2024 NRL General Discussion

Pishposh46

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Pity the previous administration didn't think the same about the head coach. How they appointed a head coach of the worst team in the comp that had never coached before is mind boggling stuff.
yeah and we should also never have lost to them.
 

Vichyssoise

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yeah and we should also never have lost to them.
screaming_cropped-scaled.jpg
 
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Very true but I reckon their administration has to take a lot of blame for that, some of the contracts they signed off on were embarrassing.

They would have been better off appointing JMo imo and telling Benji to go off and coach Flegg or something similar. Get some experience.
Why do you think JMo went to the Tigers?

He can see what’s going to unfold and that the head coach will need to be replaced

Who better to do that than the current assistant coach……
 

apezza

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Why do you think JMo went to the Tigers?

He can see what’s going to unfold and that the head coach will need to be replaced

Who better to do that than the current assistant coach……
That's what Trent Barrett thought!
 

Vichyssoise

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That's what Trent Barrett thought!
He simply has a too high opinion of himself when it comes to coaching. Failures at Manly, Canterbury & Parra prove it. Had a run-of-the-mill roster at his disposal on most occasions, but he also had plenty of stars he could rely on.
He's merely a good-looking Stephen Kearney (opinions may vary on that). And sadly for him, he'll never get to coach a team to a World Cup win.
 

HaroldBishop

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Big call.

Taniela Paseka is eyeing a leadership role as the Sea Eagles put the finishing touches to an upgraded extension that will make him the longest contracted prop in the game.

Manly are poised to sign off on an added three years to Paseka’s contract which would keep him in maroon and white until the end of 2029.

 

Vichyssoise

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Big call.

Taniela Paseka is eyeing a leadership role as the Sea Eagles put the finishing touches to an upgraded extension that will make him the longest contracted prop in the game.

Manly are poised to sign off on an added three years to Paseka’s contract which would keep him in maroon and white until the end of 2029.


If I were him I'd be wary of getting the Schuster treatment.
Hopefully it's another contract that ends up being an albatross of gigantic proportions for the club involved.

And **** Manly anyway.
 

bort

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He did play pretty well last season
Big powerful body
Havent really seen him get going this year but had a bit of injury and their forms been up and down

They’ve started him quite a bit and brought Sipley off the bench and I’d have probably done that the other way around
 

HaroldBishop

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He did play pretty well last season
Big powerful body
Havent really seen him get going this year but had a bit of injury and their forms been up and down

They’ve started him quite a bit and brought Sipley off the bench and I’d have probably done that the other way around
Not doubting his ability but 6 years is a long time. It's all in the player's favour.
 

Sparkles

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Big call.

Taniela Paseka is eyeing a leadership role as the Sea Eagles put the finishing touches to an upgraded extension that will make him the longest contracted prop in the game.

Manly are poised to sign off on an added three years to Paseka’s contract which would keep him in maroon and white until the end of 2029.

Should offer Brown a similar deal 😊
 

egg

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Thoughts ?
Although NO extra NZ team mentioned

Key points

• Will the new team be PNG, Perth Jets, Perth Bears or Perth Jet Bears?
• The ARLC can’t ignore the $600m government funding for a PNG team
• A 20-team competition would solve some of the NRL’s league’s biggest problems around the draw and player burnout


An endless maelstrom of exclusive stories, breaking news and bombshell revelations is rapidly making NRL expansion the most tedious topic in the rugby league rinse cycle – even though it’s the most important.

Like Cameron Smith’s retirement, Wayne Bennett’s next club, and the Wests Tigers getting their **** together, we’ve reached the point where we’re now only interested when a decision is made.

We’ve been told Papua New Guinea, with its “Forbidden City” compound and tax-free contracts for players, will be the next team in – then it’s not.

We’ve been told the Perth Bears or Perth Jets or the Perth Jet Bears will come in from 2027 — then they are not.

We’ve been told the NRL hopes to be a 20-team competition before 2032 — then it’s 2030.

We’ve been told the NRL would unveil its expansion strategy in late June — then it was late July.

2GB broadcaster Ben Fordham last week told his listeners we could expect some news in August, revealing the Australian and PNG governments have fast-tracked an announcement about $600 million of taxpayer money funding a new franchise and pathways in the region.

The report blindsided NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo, who had to tell club bosses at a meeting that morning that no deal had been struck.

Meanwhile, on Triple M, comedian and North Sydney tragic Jim Jefferies was telling Mark Geyer and Mick Molloy that a deal between Perth and the Bears was imminent.

“I reckon we’re 80 per cent there now,” Jefferies said. “I’ll talk to you off-air about a few things that I can’t mention. I reckon we’re good to go.”

“You can be the Bears’ Russell Crowe,” Molloy suggested.

“I’m trying to literally buy three per cent,” Jefferies laughed. “I’m the only celebrity chipping in some money so I might as well take all the glory. It’s all me, everyone! You’re welcome, people of Sydney and Perth! We’re back, baby!”

Rugby league needs Jim Jefferies. He’s our kinda guy. Alas, his representative didn’t respond to an approach for comment.

The NRL insists no decisions about what the competition will look like from 2027 onwards have been made.

It has called for expressions of interest, several consortiums have fallen out of the race as expected, and the business cases of those still in the hunt are being pieced together.

Clearly, though, PNG and a Perth consortium in partnership with the Bears are the Bonecrusher and Our Waverley Star (1986 Cox Plate) as we enter the home straight for entry into the NRL.

The ARL Commission can’t ignore the money on the table from the Albanese government for PNG, even if both the Australian and PNG administrations seem more concerned about announcing the new franchise than detailing what it will look like.

The ARLC also seems caught up in the romance of the Bears being thawed from their cryogenic slumber and playing before heaving crowds of 15,000 people at North Sydney Oval twice a year while trying to regain a foothold in AFL-obsessed Perth.

That leaves one spot left in the NRL’s magical 20-team premiership. Brisbane Easts and the Wellington Orcas are pushing hard, but don’t dismiss a second Auckland franchise emerging from the shadows.

The NRL likes the idea a local derby following the success of the Dolphins and their intense rivalry with the Broncos. (Yes, Redcliffe is directly north of Brisbane, not part of Brisbane, but the sides share Suncorp Stadium and already developed a healthy dislike for each other. You get the gist).

Regardless of which bids are successful, a sustainable 20-team competition has enormous appeal because it solves some of rugby league’s biggest problems.

The beauty of having more teams is it allows the NRL to play fewer matches, freeing up time for other content.

The premiership can be contested over a proper home-and-away draw, with all teams playing each other once. Add a Magic Round and you have a 20-round premiership.

That is preferable to the 27-round monster we have now. Introduce conferences or relegation if you like, but a simpler, shorter draw is a must.

With each passing year, it becomes clear the NRL season is too long. It starts in the first week of March and ends in the first week of October. The post-Origin flat spot is a grind. Players, coaches, officials and fans are fatigued.

Is too much rugby league barely enough? No. It’s more than enough.

Consider the players. The training is getting tougher because the opposition is getting faster and stronger. If they don’t beat you, an injury probably will.

The physical toll on the player has never been so great. Something needs to give, other than an elite player’s hamstrings.

The NRL craves what the NFL has: a compact, 18-round season loaded with blockbusters and short on blowouts.

Fewer premiership matches allows the NRL to either pause mid-season or wait until the end to play Origin matches, internationals and women’s fixtures.

Of course, the game can only expand if it gets serious about grassroots football. That starts and ends with a better relationship with the NSWRL and QRL and the clubs.

Last week, a high-placed NRL source told me there had been discussions about introducing a 20-team competition in 2028, when the next broadcast deal will kick in. Again, it’s only a thought. Nothing’s set in stone.

The NRL won’t be rushed into making a call on which franchises are given a golden ticket to Peter V’landys’ Chocolate Factory.

But even the ARL Commission chairman, known for his crash-or-crash-through ethic, is said to be taking things slowly and carefully on expansion. He doesn’t want to get it wrong.

So, stay tuned!

We can exclusively reveal there’s nothing to report other than there is nothing to report — but it will be interesting when there is.
 
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