Through green eyes 2020

[greeneyed]

Through green eyes: The top five Indigenous Raiders of all time



This week is Indigenous Round, and in the lead up, The Greenhouse has been conducting a vote on the top five Canberra Raiders' best Indigenous players of all time.

There have been some wonderful Indigenous representatives of the famous green jersey, stretching back to Raider #2, the inaugural captain David Grant. Grant was a tough as nails, old school prop. Nana was his nickname. One of the inaugural Raiders, John McLeod explained that nickname this way: "We used to call him Nana, because when he did his nana you made sure you kept out of his way."

Born in Kyogle, he was the cousin of the legendary Arthur Beetson. Grant came to the Raiders from the Balmain Tigers, and he ended up playing 77 games in green. Inaugural coach Don Furner tried out a number of players in the captaincy role during trial matches - Jay Hoffman, Lloyd Martin and McLeod - before settling on Grant for the first premiership match. The clash with the Rabbitohs at Redfern in Round 1 of 1982. Furner's choice was based on the theory that the extra responsibility could keep his aggressive style of play under a modicum of control. It didn't always work out that way, but he was loved by the Seiffert crowd regardless - and perhaps, in part, because of that.

Another inaugural Raider, Angel Marina, summed him up well:

"He was an inspirational sort of a player. On his day, he was the best in the country as far as front rowers went. He was a great player, loved life, not big on training but he was a great captain and he certainly put his all into his team mates. It was very special in that first year. He was the captain and you always sort of felt safe when David was on the field, he was a very big man and he certainly did his best to win games for the Raiders."

He sadly passed before his time, at the age of just 38, in 1994.

I've been watching the Raiders since their very first home trial match at Seiffert Oval, their first premiership match at the same ground. Over that time, there have been a lot of Indigenous players who made great contributions to the club. From the likes of Lui Bon, Percy Knight and Ray Blacklock in the early years... to players like Tom Learoyd-Lahrs and Joel Thompson more recently.

Voting in our poll is continuing on The Greenhouse, but so far, there is a fairly strong consensus on the top five Indigenous Raiders. I'm not going to diverge from those five, maybe on the order. In any case, here is my list of the top five Indigenous Raiders players of all time. All of my top three were named in the Indigenous Team of the Century in 2008.

1. Laurie Daley



Laurie Daley is, of course, one of the first names you think of when you think of the greatest Raiders of all time. Born in Junee, Daley was signed by the Raiders as a 16 year old. He played his first game in green in 1987 in Jersey Flegg. He never played a game in reserve grade. He made his first grade debut in his first year with the club - in the Round 14 clash with the Sharks - and sat on the bench in the 1987 Grand Final. He played six first grade games in 1987, including the Week 1 finals match against the Roosters.

The five eighth went on to make 244 appearances in green, win three premierships and captain the club. He ranks third on the list for the most games played for the Raiders. He ranks fourth at the club for most tries scored (87). He also played 26 Test matches for Australia and 26 matches for New South Wales. He's just one of two Raiders immortalised in bronze at Canberra Stadium. What a player! After his retirement he went on to coach New South Wales in 15 Origin matches and the Indigenous All Stars in eight.

2. John Ferguson



John Ferguson joined the Raiders in 1986, after playing with the Jets, Roosters and Wigan. He was officially already 31 years of age when he donned the lime green. There was a common myth that he was older than he claimed, with team mates and fans often wondering about his "real age". The winger was an excitement machine, scoring 50 tries in 94 games for the Green Machine. He was a small player by the standards of today's wingers, but he was very nippy and could step every which way. When he took the ball, he always seemed to beat the opposition's first tackler. And it seemed like the crowd would stand every time he took the ball as well. The crowd would regularly chant his nickname... Chicka... Chicka... Chicka. They just loved him. In the 1989 Grand Final, he scored one of the most memorable tries in Raiders' history - to send the game into extra time.

When he retired, he was 36 years of age, but he was still playing like a 26 year old and one of the fastest players at the club. He could have easily played on, but he finally decided to hang up the boots, with two premierships to his name.

3. Sam Backo



Born in Ingham, Sam Backo first started playing in Canberra for the Woden Valley Rams, before the Raiders were admitted to the competition. He came back to Canberra to play for the Raiders in 1983. He made his debut in green in the Round 3 clash with the North Sydney Bears at Seiffert Oval - off the bench. He made only seven appearances that year, and only gradually became a regular fixture in the first grade team. As is often the case, it takes time for a prop to develop. But he still has the status as one of the greatest Raiders props of all time. Backo on the burst was a sight to behold. He made 132 appearances for Canberra, including in the 1987 Grand Final. He also played six Test matches for the Kangaroos and made seven Origin appearances for the Maroons. He was enticed away by the Brisbane Broncos for their inaugual season in 1989 - so, sadly, he missed premiership glory.

4. Jack Wighton

It is not often I would include a player who is still playing in a list of the all time greats. It is usually best to reflect on a player's entire career. But I've no doubt Jack Wighton should be included in the top five best Indigenous Raiders. He's still just 27 years old and there is a lot of football still in front of him. On shifting to five eighth in 2019, he joined the game's elite players - winning the Clive Churchill Medal for the best player on ground in the Grand Final, despite being on the losing side. He'd now played 166 games for the Raiders, after making his debut on the wing back in 2012. He has played five matches for the Indigenous All Stars, three Origin matches for the Blues and two Tests for the Kangaroos. Down the track, when we look back on his career, I'm expecting there'll be many more honours beside his name.

5. Ken Nagas



Winger Ken Nagas was born in Bundaberg, but played his junior football in Kyogle before coming to Canberra in 1991. He joined the Raiders' juniors the following year, before making his debut in the Round 22 loss to the Knights in 1992. By 1994, he'd become a regular in the team, scoring two tries in the Grand Final and winning a premiership. Fast? He sure was fast. He just glided around. By the time he retired in 2002, he had scored 59 tries in 142 games for the Green Machine. He played five Tests for Australia and five games for New South Wales. He's still a resident of Canberra and has been involved in coaching the junior Raiders. Today, he's the coach of the Woden Valley Rams, continuing to contribute to the game in the nation's capital.

You can still vote in our poll here. We will announce the Fans' Choice Top Five tomorrow.

****

The Raiders travel to Townsville this weekend for a meeting with the North Queensland Cowboys at the new Townsville Stadium. Canberra is aiming for a third consecutive victory in Townsville, something the club has never done before. The Raiders will have to fly up and back in the one day - and that's a lot of travel, over 4370 kilometres worth. They say it isn't too much different to a bus trip to Sydney, but that's still a tough "road" trip. Despite that, the Raiders are deserved favourites - with defensive resilience being the key difference between the teams so far this season.

The Cowboys played their first game under caretaker coach Josh Hannay last week - and the team couldn't lift for him. One of my favourite podcasts, Raiders Review with Blake and the Pork, has pointed out that this might well be a grudge match for the two coaches - with the two having crossed paths as coach and player at the Sharks. It is tough time for the Cowboys, as they have not only just lost their head coach, but they have been missing some key personnel. Since the teams were announced on Tuesday, the Cowboys have lost Josh McGuire to suspension and five eighth Daejarn Asi to injury.

However, the Raiders are probably more adversely affected by injury - and they have risen to the challenge in recent weeks. It is not going to be an easy match. No match in the NRL ever is. But if the Raiders bring the same intensity in defence that they showed against the Roosters and Rabbitohs in their past two matches, they should be too strong. I'm tipping the Raiders by 6-12.

****

It was good to get out to Phillip Oval last Saturday to see the Canberra Raiders Under 20s in action for the first time this year. They met the Woden Valley Rams in Round 1 of the CRRL Cup and came away with a good 28-16 victory. This Saturday, they meet the Queanbeyan Blues at Seiffert Oval, while the Gungahlin Bulls host the Rams. Both games kick off at 2:00pm.

****

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 Round 11 clash with the Rabbitohs. Tell us what you think of the ratings.

Total points

Josh Papalii 81
George Williams 79
Jack Wighton 77
Elliott Whitehead 73
Nick Cotric 72
Joe Tapine 70
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 69
Jarrod Croker 68
Siliva Havili 60
Josh Hodgson 56
Emre Guler 49
Dunamis Lui 48
Jordan Rapana 47
Sia Soliola 45
Ryan Sutton 43
Curtis Scott 41
Corey Horsburgh 40
Hudson Young 38
Bailey Simonsson 34
Michael Oldfield 20
Kai O'Donnell 15
Tom Starling 14
Semi Valemei 10
Harley Smith-Shields 5

Average points per match

Josh Papalii 7.4
George Williams 7.2
Jack Wighton 7.0
Joe Tapine 7.0
Tom Starling 7.0
Corey Horsburgh 6.7
Elliott Whitehead 6.6
Nick Cotric 6.5
Hudson Young 6.3
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 6.3
Josh Hodgson 6.2
Jarrod Croker 6.2
Ryan Sutton 6.1
Emre Guler 6.1
Dunamis Lui 6.0
Jordan Rapana 5.9
Sia Soliola 5.6
Siliva Havili 5.5
Curtis Scott 5.1
Harley Smith-Shields 5.0
Kai O'Donnell 5.0
Semi Valemei 5.0
Bailey Simonsson 4.9
Michael Oldfield 3.3



Plus follow us on Facebook: The Greenhouse Forum and Twitter: @TheGHRaiders

If you can put some sentences together and you'd like to write a regular column for The Greenhouse, let us know! We are keen to have more contributing writers!

[greeneyed]

Through green eyes: As I saw it



"From our point of view, very scrappy. I thought we were very loose in a lot of our footy and we were very lucky to win. I don't think we deserved to win, but we found a way to win at the end and that was the important thing. It's nice not to have a loss to jolt you back into gear. It's a hard road trip up here.

It was a big part of our plan to start well. I think we had to defend three sets of six straight away, with a six again and a penalty. So we were on the back foot straight away. So credit to Josh's team. He seems to have done a good job with them so far and they're certainly playing with a lot of spirit. I'm not a coach to be negative on the opposition and say it was just all about us. They didn't let us play well either. They certainly got in our face, they didn't let us play well and we've got to counteract that. Because that's what happens when you're winning games of football. Opposition teams are in your face, but we can play a lot better than that. I'm not taking any credit away from the Cowboys, but we can play better by just being smarter with lots of our play.

We're just not getting the bounce of the ball. You make your own luck. We're probably not putting ourselves in the frame to make our own luck at the moment. Credit to the boys, though, they hung in there. They knew they weren't playing well and they hung tough. If they weren't a tough football team, we get beaten tonight. If they didn't prepare the way they prepared this week for the road trip up here then we get beaten."

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart

2020 Round 12. Canberra Raiders 14 - North Queensland Cowboys 12. Two competition points are two competition points. It was a fairly ugly victory for the Raiders over the Cowboys in Townsville, but it showed the toughness and resilience of the team. The Raiders aimed to start well, but they didn't. They conceded a fairly soft try inside the first three minutes. But it was admirable that the Raiders never allowed the Cowboys to get away from them. They struck back, twice, and once the Raiders got their noses back in front at the 60 minute mark, their defence was just too good for North Queensland in the final quarter.



As Ricky Stuart pointed out, the Cowboys do deserve credit for their performance. They put it right to the Raiders and did not allow the Raiders to play well. However, it was obvious that they lacked just a little bit of class in the key moments. They had opportunity that they could just not quite convert into points. But let's not forget that the Raiders have plenty of top talent on the sidelines too. It is great to see them still getting wins, simply because of their determination and character as a team. Last night, they won their third straight game in Townsville, something the club has never achieved before. They did it after a month or so of tough games against some tough footy teams - the Eels, Storm, Roosters and Rabbitohs. They did it, while being required to travel to the other end of the country on game day. There's a very firm foundation at the club - and, with a few players scheduled to come back from injury in coming weeks, things can only get better.

Stats that mattered?

The Cowboys had a 51 per cent possession share and 56 per cent of the territory. Despite that, the Raiders made more runs (196-189), running metres (1823-1777), post contact metres (771-742), tackle breaks (21-13) and metres per set (43-40). The Cowboys posted more kick return metres (214-92), with their kick and chase putting pressure on the Raiders' back three. They also produced more offloads (Cowboys 11, Raiders 9). Line breaks finished even (2-2) - as did the tries scored (two apiece).

The Raiders' kicking game seemed to be a little "off" on the night... with their kicks either making insufficient territory or proving to be too long (two kicks dead, Cowboys one). The Cowboys produced two forced line drop outs, and the Raiders one. But the Raiders did post more kicking metres than the Cowboys (710-603) from fewer kicks (22-25). The Cowboys grubbered more (Cowboys 6, Raiders 2) and they often kicked early, in a bid to catch the Raiders out. They rarely did. The Raiders defused 94 per cent of their kicks (Cowboys 67 per cent kick defusal rate).

Both teams produced a tackle efficiency rate in excess of 90 per cent (Raiders 93, Cowboys 92). The Cowboys had to make more tackles (408-393) and missed more (21-13), but the Raiders posted more ineffective tackles (19-14). The Raiders had a slightly better completion rate (83 per cent, Cowboys 80 per cent). Both coaches wouldn't have been that happy with the error count. But errors (12) and penalties conceded (three) were exactly even. The Raiders conceded four set restarts, the Cowboys six.

Overall, the numbers show there wasn't much between the teams - and that was reflected in the result. A penalty goal ultimately proved to be the key difference.

Memorable moments?

There were not a lot of memorable moments in the match. Both of the Raiders tries were good - but the first was probably the better of the two. In the 21st minute, Nick Cotric made an impressive break down the touch line, with George Williams backing up on the inside for a four pointer. Williams had work to do when he took the ball, and he showed good pace to evade the defenders. The second try was the result of John Bateman and Curtis Scott combining well. It was a positive that both returning players took their chance. Hopefully, we have seen the beginnings of a more settled right edge.

I can't help but mention the Raiders' successful captain's challenge. "Six again" referee Ben Cummins was in charge of a Raiders for the first time since his controversial officiating of the 2019 Grand Final. Last night, he very nearly gave the Cowboys the opportunity to level the scores in the 70th minute - when he incorrectly ruled Dunamis Lui offside. The captain's challenge was introduced this year as a result of the Grand Final's officiating controversies - and thankfully, it saved the Raiders last night.

Best performers?

John Bateman. 16 runs for 158 metres, 69 post contact metres, one line break assist, one try assist, three tackle breaks, one offload, 31 tackles, 86 per cent tackle efficiency. Two missed tackle and three ineffective tackles the only blot on the copy book. Bateman impressed in his first match for 2020... and the promising thing is he can only improve from here. He adds a winning edge and the Raiders are very clearly a better team with him in it.

Josh Papalii. 17 runs for 184 metres, 96 post contact metres, one tackle break, one offload, 44 tackles, 94 per cent tackle efficiency. He just seems to be in the top three players every single week.

Jordan Rapana. 24 runs for 193 metres, 42 kick return metres, 80 post contact metres, four tackle breaks, five tackles, 83 per cent tackle efficiency, 10 kicks defused. There were a few woolly moments, with four handling errors, but he tried his heart out, in the less familiar, unforgiving position of fullback.

Corey Harawira-Naera deserves a mention. He made a good debut in green, particularly when you consider he has been out of team training for most of the year and spent less than a week training with the Raiders. He will no doubt make more impact as he builds some match fitness.

Top tacklers: Tom Starling 46, Josh Papalii 44, Ryan Sutton 38
Most metres gained: Jordan Rapana 193, Josh Papalii 184, John Bateman 158

My player ratings:

Jordan Rapana 7
Semi Valemei 4
Jarrod Croker 7
Curtis Scott 7
Nick Cotric 6
Jack Wighton 7
George Williams 7
Josh Papalii 8
Siliva Havili 6
Dunamis Lui 7
John Bateman 8
Elliott Whitehead 7
Hudson Young 7

Tom Starling 7
Joe Tapine 6
Ryan Sutton 7
Corey Harawira-Naera 5

Do you agree with the ratings? Let us know what you think!



Plus follow us on Facebook: The Greenhouse Forum and Instagram: @TheGHRaiders

If you can put some sentences together and you'd like to write a regular column for The Greenhouse, let us know! We are keen to have more contributing writers!

[LastRaider]

Papa was just immense again I thought. Played the first 50 minutes straight in the humidity of Townsville. Even chasing kicks like a back and just putting his body in motion all the time in attack. Well deserved 8!

[-PJ-]

Papa was just immense again I thought. Played the first 50 minutes straight in the humidity of Townsville. Even chasing kicks like a back and just putting his body in motion all the time in attack. Well deserved 8!

He's been massive.

Just top him up with premium and send him out.

Love Papabear.

[gangrenous]

The captain's challenge was introduced this year as a result of the Grand Final's officiating controversies.

Ah doubling down I see!

[greeneyed]

The captain's challenge was introduced this year as a result of the Grand Final's officiating controversies.

Ah doubling down I see!

We’ve discussed this already. If it wasn’t due to that, what was it due to? Why did Peter V’Landys come out after the Grand Final telling us it’s needed because the punters shouldn’t go home feeling that their team’s been ripped off?

[gangrenous]

Yeah, look I’m happy to concede that the NRL are claiming that.

I just don’t think the line they’re pitching about captains challenge fixing what happened should be supported when:
1) The NRL have never publicly addressed how and why the decision was actually wrong.
2) They have not clarified how the captain’s challenge actually addresses and corrects the error of six again.

Without hearing those two things, as supporters of the club who got that giant pineapple in our biggest game in 25 years I don’t think we should support that rhetoric.

[greeneyed]

Yeah, look I’m happy to concede that the NRL are claiming that.

I just don’t think the line they’re pitching about captains challenge fixing what happened should be supported when:
1) The NRL have never publicly addressed how and why the decision was actually wrong.
2) They have not clarified how the captain’s challenge actually addresses and corrects the error of six again.

Without hearing those two things, as supporters of the club who got that giant pineapple in our biggest game in 25 years I don’t think we should support that rhetoric.

The turnover of possession is a stoppage which would be the opportunity for a captain's challenge today (I think!). The ruling of "six again" cannot, under the rules, be overturned by the referee in the way it was. So that's what the Raiders could have challenged. At the very least, it would have allowed the Raiders' defence to reset itself.

[gangrenous]

I think both of those things are far from certain. Without explicit clarification from the NRL I think there’s every chance the same thing can happen again and for a captain to be told he cannot challenge that type of decision or at that time.

It’s just like the trainer situation really. It was an incident waiting to happen, there was no explicit rule. Outcome crap. The update on that rule is also ****. But I digress...

[greeneyed]

Through green eyes: Bending the rules



The Chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission, Peter V'landys, has become something of a cult hero.

The game was left on its knees by the worst pandemic in 100 years. But somehow, he put almost all the broken pieces of the 2020 season back together again.

When the footy resumed, one Sydney newspaper produced a colour liftout - a poster of V'landys, of the sort usually reserved for footy players and teams. It was labeled "Thanks Pete!"

His achievement has rightly been celebrated, lauded.

An insight into V'landys' approach appears in another poster, with the heading "Peter's Law", which is displayed in his home office. It includes "laws" like:

"Do it by the book. But be the author."

"The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself."

"If you can't win, change the rules."

"If you can't change the rules, ignore them."

V'landys didn't write the maxims on the poster. But if he hadn't followed at least some of them this year, our game wouldn't be be back on an even keel.

During the height of the game's crisis, the clubs quickly learned that the way to get action was to go over the head of the NRL administration and go direct to V'landys. He's flexible, he's "can do" and he's quick to act.

It was a great strength in the crisis, but might the approach be less suited for less troubled waters?

I don't think there is any Raiders fan who was not impressed when V'landys personally intervened, after it was revealed in the media that the Raiders were not being allowed to catch a plane to Sydney for the Grand Final rematch.

The Raiders were on a five day turnaround. On the resumption of the season, they were only club that was forced to travel more than an hour to their games every single week - often more than three hours in a bus. The NRL rules were that the Raiders were only entitled to bus travel to an "away" game. But for six weeks, every game had been an away game for the Raiders, required to play home games in Sydney due to biosecurity protocols. Many Sydney clubs were playing every week in their own backyards. The travel burden for Canberra was simply unfair.

Ultimately, V'landys intervened. The rules were bent, but it seemed to make sense, given the other disadvantages that had been imposed on the Raiders. I admit, that might be a conclusion affected by my own biases.

And being flexible is good, right? Especially in unusual times.

But a lot of the NRL's rules are there to ensure that clubs are treated equitably.

Recently, the NRL has seemingly done everything possible to allow the Roosters to recruit Sonny Bill Williams and the Storm to recruit Ricky Leutele. Both are players who were contracted to the Toronto Wolfpack - with Sonny Bill Williams reportedly on a deal worth $5 million a season. And with the Wolfpack withdrawing from the 2020 Super League season, they potentially became available.

Under the NRL's rules, players are not permitted to have two contracts - but V'landys was quick to say he'd provide an exemption to allow SBW to be recruited. He said it wasn't favouring the Roosters. He said there were clubs like the Warriors who needed players - and he'd do the same for the eight Australians contracted to the Wolfpack, for any club. It seems an exemption wasn't needed in the end, as the Wolfpack said they were prepared to "tear up" SBW's contract.

The Roosters initially valued SBW's contract for the final four games of the regular 2020 season at $120,000. It was agreed in the end that it would have to be valued at $150,000 on the salary cap. Ignoring finals games, that is $37,500 a game - which the NRL says is a valuation for a full season of 24 games of $900,000. Of course, he could end up playing up to eight games, with finals - which would translate to a full season valuation as low as $525,000.

The actual market value of SBW in the current environment in the NRL was never tested. The Roosters would argue that's because SBW didn't want to play at any other club. But it is also not clear that other clubs wouldn't have been prepared to pay more than $150,000 for a SBW guest stint either.

The Roosters had to release young winger Asa Kepao to the Wests Tigers to create space for Williams in their 30 man squad. But it is remarkable that the Roosters had just enough space in their cap to recruit a $5 million player - on $150,000 - even allowing for the fact that SBW is an ageing, 35 year old, superstar, left without a club.

The Roosters have now put up SBW and family in a luxury penthouse overlooking Sydney Harbour, during his quarantine. The NRL has said that all his "reasonable relocation costs" for a period of 28 days will be outside the cap.

In the past day, Raiders CEO Don Furner has pointed out that "reasonable" was once considered to be $10,000. It seems like there will also be a bit of rule bending here. Furner says he hopes that if there is a new test of what's "reasonable", it applies to all clubs.

The Melbourne Storm reportedly had only $35,000 left in their salary cap - a figure which Ricky Leutele was prepared to accept for the remainder of the 2020 season.

The NRL's salary cap team valued Leutele at around $60,000 for the rest of the year - or $360,000 for a regular 24 game season. In the end, the NRL relented - giving the Storm a free kick - given they'd already approved what seems to be a a pretty good deal for the Roosters for SBW.

V'landys would argue that the salary cap rules are being adhered to. This is what he said in an exchange with Paul Kent on NRL 360, before the deals for SBW and Leutele were settled:

"Sonny Bill Williams is a marketing machine for the NRL... The salary cap will be adhered to... We have a vigorous audit of all the teams on the salary cap and there'll be no dispensation given to the Roosters or any other team for that matter. I think a lot of people are jumping on the horse here because it is the Roosters. The Roosters are entitled to, as any other team, to bring a player in and if... they can fit him in the salary cap, so be it."

But the whole thing has left many fans bemused. I am certainly bemused that the two clubs which already have amongst the strongest rosters in the competition are those that have benefited from some pretty favourable salary cap valuations. Not the Warriors - who are struggling for players. Not other clubs stricken by massive injury tolls.

The NRL also looks like it will be providing an exception to its rules for South Sydney - so as to allow superstar in the making, Joseph Suaalii, to play NRL at the age of 17 next season - and so as to allow the Rabbitohs to fight off a bid for Suaalii's services from rugby union.

Not so long ago, a minimum age of 18 was introduced for NRL players - because of the pressure that accompanies professional sport, big contracts and player agents.

In this case, V'landys said: "We will look at anything that is to the benefit of the game. That's what the Commission's there for, to look at the benefit of the game, the promotion of the game and what's the best outcomes for the game. So we should look at every case on its merits. We should not have blanket rules that stop you from doing things that are for the benefit of the game."

I'm not so sure that this rule should be changed. It was introduced for some very good reasons. But whatever rule is decided upon, it should apply equally for all clubs.

The code of rugby league needs be flexible, nimble, quick on its feet right now - at a time when a pandemic has created huge challenges for the sport. It needs to be able to adapt to change.

Peter V'landys and the ARLC have done an amazing job in getting the game that we all love back on the field - and securing its future.

But the code needs to be very careful about how it bends or changes some of its rules. We shouldn't forget that there are already NRL rules and commercial arrangements which favour some clubs over others - things like Third Party Arrangements and a broadcasting deal that produces a paucity of free to air television coverage for some clubs. We shouldn't forget that we are already lacking a level playing field.

In being flexible, the NRL must not add to the inequities between the clubs. And at the moment, it seems to me that the NRL is at risk of heading down that path.

****

The Parramatta Eels, the Melbourne Storm, the Sydney Roosters, the South Sydney Rabbitohs. All heavyweights in the NRL. The Raiders have had to face them all in the past six weeks. But Canberra Raiders captain Jarrod Croker says that, at present, there is no bigger challenge than facing the ladder leading Penrith Panthers. And that's the challenge in front of the Green Machine on Saturday night when they travel to Panthers Stadium.

All the statistics indicate the Panthers are the deserved favourites. They're on a seven game winning streak and are running first. They have advantages all over the park. But somehow, I'm smelling an upset. The Panthers have had a relatively easy draw over the past month or so - and they have had to travel outside Sydney once all year. They've barely travelled outside western Sydney. The Raiders only just beat the Cowboys last weekend, but they've shown how tough they can be when facing adversity. Strangely, the Raiders also seem to play to the level of their opposition. I think they'll be "up" for this game. The Raiders have the sort of defensive game that can put the Panthers off. That's what happened last year, when the Panthers were on a seven game winning streak - and the Sydney commentators were fawning over them. They popped the Panthers' bubble. I think the Raiders can do it again. I'm tipping the Raiders by 6-12.

****

On Saturday afternoon, the Canberra Raiders Under 20s meet the Gungahlin Bulls at Nicholls in Round 3 of the CRRL Cup. I can't say I've ever been to that ground... so it'll be a new experience! The Raiders have been playing well so far, despite having eight of their eligible players unavailable, because they are in the first grade "bubble". In the other match, the Woden Valley Rams face the Queanbeyan Blues at Phillip Oval. Both games kick off at 3:00pm, so get out to a game if you can.

****

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 Round 12 clash with the Cowboys. Tell us what you think of the ratings.

Total points

Josh Papalii 89
George Williams 86
Jack Wighton 84
Elliott Whitehead 80
Nick Cotric 78
Joe Tapine 76
Jarrod Croker 75
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 69
Siliva Havili 66
Josh Hodgson 56
Dunamis Lui 55
Jordan Rapana 54
Ryan Sutton 50
Emre Guler 49
Curtis Scott 48
Hudson Young 45
Sia Soliola 45
Corey Horsburgh 40
Bailey Simonsson 34
Tom Starling 21
Michael Oldfield 20
Kai O'Donnell 15
Semi Valemei 14
John Bateman 8
Corey Harrawira-Naera 5
Harley Smith-Shields 5

Average points per match

John Bateman 8.0
Josh Papalii 7.4
George Williams 7.2
Jack Wighton 7.0
Tom Starling 7.0
Joe Tapine 6.9
Corey Horsburgh 6.7
Elliott Whitehead 6.7
Nick Cotric 6.5
Hudson Young 6.4
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 6.3
Jarrod Croker 6.3
Ryan Sutton 6.3
Josh Hodgson 6.2
Emre Guler 6.1
Dunamis Lui 6.1
Jordan Rapana 6.0
Sia Soliola 5.6
Siliva Havili 5.5
Curtis Scott 5.3
Corey Harrawira-Naera 5.0
Harley Smith-Shields 5.0
Kai O'Donnell 5.0
Bailey Simonsson 4.9
Semi Valemei 4.7
Michael Oldfield 3.3



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[Brewdle]

Great read GE, cheers mate


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[greeneyed]

Through green eyes: As I saw it



"You saw what I saw. There was some smaller detail in our defence , punching the ball down their end but they were just rolling through us too easily. You're going to keep giving them good field position by not executing defence correctly. When you get down the other end of the field, a couple of poor reads and they got a couple of tries on us.

My mood was okay at halftime, we spoke about what the situation was, it was no good me going off my head, that's not going to fix anything. I asked them to lose that, we had to lose the first half and win the second half – and start by scoring the first try and then back it up. I'll never doubt our character, that's never an issue, but I'm disappointed with how our first 25 minutes panned out. We're better than that but not tonight."

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart

2020 Round 13. Penrith Panthers 28 - Canberra Raiders 12. This match showed where the Canberra Raiders are right now - and that's a step behind the front runners in the competition. The Green Machine was very clearly out-classed in the first half. They showed some character to come back and "win" the second half. But there's no escaping the fact that when Penrith was "on", the Raiders' defence could not contain them - and their attack struggled to make an impression. The Panthers were simply outstanding, and the Raiders were simply out-gunned.



The Raiders started the match strongly, with Jack Wighton producing an early 40/20 kick - and the Raiders forcing repeat sets. However, the attack was too lateral and failed to trouble the Panthers' goal line defence. As soon as the Panthers got the ball, they marched up field and Viliame Kikau stormed through the Raiders' line with ease. The Panthers scored a try from their first opportunity in the Raiders' red zone. From the 10th minute to the 40th, Penrith dominated, scoring four tries. The Raiders had a couple of chances, but Elliott Whitehead and Josh Papalii were both correctly denied tries by the bunker. When Brent Naden scored in the corner, a minute before half time, the result was sealed. The Panthers led by 24-0 at the break - and the Raiders have never come back from 24 points down.

Canberra scored twice in the second half, through Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad. He had a shaky start to the game under the high ball, confidence in his injured figure clearly affecting him. But he showed plenty of courage to come back with a brace. The whole team did. At the 60th minute, it looked like the Raiders had scored another try, with George Williams racing away - but again, the bunker correctly disallowed it, with Corey Harawira-Naera obstructing the defence. The Panthers could only score two penalty goals in the second half. But the Raiders simply didn't have enough points in them. The mountain was too high.

In a way, the result was not surprising. The Raiders have had a tough six weeks, with games against most of the heavy weights of the competition. They have had a horror run with injuries, and have had to build new combinations in the spine, in the forward pack. Victories have been hard fought, the result of grit, determination and passion for the green jersey. There had to be a a "let down" at some point.

Stats that mattered?

The Panthers finished with a 51 per cent share of possession - despite the fact the Raiders had almost 55 per cent of the ball in the second half. The Panthers made fewer runs than the Raiders (186-199), but made a lot more metres (1571-1370). They also made more post contact metres (461-405), more kick return metres (244-125) and line breaks (4-2). The Raiders forward pack did not match the Panthers in the middle - and that was where the game was won and lost. The Raiders had only two players who topped the 100 metres gained mark (Dunamis Lui, 122, and Josh Papalii, 113), while the Panthers had five, almost six. The eagerly anticipated battle between Viliame Kikau and John Bateman saw Kikau take the points. But then, the whole Raiders forward pack was out-played.

The territory was fairly evenly shared (Raiders 51 per cent, Panthers 49 per cent). The Raiders had 37 tackles in the Panthers' red zone, while the Panthers had 35 in the Raiders' red zone. However, the Panthers were more successful in converting their opportunities. The Raiders had three disallowed tries.

There was not much difference in the kicking metres gained (Panthers 719 metres from 21 kicks, Raiders 709 metres from 24 kicks). However the Panthers seemingly "bombed" all night (8-1) and they produced four forced line drop outs (Raiders two). The Panthers also defused more kicks (75 per cent kick defusal, Raiders 67 per cent), with some dropped bombs from the Raiders proving costly. Jack Wighton got the only 40/20 of the game, but Nathan Cleary's kicking game was just about perfect.

Both teams produced a tackle efficiency rate in excess of 90 per cent (Raiders 95, Panthers 91). The Raiders had to make more tackles (365-338), but the Panthers missed more (26-19) and posted more ineffective tackles (8-2). But the Raiders' were made to pay with some poor defensive reads in the first half.

The Raiders had a slightly better completion rate (80 per cent, Panthers 76 per cent). The Panthers made a couple of more errors (11-0), while the Raiders conceded one more penalty (7-6). The Raiders conceded five set restarts, the Panthers three.

Memorable moments?

There were not a lot of memorable moments for the Raiders. The two tries for Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad were barge overs from close range. Tough efforts, but not spectacular. I'm going to leave it at that!

Best performers?

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad. Two tries, 30 runs for 257 metres, 74 kick return metres, 58 post contact metres, two line breaks, nine tackle breaks, four kicks defused. The only blot on the copybook was a handling error which led to the second Panthers try.

Josh Papalii. 17 runs for 113 metres, 49 post contact metres, one offload, 47 tackles, 98 per cent tackle efficiency.

Jack Wighton. 22 runs for 141 metres, one line break assist, one try assist, one tackle break, 17 tackles, 94 per cent tackle efficiency, nine kicks for 291 kicking metres, one 40/20 kick.

One last thing to mention... I found it frustrating that Tom Starling received so little game time. The Panthers forward are very big, and opposition forwards love to run at him. But the Raiders' attack looked much better when he was on the field. Sadly, Siliva Havili left the field with an injury. Hopefully he won't miss game time... but if he does, the Raiders might be forced to somehow fast track Kurt Baptiste back into the team. He's probably the only other option left for No. 9.

Top tacklers: Josh Papalii 47, John Bateman 46, Joe Tapine 36
Most metres gained: Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 257, Jack Wighton 141, Dunamis Lui 122

My player ratings:

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 8
Jordan Rapana 5
Jarrod Croker 5
Curtis Scott 6
Nick Cotric 4
Jack Wighton 7
George Williams 6
Josh Papalii 7
Siliva Havili 6
Dunamis Lui 6
John Bateman 6
Elliott Whitehead 7
Hudson Young 6

Tom Starling 6
Joe Tapine 7
Ryan Sutton 6
Corey Harawira-Naera 5

Do you agree with the ratings? Let us know what you think!



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[gangrenous]

I asked CM in the game day thread, but I’ll try my luck with you greeneyed. What’s the technical definition of being “behind” a player for onside these days? Anyone know?

For Whitehead’s try you could argue parts of Rapana were in front of Croker. But he had a foot/leg behind him.

[greeneyed]

I asked CM in the game day thread, but I’ll try my luck with you greeneyed. What’s the technical definition of being “behind” a player for onside these days? Anyone know?

For Whitehead’s try you could argue parts of Rapana were in front of Croker. But he had a foot/leg behind him.

“A player is offside if he has one foot (either on or off the ground) in front of a teammate who ‘last touches, is touched, held or kicked the ball’.”

https://www.nrl.com/siteassets/operatio ... -final.pdf

[gangrenous]

Cheers GE.

I think the Whitehead try is debatable then. At point of contact Rapana’s *front* leg is on Croker’s back. In front is a bit of tough call I think.

[LastRaider]

GE I hear you on the Starling thing. I could not believe he wasn’t bought on even at the 25 minute mark. Havilli was out on his feet and we needed to do something to spark the attack.

I was also bewildered after that onslaught sticky only made 2 interchanges in the first half. Why fresh troops weren’t bought in earlier I don’t know. The game was lost in the first half

[RedRaider]

Good write up as usual GE. So good I read it twice . Once again our decoy runners have cost us a try in a match. Earlier in the season it was Sutton twice and now CHN. I get that Kikau took a dive that Matthew Mitcham would have been proud of, but it is up to the decoy runner not to make any kind of contact. We had no gang tackling driving the Panther players backwards. This gave them a head start in making meters on their sets. This is something the whole team must do and should be ringing in their ears as they run out. To have Papa distributing the football and not bending the line was a tactic I hope we don't see again. Their first 2 tries were sheer poor defense by us.

I didn't think Nick Cotric was the worst player on the park for the Raiders as indicated by your 4 rating. I thought there were more error prone players than him which put their team mates under pressure.

[greeneyed]

Through green eyes: There's something about Tommy



There's something about Tommy. Canberra Raiders hooker, Tom Starling, that is. He's one of the smallest players in the game, standing at 170 cms. That's five feet seven inches on the old scale. He weighs in at 82 kgs. But he plays above his weight.

Starling has spent plenty of 2020 biding his time, just waiting to play a game. He played for Mounties in Round 1 of the NSW Cup, before the rugby league season was shut down at all levels, due to the pandemic.

When the NRL season resumed, Starling was training each week... to simply sit on the sidelines on match day.

"It was pretty tough," Starling told the Behind the Limelight podcast this week.

"Coming in each week to training and not having a game to prepare for. That's why we play footy. To come in week in and week out, compete on the weekends and be prepared to do battle. I'm not going to lie. I was a bit down, laying in bed at night and not having that game to look forward to on the weekends. It was tough."

"But it was also good that we were also able to come back and train and do what we love day in, day out. There were a lot of people worse off, so we couldn't complain too much."

Starling had to wait four months before he could play his next match. It was the Raiders versus the Roosters at the Sydney Cricket Ground. A Grand Final re-match.

Starling became part of a hooking duo, along with Siliva Havili, substituting for co-captain Josh Hodgson - who suffered an ACL injury in the Round 9 clash with the Storm.

There's a picture of Starling from that match, where he is taking on a Roosters behemoth with the ball. He's tackling him single handed. He barely reaches the arm pit of the Roosters forward. But Starling lifts him, ready to put the Goliath on his back.

He won plenty of admirers amongst Raiders fans that night.

Starling admits it's not the way he wanted to take his place in the side, but he was excited by the challenge.

"It's not the way you want to earn your spot, through injury," Starling said.

"I was shattered for Hodgo, it's a tough injury. But I was happy I could get out there and prove myself and play at the highest level. It's been awesome so far. It was exciting. I love taking on the biggest challenge I can."

Hodgson is now acting as a specialist coach for Starling and Havili.

"It's really good to have Josh here. He wasn't here last week because he had his surgery. But he's another coach here, especially for us "nines"," Starling said.

"He was showing us a few things today. He's got a bit of video he's going to show me a bit later, what we can be doing better, what we've been doing really well. He's been a massive help the last few weeks."

Hookers are often a bit cheeky, and Starling is no different.

He has set up house with good mate and Raiders forward, Hudson Young. They've known each other since they were in a Newcastle development squad as Under 15s. They became firm friends playing in the Newcastle Harold Matthews team that won a premiership. Now they are again playing in the same team, "joined at the hip" on the training field and at home.

Until recently, another Raiders forward, Ryan Sutton, was a house mate - but he's moved in with his partner. New recruit, Corey Harawira-Naera has taken his place.

"He's slotted straight in and made himself at home," Starling says of Harawira-Naera.

"He gets on the guitar while we're cooking dinner, so there's a bit of fun around the house."

"We smash a bit of Play Station 2, so there's a bit of rivalry in the household... who holds the top spot in UFC and basketball. I've got it at the moment, so they're trying to take the crown off me. They're versing each other quite regularly trying to get up to my level, but I don't think they will," he laughs.

"They're hopeless those two. They leave stuff everywhere. I'm pretty much the cleaner of the house, and the cook. Doing everything. They just sit down on the lounge, trying to get their Play Station skills up to mine, while I'm doing all the cooking and cleaning. I keep the house together."

Starling has a sense of energy on and off the field, but he's also got determination. He didn't play in the 2019 Grand Final, but he was part of the week, part of the occasion. He now wants to get there on Grand Final day himself.

"I was pinching myself," Starling said.

"The extended squad got to walk around on Grand Final day and look at the crowd. Even during the game I was thinking 'this is crazy, this is the Grand Final!'

"How close we got... you want to get there again."

"We're here to win a premiership. That's everyone's goal in the competition, to win a premiership. That's what we're striving for and that's what we're going to try and get to."

There's something about Tommy. And Raiders fans are liking what they see.

****

2020 has been something of an "annus horribilis" for the world.

In 1992 Queen Elizabeth II gave a speech to commemorate the 40th anniversary of her reign. It had been a scandal rocked year for the Royal Family. She famously said: "1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an annus horribilis."

It brought the Latin term, back into more popular usage. And while 1992 was a "horrible year" for her family, the scale of events unleashed by the pandemic has meant 2020 has been a year of disaster and misfortune for millions around the world.

Things that happen in the world of football pale into insignificance when you consider the people who have lost their lives or their livlihoods this year.

But it has been a tough year for rugby league as well. And possibly no club has done it tougher than the Brisbane Broncos in 2020.

The Broncos were admitted to the "Sydney competition" in 1998, and since then, they have never "won" a wooden spoon. They have missed the finals just five times in more than 30 years. They have won six premierships.

They have considerable advantages. They have a monopoly over a city with a population that now numbers almost 2.5 million. A city in rugby league heartland. A huge junior nursery. Their matches are screened on free to air television across the country, just about every Friday night of the season.

They have sponsors queuing up as a result. They generate revenue of over $50 million a year. They have just posted a profit of $2.3 million. Most other clubs - which have an average population base of 500,000 - record losses.

They're a club used to success on field and off.

Things looked rosy after the first two matches of 2020. They posted two stylish victories. They have a young squad, with plenty of promise. But since the resumption of the season, they have won just one match - against the last placed Bulldogs. They now find themselves in 15th place on the ladder, and in real danger of taking out their first ever wooden spoon.

For the Broncos, that would certainly represent an annus horribilis. And in a terrible year for Brisbane, this week has been the most terrible of weeks.

First, coaching assistant Allan Langer and two staff members were quarantined from the Broncos "bubble" and fined by the NRL - after breaching the NRL's COVID biosecurity protocols. They attend a birthday celebration for Langer at the Caxton Hotel.

Next, news broke that Brisbane forward, Tevita Pangai Jnr had broken the protocols by attending the opening of a barber shop owned by a bikie gang. He was discovered on the premises as police made a raid. He's now been fined $30,000 by the NRL and stood down indefinitely. It appears he's breached the protocols multiple times.

Coach Anthony Seibold has also been quarantined from his team, after he had to leave the "bubble" to deal with a family emergency in Sydney after last weekend's loss to the Rabbitohs. The embattled coach was also forced to take legal action after false and vicious rumours circulated about him. It's a despicable aspect of social media, and I feel for Seibold - having that heaped upon him, on top of everything else.

Yesterday, forward Matt Lodge was ruled out for the season, adding to a fairly hefty injury list.

And now the NRL is investigating a possible breach of their biosecurity protocols by up to 10 Broncos players, when they attended the Everton Park Hotel a couple of weeks ago. At the time, the protocols allowed for the players to attend the restaurant in the pub. But the NRL is investigating whether some players were drinking in a sports bar and entered a poker machine lounge, which was not permitted. It is believed that the players won't be stood down, but will face fines if breaches of the NRL protocols occurred.

The Broncos are a club with their backs to the wall. And history has shown, that is when football teams can be at their most dangerous.

So the Raiders will need to be on guard, when the Brisbane Broncos meet the Green Machine at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night.

The Raiders are deserved favourites, but it is real a danger game. The "old" Raiders did not respond well to favouritism, and they were susceptible to an upset. They have largely avoided that in the past couple of years - but they do still tend to play to the level of their opposition. They'll need to be very careful to avoid any sort of complacency in this game.

The Raiders forward pack will need to lift on its performance last weekend against the Panthers. The Broncos have a young forward pack, but the likes of Payne Haas and David Fifita can be very damaging. Those players are among the best in the game. However, if the Raiders forwards can lay the platform, I'm tipping the Green Machine should be too good. Here's hoping!

****

On Saturday afternoon, the Canberra Raiders Under 20s head back to Phillip for Round 4 of the CRRL Cup for a clash with the Woden Valley Rams. They're undefeated in their first three games. They've been challenged by their opposition at stages - but in each game, their superior fitness has told in the final stages. It seems strange, seeing a re-match between the same teams at the same venue, so quickly. But it's great that any footy could be played this year. Last week, SG Ball players Trey Mooney, Caleb Esera and Jayden Clarkson made their Under 20s debut - and looked right at home. They're special players, so get out and see for yourself! In the other match, the Gunghalin Bulls host the Queanbeyan Blues, at Gungahlin Enclosed. Both games kick off at 3:00pm.

****

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 Round 13 clash with the Panthers. Tell us what you think of the ratings.

Total points

Josh Papalii 96
George Williams 92
Jack Wighton 91
Elliott Whitehead 87
Joe Tapine 83
Nick Cotric 82
Jarrod Croker 80
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 77
Siliva Havili 72
Dunamis Lui 61
Jordan Rapana 59
Josh Hodgson 56
Ryan Sutton 56
Curtis Scott 54
Hudson Young 51
Emre Guler 49
Sia Soliola 45
Corey Horsburgh 40
Bailey Simonsson 34
Tom Starling 27
Michael Oldfield 20
Kai O'Donnell 15
John Bateman 14
Semi Valemei 14
Corey Harrawira-Naera 10
Harley Smith-Shields 5

Average points per match

Josh Papalii 7.4
George Williams 7.1
Jack Wighton 7.0
John Bateman 7.0
Joe Tapine 6.9
Tom Starling 6.8
Elliott Whitehead 6.7
Corey Horsburgh 6.7
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 6.4
Hudson Young 6.4
Nick Cotric 6.3
Josh Hodgson 6.2
Ryan Sutton 6.2
Jarrod Croker 6.2
Emre Guler 6.1
Dunamis Lui 6.1
Jordan Rapana 5.9
Sia Soliola 5.6
Siliva Havili 5.5
Curtis Scott 5.4
Corey Harrawira-Naera 5.0
Harley Smith-Shields 5.0
Kai O'Donnell 5.0
Bailey Simonsson 4.9
Semi Valemei 4.7
Michael Oldfield 3.3



Plus follow us on Facebook: The Greenhouse Forum and Twitter: @TheGHRaiders

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[Finchy]

"He was showing us a few things today. He's got a bit of video he's going to show me a bit later, what we can be doing better, what we've been doing really well. He's been a massive help the last few weeks."

Hopefully Hodgson's been doing some video on himself, you know, to see what he can be doing better.

[greeneyed]

Through green eyes: As I saw it



"We've probably been building up in terms of the last few weeks. We haven't really hit our straps with our attack. But it was nice to see some guys in some space tonight. I think the whole performance was built on that first half defensive display. We were camped down on our line for a long period of time and to hold them to only a couple of tries, was excellent.

[Williams and Bateman] were both fantastic. John certainly brought a different dynamic to us. He gives us a real edge and the more he plays, the better their combinations will get. It was good to see them get some joy. It's been a very challenging year so far, but some nice signs tonight. John's a very unique player. He doesn't play like most other players in the NRL. He's awkward, he's unorthodox, but he's very effective. He creates stuff and he certainly makes people around him a lot better. It's great to have him back, and I'm sure that as he gets more games under his belt, he'll get better and better for us. That's probably where we are as a team. We've got to build over the next couple of months.

Every week we get the feedback [from the NRL officials] that 'we're onto it', but every week Jack [Wighton] gets taken off the ball and nothing really happens. It's clearly a tactic of opposition teams, because he's such a good kick chaser and to be fair, we'd like something done about it. Teams have just got to be penalised. They've done a great job, the NRL, in allowing a contest on kicks, they've taken away the escorts. If escort players impede the attacking teams they get penalised, and it should be the same with the kickers. Particularly with someone like Jack who is so lethal with it, it's clearly a tactic. We've noticed that right through the season, it's been a tactic of opposition teams."

Canberra Raiders assistant coach Andrew McFadden

2020 Round 14. Canberra Raiders 36 - Brisbane Broncos 8. The old adage was never more true. It was a game of two halves. The Broncos came out of the blocks hard and fast, dominating possession and territory. The young Broncos forwards were aggressive and won the battle of the middle. Prop Payne Haas ran for almost 150 metres in the first half alone, repeatedly breaking tackles. The Queenslanders had repeated success challenging the Raiders' left edge, making good inroads - and that's where the first try came. David Fifita produced a great offload to set their first try in motion, with Kotoni Staggs setting up the Arthars try with a kick. The Raiders looked to be in slow motion, in comparison. The Broncos didn't let the Raiders touch the ball for the final 10 minutes of the first half. But the Raiders' defence on their own goal line was good, and it took four repeat sets before they could get a second try, and a two point lead at the break.



The game quickly changed complexion in the second half. Through pure determination, John Bateman decided to change it. Six minutes into the second 40, he made a break setting up George Williams for a try. It was the start of an avalanche of tries. Bateman, Nicoll-Klokstad, Cotric with a double. There could have been more, with Rapana twice denied, Wighton once. It was like Bateman had flicked a switch for the Raiders, illuminating the Raiders' attack, their confidence. The Raiders' left edge was under siege in the first half. In the second they laid siege. It was the first time in a year that the Raiders had scored more than 30 points - the last being the 46-12 win over the Warriors in Auckland in Round 20, 2019.

The Raiders' bench players deserve special mention for their second half performances. Tom Starling added spark for the attack at dummy half. Joe Tapine, Hudson Young and Corey Harawira-Naera were all strong. It allowed the coach to rest the likes of Josh Papalii and Elliott Whitehead in the second period. The Broncos have regularly faded in the second half in 2020. We will want to see how the Raiders' attack fares against other opposition. But it was a great fillip for the confidence of the team.

Stats that mattered?

The Broncos had almost 65 per cent of possession and 65 per cent of the territory in the first half. They had 33 tackles in the Raiders' red zone, while the Raiders had five tackles in the opposition 20 metres. The Broncos had four set restarts, at least a couple on the fifth tackle. Most of those numbers certainly turned for the Raiders in the second half. Canberra ended the game with a 53 per cent share of possession and 46 per cent of the territory.

The set restarts did not even up, however. They finished 7-1 in favour of the Broncos. Given what was happening in the rucks, there was no justification, in my view, for such a lop sided count. The crowd was understandably frustrated with it. The Broncos conceded five penalties (with two players put on report), the Raiders two. The Broncos also produced more errors (12-10) in very slippery conditions. The completion rates for the two teams was not too different (Broncos 78 per cent, Raiders 76 per cent).

Canberra made more runs (176-166), run metres (1686-1413), kick return metres (177-145), metres per set (40-35), and line breaks (7-3). Tackle breaks were even (28-28), while post contact metres (Broncos 460, Raiders 458) and offloads (Raiders 12, Broncos 11) were effectively even. The Raiders produced more kicking metres (673 metres from 22 kicks, Broncos 587 metres from 20 kicks) and more forced line drop outs (3-1).

The Raiders had a slightly better effective tackle rate, but it was roughly 88 per cent for both teams. The Broncos ended up making more tackles (361-344) and more ineffective tackles (21-17). Both teams missed 28 tackles. In the end, the key defensive statistic that mattered was six tries to two.

Memorable moments?

It is almost impossible to pick the Raiders' best try this week. The first was the result of a glorious long pass from George Williams, finding Jordan Rapana in a lot of space on the wing. I've mentioned the second already - the Williams try set up by John Bateman. One journalist aptly described the Bateman break as "sheer bloody mindedness" to get the job done. In the 62nd minute, Nicoll-Klokstad's try was a thing of beauty. Williams set it is motion down the left, the passing crisp, the back line deep. Croker was away, and kicked back inside for the fullback. What a try it was! So good, "ball boy" Ata Mariota got involved in the celebrations! How about the break from Corey Harawira-Naera to set up Cotric's second? Or the pass from Croker to almost set up Rapana for a try? The bunker ruled Rapana had lost his grip on the ball, before grounding - and ruled no try. It deserved a try. If I have to choose the try of the match, I'll go with the team effort to set up Nicoll-Klokstad.

The Raiders' defensive effort in the first half should not go unmentioned. The repeat sets they endured must be admired. Jarrod Croker's goal kicking should not go unmentioned either. Six from six. On the sideline? Didn't matter.

Best performers?

George Williams. One try, six runs for 39 metres, two try assists, one line break assist, one offload, 15 tackles, 84 per cent tackle efficiency, eight kicks for 290 kicking metres, one forced line drop out. Williams really stood up in the play making role, so much so I'm surprised he had only two try assists. It seemed like more. Indeed, the Fox Sports Lab credited him with three try assists and two line break assists. He was in everything.

John Bateman. One try, 13 runs for 143 metres, 27 post contact metres, one line break, one try assist, one tackle break, two offloads, 33 tackles, 97 per cent tackle efficiency. Getting back to his best.

Josh Papalii. 17 runs for 113 metres, 49 post contact metres, one offload, 47 tackles, 98 per cent tackle efficiency.

Tom Starling. Four runs for 55 metres, three dummy half runs for 53 metres, 17 post contact metres, one tackle break, 33 tackles, 100 per cent tackle efficiency.

Joe Tapine unlucky to miss the top three.

Top tacklers: Ryan Sutton 37, Elliott Whitehead 34, Tom Starling 33, John Bateman 33
Most metres gained: Joe Tapine 175, Corey Harawira-Naera 173, Jordan Rapana 158

My player ratings:

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 7
Jordan Rapana 7
Jarrod Croker 7
Curtis Scott 7
Nick Cotric 7
Jack Wighton 7
George Williams 8
Josh Papalii 7
Siliva Havili 6
Dunamis Lui 6
John Bateman 8
Elliott Whitehead 7
Ryan Sutton 6

Hudson Young 6
Tom Starling 7
Joe Tapine 7
Corey Harawira-Naera 7

Do you agree with the ratings? Let us know what you think!



Plus follow us on Facebook: The Greenhouse Forum and Instagram: @TheGHRaiders

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[LastRaider]

Good write up GE, can’t agree with the 7 for Croker after his schooling in the first half by Staggs. He was a 5 and his good goal kicking deserved another point. 6 at best.

CHN and Starling’s energy of the bench turned the game IMO. Bateman and Williams were able to lift of there intensity.

[BadnMean]

Good write up GE, can’t agree with the 7 for Croker after his schooling in the first half by Staggs. He was a 5 and his good goal kicking deserved another point. 6 at best.

CHN and Starling’s energy of the bench turned the game IMO. Bateman and Williams were able to lift of there intensity.

Agree on Toots. He had a pretty forgettable night. Quiet season in attack really but usually defends better.

[radicalraider]

Croker 5 Scott 5
Bateman 6 (poor defense)

[greeneyed]

Through green eyes: Thinking again about "six again"



The NRL made a very quick decision prior to the resumption of the 2020 season. ARLC Chairman Peter V'landys pushed through a shift back to a single referee and to award a set restart - "six again" - for ruck infringements.

The aim was to speed up the game, to open it up by adding fatigue. The aim was to produce more entertaining football.

We've now had three months of "six again". So how is the rule change going?

Remarkably, it is pretty difficult to even find statistics on how many restarts have been awarded. The NRL itself has only recently started publishing the statistics for each match. As far as I can see, no one has published the aggregate statistics. But I've collected the numbers, from the Fox Sports match centre. And here they are...





What can we make of the numbers? For a start, we need to remember that some restarts come very early in a set... some come very late. So the total numbers won't necessarily tell you how significant the decision was on a particular game. That's always been true for penalties too. But there are some observations to make.

Some teams - like the Panthers, Sea Eagles, and yes, the Raiders - have been almost twice as ill disciplined in the rucks as the Knights. They have almost twice the number of set restarts conceded. Perhaps it reflects my unconscious biases, but I wouldn't have expected that. When I think about teams that push the boundaries of the rules in the ruck, I think about the Storm and the Roosters.

How to test my biases? Perhaps by looking at the average penalties conceded in 2019. These were the top six teams for average penalties conceded per match last year:

Panthers 7.9
Knights 7.4
Raiders 7.2
Sea Eagles 7.2
Roosters 7.2
Storm 6.8

So perhaps the Panthers and Sea Eagles were no saints last year either. And I would acknowledge that the Raiders did seem to change tactics in 2019, and work the rucks more aggressively. But those numbers do suggest that maybe I could have expected the Roosters and Storm would feature more highly on the list. And to be frank, I think the Storm and Roosters are teams that, for some time, have been allowed far too much latitude with the wrestle, double markers and deliberate offside in defence.

The average number of penalties conceded per match in 2019 was 6.2. So far this year, that's fallen to 5.2. While the first two rounds were played under the old rules, that's not much, really. It was intended that the new "six again" rule would make it easier for referees to sanction illegal play in the rucks. But, abstracting from ruck infringements, the "underlying" penalties look like they've increased this year. And referees are certainly inserting themselves more in games. The total average "sanctions" conceded so far this year stands at 9.2 per game.

Adding together the penalties and set restarts conceded to get total sanctions, we can get an indicator of the most and least disciplined clubs so far in 2020. These numbers are on a per match basis:



No doubt, different people will interpret all those numbers differently.

But after Saturday night, I suspect plenty of Raiders fans were left wondering about how consistently the "six again" rule is being officiated at times. The Broncos received seven restarts in their Round 14 clash with the Raiders, Canberra just one. The Broncos received a couple of set restarts on the fifth tackle just before half time... which eventually led to their second try. Having watched the match, I struggle with the concept that the Broncos were so disciplined in the ruck, that only one set restart should have been awarded to the Raiders. In my view, there were plenty of ruck infringements from the Broncos that were "let go".

To be fair, it was an outlier match. It is the lowest number of restarts awarded to the Raiders in a single match so far, as well as the highest number of restarts conceded by the Raiders in a match. And the Raiders don't do too badly with restarts awarded on average.

I certainly don't think there are any deliberate biases in the officiating. As I've written about before, there may be unconscious biases. For example, there are many academic studies which conclude that star athletes, star teams, tend to receive more favourable calls across many sports.

But in this case, the "six again" rule is probably one that is very difficult to apply consistently. The aim is to speed up the game and decisions have to be taken more quickly by the referees. By definition, the decisions are taken "on the run". It should be no surprise that there are errors in applying it. Given it is still a relatively new rule, it should also be no surprise that there is not a consistent view among the referees about when to wave "six again". Some seem to award them sparingly, others less so.

Consistency is something the fans understandably crave. I personally find the lack of consistency in "six again" calls to be infuriating at times - particularly when they can have such a significant impact on a game. But in this case, it might actually not be possible to achieve consistency - because of the nature of the rule and with just one referee on the field. That's something the NRL should consider when the rule changes are inevitably reviewed at the end of the season.

****

The statistics around "blow outs" and injuries will also feature when the NRL looks at whether the "six again" rule has been a success - or not.

It was revealed this week, on 100% Footy, that there were 94 players injured after the first 13 rounds of 2020, compared with 63 over the same period in 2018. That's a 49 per cent increase. In addition, there has been a significant increase in serious injuries, defined as those involving five or more weeks recovery. In 2020, there have been 6.6 serious injuries per round, compared to four in 2018. That's a 67 per cent increase.

After an injury plagued game last Thursday night between the Storm and the Roosters, Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy said that fatigue caused by the "six again" rule could be to blame for the NRL's injury crisis.

"The fatigue in the game, we decided we wanted that but I’m not sure if there’s too much fatigue with the amount of teams that have got a lot of injuries," Bellamy said.

"We’ve got two of our most influential players out and it’s not just about fatigue and soft tissue injuries."

"When people get fatigued they put their bodies in the wrong places when they make tackles or absorb the contact and you get injured from there."

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart was not so sure - arguing that injuries caused by collision are not generally associated with fatigue. He also pointed out that the short preparation prior to the resumption of the season could be behind the rash of injuries. But he did call for the issue to be investigated.

Stuart says the "six again" rule has achieved the goal of adding more fatigue in the game, but whether that has produced a better game is up for debate.

"We were looking at more fatigue in the game and I think it's certainly there. Whether it's created a more attractive product or not, that is yet to be discussed," Stuart said.

I'm not sure it is a more attractive product. The Sydney Morning Herald reported this week, that the average winning margin is now the biggest it has been in the era of the NRL.

Between Round 3 and 13 this year, the average margin was 17.4 points - surpassing the high point of 16.8 points in 2002. The average margin was 13.7 points in 2019.

Channel Nine is concerned its ratings have declined because viewers switch off, when there is a blow out in the scoreline in a match. Of course, the folks at Nine also have themselves to blame for their ratings - choosing to broadcast the poorly performed Broncos almost every week.

But when this rule was introduced, I pointed out that there was a risk in making the game too fast. It's happened before, around the time of Super League. And people got sick of the blow outs back then too. It's rugby league, it's not basketball.

At the end of the season, the NRL will need to think very deeply about the decision to revert to one referee and to introduce the "six again" rule. I think changes will be needed, as I don't think we have it right at present.

****



Congratulations to "quiet achiever" Dunamis Lui on playing his 150th NRL match this weekend - when the Raiders travel to the Gold Coast for a meeting with the Titans.

The 30 year old made his debut for the Brisbane Broncos back in 2010 - and played with the Sea Eagles and Dragons before making his way to the Raiders. He will play his 70th game in green on Saturday - more games than he's played at any other of his other clubs.

He was dropped after the Round 5 clash with the Tigers this year, but since returning, he's probably been in career best form. It reflects how hard he works.

"Nami has been outstanding, I think since the absence of Sia [Soliola] especially, Nami has really stepped up," Jarrod Croker said this week.

"He's been through a lot. He's had a couple of ACL injuries that a lot of people would have found very hard to come back from. Nami is that sort of guy. He just puts his head down and does the work."

"He's a quiet sort of bloke, but he's one of those blokes... when he speaks everyone listens. He's really lifted that over the last six weeks and led that forward pack. He is very underrated, but certainly not by us."

****

The Raiders are deserved favourites in their clash with the Titans on Saturday, but like last week, it is a danger game. The Titans are developing under new coach Justin Holbrook - and have played some pretty good footy in recent weeks. Canberra will want to lift on its first half performance against the Broncos - and produce a better start. The Raiders should have more confidence in attack, having just topped 30 points for the first time this year. But the Titans will be a much tougher outfit than the Broncos. The Raiders will need to lay the platform first, and stick to the structures. If they can do that, I'm tipping the Green Machine should be too good.

****

Unfortunately, the Raiders Under 20s play at the same time as the Green Machine's NRL match this week - so I will miss their match. They meet the Queanbeyan Blues at Seiffert Oval, while the Woden Valley Rams meet the Gungahlin Bulls at Phillip. Both games kick off at 3:00pm on Saturday.

It was interesting to see that the Raiders started with just two players on the bench last week - allowing their players like Gordon Whippy (Bulls) and Joel Thompson (Blues) to play bigger minutes with other teams in the competition. They still ground out a victory and remain undefeated. I continue to be impressed by the recent debutants, Trey Mooney, Caleb Esera and Jayden Clarkson. They are no doubt destined for first grade in my view. But it was also good to see Matt Fellows get a double last weekend.

****

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 Round 14 clash with the Broncos. Tell us what you think of the ratings.

Total points

Josh Papalii 103
George Williams 100
Jack Wighton 98
Elliott Whitehead 94
Joe Tapine 90
Nick Cotric 89
Jarrod Croker 87
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 84
Siliva Havili 78
Dunamis Lui 67
Jordan Rapana 66
Ryan Sutton 62
Curtis Scott 61
Hudson Young 57
Josh Hodgson 56
Emre Guler 49
Sia Soliola 45
Corey Horsburgh 40
Bailey Simonsson 34
Tom Starling 34
John Bateman 22
Michael Oldfield 20
Corey Harrawira-Naera 17
Kai O'Donnell 15
Semi Valemei 14
Harley Smith-Shields 5

Average points per match

Josh Papalii 7.4
John Bateman 7.3
George Williams 7.1
Jack Wighton 7.0
Joe Tapine 6.9
Tom Starling 6.8
Elliott Whitehead 6.7
Corey Horsburgh 6.7
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 6.5
Nick Cotric 6.4
Hudson Young 6.3
Josh Hodgson 6.2
Jarrod Croker 6.2
Ryan Sutton 6.2
Emre Guler 6.1
Dunamis Lui 6.1
Jordan Rapana 6.0
Corey Harrawira-Naera 5.7
Sia Soliola 5.6
Siliva Havili 5.6
Curtis Scott 5.5
Harley Smith-Shields 5.0
Kai O'Donnell 5.0
Bailey Simonsson 4.9
Semi Valemei 4.7
Michael Oldfield 3.3



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[BadnMean]

Thanks GE.

Those stat breakdowns are really handy to look at. We get penalised/6 agained a bit. It's hard for me to say whether it's harsher than other teams because of my own bias. But we generally receive our share too. It actually annoys me a bit when I see some of our players as repeat offenders in deliberately putting in an extra flop/fall down instead of just getting up to play the ball. All round with reputation with refs and speed of the ptb I think we'd be better of just getting up and playing asap instead of playing for the foul.

[Finchy]

I find it interesting that the Knights are so well-disciplined that they concede waaaaay fewer set restarts than any other team by far, yet also get awarded the most.

[Cranky Old Man]

This week is not a good time for it due to the conflict with the Raiders/Titans game, but a young player in the U20s who has caught my eye a bit is Jordan Martin, a tallish and rangy backrower who has played centre. He needs to fill out, and he won't make it as a centre, but he has great potential in my opinion. Get out to their games if you can, there is certainly some promising talent on display.

[gerg]

Some good analysis there GE. I think another factor worth including is 6agains by referee and factoring in whether particular referees have been assigned to the same team on a regular basis.

On the injuries I think another factor is the reduced number of grounds used earlier in the year and the poor condition some of them were in. Also the changed preparation and post match recovery for teams.

Sent from my SM-G570F using Tapatalk

[greeneyed]

Through green eyes: As I saw it



"I was happy with the scoreboard, but I thought we never really found any consistent groove, rhythm in our game. There were far too many clean line breaks and we were a bit too haphazard with the football. But coming out of what we've had to train in this week, and then those conditions we had to play in, they were so different. We had two sessions in pouring rain and wind and gusts and cold. And then coming up here today to this was completely different. A contrast in regards to the environment we had to prepare and play in.

I think Jack [Wighton] was probably our most consistent player, sticking to task. He played direct, he played to the strategy and the plan that we wanted to adopt today. He didn't lose the will to stick solid to a structured game of footy. There were individuals out there tonight for us... we took our foot off the pedal individually. It caused some line breaks and some poor pieces of play attacking wise. But I'm really happy with the win. It's hard coming up here and winning. And coming up here and winning the way we should have won, by the scoreboard, was a good result in the end.

I don't care who puts a line through us, because I've never been concerned about what others think. They don't see what we've got here in regards to our individuals, the character, our training. Liva [Havili] and Tommy [Starling] have been wonderful in filling in the role for one of the world's best hookers. Josh Papalii showed you today in that chase on the young half, his ankle tap... what should have been a try. He showed you what the jumper is all about and the type of character these boys have inside them.

Papa will go down as one of our greatest ever players when he retires. He is one of the boys' favourites. They love playing with him. He's got a wonderful motor. He's a very skillful guy for his size. And I don't say that lightly. But he will go down as one of those greats of this club.

We work a lot in regards to those types of Dean Lance like contributions. There's a lot of character in this joint. You can see that with the huge amount of injuries we've had this year, the adversity with our travel this. And I don't say that for a shoulder to cry on. I say that because it's a fact. We've had a really tough year this year. They way they've stuck together, these blokes, I couldn't be prouder as a coach.

But I think we could have played better tonight. We didn't. We won the way we should have done on the scoreboard, but not in regards to the quality of our play. So we've still got improvement. We've still got a way to go. We know where we need to be if we're going to be a threat in the semis."

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart

2020 Round 15. Canberra Raiders 36 - Gold Coast Titans 16. The Canberra Raiders won well on the scoreboard and for a good part of the game, won well on the field. The Raiders made late changes in the forward pack, starting the three bench forwards, and benching three of the starting forwards. The Raiders had plenty of possession, and made plenty of ground. But the team somehow didn't gel in the opening stages. There was too much lateral movement in attack. And the defence was not switched on. The Titans made some breaks and ended up scoring the first try, when Tanah Boyd put in a kick to the corner, wrong footing Nick Cotric. Cotric put the teams on level footing near the 20 minute mark, with his own try in the corner - the result of a long cut out from Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.



The Titans were the better team in the opening stages. But when Josh Papalii, and then Dunamis Lui, came onto the field, things changed. The forwards asserted more dominance, and the team played more direct football. Jack Wighton unleashed, first with the most perfect runaround you'll ever see. And then with his own incisive run for the line. When Tom Starling scored with five minutes to the break, it was suddenly 22-4 and the Raiders had taken full control of the game.

The second half produced two tries for both teams. The Raiders were never under any real threat, but the line breaks and tries conceded would not have pleased coach Stuart. Nor the attacking opportunities missed, because of poor execution and the wrong options taken. Things like a kick ahead on an early tackle, intercepts thrown, a misdirected bomb. But in the end, it was still a 20 point victory and another two competition points were delivered. The Raiders are still well in the hunt for a top four finish.

Stats that mattered?

The Raiders had around 60 per cent of the ball and territory in the first half, and only a bit less in the second. They finished with a 55 per cent possession share and had the ball for a full five minutes more than the Titans. The Raiders had a healthy 84 per cent completion rate (Titans 76 per cent). Penalties were level (5-5), but the Titans conceded six restarts (Raiders two) and made more errors (12-9).

The Raiders were in front in almost all the attacking statistics. They made more runs (212-171), running metres (1987-1485), post contact metres (772-570), kick return metres (256-147), metres per set (44-36), tackle breaks (51-22) and offloads (18-9). The Raiders had 32 tackles in the Titans' red zone, compared with just 14 for the Titans in the Raiders' 20 metre zone.

The Titans made more line breaks (8-5) - and in the context of the otherwise good defensive numbers for the Raiders, it is a point of concern. The Raiders finished with an effective tackle rate of almost 90 per cent (83 per cent for the Titans). The Titans had a much heavier defensive workload, having to make more than 100 more tackles than the Raiders (Titans 408 tackles made, Raiders 277). But the Titans also missed a whopping 51 tackles (Raiders 22) and posted 34 ineffective tackles (Raiders just nine).

The Raiders kicked more (27-18), but the Titans produced more kicking metres (524-519). Given the running metres conceded, the Titans were forced to kick long, while the Raiders put in more attacking kicks. But those attacking kicks were often easily defused (Titans 81 per cent kick defusal, Raiders 78 per cent). Canberra forced two line drop outs, the Titans one.

I don't want to nit pick, but when you look at those numbers, the Raiders probably should have won by more than 20 points. In particular, there were more line breaks and tries conceded - to a team with so little possession and territory - than coach Stuart would have liked.

Memorable moments?

We saw a moment in this game which will undoubtedly go down in Green Machine folklore. Josh Papalii's chase on Titan's halfback Jamal Fogarty, the ankle tap to stop an almost certain try, is one of the best try saving efforts I think I've ever seen. Not just in Raiders history. One of the best I've ever seen. How can a prop forward chase and then stop a half back on a rampant run downfield, the way Josh Papalii did last night? It was an extraordinary effort from the big man, which showed so much character. He was left gasping for air, but he was determined to do it. Inspirational efforts like that win premierships.

The best try of the match? No question, the old runaround play from Jack Wighton. It was utterly perfect. It was good to see Tom Starling get his first ever NRL try, as well. It was a simple run from dummy half, and a stretch out to the line, but first tries are always special.

Best performers?

Jack Wighton. Two tries, 13 runs for 112 running metres, 27 post contact metres, one line break, one line break assist, seven tackle breaks, 22 tackles, 96 per cent tackle efficiency, eight kicks for 236 kicking metres. He probably deserved a try assist as well for his first try!

Ryan Sutton. 21 runs for 205 metres, 91 post contact metres, 25 tackles, 96 per cent tackle efficiency. Ryan Sutton is almost always at his best when starting. Putting all three bench forwards on the field to start was a bit disruptive, but the game proved was an opportunity to lighten the load for the likes of Papalii and Lui. Sutton certainly stepped up. The only blot on the copybook was a penalty conceded, for a tackle above the horizontal.

Nick Cotric. Two tries, 10 runs for 126 metres, 59 kick return metres, 39 post contact metres, one line break, nine tackle breaks.

I dearly wanted to have Josh Papalii in my top three, just for the ankle tap. Joe Tapine, again, very close to my top three.

Top tacklers: John Bateman 32, Elliott Whitehead 28, Ryan Sutton 25
Most metres gained: Ryan Sutton 205, Jordan Rapana 189, Joe Tapine 168, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 167

My player ratings:

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 7
Jordan Rapana 7
Jarrod Croker 6
Curtis Scott 6
Nick Cotric 7
Jack Wighton 8
George Williams 6
Ryan Sutton 8
Joe Tapine 7
Siliva Havili 5
John Bateman 7
Elliott Whitehead 7
Corey Harawira-Naera 6

Josh Papalii 7
Dunamis Lui 6
Hudson Young 6
Tom Starling 7

Do you agree with the ratings? Let us know what you think!



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[Seiffert82]

Great analysis on the set restarts and penalties GE. Some surprising and not-so-surprising numbers there.

I don't really like the 6 again rule. I don't like the inconsistent way in which it is applied, particularly when you include the arbitrary way that the ref can blow a penalty instead. It is made worse by having only 1 referee on the field.

The Broncos game was a classic example of the inconsistency in which the rules are officiated. Sure, we probably gave away our 7 restarts, but there is absolutely no way the Broncos should only have conceded 1. It was getting ridiculous.

In short, I am finding the rule frustrating to follow in all games I've watched this season. It's a complete lucky dip.

[Seiffert82]

Same issue with forward passes. It's out of control this season, with only 1 ref.

[gangrenous]

Josh Papalii gets a 10 for me based on the ankle tap. Don’t care what else happened in the game. Will remember that one for a very long time

[LastRaider]

So I’m a big fan of Havilli however he is to one dimensional in attack at 9 and is the one of the main reasons I believe why are starts have been so poor. (The defence isn’t wondering where the ball is going when Havilii is there nor are they concerned he will scoot) And I’m not sure if you noticed but when Starling came of for the last 10 minutes our attack went back to being like the first 15 minutes of the game.

In short we need to change how we use Havilii and Starling. Starling needs to start and Havilii needs to play hooker perhaps between the 40min to 60min mark then bring Starling on to finish or something like that

[RedRaider]

GE, I know he only had limited minutes on the park but I thought Hudson Young has a good game. When he came on he added some starch to the first contact which was missing earlier in the match. His straight running was rewarded with a try and he had a few other tough runs. As you know, I have been critical of him for his on field indiscretions but Ricky stuck with him as a mobile middle and as long as his discipline holds, he is a fine contributor to the side.

[BadnMean]

So I’m a big fan of Havilli however he is to one dimensional in attack at 9 and is the one of the main reasons I believe why are starts have been so poor. (The defence isn’t wondering where the ball is going when Havilii is there nor are they concerned he will scoot) And I’m not sure if you noticed but when Starling came of for the last 10 minutes our attack went back to being like the first 15 minutes of the game.

In short we need to change how we use Havilii and Starling. Starling needs to start and Havilii needs to play hooker perhaps between the 40min to 60min mark then bring Starling on to finish or something like that

It's a change plenty of us have noticed and at least want to see tried, as a way to improve our starts. Havilii can return to impact middle off the bench + backup hooker minutes. Starlings form almost demands it and we need to see if he can improve the performance in that way- it is a vital period.