"Dia duit gach duine" i dteanga ní mo theanga féin,

Early post tonight. Have a strata meeting tomorrow and then out to dinner so I need to get this up tonight.

OK, my brother has always held the belief that (referee) Sutton has it in for the Roosters. I never gave it much thought really. Well, not until last week that is. Not making excuses but Sutton’s display was average at best. Crichton’s sin binning was a bit soft to be honest, critical so-so penalties gave the Panthers territory and six-agains gave them tries. Any other referee and we might’ve beaten the Panthers. Yeah, too many “ifs and buts” but still. OK, let’s do this thing …

Sharks vs. Storm @ Shark Park
Probability @ 45-55
Ladder Position = Storm
Bookies Favourite = Storm

Sharks
"I was really happy with that. That was extremely tough. Obviously it's going to be difficult to be clinical with everything today in those conditions, it just kept getting harder and harder and slower and slower. I thought even though we conceded a try right on halftime, I was really happy with our goal line defence there... the Bulldogs really turned up physically today, you could see that was evident from the start," coach Craig Fitzgibbon said. Some stats possibly worth a mention:

Possession - 49%
Completion Rate - 72% (31/43)
Post Contact Metres - 405
Tackle Breaks - 43
Missed Tackles - 30
Errors - 16
Penalties Conceded - 5

Storm
"After 60 minutes we were getting what we deserved. We sparked a bit at the end but that's too late. At the end of the day if you're going to win games here at this level you need to be consistent the whole 80 minutes. We can make some excuses like rep round but Manly were in the same boat. I was just really disappointed in our defence and some individual performances just weren't up to scratch," coach Craig Bellamy said. Some stats possibly worth a mention:

Possession - 46%
Completion Rate - 84% (33/39)
Post Contact Metres - 476
Tackle Breaks - 40
Missed Tackles - 42
Errors - 8
Penalties Conceded - 6

Verdict: The Storm had an absolute shocker last week against Manly. They’ll be missing players due to Origin and this shapes as a danger game for them. The Sharks did well against the Bulldogs last week and might just have enough momentum and belief that they can snatch a win at home over a Storm outfit missing key players. Not completely confident about this one but I might go the Sharks by 6.

Knights vs. Rabbitohs @ McDonald Jones
Probability @ 35-65
Ladder Position = Rabbitohs
Bookies Favourite = Rabbitohs

Knights
“The last couple of minutes, when the game was put to bed, I was looking across at the stadium and thinking about them (the Newcastle fans) and I’d like to think that they’re proud of their team tonight and they can go home a bit happier. It’s only one game but to answer your question, it’s a much better feeling than what we’ve had to do,” coach Adam O’Brien said. Some stats possibly worth a mention:

Possession - 59%
Completion Rate - 82% (38/46)
Post Contact Metres - 753
Tackle Breaks - 25
Missed Tackles - 26
Errors - 8
Penalties Conceded - 5

Rabbitohs
"As a team we were disappointed with the opening 30 minutes against the Dragons. I think we saw a fair difference tonight. They like to play quite expansive with a lot of offloads in their game so the conditions were probably going to limit that and allowed us to tighten up and have that defensive mindset which I thought we did really well," coach Jason Demetriou. Some stats possibly worth a mention:

Possession - 54%
Completion Rate - 75% (33/44)
Post Contact Metres - 556
Tackle Breaks - 33
Missed Tackles - 18
Errors - 14
Penalties Conceded - 5

Verdict: The Knights were good last week but you gotta remember they only beat the Titans (no disrespect intended). Obviously, the Rabbitohs will be a tougher assignment this week. The Rabbitohs returned to some sort of form last week when they beat the consistently inconsistent Eels. Not saying it will be a huge bonus but Latrell Mitchell will be back for his second game since injury and he’ll be all that much better for the run last week. I expect the Rabbitohs to win this somewhat comfortably (?). Rabbitohs by 10.

Tigers vs. Eels @ Leichhardt Oval
Probability @ 30-70
Ladder Position = Eels
Bookies Favourite = Eels

Tigers
"I thought we tried hard, for a lot of periods there they defended the try line pretty well, they scored three tries, one was off a block near the post, two were off our lack of kick defusals, so it wasn’t like we were blown away," coach Brett Kimmorley said. Some stats possibly worth a mention:

Possession - 48%
Completion Rate - 86% (31/36)
Post Contact Metres - 638
Tackle Breaks - 17
Missed Tackles - 39
Errors - 7
Penalties Conceded - 8

Eels
"We didn't have any field position and made nine errors out of red zone so we gifted them opportunity. We're just not playing well as a team every week. We need 17 players owning their job and we're just not getting that. It's got to be individual accountability, you've got to want to do it. We're not seeing any shortcuts at training but we've got to work together and try to win the game together," coach Brad Arthur. Some stats possibly worth a mention:

Possession - 46%
Completion Rate - 70% (28/40)
Post Contact Metres - 470
Tackle Breaks - 18
Missed Tackles - 33
Errors - 13
Penalties Conceded - 3

Verdict: The Eels were pretty poor last week against the Rabbitohs. With the personnel they have it was confusing to say the least. As mentioned above, the Eels are consistently inconsistent and it must be driving Brad Arthur and the fans mad. The Tigers were also pretty poor last week against the Warriors. I still can’t believe they only scored 2 points. To be honest, they seem to have some serious problems that need to be addressed and the only way out is to dig in and try and get the basics and confidence ramped up. Yeah, easier said than done I know but that’s how I see it. I think the Tigers will struggle here. As frustrating as they are I think the Eels should get this done fairly easily. Eels by 16.

Broncos vs. Dragons @ Suncorp
Probability @ 60-40
Ladder Position = Broncos
Bookies Favourite = Broncos

Broncos
"They outplayed us tonight that's for sure... we take our hats off to them. Plenty to work on for us, but the good thing is there is nine more weeks for us to get it right and make sure that the next time we play them, and we will play them again, that we get it right. We didn't get it right tonight," coach Kevin Walters said. Some stats possibly worth a mention:

Possession - 46%
Completion Rate - 73% (28/38)
Post Contact Metres - 328
Tackle Breaks - 36
Missed Tackles - 48
Errors - 13
Penalties Conceded - 7

Dragons
"I thought in the first half at times we got a few penalties and we got our field position from their errors and we didn't respect the conditions as much. We were a bit lateral and didn't have enough physicality in us, so they were much more physical than us in the first half, but to our credit in the second half against the wind we played the type of football we need to play, our kicking game and our defence down their end of the field, we kept them down there for long periods in that second half which is how we won the game," coach Anthony Griffin said. Some stats possibly worth a mention:

Possession - 52%
Completion Rate - 76% (33/43)
Post Contact Metres - 473
Tackle Breaks - 27
Missed Tackles - 29
Errors - 10
Penalties Conceded - 4

Verdict: The Broncos weren’t all that bad last week against the Cowboys I must say. Unfortunately for them the Cowboys were just that little bit better (obviously). Uncharacteristically average sort of game from Reynolds but fully expect him to get back some serious improvement this week. The Dragons have surprised me lately and seem to be a genuine side. The way they handled the wet weather last week (unlike the Raiders) was good, solid footy and enjoyable to watch. Sometimes the simple things work the best. That said, it wasn’t a stellar display and the Broncos will seriously test them. Going on their effort last week I’ll be tipping the Broncos by 12.

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

This one is from the best decade in music. Not sure many would have heard this guy (then again, maybe some have) but I’m here hoping to broaden your horizons 🤪. Enjoy.

https://youtu.be/UrfFHzqGBZI

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

Non-Football Related:

Major drama this morning in the Newbie household. Just finished showering and was drying off my left leg when I rubbed too hard on my calf and ruptured a varicose vein. Imagine a 1mm diameter continuous (not spurting) stream of blood shooting out 12”. To say I was “bricking it” would be an understatement 😱. Roughly 10 minutes later I managed to get to my first aid kit one handed and rig up a rough as guts bandage and realised I had gone through a completely blood soaked bath towel, a quarter roll of dunny roll and roughly 20-odd paper towels.

This happened at 4.45am and had to wait until the local doctor’s surgery opened at 8am and then had to wait until 8.30am to see him. Thankfully by then the bleeding had subsided and the nurse told me it was now “weeping” just a little. She cleaned me up, put a bandage on and the doctor told me to rest up today and I could go back to the office on Thursday. Gonna pop in Friday afternoon for a check.

After I get the all clear (hopefully) I’ll be asking the doctor for a referral to see the phlebologist (varicose vein specialist). The things life throws at you sometimes eh? Cheers…

Easy does it there Newbs - SoO Decider hasn't kicked off yet!
Thinking of you Champ and I know the feeling, although not the volume of the claret you discharged. I just scratched an area where I have inflammation from torn tendon and it just oozed out until I patched it up.
Wife has had veins stripped in the past then had to have them injected as they didn't seem to disappear. U r certainly right about "things life throws at us" - at times.

Keep well mate
Big Pete

Hope you get better soon newbie

Hope you get better soon newbie

Hi Newbie,
Hope you are resting well today, after your shocking experience earlier on.

I felt I should look for a song for you, so here goes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCM1QyWM-3M&ab_channel=WillieNile
Yeah, sick, I know!!

Wishing you all the best for a speedy recovery 😉.

Cheers,
Mary

Question: Knights vs. Rabbitohs Game

Can someone please explain the actual point of sending Klemmer off at the 80:00 mark? No, seriously, what is the point? The game’s over, finished. Am I missing something here? This has this WA newbie utterly confused 🤔.

P.S. Thanks to everyone who posted well wishes regarding the “fountain of blood” episode the other day. Saw the doctor this arvo and he reckons it should be all good as long as I don’t aggravate it with rubbing too hard or knocking it. Got him to give me a referral to see a specialist who I’ll be ringing Monday to tee up an appointment. Gonna get him to laser the little sucker 💥. Cheers y’all…

@ Mary – loved the video. “Blood on your hands, blood on your feet” summed it up exactly 🤪. Thanks, it made me smile.

@ Christine – nah, no blood thinners for me. I’m a tough ol’ Rooster (excuse the pun) and not taking any meds at all and don’t plan to as long as I can help it. Prefer to go down the “natural” path whenever possible. You take care GF. Cheers.