2021 season predictions and previews

[BadnMean]

There's been a bit of a shift about what style of dummy half is suited.

When it was stifling defence and slow ruck speeds, Hodgo's trick shots and getting that ruck humming was valuable. Faster, more direct hookers had less to work with and were only effective behind a dominant pack (see Cook over seasons).

Now its faster and slanted toward running, direct style halves. Havili (direct) + Starling (fast running) were an effective combo.

The elephant in the room was Cam Smith summed that up and found a way to be very effective without any special running talents- he just played more fast balls and chose his moments. Hodgo deserves every chance to show he's got the nous to do so too. Whether we do that supported by Havilii's strength and versatility or more likely Starlings running game for the times when the games could be opening up, is up to Ricky.

[simo]

Just pass the **** ball Josh, or run the damn thing yourself. Stop mucking around trying to engage the markers or putting trick shots on the A and B's, slowing everything down.

Ill probably let the world class hooker decide what he wants to do

Yeah, well whatever he was doing wasn't working for him, or the team, before he got injured.

We looked terrible and a lot of it was down to how Hodgson was playing.

Hence the article.

And i think Josh hodgsons probably more equipped to come up with the solution than a journo or forum punter.
Hence the international career

[Seiffert82]

Just pass the **** ball Josh, or run the damn thing yourself. Stop mucking around trying to engage the markers or putting trick shots on the A and B's, slowing everything down.

Ill probably let the world class hooker decide what he wants to do

Yeah, well whatever he was doing wasn't working for him, or the team, before he got injured.

We looked terrible and a lot of it was down to how Hodgson was playing.

Hence the article.

And i think Josh hodgsons probably more equipped to come up with the solution than a journo or forum punter.
Hence the international career

And I think we looked better last season without him in the team.

Hence making the Preliminary final.

[simo]

Just pass the **** ball Josh, or run the damn thing yourself. Stop mucking around trying to engage the markers or putting trick shots on the A and B's, slowing everything down.

Ill probably let the world class hooker decide what he wants to do

Yeah, well whatever he was doing wasn't working for him, or the team, before he got injured.

We looked terrible and a lot of it was down to how Hodgson was playing.

Hence the article.

And i think Josh hodgsons probably more equipped to come up with the solution than a journo or forum punter.
Hence the international career

And I think we looked better last season without him in the team.

Hence making the Preliminary final.

Unlike the year before when we had him in the side.
Hence making the grand final

[Seiffert82]

Ill probably let the world class hooker decide what he wants to do

Yeah, well whatever he was doing wasn't working for him, or the team, before he got injured.

We looked terrible and a lot of it was down to how Hodgson was playing.

Hence the article.

And i think Josh hodgsons probably more equipped to come up with the solution than a journo or forum punter.
Hence the international career

And I think we looked better last season without him in the team.

Hence making the Preliminary final.

Unlike the year before when we had him in the side.
Hence making the grand final

Different season, different rules, different level of play from the same player.

Hence the difference in results.

[Seiffert82]

There is no doubt we need Hodgson at his best to be at our best. His peak level of performance suits the new rules well. Hopefully he hits the ground running.

[afgtnk]

There's been a bit of a shift about what style of dummy half is suited.

When it was stifling defence and slow ruck speeds, Hodgo's trick shots and getting that ruck humming was valuable. Faster, more direct hookers had less to work with and were only effective behind a dominant pack (see Cook over seasons).

Now its faster and slanted toward running, direct style halves. Havili (direct) + Starling (fast running) were an effective combo.

The elephant in the room was Cam Smith summed that up and found a way to be very effective without any special running talents- he just played more fast balls and chose his moments. Hodgo deserves every chance to show he's got the nous to do so too. Whether we do that supported by Havilii's strength and versatility or more likely Starlings running game for the times when the games could be opening up, is up to Ricky.

A class player doesn't become redundant when the rules of the game are tweaked a bit. He finds a way to adapt in order to bring out the best of his adundant skills.

Hodgo is slow as guts, but when he's on he's a good runner out of dummy half - just like Smith. By that, I mean he knows where the gaps will open up, how to manipulate the ruck, and choose his moments well.

I'm confident that Hodgo is capable of thriving under a faster game. His ability to relinquish partial control to two halves who are currently in the top echelon is more concerning for me, but that's where I expect the coaching staff to be doing their work.

[simo]

Yeah, well whatever he was doing wasn't working for him, or the team, before he got injured.

We looked terrible and a lot of it was down to how Hodgson was playing.

Hence the article.

And i think Josh hodgsons probably more equipped to come up with the solution than a journo or forum punter.
Hence the international career

And I think we looked better last season without him in the team.

Hence making the Preliminary final.

Unlike the year before when we had him in the side.
Hence making the grand final

Different season, different rules, different level of play from the same player.

Hence the difference in results.

Which the international player is more likely to remedy than a journo and a forum coach.
Hence forum coach

[Seiffert82]

And i think Josh hodgsons probably more equipped to come up with the solution than a journo or forum punter.
Hence the international career

And I think we looked better last season without him in the team.

Hence making the Preliminary final.

Unlike the year before when we had him in the side.
Hence making the grand final

Different season, different rules, different level of play from the same player.

Hence the difference in results.

Which the international player is more likely to remedy than a journo and a forum coach.
Hence forum coach

Sharing an opinion on a forum. Like you.

Yawn.

[Ruben Daley]

I’ve got no doubt Hodgo was playing injured before he got officially injured as he was a shadow of himself during that period.

I also totally expect him to have formulated a plan to be the most effective he can based on what he’s seen. He’s overplayed his hand at times in the past but that wasn’t for selfish reasons, just because he thought that’s what the team needed. Until Jack emerged in 2019, he had never played with elite halves. Now he’s got two, he’ll find a role that complements them.

[greeneyed]

Fox League Showcase LIVE: Our expert panel gives verdict on every NRL team



The countdown to the 2021 season is on and the Fox League commentary team is here to dissect all 16 clubs in a Season Showcase available to you live and free.

There’s just nine sleeps to go until Round 1 kicks off with a blockbuster clash between the two teams many believe will be there on grand final day, the Melbourne Storm and South Sydney Rabbitohs. But who else will make up the top eight? And what teams are in for a rough year?

On Fox League, streaming now on

NRL.com: https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/03/02/fox ... -showcase/ and

Fox Sports: https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-pr ... 5348abfa45

[greeneyed]

Phil Rothfield saying that the NRL has put the deadline for signing players back to August 1, previously 30 June. Which means that SBW signings are now going to become the norm. It is another dumb decision from the NRL.

[greeneyed]

We didn't get much time... Ben Ikin is tippping the Raiders to win the competition. Ikin says Wighton and Williams won't mind Josh Hodgson taking the main play making role, as Cameron Smith did, and they will be able to do damage with their running. Very good forward pack, with players of first grade quality missing out each week. Michael Ennis says Bateman is a big loss, but Hudson Young has had a huge off season and he will be playing for the Blues by mid season. Josh Hodgson's spent his time on the sidelines watching how to exploit the new rules, he's a huge IN, given the Raiders made a Preliminary Final last year without him.

Replays of the show will happen through the day and evening.

[Botman]

Josh Hodgson's spent his time on the sidelines watching how to exploit the new rules, he's a huge IN, given the Raiders made a Preliminary Final last year without him.

Hmm i like the sound of that. He's one of those guys who probably has the ability to really understand how to do that properly

[daley6]

Phil Rothfield saying that the NRL has put the deadline for signing players back to August 1, previously 30 June. Which means that SBW signings are now going to become the norm. It is another dumb decision from the NRL.

It also says we are 1 of 5 teams that wont be happy because we have locked in our roster of 30 , but i thought we had 29 in and 1 space available???

[greeneyed]

Phil Rothfield saying that the NRL has put the deadline for signing players back to August 1, previously 30 June. Which means that SBW signings are now going to become the norm. It is another dumb decision from the NRL.

It also says we are 1 of 5 teams that wont be happy because we have locked in our roster of 30 , but i thought we had 29 in and 1 space available???

We do. NRL.com has incorrectly listed Albert Hopoate in our top 30 which is probably the source of the confusion.


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[BadnMean]

Josh Hodgson's spent his time on the sidelines watching how to exploit the new rules, he's a huge IN, given the Raiders made a Preliminary Final last year without him.

Hmm i like the sound of that. He's one of those guys who probably has the ability to really understand how to do that properly

He's very reflective and insightful when he speaks about league. He'll probably be a decent coach of some sort one day- whether assistant or head coach depends on his man management and roster skills.

[greeneyed]

New player profiles are up: https://www.raiders.com.au/teams/

[simo]

New player profiles are up: https://www.raiders.com.au/teams/

is this the first year they all have photos in the same jersey? site looks much better these days

[greeneyed]

New player profiles are up: https://www.raiders.com.au/teams/

is this the first year they all have photos in the same jersey? site looks much better these days

Normally, it’s the same jersey with photos taken at the same time. But then players might be added (or one or two missed the original photo shoot) and some photos don’t look the same as the light conditions etc aren’t replicated.

[Seiffert82]

From the small glimpses I've seen this year, HSS is going to be pushing hard for a starting spot by the end of the season.

Also, the boys look good in those heritage jerseys. It's a bit surprising they used those for the website, but it gives a pretty good indication of their intention to wear them quite often.

Lastly, I can't believe Papalii's wife is letting him get away with that look.

[bonehead]

need to calibrate the height measurement equipment

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[Sid]

Lastly, I can't believe Papalii's wife is letting him get away with that look.

I know right, that glorious look is going to cause more than a few wandering eyes
(Meme credit: Bloke in a Bar)



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[greeneyed]

GALLERY: Jersey Sponsor Event: https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/03 ... sor-event/

[Sid]

Reasonable indication of the team list there. Interesting that HSS is pictured with the number 2 jersey rather than the number 4 jersey

[-PJ-]

Those jerseys are huge..

7XL

[afgtnk]

So if those photos are anything to go by, in Round 1 we've got:

CNK
Simonsson
Croker/Kris
Scott
Rapana
Wighton
G Williams
Papalii
Hodgson
Soliola
Young
Whitehead
Tapine

Havili
Guler
Sutton
James

[The Nickman]

There’s no WAY there’ll be no Lui

[julian87]

Reasonable indication of the team list there. Interesting that HSS is pictured with the number 2 jersey rather than the number 4 jersey

I don't think it'd be anything more than getting the right amount of people in the one photo.

[julian87]

There’s no WAY there’ll be no Lui

Yep. We've seen this film before. His last game of proper footy was State of Origin, and only months ago.

[Sid]

Reasonable indication of the team list there. Interesting that HSS is pictured with the number 2 jersey rather than the number 4 jersey

I don't think it'd be anything more than getting the right amount of people in the one photo.

True, there are 2 people to hold up the number 4 jersey, and as pointed out already, no way there's no Lui in round 1

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[BJ]

Lui was too busy making Papa’s lunch to appear in a photo.

[Seiffert82]

I've rarely seen a player dismissed by the fans so easily as Dunamis Lui.

[greeneyed]

[IBG]

Sterlo thinks 90% chance we are Top 4 and 100% chance we are in the Top 8. He said "I'm a Raiders fan".