Three horse race

[jjai]

A little write up i came across..

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/out-of-our-way--why-selfishness-is-not-a-dirty-word-for-nrls-top-trio-20110721-1hqze.html

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There has to be a mistake there.. DCE isn`t a kiwi is he ???

 

[torana355]

Good read and i somewhat agree with most of it. I just can't wait to play the Scum and Brisbane at full strength to see where we are really at.

 

[bones]

According to the writer of that column, DCE is a kiwi now:


It helps, of course, to have experienced representative players in key positions, which the top four all do. They each have at least one representative playmaker. The Storm have Cooper Cronk and Gareth Widdop, the Dragons Jamie Soward and Ben Hornby (or for that matter, Nathan Fien), the Broncos Darren Lockyer and Peter Wallace, the Cowboys Johnathan Thurston (his absence one reason the Cowboys are still teetering between the leading group and the peloton). Manly, meanwhile, have Kiwis Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans.

 

[Wolfpack]

Well researched article no doubt.

Premiership should go to one of Manly, Dragons or the Storm (c**ts) but I wont rule out one of the teams like the Cowboys or the Warriors hitting a patch of form & making a decent run in the finals. Crazier things have happened.

 

[bones]

Well researched article no doubt.

Premiership should go to one of Manly, Dragons or the Storm (c**ts) but I wont rule out one of the teams like the Cowboys or the Warriors hitting a patch of form & making a decent run in the finals. Crazier things have happened.

What about broncos?

 

[Mybludog]

Don't rate the Broncos.

Winner will come from Eagles or Dragons

 

[Wolfpack]

What about broncos?

I don't think that they have it in them to win it all this year. Cowboys & Warriors are two teams that can come out & be world class on any given day if it all falls right for them, I don't get the same vibe from the Broncos.

Also don't underestimate my overwhelming detestment at all things Brisbane Broncos/Queensland/Darren Lockyer.

 

[jbb/james]

And at least one of those horses should be swabbed

 

[The Eagle]

agree,melbourne is the new brisbane,origin,salary cap and all

 

[COMMANDER]

I'd agree with most that's said, but this season is so friggin long that a team always emerges from the bottom half of the eight to be major threats.

Warrior and West Tigers could fit that bill.

 

[eagles2win]

I'm still worried about the Warriors tbh

 

[mickqld]

Only Melbourne and Steelers are our rivals the rest aren't in the same class

 

[Brewski]

I'd agree with most that's said, but this season is so friggin long that a team always emerges from the bottom half of the eight to be major threats.

Warrior and West Tigers could fit that bill.

Well why are they aloud too?? That just sucks in my opinion

 

[Jatz Crackers]

Well why are they aloud too??

Because they refuse to remain quiet !

 

[firechild]

Plenty of teams have made a late charge to sneak into the finals and do some damage but how often have they gone all the way? Parra '09 or Warriors '08 are recent ones that come to mind. They looked dangerous until their run ended but they always looked like it would come crashing down at some point. NZ were never a serious threat to Manly in 2008 despite being in great form and having beaten Melbourne and the Roosters. I think the premier will come from one of the top 3, even if the grand final is contested by a team outside the 3.

 

[Masked Eagle]

What about broncos?

I don't think that they have it in them to win it all this year. Cowboys & Warriors are two teams that can come out & be world class on any given day if it all falls right for them, I don't get the same vibe from the Broncos.

Also don't underestimate my overwhelming detestment at all things Brisbane Broncos/Queensland/Darren Lockyer.

Exactly. People shouldn't downplay the effect that players doing it for Beaver had on our team in 08 ... (doing it for Beaver! hehehe). Anyway, it enabled the whole squad to change their focus in a positive way and I truly believed it led to us playing with a steelier determination come finals time. To write of the Broncos trying to do it with a similar theme would be crazy.

 

[firechild]

There is a big difference from what I can see. Firstly, most of the Manly squad had been together for several years before the '08 season, they had spent a lot of time playing alongside Beaver. In contrast, the Broncos squad is very young and while they may have grown up idolising Lockyer, the situation is vastly different. Secondly, you could see Manly building for it the entire season, Brisbane have not had the same focus you could see in the Manly '08 side, add to that the motivation given most of them had played in a losing grand final side in '07. While you can't discount it entirely, I don't believe they have it in them. Having said all that, you never know who's going to be there come grand final day. How many times in the last 20 years have the 2 teams playing on GF day been the same 2 that everyone expected to be there 8 weeks out?

 

[susan]

ST Merge lost a couple at exactly the same time last year straight after origin.Often happens.They will be there when the whips are cracking for sure.They didnt choke last year so I dont think that is in the equation at all.They may get beaten by a better side but to rely on a choke is foolish.

 

[Darren]

won't be 3 horse race now unfortunately

 

[Volley]

We won't win the comp this year. But who expected us to? It's a great learning curve for all these youngsters. Look out 2013.