Paul k#nt whipping roosters and storm

[roosterproud]

Published on Jul. 30, 2018

Todd Greenberg’s preventative nit-picking directive has helped the Storm and Roosters soar to the top of the ladder while the Dragons have suffered under the refereeing changes.

That’s the opinion of lead NRL journalist Paul Kent who dissected the changing of the guard since the game’s boss back-pedalled on his initial orders.

Greenberg commanded his officials to cut out the ‘’over-officiating’’ that marred the first half of the season and instead ‘’find the balance’’ and adjudicate on what’s in front of them.

It’s at that point Kent believes the competition was turned on its head.



‘’(Since) round 11, both teams have improved significantly. Round 11 was when Todd Greenberg told the referees to stop nit-picking,’’ Kent told Fox Sports’ NRL 360.

‘’Since then, Melbourne are 8-0 (win record) and have stormed to the top of the premiership (ladder), and the Roosters are 7-1 – their only loss being a 9-8 loss to the Storm.

‘’Whether we want to admit to it or not, I think the way referees are refereeing games are influencing (games) or being an advantage to certain teams who tackle (and) defend certain ways.

‘’They are standout defensive teams, let’s make no mistake about that and it’s not their fault. Certainly the game has just gone back to a style that suits their style of footy.

‘’They were midway on the table halfway through the year when Todd made that statement. They’ve gone to the top. I think we’re seeing a real mix-up in the competition because of that.’’

Both teams are now widely considered premiership favourites and are being tipped to feature in a blockbuster grand final that adds another chapter to the Cooper Cronk storyline.

Left in their trail to glory is St George Illawarra who are in danger of losing their top four spot after topping the table as far as Round 16.

Dragons coach Paul McGregor refused to use the State of Origin period as a ‘’cop-out excuse’’ and Kent was of the same belief, suggesting the referees had influence their game plan.

‘’The difference now in the ruck interpretation has affected them more severely than other teams,’’ Kent said.

‘’Second to that, I spoke to Paul McGregor about how the big problem with Origin is not so much the workload that the players have been through.

‘’…All the evidence suggests you tend to train down during Origin. You don’t do hard training sessions. Admittedly it’s a hard game…the thing with the Dragons is what they’ve missed is that consistency of the working together, going through the review together and just staying in their defensive systems.

‘’Because they do their review, Tariq Sims isn’t there, Tyson Frizell isn’t there Jack de Belin isn’t there, nor is their halfback, so what happens is they’ve just fallen a little bit out of sorts.’’


He raises some good points if your a sook and you barracked for a gumbie team with no youth development. Eels are where they are because they are shit. So too alot of the other team.

[mightyrooster]

Yeah he raised this on 360 the other night. It’s a bit rich when they’ve been hounding the refs all season to stop the nit picking and now they have he turns around and says stopping the nit picking now favours the Storm and Roosters. News Ltd is not happy unless it’s stirring up controversy!

[QWERTY]

I don’t agree with Kent about that. First of all, we had about 4 players in origin, just like the dragons, and our team doesn’t look ‘tired.’ Second of all, the dragons have been good for the first half of the year for 3 YEARS NOW. Face it Kent, te dragons suck, the eels suck, and teams like the storm and the roosters know what they are doing because they are PROFESSIONAL CLUBS, unlike the eels, why in recent years, have been at the bottom of the table. One year at the top doesn’t count towards anything. It just means that your team managed to click

[Tommy Smith]

The Dragons spend all game diving. And they're no longer being rewarded for it. Too bad, oh so sad.

[mightyrooster]

On the other hand I do agree with him to some extent. Robbo likes to play an uptempo game and all that stop starting with the penalties was extremely disruptive to our rhythm in attack. St Merge in the other hand just miss scoring five penalty goals every game from their constant milking.

[RoosterFanNZ]

he just loves having a whinge, has to stay in the job some how

[Maxy Walker]

Ricky Stuart probably told him to say it. Kent is Stuart's muppet.

It's probably true to some degree that the cream will rise to the top when there are less stoppages for penalties but what has also happened is Roosters and Storm had to adapt to change of halfbacks and the Dragons peaked way too early like they do every year under McGregor.

[Hawkeye]

By his reasoning then, didn't St.Merge and others get a favourable leg up with the nit picking refs for the first half of the year ? just sounds like a load of shyte.

He's pulled together 2 facts and somehow decided they are related.
Might as well say the Storm and the Roosters have been unfairly favoured by winter and the Dragons were good in autumn but have struggled because winter doesn't suit their game !

[Johnny Tobin]

The Dragons spend all game diving. And they're no longer being rewarded for it. Too bad, oh so sad.

This.

The role of the refs is not to make mediocre frauds like Saints into world beaters through a glut of penalty gold.

[Lydon]

The Dragons spend all game diving. And they're no longer being rewarded for it. Too bad, oh so sad.

Spot on mate,Sims was trying to milk everything the other day yet received no calls!

Frizzel was successful in milking a penalty 2 minutes before half time that led to a Ben Hunt try,and Widdop and Vaughan had their share of whinging with no success..

The Dragons fairytale with the Refs has come to an end,which in turn has seen them drop from the top of the table..

Kent is deluded.

[gragra]

Herein is the reality according to Phil Lutton of SMH ON JULY 31ST which might show Paul Kents agenda...
End of rules crackdown only part of Melbourne Storm's success story

By Phil Lutton
The theory doing the rounds in rugby league circles at the moment is that Melbourne and the Roosters can directly thank the backlash to the early-season rules crackdown for their run of success.
It's all over social media and its proponents are garnering a great many retweets, therefore it must hold some water. Right? Right.
This NRL season has been split into two defined eras. To critics, it was like the Ice Age and the great thaw that came afterwards. A flood of penalties cracking down on the game's basics was met with derision from a rowdy bunch of players, coaches, fans and pundits, who feared for the spectacle of it all.
As a result, ahead of round 15, Todd Greenberg issued a wind-back or sorts, urging referees to continue to police the key areas but not go out of their way to look for penalties. The sin-bin was also back on the table for foul play.
The good news is the numbers show that it worked, to a degree. Figures compiled by Champion Data show that from rounds 1-14, there were an average of 8.8 penalties conceded per game. Since then, the past six rounds have seen the average drop by 1.5 penalties conceded per game. Voila!
It means referees have been getting the message, although for some teams the change has been more beneficial than others. Melbourne, as per the suggestion that the relaxed interpretations have helped their cause, are a good example.
For the first 14 rounds, they were the fifth most-penalised team in the NRL, conceding 9.1 penalties on average each game. For the past six rounds, they were the fifth least-penalised team, being stung for an average 6.7 infringements.
That all sits nicely with an eight-game winning streak that has them on top of the NRL ladder and looking every bit the premiership hope. But that is only part of the story for Melbourne, whose fortunes in another key penalty stat didn't change much at all.
During the penalty blitz, the Storm were experts at drawing penalties, being given an equal league-leading average of 9.1 over the opening 14 rounds of competition. For the past six rounds, with the foot off the officiating pedal to a degree, guess what? The Storm were still the best side at drawing penalties with an 8.8 average.
For all their skill at helping to control the speed of the other team's ruck, the Storm are masters of their own destiny with the ball in hand. They know how to contain the pace of rivals but also know how to combat those very same tactics when they are moving up the field.
The Roosters have been another team suggested to have been given a boost by the change in tack from referees, although the numbers are hardly compelling. The difference between penalties conceded pre and post round 14 was just 1 (8.6 to 7.6) and for penalties awarded, only 0.3 (8.1 to 7.8).
For others, the figures don't explain any seismic shift in performance. Over the opening 14 rounds, the impressive Dragons were the least-penalised team in the NRL, giving away just 7.6 in the midst of the crackdown.
Afterwards? They were still the best, now giving away just 5.5 per game over the past six rounds. For them, even better discipline hasn't resulted in even better form as top-eight rivals gather substantial amounts of steam.
For some teams in the top eight, the difference in refereeing has had no statistical impact whatsoever. For both Brisbane (8.0) and the Warriors (8.8), there wasn't any difference in the average amount of penalties they conceded when the first 14 rounds were compared to the past six.
But that change did see the Warriors go from being the ninth most-penalised team to the second most-penalised team in the latter stages of the year, with the Raiders (9.0 per game) now the worst offenders.
The team to benefit most out of the end of the penalty blitz? That would be the Gold Coast Titans, who have dropped three penalties per game from the stat sheet when the two parts of the season are compared.
In terms of teams earning penalties, the Raiders have suffered greatly, which would probably just add some fuel to Ricky Stuart's fire. His team was given 3.6 fewer penalties per game over the past six rounds when compared to their round 1-14 average of 9.6, which was the most in the game.
Like most things in rugby league, the perceptions only loosely match up to the reality. Yes, Melbourne have been helped by the officiating shake-up but it's their ability to take an iron-grip on the tempo of a contest that has been their biggest asset.

[ROC181]

I hated the nit picking because it slowed down the game with too many penalties and as Gus and Johns would say why it doesn’t happen in SOO? It’s still the same sport!

[Guest]

No mention of the vermins club record winning streak because of same?

[Jacks Fur Coat]

What a stupid and slightly sad angle for journalist Kent to take.

Very irrelevant fluff. A supposed senior journo should have more to offer.

[player 1]

"Journalist". That used to mean something about 30 years ago.

Thanks Gragra for the SMH article proving beyond doubt what a hateful, jealous lie-monger Kent is, namely,

"The Roosters have been another team suggested to have been given a boost by the change in tack from referees, although the numbers are hardly compelling. The difference between penalties conceded pre and post round 14 was just 1 (8.6 to 7.6) and for penalties awarded, only 0.3 (8.1 to 7.8).

LOL.