Puzzle solvers,
Football is a funny thing.
How is it exactly that your team can get shellacked to the tune of 50-10 one week, then come out and score a very solid win over an in-form side, while the mob that shellacked you the week previous, in turn, gets a good shellacking, and the whole shemozzle turns full circle so the Tigers find themselves playing the NZ Worriers at Leichhardt Oval this Friday night?
As the rain bucketed down and the thunderbolts & lightning enveloped the Newcastle ISC, the Balmain forwards stood up in the storm.
Heighington and "That Pom" Ellis were the best for mine, so no surpise to see TPE pick up the MOTM award.
Which got me to thinking about the value of the Pom, in general.
Many Poms have tried but most have failed in the attempt at transition to the top grade rugby league in Straya.
Morely of Eastern Suburbs is probably the most recent one to make a good fist of it, but he was filthy as.
Ellis continues a fine tradition of the northern English hardman, a front row enforcer, who doesn't ask for any quarter, and doesn't give any.
Men of his ilk have long held the view, quite rightly for mine, that rugby league is a thug's game played by gentlemen, as opposed to rugby union, which is a gentleman's game played by thugs.
Their is a certain amount of honour to be had in stoving another bloke's nose in, in a fair and honest way.
Chin music in its purest form.
Then of course you can go back to The Great Ellery "The Black Pearl" Hanley.
A genuine crowd pleaser and a promoter's dream, unfairly criticized during his time for his manner of play; in particular his general disdain and disregard for defence, but in the benefit of hindsight was probably one of the best three-quarter wingers to appear in the caper in living memory.
The fans loved The Pearl.
Old Balmain hands who had the good fortune to see him play at Leichhardt for a couple of seasons in the glory years of the late 80's will not hear a bad word spoken about him, which is something to say, given that he was a Pom, after all.
But back to the match...just when everyone was looking for the field goal from the Best Leb in the Game, Farar ran right through the tackle, pushed one out, one back, and Benji potted the pig's bladder over the black dot.
Not very pretty, but very effective.
It was clever wet weather football in the final paralysis, which is something SC Sheens looked to have adpated to very well by the seat of his pants with not much notice.
The Knights decided to play a backline that was made up entirely of South Sea Islanders, which might be an indication of the way of the future of the game, going forward - but as anyone will tell you they are more comfortable in hot and steamy conditions.
So, the Mighty Tiges avoid losing five games on the trot - whatever the reverse mirror image of the traditional purple patch is called.
Still well short of premiership material at this stage, which might be why the Tigers don't have any players in representative football at the moment.
Farar for some unknown reason, is still hopelessly out of favour with the NSW selectors, but don't be surprised if Lote "What'd I do, Guv?" Tuquiri or even That Try Scoring Freak Lawrence gets a call up if the Blues manage to conjour up a loss to QLD in the opening match of the State of Origin series, which as flooding rains continue fall in Sydney as this is being written, will no doubt be a bloodbath in a mudbath.
NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS 6. Tries: Rogers. Goals: Naiqama (1).
WESTS TIGERS 23. Tries: Ellis, Lawrence, Marshall, Daniela. Goals: Marshall (3). Field Goals: Marshall (1).
At International Sports Centre, Newcastle.
Crowd: 14,458.
The Swans' season is now alarmingly taking on all the hallmarks of another Battle of Wounded Knee.
As soon as Kennelly hobbled off the ground, with a knee, barely two minutes into the match, things were not auguring well.
As soon as they strapped the ice pack onto the knee, everyone knew it was pretty much curtains for the Great Tadhg for the rest of the game.
After trying hard throughout but struggling on a proppy knee, Bradshaw shuffled off late in the Championship Quarter, with a knee, and it was clear that the Fat Lady was giving the vocal chords a good warm up.
Both players would be headed for the sidelines for a couple of weeks at least you would have thought and their names will appear on the sick bay list alongside the annotation of their ailment, in their case (knee).
You'll recall Mark "Sebaceous" Seaby looks for all the world that he's out for the year with a season-ending ankle, although there is also plenty of knee involved; that one would have come back in the triage report as "whole leg rooted".
And the young first gamer, Campbell "Heefy" Heath, [the 61st draft pick in 2008], was prevented from making his senior team debut for no less than a full season, by a knee.
Great names like Kristin Thornton and Brett Meredith are also currently unable to walk without the aid of crutches due to, a knee.
And there are couple of old decrepit blokes who play on, week in week out, despite the constant niggle from, a knee.
That's more than half the side ruled out with, troubled by, or potentially troubled by, a knee.
Before the game there was a general consensus of opinion on this side of the island that as soon as Fremantle were relieved by Customs of all their cocaine on landing at Kingsford-Smith, and didn't have their run-fast-all-day gear on hand in the sheds, the Swans were dead-set specials.
Not to be.
Sadly mistaken.
Too bad.
The only encouraging thing was to see a few kiddies stand up and be counted in a losing side; Son of Gary Jack and Pretty Boy Hannebery aquitted themselves well, as they are doing on a consistent regular basis now, while Wranger Rohan had his best game ever.
Among the old crocks, SC Roos tried the Goodes Train in every position on the ground and he did nothing all day, and then finally decided to put him in the ruck after the Fat Lady had already got through the main aria, as if it was some kind of punishment, and he still did nothing.
Got the Championship Quarter all wrong-headed for mine -- what's the point of trying to stop the other side scoring goals when you are four goals down and couldn't kick a straight one to save yourself with the weather closing in?
When the Bamford gave the Dockers a free kick against a Swans runner - someone who wasn't even playing the game - it was time to make a piece of toast, have a cup of tea, a Bex, and a good lie down.
And then it rained.
Thought SC Roos comments on post match interview were quite out of order.
It's all very well and good to blame the team for not putting in "the effort".
Even Blind Freddie could see that.
But at no stage did he pose the question "why?"
Surely St Paul would have to seriously consider the idea, that is now abroad, that he no longer has the ability to inspire the players to put in "the effort", which is, after all, what coaches are principally there to do.
If not, then he should just hand the reigns over to Longmire forthwith, and be done with it.
Trash talkin' does no-one any good.
SYDNEY: 3.2, 5.4, 8.5, 9.9 (63). Goals: Playfair 2, Bradshaw, Hannebery, Kirk, Smith, Jack, Malceski, Rohan.
FREMANTLE: 3.6, 9.12, 11.14, 14.16 (100). Goals: Pavlich 3, Hasleby 2, McPhee 2, Bradley 2, Crowley 2, Sandilands, Mayne, Morabito.
At Sydney Cricket Ground.
Crowd: 24,819.
