The South Continent nations have genuine home pitch advantages. Absolute burners that take experience to play on
What do we serve up in response? Benign flat batting decks. The only reason for our success was we had a metronome South African willing to bowl bouncers over after over after over until the batsman got bored and fucked up.
Fixtures for 2024
6/7/2024 Ireland at Loftus
13/7/2024 Ireland at Durban
20/7/2024 Georgia at ?
31/8/2024 All Blacks at Ellispark
7/9/2024 All Blacks at CT Stadium
28/9/2024 Pumas at Mbombela
Got underway past night with my Brisbane Heat side taking out the Melbourne Stars in a very one sided affair, winning by over 100 runs.
Poor old Colin Munro ended up getting stranded on 99 not out when a century looked very much a good thing. Things just didnt go his way in the last 3 or so overs.
I really thought the stars would have won that with the links of Burns, Maxwell and Stoinis, as well as the addition of Olly Stone. Maxwell still battling injury issues by the looks.
Next up tonight Sydney Sixers hosting the Renegades
Reading in The Australian that Marky Mark has elected to take a pay cut to go to the NRL. Take with your own measure of healthy scepticism, but apparently he had an offer from a Japanese club for three years at a million a year and will lose $300,000 over two years from his RA offer to join the Roosters and not playing against the Lions. An opportunity he'll never get again.
It all reads very weird, TBH.
Firstly: idiot.
Secondly: if he's taking a pay cut for the NRL, what back room shit have the Chooks cooked up now?
Thirdly: it is probably also a measure of the shitfuckery RA landed themselves in with Crazy Eddie and The Hammer running the place into the deck.
@Bovidae that I can agree with, for me it's weird they're looking for a Pope replacement at this stage where that is not really where the problem lies.
Selected excerpts for those that don't have access:
Two-time Geelong premiership player Max Rooke’s horror run of concussions has been revealed in a new “disturbing” statement of claim in the current class action against the AFL.
Late on Wednesday, Margalit Injury Lawyers filed a statement of claim to Victoria’s Supreme Court which listed 23 instances in games where Rooke suffered “a significant head knock and/or suffered from, and/or showed symptoms consistent with, concussions, and/or suffered from loss of consciousness”.
The claim says as a result of the AFL’s negligence, Rooke sustained an acquired brain injury and psychiatric injury.
“In preparation for filing the statement of claim, Margalit Injury Lawyers have reviewed countless hours of footage of Max Rooke playing AFL football. The footage was distressing, not only because of the significant number of head knocks suffered by him, but because of the AFL’s clear lack of adequate protocols and protection of AFL players. We observed sickening knockouts suffered by Max, only for him to then be returned to play in the same game.”
The reactions under this post reflect what many have been saying after the SR squads were announced, including here. I still can't believe no NZ franchise offered him a spot.
By the way, Japan Rugby League One starts this weekend and it looks we won't be able to watch it in NZ (legally). Just like the Top 14, nobody seems to have the rights to broadcast/stream the competition in NZ or they don't use those rights to broadcast or stream it.
Tohu and Capewell in the same back row is a little slow of foot, and held together by tape and wishes
I think that's valid
Tohu will be playing in a wheelchair by the time he is finished. I get the logic though, minutes will have to drop but team talisman in many ways.
Capewell for all his strengths misses a lot of tackles, but probably plays the way Webster wants (knows him from Penrith). Capewell for me seems to be a Curran replacement in style, but with more leadership and maybe take the Tohu role of leader when not on the field.
The big question is who comes in to replace AFB when he leaves, that is not easy to replace
Be intrigued to learn how this came about. Must surely have been from Renton's side first? Think he'd be well suited to league. A good hard bastard, but is guilty of dying in contact, but that is less of an issue in League.
What a season for 'The General' in... - Hawkes Bay Magpies
