are somehow equal top. Elliott is getting the most out of limited talent.

Kevin Moore [3] The Dogs are going awful. They are lacking intensity and grunt. Attack is near worst in NRL.

John Cartwright [3] BYE

John Lang [2.5] The Bunnies blew a big opportunity when a win was awaiting. Could come back to haunt them.

Daniel Anderson [2] Another loss to Cronulla? Premiers don’t lose to Cronulla. Tough to gauge where Eels at.

Brian Smith [2] BYE

Tim Sheens [1.5] Bounced back well thanks to Sheens pulling them into camp but job looks very shaky.

David Furner [1] Continued stretch against Dragons. Attack was something to see but was against weak team.

Ivan Henjak [1] BYE

Rick Stone [0] Probably got the Tigers at the wrong time but still offered little in attack when game there to be won

Neil Henry [0] BYE

Ivan Cleary [-2] Much needed win over Bunnies though their form was questionable.

Ricky Stuart [-5] Best win since 2008 but then came out and quit.

Exchanges with Fisk:

Fisk on Bob McCarthy: “I hate McCarthy”

Tedeschi on Bob Fulton: “Bozo is an appropriate fucking name. That idiot is an absolute clown.”

Fisk on Ricky Stuart: “I hope he is not coming to the Tigers.”

Tedeschi on Stuart to the Tigers: “Well that would make the Tigers the worst team in the NRL.”

Stats from the Penguin: Of the team The Retarded Penguin made his debut with in 2004, 10 remain in the NRL: Luke Lewis, Trent Waterhouse, Frank Puletua (Penrith), Preston Campbell (Gold Coast), Shane Rodney (Manly), Ben Rogers, Richie Fa’aoso (Newcastle), Luke Priddis (Dragons), Rhys Wesser (Souths) and Danny Galea (Canberra). Of the other six players, Craig Gower and Luke Rooney defected to rugby union while Amos Roberts, Tony Puletua and Paul Whatuira went to the English Super League. Martin Lang retired while his coach, John Lang, is now at Souths.

Fantasy Team of the Week:

1. Nathan Gardner (Cro)
2. Michael Gordon (Pen)
3. Jerome Ropati (War)
4. Kyle Stanley (Dra)
5. Fetuli Talanoa (Sou)
6. Terry Campese (Can)
7. Daniel Mortimer (Par)
13. Paul Gallen (Cro)
12. Gareth Ellis (Tig)
11. Sam Burgess (Sou)
10. Michael Hodgson (Bul)
9. Issac Luke (Sou)
8. Tim Grant (Pen)

Waiver Wire Advice: The one man you want to pick up this week: Russell Packer. With Sam Rapira ruled out for at least six weeks and Steve Price out indefinitely, Packer will get a boost on not only his 44.6 minutes per game but also in carries. He is great value at $208k with his value sure to rise over the coming month. Tim Grant is another good buy at around the same price. He is a prop who makes tackles which makes him a safe choice for the bench.

Lazy Long Bay Days, Part 12: Danny has been nabbed. He has been formulating an escape plan, a plan that got back to the Warden. After using his nightstick on Wicks to rough him up a little bit, the Warden sat back and laughed. “How did you think you were going to escape you fat bastard?” The guards also chuckled at this. “What, you were going to dig a tunnel were you Eastwood?” Hoho. “Or were you going to jump the fence with that big gut?” Danny sat silently, bleeding from the mouth. Within minutes he was thrown in solitary confinement. The spell would be indefinite.

Beard Watch: The Newcastle Knights have the latest redheaded beard in the NRL with prop forward Daniel Tolar a virtual Brad Meyers doppelganger these days. His flowing red beard and his Viking look have him set to reach cult hero status in the Hunter. Keep an eye on Tolar because he has bearded superstar written all over him. A moral for the sauce-head and big beard teams of the year.

Watch It: Well, in the spirit of Origin and with this frenzied 90 seconds sure to play some role in this year’s series, here is one of the great rolling Origin brawls. Little needs to be said other than the fact Brett White is a cat, Justin Hodges is a loudmouth and I, personally, was ashamed to call Ben Creagh a Geurie Green that night as he ran away from a fight. Still, unforgettable, in every way, and forever more, that’s how you’ll stay. Click Here

Correspondence Corner: I see Dawn from the Punting Ace forum was critical of my second Origin team. Let me just clarify a point: the team named wasn’t my Origin team. It was a leftover team of fit, eligible players not selected in the named New South Wales team. For posterity’s sake, here is the Origin team I would have named if all players were fit:

Team: Dugan, B.Morris, Jennings, Lyon, Hayne, Campese, Soward, Weyman, Ennis, Tolman, Laffranchi, Creagh, Hindmarsh

Bench: Gidley, Douglas, Snowden, Lewis