By Kaaps Loche.
As quoted at the height of the US chasing WMDs in Iraq there are known knowns; there are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns; that is to say, there are things that we now know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns – there are things we do not know we don’t know.
How easily this applies to the first month of each NRL premiership. For instance the known knowns are Melbourne’s quality in overcoming two very tough games, or Manly are tough to be beat no matter the situation. Known unknowns is the wildly inconsistent start the New Zealand Warriors will make to a season, and that the first 4 weeks of tipping is usually impossible to get 100% correct or 50% if you’re lucky. The unknown unknowns are usually derived from ignorance but also the occasional surprise. Like how the Broncos are winning games through such resilience when they were so meek in trial games, or that our diatribe about how overrated Penrith’s recruits would be so incorrect or how Adam Reynolds missed a goal from virtually in front when his overall % is close to 90.
The unknowns and knowns will play out over the year, so the best we can do is sit tight and ride them out and learn from them, and pray that our team isn’t too far behind by the time it sorts itself out.
Anyways, enough fluffy stuff onto the rest of the week.
BEST OF LAST WEEK
3 Votes – The honourable retirement of Jharal Yow Yeh and the Broncos touching temporary retirement of the number 5.
2 Votes – Melbourne v Penrith games was a ripper. Such a great finish.
1 Vote – Broncos v Cowboys was a great start to the weekend.
GURGLER STATS
The Channel 9 Cup
Sorted by points per game – the Broncos lead this table.
| TEAM | GAMES | POINTS | F/A | PT/GAME |
| BRISBANE | 2 | 4 | 10 | 2 |
| ST GEORGE | 1 | 2 | 20 | 2 |
| MANLY | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| SOUTHS | 2 | 2 | 18 | 1 |
| WESTS TIGERS | 2 | 2 | 10 | 1 |
| COWBOYS | 1 | 0 | -4 | 0 |
| BULLDOGS | 1 | 0 | -6 | 0 |
| ROOSTERS | 1 | 0 | -20 | 0 |
| GOLD COAST | 1 | 0 | -30 | 0 |
PENALTY COUNT
Given how important penalties are to flow and momentum with a lot leading directly to tries, we thought it would be a good exercise to know how many your team are winning and obtaining home and away. Hard to get too much info after 2 weeks though.
| TEAM | HOME FOR | HOME AGAINST | AWAY FOR | AWAY AGAINST |
| BRONCOS | 4 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| BULLDOGS | 16 | 18 | ||
| CANBERRA | 15 | 8 | ||
| GOLD COAST | 7 | 8 | 10 | 7 |
| MANLY | 15 | 15 | ||
| MELBOURNE | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| NEW ZEALAND | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 |
| NEWCASTLE | 4 | 8 | 5 | 4 |
| NORTH QLD | 4 | 7 | 8 | 4 |
| PARRAMATTA | 9 | 9 | 5 | 11 |
| PENRITH | 4 | 5 | 11 | 10 |
| ROOSTERS | 11 | 5 | 6 | 12 |
| SHARKS | 7 | 10 | 9 | 8 |
| SOUTHS | 12 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| ST GEORGE | 11 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| WESTS TIGERS | 14 | 18 |
REFEREE COUNT
Whilst we’re at it, why not find out which refs give away the most penalties and whether your team is punished home or away or whether the team has been doing it all day/week/season.
| REF | TOTAL | GAMES | AVG (H) | AVG (A) |
| A.SHORTALL | 34 | 2 | 7.5 | 9.5 |
| M.CECCHIN | 34 | 2 | 7.5 | 9.5 |
| B.SUTTOR | 33 | 2 | 11 | 5.5 |
| G.BADGER | 33 | 2 | 11 | 5.5 |
| G.SUTTON | 33 | 2 | 8 | 8.5 |
| A.GEE | 32 | 2 | 7.5 | 8.5 |
| A.KLEIN | 32 | 2 | 7.5 | 8.5 |
| A.DEVCICH | 31 | 2 | 6.5 | 9 |
| H.PERENARA | 31 | 2 | 6.5 | 9 |
| B.CUMMINS | 30 | 2 | 8 | 7 |
| G.REYNOLDS | 30 | 2 | 6.5 | 8.5 |
| C.JAMES | 28 | 2 | 7 | 7 |
| S.HAYNE | 28 | 2 | 7 | 7 |
| G.ADKINS | 23 | 2 | 5.5 | 6 |
| J.MAXWELL | 23 | 2 | 5.5 | 6 |
| L.PHILLIPS | 18 | 1 | 12 | 6 |
| D.MUNRO | 15 | 1 | 7 | 8 |
THIS WEEKS TIPS = brought to you by Steele Retchless.
And finally onto the tips. 5/8 last week, should have listened to the fact that Gold Coast have never won a game the week after playing Monday night at 9 attempts. Remember that for next time.
Multi $89
SOUTHS -15.5 start v West Tigers
BRISBANE +10.5 start v Roosters
PENRITH -1.5 start v Bulldogs
SHARKS +6.5 start v Dragons
COWBOYS -9.5 start v New Zealand
MANLY -11.5 start v Parramatta
TITANS +8.5 start v Canberra
NEWCASTLE +12.5 start v Melbourne.
