LIVE GAME Round 5 versus Eels

Live Game Discussion
Jolls said:
The game has definitley changed over the years. I was lucky enough to play under several of the rule changes - but the skill component of the game has definitely changed. In some ways modern players are much more skillful but in other areas they have lost the art of the game in favour of systems. I don't recall which game it was on the weekend that someone did a pass around the body of the defender and the commentators were flabbergasted. That was just a normal day at the office once.

I like the way Benji is approaching the game - asking the players to express themselves - I trust it is the undoing of much of the systems approach to the game. We have a way to go - but bringing skill back into the game to overcome power will make it a much better game to watch and play.
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I think they are more athletic but less skilful. Coaches from a young age don’t allow risk. Complete sets and win matches. No doubt Mark N at the Roosters has copped a few sprays.

There should have been more than one Benji in the last 25 years.
 
hank37w said:
Well Moses is the one that should definitely get dumped and be made an example of not just for round 6 but for at least 6 rounds after that disgusting disrespectful display of harrassment of the referee on Easter Monday.

Just cannot imagine anyone else getting away with what that filthy, slimy, little grub did.

The truth of the matter is that Gough was most likely dumped after a complaint from the Klown in the bunker about him giving us the square up penalty to win the game.

Pretty sure that Klown has some sort of vendetta against Wests Tigers, the guy has some form in this area. 😡
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I actually thought he had a pretty good game, other than his over tolerant interaction with the big headed, arrogant weasel Moses. As for Klein, serial cheat. Must be in Kahoots with the NRL or the betting agencies or both....
 
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EllisFan said:
I think they are more athletic but less skilful. Coaches from a young age don’t allow risk. Complete sets and win matches. No doubt Mark N at the Roosters has copped a few sprays.

There should have been more than one Benji in the last 25 years.
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Sheens in 03 ? basically told us ,that he needs to teach them to pass n catch -again.
15 years ago seemed like a back line couldn't string 2 passes together until after SOO
Liking the new youthful influx of coaches coming into the game, they seem to be opening the game up more, not bogging it down in a wrestle or chicken wing.
 

Bin there, done that: Johns critiques sin bins and officiating after Easter Monday controversy​


The fallout from Parramatta's dramatic Easter Monday clash with the Wests Tigersdominated discussion on Freddy & the Eighth, with Brad Fittler and Andrew Johns questioning both the sin bin decision and broader officiating consistency.

The match itself delivered high drama.

The flashpoint came in the second half, when Tigers Luke Laulilii was sent to the sin bin following a mid-air collision that left Parramatta's Bailey Simonsson with a dislocated ankle — an injury that could sideline him for the remainder of the season.

What followed proved decisive in shaping the match.

With the Wests Tigers down to 12 men, the Parramatta Eels immediately capitalised on the numerical advantage.

Debutant Apa Twidle crossed for two quick tries — including one on his very first touch in the NRL — both coming down the edge left exposed by Laulilii's absence in the sin bin.
Despite that momentum swing, the Tigers regrouped and ultimately secured a gritty extra-time victory, but the sin bin period remained a crucial turning point in the contest.
Laulilii now faces a one-match suspension after entering an early plea to a grade two dangerous tackle charge, though both Fittler and Johns were adamant the punishment didn't fit the act.
“I didn't think that was a sin bin. I just thought it was horribly unlucky,” Fittler said.
“He went up to compete for the ball. Parramatta player got inside him. What are you supposed to do? He's just competing for the ball.

“I don't think he (Laulilii) did anything to worsen the position or hurt the player.”

Johns echoed the sentiment, adding his own perspective on aerial contests.

“I've never jumped for a bomb for obvious reasons,” Johns joked.

“But I'd imagine if you went up for a bomb and you didn't get it for whatever reason, your instinct is to grab hold of something.

“It's not intentional.”

The pair agreed that while the outcome was serious, the act itself lacked malice, and that modern interpretations may be too heavily influenced by injury.

“I think 10 minutes nowadays is too long,” Johns said, supporting a suggestion raised on the show that a five-minute sin bin could be more appropriate in certain cases.

“Any hit to the head which isn't a send off, no problem with 10.

“I just think a professional foul now is 5 minutes.”

Both legends ultimately agreed that “Accidents happen.”

The discussion also revisited similar incidents earlier in the season, including a contest involving Dominic Young and Savelio Tamale, where a sin bin was issued.

Fittler noted the key difference in that case was the act of grabbing, which constituted a clearer infringement.

They contrasted the aerial collision with hip-drop tackles — another hot topic this season — pointing to J'maine Hopgood's ACL injury as an example.

While hip drops are often not malicious, they stem from poor technique and fatigue, with players aware of the inherent risk.

In contrast, competing for a high ball remains an unavoidable and fundamental part of rugby league.

Perhaps the most pointed criticism from the show centred on inconsistency in officiating, particularly when injuries are involved.

Fittler highlighted another incident from the same game, where Sean Russell rushed out of the line, failed to properly complete a tackle, and collided head-on with a Tigers player, knocking himself out in the process.

Despite the dangerous nature of the contact, only a penalty was awarded.

According to Fittler, the outcome could have been very different had the opposition player come off worse.

He argued that if the Tigers player had been concussed instead, Russell may have faced time in the sin bin — or even a send-off — exposing a reactive approach to officiating based more on injury outcome than the action itself.

It's a concern that continues to divide the game: whether punishment should be based on intent and action, or the severity of the consequence.
 
Jolls said:
This is why I like where Benji is taking us so much. I know that it looks a littel chaotic at the moment but it is a controlled chaos. With time and exposure the skills will develop further - Twal and May need to watch a bit of Beetson in his prime - Twal off May up the middle would be dynamic.
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We will really start to open up once May gets back on the pitch. Just having him in the centres keeps the opposition on the back foot giving us abit more time and his dirty hit ups are always at pace.
Just wish they would work much more on Bula. Hes a masdive attacking threat but 9 times out of 10 he takes the wrong option. Simple things like straightening up and engaging the defender before sending out a pass on the outside. He has a horrible habit of running at the line and passing without engaging any of the defence and the defenders just nab the bloke hes given the ball to.
 
liltiger said:
We will really start to open up once May gets back on the pitch. Just having him in the centres keeps the opposition on the back foot giving us abit more time and his dirty hit ups are always at pace.
Just wish they would work much more on Bula. Hes a masdive attacking threat but 9 times out of 10 he takes the wrong option. Simple things like straightening up and engaging the defender before sending out a pass on the outside. He has a horrible habit of running at the line and passing without engaging any of the defence and the defenders just nab the bloke hes given the ball to.
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Yes, Hodgo needs to work on how he engages the line. The key is that he doesn't even have to take the hit - just move the defender either towards him to provide space for his outside man or show the pass and have him move towards the support to create a gap for himself. If he works hard on that he will turn the half chances into breaks.
 
Tucker said:
NO.
We need to be done with this type of shit.
We replace like for like or we continue to be bottom dwellers.
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Bah.

Sorry I thought it was Api who got binned for some reason.
It was Luke Laulilii, Meh we can replace him easily enough with Skelton

Api goes down were in trouble though, unsure if it's big or little trouble...
 
liltiger said:
We will really start to open up once May gets back on the pitch. Just having him in the centres keeps the opposition on the back foot giving us abit more time and his dirty hit ups are always at pace.
Just wish they would work much more on Bula. Hes a masdive attacking threat but 9 times out of 10 he takes the wrong option. Simple things like straightening up and engaging the defender before sending out a pass on the outside. He has a horrible habit of running at the line and passing without engaging any of the defence and the defenders just nab the bloke hes given the ball to.
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So...

DO you think the things you ask of Bula are:
Trainable?

or

innate skills?

I ask this if were thinking of his contract, are the area's he is down on in his game trainable/teachable?

To use a crude example, Bula could never be a forward because he isn't built like a brick like Terrell May.


I think "straightening up and engaging a defender before passing" is teachable. Unsure how much bluff Bula needs with this, but it's a lot.
 
crazycat said:
So...

DO you think the things you ask of Bula are:
Trainable?

or

innate skills?

I ask this if were thinking of his contract, are the area's he is down on in his game trainable/teachable?

To use a crude example, Bula could never be a forward because he isn't built like a brick like Terrell May.


I think "straightening up and engaging a defender before passing" is teachable. Unsure how much bluff Bula needs with this, but it's a lot.
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Its totally trainable 100%. I think Bula suffers a bit from the fact he was picked up after Sheens saw him have a run at a trial when Bulas mate told him to go along with him. He hasnt really had a development like your regular first grader, he wasnt really playing league when we grabbed him so his junior education isnt like a regular junior. Imo its all to do with game i.q. He has all the natural ability but i think he needs to learn to read the game a bit better, become a stident of the game. I think his lack of league background kind of left his footy i.q behind a junior who would have spent years learning in the junior levels. He has all the athletic attributes, all the heart and talent to make it.
 
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