SMITHY: Let’s hope the Roosters and Manly had their thinking caps on
After watching the opening play-off matches on replay this week I was amazed at how some of those matches were appraised. The blow-out scores at half time took many of us by surprise, but it’s how it...
View ArticleSMITHY: Souths win as we witnessed one of the great finals
What an absolutely sensational performance by South Sydney and that’s what it took to get on top of a proud Sydney Roosters. I though we witnessed one of the most highly contested footy matches ever...
View ArticleSMITHY: Grand final sees two sides with one big problem at 9
In grand final week we are never going to hear from either camp about what’s missing – the focus is on what is present and available, as it should be. Could haves, should haves and might have beens are...
View ArticleSMITHY: The shrewdest signing of 2015 is Shane Richardson
The game’s biggest signing of season 2015 might just have been done by the NRL’s CEO David Smith. Bringing Shane Richardson from the premiership-winning Rabbitohs to head office has such great...
View ArticleSMITHY: Auckland event must be done to the Nines or not at all
How did you treat the Nines tournament? One of my mates was filthy because it was not shown on free-to-air, while a few others brushed it altogether. Me? I actually forgot it was on as I did some...
View ArticleSMITHY: Referees can’t catch a break, so let’s give them a chance
Like many other footy fans, I was a little surprised when referees’ boss Tony Archer announced a series of adapted methods of utilising officials in the upcoming preseason matches. The chorus of...
View ArticleSMITHY: Refs the real victims in February footy
The Indigenous All Stars match hopefully did plenty for the country and our cultural attitudes to each other. But it did very little for footy folk trying to find out what season 2015 has in store by...
View ArticleSMITHY: Inglis’ form bodes well for Bunnies going back-to-back
As the preseason frenzy reaches its peak, here are a few random thoughts in anticipation of a great new season. 1. Souths will go hard to win back-to-back comps I loved the way South Sydney wanted to...
View ArticleSMITHY: Fumbling my way through the NRL’s first round of matches
I remember footy season 1981 when Margaret, the wonderful lady at reception of James Cook Boys High School, won the tipping comp. She backed it up in 1982. She shared her secret with me – take the team...
View ArticleSMITHY: Coaching in the NRL is all about handling pressure
If anyone thought they might get an easy ride in week one of the new season, that must have been removed on opening night. The thing about pressure is no matter how much experience you’ve had dealing...
View ArticleSMITHY: Souths well ahead of the pack after two rounds of NRL
While no one wins a premiership in March, two rounds of NRL action have given us a few early indicators as to which clubs are on the right track and which already need a drastic overhaul. Ahead of the...
View ArticleSMITHY: Good weekends, bad weekends and refs’ weekends
How was your weekend? Me? Got no work done on the farm, stuck inside with a rainy weekend in the mountains. But I got to see every NRL match, so that made it okay! Here are some others who had a good...
View ArticleSMITHY: Apologies to those tainted by the blackest day in Aussie sport
The fallout from “the blackest day in Australian sport” continues, and in more ways than the continued actions between parties in the Essendon saga. No matter what the eventual outcome of that specific...
View ArticleSMITHY: The long, tough road to an NRL debut
As we all watch a new footy season take shape, it’s always a bonus to see the rise of previously ‘unknown’ players – unknown to most of us that is. Jack Bird has wowed everyone watching him kick start...
View ArticleSMITHY: Looking for interchange reform? Don’t ask the clubs
Recently I read that the NRL’s Head of football, Todd Greenberg, has circulated all clubs asking them to pick their favourite interchange and replacements model from the menu of all possibilities. The...
View ArticleSMITHY: All player trades should be done the week after the grand final
Opinions are like navels – everyone has one. But paid ‘experts’ should have informed and consistent ones (opinions that is, not navels). Rugby league has a handful of perennial posers which we all like...
View ArticleSMITHY: My NRL form team after eight rounds
When the rep season comes around, the one consistent thing is the call from the footy world of critics shouting “it’s a joke, how could they pick him, his form has been lousy”. It is just the same as...
View ArticleSMITHY: Dragons the real deal in 2015
I really enjoyed the Souths versus Dragons match. I thought the Rabbits deserved their win but the game was so close it could have gone the other way. It was the fierce way both teams went about their...
View ArticleSMITHY: For creativity in attack, the NRL is all over Origin
Last week I suggested the game of Round 10 might be the Dragons versus the Raiders, and wow what a game it was! Did you see it? You missed a beauty if you didn’t. Read more from Brian Smith at Smithy...
View ArticleSMITHY: Tigers and Cowboys and the modern reluctance to attack
As a very young coach at Souths in the 1980s, I remember listening closely at a press conference to a coach answering a question about his team being very focussed on defence. His answer? “Well there...
View ArticleSMITHY: You don’t need superstar halves to play attacking footy
Last week some Cowboys fans took exception to my comments on the terrible footy played in that horrible match between North Queensland and the Tigers at Campbelltown. Jason Taylor must have taken...
View ArticleSMITHY: Two men who forever changed the game of rugby league
There have been any number of people who have changed the rate of progression in rugby league. Of the two I’ve had the opportunity to witness closely, one is known in footy circles worldwide, while the...
View ArticleSMITHY: Now THAT’S how Origin footy should be played!
What a great game of footy Origin 2 was. This time around we got five star attack on five star defence. Ok, perhaps it was four star defence by the Maroons, but it was five star in most departments,...
View ArticleSMITHY: Origin fatigue? Forget it – footy’s as good as ever
The memory of that horrible game at ‘C’town’ a few weeks back has faded to nothing after the footy feast going on at present, even in this torrid time for the game’s elite. Wests and North Queensland...
View ArticleSMITHY: Rugby league schedule a ticking time bomb
When you next consider how or why your team is under-performing in a match, or some one tries to tell you that players and teams are inconsistent nowadays – take a deep breath and consider a few facts....
View ArticleSMITHY: That was the ultimate State of Origin performance
Has there ever been a more complete performance by any representative team? I think not. Wow. Simply wow. From the very first set of the match Queensland displayed an intensity rarely seen before. Now...
View ArticleSMITHY: It’s easy to cry foul about the Roosters (but you’d be wrong to do so)
The Sydney Roosters have been the top target of rival club fans for decades now. Probably ever since the club Chairman became the first major sponsor back in the day. City Ford became the pioneer club...
View ArticleSMITHY: Broncos looking red hot for the title but watch out for the Chooks
If ever a team has made it to the top of the comp at this time of the season as easily as the Broncos have, I can’t remember when. After a dodgy season opener at home, they have been a model of...
View ArticleSMITHY: What sunk Stone at the Knights (and how to fix it)
To understand Newcastle Knights you need to live in Newcastle. On countess occasions during my time in that great place someone would welcome me and tell me how much I would love living there, followed...
View ArticleSMITHY: Warriors still five years away from NRL success
It’s completely understandable that people everywhere watching the Warriors crumble last weekend would feel some déjà vu. Too many times now this fade in the latter part of the season has caused many...
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