2007 NRL Round Up

Well another season has passed, another team crowned premiers and we are all left to ponder what could have been. Congratulations must be said to Melbourne, clearly the best team all year after only dropping 3 games. That is quite an incredible feat in itself. Fortunately for me I was in Melbourne over the grand final weekend, celebrating along with the 2 supporters who follow the Storm… ok, ok I was joking… there’s actually 5.

Having said that, I also have some more things to add:

It must be said, the salary cap is an absolute joke! In theory it is a good idea, but something needs to be done to fix this broken system. One only has to look at all the players going overseas at the end of the season. If something isn’t done, all our top players will move away to get paid more. Also, players are changing teams more often than Prince can change his name. What has happened to team loyalty? Its one thing that has died from the game. All the player movement is great for clubs with poor management, because all they have to do is buy their players. The teams that suffer are the ones who choose the best prospects, train them up, turn potential into talent, only to have another team offer to pay them more money and poach them. That pisses me off! While there is no easy fix, and I by no means have the answers, there are a large number of suggestions. One of course is to raise the cap. Two is to give the players incentives (cash or something) to stay with the club, or at least with the NRL.

Now this is a more personal opinion, but the cap is probably resulted in the fact that different teams have won the premiership over the past decade. No dynasties. No Parramatta/Bulldogs of the 80′s. No St George with 11 straight premierships. I hate the fact that there is no dominant force. There is no more passion any more. Dynasties are good because the supporters of that team love it, and every other supporter joins forces to hate that team and rally for that team to lose, creating passion. Melbourne have been to the grand final twice now… can they go back to back premiers? Can they create a dynasty?

Another thing I must say, is the officiating of the game. It has got to be one of the most poorly officiated games around. Mainly because a poor decision can lead directly to a try, or even decide a game! It so frustrating to be a fan and see obvious mistakes made by referees, and I’m not talking about viewing after the replay, I’m talking about the simple stuff that can be picked up at normal speed. They miss the most obvious calls. Seriously guys, pick up your game! My solution is to enable the refs on the field to change calls at the discretion of the video ref. Only seems fair doesn’t it? The technology is there, why can’t we use it? Oh and another thing that shits me with penalties is that players will try to milk it for all its worth by staying down or trying to quick play the ball. To you I say this, kicking your legs like a fucking retard whilst being tackled DOES NOT entitle you to a penalty. I reckon refs should be able to call penalties to the defending team on situations like that.

Johnathan Thurston – did anyone see him play against the Sea Eagles? Questioning every decision the refs made and throwing his weight around. Who the hell does he think he is? Man, that guy is so up himself…

On a different note, I must mention the Rabbitohs, everyone’s favourite underdog! Well done on a great season! Hopefully you guys will be back there next year.

And I can’t finish without mentioning my team, the Bulldogs. So depressing, they were never really in it and played pretty poorly all year. I think the club needs to rethink its strategy. All these ‘faster’ teams are winning more than the slow Bulldogs who only have a really good forward pack going for them. I think this article covers it pretty well.

Lastly, congrats to the Storm. It would be good to see them at the end again in 08. Only if they don’t suffer from the curse of the premiership and get injured out of contention. In recent years, the team defending their premiership have had a shocking run of injuries. Just ask the Broncos, or the Bulldogs. In any case I look forward to the 2008 premiership season, which also marks the 100 year anniversary of Rugby League in Australia. Hopefully its bigger and better than ever.