Bay53 wrote: ↑March 8, 2024, 4:20 am
It is a very pleasing win and really does give us credibility as a club. Remember many people didn’t want us playing the opening Thursday night match of the season so to go and put in such a big performance in front of a big audience is massive.
You also have to say that Ricky has justified the way he played in the trials. Fogarty and Rapana were not used and they came in first up and didn’t miss a beat.
Expect for the bit where Rapa was clearly underdone, started cramping with over 25th a to go and had to be put on the wing to finish the game?
Bloody good win though and in my mind it feels like the most competent round 1 in quite a while.
Bluesbrother wrote:Something I loved seeing last night was Smithies reactions after we scored points. He's within the first few over congratulating the try scorer and getting around the other players. Reminds me of a John Bateman reaction. It's an indicator of his desire to win and the enjoyment he gets from it. We've got a good one.
Yeah, he's the real deal. Hopefully not as much of a nutcase like Bateman though.
Regs Revolution wrote:The best part about that win was that we actually played for the whole 80 minutes. It wasn’t pretty by any means but it was fantastic to see them compete the whole way through. And what happens when they do? Their biggest win since 2022! Something to build on!
Good signs!
Yes, that was the biggest positive for me too. We looked fit and cohesive in defence for 80 mins.
Newcastle threw a bit of shape at us in the first half. We cracked on a couple of occasions (Hoppa struggled a bit) but we scrambled well. In the second half the Knights were clueless in attack.
They targeted Strange too, but he gave them nothing. Could have been a very different scoreline with Weekes defending in the halves.
Fogarty is kicking where he left off last season.
To me we looked similar to 2023, but were significantly less fragile without HSS/Croker and Whitehead in defence, and less erratic without Wighton in attack. Our pack is excellent. It was exactly what I was hoping to see.
One thing i dont know if already mentioned, but with Levi, it seems like hes always looking or trying for the hero play. I noticed it during the trials and there were acouple of times in last nights game as well one being a little kick that went straight into a knights player that almost broke away.
And lastly, Savage was always at risk of catching a cold outside Hopoate, but **** me he looked solid and strong in contact out there. He'll be an absolute weapon outside Kris.
Super, super excited for him. He finally looks like a complete First Grader.
Seiffert82 wrote: ↑March 8, 2024, 6:10 am
And lastly, Savage was always at risk of catching a cold outside Hopoate, but **** me he looked solid and strong in contact out there. He'll be an absolute weapon outside Kris.
Super, super excited for him. He finally looks like a complete First Grader.
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I’m with you Seiff. Love watching him play, you can see the potential to be an elite attacking weapon any time he gets near the ball.
Smithies went off for a short time in the first half. Was that a HIA? They didn't announce any of the Raiders changes at the ground.
Guler was put on report for a hip drop tackle. From where we were sitting there didn't look much in it. Was it more conclusive on TV?
Any news on Levy's hamstring? He was on the field after the game and there was no ice strapped to it.
One small complaint - there were Raiders fans around the ground. The players went to see family in the South West corner. We waited about 30 minutes after the game and not one Raider did a lap to acknowledge the other fans.
People still here having a sook about Levi because their typical raider rants are now falling on deaf ears.
Dude did good. Just back up and let the dude play.
Only on the Greenhouse can we have a good win in round 1 and people still fish for negatives.
Xavier just needs to get his "sir did you see that" issues out of his game and he'll remain on in the squad. Bloke has toughened up. Looks like Rick was right in holding him back. Weird that a footy coach has a pretty good idea about what to do.
We've lost nothing by having Wighton leave. He might set the world alight at Souths but he no longer was a fit in Canberra and the team look more cohesive as a result.
Kryptonite wrote: ↑March 8, 2024, 6:03 am
There is no room in this current ( including Horse ) for Smell, only injury in the rotation will se him back
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Always room for a sledge from you. Keep bagging, you've already got egg on your face. Shutting you up will be nice as we move into this next generation in the house that Ricky has built.
I agree.
But I’ll bet my life savings Ricky “veteran deference over merit” Stuart doesn’t.
Bay53 wrote: ↑March 8, 2024, 4:20 am
It is a very pleasing win and really does give us credibility as a club. Remember many people didn’t want us playing the opening Thursday night match of the season so to go and put in such a big performance in front of a big audience is massive.
You also have to say that Ricky has justified the way he played in the trials. Fogarty and Rapana were not used and they came in first up and didn’t miss a beat.
Expect for the bit where Rapa was clearly underdone, started cramping with over 25th a to go and had to be put on the wing to finish the game?
Bloody good win though and in my mind it feels like the most competent round 1 in quite a while.
Dude didn't play pre season and smashes himself on every run. But lets have a go at him. Despite scoring the try that put the game away.
There's a thousand comments on here about him being a bad choice at fullback but old mate does what old mate does and just puts in until he stops being able to move. And we still find negatives.
Kryptonite wrote: ↑March 8, 2024, 6:03 am
There is no room in this current ( including Horse ) for Smell, only injury in the rotation will se him back
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Always room for a sledge from you. Keep bagging, you've already got egg on your face. Shutting you up will be nice as we move into this next generation in the house that Ricky has built.
I agree.
But I’ll bet my life savings Ricky “veteran deference over merit” Stuart doesn’t.
You’re saying Elliott Whitehead walks straight back into the team that won so convincingly last night? On what basis?
I’m sure I’ve heard your mate mention before that he doesn’t change winning sides. Or only when it suits him?
Bay53 wrote: ↑March 8, 2024, 4:20 am
It is a very pleasing win and really does give us credibility as a club. Remember many people didn’t want us playing the opening Thursday night match of the season so to go and put in such a big performance in front of a big audience is massive.
You also have to say that Ricky has justified the way he played in the trials. Fogarty and Rapana were not used and they came in first up and didn’t miss a beat.
Expect for the bit where Rapa was clearly underdone, started cramping with over 25th a to go and had to be put on the wing to finish the game?
Bloody good win though and in my mind it feels like the most competent round 1 in quite a while.
Dude didn't play pre season and smashes himself on every run. But lets have a go at him. Despite scoring the try that put the game away.
There's a thousand comments on here about him being a bad choice at fullback but old mate does what old mate does and just puts in until he stops being able to move. And we still find negatives.
****
The reality is even if Rapana does require a spell during games it was the guy we all wanted at fullback giving him that break.
Rapana was in everything as usual and made a point of looking for runs up the middle. I am hoping as the season goes on that Savage, Tomoko and Kris will be the ones in the middle looking for gaps.
In the NSW Cup game it was good to see CHN running the water. He was animated and involved. Good on him. I hope he continues to progress with his health.
RedRaider wrote:Smithies went off for a short time in the first half. Was that a HIA? They didn't announce any of the Raiders changes at the ground.
Guler was put on report for a hip drop tackle. From where we were sitting there didn't look much in it. Was it more conclusive on TV?
Any news on Levy's hamstring? He was on the field after the game and there was no ice strapped to it.
One small complaint - there were Raiders fans around the ground. The players went to see family in the South West corner. We waited about 30 minutes after the game and not one Raider did a lap to acknowledge the other fans.
Yes RR, it was in the tackle he fell off with Strange, leading to a line break. Seemed like a head clashm
It was the only tackle he "missed" in the game, with 44 made.
1. The energy level and body language from the Raiders in the warm up was so much better for the Raiders than the Knights.
2. There were quite a few moments when the game was tight where momentum was shifting towards the Knights. They would make a mistake and turn all momentum around. We have usually been that team. This how Penrith wins not be sheer attacking brilliance.
3. I know it is just a really really small thing, but I think Melbourne or Penrith play this differently. About 35 seconds to go in the first half. We have a scrum feed about 40 out from our own line. We wonder over to the scrum and with 5 secs to go put some risky cross field kick. A much higher percentage play would be hurry to the scrum for time off. Work 2-3 tackles for a 2 point field goal on the half time whistle.
RedRaider wrote: ↑March 8, 2024, 6:52 am
Smithies went off for a short time in the first half. Was that a HIA? They didn't announce any of the Raiders changes at the ground.
Guler was put on report for a hip drop tackle. From where we were sitting there didn't look much in it. Was it more conclusive on TV?
Any news on Levy's hamstring? He was on the field after the game and there was no ice strapped to it.
One small complaint - there were Raiders fans around the ground. The players went to see family in the South West corner. We waited about 30 minutes after the game and not one Raider did a lap to acknowledge the other fans.
Guler's hip drop looked pretty bad, I'd say he'll miss a game or two.
Levi's was reported as a quad cork. If that's all it is, he should be fine for next week but I guess we'll know more in the coming days.
Billy Walker wrote: ↑March 7, 2024, 10:29 pm
I found that press conference to be quite disappointing. After a great win Ricky was unnecessarily petulant. The open question was a jurno heaping praise only to get Ricky snarl something like “it’s up to you to describe the performance not me”. Then the media try to heap praise on Fogs kicking game and our front row performance only for Ricky to give a surly curt response that they don’t ever get recognition.
They ask about the Hudson sin bin and he goes on some weird journey suggesting if he gets a week suspension it needs to be consistent all year, be he knows it won’t be and that he doesn’t blame the refs because they have a hard job.
It’s Round 1. Even if he truly believes in the siege mentality, world against us crap, at least hold off until there is half a reason to peddle it out or it just looks contrived and unnecessary.
He picked a great team and prepared and coached them beautifully tonight. The press conference was a fail.
Just listening to it now and i agree... just no need to be so terse and combative given the questions
Love4Noa wrote: ↑March 8, 2024, 6:56 am
People still here having a sook about Levi because their typical raider rants are now falling on deaf ears.
Dude did good. Just back up and let the dude play.
Only on the Greenhouse can we have a good win in round 1 and people still fish for negatives.
Xavier just needs to get his "sir did you see that" issues out of his game and he'll remain on in the squad. Bloke has toughened up. Looks like Rick was right in holding him back. Weird that a footy coach has a pretty good idea about what to do.
We've lost nothing by having Wighton leave. He might set the world alight at Souths but he no longer was a fit in Canberra and the team look more cohesive as a result.
That's the thing about suggesting a players not ready, you can't really lose the argument.
I think the arguments last year about a lack of speed on the edge killing the team were 100% validated last night.
Those talking about Rapana’s conditioning and cramping and linking it to his lack of trial games. He played all stars - he had as much on field game time as any other member of the squad in the pre season.
Adam O’Brien’s presser - that dude clearly has an issue with the Raiders. He referred to us as the other mob throughout and the words Canberra or Raiders never came out of his mouth.
Team victory song - interesting little twist in the end of that led by Tom Starling. Don’t look now but that may be the first public signs of a really strong cultural bond in this playing group setting out to prove all the so called experts wrong. This will be interesting to watch develop.
Billy Walker wrote: ↑March 7, 2024, 10:29 pm
I found that press conference to be quite disappointing. After a great win Ricky was unnecessarily petulant. The open question was a jurno heaping praise only to get Ricky snarl something like “it’s up to you to describe the performance not me”. Then the media try to heap praise on Fogs kicking game and our front row performance only for Ricky to give a surly curt response that they don’t ever get recognition.
They ask about the Hudson sin bin and he goes on some weird journey suggesting if he gets a week suspension it needs to be consistent all year, be he knows it won’t be and that he doesn’t blame the refs because they have a hard job.
It’s Round 1. Even if he truly believes in the siege mentality, world against us crap, at least hold off until there is half a reason to peddle it out or it just looks contrived and unnecessary.
He picked a great team and prepared and coached them beautifully tonight. The press conference was a fail.
Just listening to it now and i agree... just no need to be so terse and combative given the questions
I chuckled when he threw in the "they just never get the credit..." in reference to Tapine and Papa Both have been widely recognised among the best in the game for years!
Anyway, great to win on the road in week one, even if our opponent was extremely rusty. Loved the work rate of Young, Hosking, and Smithies in the backrow, all combined big effort plays with some real quality. Hudson's quick hands for Savage's try was a special bit of play when the game was still very much in the balance.
I thought Hoppa did a job last night, lots of hate for him on here but he made some solid dirty carries that we needed on multiple occasions when our other backs were getting monstered.
Glad to see Savage get some heavy contact and get up smiling, liked the way he finished that try too.
For those saying Strange should get more ball - that will come with time. Fogerty was dialed in with the boot and Newcastle weren't really in his face too much (at least not to the extent that he couldn't handle it) so no point changing something that was working.
All that said, Newcastle shot themselves in the foot over and over again - will be interesting to see if we can maintain that discipline and completion rate against sides that are firing on all cylinders.
Green Blogger wrote: ↑March 8, 2024, 8:51 am
Some random thoughts.
Those talking about Rapana’s conditioning and cramping and linking it to his lack of trial games. He played all stars - he had as much on field game time as any other member of the squad in the pre season.
Adam O’Brien’s presser - that dude clearly has an issue with the Raiders. He referred to us as the other mob throughout and the words Canberra or Raiders never came out of his mouth.
Team victory song - interesting little twist in the end of that led by Tom Starling. Don’t look now but that may be the first public signs of a really strong cultural bond in this playing group setting out to prove all the so called experts wrong. This will be interesting to watch develop.
Love4Noa wrote: ↑March 8, 2024, 6:56 am
People still here having a sook about Levi because their typical raider rants are now falling on deaf ears.
Dude did good. Just back up and let the dude play.
Only on the Greenhouse can we have a good win in round 1 and people still fish for negatives.
Xavier just needs to get his "sir did you see that" issues out of his game and he'll remain on in the squad. Bloke has toughened up. Looks like Rick was right in holding him back. Weird that a footy coach has a pretty good idea about what to do.
We've lost nothing by having Wighton leave. He might set the world alight at Souths but he no longer was a fit in Canberra and the team look more cohesive as a result.
Love4Noa wrote: ↑March 8, 2024, 6:56 am
People still here having a sook about Levi because their typical raider rants are now falling on deaf ears.
Dude did good. Just back up and let the dude play.
Only on the Greenhouse can we have a good win in round 1 and people still fish for negatives.
Xavier just needs to get his "sir did you see that" issues out of his game and he'll remain on in the squad. Bloke has toughened up. Looks like Rick was right in holding him back. Weird that a footy coach has a pretty good idea about what to do.
We've lost nothing by having Wighton leave. He might set the world alight at Souths but he no longer was a fit in Canberra and the team look more cohesive as a result.
I agree with this post.
I prefer Woolford but for some reason it seems any reason to get Levi in is what's happening. Not sure why. Let's see how that plays out.
I hope Savage can stay. I dont know if he will once Kris is back. What I dont understand is why him and Rapana don't share the fullback responsibility more? Thats how I would be running the side. Savage had a great 2022 season and has proven he can be a solid fb.
Wighton will be great at souths because of the players around him. He isnt and won't be a 6 there (maybe only if Cody is injured). We persisted wirh him as a 6 and it simply didn't work. We are better off with Strange developing over the next couple of years there.
Papa was very impressive, I thought Hosking was very good. Can't wait for Kris to return, and I hope Savage keeps his wing spot.
Smithies really worked hard, and Levi was solid but bloody hell......that kick was Carriage stuff
The spiral of silence refers to the idea that when people fail to speak, the price of speaking rises. As the price to speak rises, still fewer speak out, which further causes the price to rise, so that fewer people yet will speak out, until a whole culture or nation is silenced. This is what happened in Germany.
If you do not speak, you are not being neutral, but are contributing to the success of the thing you refuse to name and condemn.
Love4Noa wrote: ↑March 8, 2024, 6:56 am
People still here having a sook about Levi because their typical raider rants are now falling on deaf ears.
Dude did good. Just back up and let the dude play.
Only on the Greenhouse can we have a good win in round 1 and people still fish for negatives.
Xavier just needs to get his "sir did you see that" issues out of his game and he'll remain on in the squad. Bloke has toughened up. Looks like Rick was right in holding him back. Weird that a footy coach has a pretty good idea about what to do.
We've lost nothing by having Wighton leave. He might set the world alight at Souths but he no longer was a fit in Canberra and the team look more cohesive as a result.
Bang on
Savage showed a different side of himself last night. Firstly taking the shot from Safiti and bouncing back up. Then a noticeably strong carry when we were going nowhere. Lastly, the determination for his try - he wasn’t going to be stopped.
All things Stuart loves and I’ll be surprised if he hasn’t earned selection at least for a little while.
Love4Noa wrote: ↑March 8, 2024, 6:56 am
People still here having a sook about Levi because their typical raider rants are now falling on deaf ears.
Dude did good. Just back up and let the dude play.
Only on the Greenhouse can we have a good win in round 1 and people still fish for negatives.
Xavier just needs to get his "sir did you see that" issues out of his game and he'll remain on in the squad. Bloke has toughened up. Looks like Rick was right in holding him back. Weird that a footy coach has a pretty good idea about what to do.
We've lost nothing by having Wighton leave. He might set the world alight at Souths but he no longer was a fit in Canberra and the team look more cohesive as a result.
Agree. If Wighton played, we would have lost that game. Not being a big fan of the Savage hype last year - this year he's much better. He's benefited from the added bulk and he now looks like he belongs in the team. Levi was good. He set the standard for Starling who was really good as well. Strange was very solid. He started gaining more confidence as the game progressed. Hosking and Smithies impressed. Even Hopoate played well. I'm starting to get excited about this year.
Martin Gabor in News Limited publications said Hudson Young had a moment of sheer madness and a shocking brain snap and he also thought Guler should have been sent off for a textbook hip drop.
Firstly how many similar events to Hudson could be found in games if you watched every off ball contact in slow motion.
Secondly, how many players have been sent off for hip drops? Very very few from memory. Usually they are placed on report and dealt with by the judiciary. I also didn’t think Gulers was at the worse end of a hip drop. Likely a low grade charge.
Both have been widely recognised among the best in the game for years!
