1. The Bulldogs are good things to knock over the Cowboys on Saturday night.
Why I hear you say? Well the Bulldogs are a club that thrives on the underdog tag and they will draw far more inspiration than desperation from the suspension to Sonny Bill Williams than most teams in the NRL would if they too lost a player of similar ability (not that there are many mind you) on the eve of the Finals.
Getting Mark O’Meley back is handy and Willie Mason will be a bigger factor in defence now he’s tested out his injured wrist and knows how hard he can push it – both big factors in strengthening the Bulldogs style of play. Mason was very effective in his first game back last week despite the serious nature of his injury and he ran the ball ferociously. He was also the Dogs best forward by a country mile last Friday night.
All year I’ve tried to avoid tipping the Bulldogs when one of Mason, Williams, O’Meley and Willie Tonga were absent from the line-up but I make this exception on the back of my lack of confidence in the North Queensland forward pack. Make no mistake they had a dream start possession wise against the Dogs last week and looked extremely shaky defensively not when the Dogs scored 4 tries in the game’s final quarter but when up 14-0 they let the Dogs in for two quick tries when the Cowboys should’ve been solidifying their position in the game. They miss Luke O’Donnell terribly and as much as newly crowned Dally M winner Johnathan Thurston (see 2nd thing I think on that award) wants to crow about the team’s chances of premiership glory – they ended when O’Donnell was injured.
Even if the Cowboys do win they won’t get past the Eels or Warriors in the Elimination Semi Final next week.
Dogs to win 1-12.
2. How the heck did Johnathan Thurston win a second Dally M Award when his form this year has been up and down like a yo-yo?
I think he’s a quality player and absolutely one of the game’s top three overall but the best in 2007?
Absolutely not.
I can only judge him on the games I saw him play this season (and that was the majority) but I am a massive critic of the setup that gives out the Dally M votes during the season.
I have nothing against the people who do it but it is in my opinion a conflict of interest for commentators (who have a brief from their producers to talk up the ‘glamour/marquee player like he’s the second coming of Allan Langer/Laurie Daley/Mal Meninga’) to give votes in the very games they have been prattling on about a player for ‘viewer interest level’s sake’ when that player hasn’t even come close to playing to his ability or even been amongst the best on the ground.
The one aspect that the AFL’s Brownlow Medal has over the NRL’s equivalent Dally M Medal is that umpires/referees do see the game as it unfolds at ground level and quite often see a lot we and the commentating voters don’t over the full game – and despite their shortfalls in enforcing or interpreting the rules at times – this is the fairest (albeit not ideal) way to evaluate who has the biggest impact on the result in a match.
And just on that last point – the 3-2-1 system should be for the players that have the greatest impact on the result in that particular game – not just because that player hasn’t had his ‘wrap quota’ reached for the month on television. There are a number of other beefs I have with the Dally M system but they are best left for another day.
Warrick Nicolson
E: wdnicolson@optusnet.com.au
P: 0402851485
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