Round 25 2024 Review w/ RL Guru, SC Playbook & Hammy

[@BlokeInABar]

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[@azman5267]

Kenty, do you realise if all Third-Party agreements were standardised the league would take more of the money and the players would actually LOSE more money. Go look at UFC re: Reebok/Venom gear vs. fighters getting their own sponsorships. Yes some clubs have more access to Third Party agreements but it's not as you think, remember a few years ago the NRL released them all and Roosters (who is consistently associated to them) was not even the top!

[@BlokeInABar]

@@azman5267 Reebok deal is just one company. Pooling the money from ALL sponsors would be hundreds of businesses pooling money then it would be distributed to players. It wouldn’t go to the NRL. Respectfully bro your comparison is incorrect 👊

[@hwm2024]

Well summarised and spoken on the RTS incident 👊

[@raz3634]

18 of 23 grade 2 & 3 charges have resulted in a sin bin or send off during the game. The 5 that werent? 3 of which were against the Warriors

[@convex4431]

Sook

[@plc2866]

@@convex4431great response, why not explain in detail why they didn’t charge them than use a silly throw away line like that. That doesn’t require any intelligence while a solid explanation does. What are you going to be?

[@hazewhite2681]

@@plc2866wasting your energy mate. Just fuelling trolls

[@BlokeInABar]

Its a very interesting stat that for sure.

[@SlaintheMhath]

I watched the '23 prelim final between the storm and the panthers the other day. Cleary got smashed late, the on field officials missed it completely, he was out of it for a few seconds and split open. No penalty and only an 'on report' a tackle or two later when the bunker picked it up. All we really want is consistency.

[@matthewflint5010]

Absolutely spot on! Supporters of other teams saying the warriors get screwed every week says it all, love for someone at the nrl to see this and pull there heads out of there a$$

[@SlaintheMhath]

The best thing that could happen for the nrl is the wahs winning the comp. NZ would go nuts.

[@dreadlord5581]

Beak's Bag - Should the clock stop after a try is scored, and the conversions be made un-timed (like the NFL Extra Pt attempts) After all, it is literally the only time in the game the Defensive team can't do ANYTHING - yet the clock still winds down. A 30sec shot clock would stop games running overtime.

[@zackcerreto3956]

kempie as a day 1 warriors fan, it honestly almost brought me to tears and warmed my heart how passionately you spoke on behalf of the club. i and im sure every other true warriors fan are 100% behind you on everything you said. thank you. also my beaks bag question, name your top 3 and bottom 3 referees this season (you dont have to do bottom 3 cause i understand you dont want to promote negative chat about refs). here are mine top 3: chris butler todd smith adam gee bottom 3: wyatt ramond belinda sharpe *too many equal third to nominate just 1*

[@BlokeInABar]

Thx bro appreciate it!

[@nickrunaway2]

Beaks bag - for everyone on the panel, who are their top 5 players of the last 30 years (or since they’ve been watching rugby league)?

[@ryp518]

Bit of a false equivalency from Timmy comparing the NRL to the Premier League. The winner of the Premier League is the equivalent of the minor premiership for the NRL. Since 2013 there have been 5 Premier League winners, compared to 3 minor premiership winners for NRL. A better comparison would be to the Champions League, where it's a knock out of the best teams. There have been 6 different UCL winners in 10 years, and 6 different NRL premiership winners

[@BlokeInABar]

Fair enough bro!

[@FullGoon]

BEAKS BAG: bit of a fun one boys, with all the chat around a Grand Final day 100m race, my question is what other events would you also run on the day and who is your pick to win them? Eg. Strongest player (separated into weight categories 80-89kg/90-99kg etc.) Best kicker, highest leap? etc. etc. Cheers 🤝🏻

[@vinniefrannie]

I think NRL should adopt the union send off rule. In union when they get sent for 10, the TMO(Bunker) reviews the incident during gameplay & determines whether the 10mins is warranted & if it’s worse than what it was, then it gets upgraded to a red card (send off) and the team is a player down for 20mins til they are allowed to replace him. Imagine if this was implemented when Suuaalii was sent in Origin. 🤔

[@BlokeInABar]

Quite a few people have suggested this. It must have siome merit

[@adrianbarnes9776]

Agree on the Wahs Guru. Barnett, JFH and Harris starting middles will be elite

[@seanturner3447]

forward pack is already elite. AFB still one of the best forwards. Harris doesn't much left in him, ageing and too many injuries.

[@BlokeInABar]

Cant wait to see it!

[@joshkeyes5213]

As a Tigers fan I totally feel for the warriors and that terrible no call, but are we seriously gonna ignore that the tigers have been stuffed around all year with sin bins and bad calls, like can you cut us a break🤣

[@plc2866]

You guys have had some bizarre and rough ones this year. When I saw JWH shot at the weekend I thought Olam gets a red for that!

[@FadiAnton]

Loollll keep crying

[@BlokeInABar]

haha i feel your pain bro!

[@bengiddins7068]

Beak's Bag: Could be potentially get a look at behind the scenes of what goes on at bloke and everything to do with recording the shows? Maybe a competition we can enter to win that experience? Love the show boys, cheers.

[@Mataios_World]

cheers for the positivity & credit regarding the broncs game unlike LEVELS all it got was "eels were dudded & lets move on to a better game"

[@TheJoShHhHhHh]

Thanks heaps lads for picking my question this week! Loved hearing all your thoughts, especially after the week that was haha! I think another one would be scrapping the new interpretation of the grounding rule, leave it as it was last year or the year before, felt unnecessary changing it in the first place. Loving your work boys!

[@BlokeInABar]

Thx for leaving a question bro!

[@harleynielsen1810]

Beak's Bag: Building on the salary cap discussion about Coaches playing a huge part in club's success, which newer coach could you see joining the Bennetts, Bellamys, Robinsons, etc? - bonus part, which team do you think they could be taking with them if they're aren't already coaching them?

[@jacobpaley3943]

A bit late to the party this week for the beaks bag question but after todays game it begs the question - With all the injuries today in the roosters game, how much of that comes down to fatigue at round 26? Does the idea of a 20 team/19 round competition have a lot more merit now to reduce the risk factor? It would be every team plays each other once with representative games in the middle of the year during the origin period and no bye rounds. This would player burnout at the end of the year while still getting the most bang for your buck throughout the year. Love what you do boys, from a devoted parra fan (next year is our year)

[@BenMann-d4x]

Beaks Bag: should there be a mid season origin/internationals NRL season break? - origin played over 3 consecutive 10/11day camps. Wednesday, Saturday, wednesday. - play 2 separate international comps with a relegation system year to year. - NZ, Tonga, Samoa, PNG play each other once over 3 weeks then top 2 play final. Bottom 2 can play to dort out 3rd & 4th - Fiji, cook islands, lebanon, barbarians (european players playing in NRL) play same as above. - winner of lower tier replaces the bottom team from the top tier the next year. - you get games each weekend over a month, origin gets its 10day camps and games would be higher quality. The nrl season isnt affected. - you could go further and throw in city- country games in the regions as well. Qld & nsw could have their own then winner for each plays finals.

[@SlaintheMhath]

A mid season origin break would be good for the players. Play origin on 3 Friday nights in a row, the pubs and clubs would love it because no work the next day and traveling fans could make a weekend of it. Saturday U19s M&W and NRLW origin. TV could show some NSW and QLD cup games to fill in the gaps.

[@tylerchant3900]

Beaks Bag - If the Bears come through in Perth Who would you be signing to create your spine with the players who are off contract? Cheers lads

[@junglejuan1969]

Question for Beak's Sack: Part 1: what do you think of the ethics of switching the team you support, especially if your current team is not the home area you grew up in? Why should an older self be stuck with a stupid decision made by an 8 year old? Bonus Part 2: Does a dirty merger invalidate the original choice of a pre-merger club which technically no longer exists?

[@petes6545]

BEAKS BAG Hey lads My idea is that we drop the 18th man & your whole 30 is available ( or however many are fit on the day). You will have your standard 4 man bench + 13 on your extended. You can only activate a player from your extended 13 if you lose a player to foul play basically like your 18th though this allows the coach better options to cover all positions. Obviously wouldn’t work in origin or any rep footy though just an idea for club footy. What are your thoughts? Love your work, Blokes!

[@jamesholmesmedia]

Beak's Bag - what NRL players would you like to see in Australia's flag football team in LA 2028?

[@jamesholmesmedia]

Beak's Bag - what feature would be a must in an NRL video game?

[@tomwal95]

3:09:25 holy crap thank you Kempy i feel like a crazy person saying this to everyone! 100% headclash with Duncan is what did it!

[@mcnamarapogla]

Laurie to 6, Turuva back to the left wing, to'o back to right wing. Tago needs a reality check, he just has to be dropped

[@SlaintheMhath]

Alamoti is back soon. I reckon Cole to 6.

[@BlokeInABar]

Looks like theyve brought Turuva and Alomoti in. Gonna be interesting to see how they go.

[@JRPete]

IMO 3 six agains could result in a one side fed scrum (only within the 10 & 20) where the ball can be picked up by the lock behind the scrum like a maul. The ball can only be used if the scrum is halted or collapses. To cater to this change I propose to extend the bench back to 10 or 12 until the players have adapted to this type of set piece.

[@BlokeInABar]

Intresting take bro havent heard that before

[@joshridge1399]

Beaks bag: I’m not even sure how I feel about this but would it be worth having two people in the bunker to keep the game moving?One continues to watch live while the other is purely for watching replays while play continues?

[@hacky02]

Beaks bag: What player do you think could’ve gone down as a goat/immortal if they consistently played at their best throughout their career

[@markburt7895]

Spray jacket ordered baby ✅

[@BlokeInABar]

Thx bro!

[@ethanpauley1622]

Beaks bag: jye gray Smokey for rookie of the year. At a struggling club, smaller player but thinking about the boots he’s had to step into being the player latrell can be, the amount of work the fella gets through and his will to go all game and not die has been awesome. Obviously Galvin unlucky enough to not be eligible which is ridiculous in its own right but yeah, could gray be runner up or there abouts?

[@matthewvandervalk1486]

Fan Question: Do you think Wishart could play for NSW next year, would be a perfect 14.

[@colbyrichardson8813]

Question for beaks bag, if the NRL were to have a 100m sprint between the forwards, who would be the favourites? Guys like Damien Cook, Connor Watson and David Fifita come to mind but I’d throw in Leota and Bullemor as my schmokeys

[@rickydodds940]

For the beaks question yes bias and post game Has Hudson young’s recent form put him in contention for a spot in the australia squad end of the year Who would you chose Angus definitely a starter bar injury I need your thoughts His effort/effort plays in recent weeks is a reason raiders are winning

[@gpeisley]

Beaks bag question: when are we going to face the music for top 8 predictions by the panel. Another question: is the NRL draw fair when teams don’t play each other twice, what can we do to bring more fairness into the draw and not make it about ratings. I.e all Queensland teams playing each other twice Broncos v Dolphins or rivalries.

[@tylersworld8314]

Beaks Bag: The Wayne Bennett effect is one of NRL coaching’s most notable intangibles. What we are yet to see is the Craig Bellamy effect. When Craig does retire, what will you expect to happen to the storm’s years of standards? And will this have a similar or maybe even more dramatic result as to what we see with Wayne?

[@deanwestlake4573]

Question for Beaks Bag: Thoughts on the nrl changing the bench to 5 men with the 5th player being an outside back? Injury replacement player only, eg brought on during HIA, & injury only but would still count for one interchange. Aim is to keep the quality of the product up due to hia’s and outside back injury etc.

[@__gk___]

Foreword: I’m a Doggies fan. I understand that no sin bin for Critta is against the standard set by the NRL and for that it is the wrong call. However… I see this as a step in the right direction. Not all high contact is created equal, so I believe there is a space for high contact without sin binning because they’ve gone too far and are using the bin way too much. I know RTS got a Cat1 from it, but what did Critta do wrong other than stand his ground in what looked like very conventional contact? I’ve seen that type of contact in just about every deep kick-off return since forever. Any suggestion that there was malice from Critta would be ridiculous. RTS essentially knocked himself out with how he shaped up to the tackle. If any contact with the head is worthy of a sin bin regardless of how the ball carrier approaches contact, then every time To’o ducks his head as he tries to break through a tackle we should see an opposition player marched to the sheds. When Harry Grant jumps out from dummy half to burrow over the line to score, do we send off whoever inevitably makes contact with his head because he’s literally leading with it at knee height? Or is the argument that we should be penalising based on the outcome of high contact? Because I’ve seen arms swung with intent to harm that haven’t resulted in a KO, but that behaviour should be treated harsher imo. Critta is going to get suspended because the NRL needs to correct their own inconsistency, which I think sucks. Consistency aside and just considering this single event, I don’t agree that the contact was worthy of either a sin bin or a suspension and I’d like to see this as the new standard of how high contact is adjudicated. Ps. For: Warriors fans I get it, you’re pissed. But I’m a SJ fan, I’m an RTS fan, and I’m a fair play fan. So I understand how frustrating this would be for you. My comments are about high contact in general and how I think the standards applied to its officiating needs correction. I think the way the ref officiated the game left a lot to be desired, particularly the way he kept calling held when the tackle was still in motion. Your boys carried our ball carrier over the sideline and coulda kept going into row 5 with the momentum you had. Utterly stupid to blow a penalty in the Dogs favour.

[@ThatGuy-qp6dv]

It's never been "any contact" but when it's shoulder to head it's the responsibility of the defender to ensure they get low enough to avoid direct shoulder to head contact. That's how it's been all year. All round even just not that game. Happened to Mitch Barnett as well which I'm surprised wasn't mentioned by u?? Lol

[@BlokeInABar]

Respectfully bro you may need to rewatch the tackle if you feel Critta just held his ground to make a conventional tackle. He clearly moves in to close the gap between himself & Preston. His shoulder then RISES to make direct contact to RTS head. If you want to say the 2021 onwards ruling of head highs is wrong then fair enough but by the standard set by the NRL for the last few years that has always been 10 in the bin. And ofcourse no reasonable person thinks Critta meant it. Just an unfortunate accident.

[@robertangelkovski549]

Very well said 👏

[@goodboydaz]

Aint nobody reading all that

[@MrCbb35]

@@BlokeInABarhe definitely doesn’t raise his shoulder, look at Haumole’s hit that got a grade 1, he is swinging his arm and leading with his shoulder with force yet Crichton gets a grade 2 and Haumole a grade 1? How does that make sense

[@ruzexo3938]

The amount of things the boys ask that would know the answer if they just watched post footy blows my mind this weeks one is Calvin’s kick was not on purpose he said so afterwards but blows my mind how many things they don’t know that gets answers in post footy interviews

[@BlokeInABar]

We can only watch so much footy mate. If we miss a post match interview here or there it's probably because we have things to do. What you can be sure of though is we all watch every minute of every game.

[@NQMusa]

Beaks Bag - with the new breaking today of Kyle Feldt leaving the cowboys can you speak on where he ranks all time as a winger? As a Cowboys fan I obviously think he is criminally underrated but I’d love to see what you and the boys think. Love the show cheers lads

[@camlegs5275]

Beaks bag, Can the NRL take something from the AFL in regard to rest week before finals?

[@garyplaysdrums]

Question: outside of local darbies (dragons v sharks, eels v panthers etc) are there any real rivalries still left? I'm a knights fan and used to think manly was a big rival but these days things have changed...

[@crayoler]

beaks bag: who would you pick right now for the perth bears head coach? me personally, brad arthur is the best option.

[@nathanlowe2331]

Beaks Bag-Would The games impact be less on the players if we went back to 5m aside or up 7m in defence?

[@bengiddins7068]

Beak's Bag: Not sure if non footy related questions are accepted, so I'll ask 1 on field and 1 off field quesiton. My footy question is. Should the grand final change location, depending on the 2 grand finalist's? Eg: if it was 2 qld teams, should it be in qld? Or if theres one of each, maybe a coin flip? My non footy related question goes to the beak. Can you/will you please bring back some party shirts to the bloke shop? Cheers boys, Ben.

[@adrianpaull487]

initially i thought it will change what it means to win dailyMs ? and past winners were 'better' but your right the baseline has changed with the updating of the rules. great point!

[@BlokeInABar]

Thx mate!

[@jaydenlewis1489]

I’ll always love listening to these podcasts but I feel like very often this year you guys talked about how the referee favoured manly in some way. In this game against the tigers (yes they were extremely poor) but the referee absolutely killed any hopes of manly winning the game. None of these examples were mentioned once and maybe we have different opinions but I’d love yours: Eg: Jake T tackle that was penalised for what? Waddell sin binned for an infringement that literally didn’t occur. And finally Haumole sin binned for a high tackle that didn’t even have any head contact and then us manly fans have to just put up with Critta not getting binned after concussing a player literally the next day. Not trying to hate on you guys, I’m just a little mad we lost to the tigers. But I do sincerely feel like we were slightly hard done by.

[@blakekelly8010]

Harry Hayes is a central coast junior, played for the entrance tigers, I remember in 2021 I was helping out at a union team on the coast, and he came across cause covid shut down he’s comp so for him to stay fit, he was playing up here. He originally was a back but shit he’s put on some size. I believe he was with the roosters and then got a train and trail at the dogs 2022.

[@BlokeInABar]

Ño way thats an awesome insight. Thx bro!

[@blakekelly8010]

@@BlokeInABar sorry bro he was with the dogs before covid so he was playing there junior reps. Unreal

[@Issadog]

Copped the jacket couldn’t miss out on something so golden!

[@BlokeInABar]

Thx bro! Appreciate it 💯

[@plc2866]

The RTS one wasn’t the only high shot which is the problem. There were several in the game. We hear a story this week about Robbie O’Davis having problems stemming from head knocks . And yet vlandys is still more focused on gambling money. He’ll need that to pay all the lawsuits!

[@tiamrahm187]

Have a watch of the highlights, warriors second try was miles forward. Frustrating that we only focus on calls for the dogs but not the ones against them

[@SlaintheMhath]

I reckon the nrl needs to make the total amount spent by each club public and it must include the third party payments that have been cleared by the nrl. The nrl signing tracker has "sponsored by" under the player profiles so there are over cap payments being made, make them public.

[@BlokeInABar]

I don't think making it public makes any difference bro. The public knowing isnt going to help the NRL uncover clubs cheating. The NRL already knows how much is spent by each club in third party deals. You have to register them to get them approved.

[@SlaintheMhath]

The salary cap is supposed to create a level playing field, it doesn't. Just the clubs total spend, no player names, good luck to the player they have a short earning window, hook in. But we, as supporters, should know how big the imbalance is because we pay for the whole show. Gus [I saw Gus play footy] said the other day "the roosters $15 million team", seriously? Oh and thanks for the poddy, very interesting.

[@lechlenbrewer3575]

As a dogs fan I completely understand that critta should of gone to the bin and we were lucky in that, however the reffing needs to be sorted out, that “amazing metcalf pass” was so forward that fox would should the normal angle for the replay until after the conversion, way to much is missed for all teams

[@BlokeInABar]

Agreed the standard of reffing hasnt been the best this year,

[@anthonyboatswain3533]

Beak’s Bag - Should there be the same referee in the bunker for all games to limit the inconsistencies?

[@SamWhite-e4t]

Beaks bag- Who has been the best budget buy of the year? Nathan Brown?

[@bellingdog]

Also, 20-40 was introduced.

[@BlokeInABar]

True!

[@jacobeckermann2496]

Titans fan here; this year has been a disaster. It just comes down to the way we play, zero grit, zero toughness, we hate playing defence. When we win it’s because of our offence which is exactly how it was before desi. Kini comes in and out performs brimmo who we just resigned so now we’re paying what, 800k for the 25th best centre in the league, we’re gonna roll with Campbell at 6 who not matter how hard he tries will forever be a spot in defence. As soon as tino was out for the year we knew we were cooked but it shouldn’t come down to just 1 player. But hey I guess it’s our fault as fans, we expected too much. Also the fact that dolphins have been in the league for 2 years and are already better than us is a huge concern. Talk about our players and coaching all you want its our management that worries me.

[@BlokeInABar]

Fair enough bro, The boys were all so strong in there a opinion that I felt I might be being too harsh on the Titans but I agree bro. Its been a really bad year. I want the Titans to succeed so bad to they are my home town!

[@GCBGIRL]

I remember Phil Gould talking about him visiting Broncos. Apparently he asked to visit Broncos when Anthony Griffin was coaching. Gould wanted to study Bronco's system to rebuild Penrith. He was very gracious about Bronco's generosity to show him around. Now, look at what Penrith has achieved. What went wrong with Broncos this year ? Is the system not working, there is not much depth or perhapas coaching,,,. Its frustrating to see how they didn't seem to have solutions when they lost Adam, in comparison to both Penrith n Storms lost their game makers, they still kept winning. It would be interesting to know what kinds of conversations have been held within Bronco's club,,,, .

[@BlokeInABar]

Interesting bro I didn't know that.

[@SlaintheMhath]

Gus went to the US as part of the study he ran, smart guy. Now he is working his magic at the doggies. He also has a network of old mates who keep an eye out for talented young blokes who can be recruited, look at how good the pups are going at Belmore.

[@MitchyTurner]

Off the back of last weeks rule chat, what dollar value/percentage of salary cap do each of u think recent success, club prestige or 3rd party opportunites are worth to a team? Everyone knows Hammy's Tiges have to pay more than Guru's Roosters for the same same player, but im not aware of anyone putting a figure to it? #BeaksBag

[@Daaddyy]

Respectfully, as a Sharks fan who watches closely every week you couldn’t be further from the mark with the sentiment around Nicho and tricky not working as a halves combo. They were 9-1 and dominating to start the year. Trickys issues coupled with Nicho’s injuries have put a big halt to it. I love Atko he’s been great and it’s harsh for him to move to 14 when it happens, but it’s madness to say if they’re all fit that he stays starting over either of them.

[@BlokeInABar]

Disagree mate their first 10 rounds was a relatively soft draw. Trindell came through the grades as a 7. I personally believe he’s an out an out 7 Also can’t really be that mad because Fitzgibbon has alluded to someone in a key position losing their spot to Atkinson.

[@Daaddyy]

And Nicho isn’t a 7 he just wears the number. He’s a 6 that plays first receiver, tricky is a 7 that plays 2nd fiddle. Cronulla get no respect, everything is always a soft draw. If all 3 players are fit Atko won’t be starting in the halves.

[@bernyoz]

Fair summary of Panthers. Lethargic team. Tago issue now deep. Yeo carrying the team and yes edwards never the same after origin. Canberra game incredible stats even though a loss dominated on paper .

[@BlokeInABar]

Thx bro 👊

[@Ryanosteel]

Beaks Bag: do you boys think that the NRL should look at having a permanent team just for the bunker? Say split the games between the team. That way, the calls aren't such a lucky dip

[@JordanForbes1408]

Beak Bag: With Galvin unable to win Rookie of the Year, who should? Keeping in mind the likes of Plath (suspension), Kini (1 too many games last season), Atkinson (1 off game in 2021) are also unable to win the award.

[@nathanlowe2331]

Drop off system to 11 men in Golden Try like touch?lots of open space and very entertaining -Beaks Bag

[@mareelonghurst1934]

Love the show.😊

[@BlokeInABar]

Thx legend!

[@jamesholmesmedia]

Beak's Bag - other than your own team, who would you most like to see win a premiership in 2025?

[@MylonasFilms]

It’s funny listening to you blokes talking about Trindal not being the favourite, but us all sharks supporters who watch every game & dissect it , Trindal has almost been our best player all year & definitely first pic. Just interesting is all different perspectives

[@BlokeInABar]

I watch every game bro. Hes a great player but I feel he’s an out an out 7 and not as good as Hynes.

[@MylonasFilms]

@@BlokeInABar 16 try assists & 10 tries in 10 games. Plus 90 odd points cause of amazing goal kinging too. So there’s that.

[@alistairlegge7225]

They are expecting over 40,000 at the Dogs Manly game. Apparently 35,000 plus tickets already sold.

[@BlokeInABar]

So good!!

[@Ben-iq2jr]

Rather then what Timmy was saying if the other team scores then you bring back the player who’s been binned I think instead what you could implement is for every try scored 3 minutes is taken off the time in the bin

[@BlokeInABar]

Interesting take I havent heard that one

[@LiquidAcid1]

good poddy lads

[@BlokeInABar]

Thx bro

[@Moneyalmenial]

Can anyone explain why Max King wasn't charged by the MRC?

[@Dean-ls9pt]

Personally see Latu as a potential lock. Similar body shape to Radley and great defensively.

[@BlokeInABar]

Don’t mind it he could definitely put on size

[@WhisperTommyG]

Beaks Bag - should the nrl do a grand final parade the day before the game like the afl do

[@plc2866]

Peter VLandys needs to stop focusing on betting money and sort out the game re the reffing.

[@Bdog166]

It’s a bit odd that the rhetoric for the Bulldogs last year was ‘Be patient’ yet in Des’s first year at the Titans you were aiming for top 4.(well Kempy anyway) As a long standing and suffering Titans fan I held flickering hope of a finals berth this year. It wasn’t to be. There are players reportedly being moved on, so hopefully Des can mould a roster to his liking and well hope that top 8 is achievable in 2025. Despite being another disappointing year for the Titans , we can only look ahead and hope that the narrative changes to ‘Titans fans be patient’ because God knows we have been !!

[@BlokeInABar]

I wasn’t aiming for top 4 they were my biggest Smokey for top 4. I was aiming for top 8 for the titans. The difference is the Titans were 9th last year & building nicely with their roster when Holbrook was sacked. They came into 2024 with a much better roster & coach than the Dogs & dragons. Yet gone substantially worse.

[@Bdog166]

@@BlokeInABarthat negates a Grace period for Des? Plus the loss of Tino, Joliffe , AJ and Campbell. C’mon Denan, as a GC local like me , give him another year 👍

[@BlokeInABar]

@@Bdog166Ofcourse I’ll give him another year bro. I just had higher expectations of Dessy in his first year because he’s shown multiple times before that he can take teams from wat lower on the table to higher in his first year

[@domh.9573]

Thank you getting off PVL payroll. Honestly surprised it took you guys this long to realise what PVL is about. He won’t listen to any of your guys but at least you’re saying something.

[@brentoneslick2136]

To gurus point why isn’t Mazo getting more ball? because you have the combo of gagi and fletch sharpe piling on points on the other side of the field so effortlessly.

[@BlokeInABar]

Fair enough bro!

[@haydenberlin9249]

You talked about not blaming the ref for losses but cosistently say the doggies got all the calls. How about the Warriors giving up the lead before any of the calls happen.

[@adampedialis1981]

The amount of times mentioned how hard done by the warriors were is astounding. From the 15th min the score was 34-6 with zero second half points scored. Anything but a robbery

[@BlokeInABar]

We said multiple times that the tough calls doesnt mean they would have won it bro. Only that it robbed the Warriors of a fair opportunity at winning the game. I personally think the Dogs still would have won regardless.

[@riposter69]

Agree with Kempy Roosters need to rebuild the Bondi Wall. Dominic Young has no idea in D

[@seanturner3447]

For as freakish he can be in attack, his defence and some of his risky decision making is attrocious

[@BlokeInABar]

Hopefully we can see there best come week 1 of the finals! If hey click wow its gonna be scary.

[@arronkershaw6378]

Hynes is a out an out 6 not a 7, the better option will be Tricky 7 and Hynes 6.

[@BlokeInABar]

Fair enough bro!

[@GOATTT2613]

I think Kempy means acceleration lol. AKP has arguably the best or second best acceleration with Walsh. They hit their top speed really quickly and can decelerate really quick aswell when they step or change angles. Dom Youngs faster over a 100 for sure imo, but AKP is faster in short spurts and that’s why he gasses dom cause dom takes longer to rev up and hit his top speed

[@BlokeInABar]

I’m not so sure his top speed is faster than AKP. Be close I think. Footy fast means a bit more than acceleration. Means reaction time. Speed on angles, agility etc. when you put them all together someone who is equally fast on a track gets left in the dust on a footy field 👊

[@Loki_Loki01]

2022 cowboys vs tigers where val got the penalty goal at the end to win was 100% the ref robbing us haha as just 1 obvious example for Tigers

[@BlokeInABar]

haha that was an absolute shocker!

[@alexsmith8878]

Wasn't the point of the bunker to have a central place where all the calls are made by the same people? There shouldn't be a merry go around of bunker officials. It now means that we have a different opinion and discretion of each each bunker ref for each game, may as well not have the bunker at all and have them at each ground like the old days. It's ridiculous.

[@goodboydaz]

Easts are definitely cheating the cap. Also Robbo is a fraud coach and should never be mention in the same sentence as Bellamy.

[@ib344]

U still crying 😂 the gf was almost 6 years ago but I suppose hard to forget not going back to back with 2 of the greatest players of all time, slaters last game and against a side with a busted half-back. That definitely must hurt! 😂😂

[@goodboydaz]

@@ib344 Robbo and Easts would be nothing without signing other teams superstars. Fact

[@ib344]

​@@goodboydazCraig would be nothing without the big 3

[@rolschy]

mate what meth you smoking?

[@goodboydaz]

@@ib344 2 minor prems and 3 prelim appearances since theyve all retired says otherwise. Meanwhile Robbo licking his lips for another FB and Half he can sign because he cant produce one himself

[@Tonymarshall11]

Wonder if penalising players for laying down for penalties would work? Say if they make a scene to let the bunker get involved and if it’s not an actual penalty, the player who stayed down gets a delay of game/simulation penalty or some shit

[@BlokeInABar]

Its such a hard thing to get right. The last thing youd want is to penalise players for faking it and you find out there not really faking it

[@Tonymarshall11]

@@BlokeInABar nah I mean for when the player lies down, play stops, the bunker looks decides there is no penalty and orders play on. I’m saying instead of saying play on, the guy who tried to buy a penalty is penalised if play stops and the bunker reviews and finds no penalty

[@rjad3]

Lads, is it time to make headgear compulsory and go back to circa 2001 interpretations of head highs? I’d watch that over this shambles atm

[@BlokeInABar]

Research shows head gear actually makes concussion worse bro.

[@sheldonwilson4450]

Headgear doesn’t do anything for concussions it’s mainly to stop cuts bro

[@rjad3]

@@BlokeInABar just anything for the refs to put the whistle away 🙏

[@jeremiahfreeman3648]

Beaks Bag - Can one of the bottom 4 be the first to win outside top four? Potential bottom 4 (Dogs, Manly, Cowboys, Broncos) Dragons most likely to finish top 8 but don’t scare me as much as a Broncos team in the finals Up the Fckin Doggies 🐶🐶

[@seanturner3447]

No

[@iksnaustralia6262]

Why would you have the 5 or 6 on the bench and the option to play 4. Why would you not just use the 18th man? And relax the use around activating the 18th man it’s not NFL lol

[@HerecomesChristmas]

Bronco time stamp is wrong. Cheers.

[@JG-cc2do]

Samuela Fainu.... How long till this kid plays rep footy?

[@BlokeInABar]

Far out tough to say theres so much depth in edge back rowers for NSW but I'd say he'll be in the squad in maybe 2026

[@Pattoh]

With the rule changes, its shits me when a team gives away a 6 again, then give away another 6 again on tackle 1. Should be a penalty

[@BlokeInABar]

Totally agree!

[@temokootapuhi4588]

The nrl top brass need to get it through their heads... the more drop kick calls you give out, the more fans and potential fans you lose... its up to them and it's got to stop, I know Warriors fans are farken sick of it

[@BlokeInABar]

Hopefully we can improve next year as a game.

[@adamsteel7147]

Tedesco is player of the year for me Kempy. Teddy has played nearly to Hughes’ level for 2/3 of the season and still playing well every week to finish the year whereas Hughes has dropped off.

[@BlokeInABar]

Hughes hasnt dropped off bro he's been incredible in his last 4-6 games

[@Bounce203]

I think with Hughes it’s just a perceived “drop off” when he’s really just going back to his role since all the spine players are back now and it’s not required for him to be as ball dominant. Hughes MVP

[@adamsteel7147]

yeah i’m not saying he’s playing badly but more of a 7/10 whereas Teddy has been absolutely elite. not sure I agree with that assessment over the last month or so Kempy. his attacking output has definitely dropped with Munster back in the side.

[@Bounce203]

@@adamsteel7147 he just got 2 try assists and a try to Munsters 0. And ran for more metres 🤷‍♂️

[@therealmvp2490]

Lol only skipped to the doggies part. Appreciate the first part where u mentioned the controversy but actually spoke about other things. Little thing. But appreciate the communication mate.

[@BlokeInABar]

Thx bro

[@noobishly66]

Tigers v Manly was decided by the ref after the Eagles got up 16-0. The ref then pulled out his whistle for slowing the ball down, even though stats show they weren't. They should have won it at the last minute, but due to poor handling, they didn't. The game shouldn't have gotten there with the ridiculous reffing.

[@BlokeInABar]

Respectfully bro I felt the Sea Eagles were really ill disciplined in that period. I dont think it was the ref that lost them that game.

[@noobishly66]

@BlokeInABar Jake T tackle wasn't dangerous, but deemed dangerous, and what did bullemore get sent for? I know a warning was given for the next infringement but he didn't do any infringements to get sent. Also if you look at the average play of the ball speed manly were not slowing the ruck, and if they were so were tigers but zero penalties for it.

[@noobishly66]

@@BlokeInABar I will agree manly became ill disciplined when the ref pulled his whistle out and started calling the softest penalties, but that's to be expected when you think the ref is against you.

[@noobishly66]

@BlokeInABar also did you see anything wrong with Olakuatu's tackle? Because even the fullback being tackled didn't think anything was wrong with it as he jumped up to play it and the whistle was blown the look on his face was shock in the whistle going off.

[@bulldogs-since1935]

I have no doubt the officials are at times as confused as the fans with what they are asked to do.... it reeks of game manipulation to stop the smart coaches/teams from gaining any type of advantage.... just let the teams sort it out and the game will be better for it

[@BlokeInABar]

I wish we went back to the era were the refs basically let the players sort it out and only stepped in when one team was taking the piss. Now I feel like its the other way around. The ref is the one dictating the whole game.

[@bulldogs-since1935]

@@BlokeInABar Adam Gee in the last GF was applauded for putting the whistle away.... just do that... its simple really... the only thing they must believe is that if they do that for every game every round the product will diminish.... why else would they do it

[@riposter69]

If you guys are going to be fair picking the best team of the week you also need to start talking about the best refs and officials of the week. not just to give them their flowers but it forces fans to start acknowledging what a good ref is and how they are as performance based the players. Whinging about the officials needs a reality check , its s such a cop out.

[@nathanbell637]

How many coasters we think beak goes through in a year 😂

[@BlokeInABar]

🤣🤣

[@jonathangreen622]

I’d stop the clock when the balls not in play like afl. We are only getting 50 minutes of footy and 30 minutes of time wasting.

[@adamsteel7147]

then the game would go for 3 hours. I don’t think anyone is calling for that.

[@bellingdog]

​@adamsteel7147 I am. It stops time wasting. And we already have to stop clock, so once the ball is out of play, you only have 45 seconds to get it back into play.

[@adamsteel7147]

@@bellingdog the boys bodies go through enough they don’t need to play even more minutes. it’ll fuck the TV scheduling, require so many changes and modern sport is moving to shorter forms to keep fans engaged so it’s a bad thing for crowd attendance and tv ratings.

[@bellingdog]

@@adamsteel7147 have you seen American sports...

[@afsheenali8204]

Why do we say referees? Its the bunker. The people that have slow-mo and multiple angles.

[@BlokeInABar]

When we say referees we are referring to bunker as well. It's referees that are in the bunker.