Eternal Optimists,
Well, there's a turn up for the books.
As My Spy at the Ground remarked "just goes to show Balmain can still win against good sides, and win well".
Never mind that Canterbury simply didn't turn up to play, uncharacteristically out of sorts for a top three side.
Tigers played it simple, because it's a simple game; the forwards went forward and gave the backs room to move at will, but the secret was all of their well worked set plays paid off and resulted in points on the board.
To wit, just before half time from about 15-20 yards out - The Best Leb in The Game worked the ball out of dummy half and it sailed clean across the whole backline, six or seven sets of hands, the ball carriers were jinking and weaving and throwing dummy passes left right and centre, no less than three decoy runners were deployed to confuse the defence and the pill ended up with the winger, running at full pace, on the right touchline, who found himself essentially unmarked, with his opposite number off balance, and cruised through to plant the ball on a hankerchief next to the corner post, then took out the post all arms & legs style as bodies piled up on top of him as he slid into the advertisting hoardings.
Gold.
Show me a better set play this year, from any team.
Said it before, say it again: no finer sight in world sport than running Rugby League.
You could kinda feel a thumping coming on.
Keefy Lulia - now there's a name to conjure with - equalled the joint venture club record for scoring the most the tries in a match.
Only two other blokes have scored four in a game, don't ask me to name them, the Stats Guru knows.
Keefy, eh?
Another one that Coach Harry rescued from the Dark Satantic Mills of English rugby league, and brought him back to Leichhardt.
Lulia knows the caper...busted out of reserve grade purely on sheer form, and sat on the firsts bench for a few games before being named in the run-on side, and thought to himself that given he'd been given the chance, he might as well have his finest hour.
How it used to be done back in the day.
Bravo.
And all this was after a week when Coach Potter was told that there was a high level whisper from the board that if he didn't change his attitude and win on the weekend, then his name and position would become an agenda item at this week's board meeting.
He told 'em to get lost.
It was all kept in house, hush hush, but there is no doubt that the boss came close to getting the tap on the shoulder.
A couple of journo's sniffed the smell of dead meat, but didn't have more than mere speculation to publish on, no one was talking, only a little bird singing.
At least Harry now knows that he's skating on thin ice and who is paying his not inconsiderable salary.
It's very harsh to blame the coach for mine, given the horror injury toll in the first half of the season, a bit of argy bargy in the selection process, and other shit out of his control have all contributed to a fairly ordinary season, thus far.
Still, he'd be well aware where the buck stops.
And there's no easy run home for the Tigers.
Propped my walking stick up againt the front door at the Front Bar at The Local on Monday morning, and with the aid of a typically Sydney wild & wicked westerly gale [known in these parts as "The August Winds". In July? Something's going on] it flew open to reveal the Philosopher in his usual corner leafing through the morning's fishwrap.
The Barmaid had thoughtfully fetched some cubes of cheese and cabanossi on little sticks from the pokie lounge to nibble on as he savoured this week's favoured tipple - a vodka on shaved ice, topped with orange and mango juice out of a two litre bottle that's handily kept under the bar, garnished with a twist of lemon - he calls it an 'Ogo Driver', or just an 'Ogo' for short.
The Philosopher reached for his biro, circled the scorebox on the back of the paper, peered over the rims of his glasses, poked his bony finger at it and said "well, that was a close run thing, eh?"
PS. Don't get me started on The Great Benji Marshall. He'll keep.
WESTS TIGERS 46. Tries: Lulia (4), B.Thompson, Sironen, Brooks, Woods, Gavet. Goals: Moses (2), Richards (3).
CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS 18. Tries: Inu, Lafai, C.Thompson. Goals: Hodkinson (3).
At Olympic Stadium, Homebush.
Crowd: 22,225.
No word from Swans HQ in ten days - not a squeak, not an inch of newsprint - as if everthing and everyone has been in lock down, with nothing to do.
Hope they've all got a good book to read.
SYDNEY: Split-round bye.
