2021 Rd 4 V Titans: Game Day

[moto748]

Be hard pressed to maintain that average next week. Nobody else has managed it so far. Really looking forward to it.

[Seiffert82]

I'm really enjoying the set restart lucky dip too.

It's quite exciting having no idea why a 6 again is called in one tackle and not another. I absolutely love the random nature and complete inconsistency of the way that rule operates, with almost zero scrutiny.

I'm sharing your wonder of it all!

Well obviously a 6 again which benefits our team is a correct decision and one that favours our opposition is truly baffling. The same people feeling this way had the same green goggles when it used to be a penalty instead.

Edit... does anybody care to challenge the 3 (?) or so that Hudson Young gave away? He was clearly pushing the limits and the referee punished him for it.

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Yep, the ones we gave away pretty much all seemed fair. I thought Proctor was carrying on in most tackles too. He and a number of Titans players are masters of lifting the tackled players leg and flipping them just as the ref calls held.

Anyway, my frustration with the rule is across all teams and all games.

[Seiffert82]

We are clearly a top 6 side. As we were last year; and the year before.

The question is whether we can take the step up and win it all.

On available evidence I don’t think we can beat the Storm, Panthers and Souths when the whips are cracking.

We must improve.

Do we have it in us? I think we can.

But I do think it is disingenuous to try and portray those whom are somewhat critical of what we are showing as being unjustifiably negative.

Yes, it is obviously better than the dross we had to endure for the most part of 2001-2014. But we are surely smack bang in the middle of a premiership window. At some point we need to ascend to a higher level.

You cant be serious about souths? Their mid level, storm pulled their pants down in round 1, they only scored 26 points against manly which even the dragons put more points on them, they beat a roosters team that lost half their players including the key playmaker, and beat a bulldogs team who in previous years after their start should be odds on to win the spoon (but this year they have manly and cowboys to compete with) souths have the players but putting them at the top is a big call


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I don’t rate their middle third forwards besides Murray and Tatola that highly. I think we have them comfortably covered there.

But rubbish a team with Walker, Reynolds, Cook and Mitchell at your peril.

You don't rate Arrow?

I was quite critical of Mitchell for much of 2020. I think he has been good this season. Cook and Walker can be a lucky dip.

I think the Bunnies middles are solid and their backline has more than enough strike to capitalise if the forwards hold their own, which they do much more often than not. The key is not gifting them too much cheap possession.

[BadnMean]

Pretty handy to be scoring 93 points in 4 rounds with misfiring halves.

I wouldn't say misfiring. GWilly has had one or two outstanding games and a couple of solid games. Wighton going ok, but yeah hasn't hit his full stride yet.

I think Freddy needs to factor in that Hodgo has 2x the try assists and LB assists of the next nearest hooker already. A lot of the other teams have more a running hooker or "service provider" rather than a genuine 3rd playmaker in the hooking rather than FB position.

[Northern Raider]

Pretty handy to be scoring 93 points in 4 rounds with misfiring halves.

I wouldn't say misfiring. GWilly has had one or two outstanding games and a couple of solid games. Wighton going ok, but yeah hasn't hit his full stride yet.

I think Freddy needs to factor in that Hodgo has 2x the try assists and LB assists of the next nearest hooker already. A lot of the other teams have more a running hooker or "service provider" rather than a genuine 3rd playmaker in the hooking rather than FB position.

I think it's fair to say our halves are playing below their beat. To be 3-1 (should be 4-0) in this scenario is a great spot to be in. As Michael Ennis said post game, you don't need to be playing your best football this time of year.

[-TW-]

I really don't get the logic of playing Lui for less than 20 mins a game is

Couple that with Starling and it's 2/6 interchanges for 22 mins output last night

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[gerg]

I'm really enjoying the set restart lucky dip too.

It's quite exciting having no idea why a 6 again is called in one tackle and not another. I absolutely love the random nature and complete inconsistency of the way that rule operates, with almost zero scrutiny.

I'm sharing your wonder of it all!

Well obviously a 6 again which benefits our team is a correct decision and one that favours our opposition is truly baffling. The same people feeling this way had the same green goggles when it used to be a penalty instead.

Edit... does anybody care to challenge the 3 (?) or so that Hudson Young gave away? He was clearly pushing the limits and the referee punished him for it.

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I think that's an unfair characterisation.

My concern is not with the number of set restarts that the Raiders concede, but with the inconsistency of referees. There are two sorts of inconsistencies: between referees from game to game, and within games.

Some referees call a lot of restarts, others do not. That has become a quite consistent pattern of inconsistency - indicating that there is not a shared understanding among the referees about what constitutes a set restart. It is unreasonable for teams to be "penalised" with a set restart in one game, when they are not in others.

The other inconsistency is within games. I had no issue with the set restarts called against the Raiders in the Warriors game, for example. What I had a problem with was that set restarts were not being called against the Warriors in very similar circumstances.

The referees and NRL love the set restarts as they escape scrutiny; they happen very quickly, and are rarely explained or analysed. The NRL won't even publish aggregate statistics for set restarts. They are clearly happy with the lack of transparency.

Hudson Young is "credited" with two set restarts conceded, of the five for the Raiders, according to NRL.com. Fox Sports Lab says the Raiders conceded six, so I guess it is possible NRL.com missed one.

I think in general the consistency is getting better. Rugby league has been about momentum for a long time. I thought that referees in the past were actually creating momentum for teams through penalties. At present teams that create their own momentum get the 6again advantages because the defending side is actively trying to slow down that momentum.

I wouldn't use Penerara in any sort of consistency/inconsistency discussion. He just isn't a very good referee, and that is where that discussion begins and ends.

But as I've said many times before on this topic the game in general is a better looking product than it has been in a long time. The games between evenly matched teams are really enjoyable to watch.

There is however too many poorly coached teams and terrible roster management. Those teams need to get better and if it takes 20 games per season of getting smashed by 40 points for them to want better than that's what needs to happen. Referees shouldn't be manufacturing close results. It's bordering on corruption and there should be no place in any sport for referees to be influencing sport to that level.

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[Cranky Old Man]

With the teams that are getting smashed every game, I think it is a bit of a fallacy that it is all the fault of the coaching staff, or even a major factor.
Last year we were all lauding Todd Payten because he got consistent results from the Warriors when nobody else had in years, now he can't coach at all.
Last year TrentBarrett was an atacking coach extraordinaire because ofthe way Penrith blew away everybody until it mattered, now Dogs don't look like scoring a 100 points all season and obviously Trent can't coach to save his own life. I think head coaches should be judged on roster management for 95% of their score, which brings me to Rick Stuart. His roster management has been A+ for a long time, going back to his time at Parra at least and is really showing up at the moment. If the NRL wants to lift the standards of the bottom half clubs (and they should if they want TV money in future) they should give assistance to clubs with roster management issues and stop them wasting money on paying out their coaches for show. Of course, assistance with roster management would require transparency from ALL clubs, which I doubt Rabbits, Broncos and Roosters would be happy about. But something needs to be done, this year s already down to a 10 team comp, and is likely to be a six team comp before the end of winter.

[zim]

Pretty handy to be scoring 93 points in 4 rounds with misfiring halves.

I wouldn't say misfiring. GWilly has had one or two outstanding games and a couple of solid games. Wighton going ok, but yeah hasn't hit his full stride yet.

I think Freddy needs to factor in that Hodgo has 2x the try assists and LB assists of the next nearest hooker already. A lot of the other teams have more a running hooker or "service provider" rather than a genuine 3rd playmaker in the hooking rather than FB position.

That's was a bit of hyperbole on my part. I wasn't going to genuinely respond to that nonsense.

[radicalraider]

Random raiders fan at Hunter stadium

[Seiffert82]

With the teams that are getting smashed every game, I think it is a bit of a fallacy that it is all the fault of the coaching staff, or even a major factor.
Last year we were all lauding Todd Payten because he got consistent results from the Warriors when nobody else had in years, now he can't coach at all.
Last year TrentBarrett was an atacking coach extraordinaire because ofthe way Penrith blew away everybody until it mattered, now Dogs don't look like scoring a 100 points all season and obviously Trent can't coach to save his own life. I think head coaches should be judged on roster management for 95% of their score, which brings me to Rick Stuart. His roster management has been A+ for a long time, going back to his time at Parra at least and is really showing up at the moment. If the NRL wants to lift the standards of the bottom half clubs (and they should if they want TV money in future) they should give assistance to clubs with roster management issues and stop them wasting money on paying out their coaches for show. Of course, assistance with roster management would require transparency from ALL clubs, which I doubt Rabbits, Broncos and Roosters would be happy about. But something needs to be done, this year s already down to a 10 team comp, and is likely to be a six team comp before the end of winter.

Absolutely nailed it.

Roster management is almost the biggest determining factor for success in the NRL, including building a culture of success where you can retain your best young players.

[Green Blogger]

With the teams that are getting smashed every game, I think it is a bit of a fallacy that it is all the fault of the coaching staff, or even a major factor.
Last year we were all lauding Todd Payten because he got consistent results from the Warriors when nobody else had in years, now he can't coach at all.
Last year TrentBarrett was an atacking coach extraordinaire because ofthe way Penrith blew away everybody until it mattered, now Dogs don't look like scoring a 100 points all season and obviously Trent can't coach to save his own life. I think head coaches should be judged on roster management for 95% of their score, which brings me to Rick Stuart. His roster management has been A+ for a long time, going back to his time at Parra at least and is really showing up at the moment. If the NRL wants to lift the standards of the bottom half clubs (and they should if they want TV money in future) they should give assistance to clubs with roster management issues and stop them wasting money on paying out their coaches for show. Of course, assistance with roster management would require transparency from ALL clubs, which I doubt Rabbits, Broncos and Roosters would be happy about. But something needs to be done, this year s already down to a 10 team comp, and is likely to be a six team comp before the end of winter.

Absolutely nailed it.

Roster management is almost the biggest determining factor for success in the NRL, including building a culture of success where you can retain your best young players.

Or in our case, attract juniors from other clubs - we have four of the best juniors from the Cowboys that we have pulled in recent years. Probably a fair reflection of the two clubs at this time.

[-PJ-]

I was quite happy with last nights win.

The boys played well enough and my pump didn’t race.

I like those type of wins.

[Seiffert82]

With the teams that are getting smashed every game, I think it is a bit of a fallacy that it is all the fault of the coaching staff, or even a major factor.
Last year we were all lauding Todd Payten because he got consistent results from the Warriors when nobody else had in years, now he can't coach at all.
Last year TrentBarrett was an atacking coach extraordinaire because ofthe way Penrith blew away everybody until it mattered, now Dogs don't look like scoring a 100 points all season and obviously Trent can't coach to save his own life. I think head coaches should be judged on roster management for 95% of their score, which brings me to Rick Stuart. His roster management has been A+ for a long time, going back to his time at Parra at least and is really showing up at the moment. If the NRL wants to lift the standards of the bottom half clubs (and they should if they want TV money in future) they should give assistance to clubs with roster management issues and stop them wasting money on paying out their coaches for show. Of course, assistance with roster management would require transparency from ALL clubs, which I doubt Rabbits, Broncos and Roosters would be happy about. But something needs to be done, this year s already down to a 10 team comp, and is likely to be a six team comp before the end of winter.

Absolutely nailed it.

Roster management is almost the biggest determining factor for success in the NRL, including building a culture of success where you can retain your best young players.

Or in our case, attract juniors from other clubs - we have four of the best juniors from the Cowboys that we have pulled in recent years. Probably a fair reflection of the two clubs at this time.

Yep. From the Cowboys perspective, they are in a world of pain. They have thrown $1m per season at both Morgan and Taumalolo. To be fair, nobody would have reasonably predicted both those guys being sidelined with serious injuries, but that is the risk you take when you throw huge money at one or two players - particularly a middle.

It's why I firmly believe our club won't put itself in a position to throw ridiculous money at a guy like Papenhuyzen when we have a fullback that complements our style.

[greeneyed]

PLAY OF THE WEEK: Wighton and CNK save certain tries: https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/04 ... ain-tries/

MATCH GALLERY: Raiders v Titans: https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/04 ... -v-titans/

[Off]

Happy for the 2, but a seriously boring game, and our attack looks pretty rancid. I like that Kris kid and Hudson, the rest need to find another gear.

[RedRaider]

With the teams that are getting smashed every game, I think it is a bit of a fallacy that it is all the fault of the coaching staff, or even a major factor.
Last year we were all lauding Todd Payten because he got consistent results from the Warriors when nobody else had in years, now he can't coach at all.
Last year TrentBarrett was an atacking coach extraordinaire because ofthe way Penrith blew away everybody until it mattered, now Dogs don't look like scoring a 100 points all season and obviously Trent can't coach to save his own life. I think head coaches should be judged on roster management for 95% of their score, which brings me to Rick Stuart. His roster management has been A+ for a long time, going back to his time at Parra at least and is really showing up at the moment. If the NRL wants to lift the standards of the bottom half clubs (and they should if they want TV money in future) they should give assistance to clubs with roster management issues and stop them wasting money on paying out their coaches for show. Of course, assistance with roster management would require transparency from ALL clubs, which I doubt Rabbits, Broncos and Roosters would be happy about. But something needs to be done, this year s already down to a 10 team comp, and is likely to be a six team comp before the end of winter.

While I agree Roster is vital so is the coach who can bring it all together. Bellamy has worked wonders with players not wanted at other clubs.

I have my doubts about Barrett. His coaching at Manly was not good and he has started badly at the Dogs. He may be one who is a very good assistant coach but struggles with the Top job. Time will tell, as others have said, we are only 4 weeks in to this Comp.

[greeneyed]

With the teams that are getting smashed every game, I think it is a bit of a fallacy that it is all the fault of the coaching staff, or even a major factor.
Last year we were all lauding Todd Payten because he got consistent results from the Warriors when nobody else had in years, now he can't coach at all.
Last year TrentBarrett was an atacking coach extraordinaire because ofthe way Penrith blew away everybody until it mattered, now Dogs don't look like scoring a 100 points all season and obviously Trent can't coach to save his own life. I think head coaches should be judged on roster management for 95% of their score, which brings me to Rick Stuart. His roster management has been A+ for a long time, going back to his time at Parra at least and is really showing up at the moment. If the NRL wants to lift the standards of the bottom half clubs (and they should if they want TV money in future) they should give assistance to clubs with roster management issues and stop them wasting money on paying out their coaches for show. Of course, assistance with roster management would require transparency from ALL clubs, which I doubt Rabbits, Broncos and Roosters would be happy about. But something needs to be done, this year s already down to a 10 team comp, and is likely to be a six team comp before the end of winter.

While I agree Roster is vital so is the coach who can bring it all together. Bellamy has worked wonders with players not wanted at other clubs.

I have my doubts about Barrett. His coaching at Manly was not good and he has started badly at the Dogs. He may be one who is a very good assistant coach but struggles with the Top job. Time will tell, as others have said, we are only 4 weeks in to this Comp.

I think we know the answer already. It is difficult to imagine why the Dogs went with Barrett.

[greeneyed]

'I wanted to give her a hug': Sutton's try dedication for mum in England



Canberra lock Ryan Sutton's second try in as many matches was dedicated to his mother in England and her late cousin John, who passed away before Saturday night’s 20-4 win over Gold Coast.

"I think we are in a really good position after three wins but we can’t get carried away. We have got some really tough games coming up and we are looking forward to playing those teams. I think we have got really good chemistry within the team so we have just got to keep it up."

Read more: https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/04/05/i-w ... n-england/

TACKLE OF THE WEEK: VOTE Wighton or Nicoll-Klokstad: https://www.nrl.com/link/2baceb306bad45 ... e051b.aspx

TRY OF THE WEEK: VOTE Rapana: https://www.nrl.com/link/8ddddd6d350c4d ... df059.aspx

[greeneyed]

NRL.com power rankings

5. Canberra Raiders (5)
Impressive without being great. Gritty, but I'm concerned about Canberra's last-play options. They don't seem to understand that with a big forward pack, the halves can pick and choose when to inject themselves and how they come up with effective set-ends. The Raiders aren't doing that at the moment. Still in a premiership window but I'm not as confident as I was.

Read more: https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/04/06/sow ... s-knights/

[-PJ-]

Shut up Sower..