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.
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
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...
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.
8 days later
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.
@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.
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.
@mariner4life said in NRL 2018:
Makes it even more puzzling that they let Mason Lino leave
Lino isn't good enough to be the starting half for an NRL team. He's barely good enough to play off the bench. His only advantage is price
We don't seem to want to pay. Having said that I'm happy to pass on Shaun
Looking forward to Johnson leaving the club and having a sulk and saying "Yous got your way..."
@taniwharugby said in NRL 2018:
RS reporting SJ has requested an immediate release from his Warriors contract.
Damn, the Warriors will be on the hurried hunt for a half then.
@taniwharugby said in NRL 2018:
RS reporting SJ has requested an immediate release from his Warriors contract.
and how much money off their "cap" did the Roosters just free up with Napa?
Apparently the Warriors have declined the request ... at the moment.
"Jilted Warriors star Shaun Johnson has today requested a release from the final year of his contract with the Auckland NRL club.
The 28-year-old halfback has a year remaining on his current million dollars per season deal but wants out immediately after the Warriors made it clear they are in no rush to re-sign him beyond 2019.
As first reported by the Herald last month, the Warriors informed Johnson and his manager that they would not be moving quickly to offer him a contract extension and that he was free to test his value on the open market.
In an explosive development in a fast-moving story, a disgruntled Johnson met with Warriors boss Cameron George and coach Stephen Kearney this morning and requested an immediate release while he explores options with several rival clubs in Australia.
It's unclear where he might land if he is eventually released but Cronulla are believed to be the early front-runners among a group of at least four clubs willing to bid for his services.
However, Johnson's request has been denied and the Warriors are so far holding firm in insisting that he see out the remainder of his contract.
The Warriors have not ruled out re-signing the mercurial playmaker for 2020 and beyond but concerns over his consistency mean they are unwilling to throw him the amount of cash reserved only for the game's elite players.
Johnson, the club's marquee player and poster boy since his debut back in 2011, has not taken the news well.
Up until now, he has been the club's priority every time his contract has come up for renewal and Johnson now finds himself in unfamiliar territory.
However, much like the club is now doing, he took his time before recommitting and had discussions with rival clubs including the Sydney Roosters.
Warriors CEO Cameron George has told Shaun Johnson to test his value on the open market. Photo / Getty
Warriors CEO Cameron George has told Shaun Johnson to test his value on the open market. Photo / Getty
With a cloud of uncertainty hanging over his future at the Warriors, Johnson is now ready to up and leave rather than stick around and prove his worth and value to the club.
Calls to the Warriors have so far gone unanswered but the ball is now in their court regarding Johnson's future.
If the Warriors do decide to grant him his wish and release Johnson it will send a clear message to fans that the club is not just doing what it's always done in automatically re-signing him.
The news comes after Johnson broke his silence on the matter via an emotional social media post yesterday expressing his frustration at the situation and explaining the impasse meant he was shopping himself around.
"I thought it's best I clear a couple things up regarding my situation at this stage with the Warriors," said Johnson.
"Firstly, there is no contract for me to sign past 2019.
"Secondly if you saw the article that came out a few weeks back [...] they said they are in no rush to re-sign me. Since then they have told me again at this stage they [won't] be offering me anything.
"That means I get to spread my wings and see what's out there so right now that's what I'm doing!"."
@taniwharugby said in NRL 2018:
@nepia yeah think thats gonna be pretty tough to expect him to play well next season if they deny this.
That won’t do his value on the wider market any good if he does phone it in for a(nother) season.
@donsteppa I dont expect any top player to do that, but I'd say there is still a difference between someone giving it thier all while thier heart is in it and giving it thier all for the pay cheque.
@donsteppa said in NRL 2018:
@taniwharugby said in NRL 2018:
@nepia yeah think thats gonna be pretty tough to expect him to play well next season if they deny this.
That won’t do his value on the wider market any good if he does phone it in for a(nother) season.
It depends when he confirms his contract - Maloney had his confirmed with a year to go with the Warriors and he played like Chad Townsend (the Warriors version, not the competition winning one at Cronulla).
@taniwharugby it's almost like being made redundant a year out from your finish date. I just hope he doesn't drop his lip further though. It'd really sour his legacy imo. I dont blame the club for saying no at this stage for 2019. But you can bet they would have for a more consistent player like mannering if in the same scenario. Somewhat easier to find secondrowers than playmakers I guess.
@paekakboyz ha yeah when I was made redundant, the last 4 months were fun...but then my next boss couldnt see how hard I worked in those last few months, or the fact that I took 20 people out for lunch and beers on my last day before giving back the company credit card....