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Just as the Parramatta Eels look set to get back on track they are tasked with a trip to Darwin on a 5-day turnaround where they will take on the top seeded Brisbane Broncos. The Tip Sheet talks about the trip to the Top End in detail as Sixties, Forty20 and Clint prepare for the massive clash against the Broncos.
It is another massive week for the Junior Representatives as the Harold Matthews and SG Ball battle for places in their respective grand finals. On the injury front it looks like Waqa Blake will be out for some time while Sixties raises an important discussion about partnership between the Eels and the NT.
Sin bins and hair pulls have the NRL water-coolers on fire as discussion rages on. The Tip Sheet wades into the furore with their own takes. Jack Wighton’s retirement from representative footy and a mismatched basket of NRL returns, drops and injuries mark a busy Team List Tuesday.
Origin is now firmly in sight and mind as selection debates start to grow in intensity. Should NSW move in different directions at five-eighth and centre? Why aren’t Mitchell Moses and Will Penisini up for consideration?
The last chapter of this week’s NRL & News show looks at the golden point chatter and the impressive manner in which the Dragons managed to crash through rock bottom.
In sg ball, Moey made those hard runs all game and was probably best on field.
On the Darwin game, something was put to me that I had not considered previously. If the Eels were to no longer take a home game to Darwin the NRL would then take a home game away from us and have it at magic round. Not sure how it affects teams monetarily but once again the season ticket holders of the PARRAMATTA (not Darwin, not Magic, not The) Eels would get shafted yet again.
Ham do not all teams take it in turn to have a home game at magic round?
I think what you are suggesting is the Eels get an extra home game due to playing in Darwin?
In the 3 magic rounds we have been the away team each time, vs storm, warriors, and roosters. I am suggesting that whilst we take a home game to Darwin we won’t have a home game taken to magic round. If we were to stop taking a game to Darwin we would them have a forced home game to magic round.
I never realised that. I always believed that first Storm game where we were smashed was a home game.
Just checked you are right again Ham. All three games away.
That is spot on Ham. But it would only happen every second year. I guess the counter to my arguments is that playing in Darwin is not a surprise for the staff or the players. They know what to expect and how to plan around it.
The issue around the networks picking the games each week. Given what they are paying in dollar terms they are entitled to.
While I would like to see some direction put around the five day turnaround It is something that the Warriors and other interstate teams deal with a lot.
Are we any worse off, I don’t know. However it is time for the NRL to get us a better deal than we are currently experiencing.
We have had a terrible draw this season nothing has fallen our way. It’s time we become a bit more Robinson/Roosters like and use our pressers to our advantage.
Prefer to get out of the arrangement.
Totally agree with John on the hair-pulling penalty policy. Annessly is wrong.
Hello Queensland. Before you turn on Jack Wighton with your dribble, Cameron Smith retired from rep footy before ending his NRL career.
Well noted John.
Interesting discussion around the change of points systems. A different perspective would be to say you’re rewarding a team for achieving a draw (the one that catches up) at fulltime. My thought has always been to give 3 points for an outright win. If drawn at fulltime, each team gets 1 point for their effort. They then play-off for the additional “golden point”.
Instead of thinking of it as rewarding a “losing” team.
Cheers Peter. How would your plan work if it remains a draw at the end of golden point?
Easy, just stays at one point each. If you nobody scores to earn the extra point, stays at one point each.
Tks guys. Some of the obstruction stuff is annoying when it is clear no one has been obstructed or they have but it made not one iota of difference to the play. If you allow the referee discretion to make a judgement, you then introduce the inconsistency factor. All part of the RL drama.
I’ve wondered whether they love the drama of the inconsistency. Let’s be honest, when refs “manage” games, they impose a massive range of personal discretion on the matches.