1. Billy Slater
2. Darius Boyd
3. Greg Inglis
4. Willie Tonga
5. Israel Folau
6. Darren Lockyer (c)
7. Johnathan Thurston
8. Matthew Scott
9. Cameron Smith
10. Petero Civoniceva
11. Nate Myles
12. Sam Thaiday
13. Ashley Harrison
Interchange:
14. Cooper Cronk
15. David Shillington
16. Neville Costigan
17. David Taylor
18th Man: Ben Te'o
Earlier today the Maroons side set to contest the first Origin game was announced. Yours truly takes the win on the prediction front edging out Jim by a solitary point.
The run-on forward pack was as expected - I do think Stagg was unlucky to miss out but time will tell about how we go without a Dallas Johnson-esque defence machine.
QLD lived up to their reputation of picking reliable custodians who have done the job before. Case in point is Costigan - he's only a few games back from injury but he retained his bench spot. I agree with the call though - he's got that mongrel that we will need.
The only selections worth talking about are Cooper Cronk as utility and big Dave Taylor as a bench player. Totally agree about DT - he was born to play Origin and he will run straight through the fringes. Cronk is an interesting selection - I was admittedly a bit stumped about who to pick as a utility and I'm not convinced Cronk is the man for the job. He can play in the halves but can he play anywhere else in the backline? Not really. Can he play Hooker? Maybe. I would have preferred using Lote Tuqiri on the wing and Darius Boyd as the utility. He can cover both wings, centres and fullback. I'd even chuck him in at Hooker in the event that (touch wood) Smith gets injured mid-game.
Big wraps on Te'o for getting 18th man - he's been in blistering form for the Broncos for a good part of the year and this will hopefully spur him on to bigger and better things.
I'd like to comment quick on the NSW side quickly, what are they thinking? I can't remember a time that I've seen 4 centres picked in a squad for Origin. The recipe for success according to them is to pick a reluctant 5/8, a player who continually ducks out of the City/Country game in his place and an 'impact utility' on the bench? Newsflash: Idris is a one dimensional player. What are they going to do, give Ennis a spell, shift a tired fullback to hooker, a winger to fullback to accomodate Idris? Give me a break.
Early prediction from me - 25-18 to QLD.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Jim's QLD side
Given we have a bye coming up this week it’ll probably be a pretty slow week for Broncos news. I guess at some stage we’ll have official word on the Ben Hannent signing, some injury news, and maybe something on Folau’s future but that is about as exciting as it’s likely to get.
Luckily it’s almost Origin time, so we’ll still have plenty to talk about here at the blog. Last week Waldo took a stab at how he thought the Queensland team would line up, so before the official team is announced tomorrow I’m going to take a punt as well. 100 RedHillRants Koins to whoever goes closest?
1. Billy Slater
2. Lote Tuqiri
3. Greg Inglis
4. Willie Tonga
5. Israel Folau
6. Darren Lockyer
7. Johnathan Thurston
8. Petero Civoniceva
9. Cameron Smith
10. David Shillington
11. Sam Thaiday
12. Scott Bolton
13. Corey Parker
14. Ashley Harrison
15. David Taylor
16. Nate Myles
17. Ben Te’o
All subject to injury of course. If Smith isn’t fit then Cronk is the man most likely to slide into hooker, even though he’s not a recognised number 9. No matter what team is announced, there are going to be some unlucky Queenslanders who miss out. Tate and Stagg in particular were very hard to leave out. I went with Te’o on the bench as he is in form and showing a lot of versatility lately by sliding into the centres when needed. I gave Taylor the nod also because he’s just one of those players that loves to prove people wrong, and looks like he was born to play Origin football.
Hannent will be fit for game 2, and Price might be up and running by then too. You can’t leave either player out, so that is sure to create some selection headaches when the time comes around. I really wouldn’t like to be a selector...
Anyways, Mal and the boys will get together tonight for a few beers and decide the Queensland team for game one. No matter who’s selected or who misses out, it’s going to be a very strong team. They’ll announce it tomorrow before lunch, and some massive cheating dumbass is announcing the NSW team tonight during half time of the Eels/Manly game. Enjoy your Monday sports fans.
Luckily it’s almost Origin time, so we’ll still have plenty to talk about here at the blog. Last week Waldo took a stab at how he thought the Queensland team would line up, so before the official team is announced tomorrow I’m going to take a punt as well. 100 RedHillRants Koins to whoever goes closest?
1. Billy Slater
2. Lote Tuqiri
3. Greg Inglis
4. Willie Tonga
5. Israel Folau
6. Darren Lockyer
7. Johnathan Thurston
8. Petero Civoniceva
9. Cameron Smith
10. David Shillington
11. Sam Thaiday
12. Scott Bolton
13. Corey Parker
14. Ashley Harrison
15. David Taylor
16. Nate Myles
17. Ben Te’o
All subject to injury of course. If Smith isn’t fit then Cronk is the man most likely to slide into hooker, even though he’s not a recognised number 9. No matter what team is announced, there are going to be some unlucky Queenslanders who miss out. Tate and Stagg in particular were very hard to leave out. I went with Te’o on the bench as he is in form and showing a lot of versatility lately by sliding into the centres when needed. I gave Taylor the nod also because he’s just one of those players that loves to prove people wrong, and looks like he was born to play Origin football.
Hannent will be fit for game 2, and Price might be up and running by then too. You can’t leave either player out, so that is sure to create some selection headaches when the time comes around. I really wouldn’t like to be a selector...
Anyways, Mal and the boys will get together tonight for a few beers and decide the Queensland team for game one. No matter who’s selected or who misses out, it’s going to be a very strong team. They’ll announce it tomorrow before lunch, and some massive cheating dumbass is announcing the NSW team tonight during half time of the Eels/Manly game. Enjoy your Monday sports fans.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Titans Review - Attitude Fixed?
For the first time all season, we’re finally celebrating 2 wins in a row here at the Redhill Rants Office (N.B. No such office exists). Feels good man! I think the 28-6 score flattered us; the game was definitely a lot closer than that. But it was still a convincing win and I found myself guilty of the occasional fist pump. A bye next week is another 2 points, and the week after that we are up against the Sharks again which is a very makeable 2 points. Amazingly enough that will see us well inside the top 8 and it just goes to show that you can never write off this football team.
So what’s changed to bring about this recent run of results? Obviously, it’s the attitude of the players. If you look at our games against the Roosters, or the Warriors there was just no hunger in our outfit at all. When Alex Glenn made his try saving tackle last night at around the 48 minute mark, you could instantly tell something had changed. 2 weeks ago, we wouldn’t have laid a finger on that player, and we probably would have let him walk around and stick it under the posts for a certain 6 points. Instead we now have players risking body and limb to save our tryline, which is what we’ve come to expect from the Brisbane Broncos.
The Broncos are answering their critics. The start to the season was unacceptable and we made that very clear, but over the last 2 weeks we’ve been silenced. Darren Lockyer has hit a purple patch, and after a slow start he’s convincing this blogger that he still has what it takes to compete at the top level. I’ve never doubted that he’s been the best in the world; he is in fact my favourite player. But I was beginning to believe that he’d had his day. However his attitude has lifted in recent weeks, and his play has lifted along with it. He’ll deserve the Maroons jersey that will be handed to him next week more than any other player in the NRL.
Attitude is probably one of the most contagious things on our planet, but it’s without a doubt the most contagious thing in a sports team. When one player puts his head down you know your team is as good as dusted and we saw that against the Warriors and Roosters. But when a player puts his body on the line like Alex Glenn did last night to save that try, you could visibly see the team lift. It was no accident that from there we went on to put the game out of reach of the Titans.
I was calling for Henjak’s head just one week ago, but I believe he’s done a lot since then to justify himself. The changes he made moments before kickoff against the Storm were brilliant, even though they weren’t popular and that’s how a coach needs to be. I still think there’s room for improvement when it comes to team selection but it’s a lot harder to fault the coach when a football team is winning. I can only guess that he’s played a part in the change of attitude we’ve seen, so a tip of my hat Henjak sir.
Before I run out of time I’d like to say that Hunt and Setu were very impressive last night. Setu’s try was one of the best you will ever see from a prop forward and I bet I wasn’t the only one who felt very happy for him when he got over the line. I’m hoping McCullough doesn’t walk back into the number 9 when he returns from injury. He was one of the player’s most guilty of spreading poor attitude and has everything to prove, while Hunt has done nothing to deserve losing his spot.
Until next time 2-wins-in-a-row-celebrators. (Today’s blog was brought to you by the word ‘Attitude’)
So what’s changed to bring about this recent run of results? Obviously, it’s the attitude of the players. If you look at our games against the Roosters, or the Warriors there was just no hunger in our outfit at all. When Alex Glenn made his try saving tackle last night at around the 48 minute mark, you could instantly tell something had changed. 2 weeks ago, we wouldn’t have laid a finger on that player, and we probably would have let him walk around and stick it under the posts for a certain 6 points. Instead we now have players risking body and limb to save our tryline, which is what we’ve come to expect from the Brisbane Broncos.
The Broncos are answering their critics. The start to the season was unacceptable and we made that very clear, but over the last 2 weeks we’ve been silenced. Darren Lockyer has hit a purple patch, and after a slow start he’s convincing this blogger that he still has what it takes to compete at the top level. I’ve never doubted that he’s been the best in the world; he is in fact my favourite player. But I was beginning to believe that he’d had his day. However his attitude has lifted in recent weeks, and his play has lifted along with it. He’ll deserve the Maroons jersey that will be handed to him next week more than any other player in the NRL.
Attitude is probably one of the most contagious things on our planet, but it’s without a doubt the most contagious thing in a sports team. When one player puts his head down you know your team is as good as dusted and we saw that against the Warriors and Roosters. But when a player puts his body on the line like Alex Glenn did last night to save that try, you could visibly see the team lift. It was no accident that from there we went on to put the game out of reach of the Titans.
I was calling for Henjak’s head just one week ago, but I believe he’s done a lot since then to justify himself. The changes he made moments before kickoff against the Storm were brilliant, even though they weren’t popular and that’s how a coach needs to be. I still think there’s room for improvement when it comes to team selection but it’s a lot harder to fault the coach when a football team is winning. I can only guess that he’s played a part in the change of attitude we’ve seen, so a tip of my hat Henjak sir.
Before I run out of time I’d like to say that Hunt and Setu were very impressive last night. Setu’s try was one of the best you will ever see from a prop forward and I bet I wasn’t the only one who felt very happy for him when he got over the line. I’m hoping McCullough doesn’t walk back into the number 9 when he returns from injury. He was one of the player’s most guilty of spreading poor attitude and has everything to prove, while Hunt has done nothing to deserve losing his spot.
Until next time 2-wins-in-a-row-celebrators. (Today’s blog was brought to you by the word ‘Attitude’)
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Waldo's QLD Maroons Origin Side
Hello Sports Fans. Inspired after reading Sterlo's NSW Predictions, I thought I'd have a crack myself. I'm sure this is going to generate conjecture and I more than welcome it. If you agree, disagree or think I've got no clue, let me know!
1. Billy Slater
2. Lote Tuqiri
3. Brent Tate
4. Willie Tonga
5. Israel Folau
6. Darren Lockyer
7. Jonathan Thurston
8. Petero Civoneciva
9. Cameron Smith (If fit, other Nathan Friend)
10. Matt Scott
11. Sam Thaiday
12. Nate Myles
13. David Stagg
14. David Shillington
15. Neville Costigan
16. Ash Harrison
17. Matt Bowen
Slightly controversial but justified I believe.
Slater at fullback picks himself - the only fullback to come close this season for QLD is Darius Boyd but he doesn't have the same spark as The Kid.
Tuqiri has the size, speed and finishing power that great wingers are made of. He's done it before and the form he is in currently, he can do it again. Wouldn't be surprised if Boyd gets a foot in before him though.
Tate and Tonga are the sensible choices - Tate for his menacing defence in the absence of Hodges and Tonga has been setting the world on fire in Townsville. Inglis hasn't got the form but just like Boyd, he'll probably get a run in front of Tate.
Folau needs to be there. He wasn't picked in the Australian side and rightfully so - Morris is the form winger in the NRL and thoroughly deserved the spot. Izzy's aerial ability is unmatched (yes, Idris isn't in the same league) and while he doesn't deserve a centre spot, we know what he can do on the wing.
Darren and JT pick themselves as far as I'm concerned. Yes Cronk is the current Australian halfback but QLD reward past form and barring injuries, he's only had 1 bad game all season. Darren Lockyer is, well, Darren Lockyer.
Petero is the games form front rower and has been for the past few years. Easy choice. In the absence of Ben Hannant, Matt Scott gets the nod for me. Quality forward.
Cam Smith, Nate Myles and Sam Thaiday are instant selections - Smith is the best rake around and Myles/Thaiday have been ripping it up all season long.
People will probably disagree with my choice of Stagg at lock. The reason I've pick him is due to his massive defensive workload. It's a seamless substitution for Dallas Johnson. If it wasn't for the depth of backrow talent at QLD's disposal, Scott Bolton would have made it in.
I've gone for a reliable bench - Costigan is an enforcer and puts big hits on each and every time. Harrison is going great guns for the Titans and Shillington is a monster of a man. The pick that even I'm a little unsure of is Matty Bowen. I don't doubt his skill - the bloke is a freak. My only concern is that he may be underdone given he has just returned from a horrid run of injuries. Going on his length of the field try last week I think he'll be right come Origin time.
So what do you think? Am I on the mark or am I horribly wrong?
1. Billy Slater
2. Lote Tuqiri
3. Brent Tate
4. Willie Tonga
5. Israel Folau
6. Darren Lockyer
7. Jonathan Thurston
8. Petero Civoneciva
9. Cameron Smith (If fit, other Nathan Friend)
10. Matt Scott
11. Sam Thaiday
12. Nate Myles
13. David Stagg
14. David Shillington
15. Neville Costigan
16. Ash Harrison
17. Matt Bowen
Slightly controversial but justified I believe.
Slater at fullback picks himself - the only fullback to come close this season for QLD is Darius Boyd but he doesn't have the same spark as The Kid.
Tuqiri has the size, speed and finishing power that great wingers are made of. He's done it before and the form he is in currently, he can do it again. Wouldn't be surprised if Boyd gets a foot in before him though.
Tate and Tonga are the sensible choices - Tate for his menacing defence in the absence of Hodges and Tonga has been setting the world on fire in Townsville. Inglis hasn't got the form but just like Boyd, he'll probably get a run in front of Tate.
Folau needs to be there. He wasn't picked in the Australian side and rightfully so - Morris is the form winger in the NRL and thoroughly deserved the spot. Izzy's aerial ability is unmatched (yes, Idris isn't in the same league) and while he doesn't deserve a centre spot, we know what he can do on the wing.
Darren and JT pick themselves as far as I'm concerned. Yes Cronk is the current Australian halfback but QLD reward past form and barring injuries, he's only had 1 bad game all season. Darren Lockyer is, well, Darren Lockyer.
Petero is the games form front rower and has been for the past few years. Easy choice. In the absence of Ben Hannant, Matt Scott gets the nod for me. Quality forward.
Cam Smith, Nate Myles and Sam Thaiday are instant selections - Smith is the best rake around and Myles/Thaiday have been ripping it up all season long.
People will probably disagree with my choice of Stagg at lock. The reason I've pick him is due to his massive defensive workload. It's a seamless substitution for Dallas Johnson. If it wasn't for the depth of backrow talent at QLD's disposal, Scott Bolton would have made it in.
I've gone for a reliable bench - Costigan is an enforcer and puts big hits on each and every time. Harrison is going great guns for the Titans and Shillington is a monster of a man. The pick that even I'm a little unsure of is Matty Bowen. I don't doubt his skill - the bloke is a freak. My only concern is that he may be underdone given he has just returned from a horrid run of injuries. Going on his length of the field try last week I think he'll be right come Origin time.
So what do you think? Am I on the mark or am I horribly wrong?
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Broncos vs. Titans - Lineup
1. Josh Hoffman
2. Antonio Winterstein
3. Alex Glenn
4. Israel Folau
5. Jharal Yow Yeh
6. Darren Lockyer
7. Peter Wallace
8. Shane Tronc
9. Ben Hunt
10. Lagi Setu
11. Ben Te'o
12. Sam Thaiday
13. Corey Parker
Bench
14. Gerard Beale
15. Matt Gillett
16. Mitchell Dodds
17. Nick Kenny
18. Corey Norman
One to be omitted.
For the first time in quite a few weeks I'm glad to say our lineup is looking somewhat normal! Wallace, Gillett and Winterstein return from injury to provide some much needed stability. Not to say the lads didn't perform last week but we're a much more rounded side with those guys back in.
The biggest surprise is Setu being named at Prop. Anderson is injured with elbow ligament damage however I'm wondering why Lui isn't either starting or at least on the bench. He's been named for the Toyota Cup clash however he doesn't seem to rate a mention with Ivan. Considering his unorthodox bench strategy I'm guessing it's due to Gillett's return.
Good to see Hunt get another shot at Hooker - Beale was actually solid in covering there last game which may see an unlucky relegation for Norman.
Not much else to mention really - Corey Parker plays his 200th game for the Broncos which is a fantastic milestone for any player to achieve. The only other topic that warrants any mention is the fact that Spence's debut last week marked the 28th player that we've fielded this season. Pretty amazing considering it's round 9 and it just underlines the predicament we've faced in terms of injuries.
Join me tomorrow for my pick for the Queensland team - don't forget that Origin is almost here, Game 1 is on May 26.
2. Antonio Winterstein
3. Alex Glenn
4. Israel Folau
5. Jharal Yow Yeh
6. Darren Lockyer
7. Peter Wallace
8. Shane Tronc
9. Ben Hunt
10. Lagi Setu
11. Ben Te'o
12. Sam Thaiday
13. Corey Parker
Bench
14. Gerard Beale
15. Matt Gillett
16. Mitchell Dodds
17. Nick Kenny
18. Corey Norman
One to be omitted.
For the first time in quite a few weeks I'm glad to say our lineup is looking somewhat normal! Wallace, Gillett and Winterstein return from injury to provide some much needed stability. Not to say the lads didn't perform last week but we're a much more rounded side with those guys back in.
The biggest surprise is Setu being named at Prop. Anderson is injured with elbow ligament damage however I'm wondering why Lui isn't either starting or at least on the bench. He's been named for the Toyota Cup clash however he doesn't seem to rate a mention with Ivan. Considering his unorthodox bench strategy I'm guessing it's due to Gillett's return.
Good to see Hunt get another shot at Hooker - Beale was actually solid in covering there last game which may see an unlucky relegation for Norman.
Not much else to mention really - Corey Parker plays his 200th game for the Broncos which is a fantastic milestone for any player to achieve. The only other topic that warrants any mention is the fact that Spence's debut last week marked the 28th player that we've fielded this season. Pretty amazing considering it's round 9 and it just underlines the predicament we've faced in terms of injuries.
Join me tomorrow for my pick for the Queensland team - don't forget that Origin is almost here, Game 1 is on May 26.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Broncos vs, Storm Review
Well, what a game that was. As you'll probably have noticed, the team here at Red Hill Rants weren't confident heading into the weekend's match. In fact, not confident is an understatement. I was convinced that we'd be on the receiving end of a flogging at the hands of our arch-rivals (well, I consider them arch-rivals at least). I'm glad to admit that I was wrong. Let's take a look at what went right and what needs some attention..
Errors
I've come across sounding a bit like a broken record but our enormous error rate has been crippling us over the weeks. We conceded a total of 6 errors on Sunday which is a fantastic improvement. If we can replicate that week in and week out, watch out top 8. The greatest thing to see was the lack of silly errors - the only one from memory was Setu's offload when it clearly wasn't on. It was a mature display from a youthful side.
Completion Rates
A by-product of error-free football is a high completion rate. It's been the other topic I've been harping on about. The Dragon's in the early part of the season set the world on fire due to their high completion rate. Sure they were about as entertaining as watching paint dry but they won their games. Melbourne for the most part also play high completion football and the record shows how well they went, ignoring cap breaches naturally. The more you push your opposition down the field, the more pressure they end up being under. Pretty simple equation but a very telling one.
80 Minutes of Effort
One harrowing trend that has been haunting us in past weeks has been our ability to switch off at the 35th minute and the 65th minute. You could almost set your watch to it. The boys on the weekend played their guts out for the entire 80 minutes. When we let a try in at the start of the second half I started to think 'maybe we
are going to capitulate' but the lads stuck to it and ground out a fantastic win.
Corey Norman and Ben Hunt
A quick word on these two. As you will have noticed, there was a late change to the Broncos line up. Te'o was shifted to the second row, Hunt to Hooker and Norman to Halfback. I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't sold on if this would work or not - I've mentioned the possibility of Hunt at Hooker before but I thought his size would go against him. He played very admirably and may be the solution we need until McCullough returns. Corey Norman was great at no. 7 - a standout was his kicking game. I think it complimented Lockyer's kicking game very well.
Negatives?
I've thought hard about this and I'm struggling to find any negatives from this weekends game. The only negative I can see from Sunday was that we were occasionally guilty of trying to push the pass in some situations. It's hard to blame the lads though considering everything clicked for them. Any potential room for improvement will reveal itself on Friday versus the Titans.
The other negative was Hoffman being injured but reports are that his scans came up okay and he'll be good to go for the Titans match.
Be sure to return on Wednesday for the team announcement and club news.
Errors
I've come across sounding a bit like a broken record but our enormous error rate has been crippling us over the weeks. We conceded a total of 6 errors on Sunday which is a fantastic improvement. If we can replicate that week in and week out, watch out top 8. The greatest thing to see was the lack of silly errors - the only one from memory was Setu's offload when it clearly wasn't on. It was a mature display from a youthful side.
Completion Rates
A by-product of error-free football is a high completion rate. It's been the other topic I've been harping on about. The Dragon's in the early part of the season set the world on fire due to their high completion rate. Sure they were about as entertaining as watching paint dry but they won their games. Melbourne for the most part also play high completion football and the record shows how well they went, ignoring cap breaches naturally. The more you push your opposition down the field, the more pressure they end up being under. Pretty simple equation but a very telling one.
80 Minutes of Effort
One harrowing trend that has been haunting us in past weeks has been our ability to switch off at the 35th minute and the 65th minute. You could almost set your watch to it. The boys on the weekend played their guts out for the entire 80 minutes. When we let a try in at the start of the second half I started to think 'maybe we
are going to capitulate' but the lads stuck to it and ground out a fantastic win.
Corey Norman and Ben Hunt
A quick word on these two. As you will have noticed, there was a late change to the Broncos line up. Te'o was shifted to the second row, Hunt to Hooker and Norman to Halfback. I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't sold on if this would work or not - I've mentioned the possibility of Hunt at Hooker before but I thought his size would go against him. He played very admirably and may be the solution we need until McCullough returns. Corey Norman was great at no. 7 - a standout was his kicking game. I think it complimented Lockyer's kicking game very well.
Negatives?
I've thought hard about this and I'm struggling to find any negatives from this weekends game. The only negative I can see from Sunday was that we were occasionally guilty of trying to push the pass in some situations. It's hard to blame the lads though considering everything clicked for them. Any potential room for improvement will reveal itself on Friday versus the Titans.
The other negative was Hoffman being injured but reports are that his scans came up okay and he'll be good to go for the Titans match.
Be sure to return on Wednesday for the team announcement and club news.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Storm Preview - 1x Miracle Needed
In a little over an hour we’ll be facing up against the Storm at their new home ground in Melbourne. Rest assured it’s going to take a miracle for us to pull off a win given the week we’ve had. Two mid-week injuries to Kemp and Kenny and Henjak has once again relied on 19 year olds kids to fill their places. Lockyer has been missing in action from training all week, so the much needed work on his combinations with Hunt won’t be done. Add that to the fact that Lockyer can barely breathe after playing one game a week, we’ll be lucky if he gets through today’s game without suffering a stroke. The only two things we have going for us is a fresh Folau, and an injured Cameron Smith. But that won’t be enough. You need the perfect week’s preparation to beat the Storm, and although they haven’t had the ideal week themselves, I just can’t see how we’re going to get over the line today.
The newspapers this week have been filled with Ivan Henjak babbling on about how he’s bleeding young players into the NRL, how he’s so wonderful for doing it, and how this excuses everything that’s gone wrong so far this season. Bullshit.
There were ample opportunities to give our young guns a chance last season, instead Henjak decided to call upon the services of people like Tonie Carrol, and Palmer Wapau. No offence to either player, I'm just illustrating the point that you can’t sit here in 2010 and say that you haven't had a chance to give the young players NRL experience before now. And as if the timing is now somehow right to do so? We’re giving these kids the chance to play in front of players with ample NRL games under their belt. I can only guess that Ashton Sims and Josh McGuire have shit in Henjak’s cereal or something. Sure Sims is prone to the odd mistake, but he’s worked hard in the games he’s played this season and that’s more than I can say for anyone else in the team whose name doesn’t end in Sam Thaiday.
The madness doesn’t stop there though. After what I can only describe as the worst game of football a winger has ever played, Yow Yeh retains his place in front of Michaels this week. I remember a wonderful time in this clubs history when a mastermind coach would send a player who has a shocker to reserve grade for a week as punishment. Instead Henjak rewards such performances with another week in the NRL. Oh look at that, Beale is back in the team this week aswell. Well deserved...
The point I’m trying to make here is that this season’s shortcomings are not entirely down to injuries and bad luck. They are down to poor team selections over the last 2 seasons; choosing experience when it’s not needed, and leaving experience on the sidelines when it is needed. Henjak, I’ve made up my mind. I’m done with you. We’re the Brisbane Broncos fans. We won’t accept the ‘rebuilding’ excuse. We have a squad capable of reaching the top 8 at the very least. If we don’t make it, then you are the person to blame.
Anyways, bring on the miracle. We’re gonna need it.
The newspapers this week have been filled with Ivan Henjak babbling on about how he’s bleeding young players into the NRL, how he’s so wonderful for doing it, and how this excuses everything that’s gone wrong so far this season. Bullshit.
There were ample opportunities to give our young guns a chance last season, instead Henjak decided to call upon the services of people like Tonie Carrol, and Palmer Wapau. No offence to either player, I'm just illustrating the point that you can’t sit here in 2010 and say that you haven't had a chance to give the young players NRL experience before now. And as if the timing is now somehow right to do so? We’re giving these kids the chance to play in front of players with ample NRL games under their belt. I can only guess that Ashton Sims and Josh McGuire have shit in Henjak’s cereal or something. Sure Sims is prone to the odd mistake, but he’s worked hard in the games he’s played this season and that’s more than I can say for anyone else in the team whose name doesn’t end in Sam Thaiday.
The madness doesn’t stop there though. After what I can only describe as the worst game of football a winger has ever played, Yow Yeh retains his place in front of Michaels this week. I remember a wonderful time in this clubs history when a mastermind coach would send a player who has a shocker to reserve grade for a week as punishment. Instead Henjak rewards such performances with another week in the NRL. Oh look at that, Beale is back in the team this week aswell. Well deserved...
The point I’m trying to make here is that this season’s shortcomings are not entirely down to injuries and bad luck. They are down to poor team selections over the last 2 seasons; choosing experience when it’s not needed, and leaving experience on the sidelines when it is needed. Henjak, I’ve made up my mind. I’m done with you. We’re the Brisbane Broncos fans. We won’t accept the ‘rebuilding’ excuse. We have a squad capable of reaching the top 8 at the very least. If we don’t make it, then you are the person to blame.
Anyways, bring on the miracle. We’re gonna need it.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Brisbane Broncos vs. Melbourne Storm Lineup
1. Hoffman
2. Copley
3. Te'o
4. Folau
5. Yow Yeh
6. Lockyer (c)
7. Hunt
8. Tronc
9. Glenn
10. Anderson
11. Thaiday
12. Setu
13. Parker
Bench
14. Norman
15. Spence
16. Dodds
17. Beale
18. Lui
(One to be omitted)
Fresh off the fairly interesting Test Match last night, we’re looking down the barrel of facing the Melbourne Storm tomorrow at their new stadium. The above line up differs from Tuesday’s announcement and this is due to Denan Kemp copping a knock to his recently injured ribs and Nick Kenny’s calf needing another week. Dunamis Lui travels as 18th man to potentially cover for Sam Thaiday. All reports out of the camp today indicate that Locky and Thaiday will be good to go for Sunday which is fantastic news.
Our injury ward is looking a bit full at the moment – we have Justin Hodges, Antonio Winterstein, Nick Kenny, Andrew McCullough, Matt Gillett and Peter Wallace all sitting on the sidelines. The positive side of this situation is that by blooding all these young players, we will be positioned for the future. A player that has 20 odd games under their belt is much better for it in future seasons.
Our hopes may lie with the fact that the Storm are a bit battered and bruised from the Test on Friday night. Horrible news for Queensland is that Cameron Smith suffered a partial dislocation of his elbow and this looks to keep him off the field up to and possibly including Origin 1. Slater copped a few solid hits last night from the Kiwi boys so we’ll see how he goes.
Melbourne will have way too much class for us tomorrow, I’m looking for us to keep pace with them while we can and have a good go at it.
2. Copley
3. Te'o
4. Folau
5. Yow Yeh
6. Lockyer (c)
7. Hunt
8. Tronc
9. Glenn
10. Anderson
11. Thaiday
12. Setu
13. Parker
Bench
14. Norman
15. Spence
16. Dodds
17. Beale
18. Lui
(One to be omitted)
Fresh off the fairly interesting Test Match last night, we’re looking down the barrel of facing the Melbourne Storm tomorrow at their new stadium. The above line up differs from Tuesday’s announcement and this is due to Denan Kemp copping a knock to his recently injured ribs and Nick Kenny’s calf needing another week. Dunamis Lui travels as 18th man to potentially cover for Sam Thaiday. All reports out of the camp today indicate that Locky and Thaiday will be good to go for Sunday which is fantastic news.
Our injury ward is looking a bit full at the moment – we have Justin Hodges, Antonio Winterstein, Nick Kenny, Andrew McCullough, Matt Gillett and Peter Wallace all sitting on the sidelines. The positive side of this situation is that by blooding all these young players, we will be positioned for the future. A player that has 20 odd games under their belt is much better for it in future seasons.
Our hopes may lie with the fact that the Storm are a bit battered and bruised from the Test on Friday night. Horrible news for Queensland is that Cameron Smith suffered a partial dislocation of his elbow and this looks to keep him off the field up to and possibly including Origin 1. Slater copped a few solid hits last night from the Kiwi boys so we’ll see how he goes.
Melbourne will have way too much class for us tomorrow, I’m looking for us to keep pace with them while we can and have a good go at it.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Australia vs. New Zealand Lineup
1 Billy Slater (Melbourne Storm)
2 Brett Morris (St George Illawarra Dragons)
3 Greg Inglis (Melbourne Storm)
4 Jamie Lyon (Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles)
5 Jarryd Hayne (Parramatta Eels)
6 Darren Lockyer [c] (Brisbane Broncos)
7 Cooper Cronk (Melbourne Storm)
8 Petero Civoniceva (Penrith Panthers)
9 Cameron Smith (Melbourne Storm)
10 David Shillington (Canberra Raiders)
11 Luke Lewis (Penrith Panthers)
12 Sam Thaiday (Brisbane Broncos)
13 Paul Gallen (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks)
Subs:
14 Kurt Gidley (Newcastle Knights)
15 Josh Perry (Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles)
16 Anthony Watmough (Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles)
17 Michael Weyman (St George Illawarra Dragons)
18th Man - Nate Myles (Sydney Roosters)
The annual ANZAC Test Match between Australia and New Zealand is upon us. It's no surprise to me that Sam Thaiday and Darren Lockyer were selected for the side. Sammy is having a blinder of a year and Darren Lockyer is, well, Darren Lockyer. I'll probably cop it from a few different directions for this but I'm not convinced Locky should have been selected. His form doesn't warrant it however his reputation got him selected. I hope he steps up for the occasion but I also hope he backs up for us on the weekend.
Some have come out and said that Israel Folau got a rough deal by not getting selected. To the one-eyed supporters out there - he hasn't done much this season. He was injured for part of it and when he is on the field, he seems to have forgotten how to pass to his outside man. It wouldn't surprise me if ARL didn't pick Izzy based on deliberating about his contract but honestly, would he have gotten in regardless? Someone who should count his lucky stars is Greg Inglis. He's having a very quiet year but we all know he's got the talent. Hayne's a joke - he was picked purely because he won the Dally M last year. He's been almost absent for Parra but they pick him out of position nonetheless.
Another to feel the sting of missing the side is Josh Morris. What more does he have to do? He's unfortunately stuck with a misfiring Bulldogs side but I think if he was put in a solid team he would destroy the opposition.
Slater and Cronk are not surprising selections. Both are having great seasons as usual - Billy's a little quieter than usual but he's still the best Fullback in the game. Cronk is the form half of the competition as far as I'm concerned and was a shoe-in considering JT's injuries.
Civoniceva, Smith, Lewis, Watmough and Weyman selected themselves. The biggest shock for me is Josh Perry. People like Matt Scott and Jason Ryles really missed out. Luke Lewis and David Shillington were also really solid decisions.
The Kiwi's are fielding a solid team with only Benji Marshall being a top quality player. Don't get me wrong - Hohaia, Nightingale, Luke and Taia etc are very solid players but they aren't in the top echelon.
Australia to romp it home. Come back tomorrow for a Broncos preview!
2 Brett Morris (St George Illawarra Dragons)
3 Greg Inglis (Melbourne Storm)
4 Jamie Lyon (Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles)
5 Jarryd Hayne (Parramatta Eels)
6 Darren Lockyer [c] (Brisbane Broncos)
7 Cooper Cronk (Melbourne Storm)
8 Petero Civoniceva (Penrith Panthers)
9 Cameron Smith (Melbourne Storm)
10 David Shillington (Canberra Raiders)
11 Luke Lewis (Penrith Panthers)
12 Sam Thaiday (Brisbane Broncos)
13 Paul Gallen (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks)
Subs:
14 Kurt Gidley (Newcastle Knights)
15 Josh Perry (Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles)
16 Anthony Watmough (Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles)
17 Michael Weyman (St George Illawarra Dragons)
18th Man - Nate Myles (Sydney Roosters)
The annual ANZAC Test Match between Australia and New Zealand is upon us. It's no surprise to me that Sam Thaiday and Darren Lockyer were selected for the side. Sammy is having a blinder of a year and Darren Lockyer is, well, Darren Lockyer. I'll probably cop it from a few different directions for this but I'm not convinced Locky should have been selected. His form doesn't warrant it however his reputation got him selected. I hope he steps up for the occasion but I also hope he backs up for us on the weekend.
Some have come out and said that Israel Folau got a rough deal by not getting selected. To the one-eyed supporters out there - he hasn't done much this season. He was injured for part of it and when he is on the field, he seems to have forgotten how to pass to his outside man. It wouldn't surprise me if ARL didn't pick Izzy based on deliberating about his contract but honestly, would he have gotten in regardless? Someone who should count his lucky stars is Greg Inglis. He's having a very quiet year but we all know he's got the talent. Hayne's a joke - he was picked purely because he won the Dally M last year. He's been almost absent for Parra but they pick him out of position nonetheless.
Another to feel the sting of missing the side is Josh Morris. What more does he have to do? He's unfortunately stuck with a misfiring Bulldogs side but I think if he was put in a solid team he would destroy the opposition.
Slater and Cronk are not surprising selections. Both are having great seasons as usual - Billy's a little quieter than usual but he's still the best Fullback in the game. Cronk is the form half of the competition as far as I'm concerned and was a shoe-in considering JT's injuries.
Civoniceva, Smith, Lewis, Watmough and Weyman selected themselves. The biggest shock for me is Josh Perry. People like Matt Scott and Jason Ryles really missed out. Luke Lewis and David Shillington were also really solid decisions.
The Kiwi's are fielding a solid team with only Benji Marshall being a top quality player. Don't get me wrong - Hohaia, Nightingale, Luke and Taia etc are very solid players but they aren't in the top echelon.
Australia to romp it home. Come back tomorrow for a Broncos preview!
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