I know you clearly lack the understanding I have. But this is just such an ignorant view. 

Yeah just like the conspiracy that the Earth is round and it's not the centre of the universe. Pfftt, that one aged well, it's just a shame that the poor ignorant person was burned at the stake for spreading that bullshit

Side as expected,  Skelton replacing Xerri, Hutch replacing Burto,.

Reserves also logical, Taffee,  Underhill,  Hopoi,  Clark and Sua.

If Underhill,  Clark and Sua don't get a run this year,  I expect to see them in 2025.

The fact that Underhill is named ahead of Patolo and Farmer might be bad news for those guys. They must be long odds to get a run  this year and no certainty to be at the club next year. 

Mostly what we need for all remaining games is the energy of the Canberra game  - hard running, kick chase, line speed,  energy in the tackle - the Manly game was a few notches below that.

There was a game recently where we scored 2-3 trys from kicks, definitely one try from A Burton kick and one from Sexton. I don't remember the game  - kicking in the Manly game wasn't as good.

Ball movement was best in the Broncos game and has been good most games since. It was good against Manly, but there were also some simple unforced errors.

Digging a bit deeper, I think our best is good enough to beat anyone.

All up Manly were very good, but it was probably our worst performance for 10 weeks or more. Reflecting on the Canberra game and the Canberra performance against the Chooks was what inspired these thoughts.

I think Cirro will pick Hutch to replace Burton, last time we saw Hutch was the loss against the Chooks and that game was as bad as the Canberra game. If Hutch is picked I hope he brings plenty of energy.

Trust the science.

This booster post is also safe and effective...

What I got out of the Canberra/Roosters game was effort and commitment can win almost any game, 

Canberra were also committed against us, they played better against the Chooks but not a lot better. 

The main worry for our side is players carrying injuries.

If the other side matches the effort and commitment, it comes down to talent and execution. 

Our execution the last 2 games was not as good as it was for the previous 4 games. Being switched on and energetic should fix that. 

On that form I would sign Horsbough, if the Raiders have improved since they played us, he is part of that.  Covered a lot of ground in defence.  But seemed to be guessing where to fill in.  Rarely made the tackle but often in the frame and that freed up other defenders. 

I think a lot of NRL coaches will be studying how Canberra defended. Smithies and Horsbough may have moved around so that Tapine and Pappa didn't need to move as much.

The additional factor is we don't want to enter the semis on the back of 2 losses. Manly are hard to beat a Brooky.

Yes Parra deserve the spoon, I think Tigers can get the win.

I expect Canberra to thrash the Dragons, but results are hard to predict.

I think that we will see everything that the Dogs have got this weekend, we should be all in. I expect a big game from Critter and I think he can get Kiks fired up.

First half against Manly Kiks seemed to be off the pace,  he improved as the game went on, Sexton and Preston stepped it up after Burton went off.

I think that we had an element of self-preservation first half against Manly and were surprised by their energy. We should come out of the blocks at top speed against the Cows. 

We play Sat afternoon....

If we happen to beat Cows by a big margin (over 30points) it will make both Sunday games very interesting, as Manly play Sharks and a big win (over 40 points) could gift us 4th spot, but otherwise the next game (Knights vs Dolphins) decides who we play in the Elimination final.

I am just as interested in the spoon bowl and really need the Tigers to win this to condemn Parra to another piece of timber ware.....

Based on my calculations, a loss to the Cows means we will play Manly either at home (if Manly also lose) or away (if Manly win).

If we beat the Cows, we get a home game against the 8th placed team (Dolphins or Knights).

There is also the ever so slight chance that if we beat Cows by 36 points and Manly beat Sharks by 36 points, we sneak into 4th spot and play Storm in Melb, but not likely.

The win is important.

Very well said.
There are very few ppl in the world that are both smart and coniving enough to pull off some of these conspiracies. 

As you say, the incompetence of some gives rise to the suspicion of others and before you know it, it gets interpreted as a deliberate act.

hd, in relation to Skelton, I was at the game and his mind was somewhere else from the time they run onto the field with the clock showing 80:00 minutes to go. He was wearing black an gold, and if I was Cirro I wouldn't entertain that experiment again but I'm not Cirro so my opinion means jack.

Kiraz at right centre with Skelton,  Clark or Sua..

If Clark I would defend Clark on the wing and play him mostly at centre in attack, he is a centre but I think that the centre is defending Val.

Sua has size, speed,  skill and brains, a specialist wing, scored a Hat-trick of trys in the last reserve grade game.

I would have Kiraz and centre and Sua on the wing.

Cirro might give Skelton another chance,  one poor piece of defence out of position and didn't show enough urgency also out of position in attack 2 or more times.

Skelton is just showing inexperience in league, Sua hasn't played NRL but has played a long of wing in the lower grades.  

Mazzone is a real flyer on the wing, but younger and probably not physically ready. 

Clark could do a job and is a good centre who can play wing. Cows are big and powerful on that side.

Clark might be  a better defender than Sua. Cirro will know more than I do.

The other option is Perham who has NRL experience and can play wing / centre,  he would probably be OK in those positions. 

Who would you put at right centre? Please don't say Skelton, mate that bloke clocked off 3 weeks ago. Maybe a youngster.... couldn't do any worse.

Xerri is definitely out I would start Critter on the left side.

It Burton is out Hayward at 5/8.

We need to improve the left side defence for this critical game, it was a problem against Manly.

Our attack was pretty good against Manly, defence was the issue. 

Cirro needs to get the team selection right. This is the most vital game of the season so far for us. The worst case scenario is that if we lose we finish 7th. A home semi really increases our chances week 1.

Games are still won and lost on the field.

Panthers are not a favoured club, most clubs aren't. 

Scouting and development still has a big impact on squad depth. 

A few clubs are stacked with rep class talent. That doesn't always result in premierships.

Refs are having too much impact on result, but a lot of that is simply being reactionary and individual refs being given a lot of freedom to ref their style.

It isn't always fair, but suck it up and move on. 

I don't agree with 1 week for the Xerri tackle on Saab,based on the video I saw it didn't look like a hip drop to me and certainly not a bad intentional hip drop.  No point in whinging just cop it and put our best 17 on the field next game.

We didn't get the worst of the calls on the field or in the match review committee. Most clubs have something to complain about. 

Do a good job with the things under our control success will come sooner or later. 

I do think that the NRL senior management should do an in depth review of all aspects of the refs performance in the off season. Refs are slowing down games, breaking up the flow, impacting on the end result far too much.  There is too much variation in style ref to ref. Some refs are pedants who seem to love being in the limelight. 

This issue is common in all sports. In hockey rep players had to ref games. A guy I played with at uni was told. "You blew too many penalties". He replied "Every penalty was correct". They replied "Yes, but you blew too many penalties".

The quality of a ref can be judged by the penalties they don't blow, especially when "play on" advantages the attacking side.

This post is safe and effective...

Not all conspiracy theories are entirely true, yet they are not entirely false either. They exist because there is an element of fact in there somewhere. You know the old saying "where there's smoke, there's fire". Don't just label someone as ignorant because you don't want to believe.
And yes, some people who have power love to exercise their control. It's like  drug to them.

That’s entirely different. 

The same can be said about people that believe the NRLol are upfront, honest and trsnsparent.

With any luck we win. Kinights win. We win our first final in Sydney against them in front of a huge crowd. NRL wins. 

4 teams in the mix for top 8, Raiders fairly impressive. 

Teams that were great this week likely to be poor next week?

There should be a DallyM award for attempting to kick the ball out of the attackers hands.

SJ going out in style winning the game with the last play was epic.

Conspiracy theories are for the ignorant

Just heard the NRLol have approved first of its kind late season interclub swap deal... Walker for SJ, JRey, Foz, Hunt, and Moses for the remainder of 24...
#innovation...

Interesting weekend of footy...

I hope that the refs stick to sin binning players after contact with the head regardless. 

They painted themselves into a corner with the controversy over Critter. 

Binning of a Sharks player in dubious circumstances probably changed the result of that game. 

Out of all the teams we handle being a man down better than anyone, we get numbers in the tackle and don't go for many big hits.

If they keep binning players they will ruin some contests but at least that is consistent.  If they stop binning players it will look like a total joke.

The only way to fix the problem is replace Annesley with someone competent. 

They need to apply consistent standards all season, not have a knee jerk reaction in response to media pressure 2 weeks before the semis.

Refs need to try to stay out of the contest in the semis, we want the games to flow. 

Fans, coaches and players are all frustrated with the refs.

Flanno is the other  oach I have doubts about. 

He doesn't have a lot to work with, but he is happy to take all of the credit for success, and none of the blame for failure. 

Old man Bennett is a classic, his Pressers can be very funny, And the journos only get what he wants them to get which close to nothing. 

The Broncos fans and the club in general are used to the days when they had more talent than most other clubs and winning was easy. The Fins are a grass roots club like the Dogs, prepared to work hard for success. The Fins have got a damn ugly jersey but a lot of spirit. 

If The Broncs start slow next season I reckon they’ll move on Kevvie.

I personally don’t think he’s got the mentality to be an NRL coach, certainly the knowledge but not the temperament.

He’s almost schizo, gets way too high and way too low. That stupid prediction of last week being an example of the former and last nights presser an example of the latter.

The press gets under his skin, rival coaches get under his skin, he can be played like a fiddle.

I’m sure he’ll be involved in NRL for life, plenty of talent for that, but I think it’ll be in an assistants role or similar, don’t think he’ll get another head coaching gig once The Broncs pull the trigger.

And I reckon The Broncs will move as soon as they think they reasonably can because the don’t want to miss out on potential targets of which there are few and likely to be less if they don’t jump quick enough.

Specifically either of The SOO coaches. Slater may seem the better fit being a QLDer but it might be Madge who the better option and I think for them he would be.

And he’d jump at it.

The loss to Manly might turn out to be the best thing that has happened to us this season.

We clearly have issues that we need to address,  if that loss happens in the semis, we are out.

We know what needs to be fixed, and if we can't fix it we need to recruit / develop some players who can help us fix it.

Cirro seems to think that the current team can fix it.

The only game that surprised me was the Fins / Broncos, I was hoping for a Fins win, but expected a close game. The media criticism of old man Bennett would have helped the Fins.

Dragons/Parra was a lame defensive effort from both sides.  Not surprising from Parra.

We can't expect our team to be perfect when the teams are close and upsets happen.

The Dragons and Broncos failed miserably when it mattered most. We were just a bit off, and  the opposition team, who switched right on, and played their best game for years.

Cirro has options to play some bigger players. We just have to trust him and hope that we can find the right formula.