Ramifications abound after slaying by Knights
Sack them all? Ricky Stuart hasn't sacked anyone following the 24-14 loss to Newcastle Knights on Sunday. But it's in the post, Can' fans. And the players know it.
Well, that sucked. Loss to Newie in Newie … probably best to put it behind us.
But you can’t, right? Not yet. It’s too soon. Too raw. Too visceral.
Love that word: visceral.
No! As the great Geoff Toovey would tell you, the loss must be investigated, and picked apart as a butcher in an Afghan abattoir would de-bone dead mutton, roughly and with hunger, something-something.
Regardless - we must understand.
For with a typically vocal crowd roaring them on, the Knights did not, as prophesised by the top experts, say ‘Ni’ to our Green Machine, but rather grew an extra leg and stormed into the contest in the second half and, sensing blood in the water and space on the right, they – sorry, pal – ran at Harley Smith-Shields time and again.
Three tries on the trot – bang-bang-bang, with Jack Wighton cooling his jets for a shot on Jackson Hastings that did less damage than this shot on Lachie Miller. He was lucky to stay on the first time.
The attack of the Knights on the right reminded of Origin Game Two of 1997 when long-legged Illawarra Steelers centre Paul McGregor ran roughshod over a skinny outside back from Parramatta Eels called Stuart Kelly. It was like Tyson Frizell running at Tom Starling, except Kelly didn’t have anyone to help.
Watching on the sideline that evening was Maroons assistant coach, Chris ‘Choppy’ Close, who was strongly urging Paul ‘Fatty’ Vautin to “Get him off! Get him off!”, lest McGregor continue to render the Maroons so asunder, something something.
But our Fat, bless him, felt that it would ruin Kelly’s confidence, and that he’d leave Kelly on, and he’d be better for the run, and they’d all just have to do their best.
And McGregor was man of the match and the Maroons lost the match and Kelly was dropped to the bench and didn’t play for Queensland again after the Maroons lost game three and the series 3-nil.
So there was that.
Similarly, sort of, something something, so have come the clarion calls to drop an out-of-sorts rookie centre and bring back a veteran, the Great Redeemer of Goulburn, Jarrod Croker, to bop about at left centre while smokin’ Matt Timoko so incises on the right.
Not sure what our ‘Sticky’ Ricky Stuart has in mind, but it seems he’s tended more to Fatty Vautin’s version of pastoral care and kept young Harley in first grade as a sign of good faith.
Not to say he won’t drop him later as Fatty dropped Stuie and Sticky dropped Semi Valemei when the winger dropped all those bombs against the Roosters in a must-win in Mackay, September 2nd, 2021, you could read of it here, and never talk of it again.
And one assumes Harley knows he’s on a promise given an “In” for the Machine this Friday night against Penrith Panthers is said Great Redeemer, J.Croker, who’ll be wearing the No.22 like a presence, hovering, and haunting our Harley like a lime green wraith.
Or maybe he won’t. Maybe Harley will have a blinder.
He will bloody well need to, particularly in defence, where Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo and Dylan Edwards will have had a little gander at the Knights game video and seen the same blood Hastings, Frizell and deadly Dane Gagai did. That being puddles of the stuff.
So bloody was the water that they might even move Stephen Crichton over onto the right and really have a party.
And that could get so bloody it’d be like a big bubbling pot full of blood and bone and bits of Stuart Kelly.
Regardless, we’ll still be pushing a large barrow of cassowary dung up the northern stretches of Kokoda Track trying to beat these Panther people, even at home, even on a Friday night, even with Jordan Rapana and Jamal Fogarty back, and Josh Papali’i another game in.
Without Big Jack and his footwork on the line – and that’s when we’re able to get into their red zone with a few sets of six – I fear Panthers, in Jaemon Salmon’s first game back in Canberra since #WeakGuttedDogPeopleGate from last year, will ride relatively roughshod over us.
Or maybe they’ll get complacent. Maybe that’s where we want them.
Don’t reckon it will be.
Up The Milk.
But Panthers by 12.
Yep that sucked, but if nothing else they are predictable. Why do we struggle against Newcastle? Fingers crossed we being it all this Friday night.