Melbourne v Penrith.

[Qld Chook]

Penalty to Panthers.
Penalty to Panthers.
Penalty to Panthers.
Penalty to Panthers
Six again to Panfhers..."ruck infringement".
Six again to Panthers..."ruck infringement".

Panfhers won the game.
mmmm

Penalties coming out of trouble are complete game changers now. It easily swings momentum and usually ends with 6 points.

The referees interfere too much imo, they should just let it flow. Don’t get me wrong, there will be penalties, but from a spectator stand point, they are generally very obvious. A lot of the penalties and 6 agains I’ve witnessed lately i either have no idea what they are for or they are just 50/50 calls and not worth halting the game and giving one team an easy out.

Like I said before the impact penalties and 6 agains have is too great to be blowing 50/50’s. Just take it easy refs and let the players sort out the result.

In saying all this Penrith were clearly better. But they often get the rub of the green too. I think we would’ve put a far better fight up last night than the storm but with all our outs would’ve ultimately still lost.

[bondi.boy]

Yes hopeless.
We got the prize this year for the worst stats of any club?

Highest number of mistakes.
Highest number of missed tackles.
Lowest number of line breaks.
etc?
Anyway, shockingly horrible stats.

If we don't change we'll never win another title.
Panthers and Broncos are winning...copy them...it's as simple as that.

All the Panthers did last night was shift the ball wide (not stuff around in the middle trying to barge thru like we do
...wasting tackles.
Not ever a Storm winger in sight...To'o and co just scored tries at will in the corners.

[Qld Chook]

IMO over-celebration is a cultural thing. People are allowed to do it but it's cringeworthy when (for example) an already beaten team does a clumsy knock-on with 5 to go and the premiership favourites start climbing on each other, screaming 'wooohooooooo' and doing an all out celebration as if they've won the premiership.

We also won two premierships in a row and have a better record than Penrith but for the past few seasons. As an Easts fan, I dare say that Nick and Robbo would give our players a flogging if we were doing that sorta shyte. Winners are grinners but I support Easts because I think we have a little more class than that.

Penrith came good at a really odd time of fear and uncertainty (where a lot of teams just weren't up for it). I predict that Brisbane will beat Penrith this year and Penrith won't be all that dominant next year. A lot of players are coming off contracts they signed before Penrith came good. The cycle of boom and bust will continue.

I think Penrith look like flogs and are arrogant they way they carry themselves. You can be confident and celebrate at the same time without being arrogant and disrespectful.

One thing I do envy is the energy they have within. They way they get around each other for every play(like dragging someone out or forcing an error in contact). We do it occasionally, I noticed a particular emphasis around it when we beat the Titans on the goldy. But often we never really celebrate the small things which I think is important for team cohesion and just maintaining energy levels.

[barryd]

Storm are shite without Klein in their corner.

So true . Their style only worked because the refs were on board.

[barryd]

Agreed. Their dominance doesn’t appear to ending any time soon either.

As much as I would love to see da Wah’s get up over the Bronco’s tonight, I feel the Bronc’s are the only real shot at stopping the 3peat.

I would rather see the 3 peat than a broncos win.
Wah’s is my preference

[barryd]

Freak of a club player. For sure.

Inconspicuous at rep level.

At rep level he doesn’t get the advantage of a nice big 10m. That advantage goes to Queensland.

[ChookMaster]

Just too good

[mattyh]

How many times does he get hit late or targeted in defence? How many times can he step 3 players and score on his own? What has he done in Origin?

All the greats he is supposedly on par with him, had all those 3 things. He isn't even remotely close to the greats. Systems player.

guy is 25/26 , most halves don't mature till late 20 's early 30's ...ala cronk, Reynolds, sj , he has won 3 origin series , I think joey only won 5, he has time a plenty . he is on odds on to have a third premiership ring in a week and a bit .

if he was a roosters player people here would be annointing him an immortal already .

[mattyh]

the thing that penrith do so well is the cycle / grind . kick , chase , tackle , with little or no drop ball at extremely high energy .

other teams can match it for 20 mins but not 80 , it's the footy equivalent of death by 1000 cuts and then cleary has his kick on top of that .

is it super exciting ? not really , I guess their energy is good to watch, but no team can match them at it .

the roosters and the rest of the comp would be wasting their time trying to play like them , similar to how teams used to try to out melbourne melbourne . you just wont win . in fact your just a poor man's copy .

the roosters and the other 16 clubs have to find a style / system that can beat the panthers cycle ,trying to emulate it wont beat them at it .

[bondi paul]

The Riff so impressive against the drizzle however I couldn’t help but notice how lots of them looked bug eyed.

[Jacks Fur Coat]

I don't enjoy Penriths likely 3peat domination atm...but jeez you gotta hand it to them. They have taken professional and sustained high performance to the next level.

I thought they would be in reverse this year, losing Kikau and Korisau and the same weight of pressure that we experienced post b2bs.

There must be unmatched standards in training methods, sports science and recovery/rehab that has not been seen before in the NRL And their fitness is crazy, so on point.

Both Clearys deserve special mention. Ivan the Cerebral slips under the radar for acclaim due to his laid back and stress free persona. Must be an outstanding footy coach. And the Chin is playing to a standard of controlled skill and confident intensity I can't recall being matched.

Having said that, I must support the Bronx in next weeks decider after they win through tonight. It will set up a grand final for the ages.

[player 1]

I don't enjoy Penriths likely 3peat domination atm...but jeez you gotta hand it to them. They have taken professional and sustained high performance to the next level.

I thought they would be in reverse this year, losing Kikau and Korisau and the same weight of pressure that we experienced post b2bs.

There must be unmatched standards in training methods, sports science and recovery/rehab that has not been seen before in the NRL And their fitness is crazy, so on point.

Both Clearys deserve special mention. Ivan the Cerebral slips under the radar for acclaim due to his laid back and stress free persona. Must be an outstanding footy coach. And the Chin is playing to a standard of controlled skill and confident intensity I can't recall being matched.

Having said that, I must support the Bronx in next weeks decider after they win through tonight. It will set up a grand final for the ages.

True, but getting a 13-5 penalty count in your favour, as the pamfers did last night, is something we never experienced when we had the top side, no matter how much we were dominating. Rather, we'd be on the wrong end of that count in an obvious ref effort to even things up.

We might have won 4 or 5 comps in a row otherwise.

[BTRD]

We will never beat Penrith unless we change our style of play.

They are like Novak Djokovic. A machine that wears you down with a very low error rate; waiting for you to beat yourself.

We however play a very high risk style of footy which totally plays into Penrith's hands. They just grind us and wait for the inevitable dropsies.

Either Robbo adapts or we continue to get hammered by Penrith.

100000000000%%%%%%%%%% agree.

It is time for Robinson to " go after " beating these p ricks.

[Jacks Fur Coat]

True, but getting a 13-5 penalty count in your favour, as the pamfers did last night, is something we never experienced when we had the top side, no matter how much we were dominating. Rather, we'd be on the wrong end of that count in an obvious ref effort to even things up.

We might have won 4 or 5 comps in a row otherwise.

Yeah fair points mate. The refs, certainly last nights cranky man, get a bit hypnotised with the pace they play at and tend to give them the nod. I hope "Joey" Atkins gets the GF, most capable of an ordinary lot.

[bondi.boy]

the thing that penrith do so well is the cycle / grind . kick , chase , tackle , with little or no drop ball at extremely high energy .

other teams can match it for 20 mins but not 80 , it's the footy equivalent of death by 1000 cuts and then cleary has his kick on top of that .

is it super exciting ? not really , I guess their energy is good to watch, but no team can match them at it .

the roosters and the rest of the comp would be wasting their time trying to play like them , similar to how teams used to try to out melbourne melbourne . you just wont win . in fact your just a poor man's copy .

the roosters and the other 16 clubs have to find a style / system that can beat the panthers cycle ,trying to emulate it wont beat them at it .

Stopping Panthers getting a 13-5 penalty count in their favour ..seems like every time they play....plus heaps of 6 agains...would be a good start.
Including legal action

Having a team that can tackle would also be a great help.