Big League Weekly Edition – July 25, 2019

PHOTOS:

Supplied

(Raiders);

NRLPhotos.com:

Nathan

Hopkins

(Cleary,

Eels),

Scott

Davis

(Hodges,

Glenn),

Grant

Trouville

(Pearce),

Jason

O’Brien

(Boyle),

Shane

Myers

(Green);

Will

Russell/Getty

Images

(Perth)

26 BIGLEAGUE 2019 Round 19

ASifMelbournehadn’tdone

enoughdamagetoGoldCoast’s

leftedge,CraigHodgesjoinedin

witha verbalspraypost-game.

TheStormscoredfourtries

downtheedgeofBrianKelly,

TyroneRobertsandBryce

Cartwrightinthe38-18hiding,

andHodgeswasnotimpressed.

“Individualguysonthatleft

edgewerenotdoingtheirjob

properly,”Hodges(above)said.

“Wespokeaboutourfirst

contactandgettingourbodyin

front,basicstuffthatyouwould

usuallyworkoninpre-season.

Wedidn’tdothatwell,andthe

wholeteampaystheprice.

“Allpositionsarevacantatthe

moment.Weknowwhatdirection

wewanttogo,wejustneedtofind

the 17 most committedtodothat.”

• JYE CAMPBELL

FEWteamsleaveMelbourne

withtwocompetitionpoints,but

ManlywillheadintoSaturday’s

clashwithanairofconfidence

aboutendingtheStorm’s

nine-gamewinningstreak.

Despitetheirstruggleslast

year,Manlyclaimeda comfortable

24-4victoryatAAMIPark.

“Youalwaysgointogameswith

confidence.We’lldoourvideo

workonthemtoseewhatthey’re

doingwellandhowwecanshut

themdown,”propMorganBoyle

(above)toldBigLeague.

“Mostgamesarewoninthe

middle,sowe’rejustgoingto

havetoholdtheball,complete

and tire them out.” – MG

REPRESENTATIVEhalfback

NathanClearysaidthere’s

a buzzaroundtheclubfollowing

Penrith’sseventh-straightvictory.

Aftertheir40-18winover

StGeorgeIllawarra,Cleary

saidhefeelsthePanthershave

regainedtheirmojoandthey’re

enjoyingtheirfooty.

“There’sa goodfeelingaround

theclubandit wasprobablyour

bestperformanceoftheyear,”

ClearysaidafterlastFriday’swin.

“Therewasa funvibe

outthere.It feltlikewewere

kidsrunningaroundplaying

under-16sfootyagain.

“Therearea lotofPenrith

juniorsintheteamandtobeable

toplayalongsidethemandplay

thatbrandoffootyisreallygood.”

OnlytheBulldogshavescored

fewerpointsthanthePanthersin

2019,howeverClearysaidtheir

attackisfinallyclickingaftertheir

season-highscore.

“We’vebeentoldtoplaywhat

wesee.We’vegota lotofskill

inthisteamsoweneedtobuild

a platformfirst,butI thoughtwe

didreallywell[againsttheDragons].

Ifweseesomething’sonthen

wetakeit,”thehalfbacksaid.

“Ourfootyfromthestartof

theseasoncomparedtonowison

thecompleteoppositeendofthe

spectrum.That’sa positiveand

weneedtokeepbuildingonthat.

There’sstilla longwaytogo,and

that’salwaysa positivewhenthere’s

room for improvement.” – MB

CANBERRAwilldona specialjerseyinRound 23

tosupportAustralia’sdeafcommunity.

TheRaiders,andmajorsponsorHuawei,recently

launchedthespecialkitwhichisembroideredwiththe

entireAustraliansignlanguagealphabet,andwilllater

beauctionedoff.TheproceedswillgotoDeafAustralia.

“BothHuaweiandDeafAustraliaaredelightedto

havethisopportunitytoworkwiththeRaidersand

theNRLtohelpbuilda bettercommunity,”Huawei

spokespersonLisaConnorssaid.

“Wearelookingforwardwithgreatexcitement

totheCharityRoundmatchonAugust25thwhere

theRaiderswillwearthisfantasticjersey.Wehave

a veryspecialdayplannedwhichwearesurethe

fansaregoingtolove.”

DeafAustraliaarethelatestina longlineofcharities

theRaidersandHuaweihavesupportedinrecentyears.

Justlastweek,Canberraauctionedoffplayingjerseys

toraisefundsfortheRickyStuartFoundation.

“TheRaidersandHuaweihavea proudhistoryof

workingtogethertohelpa numberofveryworthwhile

causesandwe’relookingforwardtoaddingDeaf

Australiatothis,”saidRaidersCEODonFurner.

“Ourclubisallaboutgivingbacktothecommunity

andthisgivesustheopportunitytogivesome

wonderful exposure for Deaf Australia.” – JC