The Obstruction Rule

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The Weekend Wrap: 1/7/18

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Referees boss Gerard Sutton has defended the rubbish 2-referee system, declaring that it’s here to stay.

Eels coach Brad Arthur has indicated that he’d be happy to bring back centre Jarryd Hayne in 2019.

The Warriors have re-signed assistant coaches Stacey Jones and Tony Iro, following the side’s surprisingly strong season so far.

Roosters forward Dylan Napa may be in doubt for Origin 3, after suffering a suspected MCL injury in their last-minute loss to the Storm.

The Blues will be sweating on the fitness of Napa’s teammate Boyd Cordner, after the New South Wales captain missed the Storm clash due to a calf injury.

The Roosters may be without back-rower Victor Radley in their next start, as he faces a one-week suspension for dangerous contact on Christian Welch.

Storm coach Craig Bellamy has declared that back-rower Ryan Hoffman will be welcome back next year, if he chooses to play on in 2019.

The Sea Eagles’ outside back depth is set to be tested even further in the coming weeks, after winger Matthew Wright suffered an AC joint injury, and centre Dylan Walker failed to finish the match due to a knee injury.

It’s rumoured that Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans is set to make a surprise return to the Queensland side at halfback, with Ben Hunt battling to remain in the team as the super-sub.

The Knights’ hopes of a late finals charge have taken a blow, after star fullback Kalyn Ponga exited their loss to the Bulldogs early due to a “Grade 1+ hamstring injury“, that will see him miss 3-4 weeks of action.

The news was far worse for Ponga’s Knights teammate Slade Griffin, who is set to miss up to a year of football, after suffering tears to ACL, LCL and meniscus in an horrifying knee injury.

Broncos coach Wayne Bennett has called on the club to provide clarity on his coaching future, to prevent the situation being a distraction during his side’s run into the finals.

Titans backrower Bryce Cartwright will only miss two games as a result of the broken hand he suffered during training this week.

Rabbitohs centre Greg Inglis is set to miss six weeks due to a broken thumb suffered during his side’s last gasp win over the Cowboys, ruling the Maroons captain out of Origin 3.

Rabbitohs back-rower Angus Crichton has confirmed that he intends to honour his deal with the Roosters for next year, despite rumours to the contrary.

 

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The Weekend Wrap: 20/5/18

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The race for the Blues halves spots are believed to be down to Panthers halves James Maloney and Nathan Cleary, and Roosters five-eighth Luke Keary, after Blues selectors finally realised that Mitchell Moses is terrible.

Prior to their loss on Friday night, the Eels released edge forward Kenny Edwards, who had been suspended indefinitely by the club, anyway.

The edge depth took a further hit during the game, with second-rower Beau Scott suffering a season-ending ACL injury.

The Broncos will have to get used to the absence of forward Payne Haas, who’s decided to have surgery on his injured shoulder, that will rule him out for an extended period.

The howler of a call to sin-bin Roosters forward Dylan Napa for a head clash (that turned the match) has been effectively proven wrong, with the Match Review Committee clearing Napa of any wrongdoing.

The Knights have been left counting the cost of their narrow loss to the Titans, losing forward Jacob Saifiti (up to 12 weeks) and half Brock Lamb (up to four weeks) to a fractured shoulder and fractured cheekbone, respectively.

The Rabbitohs took a few injuries out of their win over the Cowboys, with both forward Sam Burgess and fullback Alex Johnston failing to finish the game due to a glute strain and hamstring strain, respectively.

The Cowboys and Maroons will be breathing a little bit easier, with prop Matt Scott believed to have only suffered a Grade One MCL injury, which shouldn’t impact his availability for State of Origin (though whether or not his form warrants selection is debatable).

The abomination of a match between the Storm and Sea Eagles will have ramifications for both sides, with Sea Eagles hooker Api Korisau (1 week) and Storm centre Curtis Scott (2 weeks) both charged for striking.

Sea Eagles utility back Dylan Walker meanwhile, faces 3-6 weeks on the sidelines with a fractured eye socket, after being on the receiving end of the punches from Scott.

Bulldogs fans will be sweating on news about centre Josh Morris, who failed to finish his side’s loss due to a knee injury.

Blues coach Brad Fittler has stated that he hasn’t yet ruled out selecting Sharks forward Andrew Fifita for New South Wales, despite Fifita being unavailable for Game 2, due to being Tongan.

It’s been revealed that a $10,000 mural of former Kiwis coach David Kidwell will remain in place until October – meaning that the mural of Kidwell will last longer in its role than he did.

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The Weekend Wrap: 6/5/18

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The Des Hasler era of the Bulldogs is officially behind them, with Hasler and the club reaching an out-of-court settlement over his sacking last year.

The Broncos are likely to be without giant Payne Haas for up to a month, and possibly utility Jack Bird for a week due to an ankle injury and a quad injury, respectively.

Panthers fullback Dallin Watene-Zelezniak hasn’t been charged for not striking Kyle Feldt (he was inexplicably sin-binned though).

Panthers forward Trent Merrin missed the team’s loss, due to a compound fracture of his finger suffered during the warm-up.

The Panthers have apparently begun exploring possible solutions to their shortage of wingers, with Sea Eagles winger Akuila Uate reportedly given a tour of the Panthers facility.

Despite taking immediately to hospital with a rib contusion, Titans forward Jai Arrow potentially may not miss any time.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has conceded that it’s unlikely the club will be able to keep forwards Junior Paulo and Shannon Boyd, saying “If Junior and Boydy are getting this astronomical money offered from other clubs, they go with my best wishes”.

Despite all failing to finish the game, Stephen Kearney is optimistic that Adam Blair, Shaun Johnson and Isaac Luke could all be available for next weekend’s clash with the Roosters.

Sharks coach Shane Flanagan has revealed that the Sea Eagles have “made enquiries” about half Trent Hodkinson; however he won’t be releasing Hodkinson, because “it’s not (his) job to look after Manly”.

Sharks second-rower Wade Graham is in doubt for State of Origin 1, after tearing his hamstring again in his side’s win over the Eels.

The Storm are set to open negotiations with head coach Craig Bellamy about an extension, as early as Monday.

Despite being road-blocked from getting Hodkinson, Sea Eagles coach Trent Barrett has ruled out making a play for Todd Carney “at this stage”.

also raised the issue of cannonball tackles, after five-eighth Dylan Walker suffered an hyper-extended knee.

After deciding to remain at Manly this week, Barrett may also eventually have to learn arabic, with a Qatari consortium reportedly launching a bid to buy the Sea Eagles.

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The Weekend Wrap: 25/9/17

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The Cowboys reportedly plan on making Origin half Michael Morgan the game’s next million-dollar man, after he guided the team to an upset preliminary final win over the Roosters.

Meanwhile, Cowboys coach Paul Green faces an agonising decision over whether or not to play forward Matt Scott, who’s believed to be fit and ready for the Grand Final… if selected.

Sea Eagles centres Dylan Walker will be struggling to fit for Round 1 next season after suffering an horrific leg injury while playing for the PM’s XIII, both breaking his leg and dislocating his ankle.

Having already declared that they won’t select Benji Marshall for the World Cup, the Kiwis are suddenly short on good options, after presumptive five-eighth Kieran Foran declared himself unavailable due to injury.

Marshall will still be busy in November though, after joining the Channel 7 commentary team for the tournament.

The Titans have tabled a long-term deal to halfback Ash Taylor, however it’s believed that Taylor will likely wait until a coach is appointed before making a commitment.

 

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The Greatest Game of All: Eels defeat Sea Eagles

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After Parramatta all but ended Manly’s finals hopes, The Obstruction Rule takes a look at how it happened, digressing into Dylan Walker’s struggles at five-eighth and the excitement machine that is Bevan French.

[Read more…]

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