Hunt to AFL.

We all expected Hunt to swap codes once his contract with the Broncos ended, however no one expected him to swap to AFL.  As Andrew Voss described this revelation on the Footy Show last night, this news was one of the "best kept secrets in NRL history."

I think the new Gold Coast franchise has taken a huge risk, making their first signing a rising NRL star who has played only a handful of school boy AFL games.  Also, how can he be expected to promote the game and/or the club when he is currently a Rugby League ambassador.  It simply makes no sense and was not thought through properly.

If any player should be signed up by the AFL I think it should be Israel Folau, whose acrobatic try scoring abilities have been nothing short of impressive.  He leaps higher than any other winger in the NRL and has extremely reliable hands. 

There is no doubt in my mind that after  stint in the AFL, Hunt will be back playing league, just like most of the players that have switched codes in the past have done.  Players such as Tahu, Rogers, Sailor and Stewart, just to name a few, have all gone to Union and returned.  

I believe that Hunt will be fairly successful in the AFL however I believe he will not be as successful as he has been in the NRL and will be back in the future.

Referee Blunders.

Referee’s and touch judges will always make mistakes, it’s an area of our game that will always have problems.  However, it seems recently, they have made more mistakes than correct calls.  Referee’s are intimidated by a number of factors: the crowd, coaches and angry players.  If the crowd “boo’s” loudly enough for a penalty, it will more often then not be awarded, even when the replay shows no reason for it.  Additionally, in the Dragons vs. Roosters game last round, there was an incident where the ball was knocked over the sideline by a dragons player, Sailor then went right up to the touch judge, stared him in the face and pointed to Shaun Kenny – Dowall, the Roosters winger.  Based on this outburst from Sailor, the touchy ruled that the ball was knocked out by the Roosters and gave the ball to the dragons 20 meters out from the try line, and they scored.  This is just one example of referee blunders influencing the game.

It has been said before and I will say it again, referee’s feel intimidated by coaches who critisise every decision they come up with.  I think coaches need to back away from referee’s because they keep trying to influence their decision making and it’s not good for the game.  For example, coaches came together and said that the grapple tackle had to go.  However, now referee’s are ruling that any contact the looks too high is an automatic penalty.  Coaches are arguing that referee’s have got it wrong and that’s not what they meant…you can see the circle of blame that has begun.  Coaches need to back away and let the referee’s do their job because if they keep involving themselves, no one is going to be happy.

 

Referee Blunders.

Referee’s and touch judges will always make mistakes, it’s an area of our game that will always have problems.  However, it seems recently, they have made more mistakes than correct calls.  Referee’s are intimidated by a number of factors: the crowd, coaches and angry players.  If the crowd “boo’s” loudly enough for a penalty, it will more often then not be awarded, even when the replay shows no reason for it.  Additionally, in the Dragons vs. Roosters game last round, there was an incident where the ball was knocked over the sideline by a dragons player, Sailor then went right up to the touch judge, stared him in the face and pointed to Shaun Kenny – Dowall, the Roosters winger.  Based on this outburst from Sailor, the touchy ruled that the ball was knocked out by the Roosters and gave the ball to the dragons 20 meters out from the try line, and they scored.  This is just one example of referee blunders influencing the game.

It has been said before and I will say it again, referee’s feel intimidated by coaches who critisise every decision they come up with.  I think coaches need to back away from referee’s because they keep trying to influence their decision making and it’s not good for the game.  For example, coaches came together and said that the grapple tackle had to go.  However, now referee’s are ruling that any contact the looks too high is an automatic penalty.  Coaches are arguing that referee’s have got it wrong and that’s not what they meant…you can see the circle of blame that has begun.  Coaches need to back away and let the referee’s do their job because if they keep involving themselves, no one is going to be happy.

 

Roosters Dilemma

With Brian Smith officially the new Roosters coach for the 2010 season, many of the current players are concerned that he will repeat what was done at the Knights and have a mass player clean out.  Reynoldson, who was let go by the Smith in very debatable circumstances was quoted saying "I would trust my wife with Shane Warne more than I would trust Brian Smith."  

Although Smith has said there won't be a mass cleanout, I believe there might be and players that should watch out are those like Willy Mason, Setimata Sa, and Iosia Soliola.  These are the players, in my opinion, that are not playing "badly" but are not doing anything spectacular.  

Also a concern to Smith is the growing injury list.  So far this season the injury toll includes: 

Fitzgibbon - cheekbone

J. Aubusson - knee

O'mealy - hand

Anasta - ankle

Cherrington - leg

Kennedy - knee

Symonds - shoulder

Not to mention Nate Myles who is still suspended after a drunken Terrigal incident. 

Brian Smith has some important decisions to make regarding who to stick by and who to keep however I am positive all his decisions will be in the best interests of the club and rebuilding it to bring it back to its glory days.

Roosters vs. Souths

After a 20 point win over the Roosters, Souths are now only one competition point out of the top eight. Despite getting away with their win, their attack from the 30th minute onwards was nothing special. They only managed to score again after half time once Mason was put in the sin bin. The Roosters struggled in the first half an hour, especially in their defence with Kenny Dowall not committing to his wing and letting in 2 tries to Simpson. However, a beautiful set play from Pearce and Minichiello which lead to Pearce scoring was definitely a highlight of the night.

What concerns me about Souths is their lack of consistency leading up to the finals and their use of players. Luke should be on the field for the full 80 minutes and Wing should be playing half back, Souths are a better team with him at first receiver. Sandow’s lack of consistent form this season should see him either moved to the bench or dropped to reserve grade, at least until he regains the form that saw him win the rookie of the year award last year. At worst, I would move him to 5 8th and Sutton back to lock. This would give them more variety and options in attack. They have to make further structural changes to ensure that they remain in contention for this years premiership.

Eels revival.

The beginning of the 2009 NRL season saw the Eels in turmoil.  With Mateo out injured, no halfback and a low position on the competition ladder, they were destined for the wooden spoon. However, their performance in recent weeks, specifically the individual performances of Mortimer, Hayne and Hindmarsh, have revived the Eels finals hopes and have labelled them serious contenders for a top 8 finish.  In the last 2 weeks they have beaten 2 teams in serious contention for the 2009 premiership.  Last week was a nail biting, 2 point win over the Storm and this week was a convincing win over the Bulldogs.  These wins highlight the Eels rise to the top as they were both in form teams, not bottom ones like the Roosters and the Sharks.  

I believe that if the Eels continue this late form and pull together 4 or 5 wins in a row, they will stamp themselves as serious contenders for the 2009 premiership.  Don't forget, Mortimer has played less than 10 first grade games, given time and proper coaching, he is definately, in my opinion, a player of the future.

Craig Wing: One of Many?

Craig Wing is undeniably a fantastic rugby league player, however he is not the youngest player in the league. If he can attract a deal from Japanese Rugby Union worth $700, 000, what are they willing to offer the younger superstars of our game such as Thurston, Boyd, Hodges or Hayne? It is only a matter of time before these players begin to chase bigger numbers. Thurston has already been offered a deal worth one million dollars a season and it will be interesting to see if he accepts it, if he does, I believe this will cause a landslide affect and more and more players will begin to depart to Japan.

Rugby League cannot afford to lose anymore players to the English Superleauge or to Rugby Union whether it be overseas or in Australia. Will Chambers, who has shown promising signs during his time at the Storm, has decided to switch codes come 2010, along with Fitzgibbon and O’mealy who have both signed contracts with the Superleauge worth much more than their Roosters contracts in the NRL. This money problem has to be solves, too many players, both young and old, are getting away. Look at the likes of Matt King, Adrian Morley and Danny Buderus just to name a few. These days, when I turn on the English Superleague on a Sunday afternoon, I know most of the players with the exception of the 2 or 3 actual Englishmen who are in the teams. Why? Because the NRL is the new breeding ground for Superleague and International Rugby Union. It must stop.

The NRL needs to show players loyalty and treat them with respect to ensure that more players return. Let’s hope that the young players who have sought more money elsewhere will follow in the foot steps of Matt Rogers, Wendell Sailor and Tamana Tahu and return to out game.