Conspiracy theories are for the ignorant

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.

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

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

That’s entirely different. 

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.

This post is safe and effective...

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.....

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. 

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.

This booster post is also safe and effective...

Trust the science.

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.

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. 

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

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

But this is exactly the opposite of what you are arguing. 

Micko, before you start slinging the I-am-the-all-knowing-all-seeing bullshit and at the same time accusing me of being ignorant, you have no idea who I am, what I do for a living, or what I am aware of. Secondly I don't trust the science as it has been proven to be faulty time and time again, so it's not perfect and shouldn't be taken on face value. You have your opinion, that's great but don't ever label me because of my opinion.
I will say it again, conspiracies exist because the claims are not complete fabrications, there is fact sprinkled in amoungst it therefore they cannot be discredited.

ODF in one case scientists checked the work of a famous scientist 100 years later and found lots of errors. He had the right answer but the experiment design was wrong and the execution was sloppy. When people criticise science that tells me they were thinking about footy when they should have been paying attention in science class, or perhaps thinking about footy was the right thing to do.

We are on a Dogs debate page here with a big a very important game coming up. 

I still think Hayward should start at 5/8, Clark and /or Sua should play and I am happy for Underhill to get a run.

If he plays Clark  might do the goal kicking.

If Cirro makes radical changes and we lose he will get criticised.  But I say ignore the critics and trust your instincts. If you have any doubts, ask Gus what he thinks.

Rush Limbaugh and later Foxnews began the mantra embraced by the right and conspiracy nuts  the world over that you can’t trust government, can’t trust academia, can’t trust science and can’t trust the press.

Even when individually, they’ll all report on the same issue as fact. Because ofcourse then they’re all “conspiring” together.

Which is fine, but when you ask a conspiracy nut who it is they can believe, they say they get their own facts from some crackpot on the intdernet.

Overall I think that the senior management of the NRL is the best that it has ever been. 

Fans that can remember back to the 1970s will know management of the game has been very bad at times.

Refs and the bunker are an area where the game needs to improve. I think that senior management already know that. 

The style of footy is good with a good mix between attack and defence,  only spoilt by refs intervening too often and too much time taken up with bunker reviews. 

Players are as fit, skilful and professional as they have ever been.  The comp is very even and that results in more fair contests where the winner is the team that wanted it more.

Still a few dud coaches and a few older players that are in the deadwood category. 

Post covid the pipeline of young talent is flowing again and more and more clubs will buy into development which will add to the pool of talent and help even up the competition.  Plus it is great seeing a really talented young guy debut in the NRL even when he doesn't play for the Dogs.

I think that the Dogs management and coaching is also right up with the best we have ever been.

We will get the results we deserve and there are only 1-2 refs that can screw that up.

As with players most of the deadwood in the refs is guys that have been around for over a decade. Some of the better refs seem to be younger guys. And the young guys that are not nailing it still have time to adapt and improve. 

Some of the older refs should be moved to the bunker on a permanent basis with a small group of specialists making all of the bunker decisions on a rotating schedule where they get some rest breaks. Bunker doesn't have the same physical requirements and we should be using it less.

Regardless what needs to be fixed isn't major, don't buy into the media controversy, most of that is manufactured. 

In just glad the most pollies only tell lies to get elected...  Thankfully they revert to complete honesty when in power...

I'm also thankful the press have never been guilty of embellishment or fabrication...

Also glad some academics at my eldest's University have made it clear to her, men can menstruate...

Anyways.. I'll just a mask on and stay 1.5m away from everyone, and get a jab so I can't catch or transmit.... Oh....

Distrust in those institutions is as much if not more a result of people representing them being caught in the act of being dishonest, than it is driven by nut jobs on the web...

I reckon completely writing off all conspiracies is equally as ignorant as believing all conspiracies...

It's not like none of them have ever become conspiracy fact...

Back to the footy!!!...

NRLol putting their foot in it with this Latrell is not fit to serve his suspension this year... 'Walk back' coming quicker than a white house press statement after a Biden speech methinks...