Through green eyes 2018

All the news on the Canberra Raiders NRL team, all in one place

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greeneyed
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: The real frustration

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It has been a less than happy start to the 2018 season for Canberra Raiders fans. Two last gasp losses in a row, by exactly the same score line, 30-28.

All Raiders fans expected it would be tough going in 2018, without Josh Hodgson.

But the opening games have exposed other big problems that coach Ricky Stuart will need to grapple with - and quickly.

There is little doubt that the Raiders can still score points. Coming into Round 3, only the Sea Eagles had scored more points than Canberra.

But the opening rounds, showed the Raiders still have problems with completions, ill discipline and defence.

In the Titans match, the Raiders conceded too many penalties and produced too much dropped ball - meaning they were starved of possession and their defence was put under too much pressure. Fix the completions and the ill discipline and that will fix things, we thought.

Well Canberra produced an 86 per cent completion rate against the Knights - had 55 per cent of the ball - and still managed to lose. There were simply too many poor defensive decisions taken by the Raiders on the edges.

The defensive frailties have probably been accentuated by the "three halves" strategy, which has been designed to cover the hole left by Josh Hodgson. And it is no doubt why coach Stuart has switched things around for the Warriors clash, with Aidan Sezer to start in the halves and Blake Austin on the bench.

The concerning thing is that the Raiders again look like they have come into the season "underdone".

The Raiders had only one trial match - and instead of testing these combinations in trials, they are being tested in the opening rounds. It doesn't look like that has turned out to be the best strategy.

There are also some players who seem to be short on condition - and that is proving costly in the final stages of matches.

When the 2018 draw was released, most thought the Raiders would have an "easy" start to the season. Their opponents in the first three rounds all finished below them on competition ladder in 2017. It hasn't turned out to be "easy"... and it gets no easier on Saturday afternoon.

The Warriors are in good form, winning both of their first two matches, and they have plenty of attacking strike in their spine.

My head is again telling me this will be a win for the away team... but the heart is hoping the Green Machine will turn things around.

If they are to do it, it will be because of the intensity of their defence, their line speed and their concentration.

****

It looks like Joey Leilua will take his place in the team, despite playing only 20 minutes of the match against the Knights because of a high ankle sprain. Charlie Gubb is not so lucky. A groin injury suffered in his Raiders debut last week, saw him playing for only 10 minutes. He is unable to face his former club on Saturday and is set to be out for six weeks. Another new Raiders recruit from the Warriors, Ata Hingano, dropped off the extended bench this afternoon. And with fellow Kiwi Joe Tapine ruled out again with his dislocated thumb, Liam Knight will make his debut in green on the bench. He's had his share of off field problems at other clubs, but he's played well for Mounties since joining the Raiders last year and has earned his call up. I'm sure all Raiders fans will be wishing him the best of luck.

****

At the start of every season, the NRL referees attempt to "set the tone" for the year. We often see a raft of penalties, as they clamp down on one offence or other. This year they are clamping down on incorrect play the balls and offside play, particularly in the red zone.

Last night, Andrew Johns blew up about the big penalty count in the first half of the Storm V Cowboys clash.

“I can’t really tell who’s the better team because the game has been destroyed by penalties,” Johns said, during the half time commentary on Channel Nine.

“Twelve penalties blown in that first half and nearly three quarters of them for offside, inside the 10.

“There’s been 36 sets in that first half and every third set there’s a penalty.

“Rugby league games that flows and there’s attrition — as a ballplayer like myself and Locky you try to wear out the big guys.

“You can’t do that with so many penalties, it’s destroying the game, there’s no flow. Very frustrating to watch.”

I expect the fans would rather not see such high penalty counts.

But I'm glad the referees are finally doing something about teams that deliberately stand off side. Certain teams do it a lot more than others.

The Storm are just one team that has made this an art form. The Wests Tigers turned the tables on the Storm last weekend, and were prepared to concede 18 penalties and a sin binning. Sadly in this case, the deliberate cheating was rewarded with a victory.

We saw the Knights doing a similar thing against the Raiders last Sunday. I don't understand how there was no sin bin employed in that match - particularly when the Raiders were illegally prevented from taking a quick tap after a 40/20 kick.

Perhaps the referees are reluctant to bin a player for 10 minutes... and they might be more willing to impose that penalty if the NRL brought back the option of a five minute binning.

So bring it back, I say. Because at the moment, the teams that have a deliberate strategy of cheating are not suffering sufficient penalty.

I do hope the referees keep up their vigilance on off side play right through the season - because I find the deliberate off side play to be the real frustration... much more frustrating than the high penalty counts.

And maybe, just maybe, the offending coaches and teams will change their ways.

****

Every week I rate the Raiders players on a scale of 0-10... and here are the total points and average points per match after the loss to the Knights.

Total points after Round 2:

Elliott Whitehead 15
Shannon Boyd 15
Jack Wighton 14
Iosia Soliola 13
Jordan Rapana 13
Blake Austin 12
Josh Papalii 12
Junior Paulo 12
Luke Bateman 12
Sam Williams 12
Dunamis Lui 11
Jarrod Croker 11
Nick Cotric 11
Siliva Havili 11
Aidan Sezer 10
Joey Leilua 10
Joseph Tapine 6
Charlie Gubb 4

Average points per match after Round 2:

Elliott Whitehead 7.5
Shannon Boyd 7.5
Jack Wighton 7.0
Iosia Soliola 6.5
Jordan Rapana 6.5
Blake Austin 6.0
Joseph Tapine 6.0
Josh Papalii 6.0
Junior Paulo 6.0
Luke Bateman 6.0
Sam Williams 6.0
Dunamis Lui 5.5
Jarrod Croker 5.5
Nick Cotric 5.5
Siliva Havili 5.5
Aidan Sezer 5.0
Joey Leilua 5.0
Charlie Gubb 4.0

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gangrenous
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by gangrenous »

“It doesn’t look like that has turned out to be the best strategy”

Understatement of the year GE! Everyone on the forum knew this was a **** stupid strategy ahead of the trials. Absolutely woeful decision from the coaching staff that makes me furious.
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: As I saw it

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Round 3 2018. New Zealand Warriors 20, Canberra Raiders 19. Groundhog Day Mark III. If you thought that things could not possibly get worse for the Raiders after the narrow, last gasp losses of the first two rounds... well, you were wrong. The manner of the loss to the Warriors in the final few minutes shows there are massive problems that need to be fixed, quickly.

"We were the best team on the day and we got beaten," coach Ricky Stuart said after the game. I can't agree. The Raiders were not the better team on the day. The best team on the day in rugby league is the winning team.

In the post match press conference, Coach Stuart has also also highlighted a disallowed try to Junior Paulo for obstruction in the lead up - with Luke Bateman making contact with Bunty Afoa.

The coach is correct in pointing to significant inconsistencies in how the referees are dealing with obstruction. There was a try that the Newcastle Knights scored against the Raiders that should have been disallowed last week. There was another blatant example of a try awarded in the Bulldogs-Panthers match that should have been disallowed.

The coach is also correct that the problem is that there is no "black and white" interpretation of obstruction. The referees are being asked to give opinion as to whether players might or might not have been able to make a difference to the scoring play. It's certain to lead to inconsistency. But I don't believe that the referees got the call wrong on the Paulo try. Even though Bateman's contact was not on Afoa's inside shoulder, he made contact and it's clear that Afoa's ability to tackle Paulo was affected. It was a clear, old-fashioned obstruction.

The refereeing was not the reason the Raiders lost, not yesterday, not last week, or the week before. And raising it doesn't really help the team focus on the real problems. Good teams play well enough so that individual refereeing decisions don't make any difference. The real problems are the Raiders' defence, game management, fitness and roster management.

There were several points in the match which highlighted the defensive problems. The Raiders had all the ball in the early stages, thanks to six penalties in a row. Finally, the Warriors' Adam Blair was sin binned... and Canberra scored two quick tries. However, before Blair returned, the Warriors scored a simple try, on their first opportunity to attack in the Raiders' red zone. The Raiders have problems in defensive combinations on the edges... the edge forwards, halves and centres. And opposition teams know where to run to take advantage. The try Issac Luke scored to bring the Warriors back into the match can't be described as anything but soft.

The Raiders' defence certainly improved this week. Defence is attitude and I saw a lot of improvement in that in this match. At one stage, Sia Soliola produced a magical tackle just as Roger Tuivasa Sheck was set to streak away for a try. But ultimately, the defence in the final two minutes cost the Raiders the game. Twice the Raiders conceded 70 metres, in precisely the same fashion - with Shaun Johnson put in perfect position to kick two field goals.

How do we explain these sort of late game fade outs? Fitness seems to be one problem. Some players are underdone and the team seems to be gassed by the 70 minute mark... while the opposition looks stronger. The other problem is an old one. Game management. The team is missing an on field general, a player who stands up and organises in the clutch situation. Instead, the team seems to panic, there's a certain mental fragility evident. I don't know how Ricky Stuart is going to fix this. For a start, I think he needs to pick his best two halves and leave them there for the entire match. But in the longer term, some difficult choices may have to be made in the area of roster management.

The most important things that coach and captain said after yesterday's loss were these...

"This past three weeks is really important to understand from our point of view with how we handle it. The way we bind together and handle this situation will make or break our season. So, we have to use it and grow out of it because there no other way to look at it," Coach Stuart said.

"We're sticking together because there's nobody else that can get us out of this situation but ourselves," Jarrod Croker added.

I'm desperately hoping they can.

Stats that mattered? There was not much difference between the teams statistically. The Raiders finished with 51 per cent possession. Despite the fact the Raiders received six penalties in a row in the early stages, they finished at 10 apiece. I have to wonder whether there was some unconscious "evening up" in that department. Errors were fairly even (Raiders 8, Warriors 9).

The Raiders made 1328 metres from 151 runs, while the Warriors made 1342 metres from 144 runs. Canberra conceded far too many offloads (Warriors 17 offloads, Raiders nine), but did make more line breaks (Raiders 7, Warriors 4). Kicking metres were very similar (Raiders 333 metres, Warriors 297), while both teams forced one line drop out.

The Warriors had to do a little more tackling (Warriors 281, Raiders 256), but missed a lot more tackles (Warriors 40, Raiders 16). Unfortunately, Canberra could not take advantage.

Best performers?

Joey Leilua. 14 runs for 136 metres, four tackles.

Sia Soliola. 12 runs for 110 metres, one try assist, 24 tackles.

Nick Cotric. One try, 11 runs for 104 metres, two tackles.

Elliott Whitehead. One try, 12 runs for 93 metres, 38 tackles.

Top tacklers: Elliott Whitehead 38, Luke Bateman 38, Aidan Sezer 26
Most runs: Jordan Rapana 15, Joey Leilua 14, Sia Soliola 12
Most metres gained: Joey Leilua 136, Jordan Rapana 117, Sia Soliola 110
*Only two Raiders forwards, Sia Soliola and Shannon Boyd broke the 100 metres gained mark.

My player ratings:

Jack Wighton 6
Nick Cotric 7
Jarrod Croker 6
Joey Leilua 7
Jordan Rapana 6
Aidan Sezer 6
Sam Williams 5
Sia Soliola 7
Siliva Havili 6
Shannon Boyd 6
Josh Papalii 6
Elliott Whitehead 7
Luke Bateman 6

Blake Austin 5
Junior Paulo 5
Dunamis Lui 5
Liam Knight 3

Do you agree or disagree with the ratings? Let us know!

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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by -PJ- »

Defence,Game management, Fitness, Roster.

Ricky, Ricky, Ricky, Ricky.

He's the one who looks deeper into games than any other.
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by zim »

It's already a season of what if's :(.

Where are you getting your stats from? NRL app has Bateman (124) and Whitehead (122) above the 100m mark. Sia at 130m.
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greeneyed
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by greeneyed »

Using Fox Sports Lab stats... largely because I can never find the NRL.com stats!
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by zim »

NRL app -> draw icon at the bottom -> match centre -> player stats is how I access them if you want to use them.
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greeneyed
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by greeneyed »

zim wrote: March 26, 2018, 3:24 pm NRL app -> draw icon at the bottom -> match centre -> player stats is how I access them if you want to use them.
Seriously, though, I cannot for the life of me find them on NRL.com when using a laptop.
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by zim »

greeneyed wrote: March 26, 2018, 3:28 pm
zim wrote: March 26, 2018, 3:24 pm NRL app -> draw icon at the bottom -> match centre -> player stats is how I access them if you want to use them.
Seriously, though, I cannot for the life of me find them on NRL.com when using a laptop.
Yeah it doesn't exist. Where it should be they tell you to use NRL live pass which is only available through the app. They either **** up with their strategy or have some odd licensing deal with the stats people.
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by The Nickman »

How can you have such a big writeup and not mention the simple fact that our team looks best with Havili at dummy half, and our Supercoach in every game so far has failed to notice that and bring him back on to close out the games??
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greeneyed
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Through green eyes 2018

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: Missed it by that much

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The Canberra Raiders have started the 2018 season with three straight losses, and are avoiding the wooden spoon position on points differential.

In fact, this morning, the Raiders have a better points differential (-5) than six other teams... including two teams that are placed in the top eight.

There's been a lot of heartbreak for the team and fans in each of those three narrow, last gasp losses. But the fact that the Raiders' negative points differential is less than a converted try, in total, emphasises that there are some positives that we shouldn't lose sight of.

For a start, the Raiders' attack is top four in the competition, based on average points scored (25 per match). They are sixth in the competition for average tries scored (four per match). Canberra is averaging just one point per match less than this week's opponent, the Manly Sea Eagles. The Raiders are first for line breaks (six per match) and tackle breaks (35 per match)... though they are 11th for offloads (eight per match) and tackles in the opposition red zone (27 per match).

Remarkably, given some of the costly turnovers we've seen in each of the losses, the Raiders have the best completion rate in the competition (78 per cent) - equal with the Sea Eagles. Their error rate (8.7 per match) and the number of penalties they concede (8 per match) are not far off the NRL benchmarks.

The team is certainly scoring enough points to win matches. The issue, as it has been for some time, the defence. The Raiders are fifth in the league for points conceded (27 per match) and tries conceded (a bit over four per match).

And that's where the Sea Eagles have the advantage this weekend. They have conceded almost 10 fewer points and one fewer try per match on average.

Blake Austin is the player paying the price for the defensive errors, dropped to Mounties this week. But he's not been Robinson Crusoe. It is always difficult mentioning individuals, as a try cause on the edge might simply be the result of defensive errors made by other players in the middle. But for what the numbers are worth... Jarrod Croker and Sam Williams will also be wanting to get their missed tackle numbers down.

****

Hopefully the changes in the line up see a change in fortunes this week.

The losing margins have been tiny. It's been a case of "missed it by that much", as Max would say in the classic TV comedy, Get Smart.



I don't want to understate the problems, which have seen matches slip away in the final five minutes - in similar circumstances - three matches in a row.

And two golden point losses to the Sea Eagles in 2017 are at the forefront of my mind as well.

Josh Papalii said this week that the key errors in the final stages that have cost victory are not the result of the players running out of puff. He says the problem is not fitness. The issues are mental. I personally think it has been a combination of both.

But if the team can stay focused in those final stages, and cut those key errors, it won't take much to flip these close results.

My head is again telling me this will be a win for the opposition. But hopefully the Raiders can turn the tables on the Sea Eagles - and get some pay back for those golden point losses of 2017.

****

The country woke this morning, with the extraordinary press conferences from cricketers Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft fresh in their minds. They were very tough to watch.

I personally have a lot of admiration for them and the gutsy way they took on accountability. I really felt for them.

I think the media and public has massively overreacted to the South African ball tampering incident. It was cheating. Smith and Bancroft made a mistake, an error of judgement. I'm not so sure about Dave Warner. But in any event, the offences don't rank high on the scale of world problems. It is just a game.

As Raiders fans go through some tough times following the fortunes of their team... I suspect that's something we forget... I forget... too often. It is just a game. One we love passionately, but in the end, it is a game.

****

The Raiders unveiled their first female mascot at the Warriors match, Velda the Valkyrie. She's a very friendly looking "angel of death"!

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I think it is great work from the club - and it is one way of showing they are committed to engaging women in rugby league. But it is only one way of doing that. More significant is the aim to expand the women's game.

The Raiders are not one of the four clubs that will participate in the NRL's inaugural women's competition - which was announced this week. But the Raiders have said they would like to in future, provided they can provide appropriate facilities at a planned new training HQ at Northbourne Oval. The Raiders do already participate in the Under 18 women's nines competition, the Tarsha Gale Cup - and the Canberra Region Rugby League has significantly expanded the women's game locally.

The NRL is giving priority to ensuring that there is a good geographic spread of teams in the national competition - and I suspect that's why four, rather than six, franchises were established. The Broncos, Warriors, Roosters and Dragons will participate in 2018 - with two Sydney clubs that had expressed interest, the Sharks and Rabbitohs, not admitted. I think the NRL is looking to expand to locations outside Sydney next. Hopefully, Canberra will be one of them.

****

Every week I rate the Raiders players on a scale of 0-10... and here are the total points and average points per match after the loss to the Warriors.

Total points after Round 3:

Elliott Whitehead 22
Shannon Boyd 21
Iosia Soliola 20
Jack Wighton 20
Jordan Rapana 19
Josh Papalii 18
Luke Bateman 18
Nick Cotric 18
Blake Austin 17
Jarrod Croker 17
Joey Leilua 17
Junior Paulo 17
Sam Williams 17
Siliva Havili 17
Aidan Sezer 16
Dunamis Lui 16
Joseph Tapine 6
Charlie Gubb 4
Liam Knight 3

Average points per match after Round 3:

Elliott Whitehead 7.3
Shannon Boyd 7.0
Iosia Soliola 6.7
Jack Wighton 6.7
Jordan Rapana 6.3
Joseph Tapine 6.0
Josh Papalii 6.0
Luke Bateman 6.0
Nick Cotric 6.0
Blake Austin 5.7
Jarrod Croker 5.7
Joey Leilua 5.7
Junior Paulo 5.7
Sam Williams 5.7
Siliva Havili 5.7
Aidan Sezer 5.3
Dunamis Lui 5.3
Charlie Gubb 4.0
Liam Knight 3.0

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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by gangrenous »

Can we put the players in the cone of silence?
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by BadnMean »

They should make a pact- no media (not even social media) until they win 2 on the trot.
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by RedRaider »

Good write up again GE. I do question your description of Velda as an 'angel of death'? Green angel or the Queen of Green would seem a better way to promote the female mascot.
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by gangrenous »

I don’t want to hear a thing until they’ve got more Ws than Ls.

Which looks like I’d have a nice quiet year.
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by greeneyed »

RedRaider wrote: March 31, 2018, 6:50 am Good write up again GE. I do question your description of Velda as an 'angel of death'? Green angel or the Queen of Green would seem a better way to promote the female mascot.
But that’s what a Valkyrie is...

In Norse mythology, a valkyrie (from Old Norse valkyrja "chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who choose those who may die in battle and those who may live. Selecting among half of those who die in battle (the other half go to the goddess Freyja's afterlife field Fólkvangr), the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valkyrie

Valkyries (from old Norse valkyrja, "Chooser of the Slain") are the servants of the gods Odin and Freyja. They are essentially angels of death, hosts of female figures who decide which soldiers die in battle and which live.

http://vikings.wikia.com/wiki/Valkyries
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by edwahu »

Good old Victor, punching above his weight with a mythological figure.
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by RedRaider »

greeneyed wrote: March 31, 2018, 7:15 am
RedRaider wrote: March 31, 2018, 6:50 am Good write up again GE. I do question your description of Velda as an 'angel of death'? Green angel or the Queen of Green would seem a better way to promote the female mascot.
But that’s what a Valkyrie is...

In Norse mythology, a valkyrie (from Old Norse valkyrja "chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who choose those who may die in battle and those who may live. Selecting among half of those who die in battle (the other half go to the goddess Freyja's afterlife field Fólkvangr), the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valkyrie

Valkyries (from old Norse valkyrja, "Chooser of the Slain") are the servants of the gods Odin and Freyja. They are essentially angels of death, hosts of female figures who decide which soldiers die in battle and which live.

http://vikings.wikia.com/wiki/Valkyries
But this is football. You know, a game. It is NOT war.
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by greeneyed »

RedRaider wrote: March 31, 2018, 9:57 am
greeneyed wrote: March 31, 2018, 7:15 am
RedRaider wrote: March 31, 2018, 6:50 am Good write up again GE. I do question your description of Velda as an 'angel of death'? Green angel or the Queen of Green would seem a better way to promote the female mascot.
But that’s what a Valkyrie is...

In Norse mythology, a valkyrie (from Old Norse valkyrja "chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who choose those who may die in battle and those who may live. Selecting among half of those who die in battle (the other half go to the goddess Freyja's afterlife field Fólkvangr), the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valkyrie

Valkyries (from old Norse valkyrja, "Chooser of the Slain") are the servants of the gods Odin and Freyja. They are essentially angels of death, hosts of female figures who decide which soldiers die in battle and which live.

http://vikings.wikia.com/wiki/Valkyries
But this is football. You know, a game. It is NOT war.
I agree Red Raider... but that’s what it means.
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by RedRaider »

Victor is always so friendly with the crowd and supportive of the team and is a great Mascot. Now meet his sister - 'the angel of death'

Why does she have to be a Valkyrie? Why not simply Velda the Viking, Victors sister.

Given some of the outcomes of decisions taken by this club (the pre-season salary cap player shuffle comes immediately to mind), I suppose I should not be surprised.
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: As I saw it

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"Soft. Soft football, soft pieces of play, soft choices and I've probably protected them for too long. Over the last three weeks I've thought the effort was there. There was no effort in that first half. That wasn't us. It was soft.

"Personally I'm disappointed in myself because I should have reacted the same way after our first loss against the Gold Coast because of our soft play in the last 10 minutes of that game and our soft play in the last 10 minutes of our second game and our third game which cost us three wins through soft passages of play.

"It just started in another part of the game tonight. It got them off to a start that was very very tough to pull back… it is why we lost the first three games of the year.

"We did enough to win those three games of football, we've shown how good we can play, we've shown the effort that's in the team, we've shown the individual contribution. But then when the blowtorch gets applied, we don't respond to it...

"Why should I make changes when they deliver that crap? They should be all owning up to themselves saying, 'I want to play to get myself out of it', because what they dished up tonight, they should be embarrassed to put a Raiders jumper on."

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart


Round 4 2018. Manly Sea Eagles 32, Canberra Raiders 16. The score line did not really reflect the extent of the lesson handed out to the Raiders by the Sea Eagles. The Sea Eagles kicked three penalty goals in the match, when tries were probably on offer. The match was over at half time... and Manly really shut up shop in the second half.

The coach has not missed in his assessment of the performance of his players. The performance was certainly soft. Coach Stuart was also critical of himself - because he did not call out the soft play from the first three rounds, at least in public.

I can understand why the coach wants to stay positive, because that helps build confidence. And confidence breeds winning. I've tried to stay as positive as I can in my assessments too. But when we see public deflections onto the officiating as we saw after the loss to the Warriors - well that's just counter-productive to a culture of accountability. And that helps produce the sort of performance we saw on Saturday night.

I've said this before and I'll say it again. I never want to hear coach or players blaming the refereeing or others for losing. It is always the responsibility of the team to perform at levels where refereeing makes no difference. This is a lesson that should have been learned in the past.

The Raiders are now 0 and 4 to start the season. That's not happened since 1997. If the Raiders lose to the Bulldogs on Thursday night they will be 0 and 5. That hasn't happened since 1982, the club's inaugural year when the club lost the opening seven matches, the only year that the Raiders have won the wooden spoon. The Raiders are now close to favourites to win the wooden spoon in 2018 - just two years after they challenged for a Grand Final. What's gone wrong?

Fundamentally, we are presently seeing the results of poor roster and salary cap management - and team selection. Josh Hodgson's ACL injury was a severe blow and it would be difficult for any club to deal with the long term injury to such a key player. But it almost beggars belief that in that situation, the Raiders had to release their main back up hooker, Kurt Baptiste, to comply with the salary cap. The Raiders were able to contract two new back up hookers, and a half/hooker. But it is clear that the coach is not confident that they can do the job for even 40 minutes.

The "three halves, one hooker" strategy that has been employed in the early rounds has failed. I think that was recognised in the clash with the Sea Eagles, as Ata Hingano covered Siliva Havili at dummy half - rather than shifting Sezer to hooker mid game, thereby disrupting the halves combination. Hingano made a reasonable fist of the job, in his debut in green. But it was clear that he is primarily a half.

The only other option not yet tested is to have specialist hooker, Craig Garvey cover Havili on the bench. Garvey has looked very good in attack playing for Mounties so far. The thing probably holding him back is his defence.

Sadly, these combinations were not fully tested in trials before the season started. That's another lesson that should have been learned in the past.

But the bottom line is this: the current squad doesn't have the players available in the squad to fill the positions in the spine at first grade standard. Blake Austin was dropped to Mounties for his defensive efforts in the opening rounds. But it could just as easily have been Sam Williams. I really like Sam and his passion and enthusiasm for the club, but on Saturday night his defence was exploited to great effect by the Sea Eagles. Tom Trbojevic and Daly Cherry Evans kept running at Williams and Jarrod Croker all night.

Before concluding on roster and cap management, I wonder whether the cap is invested in the right places. Canberra seems to have had a strategy - at least up to now - of retaining the top 17 players who made the 2016 preliminary final. I suspect that means that the cap is more evenly distributed across the park than at other clubs - that invest heavily in their halves, their on-field generals. And this is what the Raiders are missing at present. Josh Hodgson is a talisman. But at the moment, there is no player who is stepping up to be the on field general. There is now an opportunity to restructure for the future... but that's not going help much in 2018.

The other fundamental issue is the defence. This week, there was no excuse that the poor effort and choices were the result of fatigue. The worst of the defence came in the first half. A lot of it was in the middle, not the edges, this week. Coach Stuart has said that the problem is choices being made by individuals, it is not a problem with structures. But the question remains in my mind as to whether the Raiders missed the opportunity of bringing in a top notch assistant defensive coach from outside the club, when Dean Pay moved on. This is perhaps another emerging lesson to learn from 2018.

Stats that mattered? The Sea Eagles dominated possession, particularly in the first half. The Raiders had just a 32 per cent share of the ball in the first 40 minutes, finishing with a 42 per cent share overall.

The penalties were 8-4 the Sea Eagles favour in the first half, and 14-11 overall. The discipline from Canberra was not acceptable. Two incidents stick in my mind. First, Joey Leilua knocked down a ball in the second half, when the Sea Eagles were on their way to the 20 metre line for a seven tackle set. It resulted in yet another Manly try at the other end. He was lucky to stay on the field. The other was a pass from Joe Tapine in the 59th minute, which was correctly ruled a knock on. The degree of remonstration from Rapana and Tapine directed at the officials... it was just not on. I understand the players get frustrated, but, for me, it underlined that the Raiders have more to do to build a culture of accountability. Remarkably, the error counts were fairly even overall (Sea Eagles 13, Raiders 12), as were the completion rates (Sea Eagles 70 per cent, Raiders 69 per cent).

The Raiders made just 1131 metres from 135 runs, while the Sea Eagles made 1560 metres from 156 runs. Manly tallied 484 post contact metres, the Raiders 382. Offloads were even (Sea Eagles 18, Raiders 16), but the Sea Eagles dominated in line breaks (Sea Eagles 6, Raiders 3).

The Raiders had to do more tackling (Raiders 355, Sea Eagles 210) and missed more tackles (Raiders 33, Sea Eagles 21).

Best performers?

Jack Wighton. One try, 13 runs for 139 metres, three tackle breaks, one ine break, four tackles.

Wighton was clearly the best Raiders' player. I'm struggling to find other candidates. Josh Papalii and Junior Paulo were the only forwards to break 100 metres gained. Joe Tapine made 38 tackles, but missed eight, while Elliott Whitehead made 36 tackles, missing four.

Top tacklers: Joe Tapine 38, Elliott Whitehead 36, Siliva Havili 31, Sia Soliola 30
Most metres gained: Jack Wighton 139, Josh Papalii 126, Junior Paulo 110

My player ratings:

Jack Wighton 7
Nick Cotric 5
Jarrod Croker 6
Joey Leilua 6
Jordan Rapana 6
Aidan Sezer 5
Sam Williams 4
Sia Soliola 6
Siliva Havili 6
Shannon Boyd 5
Josh Papalii 6
Joe Tapine 6
Elliott Whitehead 6

Luke Bateman 5
Ata Hingano 5
Junior Paulo 6
Dunamis Lui 5

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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by -PJ- »

Eaglehawk retreat with special guest Tony Robbins.
3rd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment..Old Faithful
#emptythetank :shock:
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greeneyed
Don Furner
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way.

A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens




If 2016 was the best of times, or the best time we've seen in 20 years, the start of 2018 is surely the worst of times.

Today, I'm certainly feeling incredulous. It feels like we're heading for a winter of despair, a season of darkness. Some might even say we're on a Highway to Hell.

And for those who don't appreciate a Dickensian reference... well there's always a Simpsons reference to fall back on!

What a start to the season. What a week.

The Raiders are 0 and 4 so far in 2018, the worst start to the season since 1997. If the Raiders lose tonight, in the clash with the Bulldogs, it will be the worst start to the season since 1982, the club's inaugural year - when the team lost their first seven matches in a row.

Coach Ricky Stuart labelled the loss to the Sea Eagles on Saturday night as "soft" - and he wasn't wrong. It was a truly awful performance.

News broke this week that Jack Wighton was allegedly involved in a nightclub altercation just prior to the season - and is possibly facing charges.

And today, The Daily Telegraph is reporting that the club could lose Josh Papalii, Junior Paulo, Aidan Sezer and Blake Austin - with players seeking contracts that are $1 million more collectively than the club is prepared to pay.

I cannot be certain what is happening behind the scenes at the club, but it does not look like a happy camp. Some players don't look to be fit, some players look like they don't want to be there and certainly the whole team is under performing.

It is difficult to understand how the club has fallen so far, so quickly. I predicted the Raiders would win the 2017 premiership... but things have gone from bad to worse since the 2016 preliminary final appearance.

Earlier in the week, I've pointed to what I think some of the key issues have been. Most fundamentally, we have not had the best cap and roster management - and efforts to correct that are the reason for today's story in The Daily Telegraph. There are no short term solutions for that. Sadly, it may even require another re-build - which would take more than one year. But there are some things that can addressed in the shorter term: fitness, team selections, use of the interchange and defence.

There's probably going to be some more pain, but the only thing we fans can do is stay as positive as we can... turn up to support the team tonight... and hope the club addresses the issues quickly.

A win tonight will do wonders for the confidence of the team. I desperately hope it will happen, but the head is again telling me this will be a win for the opposition.

****

Just on Jack Wighton's alleged incident... I think the club has responded in the right way and they have followed the correct procedures. Some fans and commentators have questioned whether he should be allowed to play, whether he should face some sanction immediately. But there are presently no charges, and if there are, he deserves the presumption of innocence. If a court were, hypothetically, to find against him... then that's when any club or NRL sanction should be considered. But not before.

It's unfortunate, as he's been playing very well... and I have him in the two top players in the first four rounds. He was certainly the best for the Raiders in the Sea Eagles match. Hopefully he keeps focussed on his footy tonight.

****

Tonight we will see Ricky Stuart up against a good friend... and former Raiders coaching assistant... in Dean Pay.

Both coaches probably have more than their fair share of problems on their plate. The Bulldogs have just one win so far. And while Pay had promised to return Canterbury to the "Dogs of War" days, the fixes required at Belmore are probably going to be long term ones.

It'll be interesting to see which coach comes out on top tonight.

****

Make sure you get to Canberra Stadium early tonight, for the Canberra Raiders Cup opener between the Queanbeyan Blues and the Yass Magpies. Kick off is at 5:30pm, with gates opening at 5:20pm. Terry Campese will be leading out the Blues again this year... so that's reason enough to get there! It is great exposure for the local competition.

[youtube]RJ87Qc7rdpo[/youtube]

You'll also be able to hear Les Gock and his band perform "The Green Machine" club song if you arrive pre game. Gock's claim to fame is that he was a member of "Hush", a huge glam rock band of the 1970s. But surely his greater claim to fame is that he was the composer of "The Green Machine"! He will also blow the Viking Horn tonight. Can't wait!

****

Every week I rate the Raiders players on a scale of 0-10... and here are the total points and average points per match after the loss to the Warriors.

Total points after Round 4:

Elliott Whitehead 28
Jack Wighton 27
Iosia Soliola 26
Shannon Boyd 26
Jordan Rapana 25
Josh Papalii 24
Jarrod Croker 23
Joey Leilua 23
Junior Paulo 23
Luke Bateman 23
Nick Cotric 23
Siliva Havili 23
Aidan Sezer 21
Dunamis Lui 21
Sam Williams 21
Blake Austin 17
Joseph Tapine 12
Ata Hingano 5
Charlie Gubb 4
Liam Knight 3

Average points per match after Round 4:

Elliott Whitehead 7.0
Jack Wighton 6.8
Iosia Soliola 6.5
Shannon Boyd 6.5
Jordan Rapana 6.3
Joseph Tapine 6.0
Josh Papalii 6.0
Jarrod Croker 5.8
Joey Leilua 5.8
Junior Paulo 5.8
Luke Bateman 5.8
Nick Cotric 5.8
Siliva Havili 5.8
Blake Austin 5.7
Aidan Sezer 5.3
Dunamis Lui 5.3
Sam Williams 5.3
Ata Hingano 5.0
Charlie Gubb 4.0
Liam Knight 3.0

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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: As I saw it

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"It was nice for me as a coach that I see every day the effort and the grind coming out in what I can remember as one of the toughest wins I've been involved with in the green jumper.

"The adversity we were under at half-time when we had three HIA's that weren't going to come back onto the field... I asked them for extra effort and it's amazing how they got through that period of 40 minutes and we still played footy. I'm one proud coach.

"I said before the game, 'You make me apologise to you for what I said last week'... We know deep down what we're about and what the jumper is about. I've never been prouder of an effort."

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart


Round 5 2018. Canberra Raiders 26 - Canterbury Bulldogs 10. Finally a victory. It has been a long opening month of the competition, but the team responded to the very public criticism from the coach after the loss to the Sea Eagles. There was intensity and attitude in defence. There was some brilliant attack. There was physical and mental toughness in spades, with the team playing for a large part of the match with just one player on the bench. The Raiders had already had to deal with the late withdrawal of Jack Wighton. Then during the match, Canberra lost Ata Hingano, Michael Oldfield and Sam Williams to injury. But the team did not buckle when faced with adversity. This was the sort of performance the fans have been waiting to see.



We should not get carried away. The Bulldogs did not play well, they are a team with significant problems. And the issues that the club has been grappling with in the past month have not all suddenly disappeared. Looking ahead, there are more injuries to deal with. But a win does wonders for a football team. It builds confidence and confidence builds winning. And hopefully last night was the start of building some good football habits.

Stats that mattered? Remarkably, the Bulldogs dominated possession in the match. The Raiders had less than 40 per cent of the ball in the first 40 minutes, and ended the match with a 44 per cent possession share. The Bulldogs received a lot of early penalties - though they ended in Canberra's favour 10-8. The error rates were fairly even (Raiders 11, Bulldogs 10).

The Bulldogs had more runs (156-138) and produced more running metres (1497-1431) and kicking metres (525-388). Line breaks were even (4-4) and offloads were close to even (Bulldogs 8, Raiders 7). The Raiders had to make more tackles (316-294) and missed more tackles (36-24)

That set of numbers suggest it should have been a Bulldogs win. But it was the determination of the Raiders to defend their goal line - and some outstanding attacking play from the likes of Aidan Sezer, Joey Leilua, Jordan Rapana and Jarrod Croker - which conjured the win.

Memorable moments?

There were a number for the green machine. In the 9th minute, Nick Cotric barely escaped the in goal, and passed to Jordan Rapana... who made a sensational run down the eastern touch line, 80 or 90 metres before being caught. A quick play the ball and Joey Leilua rampaged his way over the line. It was just brilliant attacking play.

Then what about the kicking of Aidan Sezer? In the 15th minute, he lobbed the ball to Jordan Rapana's wing - who batted the ball back to Joey Leilua for a very good four pointer. But even more memorable was the gem of a kick to Jarrod Croker's wing - yes, Jarrod Croker's wing - in the 57th minute. Perfect placement from Sezer, perfect bounce for the captain, who regathered and ran around to score under the posts. And if that wasn't enough... in the 64th minute, another perfect Sezer kick to the corner saw Croker leap high for another sensational try. Champagne rugby league.

Best performers?

Aidan Sezer. Two try assists, two runs for 12 metres, 13 tackles, 14 kicks for 315 metres.

Joey Leilua. Two tries, 11 runs for 118 metres, four tackle breaks, two line breaks, two offloads, 11 tackles.

Jarrod Croker. Two tries, 9 runs for 83 metres, two tackle breaks, one line break, 11 tackles.

It is difficult to stop at three... Junior Paulo (153 metres gained) and Shannon Boyd (120 metres gained) clocked up the metres... but how about Dunamis Lui with 162 metres gained? Joe Tapine was great in defence, while producing three tackle breaks and an offload. He was very good all round. Nick Cotric produced a fine game at fullback, making 143 metres from 14 runs and five tackle breaks. Siliva Havili had to play for 78 minutes and was solid. The whole team performed well.

Top tacklers: Luke Bateman 42, Siliva Havili 40, Joe Tapine 35
Most metres gained: Dunamis Lui 162, Junior Paulo 153, Nick Cotric 143

My player ratings:

Nick Cotric 7
Michael Oldfield 3
Jarrod Croker 8
Joey Leilua 8
Jordan Rapana 7
Aidan Sezer 8
Sam Williams 6
Sia Soliola 6
Siliva Havili 6
Junior Paulo 7
Joe Tapine 7
Elliott Whitehead 6
Luke Bateman 7

Ata Hingano 0
Shannon Boyd 7
Dunamis Lui 7
Liam Knight 5

Do you agree or disagree with the ratings? Let us know!

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DrGreenThumb
Gerry De La Cruz
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by DrGreenThumb »

Lui 9
the pursuit of the vikings!
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Dibbers
Chris O'Sullivan
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by Dibbers »

DrGreenThumb wrote: April 6, 2018, 3:26 pmLui 9
+1 for Lui

He was my man of the match. He didn't do the flashy stuff that Sezer, Croker and co did, but damn did he bring the energy when he came on, and he maintained it till the end. He's looks a similar build to bateman but he bends the line and gets quick play the balls. He's turning into a great buy for us
I found a moon rock in my nose....
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T_R
Don Furner
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by T_R »

Lui was 8

Sent from my SM-G955F using The Greenhouse mobile app powered by Tapatalk

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Son, we live in a world that has forums, and those forums have to be guarded by Mods. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Nickman? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Lucy, and you curse GE. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know -- that GE’s moderation, while tragic, probably saved lives; and my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, keeps threads on track and under the appropriately sized, highlighted green headings.
You want moderation because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that forum -- you need me on that forum. We use words like "stay on topic," "use the appropriate forum," "please delete." We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very moderation that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather that you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you get a green handle and edit a post. Either way, I don't give a DAMN what you think about moderation.
The Nickman
Mal Meninga
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by The Nickman »

Good writeup, Fergus. My 3-2-1 for the Green Machine podcast matched yours.
RedRaider
Laurie Daley
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by RedRaider »

GE, Tapine definitely an 8 for mine. Try saving tackles which drove the Dogs players back from scoring and therefore kept the Raiders confidence and momentum going in the right direction and lifted his team mates. For defenso-philes like me there should be a stat for 'Tries Saved On Your Goal Line' or 'Tackle that stopped a try'. Tarps was wonderful and Cotric as well. It's that desperation and commitment which has been so lacking for the first 4 rounds.
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greeneyed
Don Furner
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: Under pressure

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The Raiders finally got a win on Thursday night. Coach Ricky Stuart said in the lead up to the Bulldogs clash that he was not feeling the pressure - the public pressure at least. He says no one puts more pressure on coach and players than they do themselves. Indeed, Stuart lifted the pressure on the team himself, when he labelled performances in the opening month of the competition as "soft". But no doubt it was a relief to the coach and team, as well as the fans, when the full time siren sounded last week.

Stuart surprisingly said that before the Bulldogs match he had told the team to force him to apologise for his public criticism of the performances. I say surprisingly, because his criticisms were spot on. He didn't really have anything to apologise for.

But the response of the team was very impressive, as injuries to Sam Williams, Ata Hingano and Michael Oldfield saw the Raiders play with just one man on the bench for a significant part of the match. The team lifted and handled the adversity. And that has to bode well for the future, for leaving the mental scars of the first four rounds behind.

It will be no easy task to back up the performance on Saturday night, in a clash with the Parramatta Eels.

Stuart's former club is winless after five rounds, the worst start to a season for the Eels since 1991. Parramatta is the team under most pressure this week... and they will be desperate to get that first victory. The Raiders' mentor is understandably very wary of them.

"I sense they're about to click and let's just hope it's the week after this one," Stuart said today. "They'll click at some stage. It's a very tough comp."

Adding to the challenge on Saturday night, the Raiders now have two playmakers - Josh Hodgson and Sam Williams on the sideline. It means that Blake Austin returns at five eighth - after being dropped to Mounties two weeks ago. Josh Papalii also returns after his relegation to Mounties last week. They're probably the players under most pressure. Both have the chance to cement their places back in the top 17 - and I'm hoping they can both have big games.

I'm tipping the Raiders will again lift against the Eels, and win in what will no doubt be a hard fought contest.

****

It is intriguing how that some teams seem to consistently perform poorly at particular grounds. Until recently, it seemed like the Raiders would invariably lose on a trip to Cronulla or Melbourne. A trip to Manly is still not much fun.

The Eels don't seem to have much fun visiting Canberra Stadium. They have won just four times in 20 visits to Bruce, and have not won at the ground since 2006. In addition, they have won just once in Canberra since 2001. Let's hope the "Bruce bogey" continues this weekend!

****

I've written a number of times about the salary cap and the "legal loophole" in the cap created by third party agreements. And when the NRL established a committee to reform TPAs earlier this year, I was hopeful that we would at least get some transparency about the aggregate amount of TPAs at each club - and maybe even see the loophole closed.

The committee comprises CEOs from the Melbourne Storm (Dave Donaghy), Penrith Panthers (Brian Fletcher), Wests Tigers (Justin Pascoe) and the Gold Coast Titans (Graham Annesley).

This week, reports emerged regarding the options they're considering. It's good to hear that transparency is still on the agenda, with the NRL keen to annually publish the aggregate amount of each club's TPAs.

The other idea which is being floated is that TPAs would no longer need to be "third party" deals. The clubs could be allowed to engage in the negotiations - but these agreements would be subject to a cap - of $1.5 million. I've long advocated a cap on TPAs, so that's more good news. The amount of the suggested cap is ridiculously high, given the team with the highest value of TPAs, the Storm, presently has deals in place of around $800,000. But if we can get a more sensible cap in place, it would be a big step forward in creating a more level playing field.

****

Make sure you again get to Canberra Stadium early this week, with the Canberra Raiders Cup Round 2 clash between the Goulburn Bulldogs and Gungahlin Bulls being played as the curtain raiser. Kick off is at 5:15pm, with gates opening at 5:00pm. Sadly, we won't be seeing the Mounties' Jersey Flegg team as well. Mounties have a bye in the NSW Premiership this week, and the Jersey Flegg match is being staged at Aubrey Keech Reserve on Saturday afternoon. It would have been a good opportunity for the fans to see the Canberra Raiders junior players at Canberra Stadium.

****

Every week I rate the Raiders players on a scale of 0-10... and here are the total points and average points per match after the loss to the Warriors.

Total points after Round 4:

Elliott Whitehead 34
Shannon Boyd 33
Iosia Soliola 32
Jordan Rapana 32
Jarrod Croker 31
Joey Leilua 31
Junior Paulo 30
Luke Bateman 30
Nick Cotric 30
Aidan Sezer 29
Siliva Havili 29
Dunamis Lui 28
Jack Wighton 27
Sam Williams 27
Josh Papalii 24
Joseph Tapine 19
Blake Austin 17
Liam Knight 8
Ata Hingano 5
Charlie Gubb 4
Michael Oldfield 3

Average points per match after Round 4:

Elliott Whitehead 6.8
Jack Wighton 6.8
Shannon Boyd 6.6
Iosia Soliola 6.4
Jordan Rapana 6.4
Joseph Tapine 6.3
Jarrod Croker 6.2
Joey Leilua 6.2
Josh Papalii 6.0
Junior Paulo 6.0
Luke Bateman 6.0
Nick Cotric 6.0
Aidan Sezer 5.8
Siliva Havili 5.8
Blake Austin 5.7
Dunamis Lui 5.6
Sam Williams 5.4
Charlie Gubb 4.0
Liam Knight 4.0
Michael Oldfield 3.0
Ata Hingano 2.5

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Don Furner
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: As I saw it

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Round 6 2018. Canberra Raiders 18 - Parramatta Eels 2. Back to back wins. The Raiders did not allow their line to be crossed and kept the Eels to a single penalty goal. Again we should not get carried away. Remarkably, the Eels are still winless after six rounds. They were a team that was favoured to finish in the top four by many experts, but are now favourites for the spoon. Their attack is very predictable, it offers little threat. But the Raiders did what they needed to beat the team in front of them.



The Raiders played very well in horrible conditions, the wind and rain sweeping over the ground through most of the match. I'd have liked to have seen the team more effectively take the opportunity of playing a 12 man Eels outfit in the second half. The Raiders seemed to lose their way in attack at that point, spreading the ball too early. The Raiders also gave the Eels multiple opportunities to come back into the match in the final 10 minutes, with Luke Bateman in the sin bin. But in the end, the Raiders scrambled well enough to stop a four pointer. And the attitude, the determination we saw in Round 5 was still there.

Blake Austin and Josh Papalii returned to the first grade team with a point to prove, and did just that. Both scored tries. Papalii made huge metres up the middle. Austin did what he does best, run, allowing Aidan Sezer to control the game. Siliva Havili played 70 minutes at hooker, and made a big impression. He's come a long way, quickly. Having the key players stick to their roles is clearly the way forward.

Stats that mattered? The Raiders dominated possession, finishing with 56 per cent of the ball. Both the Raiders and Eels completed at 80 per cent, which is remarkable given the conditions in which the match was played. Canberra made slightly more errors (9-7). The Eels, however, were less disciplined, conceding 15 penalties (the Raiders 11). Both teams had a player binned for repeated infringements... and the Raiders will be wanting to get their penalty count down.

Canberra made more runs (176-157) and made more metres with the ball in hand (1374m-1282m) - while the Eels produced more kicking metres (462m-420m). The Eels produced more offloads (12-6), but could not make a single line break. The Raiders made four. The Eels had to make more tackles (388-308) - missing a massive 42 tackles (Canberra 24). Insipid attack and poor defence... that's what's costing the Eels.

Memorable moments? The Raiders scored three tries, the best of them being the second to Blake Austin. It was the classic dummy and step from Austin, and great running, of the sort we saw in 2015. More of that please - as well as the much improved defence! Jordan Rapana had a four pointer denied early in the first half... it would have been spectacular, a great regather of an Aidan Sezer kick... but a knock on not visible to the naked eye was detected by the bunker in slow motion.

Best performers?

Josh Papalii. One try, 16 runs for 136 metres gained, 54 post contact metres, four tackle breaks, one line break, 18 tackles.

Siliva Havili. Nine runs for 103 metres gained, 23 post contact metres, three tackle breaks, one line break, 30 tackles, 33 kicking metres. And what a line break it was!

Blake Austin. One try, seven runs for 68 metres, two tackle breaks, one line break, 20 tackles, four kicks for 111 metres.

Aidan Sezer. It was his kicking and organisation, again. Nine kicks for 248 metres. Four runs for 11 metres gained, 14 tackles.

Top tacklers: Luke Bateman 39, Sia Soliola 35, Siliva Havili 30, Joe Tapine 30
Most metres gained: Josh Papalii 136, Jack Wighton 120, Junior Paulo 108

In the forwards, Siliva Havili (103), Joe Tapine (101) and Shannon Boyd (100) also broke the 100 metres gained mark.

My player ratings:

Jack Wighton 6
Nick Cotric 7
Jarrod Croker 6
Joey Leilua 7
Jordan Rapana 7
Blake Austin 7
Aidan Sezer 7
Sia Soliola 7
Siliva Havili 8
Junior Paulo 7
Joe Tapine 7
Elliott Whitehead 6
Luke Bateman 7

Ata Hingano 2
Shannon Boyd 7
Josh Papalii 8
Dunamis Lui 7

Do you agree or disagree with the ratings? Let us know!

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BadnMean
Steve Walters
Posts: 7595
Joined: May 13, 2013, 5:30 pm
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Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by BadnMean »

Thought Jack was a 7 on a dismal night to try and be a fullback- he made some good yards at handy times and was safe as houses with the hands.
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greeneyed
Don Furner
Posts: 145104
Joined: January 7, 2005, 4:21 pm

Through green eyes 2018

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: Home and Away

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So the Raiders are on the road this week, with the South Sydney Rabbitohs taking their home game against the Green Machine, "away". I've taken my life in my hands and driven up the treacherous Pacific Motorway... and survived. Clearly, there is not much enforcement of the speed limits on the road to Gosford!

I'm staying at Avoca Beach and it has the charming feel of a coastal village backwater. It feels like the set of Home and Away... and I expect to see Alf around every corner, yelling "Stone the flaming crows!". Except the set of Home and Away is Palm Beach, much further south... and it is absolutely dripping with money... and is probably an even more spectacular location.

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Still, there is some serious investment happening at Avoca... with lots of knock down and rebuild on blocks right on the beach front... and on the steep hills behind the beach. There are some very luxurious new houses going up, and I hate to think what one would cost.

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It is certainly surf club territory, but it also feels like rugby league country. No signs of anything but rugby league posts on the local oval here... with kids kicking around the oval ball until last light. I know the Central Coast has it's own soccer team, but I suspect the locals would love nothing more than to have their own NRL team. The North Sydney Bears tried to make a go of a relocating their home to Graham Park - but sadly, the foundation club went to the wall before the new Central Coast Stadium could be completed for them.

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The Stadium is in a beautiful location, right on the Brisbane Water, with one end of the ground open to a view of the estuary and lined with palm trees. I've never seen a match at the ground so I'm looking forward to going. I doubt though, that we'll see an NRL team permanently based there now. The Central Coast is too close to Sydney, too close to Newcastle... and doesn't really have a big enough population base or a television market that is important to the capital city TV networks.

The Bears still participate at NSW Premiership level, and they are now affiliated to the South Sydney Rabbitohs. So they will be lining up against the Raiders affiliate, Mounties at 12:45pm prior to the Raiders V Rabbitohs clash. Make sure you get there early if you're going tomorrow... or switch on early on Fox League.

I'm also heading to North Sydney Oval for the first time on Sunday afternoon to see Mounties take on the Bears at North Sydney's traditional home. We will have live scores for both Mounties matches this week on TheGH.com.au.

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We are already a quarter of the way through the NRL season. It is difficult to believe. The Raiders are now 2 and 4, after losing every match in the opening month. And it is now that club statistics start to show some patterns. So what do they show for Canberra?

The attack has been fairly good, if not anywhere near 2016 standards. The Raiders rank fourth for average points and tries scored per match (23 and four). Canberra rates even better for line breaks (five) and tackle breaks (29) per game - third in the NRL. And that is what generates the four pointers. They are sixth for try assists (three per match).

Canberra doesn't offload a lot (11th in the NRL, with eight per match), they don't throw the ball around (14th in the NRL for general play passes, at 80 per match). The Raiders have aimed to improve their error and completion rates - and they are doing it. Canberra has the equal sixth lowest number of errors per match (10) and is fourth for completions (77 per cent).

Instead the Raiders rely on dummy half runs - second in the league, behind the Rabbitohs, with 14 per match... and one pass hit ups (sixth in the NRL, with 66 per match). The Raiders don't produce a lot of running metres (11th in the NRL at 1269m per match) and don't get a lot of kick return metres (16th in the NRL, with 47m per match). The kicking game is focused on weighted (first in the NRL) rather than long kicks (11th) - and they don't get a lot of kicking metres (11th in the NRL at 391m per match). It is remarkable how potent the Raiders attack is, really, given some of those numbers. It say a lot about the talent of the players - their ability to break tackles and the line and kick to the right places.

The defence, obviously, is where most improvement is needed. Canberra is seventh for most points conceded per match (21), equal sixth for most tries conceded (three per match) and fourth for most line breaks conceded (four per match). They are 11th in the NRL for most tackles and missed tackles - but more worrying is that they are third for most offloads conceded and sixth for running metres conceded (1368m per match).

The positive thing about the Raiders' defensive performance is the much improved attitude and line speed in the last two games. If they can maintain that... and the forwards can win the battle up front... I think the Raiders have a good chance of besting the in-form Rabbitohs... with both teams playing away.

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Given the Raiders are playing on Saturday afternoon... and you're at a loose end on Sunday in the national capital... why not get to a Canberra Raiders Cup match. Round three features two matches on Sunday afternoon with the Woden Valley Rams hosting the Yass Magpies at Phillip, and the West Belconnen Warriors facing the Gunghalin Bulls at Phillip. They should be good contests.

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Every week I rate the Raiders players on a scale of 0-10... and here are the total points and average points per match after the loss to the Warriors.

Total points after Round 6:

Elliott Whitehead 40
Shannon Boyd 40
Iosia Soliola 39
Jordan Rapana 39
Joey Leilua 38
Jarrod Croker 37
Junior Paulo 37
Luke Bateman 37
Nick Cotric 37
Siliva Havili 37
Aidan Sezer 36
Dunamis Lui 35
Jack Wighton 33
Josh Papalii 32
Sam Williams 27
Joseph Tapine 26
Blake Austin 24
Liam Knight 8
Ata Hingano 7
Charlie Gubb 4
Michael Oldfield 3

Average points per match after Round 6:

Elliott Whitehead 6.7
Shannon Boyd 6.7
Jack Wighton 6.6
Iosia Soliola 6.5
Joseph Tapine 6.5
Jordan Rapana 6.5
Josh Papalii 6.4
Joey Leilua 6.3
Jarrod Croker 6.2
Junior Paulo 6.2
Luke Bateman 6.2
Nick Cotric 6.2
Siliva Havili 6.2
Aidan Sezer 6.0
Blake Austin 6.0
Dunamis Lui 5.8
Sam Williams 5.4
Charlie Gubb 4.0
Liam Knight 4.0
Michael Oldfield 3.0
Ata Hingano 2.3

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reptar
Laurie Daley
Posts: 15781
Joined: January 25, 2005, 9:24 pm
Favourite Player: Josh Hodgson
Location: Brisbane

Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by reptar »

GE, have you seen a game at North Sydney Oval before? Despite being an oval, it's a great place.
Gina Riley: Oh, come on, John. That’s a bit old hat, the corrupt IOC delegate.
John Clarke: Old hat? Gina, in the scientific world when they see that something is happening again and again and again, repeatedly, they don’t call it old hat. They call it a pattern.
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greeneyed
Don Furner
Posts: 145104
Joined: January 7, 2005, 4:21 pm

Re: Through green eyes 2018

Post by greeneyed »

reptar wrote: April 20, 2018, 7:32 pm GE, have you seen a game at North Sydney Oval before? Despite being an oval, it's a great place.
No, that's why I said it will be the first time. ;)
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