Season 2010: Round 14

From The Couch

The Tahu Walkout: I do not condone what Andrew Johns said about Greg Inglis. Referring to him as a “black …. ” was abhorrent. It is not acceptable in any workplace and it certainly is not an acceptable manner in which to refer to a person in rugby league, a game long regarded as one of the most egalitarian and socially progressive sports in the world. Black athletes were accepted in rugby league long before they were in other sports and it should be a point of pride that rugby league opened doors to black athletes long before other areas of society.

I do, however, feel that Timana Tahu’s subsequent behaviour was an overreaction and somewhat unprofessional.

Tahu at first, reportedly, stewed on the comments of Johns, allegedly made while the team was out on the drink. He then told coach Craig Bellamy that he was leaving camp. Captain Kurt Gidley, teammate Nathan Hindmarsh, coach Craig Bellamy and instigator Andrew Johns all reportedly tried to talk Tahu out of walking out on the team. Tahu would have none of it though he reportedly suggested that he would use an existing injury as an excuse. Tahu then could not be found. He made his own arrangements and left camp. A subsequent private and public apology from Johns was not enough to lure Tahu back to camp. Neither was the resignation of Johns from the New South Wales team. Emergency talks were allegedly held over the period of up to 12 hours to no avail. Tahu subsequently released a statement saying the comment against Inglis was not isolated and that racist remarks were offered about not only aboriginals but other races.

For starters, on the balance of probabilities, I doubt that Andrew Johns is a racist. An ignorant fool with a loud-mouth for sure but he has never struck me as a racist. His comments were appalling and totally unacceptable but it seemed were made off-the-cuff and in high spirits, one of those situations where an offensive and inappropriate comment is made for reasons unknown. That does not absolve Johns of responsibility. It does, however, entitle him to a little leeway if he shows genuine remorse. Tahu has every right to be offended but his response perhaps should have been tempered by the intention of the comments.

Secondly, Tahu seemingly wants to take a stand. If that is the case, however, why did he supposedly offer to leave the camp with the excuse of an injury? Tahu should be applauded for standing up to Johns and he is by this column. Tahu could well have done that, though, without abandoning the New South Wales team. Few would have been against him had he publicly stated he wanted Johns to stand down over racist remarks. The waters have been muddied by Tahu’s initial offer to leave the camp under the pretence of an injury because that is not taking a public stance and that would not have set an example. I hope reports of this offer by Tahu were false but at this stage they have not been denied.

Thirdly, what does leaving the New South Wales camp achieve? Tahu could have shamed Johns publicly whilst keeping his position. By walking out, he has disrupted the preparation of the team for the must win game two and he may have cost himself the possibility of further representative honours. That may include a positional reshuffle.

The right thing has been done to get rid of Johns from the New South Wales camp. His comments were offensive and racially insensitive and he must be punished. Tahu should not be lauded as a hero though. He should be praised for standing up for something he believes in but his abandonment of the team when his leaving was completely unnecessary was unprofessional and an overreaction.

There may be more to this. I would suggest there is. But for what is on the public record, Tahu has done himself or his cause no favours with his walk out. He could have made his point and demanded changes while remaining part of the Origin squad.

If, of course, Johns has exhibited a pattern of racist behaviour over many years then perhaps Tahu was left with no other option. But until Tahu explains himself further then I can only applaud him for standing up for his principles while chastising him for his walk-out.

Another Selection Blunder: It was heartening to hear that after four straight series losses and New South Wales on the verge of an unprecedented fifth straight series defeat that the selector with the most pull, Bob “Bozo” Fulton, was on holiday in Honolulu when he was called upon to find a replacement for Timana Tahu. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so infuriating. The top Blues selector is lying on a beach in Hawaii in the middle of Origin season. No wonder the Blues team is so perpetually hopeless. Fulton doesn’t even watch rugby league. At least Tahu was replaced with a winger. I can only assume from that that the rest of the panel could not get a hold of Fulton.

State of Origin II Preview: It is difficult to see New South Wales getting even close in game two. Some good judges feel they are primed for an upset but only a sadist could have his money on that ugly mob.

Everything seems to be stacking up against them.

Team selection was again abhorrent. The skipper is starting on the bench. Aging halfback Brett Kimmorley was replaced by aging five-eighth Trent Barrett. Another defensive centre was selected in Beau Scott while Matt Cooper miraculously kept his spot. Josh Perry was mercifully dropped but Brett White has kept his spot and the Blues are going in with one less prop. Overall, the team is better than that chosen in game one but selection policy was again conservative and some selections were truly absurd. The lack of grunt up front is astonishing. Thurston will again play off the back of a dominant forward pack.

Queensland will, in a rare occurrence, be without dominant bookends Steve Price and Petero Civoniceva for the first time since their run of success started. This opens the door slightly for the Blues but it won’t matter because Ben Hannant, David Shillington, Matthew Scott, Sam Thaiday and Dave Taylor, Queensland’s five players capable of playing prop, are all better than White and Tom Learyod-Lars while Weyman may edge out Scott and Taylor.

Queensland get back Cameron Smith, which will cause New South Wales all kinds of headaches. Matt Ballin was more than serviceable but even he would admit that he is no Cameron Smith. His creativity around the ruck and leadership will add an extra cog to Queensland’s attack.

History is against the Blues. New South Wales have not won a game two since 2005 and they have not won a game two in Brisbane since 2000. In the last two game-two’s in Brisbane, Queensland have won by scores of 30-6 and 30-0. Queensland have won five of the last six “live” games at Suncorp.

Combined with the problems that have erupted within the Blues camp, everything looks good for another Queensland win and another Queensland series.

Prediction: Queensland 30- New South Wales 10

When Reality Sets In: Welcome to your new reality AFL and Karmichael Hunt. Hunt played his first game of AFL football for the Gold Coast in the VFL on the weekend against Coburg in suburban Melbourne. He reportedly didn’t set the world on fire. He kicked two goals, one as the recipient of a cheap free kick and the other a handball into an open goal. It sounds like I could have kicked them. He also sprayed another free kick out on the full, had no idea where to be or how to mark overhead, blew up early and hardly touched the ball past the second term. What a wonderful start for the highest paid player in the AFL. While he will probably get better, it is apparent that the transition will not be easy and any wise betting man would take odds-on he will fail. That same punter will take 12’s-on that Israel Folau is a disaster in the code. Hunt is at least an athlete. Folau is just a lug with no kicking ability.

Trent from Canterbury: The Bulldogs have got their man. Trent Hodkinson is a Bulldog and will be at Canterbury for the next three seasons and hopefully longer. Hodkinson has been outstanding at Manly since debuting in round two, winning a call-up to City after only six matches and establishing himself as one of the few young stars capable of wearing the seven jersey. Hodkinson has scored 3 tries and set-up 6 more, averaged 27.2 tackles and a touch over 300 kick metres per game, has made 20 tackle breaks running the ball and made only 7 errors in 12 matches. He is a star for the future and exactly the kind of player the Bulldogs need in 2011 and beyond. He is a smart player with good instincts, a real footballer who can run, pass, kick and defend.

Hodkinson’s signing hopefully won’t mean the end of the road for Brett Kimmorley. I have been highly critical of Noddy this season but his experience and maturity could prove a great asset to Hodkinson next season, who could easily wear the six and spend a year under Kimmorley’s tutelage. Kimmorley would also benefit having a capable partner who can share the load.

Hodkinson’s arrival will also hopefully mean that Luke Patten and Andrew Ryan stay on for at least another season as the Bulldogs premiership window should be extended.

Eight Point Fun: Well there is only one way to make an eight-point try more enjoyable and that is to have Shane Rodney take the two kicks. That is exactly what happened on Friday evening when Manly were awarded an eight-point try after one of rugby league’s real idiots, Mark Minichiello, dropped the knees into Ben Farrar as Farrar scored. It was an act of stupidity followed by a truly wonderful moment as our boy “Sugar” Shane knocked over the conversion before slotting a penalty goal from right in front.

It was Quite the Week for Whacking Prop Forwards: It was a big week for old time, hard headed prop forwards who rarely receive any glory. A personal favourite of this author, Craig Stapleton, was signed up by South Sydney to help fill their lack of size up front caused by injury and rep duty. Stapleton has played 159 games for four Australian and two English clubs and was renowned for his toughness. The former Dragons, Eels, Panthers, Sharks, Leigh and Salford player is a good pickup for the Bunnies. Souths also signed Jaiman Lowe. He is a cheap thug but with 98 games between 2002 and 2009 with the Bunnies and Cowboys then he will add some experience as well as size to the Souths team. The Bulldogs also filled an immediate hole in the area of forward punch with Ryan Tandy joining the club immediately. The Storm premiership winning player and Irish international who has played for Souths, the Dragons, the Tigers, Melbourne and Hull KR is a good pickup for the Bulldogs, who will now hopefully no longer play Mickey Paea or Buddy Gordon. Tandy is no superstar but he moves forward, he knows his limitations and he doesn’t drop the ball or give away dumb penalties.

Fun Fact #1: Players who have played against both John and William Hopoate- Preston Campbell, Mat Rogers, Greg Bird, Scott Prince, Luke Bailey, Mark Minichiello, Brad Meyers, Darren Lockyer, Corey Parker and Ashton Sims.

Fun Fact #2: Players who have played with both John and William Hopoate- Jason King and Anthony Watmough.

Fun Fact Team of the Week: The best of second generation players running around in the NRL in 2010.

1. Jarryd Hayne (Parramatta) [Manoa Thompson: Souths, Wests, Warriors]

2. Josh Morris (Dragons, Bulldogs) [Steve Morris: Dragons, Easts]

3. Adam MacDougall (Roosters, Newcastle, Souths) [Gil MacDougall: Balmain, Wests]

4. Mat Rogers (Cronulla, Gold Coast) [Steve Rogers: Cronulla, Dragons]

5. Brett Morris (Dragons) [Steve Morris: Dragons, Easts]

6. Daniel Mortimer (Parramatta) [Peter Mortimer: Canterbury]

7. Mitchell Pearce (Roosters) [Wayne Pearce: Balmain]

13. Dean Young (Dragons) [Craig Young: Dragons]

12. Ryan Hoffman (Melbourne) [Jay Hoffman: Canberra]

11. Eric Grothe (Parramatta, Roosters [Erc Grothe: Parratta]

10. Justin Horo (Parramatta) [Mark Horo: Parramatta, Wests, Warriors]

9. Brett Finch (Canberra, Parramatta, Roosters, Melbourne) [Robert Finch: Dragons]

8. Bryce Gibbs (Tigers) [Bruce Gibbs: Newtown, Wests]

Rumour File: There is plenty of news coming out of Canterbury this week. Club legends Luke Patten and Andrew Ryan are reportedly in their final season at the club with both allegedly on the outer with club officials who believe their time has come. Patten will be at Huddersfield in 2011. It is unsure if Ryan will move on or try to stick it out with Canterbury. Rumours have been flying that Willie Mason may be getting chased by the Bulldogs in a move that would surely alienate many fans. Greg Eastwood may also be on his way back to the Bulldogs with rumours that he is uncomfortable at Leeds continuing. Despite denials, the Raiders and Danny Buderus are very much in talks about Buderus joining the club either before the June 30 deadline or in 2011. There is still no positive news out of the Tigers or Warriors camps in regards Taniela Tuiaki or Steve Price. Tuiaki may be done for the season while it seems doubtful Price will play in the NRL again. Mark Gasnier will finalise his deal with the Dragons this week. There are some fairly wild rumours doing the rounds in regards to the Gold Coast and the fact that they may not be punished for any salary cap wrongdoing until after the season. It hasn’t been proven they have deceived the cap but a Four Corners investigation will be revealing plenty. Andrew Johns is likely to suffer some significant financial damage over his racist remarks with both Nine and News Limited expected to axe him along with a number of clubs he works with as a consultant.

Power Rankings:

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

 

Where Would the Melbourne Storm Be If: The Storm would be running third but most likely still would have copped a caning on Monday night without their Origin players.

Willie M Medal Votes: I was sickened to read that the Bulldogs may be chasing that scumbag Willie Mason, hoping for a joyous return to the club that made him famous. Pull your head in Greenberg. Mason is a grub, a cancer on a club and a filthy bludger. If he is signed at Canterbury, expect a goddamn riot.
 

Gold Coast-Manly	3-Tony Williams (Man)
	2-Ben Farrar (Man)
	1-Dean Whare (Man)
Cowboys-Canberra	3-Josh McCrone (Can)
	2-Danny Galea (Can)
	1-Joe Picker (Can)
Newcastle-Warriors	3-Scott Dureau (New)
	2-Isaac De Gois (New)
	1-Jarrod Mullen (New)
Brisbane-Souths	3-Chris Sandow (Sou)
	2-Beau Champion (Sou)
	1-Rhys Wesser (Sou)
Melbourne-Roosters	3-Luke MacDougall (Mel)
	2-Adam Blair (Mel)
	1-Brett Finch (Mel)
Leaderboard	13-Chris Sandow (Sou)
	12-Preston Campbell (GC), Scott Dureau (New), Joseph Tomane (GC)
	11-Josh McCrone (Can)
	10-Trent Barrett (Cro), James Maloney (War), Mark Minichiello (GC), Carl Webb (NQ)
	9-Todd Carney (Roo)
	8-Greg Bird (GC), Ben Farrar (Man), Eric Grothe (Par), Denan Kemp (Brs), Brett Kimmorley (Bul)
	7-Blake Green (Bul), Ben Roberts (Bul)

 

A big thanks to Fisky for taking over voting honours for the Friday night and early Sunday match.

Exchanges with Fisk:

Tedeschi on Scott Dureau: “So he was that bad again?”

Fisk on Dureau: “He takes the cake by a fair margin for the worst player on the ground.”

Tedeschi on Dureau: “I bet the Knights are glad they went with that fool over Luke Walsh.”

Game of the Year Nomination, Round 14: Brisbane-South Sydney, 50-22. It was really an incredibly lifeless round of rugby league action with the Origin stars missing and the schedule not overly enticing. The Raiders-Cowboys match shaped as the match of the round in terms of potential excitement but it was sullied by Josh Dugan’s injury enforced withdrawal. In terms of free-flowing rugby league, the Broncos-Bunnies clash had it all, as expected with Souths down nine forwards. Brisbane ran rampant with Ben Teo bagging a hat-trick and Josh Hoffman and Matt Gillett each snaring doubles. Shane Tronc is back in the swing of things while Corey Parker was at his sublime best. Chris Sandow played a typically pathetic match. Not a hope of winning match of the year honours but one to remember if you fancy attacking rugby league.

Coaching Stocks:

Wayne Bennett [5] BYE

Craig Bellamy [4] A dire performance but the Storm were missing plenty of stars. More concerned with Origin though.

Matt Elliott [4] BYE

John Lang [3.5] Souths were hammered but they had plenty of excuses with almost no forwards to choose from.

John Cartwright [3] Ground out a nice win over a Manly team on the slide. Has benefited from kind Origin selections.

Des Hasler [2.5] Manly are going no good at all. They looked to be the second best team a month back. Sharp fall.

Tim Sheens [2.5] BYE

Ivan Henjak [2.5] Touched up the Bunnies but got the benefit of Souths missing a forward pack.

Brian Smith [2.5] Played like flat track bullies. Jumped a bunch of young kids and were never in danger.

Daniel Anderson [2] BYE

Kevin Moore [1.5] BYE

David Furner [0.5] The Raiders just cannot build any momentum. No Dugan hurt but a shameful effort truth be told.

Neil Henry [-1] Pulled out a much needed win against Raiders. Moving Bowne to halves helped.

Ivan Cleary [-1.5] It isn’t easy to win in Australia for the Warriors and they touched the Knights up. Hot and cold.

Rick Stone [-2] He seriously needs to look at his halves combination. Forwards should be going better.

Ricky Stuart [-3.5] BYE

Obscure Score of the Week: The Philadelphia Fight 76-Northern Raiders 0. The Raiders kicked off the 2010 AMNRL season in miserable form after a first round bye with a hiding at the hands of the Fight from Philadelphia with the Fight running in 14 tries in a thumping of the highest order. It was the biggest winning margin in AMNRL history, surpassing the 82-12 win of the Penn Raiders over the New Jersey Sharks back in 1998.

Queanbeyan Kangaroos 2010 Campaign: The Pride of Queanbeyan had a well earned break with the long weekend as they prepare to take on the Yass Magpies next Saturday. There was plenty of fishing, drinking and eating.

Stats from the Penguin: Ben Pomeroy has only once played back-to-back 80 minutes games since 2007 without committing a handling error. That kind of ineptitude suggests he should seriously look into a hand transplant as he seems to be as co-ordinated as Jon Hamm on 30 Rock when he had hooks for hands. “That was my last gash free painting.” It has been enjoyable not seeing Pomeroy over the last month, however, with his absence enjoyed as much by your author as it is by Cronulla fans.

Fantasy Team of the Week:

1. Josh Hoffman (Brs)
2. Sam Perrett (Roo)
3. Joel Moon (War)
4. Matt Gillett (Brs)
5. Manu Vatuvei (War)
6. Greg Bird (GC)
7. James Maloney (War)
13. Corey Parker (Brs)
12. Ben Te’o (Brs)
11. Frank-Paul Nuuausala (Roo)
10. Dane Tilse (Can)
9. Anthony Watts (Cow)
8. Shane Tronc (Brs)

Waiver Wire Advice: Brisbane’s Matt Gillett is going to be a superstar. He is brilliant value at $183k. He had another brilliant match on the weekend with two tries, a try assist and 125 metres on 14 carries. He is a real gun and will be critical to the Broncos success this year. Since coming back from injury he has scored 88, 51 and 56 before a big score on the weekend. He is a steal at his current price. Josh Hoffman is another Bronco who is great value after scoring a double, breaking the line three times and breaking twelve tackles. Since a bye in round 11, Hoffman has scored 63 and 84 and put up more big numbers on the weekend.

Beard Watch: I got to thinking about referees and facial hair and I don’t think there has been a bearded or moustachioed referee since Greg McCallum. McCallum, who of course sported a full bodied beard for his entire career, was around in an era of Mick Stone and Barry Gommersall, both moustachioed legends of the officiating game while touch judge Geoff Weekes was a silver fox with a fine mane. These days, there is nothing. So the campaign begins here. The challenge is put out and I am looking at you Gavin Badger. The Bearded Badger. It has a certain je ne sais quoi about it.

Lazy Long Bay Days, Part 15: Danny has smuggled cigarettes into Long Bay and is attempting to build himself a nice little business when he finds out that cigarette sales are not his turf. He finds this out the hard way. He laughs off a warning from an old timer named Flashlight Joe before Ray the Axe comes sauntering up and asks for five. “$6 thanks pal.” “Six bucks eh? Not bad. But fuck you.” Ray the Axe then pulls a toothbrush shiv out from his pocket and slices Big Danny right across the belly before a brawl ensues.

Watch It: How sweet it would be to have the world sevens back to kick off the season. It was always so much fun, so enjoyable. Summer was drawing to a close and the long winter awaited and what better way to get back into rugby league than a weekend of sevens action. Held for a decade from 1988 to 1997, the World Sevens was a highly anticipated event for rugby league fans. It combined all the top grade teams as well as a mixture of international teams, overseas clubs and invitational sides such as the Aboriginal All-Stars. Manly, Newcastle and Parramatta were the early powerhouses before the competition was done away with, only to make a revival in 2003 and 2004 when Parramatta and the Wests Tigers won. Nathan Hindmarsh won player of the tournament honours in 2003. Here is the action from 1993 when the American team threw “that” forward pass, Noa Nadruku made a name for himself and the Roosters took the lot thanks to Gary Freeman. My personal highlight was Tony Cossato’s big dummy, perhaps his finest rugby league moment. Click Here.

Correspondence Corner: Josh Harman-Cullen, a relative of Broncos boss Bruno, has been on the keyboard lately taking exception to a piece I wrote blaming Bruno for the Broncos early season woes. Josh wrote after the demolition job of Souths: “That team has talent, No Lockyer, No Folau, No Thaiday…. 50-22 they beat Rabbits who were also down players but not down all of their BEST players. Honestly their performance would have to make you re-think what you wrote in that article just a tad yeah?” Well Josh, it was certainly a good win and the Broncos have picked up their bundle over the last month. But Brisbane’s win over Souths tells us nothing. Souths were down their forward pack and key playmaker. Teams simply cannot win without their hooker firing these days and Souths had theirs on the sideline along with not only Burgess and Taylor but six other big boppers. The Broncos lost some with Thaiday but not a lot with Lockyer or Folau as outside backs are far easier to replace than forwards and Peter Wallace has been taking the team around the park since returning from injury. Take nothing away from Brisbane: it was a big win. But it was what was expected as punters plunged on Brisbane knowing Souths couldn’t beat the Maitland Pumpkin Pickers without Luke. As to my thoughts on Brisbane’s long-term future, nothing has changed. Brisbane would be a better team with Wayne Bennett at the helm. It is as simple as that. He is doing a stellar job at the Dragons and any argument that he wouldn’t have the Broncos higher up the table is silly.