St George Illawarra Dragons vs Parramatta Eels – Thursday night – WIN Stadium
First plays last but this isn't a formality, with a fair chunk of the Dragons seventeen backing up (and backing up quickly) from representative duties. Tyson Frizell won't play, but the other eight have been named. It's a big ask, but the Eels are a big basket case. There could be a few at Parramatta (Norman and Hayne spring to mind) who might be playing to pick up new contracts elsewhere next season, but that doesn't mean they'll play like a team.
Verdict – Dragons by 8
Result – Dragons 20 defeated Eels 18
New Zealand Warriors vs Cronulla Sharks – Friday night – Mt Smart Stadium
On paper the Sharks look like they have an edge in the forwards here, and they've rushed the big teddy bear Aaron Woods straight into the seventeen – I expect he'll go well. Valentine Holmes at fullback will be wanting to impress too. There's no doubt he wants a gig somewhere as a fullback, and a few teams (Cowboys definitely and Broncos probably) will be keeping an eye on him. The Warriors have been tough to beat at home this season but I'm with the visitors here.
Verdict – Sharks by 4
Result – Sharks 18 defeated Warriors 15
Sydney Roosters vs Melbourne Storm – Friday night – Adelaide Oval
This game heads back to Adelaide again and this time around Cooper Cronk will be facing off against the Storm. The absence of Waerea-Hargreaves and Cordnor for the Chooks have me leaning purple, although the Storm are missing a few big boppers themselves. If Asofa-Solomona can't find a functioning airplane I'd lean the other way, and if Billy Slater is rested I'd lean heavily the other way, but based on the teams as named it's the Storm for me. For those of you that don't have to tip as early as I do I urge you to keep your eye out for team changes.
Verdict – Storm by 4
Result – Storm 9 defeated Roosters 8
Penrith Panthers vs Manly Sea Eagles – Saturday afternoon – Panthers Stadium
The Panthers have named their Origin players and they should back up (although Maloney isn't getting any younger). Just as importantly Kikau returns and he adds an X factor in the middle. Manly look like a team that have put a line through their season already, and they haven't beaten Penrith at Penrith since 2011.
Verdict – Panthers by 10
Result – Sea Eagles 18 defeated Panthers 10
Newcastle Knights vs Canterbury Bulldogs – Saturday night – McDonald Jones Stadium
The Knights don't start as warm favourites too often but this Bulldogs side is barely recognisable. While this doesn't look like much of a game the Novacastrians will be out in force and the Knights will give the locals a good night out. And Ponga.
Verdict – Knights by 14
Result – Bulldogs 36 defeated Knights 16
Brisbane Broncos vs Canberra Raiders – Saturday night – Suncorp Stadium
What a difference a Hodgson makes. The Raiders were an entirely different proposition with his return last round, and if they bring that form again they'll be winning here too. If they did I wouldn't be surprised but I want to see it happen before I'm convinced that the Raiders are still a top eight proposition. Their only two wins away from home this season are against the Cowboys and the Tigers, and I think the Broncos are better than that. Not much better mind you. Could be the game of the round this one.
Verdict – Broncos by 2
Result – Broncos 26 defeated Raiders 22
Wests Tigers vs Gold Coast Titans – Sunday afternoon – Leichhardt Oval
The return of Robbie Farah couldn't be better timed, as he's back for a Sunday afternoon at the picturesque Leichhardt Oval. But he's not the only new face at the Tigers, with Moses Mbye slotting into the fullback role. Handy inclusions and the Tigers are warm favourites, but I'm pretty keen on the Titans in an upset here. It's a good looking pack of forwards and a fairly settled backline, taking on a team that may take a week or two to get their combinations right.
Verdict – Titans by 4
Result – Titans 30 defeated Tigers 12
South Sydney Rabbitohs vs North Queensland Cowboys – Sunday afternoon – Barlow Park
I was lucky enough to be up north for the Cowboys narrow loss to the Warriors in round 15, and the general feeling in the room was that the loss that night spelled the end of their finals aspirations this season. I was also lucky enough to be up north for the Cowboys narrow loss to the Rabbitohs earlier this season. The Cowboys were a little unlucky that night, but back then they had something to play for, and the only thing they have left to play for is pride. I doubt that's enough against a genuine premiership contender. Note the location though folks. Maybe, just maybe, the extra travel for the Bunnies gives the Cowboys a sniff here. I can't tip them though.
Verdict – Rabbitohs by 10
Result – Rabbitohs 21 defeated Cowboys 20
Wally Lewis - round sixteen selections (in bold)
Note: tips from Wally will be published on Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.
- DRAGONS vs Eels
- Warriors vs SHARKS
- Roosters vs STORM
- PANTHERS vs Sea Eagles
- KNIGHTS vs Bulldogs
- BRONCOS vs Raiders
- TIGERS vs Titans
- RABBITOHS vs Cowboys
Comments
Submitted by Coach Potato on
Looked like a knock on Parra.
Can’t lose getting those calls at WIN.
Submitted by NuL1F3 on
Hahaha Coach!
Submitted by Coach Potato on
Bottle top Hunt, and his thigh, Corky
Submitted by The Thinker on
Apologies for the delay with Wally's tips.
I've posted them now for those that might still be wondering.
Gus: the last time 16th beat 1st in the NRL was in 2015.
To be fair Gus...they don't play each other that often.
Submitted by mark ashford on
Hunt playing just like he did in SOO2...hopeless.
Hayne scores a try then needs some dencorub.
What a big girl he is (apologies to our female fans)
The Eels look the goods
Submitted by Baggy_Gee on
Worried, the refs have been told that this is not the allowable result. Odd couple of calls but we should have stopped that try.
Submitted by Baggy_Gee on
*+/@$" '""$@"" @$'/-'?:.
Submitted by mark ashford on
Baggy you were the best team for most of the game.
A loss like that must hurt. Feel for you.
Submitted by The Annoying Devil on
Ten points down with 7 minutes to go
Half your team returning from rep duty
Great win Dragons
Submitted by Mary S on
Now Mark, if you watched the Women's SoO, you know you would be doing the ladies a disservice when you compare Hayne to females!!!
Cheers,
Mary
PS - I would call the result to tonight's match "The Dragon's Great Escape"
Submitted by Coach Potato on
Bad luck bags.
Next time tell Arthur, Will Smith is not allowed on the field unless his team is 20 up. 10 up not enough.
Well done Dragons.
Not breathing fire though.
Barely breathing at all.
Submitted by mark ashford on
Mary S
I did watch the ladies SOO and congratulate the NSW girls.
Some of those hits would have rattled the biggest of our boys
Sorry I compered J Hayne to a "girl" perhaps should have said a wimp or a looser or a waste of salary cap, any way correct.
Submitted by a on
You have to feel sorry for the Eels they deserved to win
Submitted by Baggy_Gee on
Yeah we have cut Will free for next year. Hayne again did well, you want to talk about powderpuffs, the dragons in the last minute and a bit. Soaked up time with pretend injuries.
Submitted by Coach Potato on
Round 17 onwards , 2015 onwards, Dragons record is a lowly 9 wins.
That’s just 9 wins across three seasons, round 17 onwards.
2015 they ended round 16 4th, finished 8th
2016 they ended round 16 9th, finished 11th
2017 they ended round 16 7th, finished 9th
This year they end round 16 1st, although they tend to trend down from here don’t they?
Submitted by The Annoying Devil on
It would be pretty hard to trend up from 1st
Submitted by Coach Potato on
True, although the top team will often trend sideways ie. stay top.
Submitted by christine on
Eels are on notice brad Arthur has said that 7 of them are on notice that if they don't prove themselves they will be home less , I read the article this afternoon but there was no mention as to which players brad Arthur is referring to ...
Submitted by newbie from perth on
Well, for what it's worth Baggy .... in my humble opinion the best team tonight lost! While obviously feeling a little gutted, you should also feel a glimmer of hope with how your BOYS played tonight. Even though I tipped the Dragons I was sort of half hoping that they'd get beat. Nighty-Night people...
Submitted by Baggy_Gee on
Thanks guys, it was hard to watch and stomach. But that's now 3 tries we should have saved by a bit of hunger to knock the ball dead. They looked good for most part, played with confidence, but execution let us down. Winning is a habit, and we need to get hooked on that feeling again.
Submitted by Coach Potato on
The team badly needs a fresh perspective, fresh ideas.
Have a look at how everyone thought Souths had player issues to be resolved. Obviously couldn’t have been Maguire’s fault week after week. Any yet I can’t even think of a new player they brought in this year, and here they are with just fresh perspective, fresh ideas.
Sometimes pointing the finger, is the only way of deflecting attention away from yourself.
Submitted by Coach Potato on
Just tragic Thinker,
Japan and Senegal all but went to the magic rabbit names in the hat.
Japan broke the tie based on the 2nd last rule of least yellow/red cards.
So so disappointing.
Submitted by Coach Potato on
https://www.penrithpanthers.com.au/news/2018/06/26/panthers-duo-granted-...
The latest edition of Panthers junior development producing too many future stars to keep.
Tom Eisenhuth has signed with Melbourne Storm, and Oliver Clark with Wests Tigers.
Submitted by TigerGirl on
Of course I did Christine ???? us tigers have to stick together.
Submitted by Coach Potato on
I’m really hoping the Raiders cop a hefty fine or something? for screwing the NRL and all the teams with the underhandedness shown this year over Jack Wighton.
I’m all for innocent until proven guilty, and play on until your day in court comes up, but to now hear he straight out pleaded guilty, that stinks to high heaven.
We’ve been screwed for the last two months. Panthers one point win in Canberra two rounds ago is now extra sweet, and the return match in another month will be twice as sweet, knowing the mug will be watching the game from his prison cell.
Submitted by bradapple on
My picks as i am late
Sharks
Storm
Panthers
Knights
Raiders
Titans
Rabbitohs
Submitted by christine on
Sorry tiger girl I wasn't referring to you by that comment I was referring to tigerholic at times lately if he has posted a comment to me he just puts tiger instead of tigerholic so I just want to clear that up with you ok I know you introduced yourself to jimmy c but I don't know if tigerholic has yet ...
Submitted by manyana on
Welcome Jimmy c.
Enjoyed the game between the Eels & Dragons.
Had tipped Dragons but in one way I was hoping that the Eels would win.
Good tipping for the rest of the round.
Cheers, manyana.
Submitted by Baggy_Gee on
Great try to Grant Atkin, man of the match performance so far.
Submitted by Steel Panther on
Just back from the Warriors Sharks game. The touchie missed a forward pass which saw Edrick Lee over in the corner for the Sharks winning points. It was two to go and the Warriors were 15-14 up but despite this the Warriors probably didn't deserve to win anyway. Hard to see where their points will come from with Penrith, Brisbane & the Storm all to come in the next few weeks.
Submitted by Steel Panther on
Officiating not too flash at Mt Smart tonight either Baggy
Submitted by Baggy_Gee on
Well the rooster just made a clean break and Grant calls it back for a piss weak penalty. Someone hook him and let the Badge call the game properly.
Submitted by Steel Panther on
Munster having a mare last 5 minutes
Submitted by Steel Panther on
Munster having a mare last 5 minutes
Submitted by Baggy_Gee on
Let's see if the roosters can work out the scrum this time round. Second rowers not knowing how a scrum works. Honestly.
Submitted by Steel Panther on
What a field goal from Smith!!! Top shelf
Submitted by Steel Panther on
Latrell miss from out in front cost the Chooks the win....
Submitted by Coach Potato on
I did mention WWE last night and if you think about it there was the underdog giving the superstars a hiding, putting them into turnbuckle after turnbuckle, suplex, piledriver, sleeperhold, you name it.
Then all of a sudden off the canvas, the superstars come back out of nowhere, more energy than the first whistle, to win. Crowd goes home totally entertained.
So was it real or was it scripted? Was it really WWE or are we absolutely convinced it is the truth?
Submitted by The Thinker on
It’s the truth
Submitted by Coach Potato on
Don’t tell WWE fans otherwise
Submitted by Tailspin on
Just wondering if anyone can tell me why video refs cant rule on a blatant forward pass. It's bloody ridiculous. The warriors should have won that game. I feel for them and the supporters.
Submitted by Rocket Ryan on
That's easy tailspin most people want less video ref involvement not more I think everybody can live with good calls and bad calls that's just the way it is with the game as you can see there's not many sharks fans complaining maybe next week the Warriors will get a 50/50
Submitted by The Annoying Devil on
I disagree rocket
The amount of time we stop for injuries and even players walking to the sin bin . it should be allowed in a try scoring situation that’s why the technology is there imagine that was the grand final
In work well in rugby where forward passes can be viewed. Also by the time they pack a scrum they could also overturn a knock on to a strip penalty
It’s about the bunker using their means more efficiently so it goes less noticeable to the public
Submitted by Tailspin on
I'm the same with TAD on this one Rocket. We go through a shit load of replays on scoring a try. If the rule was made to include a forward pass detected, then we wouldn't have to go through all the other replays. it would save a heap of time really.
Submitted by Rocket Ryan on
Everybody drags up the old imagine if it was a grand final how about we just keep going less stop features the better the referees and linesman are there to rule on such things how come we have no faith in him soon as something goes against us it's called human error and as I said we should just live with it in the case of forward passes tell me tad should we also have the video ref rule on every suspect pass the dummy half throws.
Submitted by The Annoying Devil on
We’re talking blatant passes in try scoring situations
Has the world become that impatient we can’t wait for the correct decision
Rugby NFL cricket etc have this technology and take longer to decide
I hate get cheated in life in general and now it’s being done to my favourite sport I’d rather walk away knowing I lost fairly than have won unfairly
Submitted by Tailspin on
Dead right TAD, that's all I was talking about was in try scoring circumstances. If its blatantly obvious to the players and the fans, then I think the bunker should be able to rule on it. Its a very easy decision to be made by the NRL I think.
Submitted by Baggy_Gee on
Again, an easy solution is using the player tracker on the back of the jersey, if the American's can draw straight lines across the NFL field to show downs, we can use the player carrying the ball and let the bunker draw a line across him, Player in front of him when he receives the ball, forward pass (or offside), also works for inside the 10M and on side from kicks. it would take them less than 30 seconds to activate, make a call, and move on.
Submitted by Coach Potato on
Tailspin, I think I have a solution.
It wouldn’t be 100% all of the time,(because we don’t live in a perfect world), but it would be a significant improvement to the current “can’t rule on passes” thing.
My thinking is this:
# Refs rule on forward passes during a game, right? They make a judgement and they decide - forward or play on.
# What has everyone confused is when you slow it down on some passes, eg it can make passes thrown back look forward if you judge by lines on the ground. (Page 22 of attached rules says lines on the ground should not be used for this very reason)
# Solution is this. Allow forward passes to be reviewed - but play cannot be slowed down. The replay of the pass in question can only be reviewed at live speed. This means that the refs are getting the same look at it, that they did during the actual game (that which they do already).
https://playnrl.com/media/2626/international-laws-rules-book-2018.pdf
Submitted by Coach Potato on
If people couldn’t be bothered opening the link above and reading the rule book - that is your own issue. Maybe not too unlike the person with the Bible, who thinks they know all about it, but has never actually picked it up and read it. Maybe little exerts here and there, but that’s it. How do they know all about it?
Anyway here are some notes on forward passes from page 22. O cringe when I hear commentators and fans alike say that a pass was forward because “he passed before the line and was caught beyond the line” ... this says that theory and physics itself, say that this is totally false
“...The direction of a pass is relative to the player making it and not to the actual path relative to the ground. A player running towards his opponents’ goal line may throw the ball towards a colleague who is behind him but because of the thrower’s own momentum the ball travels forward relative to the ground. This is not a forward pass as the thrower has not passed the ball forward in relation to himself. This is particularly noticeable when a running player makes a high, lobbed pass....”
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