You let them get away to a lead that was too big. If you kept them to 16 a little longer and then made your comeback I reckon you would of won mainly due to different mindsets etc.
Go you mighty Dragons WOOOO, Shit second half though, thought we were gonna loose it. To Knights credit they played pretty dominant in the second half.
Their pack sucks, the backline is good without being great and their spine bar fullback is the only good thing about them. They're easily in the 3 worst teams or so this season.
Thank ****. **** off Newcastle you fluky shit ****s. You better play Beau Henry at halfback next year and Cross better stop being a ****ing shit ****, so I can start liking you again. Cheers to the end of the fluky no-props/no-halfback era of the Knights.
^Haha. That's harsh. No props and no halfbacks? You could almost print that up on the Tigers jerseys, for a team that's coming second.
thought you would be happy. I really am liking the look of the Knights next season. I am going to tip them for the finals again just not so high. Henry is a real halfback and that way Mullen can go back to what he does best. It will be an interesting backline with a fair few options for Stone to pick from. Would range from: Mad Dog, Likilikki, McManus, Sau, McDonnell, Lulia, Uate etc
Tigers props have been pretty good this year. But yes it frustrates me greatly that they're where they are.
Should be the same outside backline as this year tbh (minus Vuna and plus McManus who has been injured virtually all year) unless they really do sign Matt Gidley.
Galloway, Gibbs and Fifita are streets ahead of whatever Newcastle have, bar Simpson who isn't even playing. Ellis and Heighington also make a load of tight metres which helps greatly. Still, it's all Farah. Probably been the single most important player to any team this season.
Still can't believe Knights fan didn't want Costigan because they already have Taia. Taia has been shit all year. Will be an interesting make-up I reckon. I expect a bit of change in the side. Especially the forward pack. If I was coach I would be going with something along the lines of... 1. Kurt Gidley 2. Akulia Uate 3. Junior Sau 4. Adam MacDougall (if he re-signs if not move McManus in or bring in Likkilikki) 5. James McManus 6. Jarrod Mullen 7. Beau Henry 8. Ben Cross 9. Isaac De Gois 10. Antonio Kafusi 11. Neville Costigan 12. Corey Patterson 13. Matt Hilder 14. Joel Edwards 15. Zeb Taia 16. Daniel Tolar 17. Richie Fa'aso Reserves: Kevin Naiquama, Kyle O'Donnell, Con Mike and Cameron Ciraldo
I agree they have better prop quality, however their halfback quality (without Moltzen) is just as terrible and keep in mind, I mean for a team that is coming second. There's no doubt Wests are a much, much better team, mainly for the reason you mentioned - Farah (Marshall doesn't hurt either) but they should not be top 4 let alone top 2, IMO. It's the first time since they won the comp, that they've made the finals and it's largely due to the ordinary standard NRL standard this year, afaic. When opposition teams maintain pressure, finish their sets and execute well, the Tigers leak points fairly quickly. They're no where near beating the on-song Dragons, for mine.
Can't disagree with any of that though. I'll just take solace in the fact that if our ball movement is in good touch and the other mob doesn't turn up, we'll win
Costigan's been much better since moving into the front row for the Dragons (much to my surprise) and Newcastle have no props, so they really ought to be picking him up front.
Oh and the other thing I've been meaning to mention for a while now is, the Tigers play a ridiculous amount of footy on Sunday afternoons. They're on Channel 9 Sunday footy more than any other team, IIRC. They have a clear advantage over teams like the Cowboys who play almost exclusively at night time. Whilst their ball movement and razzle dazzle is some of the best in the comp, it is artificially enhanced, IMO.
We actually win more games at night than in the afternoon. IIRC, we haven't won a Sunday 2:00 game on Fox in 4 attempts?
I'm not saying it makes you win more games. Merely that it allows your mob to refine and enhance certain areas of their game - Ball movement, expansive play, especially. When you play night footy all year, you get into a certain groove of safer play. There is a true distinction with the Tigers - They can play day time and night time footy. A lot of teams play night time style even in the day.
