Bookies Have Us As Moderately Strong Favourites

[Jacks Fur Coat]

Bennett schooled us in the first round I think with offload under any circs tactics. He will have some finals trick up his sleeve again the old fox.

We need a fast open game ourselves though.

On a side note how well is big Tau going? He has really surprised me never thought he was going to come back strong after horrific injury toll. Good on him...except Friday night.

[Guest]

Bennett schooled us in the first round I think with offload under any circs tactics. He will have some finals trick up his sleeve again the old fox.

We need a fast open game ourselves though.

On a side note how well is big Tau going? He has really surprised me never thought he was going to come back strong after horrific injury toll. Good on him...except Friday night.

Yo yes cant underestimate these Broncs. The old coach will have something in store for shizzle you know what Im sayin

[Maxy Walker]

Bennett schooled us in the first round I think with offload under any circs tactics. He will have some finals trick up his sleeve again the old fox.

We need a fast open game ourselves though.

On a side note how well is big Tau going? He has really surprised me never thought he was going to come back strong after horrific injury toll. Good on him...except Friday night.

Dunno about the fast open game bit. Robbo seems pretty happy with the low scoring grind lately. I think he'll be looking for the same again.

[Maxy Walker]

No I am not talking about a conspiracy, unless conspiracy means a few people don't like us.

I'll continue to engage with because you make some intelligent footy related points in other threads. What I am talking about is not a conspiracy, but politics, which exist everywhere from the school playground into every place of work.

For me to attempt to publicly call to account NRL officials (such as Tony Archer and Ben Cummins), for actions that appear to me prejudicial to my footy team's interests, does not make me, or many others like me, a barking loony. For Tony Archer to drop an official and make a public statement that Easts won a match because we scored a try off a forward pass (an unprecedented act), and then to let that Tedesco pass a few weeks later against us go without comment, when it was at least 3 times worse, is just plain weird.

I think most referees do a great job under very difficult conditions. We get great decisions go our way too - Cecchin didn't have to penalise Gallen a couple of weeks ago, but courageously did. The Maloney pass in the 2013 GF that led to the SKD try could have been disallowed but wasn't (I wish Hayne was still around - I really think he DID like us!). I'm actually a volunteer junior baseball umpire myself so I know when close calls have to be made, one team comes off worse and some will think they are being picked on. I'm not a fan of the bunker - another source of unconscious bias - I would prefer to go with the onfield decision and cop it. What Archer did to that young ref earlier in the year, by publicly shaming him for making a judgement call onfield (he couldn't use the replays for a forward pass), and saying he had "reviewed all the angles on video and determined the wrong decision had been made", was disgraceful and very weird.

I do think it's more than likely that Tony Archer and Ben Cummins have some kind of personal vendetta against our club. Their actions over along period, and our record under Cummins in particular, are just too weird for me to believe otherwise. But maybe I'm wrong - perhaps Ben really loves us, but feels a moral obligation to be overly fair to our opponents to compensate for his secret love for us!

The penalty statistics over the last 10 years are beyond the weirdest of the weird when it comes to our club. Way, way out there beyond anything that could be explained by random variation.

There are no conspiratorial meetings held where all the referees are instructed to be mean to us. That's just stupid, someone would have blown the whistle. I for one sure am not suggesting that. But I reckon there are a few people in the NRL official ranks who sure as hell don't like us, and are prepared to allow those feelings to affect their decision making, and that sometimes has an impact on our interests.

And I am biased, I've been following this team since 1971. And this is a bloody forum, so I don't have to be measured and poised with all my comments all the time!

Fair enough mate. Much of what you are saying is probably right. No doubt plenty of people don't like us which goes back to super league. And the general perception of us as the privileged latte sippers.

However our results post super league are about as good as anyone's. 2 premierships and 6 gfs. If there is a bias against us by some officials it surely can't be as bad as some make out. Imagine how fans of teams like parra, tigers, canberra must feel, also rans year after year.

[Mickie Lane]

Fair enough mate. Much of what you are saying is probably right. No doubt plenty of people don't like us which goes back to super league. And the general perception of us as the privileged latte sippers.

However our results post super league are about as good as anyone's. 2 premierships and 6 gfs. If there is a bias against us by some officials it surely can't be as bad as some make out. Imagine how fans of teams like parra, tigers, canberra must feel, also rans year after year.

Thats where Im at with the whole refs against the Roosters crap.

[rented tracksuit]

Fair enough mate. Much of what you are saying is probably right. No doubt plenty of people don't like us which goes back to super league. And the general perception of us as the privileged latte sippers.

However our results post super league are about as good as anyone's. 2 premierships and 6 gfs. If there is a bias against us by some officials it surely can't be as bad as some make out. Imagine how fans of teams like parra, tigers, canberra must feel, also rans year after year.

Parra and the Tigs have done it tough but they have had other issues against them like simply not being good enough. The poor Raiders on the other hand... some of the decisions against that side have been diabolical but they are also their own worst enemy at times. If ever a side knew how to lose a game, it's the poor old Faiders.

[Guest]

Yo embrace the hate 2013 style you know what Im sayin. Let them hate us yo

[ism22]

Yo embrace the hate 2013 style you know what Im sayin. Let them hate us yo

You've gotta think... they risked Darius Boyd last week because they wanted a home final. They won and then we STILL secured the home final.

Their captain is now out with a grade 1 tear and they have been forced to re-shuffle their spine (which was already missing McCullough).

Now their bench utility is a starting fullback and their bench is stacked with forwards (plus David Mead). One point that I think has been glossed over is that this means they don't have a razzle dazzle Nikorima to put on the field 10 before half-time (unless the real plan is to play Mead at FB).

Maybe just a trick, but I suspect Brisbane will rely on fresh forwards taking over. In contrast, we've got Watson and Matterson on our bench. In reality, if we play our cards right, the game could be all over for Brisbane if Watson causes some damage in the tired period just before half-time. We have:
- The better spine (first pick spine)
- A proper conversion kicker
- A more mobile bench, capable of putting tired Brisbane forwards/spine players to the sword towards the end of each half

Obviously it won't be easy, but if we play properly, this could be not only a massacre, but a defining game where (for example) Nikorima and Roberts go down due to tired, over-worked legs. I'm expecting a close contest, but TBH there's a realistic chance that Skeletor and his minions will be sent packing.

[Guest]

Yo main thing that worries me with Broncs is offloads and them getting a roll on with quick play the balls you know what Im sayin. We are the better side and should beat these fools comfortable yo

[Spirit of 66]

A little nostalgia - one of Ben's greatest hits:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvzUSmoY3sE

[Johnny Tobin]

Fair enough mate. Much of what you are saying is probably right. No doubt plenty of people don't like us which goes back to super league. And the general perception of us as the privileged latte sippers.

However our results post super league are about as good as anyone's. 2 premierships and 6 gfs. If there is a bias against us by some officials it surely can't be as bad as some make out. Imagine how fans of teams like parra, tigers, canberra must feel, also rans year after year.

The stats make out a major bias.

[stringaz]

It's the fact that we are successful, they want to rein us in in order to keep their business model going.

[RoosterFanNZ]

A little nostalgia - one of Ben's greatest hits:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvzUSmoY3sE

watching that just winds me up, makes me laugh how cummins is still around