Matchup - Jamal Idris vs Dylan Walker. Idris has been in some good form recently, relishing the opportunity to play some consistent footy and he'll be up against the very light footed Walker. Size and strength vs speed and agility.
So I ran through a bunch of teams that I thought could make a bold/sneaky claim for the premiership.
Chief Biggums - Jarryd Hayne, yeah second week in a row, but he's playing like he's back in the world cup. Just about scored a try in the opening stages by stepping and spinning past three defenders. He managed to get one later brushing off Josh Hoffman as well as a crazy escape from his own in-goal and 159 running metres just casually.
Mystery Doctor - The Warriors were terrible but Todd Carney was at his best for the Sharks. With Jeff Robson organising things, setting everything up, the Sharks need Carney to add that touch of class and pizzaz to their attack. He did so and the Sharks were able to rack up some points.
The Bain - The grub Josh Reynolds. Was huge on Friday night against the Roosters. Try saver, try assist, drop goal to win it and providing plenty of niggle
Love ya xx
Senor Spectre - Chris Sandow had an enormous game on Friday night, leading the Eels past the Bronco’s. He looked like he was back to his zippy self and provides some flair in comparison to Corey Norman’s calmness. Can Sandow keep it up? Probably not, but he was on fire last week.
Chief Biggums - Nate Myles (and the Titans in general). I don't think anyone picked Titans upsetting the Storm especially down in Melbourne - especially when Greg Bird was missing most of his conversions with Sezer out. But the effort from the big men like Myles was superb against a quality side like Melbourne.
Mystery Doctor - I'm liking the work of Sam Mckendry and Tim Grant. Hard to call an international and Origin prop battlers but they are two guys who don't really get much recognition. There team is doing well so that must mean these two are as well.
The Bain - Michael Morgan. Two tries and that freakish try assist showed why the cowboys are keeping him at fullback.
Senor Spectre - Josh Reynolds is bit of a dick but he is starting to put some real heat on James Maloney for the number 6 jersey for NSW. His defence is brilliant and has changed games with his aggressive nature and downright dog attitude.
Chief Biggums - Even Daly Cherry-Evans is susceptible to brain explosions. He got put on report for a knee to the head on Liam Fulton. The funny thing is he didn't even blow up about it when he was put on report, just goes yeah that's fair enough and got on with it - like he knew was guilty but there wasn't anything else he could do about it.
Mystery Doctor - Ray Hadley is a terrible commentator and I'm sick of the Broncos cheerleaders commentating their games every Friday night. That's probably the worst insult you're gonna get out of me about Wally Lewis and Darren Lockyer.
The Bain - The Storm are not what they used to be. They are still all class. But at home you would think they would come up with the two points against the Titans. No disrespect to my Titans though, huge game from the boys!
Senor Spectre - The Warriors don’t look like shaking their inconsistency tag anytime soon. LLWWL, 4 coaches in 18 months, player revolt rumours. Nothing is ever simple at the Warriors.
Chief Biggums - Michael Morgan, the kids got those innate freak reflexes. His knee kick to set up Tate for a try was a sight to watch. Speed and ingenuity aren't a problem for him either setting up a try for himself in a very Matty Bowen-like manner with a grubber for himself. They gotta find him a place in the team when Coote comes back.
Kdot
Mystery Doctor - Kenny Edwards has had an interesting journey to become an established first grader but I'm loving his work. He has a few more skills than Manu Ma'u on the other edge but is equally as athletic.
The Bain - Aaron Woods. Scored a nice try, ran close to 150 metres and made 30 tackles. Leading the pack against a strong manly side
Senor Spectre - Dylan Napa filled in well for the suspended Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, punching the ball forward at will and making countless tackles. Still like the work of Josh Starling for Manly, who is proving consistent if not spectacular.
Chief Biggums - Tigers, they ripped apart Manly - which Manly hardly ever lets happen. Not known for such a strong forward pack the Tigers forwards gave it to the Manly pack, along with their scheming Captain Farrah and classy outside backs constantly pressuring the Manly line.
Mystery Doctor - The Tigers and Eels deserve a shout out here, but I'm gonna go with the Panthers. In shit conditions, they got the bickies and showed that they can get in to a grind but also have some firepower out wide ... dear I say it with Jamie Soward in some form.
The Bain - The Gold Coast titans. The road trip to Melbourne is tough for most teams but the Titans have a poor record there. To go there without Aidan Sezer and come up with the goods is a huge effort. There were some strong performances from a wide range of players and big Greg Bird's composure to kick the winning goal at the end topped off a great team win. Titans stand alone at the top of the table! (For now that is) Yeah buddy!
Senor Spectre - The Eels get my nod of the week, followed closely by the dogs. Jarrod Hayne is looking like his free self and with the likes of Nathan Peats and Semi Radradra stepping up to the plate, we are surprising a fair few people. The dogs have beaten the Storm and Roosters in successive weeks. That’s got to be pretty impressive!
Chief Biggums - The Knights, the only team to not score a try on the weekend. It's a tough road trip up to the Cowboys home ground and it looked like it got the best of them on a Monday night. Hopefully they get at least one try against the Raiders this week.
Mystery Doctor - Well the Warriors will get a few hugs so I'm gonna go with Craig Bellamy. He must be one confused man.
The Bain - The Warriors. Another woeful outing against the Sharks. They are just so inconsistent. Typical really... And then to top it off Matt Elliot "hands in his resignation" as coach. Whats gonna go wrong next..?
Senor Spectre - Matty Elliot. Flag being the Warriors coach. You can never do anything right I don’t reckon. He tried to transform the club, not just the first team and you need time to do it. Obviously he didn’t have enough time and now he’s goooooooooooooone. Hope he picks up a contract somewhere else!
The NSW Cup Warriors secured their first win of the season with a punishing 44 - 6 victory over the Cronulla Sharks. There
We are in the midst of one of the weirdest NRL seasons ever. Weird is one way of saying it's bloody super duper awesome because of how competitive it is, but it's weird because teams are showing up one week and looking like a bunch of no names the next.
This week's entry was going to be short and sweet. Another low, another typical Warriors performance where they were out enthused and generally out played. Another gut wrenching drop on the rollercoaster.
League players these days tread a fine line,
Slowing down the play the ball, delaying time only to be found out for their crime
They creep like you or I in a bar, not getting back 10, leaving the door ajar
Known as a franchise to pull one out of the back the NSW Cup Warriors were on the opposite end on Saturday afternoon down in Wellington.
Matchup - Sonny Bill Williams vs Frank Pritchard. If my memory serves my correctly, these two will line up against each other in a battle of size, skill and footwork. They both have it all and Frank the Tank is in some nice form.
Chief Biggums - Jarryd Hayne was the man on the weekend but didn't over play his hand. Slotted in smoothly into the backline to set up a try and picked up one for himself. Reminiscent of his '09 Hayne Plane but with more maturity and confidence about his play.
A few weeks back I posted a poem that focussed on the tragedies that have occurred in within the NRL community in recent times.
The Cake Tin, home of Wellington sport, the Yellow Fever and yellow seats. Thank you windy Wellywood for putting it on for the Warriors and their supporters over the weekend.
For years the Kiwis have lacked what Kieran Foran can offer them
Leadership by actions as well as the Manly mentality. Touches of class mixed in with a rugged, physical game that can deeply influence proceedings.
He won't win a game with a flick pass or breaking ankles, but he'll win you a game by doing everything else.
With Shaun Johnson our long term 7, and Foran our long term 6, all bases are covered.
Johnson's adapting to the weekly grind of NRL footy, where consistency and basics are the key.
This allows Foran to play his natural game - the classic but truest of all cliches. With two halves who are strong ball runners, they'll give the Aussies plenty of headaches.
With a pack of big boppers who have skill and power, Foran can be our leader, our chirper, the barker. He'll get the team following the same path.
Throw in Isaac Luke, Thomas Leuluai and a strong group of fellow youngsters, you have a team capable of consistency. But they need guidance, leadership and class ... which Kieran Foran offers in spades.
Matchup - The battle of the halves will be massive, but both teams have very different forward packs. The Roosters pack is physical whereas Manly's pack is subtle, very subtle. This will decide the game.
Each year March rolls around and I've had enough of the hype, the typical pre season talk and of course the way too many rugby stories that do the rounds ...
Chief Biggums - Robbie Farah, the current meta of the NRL is suiting his style of play with less stoppages and more action. Ran for 155 metres, set up a try and made a solid 40 tackles against a big Souths Pack.
The NSW Warriors had their first bye on the weekend. This weekend they take on the West Tigers NSW Cup team as part of the triple header in Wellington.
What's it like to be a supporter of the New Zealand Warriors? Well their win against the North Queensland Cowboys was like a 'Supporting the Warriors 101'.
Matchup - Robbie Farah vs Isaac Luke. Two players who have a huge influence on how their team performs. Farah was back to his best last week while Luke continues to show that he is definitely in the top 3 best hookers in the NRL.
There are worse things that an NRL club could do than try and copy what the Manly Sea Eagles are doing. This involves everything - the way they play their footy, their recruitment and development along with the culture they have created.
