2019 Rd 17 V Dragons: Game Day

[Pete Cash]

Yeah basically everyone who mattered stood up. Hodgson especially. Fantastic from the lads

[BadnMean]

Big 2 points tonight, looking at some of our upcoming games. You can put us down for 0’s against the Storm and Roosters ahead of time.

You mean that crew below us on the ladder? Cheer up Rickmando.

Great game Raiders!

The ladder is irrelevant until the day they use it to determine who plays who in finals gangers.

Very happy with the 2 points, especially after the way we left them on the table vs Parra.

But let’s be honest, we’ve not shown much against the two above teams, who are more talented and better coached. In fact, we have often looked embarrassed to be sharing the same grass as them.

So if wins like tonight help us drop that attitude the next time we come up against them, I’ll be very pleased. But let’s not put ourselves right in that top tier just yet

You're a right funsucker aren't you.

We looked great against Souths and were unlucky not to win in a cracking game.

Agreed. We were undermanned and beat (Sharks) or ran to the wire (Souths) the top contenders while we had plenty of improvement in the tank. We're in it this season. Which should be completely absurd to have to say in 3rd spot in the last 3rd of the season.

[BadnMean]

Big play was Sezer's steal on our goal line defending a kick.

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That was massive. He just clung on like an octopus and wouldn't let go.

He had a pretty good game all around. Plenty of good plays.

[The Greenhouse]

Not a spear tackle: Irate Stuart claims Cotric send-off 'very harsh'



Ricky Stuart has claimed Nick Cotric should not have been sent off despite his dangerous throw on Dragons centre Tim Lafai.

"I don't believe that was foul, it was an accident," he said. "Whoever thinks that's a spear tackle doesn't know the game of rugby league. It was unintentional. It [the tackle] got away on him a little bit and I understand that. That's an accident.

Read more: https://www.nrl.com/news/2019/07/14/not ... ery-harsh/





You just knew it would be the Canberra Raiders as soon as the NRL announced a crackdown: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14280

Hodgson and Sezer twist Green Machine into shape: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14239

Croker breaks record as Raiders win in Wollongong: https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2019/07 ... ollongong/

Cotric sent off for dangerous throw on Lafai as Raiders down Dragons: https://www.nrl.com/news/2019/07/14/cot ... -on-lafai/

Match Highlights: Dragons v Raiders: https://www.nrl.com/news/2019/07/14/mat ... v-raiders/

Ricky Stuart Press Conference: https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2019/07 ... -round-17/

[Ruben Daley]

Really want to get away from that tackle, and talk about how good it was to see the team, under the pump BIG time, respond the way they did to the send off.

They really worked hard for each other defensively. A very focused final 20 imo

Yep, that was massive. To beat a team while you’re a man down is very impressive. I know they made mention about it on Fox but CNK’s chase on Dufty was inspiring.

[1992]

Great win Raiders!

Does anyone reckon Turbo Tommy looks like Jeffrey Dahmer?

Yeppers. He looks like he belongs in a 1950's black and white photo.

[Botman]

Yeah basically everyone who mattered stood up. Hodgson especially. Fantastic from the lads

Hodgo had his best game of the year IMO.
He was tremendous. Sezer was strong, Wighton threatening. CNK made about 3-4 HUGE plays... the spine stood up big time.

[Johno]

I love Rickys passion !

[Azza]

Still a way off the storm. But great win

[RedRaider]

Raiders got the 2 competition points so mission accomplished. So very impressive performances on both sides of the ball. The main talking point is the Cotric send off. I agree that the tackle was not a spear tackle which back in the day was about lifting a player vertical and driving them head first into the ground. But under the current rules what Nic Cotric did was a send off every day of the week. Players cannot get a ball carrier beyond the horizontal. Simple as that. I think he will look at 4 weeks minimum. Seb Kris would come in at right center for mine. Replace one right center with another right center.

Sezer did have a good game. But his tactical kicking finds legs too often. I don't know that he has a quick look at the defenders to determine the direction of the kick. I think he just drops the ball onto his foot and is more concerned with the weight of the kick that the direction. Hopefully something Sticky works on with him in opposed sessions at training.

CNK is amazing. I'd not seen him play prior to the season begining and so was keen to keep Jack at the back. But CNK is more consistent in taking opposition kicks than Jack ever was. He has really grown into the role. There are a lot of support runs he does and the Raiders player in possession is not looking for him. I think if the other players look for him he will run even more meters. Great talent spotting.

[bonehead]

Simonsson strength to strength too.
Emre Guler the 3rd to arrive at the end of dufty's try, i thought he looked better tonight.

[Northern Raider]

Still a way off the storm. But great win

Yep. Us and 15 other teams.

[BJ]

Simonsson strength to strength too.
Emre Guler the 3rd to arrive at the end of dufty's try, i thought he looked better tonight.

Yeah good call. Simonsson especially good.

Horsburgh got caught on the ground a lot as a defender unable to get marker. Something for him to work on.

[Azza]

Still a way off the storm. But great win

Yep. Us and 15 other teams.

So the storm are way off themselves are they?

[Northern Raider]

Still a way off the storm. But great win

Yep. Us and 15 other teams.

So the storm are way off themselves are they?

Well they haven't beaten them yet

[Makaveli]

"Whoever thinks that's a spear tackle doesn't know the game of rugby league.

Oof

[Boomercm]

Big 2 points tonight, looking at some of our upcoming games. You can put us down for 0’s against the Storm and Roosters ahead of time.

You mean that crew below us on the ladder? Cheer up Rickmando.

Great game Raiders!

The ladder is irrelevant until the day they use it to determine who plays who in finals gangers.

Very happy with the 2 points, especially after the way we left them on the table vs Parra.

But let’s be honest, we’ve not shown much against the two above teams, who are more talented and better coached. In fact, we have often looked embarrassed to be sharing the same grass as them.

So if wins like tonight help us drop that attitude the next time we come up against them, I’ll be very pleased. But let’s not put ourselves right in that top tier just yet

You're a right funsucker aren't you. And full of sh*t.

We looked great against Souths and were unlucky not to win in a cracking game.

The old “honourable loss” line of argument. Plenty throwing those up after the losses to Souths and the roosters. This mentality is part of the problem. We shouldn’t be coming away from those games just being glad we were competitive. It’s the wrong message for the players, and fans shouldn’t be content with it.

Unless there’s going to be a late rule change at the NRL... they won’t let you come back the following week if you have an “honourable loss” in a finals match.

An honourable loss is nothing like 'looking embarrassed to be sharing the same grass". You remain full of malodorous excrement.

[MrPosh]

This was a huge win, in my opinion.

Every Raiders loss so far this season has happened in a game where the expectations - for whatever reason - have been ramped up.

There were the Roosters and Souths games (and the Storm to a lesser extent) where it was a case of proving ourselves against the best.

The Manly and Eels losses came against the backdrop of achieving a significant position on the ladder.

That was the case today, but we stood up and, save for ten minutes in the second half, made the Dragons look awful with a tremendous performance.

[BadnMean]

Raiders got the 2 competition points so mission accomplished. So very impressive performances on both sides of the ball. The main talking point is the Cotric send off. I agree that the tackle was not a spear tackle which back in the day was about lifting a player vertical and driving them head first into the ground. But under the current rules what Nic Cotric did was a send off every day of the week. Players cannot get a ball carrier beyond the horizontal. Simple as that. I think he will look at 4 weeks minimum. Seb Kris would come in at right center for mine. Replace one right center with another right center.

Sezer did have a good game. But his tactical kicking finds legs too often. I don't know that he has a quick look at the defenders to determine the direction of the kick. I think he just drops the ball onto his foot and is more concerned with the weight of the kick that the direction. Hopefully something Sticky works on with him in opposed sessions at training.

CNK is amazing. I'd not seen him play prior to the season begining and so was keen to keep Jack at the back. But CNK is more consistent in taking opposition kicks than Jack ever was. He has really grown into the role. There are a lot of support runs he does and the Raiders player in possession is not looking for him. I think if the other players look for him he will run even more meters. Great talent spotting.

If that is a send off every day of the week... why have we not seen it since '95. Honestly riddle me that. Why now?

Sezer had good effort.

CNK has amazing effort and everything you want in a FB except a passing game. If he gets that he'll be top drawer.

[GreenGuy]

Really want to get away from that tackle, and talk about how good it was to see the team, under the pump BIG time, respond the way they did to the send off.

They really worked hard for each other defensively. A very focused final 20 imo

Yep, that was massive. To beat a team while you’re a man down is very impressive. I know they made mention about it on Fox but CNK’s chase on Dufty was inspiring.

I logged in to post exactly this. Experiencing a coming of age game was brilliant. This playing group have bonded and it shows in our defensive attitude.

[Ruben Daley]

Really want to get away from that tackle, and talk about how good it was to see the team, under the pump BIG time, respond the way they did to the send off.

They really worked hard for each other defensively. A very focused final 20 imo

Yep, that was massive. To beat a team while you’re a man down is very impressive. I know they made mention about it on Fox but CNK’s chase on Dufty was inspiring.

I logged in to post exactly this. Experiencing a coming of age game was brilliant. This playing group have bonded and it shows in our defensive attitude.

To me, it looked as if they took the loss of Cotric as a challenge and always felt like they’d be up to it. So great to watch.

Having said that, I missed CNK’s post-match interview on ABC Radio but caught Tim Gavel remarking that CNK had said he didn’t realise Cotric had been sent off, so who knows?

[Northern Raider]

Addition of guys like Bateman and CNK looks to have had a real flow on effect in regards to overall attitude.

[cat]

Ricky is pretty fired up in the press conference!
At the end of the day i am happy for nick to be sent off if every player who does serious foul play also gets sent off- consistency is the key to keeping Ricky, clubs and the fans happy

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[Johno]

Ricky is pretty fired up in the press conference!
At the end of the day i am happy for nick to be sent off if every player who does serious foul play also gets sent off- consistency is the key to keeping Ricky, clubs and the fans happy

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100% agree Cat, but the consistency is too wide.

IM not disputing the send of but as Ricky alluded to it wasnt intentional, I think he stopped short of mentioning the names Burgess and McGuire who INTENTIONALLY eye gouged.

Will be interesting to what Cotric gets, I wouldnt be surprised if its 6 or even 8, "to show we mean business"

I think 2-3 is fair

[Peter]

Josh Hodgson came over to the fence at the end of the game and could see my son was a little down. I didn’t mention it to Josh at all, but the young fella somehow lost his little Raiders footy (favourite thing in the world, takes it everywhere) during the game in all that wind.

Josh tried to have a chat with him then on his own accord said “how about I give you this?”. He took off his jersey and handed it to him. Absolutely made his night. He was only hoping for a couple of high-fives to cheer him up and ended up walking away with a signed jersey, which coincidentally was the indigenous jersey which he was also wearing tonight.

I will write a letter to the club tomorrow but just thought I’d share the story about how great some of these players are.

I know they get requests every week for all these sorts of things, but Josh was so genuine in wanting to make a young fan happy tonight.

So Josh, thank you!

[Johno]

Josh Hodgson came over to the fence at the end of the game and could see my son was a little down. I didn’t mention it to Josh at all, but the young fella somehow lost his little Raiders footy (favourite thing in the world, takes it everywhere) during the game in all that wind.

Josh tried to have a chat with him then on his own accord said “how about I give you this?”. He took off his jersey and handed it to him. Absolutely made his night. He was only hoping for a couple of high-fives to cheer him up and ended up walking away with a signed jersey, which coincidentally was the indigenous jersey which he was also wearing tonight.

I will write a letter to the club tomorrow but just thought I’d share the story about how great some of these players are.

I know they get requests every week for all these sorts of things, but Josh was so genuine in wanting to make a young fan happy tonight.

So Josh, thank you!

Thats awesome Peter, its capped off my night too!

[Lucky]

Josh Hodgson came over to the fence at the end of the game and could see my son was a little down. I didn’t mention it to Josh at all, but the young fella somehow lost his little Raiders footy (favourite thing in the world, takes it everywhere) during the game in all that wind.

Josh tried to have a chat with him then on his own accord said “how about I give you this?”. He took off his jersey and handed it to him. Absolutely made his night. He was only hoping for a couple of high-fives to cheer him up and ended up walking away with a signed jersey, which coincidentally was the indigenous jersey which he was also wearing tonight.

I will write a letter to the club tomorrow but just thought I’d share the story about how great some of these players are.

I know they get requests every week for all these sorts of things, but Josh was so genuine in wanting to make a young fan happy tonight.

So Josh, thank you!

Wouldnt expect anything less. Hodgos a top bloke.

[BJ]

Josh Hodgson came over to the fence at the end of the game and could see my son was a little down. I didn’t mention it to Josh at all, but the young fella somehow lost his little Raiders footy (favourite thing in the world, takes it everywhere) during the game in all that wind.

Josh tried to have a chat with him then on his own accord said “how about I give you this?”. He took off his jersey and handed it to him. Absolutely made his night. He was only hoping for a couple of high-fives to cheer him up and ended up walking away with a signed jersey, which coincidentally was the indigenous jersey which he was also wearing tonight.

I will write a letter to the club tomorrow but just thought I’d share the story about how great some of these players are.

I know they get requests every week for all these sorts of things, but Josh was so genuine in wanting to make a young fan happy tonight.

So Josh, thank you!

Great story Pete. So many good guys at the club now.

[InFernos_Raiders]

Great win Raiders!

Does anyone reckon Turbo Tommy looks like Jeffrey Dahmer?

Yeppers. He looks like he belongs in a 1950's black and white photo.

LMAO yes he does lol. That’s creepy

[Seiffert82]

Great game from Hodgson tonight. Before the game I mentioned that (IMO) he was the bloke that will determine the outcome of our season. Having won only 1 point in our POTY voting until tonight was indicative of his indifferent form and our very ordinary and inconsistent attack all season.

Tonight he turned it around and was at his vintage best. Huge difference for our team. Sezer had more time and space to run and Wighton didn't have to carry our attack on his own. The forwards were on a roll as a pack and we looked far more balanced and dangerous across the park.

Huge game for him and the club.

[-PJ-]

That was a great result, very happy for the boys.

Sitting 3rd after 17..who woulda thunk that ?

[-PJ-]

We all know what a "knock on" is or a "knock forward" as its sometimes called.

Reading the definition of the law word for word makes perfect sense. It basically says a knock on occurs when the ball travels toward the oppositions dead ball line after hitting the ground or an opposition player.

That makes sense...yes ?

It's the end bit that's totally crazy I reckon..

It says..the ball may also travel backward..

It seems anytime the ball hits the ground it's called..Steve Roach was talking about this last night on Fox commentary. I recall a bomb dropped by Old Bailey that was called a knock on..but clearly..thru beer goggles he was facing his own try line when he dropped it..I swear that's the case..it was called..i call bulldust..

[-PJ-]

I'm lovin Hodgos one on one strips as well..

He's a champion at it.

[RedRaider]

Raiders got the 2 competition points so mission accomplished. So very impressive performances on both sides of the ball. The main talking point is the Cotric send off. I agree that the tackle was not a spear tackle which back in the day was about lifting a player vertical and driving them head first into the ground. But under the current rules what Nic Cotric did was a send off every day of the week. Players cannot get a ball carrier beyond the horizontal. Simple as that. I think he will look at 4 weeks minimum. Seb Kris would come in at right center for mine. Replace one right center with another right center.

If that is a send off every day of the week... why have we not seen it since '95. Honestly riddle me that. Why now?

It's no riddle BnM. Earlier this year we had the unedifying sight of George Burgess sticking his fingers into the eyes of Robbie Farah and every TV viewer watching the event saw it and there was NO send off. The question was rightly asked, if it is clear foul play then why not use the send off. The placing of players on report had got to clearly ridiculous levels. The refs were, rightly imo, lambasted for not taking action. So the word went out to the Refs - if an incident is clear foul play (eg dangerous throw) and player welfare is under threat - send the offender off.

Just some further context on what can happen when such a tackle is performed - Alex McKinnon in 2014 is unfortunately permanently injured during such a tackle. The HIA was introduced in 2014 and strengthened in 2018. Recently there has been a lot of media reports about CTE and the effect of head knocks on players long term. Nic Cotric may have been made an example of, but if it cleans up the game then I am all for it. It is a tough enough game within the rules without taking players beyond the horizontal. Recently we have seen the punch and the shoulder charge taken out of the game. The long term health of the players should be paramount.

If we don't want send offs in Rugby League then take the rule out of the laws of the game. Because the administration of the game favoured 13 on 13 rather than dealing with foul play on the spot we have had limited send offs in recent years. I hope the Refs will use the sin bin and send offs on the spot more often. The George Burgess case highlighted the dumb instructions the refs were operating under. That has now changed, rightly in my view. FTR I don't think Sticky's petulant press conference has helped Nic Cotric.

[gangrenous]

Completely agree RR. Send off and long suspension just as it should be.

Next the game needs to crack down on illegal play bringing the offending team advantage. Two weeks in a row now we’ve had a line break and defensive line in disarray disrupted by two careless high tackles. The offending team receiving more benefit through having committed the foul, than those on the receiving end. Both should have been Sin Bins.