Sorry, my mistake - should have been Panthers/ Rabbitohs match on Thursday, has been moved from Campbelltown Stadium to Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.

Cheers,
Mary

Afternoon All
I read in the news today that the Roosters are supposedly trying to poach David Fifita from the Broncos to replace JWH after next year.

They have just a quality roster and they seem to always get their man, I don'y know how they can be under the salary cap.

Being a supporter of a struggling club, can you imagine what the signing of a player like Fifita could do for that club. I have no doubt that one of the super clubs will end up with his signature and he will end up with a few premierships

This is where I see the inequality between the top and bottom clubs who supposedly work off the same salary cap.

Interested to hear your thoughts.

Tiger

Smallest violin I could find Tiger 🎻

Hey Steel
Bronco's used to be a super club but have in my opinion fallen from grace. I was thinking Roosters, Storm, Manly and even Canterbury in their day as well as Parramatta.

Thanks for your comment Baggy, David Fifita is a player you can build a future around and he has loads of potential.

aaron- Uncle Nick has a magic wand when it comes to getting the players to the roosters, must be great quality paper bags.

I've always wanted to play the violin Butcher but I guess I will have to settle for playing you like a fiddle, was your butchers convention cancelled due to over inflated personalities or did you not want to play with sausages and rissoles?

Take care folks, have a great week.

Tiger

The Butcher
Not sure if you have any interest in classical music but I've had a dabble over the years. In most string sections the small violins make the loudest music and are listened to and appreciated by most of the audience. So I'm sure Tiger will be happy with your offering.
Steel Panther
Who are the "super clubs" well you tell me. Broncos, Storm, Roosters and Rabbits were once called this but everything has changed. Broncos & Storm because they are one team towns and very successful money wise. Today I wouldn't want to say who qualifies. Roosters of course but I'm concerned about their cap.

Tiger & Mark....surely the Warriors must be included in any list of super clubs. Super at making dumb decisions!! Sacking Kearney one of the worst purely based on the current global situation, but this still rates way behind the decision to let Cleary go all those years ago. Who lets their coach go after making the GF? Seriously.....

Sa-wat-dee krup,

I shouldn’t admit to this but it’s my birthday on Friday so I’m really looking forward to receiving a present from my beloved Roosters. As long as they can knock off the Dragons I’ll be happy 😍. The schedule shows the game on GEM, so even better. Speaking of the Roosters, I see the “salary cap” talk has surfaced again 😉. I have my views on that and might share them later tonight when I get home. Anyways, I’ve tried real hard this week to keep the length of my post down considerably so obviously I haven’t said all that I want but let’s just see how it turns out eh? OK, let’s get into it…

Panthers vs. Rabbitohs 55-45 @ Jubilee
Ladder Position = Panthers
Bookies Favourite = Panthers

There was a lot to like from the Panthers’ win over the Storm last week. Only up by 2 at half-time (8-6), their second 40 was very good and they ran out 21-14 winners in the end. That chip kick from Cleary to Kikau was a beauty! Even though the Storm came back at them, the Panthers defended superbly and kept the Storm at bay and got a well deserved, albeit a hard-fought victory. Stats were pretty much shared with the only difference I could see was with the Panthers having 53% possession versus 47% from the Storm. A nice effort from the Panthers.

The Rabbitohs led the Warriors 22-6 at half-time last week and went on with it in the second to run out (very) comfortable 40-12 winners. Great contributions from Reynolds, Mitchell and Walker paved the way. The Bunnies were just too dominant. On the back of 54% possession they were just too slick. They made more tackle breaks (41-16) and less missed tackles (16-41). Strangely though, they made more errors (17-11) and had more ineffective tackles (21-8). Yeah, very strange indeed.

Verdict: Comparing quality of opposition faced, I have to go the Panthers.

Storm vs. Warriors 75-25 @ AAMI
Ladder Position = Storm
Bookies Favourite = Storm

It seems the Storm are not the Storm of days gone by anymore. They were in the match for most of the night but just couldn’t find a way through the Panthers defence enough times to win. The Storm were only down 8-6 at half-time but eventually lost a close(ish) one 21-14. Every time they looked like coming back, the Panthers stepped it up just enough. The stats for the Storm were pretty much the same as the Panthers except for them having slightly less possession (47-53). Maybe that was the difference.

Another Jekyll and Hyde effort last week from the Warriors. While they did actually score first, thereafter they were never really in the match. They made some simple errors and were a tad unlucky at times but they simply were not consistent enough and not up to the contest, especially after that David Fusitua incident. Stats were a bit mixed for the Warriors. They lost the possession (46-54), had less tackle breaks (16-41) and had more missed tackles (41-16). They did however manage less ineffective tackles (8-21) and less errors (11-17).

Verdict: Storm Troopers.

Roosters vs. Dragons 80-20 @ Bankwest
Ladder Position = Roosters
Bookies Favourite = Roosters

The Roosters toughed their way to an 8-0 lead at half-time last week against the Eels. The Eels came back in the second half and got the lead at 10-8 after that beast Sivo smashed over the top of Tedesco. Teddy’s not exactly a small bloke so what Sivo did was bordering on scary 😱. One of the best “steamrolls” I’ve seen in a long while. After Tedesco went off the Roosters simply kicked it up a notch and regained the lead and went on to win fairly comfortably in the end 24-10. Like Brad Arthur said … "I think they were too professional for us at the end." Great stats from the Roosters last week. They had a 90% completion rate, more line breaks (6-3), more tackle breaks (37-25), less missed tackles (25-37), less errors (4-11) and less penalties conceded (3-7). They did however have more ineffective tackles (34-24).

The Dragons led the Titans by 12 at half-time last week (14-2) and after both sides scored 6 apiece in the second, ran out 20-8 winners. Two wins in a row would’ve made a lot of Dragons fans feel a lot happier for sure. The Dragons weren’t spectacular but they did enough to get the points. Not a lot of stats to get excited about but they did have more line breaks (4-0), more tackle breaks (30-22) and less missed tackles (22-30). Unfortunately they had twice as many ineffective tackles than the Titans (10-5).

Verdict: Roosters. Begurk! 🐔 Begurk! 🐔

Cowboys vs. Knights 35-65 @ Townsville
Ladder Position = Knights
Bookies Favourite = Knights

The Cowboys’ defence was very poor in the first half last week and the Tigers put on 6 tries to nil. You can’t expect to give your opposition a 34 point start and have any hope of pulling it out of the fire. A much better effort in the second half though and they outscored the Tigers 20-2 but still went down 36-20. An encouraging 7 minute blitz against the Tigers wasn’t enough to get up though. The Cowboys certainly have some things to work on. Having said that, their stats were pretty good. More possession (53-47), more kicking metres (564-409), more forced drop outs (3-1) and less penalties conceded (4-8).

After an interesting first half the Knights led 13-6 and went on to score a convincing 27-6 win over the out-of-sorts Broncos last week. Most of the damage was done in the second half (obviously) and they were just too good and never really looked in danger of losing. They won the possession battle (57-43), made 4 line breaks and only had 4 conceded penalties. A really nice effort overall.

Verdict: Knights

Broncos vs. Titans 65-35 @ Suncorp
Ladder Position = Broncos
Bookies Favourite = Broncos

Last week the Broncos managed to get to 6-6 in the first half but from then on it was all the Knights and we saw the Broncos easily beaten in the end 27-6. The return of Pangai Junior didn’t have the effect I thought it would. Brisbane made too many handling errors, had two sin bins, scored no points in the second 40 and seemed (to me at least) to have no apparent plan in place. Only having 43% possession didn’t help either. Not exactly sure what the solution is. Whatever it is, their attack should be something they need to focus on. Surely there’s a turnaround appearing soon isn’t there? 🙏

Not a great attacking effort last week from the Titans. They were down by 12 at the break and lost by the same margin at full-time 20-8. While they did score a try, it took them 77 minutes to do so. OK, they were missing Thompson, Sami and Tonumaipea but still, it just wasn’t good enough. Not that bad defence-wise but you need more than that to win games. Stats weren’t that great with no line breaks (0-4), less tackle breaks (22-30) and more missed tackles (30-22). They did however have less ineffective tackles than the Dragons (5-10). Pretty average effort I’m sorry to say.

Verdict: They’re due aren’t they? Broncos for me.

Eels vs. Raiders 55-45 @ Bankwest
Ladder Position = Eels
Bookies Favourite = Eels

A great defensive effort in the first half last week saw the Eels restrict the Roosters scoring but they still went into the sheds 8-0 down. The Eels stormed back in the second and after Mr Sivo flattened Tedesco they were leading 10-8. Unfortunately for the Eels, that just woke the Roosters up and the Eels eventually went down 24-10. Yes they lost their first game of the year but at least they lost to a good side and weren’t upset by a cellar-dweller 😁 They’ll take a lot out of that loss I’m sure and it should benefit them come finals time. Stats-wise they were pretty much beaten last week. They only had a 74% completion rate, less line breaks (3-6), less tackle breaks (25-37), more missed tackles (37-25), more errors (11-4) and more penalties conceded (7-3). They did however have less ineffective tackles (24-34).

Even with Manly losing 2 players very early on, the Raiders attacking forays proved fruitless and they went into the sheds 12-0 down. The Raiders had most of the running in the early stages of the second half and when Whitehead scored I thought they might just click and go on with it, especially when Tommy Turbo did his hamstring. Somehow they were denied by Manly and ended up losing it 14-6. The Raiders had plenty of chances but were simply not good enough on the day. Basically their second half “comeback” just ran out of steam. Besides winning the ineffective tackles (4-23), the Raiders lost everywhere else stats-wise. They fell short with possession, completion rate, tackle breaks, missed tackles, penalties conceded and errors. Pretty poor to be honest.

Verdict: Until they return to some sort of form I just can’t trust the Raiders against quality sides. Eels for me.

Manly vs. Sharks 60-40 @ Central Coast
Ladder Position = Manly
Bookies Favourite = Manly

One of the best wins from a side I’ve ever seen! Manly were absolutely awesome. To have players missing before the game even started and then to lose 3 of their best during the game and still beat a quality side like the Raiders was insane! What a well deserved win that was. Super impressed to say the least. Wow! To borrow some phraseology, by the end of the game they were “completely gassed and running on empty”. Man, they were good 💪. Absolutely deserved to win that one 14-6 last week. Stats-wise they had a blinder. They won everywhere except ineffective tackles (4-23). They had more possession (59-41), more completion (90-76), more tackle breaks (30-19), less errors (7-15), less penalties conceded (2-7) and less missed tackles (19-30).

In a pretty even contest last week against the Bulldogs, it was the Sharks who managed to scrape in by 2 points and win a thriller 20-18. The Sharks did dominate proceedings after the break and scored twice but then had to withstand the challenge from the Bulldogs. And hold on they did. But only just. They did show glimpses here and there but they should’ve done better when they were 8 points up with 12 minutes to go. Nice hat-trick from Sione Katoa. They were slightly ahead in possession (52-48), made more tackle breaks (38-29), had more ineffective tackles (32-20) but missed less tackles (29-39).

Verdict: Even with their injuries, I’m still tipping Manly.

Bulldogs vs. Tigers 35-65 @ Bankwest
Ladder Position = Tigers
Bookies Favourite = Tigers

The Bulldogs were pretty good last week against the Sharks even though they lost a close one 20-18. They showed plenty of grit and the Sharks found it hard to shake them. With 10 minutes to go, they were desperately trying to find the winning points and a great 95-metre intercept try from Christian Crichton gave them some hope but they just fell short. Good effort. Only stats of note were possession (48-52), tackle breaks (29-39), ineffective tackles (20-32) and missed tackles (39-29).

A magnificent first half from the Tigers (34-0) but a poor second half (2-20). They did enough in the first 40 to get the win 36-20 though. Wondering where the second half effort went to. Did they just say “that’s enough she’ll be right” or were they too tired from running in those 6 first half tries? 😁 Either way, it’s something that makes me think. Mind you, it was a good effort nevertheless to hold the Cowboys out last week. The Tigers had less possession (47-53), less kicking metres (409-564), less forced drop outs (1-3) and more penalties conceded (8-4) so not that good stats-wise.

Verdict: I actually think the Bulldogs are a chance here. Then again I might just play it safe and tip the Tigers in this one.

Let’s finish off with another “Song of the Week”…

It’s almost as if this was written about what happened to me a (very) long time ago 😥. I can smile now but I certainly wasn’t back then. That’s life I suppose…

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

OK kids, good luck with your tipping and may your team win by 40 points! Until next week people. Cheers.

The Butcher
I was in my local butcher shop today, run very capably by a butcher from NSW (been here for over a year now and a very good businessman).
I said I know it's a long shot but do you know a guy who's in hotel management and likes to go by the moniker "the butcher"
He said: Has he told you all sorts of stories about celebs he has met?
I said yeah thats him.
He said: Has he told you a story about his mother and a plate in the bed.
I said yeah thats him.
He said: Is he a fanatical Roosters supporter.
I said yeah thats him.
He said: Does he like to stir Broncos supporters.
I said yeah thats him.
He said: Does he have a problem with someone called Rocket Ryan.
I said yeah thats him.
So I asked "who is he"
He said: Sorry mate I've got no idea.
With all respect to our friend "the butcher"

The Butcher
Glad to hear it was accepted in the manner it was meant. We need a laugh on here, well I do as my tips are crap.
Broncs to have their first win since the restart, I hope.
You may have confused Laidley with the USA Texas but there are no tumbleweeds up there. Laidley is in fact the centre of veggie growing in SE QLD and you have probably purchased many products from there in your NSW supermarkets, hope you enjoyed them and didn't choke after reading this.

My Thoughts on the “Salary Cap”

First off, just let me say that even though I absolutely love the Roosters, the following thoughts and/or beliefs can also apply to any club that has had some success, especially if it’s often. It’s quite possible a large number of people won’t agree with me and that’s fine. I still love ya 💖

OK, let me just get this out here first … the Roosters do not cheat the salary cap. There, it’s been said. What I believe is that quite simply, they’re just really good money managers. Using my beloved Roosters as an example, sure they pay some players a boatload of money. But they also pay a lot of the other players a lot less than you’d think. The reason those players take less? Simple. They want premierships and success. A lot of them are prepared to sacrifice a million dollar salary and instead take much less to learn and play alongside upper echelon players which might give them the opportunity of winning a GF medal. You can’t (or shouldn’t be able to) put a price on something like that. There’s a lot of appeal in playing in a first-class team, playing under a first-class coach and having access to first-class facilities. If a player (on less money) can achieve that then he’ll be the bloke who’s remembered 20 years down the track as being in “that team” who won this and won that and I’m thinking that’s the lure.

Now there’s a lot of talk regarding Uncle Nick and his brown paper bags and so on 😁, but the way I see it is that he’s just a really good (and sometimes ruthless) businessman. He craves success and a lot of big money is attracted to the Roosters because of that. He does the hard things and takes action (getting rid of players) when he has to. This frees up more money which he uses to get big names and others with potential. A lot of those guys with “potential” quite often are those who are prepared to take less money for reasons already mentioned. He’s just very astute when it comes to business. And the Roosters are a business there’s no denying. Uncle Nick wouldn’t bother if it wasn’t worth it.

The Roosters haven’t always been successful (that much I do know) but generally they are. This is no fluke. It’s all down to good business practice on the administration side of things. Basically, the players play football and the businessmen run the “business” that is the Sydney Roosters. It’s as simple as that I’m afraid. There’s absolutely no reason every club can’t do the same, just gotta have the right people in charge. When people accuse the Roosters of “cheating” I think it’s just a case of suspicion and most times envy. When you have a successful “brand” and use it to your advantage, people start looking for reasons that don’t exist.

Damn, I’d better stop or else I’ll be in more trouble than I already am. Just my 2c worth so take it or leave it. Your decision and no offence taken if you have a crack 😍. Cheers y’all.💖

Begurk! 🐔 Begurk! 🐔

Getting a bit cocky as your team plays this week for the battle of the wooden spoon. I guess I have been a cleaner I remember the roosters putting the cleaners thru the broncos
I know your not that smart you could learn a lot from Mark.
The problem is your still talking from Uranus.
Have a great day now where’s that mop?

Newbie
Your spot on the roosters haven’t always been a successful club and because we weren’t successful we would only attract has Beens who were coming to the end of their career (Bob Fulton Paul Vautin etc)
When I played in the easts juniors we had 14 clubs in A grade 25 years later when my son played there were only 4 clubs and had to merge with South Sydney.
The roosters did 2 things to turn it around they went all out after a big player Brad Fittler that a team could grow around and attract others
And later realising the lack of juniors recruiting Peter OSullivan who was the best talent scout having come from the storm discovering players like Slater and Inglis as a 15 yr old at a carnival in Port Macquarie saying this kid doesn’t run he glides.
Peter discovered RTS and signed SBW and James Maloney who all contributed to the 2013 premiership
The Roosters don’t have an option we have to recruit that’s why we’re good at it.
What we’d give to have the junior base like Newcastle and the Queensland teams.

Think he's back in the fold Boss? What was his assistant position with the Bronco's?

Hi Baggy,

You haven't forgotten your pick for 'A's' comp have you?

Big Pete & Rob181 are still to submit their pick as well.

Cheers,
Mary

Hello everyone, my tips for this week are:

Panthers by 4 - This one should be a cracker. Both these two teams have been in some form with the Bunnies getting back to back wins against weaker opponents whereas the Panthers have dealt with stiffer opposition with some success except the loss to the Eels. The game will be held at Kogarah which is interesting to note. Cleary is key again for the Panthers along with their forward pack. The Bunnies are in this you know don't you worry about that but it'll be the boys from Penrith to get yet another one in the bank in a tight one.

Storm by 18 - The Storm rarely loss back to back and they are coming up against a Warriors side who've been stinging from the axing of Stephen Kearney. This one looks a big Storm win here. Interesting though that the Storm have relocated and will be hosting this one at Kogarah so they haven't exactly been settled themselves.

Roosters by 12 - As much as I want my Dragons to win here, you've just gotta go with the Chooks here. They've been playing some amazing footy and expect them to play well here again; with or without Teddy. The Dragons really have to be on their game here and although I could possibly see them being brave in this one, this one will be very challenging for us to win and it'll be the Chooks to rack up number 5 in a row. Great to see Jason Saab given a run for the Dragons he is a promising young player and I'm intrigued to see what he's got on Friday night. Best of luck Newbie, Butcher and other Roosters supporters on this site! May the best team win. P.S. a big happy birthday to you on Friday Newbie! You sir are a legend and I wish you get the gift of a defeat from the mighty Red V! Nah, I'm sure the boys will get it done for you!

Knights by 16 - The Cowboys are looking really disappointing at the moment. Yes they did make a bit of a fightback in the second half against the Tigers but after that first half performance they dished up, they don't look like chances at all in this one. The Knights are a great outfit and are a genuine contender this year so this won't be any easy feat for the Cowboys which means they have to be on otherwise the Knights will win and win well. Forwards are the key for the Cowboys will be difficult up against that Knights forward pack and I jut feel there's way too much inexperience there in the backs right now, yes they have some injuries and yeah they are just too inexperienced but at least they are having a learning cure and they will get better with time. Knights too good for the Cowboys here.

Titans by 8 - I'm actually going with an upset here. I actually think that the Titans are a good chance of getting the Broncos here. The Broncos are just going through a horrible time at the moment. They have really lost their culture and in a time where they desperately need to perform, they just haven't been performing. This is a perfect opportunity for the Broncos to finally show something, especially against the Titans but I think that the Titans will come out and out on a good performance and will get the upset win over the Broncos here. With that happening, the headlines will be very bleak up there in Brisbane that's for sure!

Raiders by 2 - My other upset of the round sees the Raiders edging out a victory over Parramatta. This is likely the game of the round and should be a cracking game between two losing sides last week. Parramatta suffered their first loss of the season to the Roosters. They should have their heads held high though, they were really tough in defeat, up for it in defence but unfortunately just didn't have the points in them in the end. The Raiders on the other hand, really should've beat Manly here, they had the opportunity to and with Manly understrengthened, you would've expected the Raiders to score some tries in that second half when they had their opportunities to but they didn't, have the Raiders lost that attacking flair that they've possessed for a long time? This one will be a good indication on whether or not the Raiders have lost that attacking flair that they are known to have. I think that the bounce back factor will be on the Raiders side and they will give Parra their second loss in a row and their second loss of the season.

Manly by 6 - yes, Manly are understrengthened yet again. They will be dearly missing Tommy Turbo. Back they do welcome back Marty Taupau which is a great sign that they have their dynamic duo back together in Fonua-Blake and Taupau. Manly should win it in the forwards and that will take them a long way into winning this game and I think they'll do enough in attack to beat Cronulla, the Sharks haven't exactly been flashy in attack thus far. This will surprisingly be a good game of footy I think and the Sharks will be brave and will most certainly be in the grind but I just feel that Manly will just be that extra tougher and will just be too good and slick in the end for the Sharks. The big time players need to step up for the Sharks if they are going to win on Sunday, Johnson, Moylan, Dugan, Fifita, Townsend, etc.

And finally... Tigers by 10 - The Tigers put on an absolute clinic in that first half. 34-0, six tries to nil was more than enough in the end to beat the Cowboys considering the Cowboys scored 4 tries to nil in that second half. If Tigers bring that into this game that attacking clinic, they can really put a score on the Bulldogs no doubt about it but as we all know, the Bulldogs are a tough side and can be hard to crack at times. If they are on in defence, the Bulldogs are a good chance on Sunday and plus, they do have a good record as of late against the Tigers but it'll be the Tigers who'll prove too good for the Dogs, particularly in attack. Foran v Brooks will be an interesting little halves battle. Whichever one of these halves proves the most influential will go a long way in their team getting the win, if the Dogs win, Foran needs to step up big time along with Hopoate and if the Tigers win, Brooks holds the key but by jeez doesn't the Tigers have some great players, the energetic Josh Reynolds, Harry Grant whose been unbelievable for the Tigers this season, the Leilua brothers, Mbye, some good young forwards, Tigers too strong here.

Awesome. Good luck with everyone's teams for this week and with everyone's tips for this week. Cheers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Damn the girls out scored me last round 4/8, putting them on 23/48 here is the younger with this weeks tips.
Rabbits - Because my toy bunny likes them
Storm - They make blackouts
Dragons - We don't like those crowing Rooster Supporters
Cowboys - They ride on horses (might be the only way they can cross the try line)
Broncos - Because my sister likes them
Eels - They are Dad's team
Manly - We like birds
Tigers - Because they live in the jungle (otherwise called Leichhardt Oval)

Steel
As Thinker has said Steve Kearney has been sighted near Broncos headquarters. (ashamedly I don't know who Broncs assistant coach is at the moment) but I rate Kearney and if they can sign him may just be the thing to take some pressure off Siebold and change things around.
Why else would he be in Brisbane??

Mary S
You are to be saluted reminding people to put tips in and now submitting on behalf of a fellow tipster. Well done my friend and may you have a successful round this week.