2021 Rd 5 V Panthers: Game Day

[Off]

True but its the Panthers Hey?

[Off]

Being groomed this year for the feel good story of the year, How **** Boring and predictable is this game nowadays.

[raiderskater]

I don’t get why Jarrod cops more heat then rapana.

I’ve never understood why he cops a disproportionate level of garbage compared to other players, and it’s happened his whole career, even when he was at his best.

But like you said, why isn’t there a Rapana thread? Why isn’t there a Jack Wighton thread which gets bumped by people backslapping each other every time he kicks it out on the full or drops the ball cold? Why isn’t there a Hudson Young thread that gets bumped everytime he loses his cool and runs in and hits someone or gives away a penalty in possession?

Croker’s not in good form, and he had a poor game last night. HE WASN’T **** ALONE IN THAT! As I just posted in the Eels team selection thread, I’d possibly drop him to reggies for a week or two just to regain some confidence and form.

But the bloke is a true servant to the club and has given his all every single time he’s laced up his boots, unlike many who have played alongside him. He deserves more, and he certainly doesn’t deserve the absolute **** he’s copped for the majority of his career.

Amen to all of this.

Last night, when the big guy made a break downfield, half the goddamn team missed tackling him. Croker tried and also missed, though he at least slowed him down. What was the reaction? It was all about Croker's miss. Not about the rest of the team, just about Croker.

He's had a rough couple of games, can't lie. Slow back from injury, yes. But he's our captain, he's never once let us down before, and he never will. He'll come good.

[afgtnk]

I don’t get why Jarrod cops more heat then rapana.

I’ve never understood why he cops a disproportionate level of garbage compared to other players, and it’s happened his whole career, even when he was at his best.

But like you said, why isn’t there a Rapana thread? Why isn’t there a Jack Wighton thread which gets bumped by people backslapping each other every time he kicks it out on the full or drops the ball cold? Why isn’t there a Hudson Young thread that gets bumped everytime he loses his cool and runs in and hits someone or gives away a penalty in possession?

Croker’s not in good form, and he had a poor game last night. HE WASN’T **** ALONE IN THAT! As I just posted in the Eels team selection thread, I’d possibly drop him to reggies for a week or two just to regain some confidence and form.

But the bloke is a true servant to the club and has given his all every single time he’s laced up his boots, unlike many who have played alongside him. He deserves more, and he certainly doesn’t deserve the absolute **** he’s copped for the majority of his career.

Amen to all of this.

Last night, when the big guy made a break downfield, half the goddamn team missed tackling him. Croker tried and also missed, though he at least slowed him down. What was the reaction? It was all about Croker's miss. Not about the rest of the team, just about Croker.

He's had a rough couple of games, can't lie. Slow back from injury, yes. But he's our captain, he's never once let us down before, and he never will. He'll come good.

Are you referring to the break Leniu made early in the second half by busting open Hodgson and Whitehead? That the one?

Because there wasn't a single person who mentioned or blamed Croker for that on here

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=34542&start=350

[irvste]

Wow how did everyone miss that chance

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

[afgtnk]

I can always count on you to agree with me on at least one thing Nickman, man.

I agree with you on a lot of things these days friend, I just think you go full (hmmm, what’s the politically correct expression these days?) on a few things once you have an idea in your head, and once you do, you’re unwilling to ever change your opinion

Unlike me, I’m wrong all the time, and happy to change my mind and admit I’m wrong as soon as I realise that

Thing is the few points I'm unwilling to change my opinion on are generally the ones the end up ringing most true.... hence why I don't change them.

Furner
Stuart
Croker being overrated by our fans/not rep material
Sezer
Now it's CNK and the backline

I'll get plenty wrong on things I'm not steadfast about, I'm sure.

[InFernos_Raiders]

I don’t get why Jarrod cops more heat then rapana.

I’ve never understood why he cops a disproportionate level of garbage compared to other players, and it’s happened his whole career, even when he was at his best.

But like you said, why isn’t there a Rapana thread? Why isn’t there a Jack Wighton thread which gets bumped by people backslapping each other every time he kicks it out on the full or drops the ball cold? Why isn’t there a Hudson Young thread that gets bumped everytime he loses his cool and runs in and hits someone or gives away a penalty in possession?

Croker’s not in good form, and he had a poor game last night. HE WASN’T **** ALONE IN THAT! As I just posted in the Eels team selection thread, I’d possibly drop him to reggies for a week or two just to regain some confidence and form.

But the bloke is a true servant to the club and has given his all every single time he’s laced up his boots, unlike many who have played alongside him. He deserves more, and he certainly doesn’t deserve the absolute **** he’s copped for the majority of his career.

Amen to all of this.

Last night, when the big guy made a break downfield, half the goddamn team missed tackling him. Croker tried and also missed, though he at least slowed him down. What was the reaction? It was all about Croker's miss. Not about the rest of the team, just about Croker.

He's had a rough couple of games, can't lie. Slow back from injury, yes. But he's our captain, he's never once let us down before, and he never will. He'll come good.

What about the form of Bailey Simonsson ? He isn’t playing anywhere near like he was last year.
I know Croker had a bad game but it’s his second game back after surgery. Remember last he was playing great.

[-PJ-]

In mid 94 my wife fell at Penrith Park while holding our newborn PJjnr.

The Panthers club doctor came to our assistance on the hill and took my wife and son away for a checkup.

They were fine, I can’t thank them enough. I wrote a letter to the Penrith club the next day and thanked them again.

I’ve had little to no problems with away fans and I’ve been to all Sydney venues plus others.

There were a couple of angry Manly fans who wanted to tear my limbs off after a semi final at SFS.

That day GazzaCoyne scored 4 tries..

[The Nickman]

I can always count on you to agree with me on at least one thing Nickman, man.

I agree with you on a lot of things these days friend, I just think you go full (hmmm, what’s the politically correct expression these days?) on a few things once you have an idea in your head, and once you do, you’re unwilling to ever change your opinion

Unlike me, I’m wrong all the time, and happy to change my mind and admit I’m wrong as soon as I realise that

Thing is the few points I'm unwilling to change my opinion on are generally the ones the end up ringing most true.... hence why I don't change them.

Furner
Stuart
Croker being overrated by our fans/not rep material
Sezer
Now it's CNK and the backline

I'll get plenty wrong on things I'm not steadfast about, I'm sure.

What’s your opinion on Stuart? I obviously understand the other points quite well, but you’re not really anywhere near as vocal about the coach. Pro or con?

Also, are you still clinging to the opinion that Furner is an incompetent CEO? Because from where I’m sitting now it looks like both he and Stick are doing a bang up job of managing the club and the cap.

[GreenMachine]

I can always count on you to agree with me on at least one thing Nickman, man.

I agree with you on a lot of things these days friend, I just think you go full (hmmm, what’s the politically correct expression these days?) on a few things once you have an idea in your head, and once you do, you’re unwilling to ever change your opinion

Unlike me, I’m wrong all the time, and happy to change my mind and admit I’m wrong as soon as I realise that

Thing is the few points I'm unwilling to change my opinion on are generally the ones the end up ringing most true.... hence why I don't change them.

Furner
Stuart
Croker being overrated by our fans/not rep material
Sezer
Now it's CNK and the backline

I'll get plenty wrong on things I'm not steadfast about, I'm sure.

What’s your opinion on Stuart? I obviously understand the other points quite well, but you’re not really anywhere near as vocal about the coach. Pro or con?

Also, are you still clinging to the opinion that Furner is an incompetent CEO? Because from where I’m sitting now it looks like both he and Stick are doing a bang up job of managing the club and the cap.

The Stuart criticism (at least from my perspective) isn’t about removing him as coach.

He’s been the best coach we’ve had since Tim Sheens. He’s installed a culture, pride and accountability to the jumper.

My criticism is just around his dogmatic approach to game plan and bench use.

Ricky prepares for ‘a battle’ in the physical sense. Strategic contingencies are not his strength and in the high level stakes games against contenders that’s where he’ll either live or die by his mantra.

I’d still have him as coach above anyone aside from Bellyache.

[afgtnk]

I can always count on you to agree with me on at least one thing Nickman, man.

I agree with you on a lot of things these days friend, I just think you go full (hmmm, what’s the politically correct expression these days?) on a few things once you have an idea in your head, and once you do, you’re unwilling to ever change your opinion

Unlike me, I’m wrong all the time, and happy to change my mind and admit I’m wrong as soon as I realise that

Thing is the few points I'm unwilling to change my opinion on are generally the ones the end up ringing most true.... hence why I don't change them.

Furner
Stuart
Croker being overrated by our fans/not rep material
Sezer
Now it's CNK and the backline

I'll get plenty wrong on things I'm not steadfast about, I'm sure.

What’s your opinion on Stuart? I obviously understand the other points quite well, but you’re not really anywhere near as vocal about the coach. Pro or con?

Also, are you still clinging to the opinion that Furner is an incompetent CEO? Because from where I’m sitting now it looks like both he and Stick are doing a bang up job of managing the club and the cap.

Heavily pro getting him to the club and shaking things up. You may recall we had a number of battles regarding the ~ destroyer of clubs ~.

[The Nickman]

I can always count on you to agree with me on at least one thing Nickman, man.

I agree with you on a lot of things these days friend, I just think you go full (hmmm, what’s the politically correct expression these days?) on a few things once you have an idea in your head, and once you do, you’re unwilling to ever change your opinion

Unlike me, I’m wrong all the time, and happy to change my mind and admit I’m wrong as soon as I realise that

Thing is the few points I'm unwilling to change my opinion on are generally the ones the end up ringing most true.... hence why I don't change them.

Furner
Stuart
Croker being overrated by our fans/not rep material
Sezer
Now it's CNK and the backline

I'll get plenty wrong on things I'm not steadfast about, I'm sure.

What’s your opinion on Stuart? I obviously understand the other points quite well, but you’re not really anywhere near as vocal about the coach. Pro or con?

Also, are you still clinging to the opinion that Furner is an incompetent CEO? Because from where I’m sitting now it looks like both he and Stick are doing a bang up job of managing the club and the cap.

Heavily pro getting him to the club and shaking things up. You may recall we had a number of battles regarding the ~ destroyer of clubs ~.

Yeah look, I’m happy to admit I was wrong on that front, and I’ve openly admitted it on many, many occasions. But like I said, I’m not wedded to my opinions, and always prepared to reassess given the evidence available at the time... unlike so many on this forum.

[The Nickman]

I also don’t remember you being “heavily pro Stuart”, but maybe that’s because I don’t remember you being pro anyone too much in your career? You genuinely seem to prefer setting yourself up as the antagonist in most discussions.

Not saying it didn’t happen, I just don’t recall it.

[Northern Raider]

I see Crichton got a contrary conduct charge ($1350 fine) for his post try antics when he inevitably grabbed Tapine round the head. No idea what.prompted him to do it.

Kikau no charge for knocking CNK out of the game.

[Boomercm]

Nor did Kikau get a reprimand for the dangerous play/shoulder to the head of the bloke on the ground (that started a melee). TPJ would have been penalised immediately and might have got a couple of weeks for that, especially if he had been penalised for a high shot 2mins earlier and blind freddy could see he had the red mist.

Not arguing that is wasn't dumb by Hudson to come in and push him. He has to play to the whistle and his reaction cost us.

Ideally Hudson should have stayed out of it and Rapana should have stayed down. Both were in the wrong headspace for that

[RedRaider]

Boomercm, the issue with staying down is that it is likely to lead to a HIA and if Raps went off, even for 10 minutes, we had no one competant left to reshuffle into the backline if Sticky will not put Hodgo or Starling into the halves and put Jack at the back.

I hope the club raises the Kikau tackle with the NRL. If Mark Geyer reckons it is a shoulder charge as a Panther, then I can't see what is to be lost in trying to protect players who are one the ground.

[greeneyed]

Nor did Kikau get a reprimand for the dangerous play/shoulder to the head of the bloke on the ground (that started a melee). TPJ would have been penalised immediately and might have got a couple of weeks for that, especially if he had been penalised for a high shot 2mins earlier and blind freddy could see he had the red mist.

Not arguing that is wasn't dumb by Hudson to come in and push him. He has to play to the whistle and his reaction cost us.

Ideally Hudson should have stayed out of it and Rapana should have stayed down. Both were in the wrong headspace for that

The Panthers are a bit of a protected species as far as the referees are concerned. They are constantly on the right side of penalty counts and set restarts. It is result of tip sheets IMO, but probably also because the referees are under instruction to reward momentum. I agree if another club had done what Kikau did in that game, they would have been penalised. The Raiders are on the tip sheet for slowing down the rucks now...

[greeneyed]

MATCH GALLERY: https://www.gettyimages.com.au/photos/r ... st#license

https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/04 ... -panthers/

[Finchy]

I agree with you on a lot of things these days friend, I just think you go full (hmmm, what’s the politically correct expression these days?) on a few things once you have an idea in your head, and once you do, you’re unwilling to ever change your opinion

Unlike me, I’m wrong all the time, and happy to change my mind and admit I’m wrong as soon as I realise that

Thing is the few points I'm unwilling to change my opinion on are generally the ones the end up ringing most true.... hence why I don't change them.

Furner
Stuart
Croker being overrated by our fans/not rep material
Sezer
Now it's CNK and the backline

I'll get plenty wrong on things I'm not steadfast about, I'm sure.

What’s your opinion on Stuart? I obviously understand the other points quite well, but you’re not really anywhere near as vocal about the coach. Pro or con?

Also, are you still clinging to the opinion that Furner is an incompetent CEO? Because from where I’m sitting now it looks like both he and Stick are doing a bang up job of managing the club and the cap.

Heavily pro getting him to the club and shaking things up. You may recall we had a number of battles regarding the ~ destroyer of clubs ~.

Yeah look, I’m happy to admit I was wrong on that front, and I’ve openly admitted it on many, many occasions. But like I said, I’m not wedded to my opinions, and always prepared to reassess given the evidence available at the time... unlike so many on this forum.

TBF to Nickman, I wasn't a fan of the Stuart signing initially either, and had a very negative view of his coaching career prior to the Raiders. Won a premiership in his first year with the Roosters with a stacked team full of rep players including Brad Fittler, had Gus pulling the strings, and didn't have to play the best team in the comp (Bulldogs) because they got stripped of all their points. Made a few subsequent grand finals, lost them all, and crashed and burned and got moved on by the Roosters. Goes to Cronulla. Has one good year, crashes and burns. Crashes and burns losing the World Cup when coaching Australia, loses job after abusing ref. Coaches Parra to a wooden spoon and leaves after one year. His coaching trajectory was on a massive downward spiral ever since it started.

I honestly believed he would achieve nothing at the Raiders, and, like Nickman, should eventually be shot out of a cannon. However, his ability to recruit outside the box and drag Canberra out of the permanent cellar of plodders than no-one wants to play for changed my view. 2016, 2019, 2020 are some of the best years and closest we've had to genuinely having a chance at winning a premiership in decades. He may not ever get us a GF win, but he's done a pretty great job in the time he's been here to make us a bigger fish than we've been in a long time.

[Botman]

It is worth noting on that front, and it's not a defence of people who were against Stuart's signing, which i was one of, and like them, that i have happily been proven wrong... but Stuart is not the same coach he was years ago at Parra, Cronulla etc
I think he's spoken about that himself a lot, and the maturity and growth he's had as a coach.

He's a fundimentally different coach to the one many of us were very opposed to signing.
He made a very clear and obvious change a few years ago and like Nickman, i felt strongly enough about that to really get behind him because it was exactly the things i felt the club and it's leaders needed to do.

Stuart has been exactly what the club needed. I dont know if that's his own personal growth, or just coming home and reconnecting with this community and club and the knock on effect being in a place where your heart truly is has on your persona and it all being a perfect fit for him. And perhaps that componet is what i missed that people who we very supportive of him understood or could see in him.
But you cant compare Stuart as a coach in say Cronulla to the one we have now... there is some connective tissue sure, but they might as well be different people.

[The Nickman]

Nor did Kikau get a reprimand for the dangerous play/shoulder to the head of the bloke on the ground (that started a melee). TPJ would have been penalised immediately and might have got a couple of weeks for that, especially if he had been penalised for a high shot 2mins earlier and blind freddy could see he had the red mist.

Not arguing that is wasn't dumb by Hudson to come in and push him. He has to play to the whistle and his reaction cost us.

Ideally Hudson should have stayed out of it and Rapana should have stayed down. Both were in the wrong headspace for that

The Panthers are a bit of a protected species as far as the referees are concerned. They are constantly on the right side of penalty counts and set restarts. It is result of tip sheets IMO, but probably also because the referees are under instruction to reward momentum. I agree if another club had done what Kikau did in that game, they would have been penalised. The Raiders are on the tip sheet for slowing down the rucks now...

Not sure I agree with that assessment TBH. They get the penalty counts and the set restarts because they’re the superior team largely, and other teams try to stop their momentum and hence get penalised

That’s the way the game SHOULD be refereed, penalty counts and set restarts should not be equal, they should favour the team that is on a roll and being tried to be slowed down by their opposition

Don’t be jealous of them because they’re the best, be better

[benda]

I agree with Nickman. They are at least 30% better than us.

[greeneyed]

Nor did Kikau get a reprimand for the dangerous play/shoulder to the head of the bloke on the ground (that started a melee). TPJ would have been penalised immediately and might have got a couple of weeks for that, especially if he had been penalised for a high shot 2mins earlier and blind freddy could see he had the red mist.

Not arguing that is wasn't dumb by Hudson to come in and push him. He has to play to the whistle and his reaction cost us.

Ideally Hudson should have stayed out of it and Rapana should have stayed down. Both were in the wrong headspace for that

The Panthers are a bit of a protected species as far as the referees are concerned. They are constantly on the right side of penalty counts and set restarts. It is result of tip sheets IMO, but probably also because the referees are under instruction to reward momentum. I agree if another club had done what Kikau did in that game, they would have been penalised. The Raiders are on the tip sheet for slowing down the rucks now...

Not sure I agree with that assessment TBH. They get the penalty counts and the set restarts because they’re the superior team largely, and other teams try to stop their momentum and hence get penalised

That’s the way the game SHOULD be refereed, penalty counts and set restarts should not be equal, they should favour the team that is on a roll and being tried to be slowed down by their opposition

Don’t be jealous of them because they’re the best, be better

I think the game should be refereed equally. Not because a team has "momentum". The referees add to momentum when they shouldn't be. Defence is half the game. There is far too much subjectivity in the tip sheets to boot.

[greeneyed]

I agree with Nickman. They are at least 30% better than us.

The score line says they were three times as good.

[The Nickman]

Nor did Kikau get a reprimand for the dangerous play/shoulder to the head of the bloke on the ground (that started a melee). TPJ would have been penalised immediately and might have got a couple of weeks for that, especially if he had been penalised for a high shot 2mins earlier and blind freddy could see he had the red mist.

Not arguing that is wasn't dumb by Hudson to come in and push him. He has to play to the whistle and his reaction cost us.

Ideally Hudson should have stayed out of it and Rapana should have stayed down. Both were in the wrong headspace for that

The Panthers are a bit of a protected species as far as the referees are concerned. They are constantly on the right side of penalty counts and set restarts. It is result of tip sheets IMO, but probably also because the referees are under instruction to reward momentum. I agree if another club had done what Kikau did in that game, they would have been penalised. The Raiders are on the tip sheet for slowing down the rucks now...

Not sure I agree with that assessment TBH. They get the penalty counts and the set restarts because they’re the superior team largely, and other teams try to stop their momentum and hence get penalised

That’s the way the game SHOULD be refereed, penalty counts and set restarts should not be equal, they should favour the team that is on a roll and being tried to be slowed down by their opposition

Don’t be jealous of them because they’re the best, be better

I think the game should be refereed equally. Not because a team has "momentum". The referees add to momentum when they shouldn't be. Defence is half the game. There is far too much subjectivity in the tip sheets to boot.

That’s completely absurd. Why would a team that’s completely dominating be expected to get the same amount of penalties and set restarts as a team trying to slow them down?

Evening up of the penalty count has been one of the biggest issues with the refereeing of the modern era IMO.

That, and the video ref overturning 50/50 calls.

[greeneyed]

Nor did Kikau get a reprimand for the dangerous play/shoulder to the head of the bloke on the ground (that started a melee). TPJ would have been penalised immediately and might have got a couple of weeks for that, especially if he had been penalised for a high shot 2mins earlier and blind freddy could see he had the red mist.

Not arguing that is wasn't dumb by Hudson to come in and push him. He has to play to the whistle and his reaction cost us.

Ideally Hudson should have stayed out of it and Rapana should have stayed down. Both were in the wrong headspace for that

The Panthers are a bit of a protected species as far as the referees are concerned. They are constantly on the right side of penalty counts and set restarts. It is result of tip sheets IMO, but probably also because the referees are under instruction to reward momentum. I agree if another club had done what Kikau did in that game, they would have been penalised. The Raiders are on the tip sheet for slowing down the rucks now...

Not sure I agree with that assessment TBH. They get the penalty counts and the set restarts because they’re the superior team largely, and other teams try to stop their momentum and hence get penalised

That’s the way the game SHOULD be refereed, penalty counts and set restarts should not be equal, they should favour the team that is on a roll and being tried to be slowed down by their opposition

Don’t be jealous of them because they’re the best, be better

I think the game should be refereed equally. Not because a team has "momentum". The referees add to momentum when they shouldn't be. Defence is half the game. There is far too much subjectivity in the tip sheets to boot.

That’s completely absurd. Why would a team that’s completely dominating be expected to get the same amount of penalties and set restarts as a team trying to slow them down?

Evening up of the penalty count has been one of the biggest issues with the refereeing of the modern era IMO.

That, and the video ref overturning 50/50 calls.

It’s not absurd to expect that referees referee to the rules consistently and that’s all I ask. What we often see is inconsistent set restart and penalty decisions, within games, usually from the referees who inject themselves a lot in games.

The NRL keeps devising ways to make the game faster, but defence is half the game. The best games involve a good battle between attack and defence. All we’re going to get is basketball and blow out score lines the way we’re going.

[The Nickman]

You completely ignored my question then.

[Northern Raider]

Kikau does seen to get away with a lot more than many other players. I've often seen him do things that go unpunished where other have received charges by the MRC. He missed the preliminary final last year after copping a week for a dangerous throw. That one was a bit too obvious.

[Boomercm]

You completely ignored my question then.

Was a fair question too. While everyone else whinges about how fast the game is, Penrith try to speed it up as much as possible to maximise their young/fast/fit advantage. A good example is line drop outs. In defence they often take them quickly, trying to put pressure back on the attacking team and not giving anyone a breather.

Slowing them down effectively is one method that works during periods of games. But at other times you have to be able to go with them, or they will take the game away from you in 15mins like they did to us on the weekend.

[Botman]

I dont know what games people have been watching for the last 18 months, but the reason we give away a lot of ruck penalties and 6 again is because we intentionally try to slow the ruck down. And i say that speaking relative to other teams and understanding every team is trying to slow the ruck down to some degree.
We're pests in the ruck, by design.

[Canberra Milk]

I think referees give too much benefit to teams with momentum though. You shouldn't be entitled to a quicker play the ball than usual, just because you have momentum. And conversely, you shouldn't have to cop slowers ones when you don't. All else being equal

[greeneyed]

I think referees give too much benefit to teams with momentum though. You shouldn't be entitled to a quicker play the ball than usual, just because you have momentum. And conversely, you shouldn't have to cop slowers ones when you don't. All else being equal

Thank you Canberra Milk. Precisely my point. And that's happening often, particularly from the referees who like to wave a lot of set restarts.

[Botman]

I think referees give too much benefit to teams with momentum though. You shouldn't be entitled to a quicker play the ball than usual, just because you have momentum. And conversely, you shouldn't have to cop slowers ones when you don't. All else being equal

Just on this point, IMO NRL have made their position on it clear, and this started a long time ago with the dominant tackle thing, but it's clear to me how the NRL sees this and how they're instructing the referees to officiate it. It's evident in the games week in and week out and the rules they're putting into place around the game.

The NRL doesnt agree with this statement at all. It seems to me they believe if the attacking team has the momentum, they are entitled to a quicker player the ball than usual.
And that's how it's officiated. We could all agree or disagree with them on that, but at the end of the day we've got to play by the rules we're given.

[greeneyed]

NRL.com power rankings

7. Canberra Raiders (5)

I was harsh on the Raiders, only because I saw some worrying signs in their past two games against the Panthers and Titans. Perhaps they're unsure of what their attack should look like in the opposition's 20-metre zone. Canberra are having trouble building pressure and points. I might have ranked them a bit high at the start of the year.

Read more: https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/04/12/sow ... -the-rise/

PLAY OF THE WEEK: Wighton powers to the line: https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/04 ... -the-line/

[benda]

I agree with Nickman. They are at least 30% better than us.

The score line says they were three times as good.

If a team wins 12 - 6 it doesnt mean they are twice as good.

The point stands... we got a ways to go.