Interest in rugby league today....

[Bronte Chook]

Cowboys run is a minor miracle and they deserve a lot of credit but Thurston & Scott went down months ago. They've been able to recruit and develop a new game around their current squad of players. Pearce & Hargreaves injuries were very late in the piece.

Not a fair comparison by any means.

Of course it's a fair comparison. If anything it's more than fair. Thurston is one of the greats and Scott is always one of the first picked for Qld and Australia.
Pearce is patchy (although I know you disagree) and JWH in all honesty goes missing in the games that really count.

[Rooster_6]

Of course it's a fair comparison. If anything it's more than fair. Thurston is one of the greats and Scott is always one of the first picked for Qld and Australia.
Pearce is patchy (although I know you disagree) and JWH in all honesty goes missing in the games that really count.

I'm not going to disagree that Scott & Thurston are superior players, undeniably.

But when you lose two influential players and that's what both are to each side it's how quickly you can adapt to a change in style and personnel that dictates how successful you can be.

Cowboys are playing a very different game to what they played when being lead by Thurston and it took them time to get where they are now. Keep in mind they only beat one top 8 side in the regular season after losing Thurston & that was Penrith & they lost 5 out of their 6 games leading up to the finals series.

They deserve a lot of credit but it took time for them to get where they are right now, that's also undeniable.

[Ray Stehr]

It would be like us losing Freddy and Morley in 2002 and still making the GF, That's what the cowboys have overcome. Us losing Pearce would be seen as an advantage by a lot of people and we had plenty of up front grunt to cover JWH. 2015 should've been our year.

[Johnny Tobin]

Nil also here Ray. Absolutely 2017 is a lost opportunity. It seemed to me as though some of the Roosters had one eye on the GF and lost sight of the cows.

Pearce confirmed that at the Awards Night. Said they were looking forward to the GF. Idiots.

[Johnny Tobin]

It would be like us losing Freddy and Morley in 2002 and still making the GF, That's what the cowboys have overcome. Us losing Pearce would be seen as an advantage by a lot of people and we had plenty of up front grunt to cover JWH. 2015 should've been our year.

100%. We played some of our best footy without JWH and Pearce.

[ism22]

100%. We played some of our best footy without JWH and Pearce.

Yeak Nikorima all the way :P

[bunnywithteeth]

I agree 100 per cent about today. For the first time in many years I won't be watching tonight's match. I was close to not watching in 2016, & found the Cronulla/Melbourne game very boring despite the close scoreline.

The AFL grand final yesterday had such an atmosphere, the match officials have virtually zero influence on the outcome, & the players seem to genuinely care. I know what code I'll be watching much more of in 2018, & hopefully my 5 year old son starts playing once he starts school.

Compare modern league with games from 25 to 30 years ago. Skill level wasn't as high, but far more was happening in terms of unpredictably. In the 1989 GF for example, Benny Elias flick passed on his own line in the 1st half.

There was an interesting article in the Canberra Times this week about the struggle to sell nrl GF tickets, & it doesn't surprise me at all.
.

[easts4eva]

The way ALF is played the officials have minimum input in the overall out come, NRL is engineered so the officials can control the tempo/flow of the game if required.

[ROC181]

100%. We played some of our best footy without JWH and Pearce.

Cause Maloney was guiding Hastings well. Maloney can take control. Maloney and Keary would have been a more consistent season.

[The Axe]

I watched the refs bend over the eels even thigh they were clearly the dominant team in u20s. Criminal. I felt for the eels because I’ve watched rooster teams cope the same treatment.

tonight I’m watching to see the crowd.

ill estimate 65 207 but the real number will be a crowd of 55k. Pity the poor bastards who paid good money for tix

[Rooster_6]

Cause Maloney was guiding Hastings well. Maloney can take control. Maloney and Keary would have been a more consistent season.

Maloney has definitely developed his organisational skills over the years but it's still not his natural game to be the dominant half.

Michael Morgan has proven himself to an extremely good first receiver, Maloney has never shown the same ability.

No doubt we would've been better off with Maloney/Keary but Pearce is still the most ideal partner for both.

[mightyrooster]

We've been away on a family holiday since the prelim so I have happily avoided all things rugby league for the week.

[easts4eva]

Losing Fensom now.....

[rented tracksuit]

Nil also here Ray. Absolutely 2017 is a lost opportunity. It seemed to me as though some of the Roosters had one eye on the GF and lost sight of the cows.

That's exactly what I said last week. I couldn't agree more.

[OMR]

Today was the second year in a row that I chose not to watch the GF. Usually I watch it even if the roosters aren’t in it because it’s a special occasion, however the last 2 years haven’t felt right.