NRL 2018

Damn test/NH league is dirty as fuck. There's head highs (mostly from JWH TBF), head locks, lots of swinging arms not connecting.

Sam Tompkins has played better in 20 minutes of this match than he did his entire time for the Warriors.

Bromwich had another awesome 20 minutes to start the game.

6-6 after 20 minutes. Kiwis look good when they go wide and England look good when they kick.

i think we will be fine here. England look like they have done just about every other time they played us, ourside of the US test. Devoid of creativity and disorganised.

and as i say that we score

englands backs are midgets too

@raznomore Johnson looks like he's playing for a contract too.

Rugby League Wayne Barnes is reffing this game.

WTF! The stitch up from the hometown refs is on.

Hometown decision.

the ref is actually an idiot. completely the wrong temperament for officiating. would be more at home in a kindy or minding sheep.

@akan004 said in NRL 2018:

Hometown decision.

DWZ had nothing to do with Johnson stopping that try. Remove DWZ from that play and Johnson still stops it.

They also got away with a blatant knock on in front of the ref and touch judge a few minutes earlier.

@nepia Yeah, has to be one of the worst calls I have seen. He was so desperate to award them the try.

And Halligan confirms that he's a commentator by saying he thought it was a try - not a penalty try, but that England scored it.

I understand it when they playing a stadium set up for soccer but there are playing on a field that has the length, why have such ridiculously small in goal area.

need smith back on asap

@raznomore said in NRL 2018:

need smith back on asap

He looked pretty average when he was on TBF. Nikorima seemed to be playing half half/half 9 for the first 30 odd minutes.

But agree, need to bring him back on, and tell him to go for broke.

The Kiwis have fallen to pieces.

Wow, England just got a penalty after Tomkins pulled Johnson back into the ruck when he was basically out of the way.

This is bullshit. This match makes O'Keefe's performance in the Magpies v Otago match look fair and balanced.

Another English knock on missed. Fuck.

There were too many dodgy decisions in that match.

What a crock of shit.

I would like to put forward an entry for "least thought-out sports article of 2018" ladies and gentlemen, i give you this nuffie and his pass/fail for each club/coach in 2019.

Apparently, just to get a pass mark, no fewer than 7 coaches need to get their team in to the top 4. And if 13 or 14 teams don't make the 8, then the coach might get sacked.

This nuffie has effectively taken last year's ladder, and said do this again, or better, or you're gone. Fuck maths, schedule, or roster. Do these dickheads get paid for this shit?

Kiwis try to even the series vs the Poms, 3.30am NZT?

England: John Bateman, George Burgess, Tom Burgess, Daryl Clark, Jake Connor, Oliver Gildart, James Graham (c), Chris Hill, Josh Hodgson, Jonny Lomax, Tommy Makinson, Jermaine McGillvary, Richie Myler, Adam Milner, Mark Percival, Luke Thompson, Sam Tomkins, Elliott Whitehead, George Williams (two to be omitted).

Kiwis: Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (c), Leeson Ah Mau, Adam Blair, Jesse Bromwich, James Fisher-Harris, Jahrome Hughes, Shaun Johnson, Isaac Liu, Joseph Manu, Esan Marsters, Ken Maumalo, Kodi Nikorima, Kevin Proctor, Jordan Rapana, Brandon Smith, Joseph Tapine, Martin Taupau, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (one to be omitted).

If they get good Adam Blair back, he will be a strong addition

That went well...

Damn, what is up with our flat second halves? At least we lost that fair and square and not on the back of a terrible reffing display.

Although, good old league though, eye gouger stays on the field despite multiple replays of the incident and the commentators minimise it because although he was attempting to rake the face and that's ok he just accidentally went near the eye area.

Footage of an eye gouge. You can judge...

@siam pretty clear it is an intentional eye gouge based on how the fingers are tensed and into the eye - if it was a genuine hold the palm of his hand would be flat across his face

So we bitch slapped them in the final test, and the refs finally started sending people from the field - ironically it was Kiwi who got binned first.

A bit hard to gauge this Kiwis squad. Good win over Oz, and got a little bit shafted two weeks in a row with certain decision and non decision and then a big win to finish things off.

MacGuire needs to cop some flak for his use of a second row at hooker (especially when our top hooker was playing with an injury), but 2/4 against the two other best teams in the world is an Ok result considering what went on last year.

Interesting reading some of the coms on the English Rugby League Facebook,some punters moaning about the officials being too slated towards the kiwis..am I missing something...?,when you have had most of the decisions go your way in the first 2 tests,and in some cases,very dodgy ones and that included a dirty prick that should have been sent off for eye gouging..and you just get pumped by 34-0..I don’t think you should have any reason to complain..!

@steven-harris Even in a test where they got pumped there was one period when they basically got three penalties in a row.

Weird one really, you'd think the gouge alone would give them pause before complaining about it.

@nepia It’s almost like like they have turned a blind eye on the 2nd test incident..pardon the play on words..!

@nepia complaining is the only UK-wide passtime!! Rugby, league, cricket, soccer football, you name it!

Valentine Holmes does a Jarryd Hayne and is pursing his dream of playing in the NFL in 2019.

Jarryd Hayne meanwhile is pursing his dream of being a kinky vampire.

This fluffybunny had it all. We are lucky we had SBW and Thorn as our code jumpers and not Hayne.

@raznomore said in NRL 2018:

This fluffybunny had it all. We are lucky we had SBW and Thorn as our code jumpers and not Hayne.

I dunno. Read my signature for the ferns views on SBW.

@mn5 oh i was his biggest advocate on the fern when he was initially making the ABs, but he needs to fuck off now. Still he doesnt have even the slightest rapey vibe about him, i think we can agree.

@raznomore said in NRL 2018:

@mn5 oh i was his biggest advocate on the fern when he was initially making the ABs, but he needs to fuck off now. Still he doesnt have even the slightest rapey vibe about him, i think we can agree.

Well I wouldn't have picked Hayne either. I heard him interviewed on radio recently and he sounded a great bloke to be honest.

@mn5 did he sound hungry??

Shaun Johnson just posted on his Facebook page with a strong suggestion that the Warriors won't be offering him a new contract after 2019.

Don't be surprised if SJ gets an early release to a team like Sydney City and the Warriors get a player like Te Maire Martin or Kodi Nikorima on a three-year deal. If the Warriors can swing a deal like that, it's the best-case scenario for the club as they should be reluctant to sign a guy to a multi-year contract who will be on the wrong side of 30 for much of the deal (and has never developed into the playmaker we thought he could be).

In other NRL signing news, grub Dylan Napa signs with the Bulldogs and grub David Klemmer signs with Newcastle.

I keep reading shit chat involving names like Corey Norman and Luke Brooks. This does not make Mariner happy.

@mariner4life ugh, I guess SJ's earning power in oz trumps anything we'd be keen to offer. But if we get a real drop in quality that'll suck ass. I wonder if this will light a fire under his ass, or a new club will do something for him that we were never going to see at the warriors.

Cameron George responded by saying they haven't spoken to SJ or his management since he left with the Kiwis.