I don’t mind 6 again for ruck infringements, but I think they took it too far with offside.

That’s a penalty offence and should stay so.

Happy with that as long as 2nd offside defending the try line is an automatic 10 in the bin.

According to fox sports the overall difference was 2. 11 to 9. Hardly enough to be indicative of anything

This Tino Kid from the Titans... what a fantastic purchase the Titans made & hell only get better. 

They signed him almost this time last year to a deal worth a reported $500k a season... he’s exactly the type of forward our club needs to purchase!

No more Waddell, Stimpson type signings that offer us nothing more than what we already have... we need a couple Tino’s!!!!

I was actually thinking that inside your own half it's a penalty and inside the opposition half it's a 6 again.

I tend to agree.

My other issue is the NRL for a while have been concerned with formation and execution of scrums, and have done whatever they can to abolish them.

The scrum to me is an important fabric of the game that shouldn't be removed. It may no longer be a contest anymore but its still a strategic move that allows some 1 in 1 plays once the ball is out. 

I'd much rather a scrum than tap from a sideline kick or dropped ball. 

I think that we did get a raw deal on 6 agains against Newcastle.

Perhaps without 6 agains, we get the same raw deal on penalties.

But we also conceded soft tries against Newcastle.

Since that Newcastle game our attack has gone backwards.

I prefer the team to fix our attack and defence rather than focus on the refs at this time.
There is a lot to fix. I do think we will be on the wrong end of home ground advantage.
To get our home ground advantage the team has to play well enough to bring the crowd into the game. 

It's all good to say this rule needs tweaking or that needs modifying etc etc. That's been the problem all along. The V'RLol continually fvcking around with the rules. They need to go back to the basic game and start your upgrades and modifications from there. I work in an industry where if an incident occurs they introduce new rules or or place addendums on existing rules to cover for any further similar incidents and its turned into a cluster fuck ( which I have to deal with). It seems the V'RLol appears no different.

Scrums were a great way of keeping the forwards occupied  being forwards. There's  not much I hate more than seeing the fullback in scrums and props at 5/8

Mdog they need to restore the true use of the scrum... make the half feed the ball into the centre of the tunnel and allow both hookers to have a fair rake at the ball.

Has anyone taken any notice of the score spread so far this weekend. 20-4 is the closest game. If V'Landys thinks his rule tweaks are making the game more exciting for the fans then he needs to put the glass barby down and clear those eyes because at the moment the only thing it's proving is that there is not enough quality first grade players to accomodate 16 teams, let alone trying to expand!

Glass Barby.... no wonder Dman loves V’landy’s

Without the GB we wouldn’t have questions like this -

Is it not enough good players or not enough good coaches???...

anyway, where’s my lighter...

Found it!!!... *exhales...

Is it the rules or the unconscious bias affected refs???...

The game has become more free flowing which is a positive, but the closeness of the games has all but disappeared. 

The NRL is caught between a rock and a hard place.

They know they want to get rid of the wrestle and promote a better contest between small and large blokes, but at the same time they want close contests for ratings and selling a better product.

A couple of years ago we had the penalty crackdown for ruck infringements, etc in order to remove the wrestle. Everyone was in an uproar due to the 25 penalties or game and so by round 10 they buckled.

The 6 again is intended to still penalise a team for infringement without adding to the penalty count.

It does nothing to assist the team that is receiving the 6 again call as the better teams can defend an extra set. But for the weaker teams, who looked for the penalty, and depended on it (like us), it had sent us back even further from being competitive.

As I have been saying for the last 20 odd years....
The game has moved passed the 1980s and when I look at the ladder and see Desball (1980s style) teams such as us, Manly and Cows, it just re affirms how bloody right I am.

Players and coaches will adapt.

Expect to see more emphasis on defence and fitness.

Teams that are doing better have better coordination in attack and defence and more commitment to the cause.

Not saying it is perfect, but excessive wrestle and block plays that are often obstructions bore me.

My actual experience playing sport is rules that speed it up the game and keep the ball in play make it more enjoyable to play. It is certainly more fun for smaller attacking players with speed and footwork.

The scores simply highlight the fact that good footy is now rewarded and bad footy is severly punished.

A lot of tries conceded come from defenders making different decisions, talent doesn't necessarily come into that.
That is the cause of about 70% of the tries we have conceded.
If we don't concede that 70%, we get more chances with the ball.

The Broncos, Manly, Cows and Dogs are a shambles in defence at times, that is contributing to the scorelines.
Not sure that is talent, it is fitness, desire, teamwork and coaching that is deficient. Unless we call lack of brain cells a lack of talent.

Spot on.

I'm kind of glad we are forced to change the way we play the game. 

Flogging the dead horse with 7th or 8th finish just doesn't cut it anymore.

I think Baz intended to change our attack anyway, the fact that it is a big problem isn't exactly a secret.

What is going wrong?

We need to tighten up the defence, players need to work together, make the opposition earn their tries.

Some of the 2nd efforts in tackles conceding 6 agains, are dumb, dumb, dumb, players need to be smarter.

In attack we need more hard straight running, players making dumb decisions, throwing silly passes or playing at half speed need a stint in reserve grade. We need more variety in attack, but running harder and playing faster is 90% of what we need.

I'll be honest and say some of our older players are taking short cuts, not running hard, going through the motions, or not fit enough.

I would rather have young players with energy even if they make mistakes. Our attack looks predestrian becuase players are not putting in, they may be tired due to a lot of defence, but if they work together in defence and stop dumb 6 agains, they will have less defence to do.

I still think Baz knows what the problems are and how to fix them. But most of this season looks like being spent just trying to get the basics right.

hd, like you I would rather see an almost reggies side go out and give their all against the experienced FGers and although they may not win a lot of games, Baz will be able to mould them the way he'd like them to play and by next season when Burton and JAC come on board they will be able to slot in where and how Baz wants them relatively easy. We are fvcked anyway this season so a little pain for a massive gain is well worth it.

"I would rather younger players with energy even if they make mistakes"

Absolutely. 
Our players feel as though if they dont chance their arm and play conservatively, they will be seen in a positive light.

That is not true atm. We are so predictable and easy to defend against, that's its no wonder we havent scored a point in 3 full games.

If I were coach, and if Lewis was available, I'd play Lewis and Wakeham in the halves and drop Flano to bench. I'd do it for 2 reasons. 

1) to teach Flano a lesson that his impotent plays just don't cut it
2) allow Lewis and Wakeham to chance their arm with some plays
3) work out how to use a half as a backup hooker

With Avo at fullback, Lewis and Wakeham in halves, Katoa at hooker and Flano on bench, Barrett can see how the halves go and at some stage sub Wakeham to hooker, Flano to half.
This wouldn't waste any interchanges but will mix things up and possibly throw the defence out. 

We only saw 6mins of Lewis but his 5th tackle kicks were already 10 times more threatening than anything Flanagan and Avo has done in the last 3 games....

Ok make that 3 reasons....

Hey that was MY idea!

But yes, it's got more hope in improving the team and style of play than trying to change the existing bunch

Wakeham can be backup hooker, or Topine who can play as a backrower.

IMO the coach only needs to drop 1-2 players  a week to send a message.

The candidates are Hoppa, Napa, Stimson and Wardell... 1-2 from that list is a start.
Napa maybe get a few more chances with Ava out injured.

They are not winning each week but there are a few in reserve grade that deserve a chance.
Tier 1 - Lewis, Doorey, Schoupp, Ava, Chris Smith, Wakeham
Tier 2 - Dietz, Vince Rennie, Davies/Casey, Heleta/Manu.

I'm a bit unsure when we get to tier 2, but most of these are outside the top 30.

I want to drop Hoppa and Schoupp is a ready made replacement who I strongly suspect is one of the best players in reserve grade each week, he impressed me in the trial. He isn't in the top 30, still I would like to make it happen some how. 

Does Dman know anything about that NRLW player charged with assaulting bouncers at Northies?

Your shout means you need to play for a round of drinks, not start shouting.

Haha Klemmer ... you gifted the opposition a try.

Saved by an idiot in the bunker.

I often said Cam Mckinness was a rubbish hooker.
Since he has left the Dragons, they have broken the shackles and look like a football team.

Once again.....get rid of Desball players and you grow another leg

Well that is bizarre turn around.

Good thing is, one of these teams has to lose.

I think I hate New-cas-tle more than the Dragons...

Ditto,.

I hate the fact that they get all the 6 agains.

Looking forward to Klem getting smashed when he comes back on.

The Dragons are playing better than they have for a while.
McCollouch is a good hooker reasonable service and great defence.

We need to copy the Dragons style, but we need the forwards to do it.

If this game blows out, I recon the Dragons will put a score on Drugcastle.

Would we want Josh McGuire?

He is a grub who I dislike almost as much as Napa. And his form is ordinary.

But he is a middle forward with experience that has played at a high level in the past.