Friday, 28 October 2022

NOT The Footy Show Episode 270: Rugby League World Cup Wrap Week 2

NOT The Footy Show - Episode 270  
  
Published October 28, 2022  

Join Robb Cox and Warrick Nicolson for Episode 270 of NOT The Footy Show as we wrap up Week 2 of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup being played in the UK. 

In Week 2 - Australia looked tremendous, New Zealand scored the most points but Jamaica won World Cup's hearts, PNG still hit to hurt, the Samoans looked more likely and did Tonga take a step back? 

As for England - we are not sure about them... at all. 

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We wonder what Mal Meninga is trying to achieve by shielding Daly Cherry-Evans from the disappointment of giving up the Australian halfback job to Nathan Cleary and analyse how the Kangaroos will approach player rotation against Italy, and then into the Quarter Final likely against Lebanon. 

We also look at how all the Quarter Finals appear to be set before Week 3 games are played. 

Earlier today we recorded the fourth of our The Recruitment Whisperers shows on Episode 269 which is available now. 

Thanks for listening everyone. 

==

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NOT The Footy Show Episode 269: The Recruitment Whisperers #4 - NRL Off-Season Talk

NOT The Footy Show - Episode 269  
  
Published October 28, 2022  

Join Robb Cox and Warrick Nicolson for Episode 269 of NOT The Footy Show for the 4th edition of The Recruitment Whisperers during the NRL Off-Season. 

With Josh Jackson retiring with a full year on his deal - Canterbury supremo Phil Gould now has a war chest for 2024 and beyond thanks to the cap flexibility Jackson's retirement gives them in 2023. 

Hello Mitchell Moses? Hello Latrell Mitchell? 

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We also explore the Charlie Staines for Tyrone Peachey swap between the Panthers and Tigers and look at what Tim Sheens is doing with the roster in Tigertown - with James Tamou and Oliver Gildart also coming off the books for 2023 and what's doing with his courtship of Moses? 

Plus we talk Angus Crichton, Jake Turpin and Jaxson Paulo signings with the Chooks, Penrith grabbing Zac Hosking and Jack Cogger, Jake Clifford officially leaving Newcastle and Haumole Olakau'atu re-upping with Manly. 

And who wants Marty Taupau? 
Thanks for listening everyone. 
==

You can subscribe to the subscribe to the NOT The Footy Show Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and catch each episode on our YouTube Channel.

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Wednesday, 19 October 2022

NOT The Footy Show Episode 268: Rugby League World Cup Wrap Week 1

NOT The Footy Show - Episode 268  
  
Published October 19, 2022  

Join Robb Cox and Warrick Nicolson for Episode 268 of NOT The Footy Show as we wrap up Week 1 of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup being played in the UK right now. 

We cover off England's gigantic win over a woeful Samoa, Australia doing the business against Fiji and New Zealand cantering to a win over a spirited Lebanon but the game of the tournament so far was PNG v Tonga. 

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We examine what the first week of results mean for the Quarter Finals - especially on the England-Samoa-Tonga-PNG side of the draw - and explain how France are a genuine shot at making the Quarter Finals at Samoa's expense. 

We also give Andrew Voss a major endorsement to take over at Channel Nine after seeing him in his element commentating RLWC games away from the Fox Formula. Make it happen Ronald! 


Thanks for listening everyone. 

==

You can subscribe to the subscribe to the NOT The Footy Show Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and catch each episode on our YouTube Channel.

We are also on Instagram so please give us a follow @notthefootyshow 
==
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NOT The Footy Show Episode 267: The Recruitment Whisperers #3 - NRL Off-Season Talk

NOT The Footy Show - Episode 267  
  
Published October 19, 2022  

Join Robb Cox and Warrick Nicolson for Episode 267 of NOT The Footy Show - the third instalment of 'The Recruitment Whisperers' as we discuss Luke Brooks finally, - almost certainly - getting his wish and joining the Newcastle Knights for 2023. 

It looks like Jake Clifford has been helped out the door to the UK and if the Knights decide Brooks is worth the investment - the Whisperers examine if this makes sense for both the Knights and Tigers. Plus we pick apart Buzz Rothfield's exclusive on Joseph Sua'ali'i 'leaving the Chooks'. 

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We also talk about Michael Maguire joining Canberra and Supercoach Seibold's new off-sider at Manly and cover the Zane Musgrove, Ben Condon, Austin Dias and Poasa Faamausili transfers and the Dragons letting George Burgess go. Oh and Jonah Pezet is better than half the halfbacks in the comp per the Daily Telegraph. 
And today we recorded our first weekly wrap of Rugby League World Cup action on Episode 268 which follows this show.  

Thanks for listening everyone. 

==

You can subscribe to the subscribe to the NOT The Footy Show Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and catch each episode on our YouTube Channel.

We are also on Instagram so please give us a follow @notthefootyshow 
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Thursday, 13 October 2022

NOT The Footy Show Episode 266: NZ Kiwis v Rest of the World Cup Preview

NOT The Footy Show - Episode 266  
  
Published October 13, 2022  

Join Robb Cox and Warrick Nicolson for Episode 266 of NOT The Footy Show as we preview just how good the New Zealand Kiwis will be against the Rest of the World Cup in the UK starting this weekend. 

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We also have to revisit the jersey number debacle that's a direct result of the Australian Rugby League falling asleep at the wheel (Yes Mal Meninga... this is on you) as they clearly didn't realise the Tournament organisers wanted to change up how jerseys were allocated a two or three years ago. And now we've got a total mess. 

We also cover off the other likely contenders for Semi Final spots in the World Cup - but highlight how Australia and New Zealand cannot meet in the Final this time around - can Tonga, Samoa or hosts England take advantage of the easier road to the Final? 

Earlier today we recorded the second of our The Recruitment Whisperers shows on Episode 265 which is available now.

Thanks for listening everyone. 

==

You can subscribe to the subscribe to the NOT The Footy Show Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and catch each episode on our YouTube Channel.

We are also on Instagram so please give us a follow @notthefootyshow 
==
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NOT The Footy Show Episode 265: The Recruitment Whisperers #2 - NRL Off-Season Talk

NOT The Footy Show - Episode 265  
  
Published October 13, 2022  

Join Robb Cox and Warrick Nicolson for Episode 265 of NOT The Footy Show - the second instalment of 'The Recruitment Whisperers' as we talk all things Supercoach Seibold being gifted the Manly job, Scott Penn says bye bye Des Hasler and ask where to now for the Trbojevic Brothers?  

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You can be certain Gus Gould has already picked up the phone to get them to Canterbury in 2024. 

We also cover off Danny Levi to Canberra, Aaron Pene back to Melbourne and Jordan McLean staying in North Queensland.  

And today we recorded the second half of our Rugby League World Cup Preview on Episode 266 which follows this show.  

Thanks for listening everyone.

==

You can subscribe to the subscribe to the NOT The Footy Show Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and catch each episode on our YouTube Channel.

We are also on Instagram so please give us a follow @notthefootyshow 
==
Enjoy great moments from the Winfield Cup Era (1982-95) on Facebook and Twitter.

Friday, 7 October 2022

NOT The Footy Show Episode 264: The Recruitment Whisperers #1 - NRL Off-Season Talk

NOT The Footy Show - Episode 264  
  
Published October 7, 2022  

Join Robb Cox and Warrick Nicolson for Episode 264 of NOT The Footy Show - the first of our 'The Recruitment Whisperers' shows for the NRL Off-Season to be released ahead of 2023. 

We cover off Munster and Hunt re-signing, wonder if Klemmer should sign with the Tigers, Tabuai-Fidow joins the Dolphins, Sullivan looks like he's off to Canterbury and ask what's happening at Manly? 

For the record - this show will be our views on the viability of all the NRL signing rumours that will dominate the media over Summer. 

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On this episode of 'The Recruitment Whisperers' we talk: 
  • Cam Munster's huge new deal with Melbourne and how he's used THE Dolphins superbly to push his price up past the 1.25m a season mark to stay with the Storm. 
  • Ask if Ben Hunt's re-signing with the Dragons is cause for muchos celebrations and will Jayden Sullivan actually be missed if he leaves to go to Canterbury? 
  • Will Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow have to score ALL the tries for Redcliffe given he's by far the best attacking weapon they have in their outside backs? 
  • Also with Api Koroisau and Isaiah Papali'i committing to turn up to pre-season training at the Wests Tigers - we believe Tim Sheens and Benji Marshall have to get their hooks into David Klemmer asap for 2023 and beyond. 
  • And we wrap things up discussing the Supercoach Seibold to Manly rumour and how Des Hasler's exit strategy has already been mapped out with a big fat cheque waiting for him when Manly finally pull the trigger... hopefully not on Seibold though. 
You can grab the first of our Rugby League World Cup Podcasts - Episode 263 looking at the Australian Kangaroos Squad for the Tournament here

Thanks for listening everyone.

==

You can subscribe to the subscribe to the NOT The Footy Show Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and catch each episode on our YouTube Channel.

We are also on Instagram so please give us a follow @notthefootyshow 
==
Enjoy great moments from the Winfield Cup Era (1982-95) on Facebook and Twitter.

NOT The Footy Show Episode 263: Australian Kangaroos Team Preview for Rugby League World Cup

NOT The Footy Show - Episode 263  
  
Published October 7, 2022  

Join Robb Cox and Warrick Nicolson for Episode 263 of NOT The Footy Show as they break down the Australian Kangaroos Team for the upcoming Rugby League World Cup in the UK. 

🔘  Stream the New Podcast or Watch on YouTube

We pick our preferred starting lineups and the bench is particular point of contention - with where Jack Wighton ends up in the 17 a big factor in how we settled on our teams. 

Despite some snubs at the selection table, Australia will still field an awesome backline and very handy forward pack so right now we believe they deserve to be firm favourites to retain the World Cup in England.  
We also discuss how Mal Meninga got the team he wanted and that the end of the road of Damien Cook probably should've meant the end for Daly Cherry-Evans too... 

Plus PVL dribbles something about Origin and Test eligibility at the presser that we've included audio of but we couldn't make any sense of it so we didn't even discuss it on the show - we genuinely don't know what he was going on about.  

Stay tuned for Episode 264 and the debut of 'The Recruitment Whisperers' - coming out next. 

Plenty more podcasts to come during the Rugby League World Cup. 

Thanks for listening everyone.

==

You can subscribe to the subscribe to the NOT The Footy Show Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and catch each episode on our YouTube Channel.

We are also on Instagram so please give us a follow @notthefootyshow 
==
Enjoy great moments from the Winfield Cup Era (1982-95) on Facebook and Twitter.

Thursday, 6 October 2022

2022-23 NHL Season Preview - Do the Avs go back to back?

BACK TO HOCKEY...
Published October 6, 2022 
It has been almost a decade since this website posted an NHL Preview (When we picked the Penguins to win it all in 2013) and with the 2022-23 NHL Season almost upon us, now seemed a good time to return to our hockey roots.
In 1999, your correspondent lived in Canada and fell even more in love with the game of Ice Hockey, and returning to Australia I kept up my involvement in writing about the NHL for a number of years gaining publication for a few websites (Hockey's Future and the Detroit News) and doing a season guide for McKeen's Hockey.
But as other work took over, the time I needed to devote to following the NHL closely dried up and as you've seen on this website over the last 15 years - Rugby League is the main focus now. 
That said, I still partake in one Fantasy Hockey League every year and as a result of the Pittsburgh Penguins winning a couple of Stanley Cups a few years back - I have found more time to watch the game I came to adore as a teenager, and have reconnected with being across most aspects of it.
The return to normalcy in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year was a welcome familiarity and there are few things as gripping as watching teams fight and claw their way through four rounds of hockey to lay claim to the Stanley Cup.
Colorado were worthy winners last season, and they will have plenty of challengers in 2022-23.
So let's put some predictions down on paper for the upcoming season.
  • The Colorado Avalanche were ridiculously good in the playoffs last year and despite Tampa Bay's best efforts to make it a three-peat - no one was going to deny Nathan McKinnon and his Avs from their first title as a group.
    The Avs have lost Nazem Kadri which makes the development of Alex Newhook into a bona fide second line centre of huge importance in their quest to repeat but their defence is stacked (Cale Makar is a wonder) and the Pavel Francouz-Alex Georgiev tandem looks good enough to have the Avs not miss Darcy Kuemper too much. Oh, and they still have McKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen up on the top line so they will be okay scoring goals sans Kadri.
  • Tampa Bay will have licked their wounds (and their pride) in the off-season, as for the first time since the horrible Columbus sweep in 2019 - their best simply wasn't good enough to win. They lose Ondrej Palat and Ryan McDonagh but they have some emerging talent up front (Anthony Cirelli/Ross Colton) and still the scariest offensive core in the league with Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point and Victor Hedman all still on deck and in their primes - albeit with more miles in the legs than you'd like. Andrei Vasilevskiy is still an all-world goalie and Mikhael Sergachev will keep getting better on the backend, so the Bolts have every reason to believe they can make it back to a fourth straight Cup Final.
  • The next two teams who got close but fell short of the Cup Final last year - the New York Rangers in the East and the Edmonton Oilers in the West, both feel like squads who should be in the mix in 2022-23. Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin are a scary foursome and they have a bunch of kids who can step up and be counted this year, and although its still the Connor McDavid-Leon Draisaitl show in Edmonton, the Oilers do have a goaltender now in Jack Campbell and a few extra pieces that balance the squad a little better than you initially think when Edmonton comes to mind. Both are going back to the playoffs but are either better than their opponents who vanquished them in the Conference Finals?
As for the rest who deserve consideration for a Stanley Cup challenge?
  • Well my Penguins ran out of goaltenders (and Sidney Crosby got hurt) in a first round series loss against the Rangers that they seemingly had full control over to waste another chance at a Stanley Cup with their core group - but they've opened up the purse strings to keep Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Bryan Rust and Richard Rakell together so as a Penguins fan, I do expect them to have another run at the title even with that veteran core in their mid-30s now. I also really like the Jeff Petry acquisition and the swapping out of John Marino for Ty Smith's potential but this team will ultimately get carried by what Tristan Jarry can do in the Playoffs behind the core group up front. (Yes, I'm a Pens fan so naturally I'm open to them being good again).
  • The Calgary Flames swapped out Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk for Johnathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar and Nazem Kadri and I really like the end result if Jacob Markstrom plays like he did last season. They have a superb defensive group in front of Markstrom and they will be a great team this year.
  • It was the Florida Panthers did the swapping out of Huberdeau and Weegar for Tkachuk but they also lost Claude Giroux to the Senators (the Sens will be fun to watch) so Florida's chances of repeating as President Trophy winners is questionable - but they will be a playoff team with Aleksandar Barkov, good defence and a great goalie tandem in place.
  • Also in the East - 2021-22 regular season beasts the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs will contend again - both sides have the roster to make a deep run but I expected this last year until the Hurricanes got stonewalled by Shesterkin in the second round and the Leafs drew the Lightning in the first round. I'm all in on the Toronto regular season juggernaut as President Trophy winners and in turn have invested heavily in Leafs in my Fantasy League (got Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Morgan Reilly, Michael Bunting and BOTH goalies Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov, so they better win!) and also think Carolina will be a regular season machine before eventually adding Max Pacioretty to their very talented squad. The Canes just have to hope their goaltending tandem is fit for the playoffs... and the Leafs need to have settled on a number one by then too (but I expect Murray and Samsonov to put up great numbers). Both are capable of getting out of the East ahead of Tampa and Pittsburgh.
  • Finally, the Minnesota Wild had a lot go right for them last season before their playoff disappointment, and if Marc-Andre Fleury can still carry a large workload, they will be a strong regular season team with Kiril Kaprisov getting things done up front. The Boston Bruins might be a threat if they can start winning regularly when Brad Marchand returns from injury in the New Year and their goaltending is still very good. I'm not sold on the St. Louis Blues being as good this year with Jordan Binnington the main man in net (despite his Stanley Cup) but their have a lot of scoring options and a good defence so you can't dismiss them, the same goes for the Nashville Predators who got man-handled by the Avs in the first round last year but actually got career years from their key players - Roman Josi, Juuse Saros, Filip Forsberg and Matt Duchene - yet the Preds were still only 8th in the stacked Western Conference.
Can I make a case for anyone else to really contend? 
No.
Sure Columbus got Gaudreau to go with Patrik Laine so they might surge into a playoff spot and get their coach Brad Larsen into the Jack Adams conversation, and the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators made big changes to rosters that have been gradually redeveloped, but are they going to beat the big teams for a playoff spot let alone in a playoff series? Two of the three might do the former but not the latter.
The New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres are surely going to be improving too but again, who do they push in the playoffs if they get there? Washington's season will be focused on getting Alex Ovechkin to as many goals as possible but the playoffs look beyond them.
PS. The Vegas Golden Knights need to find some goaltending but Jack Eichel is going to have a big year.
Here are the predicted standings for both conferences:
Eastern Conference - Atlantic Division
  1. Toronto Maple Leafs **
  2. Tampa Bay Lightning *
  3. Florida Panthers *
  4. Ottawa Senators *
  5. Boston Bruins
  6. Buffalo Sabres
  7. Detroit Red Wings
  8. Montreal Canadiens
Eastern Conference - Metropolitan Division
  1. Carolina Hurricanes *
  2. Pittsburgh Penguins *
  3. New York Rangers *
  4. Columbus Blue Jackets *
  5. New York Islanders
  6. Washington Capitals
  7. New Jersey Devils
  8. Philadelphia Flyers
Western Conference - Central Division
  1. Colorado Avalanche **
  2. Minnesota Wild *
  3. Nashville Predators *
  4. St. Louis Blues *
  5. Dallas Stars *
  6. Winnipeg Jets
  7. Arizona Coyotes
  8. Chicago Blackhawks
Western Conference - Pacific Division
  1. Calgary Flames *
  2. Edmonton Oilers *
  3. Vegas Golden Knights *
  4. Los Angeles Kings
  5. Seattle Kraken
  6. Vancouver Canucks
  7. San Jose Sharks
  8. Anaheim Ducks
2022-23 NHL Awards
Hart Trophy - Auston Matthews, Toronto
Art Ross - Connor McDavid, Edmonton
Rocket Richard - Auston Matthews, Toronto
Norris - Cale Makar, Colorado
Vezina - Jacob Markstrom, Calgary
Adams - Brad Larsen, Columbus
Calder - Matty Beniers, Seattle
Jennings - Markstrom-Vladar, Calgary
Selke - Elias Lindholm, Calgary
Byng - Kyle Connor, Winnipeg

The pointy-end of the season:
Eastern Conference Final
Toronto Maple Leafs over Pittsburgh Penguins
Western Conference Final
Colorado Avalanche over Calgary Flames
Stanley Cup Final
Colorado Avalanche over Toronto Maple Leafs
Yep, the Avs go back to back in a six game series, and the suffering continues for the Toronto faithful.
Nathan McKinnon takes out his first Conn Smythe as well and will flirt with 20 goals in the playoffs (but probably has to settle for 15+).
Enjoy the season everyone.
==
Like Rugby League? 
You can subscribe to the NOT The Footy Show Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and catch each episode on our YouTube Channel.
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Monday, 3 October 2022

NOT The Footy Show Episode 262: Panther Powerhouse - 2022 NRL Grand Final Recap

NOT The Footy Show - Episode 262  
  
Published October 3, 2022  

Join Robb Cox and Warrick Nicolson for Episode 262 of NOT The Footy Show as they review Penrith's dominant 28-12 win over Parramatta in the 2022 NRL Grand Final.  

That's back to back Premierships for the Panthers - and thoroughly deserved too.  

Parramatta were just outplayed and outmatched on the biggest day of the year.  

🔘  Download the mp3 version 
🔘  Stream the New Podcast or Watch on YouTube

We break down all the moments we thought mattered and congratulate Dylan Edwards on his Clive Churchill Medal - plus list our other worthy nominees for the award as Man of the Match in the decider. 

We will be back later in the week with the first of our Rugby League World Cup Podcasts. 

Thanks for listening everyone.
More Podcasts to come during the Rugby League World Cup. 
==
You can subscribe to the subscribe to the NOT The Footy Show Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and catch each episode on our YouTube Channel.

We are also on Instagram so please give us a follow @notthefootyshow 
==
Enjoy great moments from the Winfield Cup Era (1982-95) on Facebook and Twitter.