NRL 2023 + Internationals

Chris B.

I watched the second half.

I gave up watching the Warriors quite a few years back, because of continual disappointment and deciding they were doing nothing positive for my life.

So, congratulations to all of you guys who have hung tough. You deserve this!!!

Well done!

mariner4life

so, first off, I've jagged a ticket to the game and I'm heading to Brisbane.

To the game, it was noticeable how much effort we were putting in to Ponga. And Newcastle actually played it well by hitting Frizzell instead of going out the back, he made huge in-roads, and then Ponga came back the other way at looked immediately dangerous. But we kept turning up on D and eventually the knights cracked. Shutting out Ponga, their centres and their wingers just frustrated Newcastle out of it.

I don't hold out much hope this week, that performance will have taken so much out of us, and Brisbane are really fucking good, well rested, and at home. But what a year, and i am heading to Suncorp full of hope.

bayimports

Brisbane are good across the park and to be fair on Newcastle they had a few key outs for that game. We will need to be full strength to compete this week.

Great game for anyone who can get to Brissy though!

mariner4life

Hey, it's prelim week, we should do some awards:

Try of the Year
I really want to give it to Hammer's in Origin 1, but it should be an NRL try. Newcastle have their own highlight reel of 90m+ efforts this year, but Dom Young's v Manly in R5 was a peach. Young beats a few, and then after a few sets of hands, gets it back to score in the corner

Hit of the Year
Viliami Kikau absolutely ironing out Phoenix Crossland. You know it's good when the guy plays the ball, then sinks to his knees holding his ribs

"What the fuck was that?" result of the year
The Wests fucking Tigers sticking 66 points past the Cowboys. I still can't really believe that happened.
Runner up for me is the Titans getting to 26-0 after half an hour against the Dolphins and then losing 28-26. Hilarious

Biggest turnaround of the year
Team
Well, compared to last year, it's us right?
But this year, on the positives, we have the knights coming from a mile back to make week 2 of the semis. In Rd 17 the only teams behind them were the Dogs, the Dragons and the Tigers. They were 3 wins back from the 8. They then peeled off 10 straight to finish 5th
On the flip side the Bunnies were at one point 1st, and missed the finals

Player
Preseason no one really wanted Shaun Johnson in the side. After Rd1 we were calling for him to be out of the team by Rd 3. He's about to win the Dally M
On the flip side Nicho Hynes won the Dally M last year, had cronulla sitting up the ladder at the Origin preiod. The Freddie stuffs him around and by the end of the year some Sharks fans were wondering if he shouldn't be playing fullback

Buy of the year
takes deep break fucking Reece Walsh. Still not a rock defensively. Still capable of a fuck up going for a big play. But he's a huge reason why Brisbane are poised to win the comp. Brisbane have nailed their recruitment two years in a row.
CNK for us has been awesome as well just quietly. And Hammer for the Titans

Bust of the Year
This has to be The Cheese doesn't it? Spent most of the year stinking it up for the Chooks, on huge money.

Coach of the Year
Well, duh. Webster obviously. Took the fucking Warriors to the top 4 using a squad not much different to last year. Managed to make us tough to beat, mentally resilient, and get a club notorious for being flighty to buy completely in to a plan
Runner up has to be kevvie. From meme coach to 80 minutes from a GF, and with a team best placed to stop the Panthers juggernaut

Player of the Year
SJ. Leading the Warriors to relevance with a smile on his face.

Disappointment of the Year
This was the Chooks until they went within 3 minutes of a prelim.
Souths completely fell in a hole. At one point they looked the best side in the comp. Then they missed teh 8
Many picked the Cowboys to be top 4. They spent most of the year sucking, got flogged by the Tigers, went on a run to actually get themselves fifth before meekly folding in to early Mad Monday
But the Dogs got themselves the in-demand coach. They continued their big-money signing spree. They finished 3rd last, with the worst F/A in the comp, and big stories about how players hate training. Maybe they are only a couple more big money Panthers players from cracking it?

Biggest Fuckwit
Jerome Luia loves acting like an absolute flog. His ego far outweighs his importance to Penrith.
But Sticky wins this for what feels like the 15th year in a row. Weak gutted dog person will live long in NRL lexicon now. Telling a camera guy to fuck off. Blaming the refs for every single loss. Just a complete dick, and i think is actively holding the Raiders back. But he's teflon in the media.

Duluth

@mariner4life I'll add that to the front page soon.. any youtube vid of the try and/or hit?

mariner4life

Try

Hit

mariner4life

And Hammer's from Origin

Nepia

@mariner4life said in NRL 2023:

And Hammer's from Origin

Cool, now I know who the Hammer is.

Duluth

@mariner4life

mariner4life / Sep 18, 2023

NRL - Best of the Year

Hey, it's prelim week, we should do some awards

One of the videos was geo blocked so I left it off

bayimports

@mariner4life lol great write up

I do think you have nailed it and, but some honorable mentions for who could have been close, Will have a think about some tries and hits

What the fuck was that result of the year?
Cowboys putting 74 on West Tigers turning their season around after getting flogged by the same team only 3-4 weeks prior
Tigers beating Penrith

Bust of the year?
Two of the previous best second rowers in Bateman and Papali'i, Tigers killed their talent.
Most of the Roosters - will include Manu and Teddy who went backwards, but Cheese never turned up

Coach of the year?
Supercoach Wayne - no one predicted his team would start so well with the talent he had, they batted well above their weight for long into the season

Biggest fuckwit
Luai by a country mile in terms of players on the field.
Off the field Sticky continues to be a protected species although one of his supporters also deserves a mention...looking at you Paul Kent, Karma is a biatch sometimes

mariner4life

good options

TBF we all should have seen the Dolphins winning week 1. Wayne gets a group together for an occasion like no other.
Oh those WTF results are good ones as well.

Yeeeah fuck you Paul Kent.

bayimports

Finals teams names:

Warriors: same 17 !

Sep 18, 2023 / Team Lists

NRL Team Lists: Finals Week 3

Official team lists, updates and injury news for Week 3 of the 2023 Telstra Premiership Finals Series.

Nepia

@bayimports said in NRL 2023:

Supercoach Wayne - no one predicted his team would start so well with the talent he had, they batted well above their weight for long into the season

Speak for your's and @mariner4life's selves.

Although Wayne is getting a bit soft in his old age, no one as fat as Te Whare would ever get a start in his old Broncos and St George teams. How does a guy get fatter as the season goes on? Even in his fattest year Piri lost weight as the season went on.

@bayimports said in NRL 2023:

Teddy who went backwards

I wasn't concentrating on the Roosters too much so was genuinely shocked to see how bad he is now when I watched a few of their games in a row.

It was a good year for NZ wingers (aside from Rapana), with Isaako, DWZ and Mulitalo all running in lots of tries. Even the new boy Warbrick had a decent try tally.