2020 Finals Week 2 V Roosters: Teams and Previews *Teams p1*

[AJL]

Got tickets for my better half and daughter, since we'll be in Sydney anyways. Probably going to be driving to the SCG, anyone got any advice on parking?

[cat]

Parking is expensive, if you are lucky you can jag a spot on the street the other side and walk.

Otherwise it was $35 to park on the grass for the game earlier this year.

Fox should be cheaper and hopefully the high school opens up parking again like in the years past. Prefer to give the money to the school then council

[-PJ-]

Parking advice..

Stay between the lines.

[Darren Fritz]

Valemi has done well this year but it's clear he's not yet ready for the big games. It's inevitable he will make a big mistake or two (or three) on Friday that costs us badly.

While Rapana is struggling defensively at centre (positionally and with decision making). He' will let through a try or two on Friday.

Hesitant to bring Timoko or HSS into such a big game.

Does Ricky need to make a big call and drop Semi, put Rapa back on the wing, and shuffle Whitehead or Bateman into the centres to save some tries on the edge? A gamble but could be one worth taking.

[casta66]

25 each plus booking fees

[casta66]

Sorry that would be higher now as member window is closed.

[Colk]

Valemi has done well this year but it's clear he's not yet ready for the big games. It's inevitable he will make a big mistake or two (or three) on Friday that costs us badly.

While Rapana is struggling defensively at centre (positionally and with decision making). He' will let through a try or two on Friday.

Hesitant to bring Timoko or HSS into such a big game.

Does Ricky need to make a big call and drop Semi, put Rapa back on the wing, and shuffle Whitehead or Bateman into the centres to save some tries on the edge? A gamble but could be one worth taking.

Hmm I’m sure that Bateman could do a job there but who do you play at second row? CHN would be a defensive problem there because of fitness. Young could do an ok job but then you need to replace his impact off the bench

[Darren Fritz]

Fair point. It would force CHN to play more minutes but I wonder if that's less of a risk than what's already happening out wide. Manu and Morris will have a field day otherwise.

[raidersmalt]

Fair point. It would force CHN to play more minutes but I wonder if that's less of a risk than what's already happening out wide. Manu and Morris will have a field day otherwise.

Ricky would be pretty hesitant to make any major changes prior to a finals match. I think we're stuck with Valemei.

[Colk]

Fair point. It would force CHN to play more minutes but I wonder if that's less of a risk than what's already happening out wide. Manu and Morris will have a field day otherwise.

Manu would be playing on the other side. Rapana would be up against Josh Morris with Tupiu on the wing. I would be targeting their right side as it has leaked a few tries recently

[Darren Fritz]

Fair point. It would force CHN to play more minutes but I wonder if that's less of a risk than what's already happening out wide. Manu and Morris will have a field day otherwise.

Ricky would be pretty hesitant to make any major changes prior to a finals match. I think we're stuck with Valemei.

I think you're right, Malt. I think you're right - unfortunately.

[Darren Fritz]

Fair point. It would force CHN to play more minutes but I wonder if that's less of a risk than what's already happening out wide. Manu and Morris will have a field day otherwise.

Manu would be playing on the other side. Rapana would be up against Josh Morris with Tupiu on the wing. I would be targeting their right side as it has leaked a few tries recently

Agree, we should definitely target their right side. Morris vs Rapana worries me big time. Yikes.

[BadnMean]

Fair point. It would force CHN to play more minutes but I wonder if that's less of a risk than what's already happening out wide. Manu and Morris will have a field day otherwise.

Manu would be playing on the other side. Rapana would be up against Josh Morris with Tupiu on the wing. I would be targeting their right side as it has leaked a few tries recently

Agree, we should definitely target their right side. Morris vs Rapana worries me big time. Yikes.

Fritzy we should see more of you!!!

[Mullins_y2k]

Damn! I didn't see you could select seats in an 'away team bay'... I got bay 318 in Victor trumper level 3.... That Raiders by chance?

[Raidersteve]

Has anyone received an nrl account access or have a spare link that won't be used?

[Darren Fritz]

Fair point. It would force CHN to play more minutes but I wonder if that's less of a risk than what's already happening out wide. Manu and Morris will have a field day otherwise.

Manu would be playing on the other side. Rapana would be up against Josh Morris with Tupiu on the wing. I would be targeting their right side as it has leaked a few tries recently

Agree, we should definitely target their right side. Morris vs Rapana worries me big time. Yikes.

Fritzy we should see more of you!!!

I think once a decade is a sufficient dosage of me!

[KasparRaider]

The West Australian are reporting that Ben Cummins will referee.

[cat]

The West Australian are reporting that Ben Cummins will referee.

That has to be someone 's idea of a joke!

He called 6 again yesterday and took it back!

[radicalraider]

Putting Valemi on one of the best wingers in a sudden death semi would be a huge problem. Our best bet is rapana to wing and Bateman 4.
It's a call that RS needs to make. We don't rely on our edge for attack so might as well get it right defensively.

[BadnMean]

Putting Valemi on one of the best wingers in a sudden death semi would be a huge problem. Our best bet is rapana to wing and Bateman 4.
It's a call that RS needs to make. We don't rely on our edge for attack so might as well get it right defensively.

Stop saying that...

We weaken the backrow defence quite a bit by having CHN there, who still looks short of full fitness by the end of even a 15-20 minute stint. Potentially a big risk late in halves or messes up the interchange plans.

Weakens our last 20minutes -which have been matchwinning for weeks and our "tire 'em up the ruck" strategy is built on- as we no longer have a potent weapon in CHN to bring on.

Takes Bateman further away from where his energy and light stepping can be of best use among tired forwards and small halves and pits him against guys just as big and nimble as he is.

So the defensive gain on Bateman vs Valemi is neutered by weaker defence further infield. It weakens our overall game plan (like it or not). And makes one of our trump cards in Bateman slightly less involved and slightly less effective. For no real gain.

Nah I just don't see it.

[radicalraider]

Putting Valemi on one of the best wingers in a sudden death semi would be a huge problem. Our best bet is rapana to wing and Bateman 4.
It's a call that RS needs to make. We don't rely on our edge for attack so might as well get it right defensively.

Stop saying that...

We weaken the backrow defence quite a but by having CHN there, who still looks short of full fitness by the end of even a 15-20 minute stint.

Weakens our last 20minutes -which have been matchwinning for weeks and our "tire 'em up the ruck" strategy is built on- as we no longer have a potent weapon in CHN to bring on.

Takes Bateman further away from where his energy and light stepping can be of best use among tired forwards and small halves and pits him against guys just as big and nimble as he is.

So the defensive gain on Bateman vs Valemi is neutered by weaker defence further infield. It weakens our overall game plan (like it or not). And makes one of our trump cards in Bateman slightly less involved and slightly less effective. For no real gain.

Nah I just don't see it.

Surprised you rate Batemans defense so highly, his first contact isn't the best if you watch him closely. So initially I thought the best option is to simply swap cotric to defend Morris and Raps to wing.. since there's no other wingers just hope for the best with Valemi.
How did tiring their ruck go last start or in the gf? We're not playing the sharks or dragons. If we're going to rely on Bateman running sideways to score points than we're in trouble, not that we do anyway that's the halves job.
There is much more to gain and less risk in playing rapana on the wing than at centre, you just have to watch his defense in last week's game. Most likely this change won't happen but we can only hope our pack and halves compensate.

[Mickey_Raider]

Will we be able to do the Viking clap for this one? Im guessing probably not, because it is a Roosters home game.

In any case we should get one going just prior to the boys running out. I assume the drummer bloke will be there, as always.

[greeneyed]

@TheGHRaiders on Twitter

Hear from Josh Papalii, Jack Wighton and George Williams on the Canberra Raiders' win over the Sharks and preparations for the clash with the Roosters. WIN News Canberra reports: http://ow.ly/kMpP50BJiNm

#NRL #WeAreRaiders

[Raidersteve]

Thanks everyone managed to pick up some tickets.

[The Nickman]

I got tickets no problems. Figured there was about 25k max Roosters supporters at the Grand Final, so it would be surprising to have more than 15k of them turning up to this game after 2 losses.

I will honestly laugh and cry at the same time if we manage to significantly out number the roosters fans Friday night.

I think the boys will get a massive boost from it too!

It honestly wouldn't surprise me if we got close. We clearly outnumbered them at least 2-1 at the Grand Final.

More than that I reckon. 4 to 1, maybe 5 to 1, even more. It was all green.

[LastRaider]

I’d go with this:

1. CNK
2. Cotric
3. Croker
4. Timoko
5. Rapana
6. Wighton
7. G. Williams
8. Papalii
9. Starling
10. Lui
11. Bateman
12. Whitehead
13. Tapine

14. Havili
15. Young
16. Soliola
17. CHN

18. Oldfield
19. Valemei
20. S. Williams
21. O’Donnell

I really like Valemei but I think Rapana needs to be on the wing. Timoko into Right centre.


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Yep this is the team

[The Nickman]

I’d go with this:

1. CNK
2. Cotric
3. Croker
4. Timoko
5. Rapana
6. Wighton
7. G. Williams
8. Papalii
9. Starling
10. Lui
11. Bateman
12. Whitehead
13. Tapine

14. Havili
15. Young
16. Soliola
17. CHN

18. Oldfield
19. Valemei
20. S. Williams
21. O’Donnell

I really like Valemei but I think Rapana needs to be on the wing. Timoko into Right centre.


Sent from my iPhone using The Greenhouse

Yep this is the team

Yeah... I have bad news for both of you, hey


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[Seiffert82]

I got tickets no problems. Figured there was about 25k max Roosters supporters at the Grand Final, so it would be surprising to have more than 15k of them turning up to this game after 2 losses.

I will honestly laugh and cry at the same time if we manage to significantly out number the roosters fans Friday night.

I think the boys will get a massive boost from it too!

It honestly wouldn't surprise me if we got close. We clearly outnumbered them at least 2-1 at the Grand Final.

More than that I reckon. 4 to 1, maybe 5 to 1, even more. It was all green.

Yeah, I reckon I'm being pretty generous. Most of the neutrals were on our side, so it may have been 4-1. It was the weirdest post-game atmosphere I've ever experienced, like nobody had won the game.

[raiderskater]

I got tickets no problems. Figured there was about 25k max Roosters supporters at the Grand Final, so it would be surprising to have more than 15k of them turning up to this game after 2 losses.

I will honestly laugh and cry at the same time if we manage to significantly out number the roosters fans Friday night.

I think the boys will get a massive boost from it too!

It honestly wouldn't surprise me if we got close. We clearly outnumbered them at least 2-1 at the Grand Final.

More than that I reckon. 4 to 1, maybe 5 to 1, even more. It was all green.

Yeah, I reckon I'm being pretty generous. Most of the neutrals were on our side, so it may have been 4-1. It was the weirdest post-game atmosphere I've ever experienced, like nobody had won the game.

Post game sucked, but pre-game will honestly be one of my favourite memories for all of my life.

I could go to Sydney this weekend, but choosing to sit this one out. The SCG is in an awkward spot, further in that I'm comfortable driving, and staying further out would mean getting public transport in, and I'm just not in that place to trust Sydney that much yet.

Besides, I'd rather be in Sydney in a couple of weeks' time...

[EJ]

I'm totally fine with Semi playing this week. Go, young lad!

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[BadnMean]

Putting Valemi on one of the best wingers in a sudden death semi would be a huge problem. Our best bet is rapana to wing and Bateman 4.
It's a call that RS needs to make. We don't rely on our edge for attack so might as well get it right defensively.

Stop saying that...

We weaken the backrow defence quite a but by having CHN there, who still looks short of full fitness by the end of even a 15-20 minute stint.

Weakens our last 20minutes -which have been matchwinning for weeks and our "tire 'em up the ruck" strategy is built on- as we no longer have a potent weapon in CHN to bring on.

Takes Bateman further away from where his energy and light stepping can be of best use among tired forwards and small halves and pits him against guys just as big and nimble as he is.

So the defensive gain on Bateman vs Valemi is neutered by weaker defence further infield. It weakens our overall game plan (like it or not). And makes one of our trump cards in Bateman slightly less involved and slightly less effective. For no real gain.

Nah I just don't see it.

Surprised you rate Batemans defense so highly, his first contact isn't the best if you watch him closely. So initially I thought the best option is to simply swap cotric to defend Morris and Raps to wing.. since there's no other wingers just hope for the best with Valemi.
How did tiring their ruck go last start or in the gf? We're not playing the sharks or dragons. If we're going to rely on Bateman running sideways to score points than we're in trouble, not that we do anyway that's the halves job.
There is much more to gain and less risk in playing rapana on the wing than at centre, you just have to watch his defense in last week's game. Most likely this change won't happen but we can only hope our pack and halves compensate.

As I've posted before. Tiring the ruck is even more effective the last 4-6 weeks because we now have Young and CHN and Starling to throw at a tiring middle. The very composition of our team and bench has shifted dramatically, meaning we now have a perfectly suited bench to exploit the early groundwork. The game sped up and we have the cattle to exploit it. That's the difference.

And yeah, I reckon bateman is a better defensive edge than CHN right now. Weird bloke to making a defensive case for when people keep waltzing past him during his stints and most have a question mark on him.

[Seiffert82]

I will honestly laugh and cry at the same time if we manage to significantly out number the roosters fans Friday night.

I think the boys will get a massive boost from it too!

It honestly wouldn't surprise me if we got close. We clearly outnumbered them at least 2-1 at the Grand Final.

More than that I reckon. 4 to 1, maybe 5 to 1, even more. It was all green.

Yeah, I reckon I'm being pretty generous. Most of the neutrals were on our side, so it may have been 4-1. It was the weirdest post-game atmosphere I've ever experienced, like nobody had won the game.

Post game sucked, but pre-game will honestly be one of my favourite memories for all of my life.

I could go to Sydney this weekend, but choosing to sit this one out. The SCG is in an awkward spot, further in that I'm comfortable driving, and staying further out would mean getting public transport in, and I'm just not in that place to trust Sydney that much yet.

Besides, I'd rather be in Sydney in a couple of weeks' time...

Yeah, I was already having a 4 day weekend staying in The Rocks (booked for a steal a few months ago during COVID shutdown), so it just so happened the boys ended up playing up there this weekend. Winning! Weather permitting it could be a nice 50 minute stroll to the game with a taxi back via the pubs. I've never actually seen the Raiders play at the SCG, so looking forward to adding that one to the list.

[greeneyed]

Ben Cummins in line to referee Sydney Roosters and Canberra Raiders semi-final

The NRL is wrestling with potentially the most controversial refereeing appointment of the season — putting last year’s grand final villain, Ben Cummins, in charge of Friday night’s elimination final between Sydney Roosters and Canberra.

Told Cummins could control the Raiders-Roosters grand final rematch, Canberra great Glenn Lazarus replied: "Are you serious? I can’t believe they would even consider doing that. He monumentally stuffed up the grand final."

Read more: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport ... ef37432d5e

Cummins the hour, Cummins the man: Canberra Raiders star John Bateman backs ref

A cheeky John Bateman hopes referee Ben Cummins is in charge of the Canberra Raiders grand final rematch against the Sydney Roosters because he won't make the same mistake again.

"I hope he gets in charge because hopefully he doesn't do a decision like that again," Bateman laughed. "But I'm not too fussed who it is to be fair. We lost the game ourselves, that didn't lose us the game."

Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14239

State of Origin bubble won't give Canberra Raiders star Jack Wighton the Blues

Another bubble, no troubles. Jack Wighton would jump at the chance to play State of Origin for NSW this year.

"It's one of the biggest honours you can have as a rugby league player. A little bit of commitment and going back into camp and going into another bubble is nothing. The positives far outweigh the negatives of that situation."

Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14239

Canberra Raiders star Jack Wighton looking even better in No.6

Jack Wighton doesn't like to compare this year to last, but even he can surely see how much his game has grown in the past 12 months at five-eighth.

"I don't know (how I compare to last year), I can't remember yesterday," Wighton said. "But my big goal was that there was a lot of talk about first-year luck. My point was to stand up for the boys and take away that (talk of) first-year luck."

Read more: https://7news.com.au/sport/rugby-league ... -c-1362403

[Botman]

Look, this **** could always backfire... you just dont know what happens...

But ill take our chances with Commins... human nature being what it is, he would surely be TERRIFIED of making a terrible call against us in this game. If he does get this game, the first close call that happens i would be loudly declaring (not at him but near enough for him to hear) "he's doing it to us again" and leaving it at that

[greeneyed]

The NRL shouldn't put him under that pressure.