Rugby League 2018

The nags and the cows are doing their sharks and jets routine again.

Cracking game up at Townsville goes the Cows way 34-30 over the Nags. Jason Taumalolo was immense.

JT may be eligible for the NRLW after that knee to the nuts

Did you automatically grab yours when you saw it. I suffered along with him.

yep 

laughed at the commentator giggling while trying to tell us it wasnt funny

I had missed it at the time. Man, that poor old JT struggled to go on.

Pretty dour game (with patches of individual brilliance) last night, with the R00ters hanging on over an error riddled Bunnies.

Keeps it tight at the top of the ladder.

Worriers beat the Nits overnight to maintain a 4 point gap over the 9th placed Tigers. The Nags and the Kiwis keep teasing the Leichhardt boys with a win-loss alternating effort in recent weeks.

A win against the hot and cold Raiders is not guaranteed this week. And they have a dodgy proposition against the equally hot and cold (mostly cold lately) Drags next week.

Hard to see either the Nags or the Worriers failing enough to let the Tiges into the 8. All the Tiges can do is keep winning. Their run home is Raiders-Drags-Filth-Bunnies. Reasonably tough.

The orange and black mid-season slump really looks like costing them.

For a team trying to arrest a slump and playing the bottom placed side, the Drags could not have started worse. A knock on near half way, 2 penalties and Parra score in the corner.

4 more penalties and the Slimeys have a stranglehold at 10-0. Only for some great last ditch defence it could've been 16-0.

Faaaaaaarken useless lazy Drags.

22-0 at halftime. I'll be polite and Call that a bit of a touch up.

.... and then there is the injury to Widdop!

As suspected...imposters.

Dogs ball we suck.

The idiot soft cocked Drags are a mathematical chance of missing the 8.

If the Tiges win all their games (including next week v pissweak Lizards), Drags lose all theirs (a good chance on last night's showing), and the teams from 6 to 8 (Warriors, Broncs, Sharks) win enough to leapfrog the Drags, then the useless tits from Kogarah will miss the Finals after being in the top 4 for the 1st 21 rounds.

Now that would be "hilarious".

Good win by the Gummies over the Squall tonight.

Excitement over here at the forthcoming return of a prodigal son to my team, Wigan.

Shaun Edwards signed for the club on his 17th birthday. In 14 seasons he won 37 medals, including 8 Championships and 9 Challenge Cups.

On retiring from playing, he began a coaching career in Rugby Union in 2000, and has been Wales defence coach since 2008. After next years WC in Japan, he's returning to RL as Wigan head coach after 18 years.

Our current coach is leaving at the end of the season, so the post is being filled for next season by Adrian Lam, who had 4 seasons with the club. Word is that we may be signing his son Lachlan, who came up through the youth system at Sydney Roosters.

Anyone know much about the lad ?

Nice to see some English input on the thread.

Lachlan Lam got a berth in the Qld Under 20s squad in the State of Origin series. He's seen as a bit of gun five-eight.

Had to have something about him skulls - was capped last year for PNG in the RL World Cup.

I think the club may have a bit of a shake-up in the off-season. Shaun Wane has been a very successful coach for 7 years, but the style has become a bit turgid and fans aren't happy. On top, a couple of players are NRL bound - so a fresh face at stand-off will be central to any change.

How well regarded is Lam senior? He was well liked as a player, and Shaun Edwards rates him. For sure they will collabarate next year with regards to certain training aspects for academy/young first team players in preparation for Edwards' return.

It's going to be interesting, because in any sport an "interim" coach usually follows a sudden resignation/sacking, and only lasts a month or two at most until a permanent replacement is found and appointed. It's unusual to be given a full season contract and I'm not sure many people would want that (not least because a longer contract means more pay-off if you get ditched).

I suspect Adrian Lam took it on to fill a gap in his CV. He will want a head coach post in the NRL. A successful season (reaching play-offs/cup SF) in Super League will put him high on any short list of candidates. Any silverware would make him favourite to get it IMHO.

Not sure of Adrian Lam's coaching credentials. He did some time under master coach Wayne Bennett, so I dare say he's picked up plenty of coaching nous.

skully wrote:Not sure of Adrian Lam's coaching credentials. He did some time under master coach Wayne Bennett, so I dare say he's picked up plenty of coaching nous.

Esp the whingeing from Whine Bennett.

Bad weekend with the Bunnies, Stormies and Drags going down. If the Drags had a scintilla of the belief that similarly coloured Bloods, they would be a serious contender.

Speaking of Bennett, looks like the Nags have not renewed his contract.

"WAYNE Bennett could be on his way out of Brisbane at the end of the season following reports the club have decided not to renew his contract.

Bennett’s Broncos contract finishes at the end of the 2019 NRL season and his coaching future has been the subject of much speculation this year.

The Courier Mail reported the Broncos board will meet again in October to decide whether the seven-time premiership winning coach stays on next season or goes immediately."

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Gutsy play to give the Master Coach the arse.

I obviously don't follow the NRL too closely, but in view of what I said above, the timing is significant. My take from afar ... it may be complete nonsense, of course - but here goes ...

Broncos are a club who, although successful, have stagnated over a few seasons. The board p'raps see an opportunity for a shake-up. Wayne Bennett has another season on his contract, yes? Maybe they feel the club needs a fresh coach to kick on a level.

Now, there's a huge difference between sacking a top coach and saying thanks, and good luck i.e  not renewing his contract. There's no pay-off for a life-ex contract, as nobody's breaking it. However, right now I'd imagine any potential replacement will involve a buy-out from another  club.

Adrian Lam, on the other hand, will come free, so to speak. He has a single season contract at Wigan, and we know that it **will not** be extended, and he signed it on that understanding. He only needs to qualify for a Grand Final play-off (ie top 4 finish), and he will be considered to have had an excellent season.

So, from the Broncos POV - it makes sense to retain WB to the end of his contract, then appoint AL assuming he doesn't completely bomb at Wigan. No contract hassles, pay-offs or buy-outs. Should Wigan tank, there's plenty of time to look at alternatives if they feel that's needed.

Watch this space.

Now there's loud whispers of Wayne Bennett returning to Kogarah. Really??

Nags looked good tonight for a 38-18 win. Bunnies went walkabout for 1st and last 20 minutes. They went from 0-18 to 18-all then clocked off again.

Who'd be a coach?

Nags targeted Souths winger Richie Kennar all match and all but one of their tries went through or around him. He finally got hooked inside the final 10. Oh dear.

Surprisingly enjoyable game tonight between Squall and Slimeys. Storm too professional in the end, getting home 20-4, despite having no interchange players left and Munster in the bin for 10 minutes late in 2nd Half.

Cam Smith missed the 2nd Half with a lower back injury.  Will be interesting to see how he pulls up.