#NRL How bad did your team go in Round 1?

Round 1 was... Standard.

2015 National Rugby League Premiership
By W D Nicolson - March 9, 2015
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Parra Stadium almost full - giddy up!

The Postman started with 5 tips out of 8 picks... solid enough to be respectable and gladly, I'm not sub-.500 after the opening weekend.

Some very quick hit thoughts on your team in Round 1 below.

RECAP ROUND 1 TIPS
Season 5/8 @ 62.5%
1/1 | Souths over Brisbane
Spot on... was fairly confident but Souths had this in hand early. Broncos had one player (Matt Gillett) look likely... and they need 5 or 6 to be every week to be a threat this season.
1/2 | Manly over Parramatta
Wrongo... badly wrong. Parra put the foot down and Manly had no reply. Still it is just one game...
2/3 | Newcastle over Warriors
Only game of weekend I didn't see - caught some highlights but they never tell the story.
2/4 | Titans over Tigers
Should be 3/4 given Titans had all the good chances to win the game... then let the Tigers steal it. Some okay signs for both teams, but that said - neither look overly strong.
2/5 | Cowboys over Roosters
5 minutes in and I felt sick about picking the Cows... Roosters superior in every way in Townsville. Cowboys better hope that was opening Round rust... they looked joe average in comparison. RTS at fullback = gravy.
3/6 | Panthers over Bulldogs
Looked like a smart pick early 2nd half... then the Bulldogs started playing footy and what do you know... they came back. Let your team play some footy Des - please! James Segeyaro remains the best hooker you don't mention enough.
4/7 | Raiders over Sharks

Canberra played an attractive brand of footy... Cronulla didn't... yet the Sharks were always in the game and had a chance to win it a few times in the 2nd half. Canberra looked good and Josh Hodgson made them look smooth around the rucks - something they haven't appeared to be for years.
5/8 | Storm over Dragons
Snorefest... but Craig Bellamy would love that performance by Melbourne. Simply put - did what they had to do beat a Dragons side that had Benji Marshall trying his guts out and not nearly being enough for them to worry the scorers more than once. Long season ahead Saints fans.

Take on The Postman's Tips in NRL Tipping here 
Code: 9UDA25ND - same prize as last year (which The Postman won) - this NTFS t-shirt in your team.

How did you tip?

#NRL Round 1 Tips + 2015 Season Predictions

Rabbitohs can go back to back... but won't.

2015 National Rugby League Premiership
By W D Nicolson - March 4, 2015
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This years tips will be brief but at least they are here.

Yes, it is the eve of the 2015 NRL Season but for a variety of reasons - this years tips are limited to just the raw facts... who I think will win.

Occasionally you might get some exposition as to why but don't expect it every week.


Take on The Postman's Tips in NRL Tipping here Code: 9UDA25ND - same prize as last year (which The Postman won) - this NTFS t-shirt in your team.

ROUND 1 TIPS
Souths over Brisbane
Manly over Parramatta
Newcastle over Warriors
Titans over Tigers
Cowboys over Roosters
Panthers over Bulldogs
Raiders over Sharks
Storm over Dragons

So here are The Postman's 2015 Predictions... this 1-16 was done in one go about a week ago... so it is mainly if not entirely gut-feel.

1. South Sydney
2. North Queensland
3. Eastern Suburbs
4. Melbourne
5. Penrith
6. Canterbury
7. Manly
8. Warriors
9. Newcastle
10. Canberra
11. Brisbane
12. Cronulla
13. Tigers
14. Gold Coast
15. Parramatta
16. St George Illawarra

The Postman's 2015 Mail: 

Only think the Bunnies, Cowboys, Roosters, Storm and maybe Dogs can win the thing... can't totally write off Manly while they still have DCE/Foran but huge concerns up front and still don't believe the Panthers can win a comp with a Wallace/Soward combo.. excited to see what Warriors, Raiders and Knights can do given the makeup of their rosters. Don't think Brisbane, Cronulla or the Tigers have enough improvement in them to really feature - in fact the above means I think Brisbane drop a tad (but not a lot when they finished 8th last year almost by default). Got the Titans, Eels and Dragons in the bottom three... so watch them contend for the Top 8.

Going with the R....oosters?

Though - honestly - I'm not sold at all on that pick. The SBW loss is huge but of all the teams - they can rejig that backrow with some handy players and I love the backline. Bunnies will find replacing Sam Burgess just as hard - how much does Glenn Stewart have left?

Storm remain my dark-horses - I don't think they are done yet but I had the same thought last year and they flamed out deluxe... anyhoo.

Let's go with Roosters v Cowboys for the Grand Final... Chooks to win.

Agree with our Round 1 Tips or 2015 Premiers?
Let us know your thoughts by commenting below or replying on Twitter.

My Australian Cricket World Cup Squad #CWC15 @cricketworldcup

My Australian World Cup XV

2015 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand

By W D Nicolson - January 8, 2015

Follow @AustCricket


The Australian 15-man squad is named on Sunday January 11 - so here is the Australians www.wdnicolson.com has picked to win the World Cup on home soil.

We'll start with our squad and name the 11 we'd take into each game to try and win this thing.

BATSMEN
Michael Clarke (c)
Steve Smith (vc)
David Warner
Aaron Finch
George Bailey

ALL-ROUNDERS
Shane Watson
Mitchell Marsh
James Faulkner
Glenn Maxwell

KEEPERS
Brad Haddin
Tim Paine (Update: now injured so go an extra bowler)

BOWLERS
Mitchell Johnson
Ryan Harris
Mitchell Starc
Cameron Boyce

My Best Australian XI

1. David WARNER
2. Aaron FINCH
3. Michael CLARKE (c)
4. Steve SMITH
5. Shane WATSON
6. Mitchell MARSH
7. Brad HADDIN
8. James FAULKNER 
9. Mitchell JOHNSON
10. Ryan HARRIS
11. Cameron BOYCE/Mitchell STARC/Glenn MAXWELL

Let's win a World Cup for the first time AT HOME!

I want to find room for Bailey at #6 but it is hard to push the likes of Marsh, Haddin, Faulkner and Johnson down another rung. If Bailey does get a run - Marsh misses out in all likelihood if the selectors decide Starc has to play or they want Maxwell's spin - my choice is Boyce because we need a genuine turner of the ball who can push for wickets vs keeping the runs down. He's not perfect by any means but I desperately want a spinner because if the wickets take spin (it is a relatively big IF but you have to cover it) I want an actual spinner - and that's not Glenn Maxwell (but yes - he makes my squad because you might actually use him vs Shaun Marsh or ).

The batting picks itself - the openers are locked in stone and I'd play Clarke at 3 so he gets maximum batting time - ditto for Smith. That pushes Watson to 5 where I think he's better suited to in ODI cricket anyway, Marsh or Bailey at 6 = very happy with that for a top/middle order. 

Haddin gets the job behind the stumps and I'd pick Tim Paine as my backup (Update: now has a broken big toe so he's out) because he can bat like a batsman if he has to and Haddin may benefit from a breather in the prelim stages and I just like having a squad member as the backup vs a converted batsmen who hasn't kept. He narrowly gets the call ahead of the guy who has impressed me massively this Big Bash in Tim Ludeman - the guy hits the ball as cleanly as anyone and plays smart shots to good areas of the ground rather than just launching wily nily.

Harris is just too good a player to leave out for a young bowler - this is a World Cup not a ODI series in preparation for a World Cup - you pick your best players. Johnson is a weapon and clearly beats out Starc as our left armer and Faulkner, Marsh, Boyce and Watson bowl 30 overs between them. Just quietly - I love that attack.

So there's no Pat Cummins (may make it though and probably gets my open spot vacated by Paine), Josh Hazlewood (he's gassed after 3 Tests in a row - not for me), Justin Behrendorff (one too many left handers sorry kid), Nathan Coulter-Nile or James Pattinson (if fit I'd have considered the last two) and I just think picking Brad Hogg wouldn't be the right choice... a T20 World Cup - yes I'd pick him, but not if you want him bowling 10 overs... mind you, I wouldn't complain if he got the 15th spot - as I think there isn't a standout choice otherwise. I also don't think we need another batsmen - for mine if we lose one of those we've picked - we can find a batsmen in an injury swap easy enough - same goes for the bowlers.

So there's my team... I think we make the Semi Finals - but gee there's some good teams in World Cricket right now so I can't say for sure we make the Final or win the thing. 

But gee it's going to be good to watch.

And if you are in Australia right now and haven't bought a ticket yet - why not? I'll be going to as many games in Sydney as I can and if I have to shell out $140 for the Semi Final - then yep, I'll do it. It's been 23 years since we've had a World Cup in our backyard - and it might be nearly that long again given the powerful nature of the subcontinent with hosting major tournaments - so get 2015 WORLD CUP TICKETS.

GO AUSTRALIA!

Look for semi-regular tweets on the #CWC15 via @AustCricket and @wdnicolson during the tournament.


Follow @AustCricket