Finally! The Warrior of Sparta returns. Geez, we missed you 😢 but glad you’ve resurfaced 😃. Good to see you here again brother. A few people will be delighted I’m sure.

“Militaturus pergerem manere fortis.”

Welcome back Coach

Diseugenious? Eugeneticks?

NEWBIE
Congrats on your Chookies win! Controversy yes and I'm sure you would rather have won without refs interference. Due to family commitments I didn't see the game. Various media outlets have claimed the Raiders were robbed whereas others have said the Roosters won fair and square. Either way your Roosters have gone back to back not done for about 100 years when early settlers formed a team called the Broncs and I think played another team called the Broncs.

Not sure if you caught this one Coach, 5/6 in the last 6 seasons the team who came in the top 2 for runs/running metres per game have won the GF. The interesting stat is that 13 other teams had more runs that the Roosters, but each run were less effective. It is interesting that the Raiders were forth in mt/run, and 7th in average mts a game.
https://www.statsinsider.com.au/nrl/nrl-stats-review-key-statistics-that...

@ Mr Ashford
Thanks for the congratulations on my BBB winning the grand final. Yeah, just a little controversy involved but at least it raises the profile of the game and here’s hoping more people (here and overseas) start to take an interest. Unfortunate you couldn’t watch the game brother. It was a tough encounter and a spectacle for sure. Hopefully you have (or will) go online and watch a replay. I’ll be whacking up my “musings” on the game a little later on both here and on the Grand Final page as well. Stay tuned 😃

Yeah, I’ll be frequenting this here “off-season” page for sure and pleased to see you wouldn’t mind me posting a SOTW. It’s growing on ya isn’t it. Ah, the plan is working 😍 No problem with me posting one each week as I have many toons I like and of varying styles. Might make it a Thursday or Friday night thing eh?

You’ve sorta caught me on the hop with this but might just post this one here. I know some out there are frustrated karaoke wannabes (ha-ha) so this one has the lyrics on the screen for you to sing along to. C’mon, you know you wanna.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjH-db8qnVM

OK, gotta dash. Have some googling to do on why my bread isn’t rising high enough in my bread machine. Seriously, that’s what’s happened the last 2 loaves I’ve made. Not sure what it is but no doubt I’ll find out soon 👍 Cheers.

ONCE UPON A TIME

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago there were two tribes that decided to go into battle to determine once and for all, who should receive the blessings of the gods for their heroic deeds of the year just passed.

The gods decided these 34 warriors should meet on the battlefield known as the ANZ Stadium at a pre-appointed hour and engage each other in gladiatorial contest to see who would gain the gods’ favour. To the victor go the spoils. This is the tale of that epic battle. Read on if you dare…

It was Sunday the 6th October 2019 and the Sydney Roosters lived the fairytale and became the first team to win back-to-back premierships in 26 years in an engrossing grand final in front of nearly 83,000 fans at ANZ Stadium. Showing their typical grit and defensive effort, the Roosters withstood an enormous amount of pressure from a tenacious Raiders side and somehow survived. They basically defended their way to the ultimate 14-6 triumph. It might’ve been more had Latrell Mitchell not missed those 2 penalties in the 40th and 69th minutes.

The Roosters started (very) well and raced to a 6-nil lead after only 6 minutes. Then Aubusson does his knee in the 14th minute which throws the Roosters’ interchange plans into semi-disarray. Shortly after Aubusson goes off, Victor Radley goes off for HIA. The Raiders start to get back into the game, momentum shifts and it’s all Raiders for the rest of the first half. That dominance continues on for 30 minutes into the second half as well.

OK, so Cooper Cronk gets binned in the 50th minute. That was a harsh call. He tackles one millisecond before Papalii receives the pass but seriously, you’re gonna call that as a professional foul? I suppose in the context of the rules it was correct but really, what’s a little fella to do against a big fella in that situation? Meh! It could possibly be very easy to counter that “six-again” argument (more on that below) with that borderline ludicrous sin binning. Down to 12 blokes and the Raiders still couldn’t get through the Roosters’ resolute defence. I know what that tells me. What does it tell you?

Speaking of that 72nd minute “six-again” drama … here’s my 2c for what it’s worth.

As it turned out, Cummins got the call from Gerard Sutton (and the linesman) letting him know the ball had actually bounced off a Raiders’ player and he immediately changed the call and apparently yelled out “last tackle” 4 or 5 times. Yeah, I understand Wighton saw Cummins waving his arm for six again but that’s no excuse for him (and players around him) ignoring the ref’s calls. A better option would’ve been to have a little chip kick instead maybe. Whatever.

On the live broadcast, Ray “Rabs” Warren called it as off a Canberra player straightaway. Post-match, Peter Sterling reckons it didn’t cost them the game. I’ve seen it countless times and it did indeed come off the Canberra player. I suppose it’s not the deflection off the Raiders’ player that’s got everyone hot under the collar but moreso the gaffe from Cummins in getting it wrong and waving his arm for six again.

Yeah, it was heartbreaking for the Raiders and their fans, especially considering the winning try from the Roosters came shortly after, but that’s life. As I said last week, someone has to win and someone has to lose. That’s just how it is.

As some pundits have mentioned, this grand final will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. And that’s a real shame I reckon. Seriously, if anyone thinks for one moment the Raiders were “robbed” of a grand final win because of that “six-again” debacle, they’re deluding themselves. And I’m not being one-eyed here either. You just need to take an honest overview of the game you watched. No doubt this will be hotly debated for many years to come but I will feel very comfortable in myself believing the Roosters won the grand final fair and square.

I reckon a lot of people will be wondering how the Raiders managed to lose the grand final actually. For the majority of the match they did indeed look like the better team. For obvious reasons (to me at least) they couldn’t find the “knockout punch”. Sort of reminds me of Apollo Creed trying to knock out Rocky in their 2nd fight 💪.

Look, if the Raiders were good enough they would’ve got up but they didn’t so they weren’t. It’s as simple as that I’m afraid. As much as I feel for them with that “6-again” debacle, the truth of the matter is that it wasn’t the thing that lost them the game. Hopefully the Raiders will look back on this over the break and come to realise they let themselves down just a bit and that their inability to make the most of their opportunities (and possession) more than likely was the reason they lost and not because of that one isolated “6-again” drama.

Maybe losing this grand final will spur them on next year and instil some desire to prove to the rugby league world that they are indeed good enough. Jack Wighton was a deserved winner of the Clive Churchill medal. It was an absolutely awesome effort from him. To his credit, Jack was reported as saying … "But we're definitely not going to blame a ref for our loss, we had more than enough opportunities."

The best part of the game for me (obviously) was when Tedesco scored. Keary passes to Mitchell. Beautiful flick pass from Mitchell to Tupou. Daniel then passes to Tedesco. Tedesco runs in and scores. When the roar from the (greatly outnumbered) Sydney fans went up another level when Tedesco got the ball and they realised he was gonna score, it got me so “pumped” it’s almost impossible to describe. Joy? Relief? Happiness? I suppose you could say all three of those actually. I’m sure all my neighbours heard me at that point yelling out a primal scream of “you-rude word starting with an F-beauty”. Man I was pumped! 💪 I still get goosebumps every time I watch that try. Yeah sad I know, but I’ve watched it maybe 10 times so far 😃.

At the end of the day, it was the Roosters’ defence that proved the difference (just like it did against the Storm the previous week) and again, it was when they were up against it in the second half. Their defence was just too strong for the Raiders. They simply stood up and copped everything the Raiders threw at them and survived. One piece of brilliance (luck) in the 72nd minute and bam! 💥

Stats-wise, it was close in a lot of areas but there were quite a few that surprised me and one in particular. Roosters (obviously) had less possession (46%-54%), less tackle breaks (30-39), less offloads (1-19), less effective tackles (82.3%-91.8%), more missed tackles (39-30) and the one that surprised me … the number of ineffective tackles. The Roosters had 38 and the Raiders had 1. Yeah, the Raiders had just one (1) ineffective tackle. At first I thought that was a typo but I checked it on the NRL website and it’s correct. Sheesh!

Anyways, that’s my take on the “big dance” of 2019. I know (for a fact) there will be people who disagree with what I’ve just served up and that’s fine with me. We all have our own opinions and I’m cool with that. All I know is I’ve been as unbiased and honest as I can be and that my BBB have gone back-to-back and I’m very happy indeed. Begurk! 🐔 Begurk! 🐔

OK kids, stay well, keep safe and enjoy life 😍 Cheers…

Good one Newbie - I'm not at the track, but enjoy atmosphere that surrounds The Great Race. I used to work with clubs on canteens up there. Was up there overnight the year the bikies (when Easter bikes were conducted - they are coming back to here, with the 2nd track planned, designed and funded) threw the molotov cocktail into the police compound and set all the electricity/lighting off. Off-Track Events, CBD Party yesterday until 4pm, then the street re-opens for traffic to traverse again. Plenty on the box today pre-race.

Sounds good with your EPL "predictions". I'm in a bit of a nomads tipping comp, with bragging rights only. Will be interesting to view. EPL Comp is all over the shop, as they play on occasions mid-week, Friday night UK time and so forth. Euro quals, FA Cup Rounds etc, comp is often suspended.

Cheers mate and keep well - Big Pete

Hi BigPeteBx, what a race it was!! I actually have some family there and might be planning a trip either next October or the one after, will definitely have to catch up either way, sounds great! The ':D' from earlier is a happy emote. My real name is actually Markus.

It was strange seeing everyone on T.V. so cold while here in Townsville we are already in the 30s! The mountain certainly did not let us down for drama over the weekend that's for sure!

Mark - how its going mate.
Supposedly a big year of celebration for Holden at Bathurst 1000, but to me Mustangs have been killing them in the rounds already conducted.
I was with Mustangs, as I am a Ford supporter. It was the livery of Dick Johnson of old and he'd been waiting a while for victory.

Scott Mc, like Shane Van Gisbergen being both Kiwis, were out for it and challenging each other, as they wanted it more than the other. It was a gamble with fuel and it paid off for Ford. Like the NRL Big Dance, the crap will start to flow about the result.

We know what the media is like, especially when you have quite a few ex Holden drivers holding microphones.

Cheers Champ and keep well
Big Pete

Big Pete
My brother is a passionate ford man and said the same thing. A lot of the commentators are xholden guys. Funnily enough my brother being a ford man drives a Landcruiser and I guess I'm a ford man too but drive a Colorado....go figga.
Did see on the news there will be an enquiry.
Just hope sanity prevails.

Thank heavens Mark we share something in common!

There is media talk & national news, that the second Ford car of Coulthard slowed the race for Scott Mc to take an advantage of Holden. I think it was in a pit drive thru. This week on Gold Coast, the decision gets handed down.
Cheers and keep well - Big Pete

Hi Everyone

Thought I would grace the off season with a Tigers presence. It's nice to see the friendship that has come from this site, as we all read there are bigger things in life then football.

Christine, I hope you get some positive news out of your most recent tests, I like Mark and BigPete and a lot of others do care and look out for your posts.

My life has been a very different one to what I am used to. As you are aware my wife and I went to Europe from late March through to early June, we walked the Camino Santiago from France through to the coast in Spain, a total of 860kms. The Camino is a spiritual trek that some say can give you closure and or solutions to problems or troubles in ones life.
For me the Camino did affect me, I cam back not ready to l;et go and after taking a few sick days I forced myself back to work, I work in a prison in QLD. I think I came home from Europe an emotionally different person, I can't explain how or why.
On my third shift back at work in June, it was a Saturday night shift, I am a Correctional Supervisor and after hours, weekends and night shifts the supervisor runs the centre from 1800 hours through to 0600.
So, Saturday the 9th June, my third shift back was actually an overtime shift that I had accepted, I had almost completed the shift and had the cups of tea ready for my relief when I got a call from the control room, I was advised that a prisoner had buzzed up on the intercom and stated that he thought his cell mate was dead, from that point on through to lunch time the next day was a bit of a blur.

As you can imagine, this type of incident can be rather traumatic and at times staff that work through these incidents need to talk to someone.
I didn't straight away and it was 2 shifts later that I noticed that I wasn't handling things, I am now aware that after 24 years in the job one's emotional cup can overflow and that is what has happened to me.

This latest incident has seen me off work since June and at this stage not returning until early December but in reality it will be around March. I see a psychologist every fortnight and have seen a psychiatrist.
I have become more self aware, have joined the local gym and have reduced my days of no alcohol to 3 each week.
Physically I feel 100% but it's the mental side that I am still working on.

Anyway, I just wanted to share with those of you that are still posting that there may be others around that are going through personal challenges.

Take care everyone and I'll check in again soon.

Tiger

Tiger
Thank you for sharing that with us my friend.
I have nothing but respect and thanks for our Police, Ambos, Fireies and Correctional Staff. You guys do all the heavy lifting in our communities and I believe get little or no thanks. 24 years service in what must be one of the most draining jobs on earth is to be commended.
Mate I'm no shrink so won't offer any advice except to embrace your family and friends....keep those you love close and keep believing in your beloved Tigers. No doubt it will take some time but I wish you a full recovery. We love you here on Thinker's site!
mark

Evening Tige - not good what I read and have seen it quite a bit.
I have two mates suffering depression and lost my brother last Christmas Eve from dementia aged 63.
We can always turn our back on things, but need to turn and face it sometime. You've had the balls to talk about it here, on a national site.
I take my hat off to you, for getting it again, out in the open.

Just keep that roar in you mate and don't let it down you and make a pussy out of you. You can fight it buddy and fight you will.
We are here for you and even an email to Thinker for more private contact is welcomed.

I see where Marsters may be on a move from Tigers to NQld.

R u that far up north in Qld, or still around Garden City area?

Champ - keep us posted and keep well and do think about the pleasant memories of your trip. Even that thought of getting in the arena, as a matador, just to get a good steak.

Cheers, hang in there and we are here - Big Pete in Bx