[souLja]

week 1 of the finals and we have:

panthers vs dragons
broncos vs storm
bulldogs vs cowboys
roosters vs canberra

the first 2 should be close and far more interesting than the second 2.. i think brisbane should ovcercome melbourne, they have a good squad and they're playing at home. the hardest to pick is the penrith and st george game.. i'm picking the dragons because they have more talent in thir side.

canterbury and (as much as i'd like to see them lose) easts should win this week and have next week off.

[souLja]

alhamdulillah i am not one to gamble, i would've lost money tonight! the panthers edge out the dragons 31-30.. i thought it was all over red rover in the beginning of the first half when the panthers scored try after try effortlessly..

[islam4life]

yeh bro but I have to admit dragons played fantastic football tonight and came close i really enjoyed wathcing it even tho it was for about 20 minutes but I think they played really well

[Samee]

it was a great game to watch!
dragons did a great comeback sortof

[islam4life]

vs. Saturday 11 September 2004 8.30pm Telstra Stadium





If North Queensland have any hope of springing a major upset in their first ever finals appearance, they’ll need Paul Rauhihi to lead the way.

The 117kg giant has been the catalyst for the Cowboys’ surge to seventh spot, his phenomenal stats placing him on top of the club’s list of yardage gainers and off-loaders and second behind only Luke O’Donnell for
total hit-ups.

While the Bulldogs will be expected to win this game comfortably, they’ll need to be wary of their former teammates’ charges and the opportunities they can create for his outside men.

Rauhihi’s 68 offloads this season is by far the most of any forward in the competition.

The Cowboys have struggled to score points this season and rank last of the eight finalists with 526, but they are among the most dangerous sides in the competition in broken play – be it from an offload, a kick return or an error from the opposition.

In fact, no other side has scored as many tries this season directly from opponents’ errors than North Queensland (9).

The man the Bulldogs need to watch closely here is fullback Matt Bowen who loves dancing through staggered defensive lines.

Bowen has made 23 line breaks this season, most of them from kick returns or Rauhihi offloads.

Four of those line breaks were against the Bulldogs – two from Braith Anasta bombs including a 90-metre effort to score in round 16.

The Bulldogs must control possession and chase their kicks in a straight line to negate North Queensland’s primary attacking options.

However, even if the Cowboys can break the Bulldogs’ defensive wall the real challenge is keeping their own intact.

The Belmore club is a lethal attacking unit that uses its sheer physical presence and elusive backline to tear opponents to shreds.

Up front, the Bulldogs are a real handful.

Props Steve Price and Mark O’Meley both rank in the NRL’s top 10 yardage gainers with well over 3000 metres each this season while Willie Mason, Sonny Bill Williams and Andrew Ryan add size and skill out wide.

It’s no surprise that they lead the league in tackle busts with 70 to their name compared to just 33 by the Cowboys.

The Bulldogs like to pound away up the middle of the ruck then throw the ball wide either from a quick play-the-ball or an offload from the likes of Price or Mason.

And it’s their left side that is particularly dangerous, having scored 54 of their 128 tries down that side.

A favourite ploy is to give the ball to Willie Tonga in a one-on-one situation where his ability to step off either foot often sees him slip past his man.

Tonga leads the league for line breaks this season with 24.

The Cowboys are a solid defensive unit, having missed less tackles (678) than any other side bar the Roosters and ranking fourth in effective tackles, but controlling the Bulldogs is another story altogether.

Head to head:
Played 15, Bulldogs 13, Cowboys 2
Previous clashes in 2004:
Bulldogs won 36-16 at Sydney Showground, Rd 22; Bulldogs won 32-18 at Dairy Farmers Stadium, Rd 16.

BULLDOGS TEAM:

1. Luke Patten
2. Hazem El Masri
3. Ben Harris
4. Willie Tonga
5. Matt Utai
6. Braith Anasta
7. Brent Sherwin
8. Mark O'Meley
9. Adam Perry
10. Steve Price ©
11. Willie Mason
12. Andrew Ryan
13. Tony Grimaldi

Interchange
14. Reni Maitua
15. Corey Hughes
16. Roy Asotasi
17. Sonny Bill Williams

Coach: Steve Folkes


COWBOYS TEAM:

1. Matthew Bowen
2. Ty Williams
3. Josh Hannay
4. Paul Bowman
5. Matt Sing
6. David Myles
7. Nathan Fien
8. Paul Rauhihi
9. Aaron Payne
10. Shane Tronc
11. Luke O'Donnell
12. Steven Southern
13. Travis Norton ©

Interchange:
14. Rod Jensen
15. David Faiumu
16. Leigh McWilliams
17. Mitchell Sargent
18. Glenn Morrison
19. Kevin Campion

This post has been edited by islam4life: 11 September 2004 - 04:06 AM

[islam4life]

SHERWIN ON THE MEND

Mitsubishi Electric Bulldogs half-back, Brent Sherwin is recovering well from injury and is still considered a strong chance of taking his place in the Dogs line-up for this Saturday's Qualifying Final.

Sherwin is recovering from a lower back-related hip injury that saw him miss the Dogs win over the Warriors last weekend. A decision on his availability will not be made until after the Bulldogs final training session on Friday morning. Coaching and Medical staff will monitor his ability to get through the session without any discomfort and see how well he pulls up before a final decision is made.

This post has been edited by islam4life: 11 September 2004 - 12:24 AM

[islam4life]

EL MAGIC CRACKS 1300 AND SETS SIGHT ON NEW MILESTONE

Mitsubishi Electric Bulldogs point scoring genius, Hazem El Masri reached the 1300 career point milestone last Sunday. Over a career spanning 197 first grade games, El Masri has averaged just over 6.5 points a game.

This Saturday Hazem is poised to become the first player in NRL history to break the 300 point barrier in a single season. To date Hazem has scored 288 points from his 22 appearances this season. His 288 points has been made up from 11 tries and 122 goals.

Hazem currently holds the all-time record for most points in a season having claimed the record last season with 294 points from 9 tries and 129 goals.

[islam4life]

BULLDOGS WARY OF DALLY M PROP OF THE YEAR

Mitsubishi Electric Bulldogs enforcer Mark O'Meley nominates his opposite number Paul Rauhihi and fellow front rower Shane Tronc as the two danger men for the Bulldogs ahead of Saturday night's finals clash with the Cowboys at Telstra Stadium.

Rauhihi was rewarded for an excellent season by being named 'Dally M Prop of the Year' and O'Meley says it his ability to off load and create second phase options for the Cowboys that makes him so dangerous.

O'Meley talks about finals week 1 where the Bulldogs will meet the Cowboys at Telstra Stadium.

[souLja]

the cowboys play better with paul rauhihi in their side and whatta do ya expect, he's an ex-Bulldog

[GreenOz]

Quote

EL MAGIC CRACKS 1300 AND SETS SIGHT ON NEW MILESTONE

with such an important and public Milestone, that should really get people voting him as the 2004 Muslim of the Year!

Peace B)
Hanan

[bobali]

GO DA COWBOYZ!!1

[La`Dee]

Oh My Allah...

Spewing its 10- 0

This post has been edited by La`Dee: 11 September 2004 - 09:05 PM

[La`Dee]

6- 16...
we getting there

[souLja]

ahh man.. we didnt deserve to win tonight anyway. they played poorly, way below par. mark o'meley wasn't his usual self, mason only got fired up late in the game, sherwin was ordinary and baz got injured.. and what can ya say about utai.

[La`Dee]

22- 30... spewing again...


CHEATS I TELL YA

[La`Dee]

I agree the Doggies didn't play as normal... but yeah there was alot of "butter fingers" happening in the game.. dropped the ball in the most crucial moments

[La`Dee]

its all your fault bob..

bobali, on Sep 11 2004, 02:19 PM, said:

GO DA COWBOYZ!1

[Sista]

What a shame

[souLja]

they werent even there in defence, they were running right through the middle. we're supposed to the second best defensive side in the competition. it was unbelievable.

atleast its not the end of the road for us, we live to see next week. but i hope this will be a good wake up call.. the signs are good. sides that win the competition dont play like this 3 weeks out from the finale.

[Samee]

dog lose dog lose

the sad thing is this is bad for the dragons

but the best thing is

dog lose dog lose

[La`Dee]

That last try by Matt Sing from the Cowboys was burrninggggggggggg, who else felt the burn

[souLja]

but we're still alive next week, and easts havent played as yet, so i wouldnt get too excited

Samee, on Sep 11 2004, 10:33 PM, said:

dog lose dog lose

the sad thing is this is bad for the dragons

but the best thing is

dog lose dog lose

[Suelaima]

This is by far the worst the doggies have played this season!!

What a shame....

[Samee]

what ever happens later
im just happy the dogs lost

[souLja]

bulldog supporters, let us never speak of this again.

[Samee]

souLja, on Sep 11 2004, 10:44 PM, said:

bulldog supporters, let us never speak of this again.

bulldog nonsuporters
SPEAK ON SPEAK ON!!

[La`Dee]

Its water under the bridge now..

[ahmedk]

At least you guys are still alive. Us poor Dragons supporters have only the Premier League team to now follow

[GreenOz]

whats worse was dinner with AhmedK, Sam, Afroz - the village crew - and having them bad mouth the Bulldogs tonight. I was fighting a single battle after their loss and Afroz was happy when Hazem didnt convert that last try

twisted non supporters they are ! i havent watched football in yonks, as we only watched the last 8 mins after wating Farenheit 9/11 together. gheez watching that game took me back years when the footy fever used to emerge in my attitude

Actually Sam was innocent in all this.

Peace B)
Hanan

[ahmedk]

Well that was quick.

Like I explained to you Hanan, how can we support a "neggus" team - Bulldogs.

At least I am supporting "Wali George" - Saint George.

As a good Muslim, how can you support a Dog over a Wali.

Salaam
Ahmed