A month to go to the real season start. Yeeehawwwwwww!

Trial matches started this weekend with the Tigers scoring some pretty impressive wins. No, it doesn't matter what team they played just the 78-4 and the 92 - 2 scorelines. That is allthat matters and a very nice start for the 2005 premiers.

Canterbury played Leeds in the World Club Challenge and went down 39 - 32 (awww shame that) and really I don't think Canterbury were ever really in it. El Masri attempting to pass in goal and giving a gift try to Leeds wasn't the highlight for the bulldogs I shouldn't imagine. It wasn't their full strength side and they were sorely missing match practice. But still fair dues to Leeds. Must be a novelty for the locals to see Leeds win at Elland road ....

Strangely quiet start on the controvesy front after what we've come to expect in previous seasons! Anyway, may it be a great season all round.

official NRL site

Opps, silly me that is the Tigers page of it. Here is the front page of NRL.com

UTT

Looks like I'm talking to myself for another season

Quote:

---

Strangely quiet start on the controvesy front after what we've come to expect in previous seasons! Anyway, may it be a great season all round.

---

Spoke to soon! Kights players went on a bit of a rampage through a uni dorm room and ended up with $100 000 in fines and one players contract being withdrawn. When when when will they learn??

Bigger news, I think, but won't be quite so widely publicized is the one about Jarrod McCracken. http://www.smh.com.au/news/League/McCracken-set-to-chase-35m-payout/2005/02/22/1109046921857.html That was the most horrible tackle I've ever seen and he deserves everything he can get.

Come on 10 March - first up - Dragons v Doggies!

Even tho the Dragons have not had a great run with player health for a few seasons, I am looking forward to cheering on the Mighty St George Illawarra Dragons throughout another season of the Greatest Game of All !

John Hopoate got suspended for 17 matches for the high tackle on the weekend and Manly have announced they're suspending his contract. Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke. What the **** were Manly thinking taking him on anyway after the ummm finger incident?

Hope the door of the tribunal room hit him in the back of the head on the way out- the bloke is a deadset loose cannon!

The other thing is, and this probably won't mean much to non-Tiger supporters, but the judicary must have thought that this was a worse tackle than the king hit that Danny Williams did on Mark O'Neil last year. Williams got 18 matches on a fair record and Hopidiotate gets 17 with his record. Go figure.

I don't think the length of the sentence will matter- no club will be silly enough to take him on now. One less thug in the game...

True enough - just don't want Hoppa to feel hard done by cause he didn't get the longest suspension since NRL came in.

This story was in the Sun-Herald - the morning of the Hopoate 'tackle'.

Quote:

---

Manly captain Michael Monaghan admits Terry Hill and John Hopoate treat a fine line with their on-field antics - as witnessed against the Warriors - but claims the volatile duo are experienced enough to bully and badger opponents this season without running foul of the NRL judicary.

Rather than being worried about Hill and the controversial Hopoate gonig too far with their combativeness and ending up on the sidelines through suspension, Monaghan was buoyed by the fact they were providing the Sea_Eagles with a kind full on aggression capable of making the club a premiership force again.

.... Monaghan said before the clash at Brookvale Oval today "You know you're in for a tough afternoon against them. They were brough up in a different era, when the game was a little bit rougher and a lot more onfield stuff went unnoticed. They have to be careful, but they know what they're doing these days."

---

Oh such delicious timing.


(edit to add - where is Engadine???)

What is the opposite of 'buoyed'?

Oh. My. Effing. God!!!!!!!!!!

37 - 36 to the Tigers over the bulldogs!!!!!!!!!!!!! Me and all the others who tipped the must be ecstatic. Oh wait - it was just me who tipped them. Yeehawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! And I only put $1 on them to win and $4 with the start. lol God that was exhausting.

Engadine, present and accounted for, SIR!
Sorry guys n gals been lousy for weeks now, and the footy hasn't helped!
Bloody Dragons, what are they up to this year, another season will pass them by without a Premiership . . . unless we get a miracle . . . wtg Copago's Tiges, top match, watched it on Foxtel so we could see the Tige's tries over and over!
I'll be out of action for a bit longer still, hope to be all sorted by May! Will catch you all round tho, I hope!

Good to see you again, Engadine! Look after yourself and look forward to you being back so I have someone to talk footy with!!

Copago's in a good mood today!

What are the odds - the Doggies have lost 8 of the last 10 games against the Tigers .. and St George have lost 3 of 3, ouch!

Odds, smchoods - they're overrated ...

Been a long time but thankfully my Internet connection was down for much of the losing streak the Tigers suffered but we're back in form now with a win over the Knights last weekend. I was worried about that one cause I didn't want the Kinghts first win to be over my team. Phew.

Origin next week ... yeeehawwwww. Love Origin and it will be another win for the Blues..

more later but for now let's just say I'm a happy little vegemite.

Okay so Tigers got up over Canberra - it was all us in the first half and i was a bit worried second half with the Raiders scoring 3 tries early on but we hung in there and got the two points. Yay. Thank god QLD didn't want Scott Prince and Benji Marshall isn't Australian

Such a close comp so far this season and except for Souths and Newcastle (surprisingly) fighting for the spoon everyone else is well in contention.

Two and a half hours til kickoff in the first State of Origin. Love this footabll - it's the toughest games you can get and they are the only games of the year that I care whcih teams wins it without a tiger in sight.

SO go the Blues!


And if I keep talking to myself like this then the men in white coats will be coming shortly!

Bugrit.

Queensland score golden try in first part of extra time.

Crazy game though ... but too late to go into it all.

What an amazing game! Queensland led by 19 to nil early on the second half, and were looking home and hosed.

New South Wales struck back with FOUR quick tries to take a one point lead, and I thought we had them.

A field goal in the last 30 seconds tied it all up, and off we went to 'golden-point'. Matt Bowen grabbed an intercept for the canetoads, and it was all over- Qld by 26-20

I am glad there are two more State of Origins left- we will win then both and the NSW flag will be flying on the Story Bridge yet again..

Quote:

---

... the men in white coats will be coming shortly

---

Would they be the AFL goal umpires, mate?

Quote:

---

Would they be the AFL goal umpires, mate?

---

Please don't swear at me. Uncalled for.

Sigh. If only the world could have blown up at 3:20.

Second State of Origin tonight.

Zippedy do da zippedy day, my oh my what a wonderful day ...