@Sneakdefreak said in NRL 2019:
@Nepia It's only a pre-season game so I think it's unlimited subs. Fans could vote for the All Stars but I suspect the teams were decided by the NRL clubs themselves.
You'd think Hiku would be at 6 if the clubs were deciding ....
@Sneakdefreak said in NRL 2019:
@Nepia The Knights want to try Ponga in the halves and he was going to play in this game to please his father so....
If he really wanted to please his father he'd play for the Kiwis. I should have tripped him over in Palmy when I had the chance (even as a little ginga running around he was being talked up back then).
Pack adv to Maori and backs adv to Indigenous.
Not sure if that's local or long haul but he'll have a lot of time to reflect on his fuck up(s). Good to see the club was still involved and helping him and his family out. No mention about any charges being pressed against him??
@Paekakboyz said in NRL 2019:
Not sure if that's local or long haul but he'll have a lot of time to reflect on his fuck up(s). Good to see the club was still involved and helping him and his family out. No mention about any charges being pressed against him??
Don’t think his new work mates will let him drive their wives home..
@Paekakboyz said in NRL 2019:
Not sure if that's local or long haul but he'll have a lot of time to reflect on his fuck up(s). Good to see the club was still involved and helping him and his family out. No mention about any charges being pressed against him??
Wait, who are we talking about? Edit: Ignore that, SJ is doing better than Barba ... clearly my brain has switched off as I'm not working today.
@mariner4life Gagai is Māori from his mother's side.
@Paekakboyz said in NRL 2019:
Not sure if that's local or long haul but he'll have a lot of time to reflect on his fuck up(s). Good to see the club was still involved and helping him and his family out. No mention about any charges being pressed against him??
Wait, who are we talking about?
Ben Barba
@Paekakboyz said in NRL 2019:
No mention about any charges being pressed against him??
I have no knowledge of Barba's circumstances, but if there was not already a domestic violence order in place it is unlikely he will be charged with anything unless the missus makes a criminal complaint against him. If there are no crimimal complaints and no orders already in place worse case for him is police applying for DV Protection Order.
The Ben Barba story is bad but the Jack de Belin story is even worse.
I hadn't really caught up with this until today but de Belin, a key forward for the Dragons, is up in court on rape charges of a 19 year-old woman. His mate is also facing similar charges.
The NRL and Dragons have allowed him to keep training and play in any games.
If the NRL's marketing strategy is "there is no such thing as bad publicity" then they're having a doozy this off-season.
So the Maori got smashed ... this is what happens when you don't have proper halves to lead your team about.
Those outside backs in the indigenous Side were pretty dam electric,
You wouldn’t see that much pace in one side too often .
First preseason game for Warriors. Win 12-6 against the Melbourne Storm.
Some key points:
- Adam Keighran is pretty accurate with the left boot, both with goal kicking and tactical kicking. Set up a try too.
- Chanel Tevita-Harris still needs to work on his game, very raw talent. Was like a headless chicken out there at times.
- Bunty Afoa and Ligi Sao were into everything and by far the best forwards on the park.
- Sandor Earl is back in the NRL with the Melbourne Storm after completing his doping ban, although with his mullet hairdo the NRL should look into suspending him again.
- Only try the Warriors conceded was from a mega forward pass by Melbourne. Refs hitting form early this year....
@Sneakdefreak Bunty was the best prop in the comp for at least the first 8 rounds last year.
I think he is a potential super star forward.
@raznomore said in NRL 2019:
@Sneakdefreak Bunty was the best prop in the comp for at least the first 8 rounds last year.
I think he is a potential super star forward.
I love Bunty. Total fan favourite at Mt Smart
Well, it looks like Cronulla are fucked. In a huge shock, there are more salary cap issues than the self-reported ones. You know, the ones either side of the premiership year, but not on the premiership year.
Big fine and a cap hit, to go with the big fine for working with Flanagan while he was suspended.
Hello the Central Coast Sharks.
@mariner4life said in NRL 2019:
Well, it looks like Cronulla are fucked. In a huge shock, there are more salary cap issues than the self-reported ones. You know, the ones either side of the premiership year, but not on the premiership year.
Big fine and a cap hit, to go with the big fine for working with Flanagan while he was suspended.
Hello the Central Coast Sharks.
I hope Shaun Johnson can get his rental bond back
@mariner4life said in NRL 2019:
Well, it looks like Cronulla are fucked. In a huge shock, there are more salary cap issues than the self-reported ones. You know, the ones either side of the premiership year, but not on the premiership year.
Big fine and a cap hit, to go with the big fine for working with Flanagan while he was suspended.
Hello the Central Coast Sharks.
Take their premiership off them as well.
@antipodean said in NRL 2019:
@mariner4life said in NRL 2019:
Well, it looks like Cronulla are fucked. In a huge shock, there are more salary cap issues than the self-reported ones. You know, the ones either side of the premiership year, but not on the premiership year.
Big fine and a cap hit, to go with the big fine for working with Flanagan while he was suspended.
Hello the Central Coast Sharks.
Take their premiership off them as well.
If it works for Melbourne it should work for Cronulla. Of course you wonder why it doesn't work for the Roosters the year they rorted the cap and beat the Warriors in the final 
Taking away the title and not giving it to the losing finalist is bullshit. If the NRL won't give it then the punishment should be greater, for example strip title and have to play a year on a reduced cap. And have scrutineers on hand to make sure they adhere to it
My boss, the big boss, is a massive Cronulla fan. We even had Mat Rogers son working here at one stage and given his level of experience he got the job based on who he was. We area all rubbing it in about the apparent collapse of his club.
In unrelated news...We had Darren Lockyer in our office last week. Super nice guy and likes to talk about footy which is not what we all expected. My immediate superior has a tattoo of Locky's signature(and Sam Thaiday's) on his arm so that was a bit of an awkward talking point...But man that guy sounds like he's given multiple deep throat blow jobs to an elephant. Its much worse in person.
One thing we all took away is how tiny he is. That man got hammered in his career.
In Warriors news Kearny has been given a three year contract and the management seems to have decided that they will look for an experienced half now and they're chasing Wigan half George Williams ... you'd think they'd avoid non-Kiwi Wigan players.
Prepare for several NRL clubs (Brisbane, Souths, Sydney City) to panic-sell players in the next few weeks if Cronulla are dealt a heavy blow. There's a few teams which are probably dodging the cap and are afraid of getting caught now.
This falls into place perfectly for the Warriors who look like they've played the game right by freeing up so much cap space. I think a NRL club needs to be within 5 percent of the cap limit before the start of the season so they should pick up a decent player or two in the next fortnight.
In Warriors news Kearny has been given a three year contract and the management seems to have decided that they will look for an experienced half now and they're chasing Wigan half George Williams ... you'd think they'd avoid non-Kiwi Wigan players.
Most of the NH players blow dog. Best stay away
So the NRL has decided it is going to suspend anyone even facing charge for violence, especially against women.
So a bunch of guys are in the gun. Scott Bolton of the Cowboys was charged with assault, but didn't have a conviction recorded. He's getting 5 weeks to start the season apparently.
Jack de Ballin to be stood down until his court case is finalised. I assume Walker will be the same.
I think players will still be paid?
I'm not really sure where i stand on this. On one hand it's been a pretty bad off-season, and the NRL needs to be seen to be doing something. However it also seems to be the NRL are trumping innocent until proven guilty, or over-riding the finding of the courts.
@mariner4life interesting comments from the Warriors about providing salary cap relief too. So we'll ban you even though you aren't convicted yet, and we'll (yet to be confirmed) give you scope to recruit cover.
@mariner4life said in NRL 2019:
Jack de Ballin to be stood down until his court case is finalised. I assume Walker will be the same.
Yeah: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-01/nrl-stands-down-manlys-dylan-walker-under-new-powers/10861568
@Paekakboyz would say a few employers would take that stance if they knew wouldn't they?
Although I guess for plebs like us, it is unlikely our employer would find out until we told them or we were due for court?
@taniwharugby said in NRL 2019:
@Paekakboyz would say a few employers would take that stance if they knew wouldn't they?
Although I guess for plebs like us, it is unlikely our employer would find out until we told them or we were due for court?
To maintain my security clearance, as soon as you're charged you need to inform. Then depending on the perceived impact you can either be told to continue working, take leave or lose your clearance.
I'm not a fan generally of the stance the NRL has taken for the general public, but being paid handsomely to play football does set you apart from the general public.
@taniwharugby that is a good question. I guess you go on gardening leave? Not sure where the line is in terms of what you are being charged for. But I guess the thing with NRL stuff is it's in the media immediately, so no chance for those guys to keep it secret squirrel. But that also comes with the nature of what they are accused of.... so....
@antipodean said in NRL 2019:
@mariner4life said in NRL 2019:
Well, it looks like Cronulla are fucked. In a huge shock, there are more salary cap issues than the self-reported ones. You know, the ones either side of the premiership year, but not on the premiership year.
Big fine and a cap hit, to go with the big fine for working with Flanagan while he was suspended.
Hello the Central Coast Sharks.
Take their premiership off them as well.
If it works for Melbourne it should work for Cronulla. Of course you wonder why it doesn't work for the Roosters the year they rorted the cap and beat the Warriors in the final
With Melbourne , at the time they were owned by news ltd , and news ltd also ran the comp ,
News LTd employed Brian Waldron as CEO of the storm and he orchestrated it all ,
They had to throw the book at them , to show there was no favouritism , because it was partly their own fault for employing the cheating CEO in the first place .
The full details of all the sanctions. Players will be docked pay as well. Cronulla and Tigers done for salary cap breaches too:
@Sneakdefreak said in NRL 2019:
The full details of all the sanctions. Players will be docked pay as well. Cronulla and Tigers done for salary cap breaches too:
that feels a lot like the Tigers got fucked, while the Sharks got off really lightly.
I also feel really fucking sorry for Napa. What exactly did he do to deserve a punishment?
@mariner4life Yeah it's kinda hidden in among all the players' fines and suspensions. However their coach has been deregistered and they have zero sponsors so anything harsh would be the equivalent of a death penalty.
@mariner4life said in NRL 2019:
I'm not really sure where i stand on this. On one hand it's been a pretty bad off-season, and the NRL needs to be seen to be doing something. However it also seems to be the NRL are trumping innocent until proven guilty, or over-riding the finding of the courts.
It sounds good on paper but putting yourself at the mercy of the court system doesn't seem like a terribly good idea. Are they really prepared to have guys sit out twelve months while a relatively basic case navigates various procedural delays throughout the court system.