HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MAY 01: Gail Barringer, Wendell Pierce, Carrie Preston, Carra Patterson, Michelle King, Liz Glotzer and Jonathan Tolins attends the CBS Studios multi-title FYC event held at Paramount Pictures Studios on May 01, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kayla Oaddams/WireImage)
An established action-drama has exploded on social media.
Fire Force has been going for three seasons, with respectable if not spectacular ratings.
But one scene in the season four opener has changed all that.
In the first episode, one the male fire-fighters (Oliver) shares a same-sex kiss with his co-worker Damien. While only a few seconds long, it was enough to send certain sections of TikTok into meltdown, with thousands of TikTokkers giving their opinions and analysis of the scene, ‘shipping’ Oliver and Damien, and predicting how it will affect the characters in season four and beyond.
Peter Mullins, who wrote the episode, said the TikTok explosion was a happy accident.
“Oliver had just come out of a long-term relationship with a female journalist, so in my mind he was hurting, confused, and willing to experiment. We already have two same-sex couples on the show, so I wasn’t doing it to get attention or to ‘go woke’. I just wanted to shake things up,” he said, “I’m overjoyed that this has not only got people talking about the show but has opened it up to a new fanbase.”
Though one long-term fan is angry about the new attention the show is getting.
“I used to love Fire Force. The chemistry between the characters was good, the humour was organic, and the action scenes were absorbing,” wrote Adam on the show’s official Facebook page. “But the show is RUINED now everyone’s obsessed with THAT scene! It’s getting TOO popular and people are just jumping on the bandwagon! I guarantee you that 90% of the idiots making their stupid videos on TikTok never watched the show before now. And all because the writers wanted to chase some social media likes. What about the REAL fans who have to deal with all the bandwagoners now?”
Just three game weeks to go, and to be honest we’re disappointed in Liverpool’s failed title challenge meaning it is down to two teams for the title, and Man City will probably win everything and do their thing. Likewise the relegation battle looks disappointing, with one team outside the bottom three looking potentially like fodder. Talking of disappointments, our Premier League Week 36 Predictions and useful stats are here with enough to make an informed selection.
Each week we provide a meandering look into the upcoming round of Premier League football, with not only our predictions for the upcoming Premier League fixtures but offer up a wide range of H2H and in-season stats and barely interesting facts. This week is shorter than usual, that’s because there’s a day to do it. And no one reads this anyway.
2023-24 Premier League Week 36 Fixtures
2023-24 Premier League Week 36 Predictions
Here are our fearless predictions for the fixtures ahead, and tune in below for all the stats and barely interesting stats that go along with them. Or given our form, skip the tips and go to the stats.
Luton 0 Everton 2
Arsenal 3 Bournemouth 1
Brentford 2 Fulham 2
Burnley 0 Newcastle 6
Sheffield United 2 Nottingham Forest 2
Man City 3 Wolves 0
Chelsea 1 West Ham 2
Brighton 0 Aston Villa 3
Liverpool 5 Spurs 3
Crystal Palace 1 Man Utd 1
Season Progress: 46% – 152/332 – Correct Scores – 19
Season Tip Rating: Woeful
2023-24 Premier League Week 36 H2H Stats
Need a reason to pick one team over another, or just have a stat ready to impress friends and family, either way you are welcome to our favourite H2H stats of the current gameweek.
LUT v EVE – Both games between Luton and Everton on a Friday have been won by Everton. And Luton haven’t scored.
LUT v EVE – Everton are unbeaten away to bottom six sides (bottom six at time of match) W2 D1. Luton are winless at home v bottom six sides – D2 L3
ARS v BOU – Arsenal have won all seven home games v Bournemouth. And by the total of 20-4. Arsenal have won all four Saturday games too.
ARS v BOU – Bournemouth’s record v big six clubs this season is W1 D1 L7.
BRE v FUL – Brentford have won the last three home games v Fulham on a Saturday.
BUR v NEW – Newcastle have won the last five league games in this fixture.
BUR v NEW – Newcastle aren’t as good at Burnley on a Saturday. They are winless in their last five games and have lost the last three. Newcastle’s last win at Burnley on a Saturday was in 1969.
SHU v NFO – Nottingham Forest are unbeaten in their last four visits to Sheffield Utd on a Saturday – W2 D2.
SHU v NFO – Sheffield Utd and Nottingham Forest are the two worst teams for wins v bottom six opponents – one win each.
MCI v WOL – Man City are the only team left in the Premier League who haven’t lost against a side in the middle eight. W9 D2 – table position at time of match. Wolves did beat Man City 2-1 earlier this season.
MCI v WOL – Man City have lost just once to Wolves since 2001 in the last 11 contests at home – W8 D2 L1.
CHE v WHU – West Ham have a decent record v Chelsea recently. In the last 10 games that is W6 D2 L2.
BHA v AVL – Aston Villa have won the last five games v Brighton.
BHA v AVL – Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last eight trips to Burnley W4 D4.
LIV v TOT – Liverpool are unbeaten in their last six games on a Sunday v Spurs.
LIV v TOT – Liverpool are unbeaten in 13 home games v Spurs (W9 D4)
LIV v TOT – At home on a Sunday v Spurs Liverpool have only lost one of 13 matches – W10 D2 L1.
CRY v MUN – The last two games between Crystal Palace and Man Utd at Crystal Palace have ended in a draw.
CRY v MUN – Crystal Palace have yet to beat Man Utd at home in the Premier League. Thier last win was 18 games ago and in 1991 in the old First Division.
2023-24 English Premier League Current Season Stats
A quick look at the current state of play in the Premier League. An alternative table, form summary, points per game at home or away, v opposition and expected goals. So many.
SAKARYA, TURKIYE - MARCH 04: The 3.5 year old labrador breed search and rescue dog 'Moka' photographed in training program, in Turkiye's Sakarya on March 04, 2024. 'Moka', which joined the Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality Fire Brigade Department two years ago and took part in Kahramanmaras-based earthquakes, is ready for duty with its daily 3-hour training program. (Photo by Ibrahim Yozoglu/Anadolu via Getty Images)
A seemingly heartwarming Facebook post has descended into a social media fight.
A member of the Funny and Cute Animals Facebook page posted a two-minute video of a man walking his labrador to the corner store. The man ties up the dog to a post while he pops inside to buy something. Meanwhile, the dog is happily watching people walk on by (his tail constantly wagging) and laps up any attention and pats he gets from some people, who are delighted to see him.
The video was popular at first, with 100 Like reacts, 120 Hearts/Loves, and 125 Care reacts. But there was one Angry react – and that’s when the trouble started.
Known as ‘Barbara’, the commentor wrote a scathing review of the video:
“The owner of this dog should be jailed! ANYONE could have snatched that poor baby from the street and run away with it! But the careless owner doesn’t give a damn, tying the dog up like he means nothing! Some people don’t deserve to own beautiful dogs like this one! It’s disgusting!”
The comment received an overwhelming amount of Laugh and Angry reacts, with another commentor – known as ‘Peter’ – writing:
“You clearly DIDN’T BOTHER watching the WHOLE video! The owner is in the store for about a minute and – if you watch closely enough – you can see him keeping an eye on his dog when he’s at the checkout. Clearly the owner’s done this before as he has clear sight of his dog through the window. And he unties his dog as soon as he leaves the store and they continue their walk. The dog was FINE and was loving the attention.”
Another user – named ‘Adam’ – replied to Peter’s comment: “Mate, you’re spot on. I have a lab and they’re so outgoing. Meeting all these new people would be a joy for him. Better than leaving the dog cooped up in the house being bored and lonely. At least the dog’s getting exercise and is socialising. There’s nothing wrong with this video. It’s beautiful.”
Barbara attempted to fire back at Peter and Adam’s comments but was getting drowned out by other commentors who agreed with them.
30 minutes later, Barbara deleted her comment and left the group.
As we head into NRL Round 9, here’s a new addition to our NRL previews – an analysis of each team’s strengths and weaknesses from the previous round with our NRL Round 9 Teams Strengths & Weaknesses.
NRL Round 9 Teams Strengths & Weaknesses
S = Strength W = Weakness
South Sydney:
S: Showed some fight in the second half.
W: Taane Milne has a couple of weeks off for his unnecessary and bone-headed tackle on full-time. But it should be more.
W: This loss has put the spotlight back on Jason Demetriou’s future. Surely it’s only a matter of time before he’s sacked?
W: 42 missed tackles against Melbourne.
Penrith:
S: Defended themselves into the ground against North Queensland – a big effort in hot and humid Townsville.
S: Nathan Cleary proved how classy he was after a few weeks away: 428 kicking metres and five goals from five.
S: Brian To’o celebrated his 100th game with the opening try and 227 run metres.
W: Made 13 errors and had 47 missed tackles and 25 ineffective tackles.
Manly Warringah:
S: Manly are looking like they’ll play finals again after a couple of tough and controversial seasons.
S: 20 points for Reuben Garrick. And he showed composure to score two tries after being roughed up by Sivo.
S: While their defence has been poor at stages this season, they only conceded one second half try and held out Parramatta in the last 10 minutes to put the game away.
W: Possible bans for Haumole Olakau’atu and Daly Cherry-Evans could weaken Manly in the short term.
Canberra:
S: Matt Timoko was one of the few Raiders to show some fight: 209 run metres and 89 post contact metres.
W: Easily their worst performance in a long time. Buckle up Raiders fans: reality has hit and it could be a long season.
W: 64 missed tackles and 18 ineffective tackles.
W: Danny Levi’s inexcusable drop – with the tryline in sight – was the turning point. A potential 12-6 scoreline became 18-0 to Cronulla and it was game over.
Brisbane:
S: Adam Reynolds had a fine return: five goals and 328 kicking metres.
S: Brisbane are starting to warm up after a slow start to the season.
S: Another great game from Reece Walsh (two tries and 185 run metres).
W: Just like against Canberra, Brisbane would have been disappointed conceding late tries against the Tigers.
Sydney Roosters:
S: Sam Walker was a deserved winner of his second Ashton Collier Spirit of Anzac Medal: he scored a try (penalty try), kicked 10 goals from 10 attempts, had 354 kicking metres, and two try assists.
S: Easily their best performance of 2024.
S: The Roosters’ biggest win and highest score in ANZAC Day games.
W: Had more errors than the Dragons (8-6).
Canterbury-Bankstown:
S: Canterbury-Bankstown’s patience is starting to be rewarded with big results like the Newcastle win: they may not make the finals, but they’re definitely building to something.
S: Unlike the Roosters game, this time Canterbury went on with it against Newcastle.
S: Matt Burton had another excellent game, with 383 kicking metres and six goals from six attempts.
W: While they won easily against Newcastle, they still had 35 missed tackles and 21 ineffective tackles.
Wests Tigers:
S: At least their discipline was good, only conceding four penalties.
W: Samuela Fainu had a brain explosion: you can’t tackle players while they’re taking a 20 tap.
W: With four straight losses, the rot is starting to set in after a bright start to the season.
W: While Brisbane won easily, Api Koroisau was robbed of a try due to the ‘separation’ ruling.
Gold Coast:
S: Deserved that win after fighting efforts against Canberra and Manly.
S: Once again, Alofiana Khan-Pereira scored a crucial try – this time to open the second half.
S: An excellent 92% completion rate against the Warriors.
W: Conceded two tries in five minutes to give the Warriors a sniff after half-time.
Melbourne:
S: Now this was the clinical Storm we’re used to – easily their best performance of 2024.
S: Xavier Coates only played 34 minutes and still scored a hat-trick. But he’ll miss the Titans game.
S: 234 kicking metres for Jahrome Hughes and 187 for Cameron Munster.
W: Craig Bellamy won’t be happy the Storm let in three tries in nine minutes to give Souths a sniff.
North Queensland:
S: Picked themselves up in the second half to make a game of it.
W: But a poor first half allowed Penrith to build what should have been an insurmountable lead.
W: Crucial errors let them down in the second half.
W: Tom Chester could be out for a month with his hamstring injury.
The Dolphins:
S: 240 run metres for Trai Fuller and 53 tackles for Jeremy Marshall-King.
S: Gave themselves a chance with two late tries.
W: Are 1-3 at their second home at Lang Park.
W: 46 missed tackles and 15 errors against Newcastle. A disappointing loss after the huge Darwin win.
Newcastle:
S: While losing Kayln Ponga is devastating, David Armstrong looks to be a decent replacement at fullback.
S: Dane Gagai scored 10 of Newcastle’s 18 points.
S: 53 tackles for Jayden Brailey.
W: Would be disappointed to give The Dolphins a late sniff at sending the game into Golden Point.
NZ Warriors:
S: Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad had a brilliant 100th game: the opening try, 289 run metres, and 94 post-contact metres.
S: Shaun Johnson did his best to keep the Warriors in the game: 644 kicking metres and four goals from four attempts.
W: A disappointing loss considering it was their first home ANZAC Day game in a decade: they’re 2-2-1 in New Zealand this season.
W: 43 missed tackles against the Titans.
Cronulla-Sutherland:
S: The Sharks are in first place for a reason – aside from the shock Tigers loss, they’ve been brilliant.
S: Nicho Hynes scored 16 points against Canberra as the Sharks did as they pleased.
S: Canberra’s hoodoo over Cronulla is done now: the Sharks have won the last three convincingly.
W: Nine errors against Canberra, but this is nitpicking in an almost perfect performance.
St George Illawarra:
S: An 88% completion rate was decent despite the heavy loss.
W: The Dragons continue to be consistently inconsistent.
W: Losing Moses Suli on the first tackle was a bad omen.
W: 50 missed tackles and 27 ineffective tackles against the Roosters.
NRL Round 8 – it was the best of times, it was the blurst of times, and now the Wooden Spooners continue to cast their eye over the biggest and best weekend of rugby league so far this season with the 2024 NRL Round 8 Results & Headlines.
Going beyond the scores, the Wooden Spooner’s 2024 NRL Round 8 Results & Headlines gives the extra insight in the NRL that only the Wooden Spooners Team can, and exclusive stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether that’s because some if not all of them aren’t based on facts is probably relevant but has never stopped the “Fox League Writers” and similar from doing the same.
2024 NRL ROUND 8 RESULTS
Thu
Warriors
24-27
Gold Coast
Thu
St George Illawarra
18-60
Roosters
Thu
Melbourne
54-20
South Sydney
Fri
Manly Warringah
32-18
Parramatta
Sat
Wests Tigers
10-34
Brisbane
Sat
North Queensland
20-26
Penrith
Sun
Dolphins
14-18
Newcastle
Sun
Canberra
0-40
Cronulla
2024 NRL ROUND 8 HEADLINES
PART TIME FOX BOXING EXPERT SHOWS HIS METHOD ACTING WAYS
The big NRL news of the weekend happened as it most often does off field. This time it wasn’t an NRL players but a journalist who likes to have a go at rugby league player’s integrity.
Footage shows an incredibly well executed fight routine with moves so daring even Jackie Chan would be looking for the Insurance details.
But it’s all part of Paul Kent’s professionalism. As a growing part of the growing Boxing content on Fox and Fox League, Kent was merely going down the road of establishing his own very temporary Fight Club to get a feel for the boxing game he loves so much.
STUPID QUESTION FOR BENJI MARSHALL UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR SOUTHS WITH COST OF LIVING PRESSURES
Benji Marshall bristled after Saturday’s loss to the Broncos after the Tigers had lost yet another game at Campbelltown (and their record there is terrible as per our Stats below) but another team were thinking differently about their hoodoo.
South Sydney have yet to beat Melbourne in Melbourne ever, and given their current form is much worse than their finals-making form of what feels like yesteryear our spies believe they have asked the NRL not to send them to Melbourne for a while.
With the Cost of Living pressures meaning rugby league clubs have less money to pay for legal bills for boys night’s out, saving money on a trip to Melbourne to lose every season makes sense.
The Broncos-Dolphins rivalry has become a good one for the NRL, with the games between the teams great contest and plenty of niggling between the sets of fans already.
This continued this weekend as Dolphins fans discovered that the main train line into town from the north side was not operating.
Some pointed out that maintenance works have been planned for a long time, but Dolphins fans were disagreeing.
Some fans, who refused to be named for legal reasons, told the Wooden Spooners that the NRL Draw was release a long time before the maintenance plan was established, and that the manager in charge of that was a lifelong Broncos season ticket holder.
Despite having no proof of most of that statement, the group of members continued debating that with us in the Maxi Taxi that was taken instead from the Kippa Ring Shopping Centre to Suncorp Stadium.
They continually claimed the trains being down may have contributed to the average crowd of 18,000 for Sunday’s game, and the lack of atmosphere being unable to lift their side.
According to the Wooden Spooners sources, the NRL are very wary about NRL turning into Formula and having Penrith win everything like Max Verstappen.
So our spies tell us that the NRL have bargained with Penrith to ensure if they are ahead at half time that they allow a second half comeback. They have also agreed to cap any leads to 16 points or less until the final ten minutes.
Their reward is secret compensation with the Salary Cap to attempt to keep anymore of their players moving to the Bulldogs and Tigers.
Every week some players out-do themselves with skill, speed, spirit. Winning games, taking plaudits, earning respect.
And others are just gooses. Here is this week’s “winner”.
TAANE MILNE
Your team is last on the ladder and been beaten yet again in Melbourne. And with less than a drag of a cigar to go you dive at a player’s legs, potentially causing a nasty injury and doing something that will just about guarantee some kind of suspension. It was a balloon-headed play.
On second thoughts, it’s not a bad thing he’s unavailable for the next few weeks.
DIS-HONOURABLE MENTION – Mika Sivo
Q. Should the Tigers avoid Campbelltown as a home venue?
There were so many Paul Kent ones this weekend you must check out their page. This was our favourite below.
We love Ray Stone. He’s tough. He works hard, and he deserves his own section of a weekly NRL thing. So where better than the Wooden Spooners weekly ab out the best and worst of the NRL. Note: he’s in the best section. Always.
Although, he’d probably hate the attention.
RAY STONE’S STATS
RAY STONE HATES….
Losing to the Knights
Not playing 80 minutes
60 Minutes the TV show.
RAY STONE……
won an arm wrestling tournament, with both arms tied behind his back.
Wayne Bennett is on the market to caoch a team i nthe NRL next season, so the Wooden Spooners team have developed a metric to work out which lead is the most likely to take him on next season.
There’s five key factors – current season losing %, recent losing %, the Wayne Factor, how much trouble the current coach is in, and the ladder position.
Here’s the current calculations.
Parramatta are closing in on South Sydney for the Wayne Bennett Cup.
Hard to think but we’re up to May and Round Nine already in the NRL, and at the end of this weekend we’ll be a third of the way through the regular season. Talking of a third, our stat-filled preview of the upcoming weekend of rugby league is here to help get you to the top of your tipping comp with our 2024 NRL Round 9 Tips Predictions & Stats Preview.
Each week we offer up a quick preview glance for each match, throw in a bunch of barely interesting stats, and mix in a pinch of opinion, some spicy tips and you have a rugby league soup with probably more than one could ever need or want. It’s all you can eat NRL stats.
2024 NRL Round 9 Tips – This Week’s Matches
Here are our tips for the week ahead. How did we get to here? By going through all the visuals and stats below.
Thu 7:50 pm – South Sydney v Penrith
Fri 6:00 pm – Manly Warringah v Canberra
Fri 7:50 pm – Brisbane v Roosters
Sat 3:00 pm – Bulldogs v Wests Tigers
Sat 5:30 pm – Gold Coast v Melbourne
Sat 7:35 pm – North Queensland v Dolphins
Sun 2:00 pm – Newcastle v Warriors
Sun 4:05 pm – Cronulla v St George Illawarra
2024 NRL Round 9 Tips – This Week’s Tips
PENRITH by 10
MANLY by 16
BRONCOS by 10
BULLDOGS by 6
MELBOURNE by 2
DOLPHINS by 8
NEWCASTLE by 4
CRONULLA by 20
Here we take the best points of interest for each match coming up this weekend and share them with you for no cost. Feel free to share with friends and family. The bold ones are our favourites.
SOU v PEN – Souths have won two of their last 11 home games.
SOU v PEN – Souths have also won just two of their last nine Thursday games. However did win their most recent home clash on a Thursday – against Penrith last season.
SOU v PEN – Keeping the twos in theme, Souths have won just two of their last 12 v Penrith.
SOU v PEN – Since the current Penrith juggernaut began in 2020, Thursday is Penrith’s worst day for winning % – at 76.5%. Compared to their best of Sunday of 90%.
SOU v PEN – Penrith are W5 L4 for away games v Sydney clubs on a Thursday.
MAN v CAN – Manly have won 11 of their last 17 v Canberra over the past ten seasons.
MAN v CAN – Manly have won 12 / 20 at home to Canberra.
MAN v CAN – Manly and Canberra haven’t played at Brookvale on a Friday according to our records going back to 1998.
MAN v CAN – Canberra have lost seven of their last eight away games. But have won their last three away games on a Friday v Sydney teams.
BRI v ROO – Roosters have won their last three games v Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium.
BRI v ROO – In the 21 games the Roosters have played against Qld opposition since 2020, they have won 17.
BRI v ROO – Broncos have won six games straight on a Friday and ten of their last 11.
BRI v ROO – Broncos have won just two of their last eight v Sydney teams at Suncorp Stadium.
BUL v WT – Bulldogs are one of five team left with a 100% home win record this season.
BUL v WT – Bulldogs have won three of their last four v Tigers. The last two games have been at home.
BUL v WT – Bulldogs have won the only two games at the Olympic Stadium between these sides on a Saturday.
BUL v WT – Bulldogs have won only five of their last 27 Saturday games going back to 2020. Wests Tigers have won ten of their 38 games on a Saturday.
BUL v WT – Wests Tigers have lost nine games in a row at the Olympic Stadium.
GC v MELB – Gold Coast won this fixture at home last season. That win against Melbourne was their last Saturday home win. It’s been seven straight losses since.
GC v MELB – Titans have won just one of their last 12 Saturday home games.
GC v MELB – Gold Coast have lost nine in a row on a Saturday.
GC v MELB – Melbourne have won seven of their last eight games on a Saturday. But have only won three of six away to Qld sides on a Saturday.
NQL v DOL – Dolphins are three wins from three for away games against Qld sides that aren’t the Broncos. Long bow we know. #PhinsUp.
NQL v DOL – Saturday is the worst day for Dolphin’s win % at 36%.
NQL – DOL – North Queensland have won 12 of their last 13 home games on a Saturday v Qld sides. A shame the last match was a loss to Broncos.
NQL v DOL – North Queensland have lost their last two Saturday games by 26-20 and 27-20.
NEWC v NZ – Newcastle have won three in a row at home v Warriors. Newcastle are only W3 L4 at home v Warriors on a Sunday.
NEWC v NZ – Newcastle have won nine straight home games on a Sunday. Their last loss on a Sunday was in 2022.
NEWC v NZ – Newcastle have only lost two of their 14 Sunday games anywhere since 2023.
NEWC v NZ – Warriors have lost five of their last six away games, with their only win over Souths.
NEWC v NZ – Warriors have won just three of their 14 away games on a Sunday since 2020.
CRON v STGI – Cronulla have won seven straight v St George Illawarra. And five straight at home.
CRON v STGI – Cronulla are W6 L2 for their last eight games v Dragons on a Sunday.
CRON v STGI – Cronulla have won their last four Sunday games by a combined 142-34.
CRON v STGI – St George Illawarra have won two of their four away games this season. It’s an improvement on their record since 2022 of W5 L23 and all away games in 2023.
CRON v STGI – Dragons won their last Sunday game v Tigers. Prior to that it was eight straight losses.
Another big weekend of NRL action featuring a weekend or respect for the fighting past of our Anzacs and little respect for the fighting present of Paul Kent. As ever there were star performances, work horses giving it their all, and the occasional new star being unearthed. But which players were the best of the best you ask? We’ll let the stats do the talking and separate the Wheat/Chaff to present the 2024 NRL Round 8 Team of the Week & Player Stats.
First we have our Team of the Week, which takes some of the key player stats from the weekend and using various scoring methods come up with the best players in their positions from the latest round of the NRL.
Then there’s additional player stats from this weekend and some bite sized points of interest.
We’ve used the stats for each position and picked the best starting 13 players from the most recent round, the stats and points assigned are explained at the end.
On top of the best starting 13, we include the best four interchange players of the week. Seeing who has provided maximum impact from the bench.
Plus we throw in the players we thought were great but the stats did not with Gurgler’s Choice.
2024 NRL Team of the Season…so far
Here is the above but for all rounds.
2024 NRL Round 8 Player Stats
Want to see which players topped the key stats for the latest round of the NRL this weekend?
Want to see which players topped the key stats for the latest round of the NRL this weekend?
2024 NRL Player Stats…so far.
2024 NRL Round 8 Player Comparisons
Here is a quick look at the H2H Player stats from the most recent round in key positions.
This week we look and fullbacks as ever, and the best of the halves.
INTERESTING STATS FROM THIS ROUND
Newcastle debutant David Armstrong did an outstanding job in his first NRL game. His 11 Tackle Breaks is the equal fourth best single match effort by any player this season, and gives him the average per game lead. Throw in a try, two line breaks and plenty of metres, and it is box ticked on the Kalyn Ponga replacement, and a fine piece of selection work.
The other recent fullback debutant Dolphin’s Trai Fuller is third best for average tackle breaks per game.
Brian To’o’s 21 Tackle Breaks v Cowboys is nine more than the next best single match effort.
Five of the eight last try scorers had a first name starting with J. First try scorer names aren’t that interesting.
Addin Fonua-Blake now has as many season Run Metres as Tom Trbojevic.
Second Rowers followed by Interchange players give away the most penalties / ruck infringements.
2024 NRL Round 8 Team of the Week – Losing Side Players
Just for something different we ran our Player of the Week data and stats against the result to see who performed when their own team maybe didn’t.
How the Team of the Week works
Want to know how we come up with the numbers to rank the players, the below table should explain hopefully.
Want more Player Stats? Neeeeed more NRL data and stuff? Why not try our friends at Nothing But Legue for bite sized pieces of NRL Stats and more every day.
Want more NRL information than just the draw, results or the current ladder? Then you are in the right place and the right time with the home of Stats and Stuff via our 2024 NRL Round 8 Stats Summary for the weekend that was.
Each week we compile and keep up to date a wide range of stats from the latest weekend of NRL action plus the best 2024 NRL Season Stats to help you to the top of the tipping competition, land a few responsible winners or even make your Supercoach team better. And now with a match by match summary full of all the stats you need and/or want.
NRL Tipping Club presents….The NRL Thursday Liquid Lunch.
Quick NRL Round 8 Stats Season Summary
Some weekly and season stats and additional interesting visuals for the weekend that was and the season that is.
OVERALL LADDER AND FORM
WIN / LOSS RECORD BY HOME / OPPOSITION LADDER POSITION
Ladder position from previous round.
WIN / LOSS RECORD BY GEO / DAY / TIME
NRL Round 8 Stats Summary
NRL Round 8 Stats Extra
Before we hit the game by game extravaganza of stats, here is something extra.
LUCKY / BOGEY GROUNDS
South Sydney’s 19th consecutive loss in Melbourne made us think, is that the NRL’s worst case of bogey ground?
Well, yes. But are there any other team x ground combinations that are poor. And on the flip side, are there any combinations that are unbeatable. Well, yes. And find out more below.
Two of the three 100% records are at Campbelltown, the Broncos maintained that with their 9th win there on the weekend.
South Sydney have both Melbourne grounds covered for a 0% win record. Five of the 0% win rates are at either of the Storm regular home grounds.
St George Illawarra are also yet to win at AAMI Park.
Benji Marshall may not have liked the question on Saturday about moving from Campbelltown, but six of the top 15 for winning % at a certain ground are from Campbelltown.
ZERO POINTS AT HOME DOESN’T MEAN ZERO FINALS
Canberra fans rejoice. Scoring zero in a game in a season doesn’t mean you can’t make the finals. Or indeed win the competition…..
Last season the Warriors were beaten 14-0 by the Roosters yet went on to finish in the top four.
In 2022 would you believe that both Penrith and Parramatta scored zero points in home losses on the same weekend. They went on to meet in the Grand Final.
South Sydney were beaten 50-0 at home in 2021 and made the Grand Final.
If you do it more regularly you don’t make the finals though. Bulldogs have scored zero points at home five times since 2020 and not made the finals.
NRL Round 8 Stats Summary – H2H Match by Match Stats and Stuff
All eight games with all the stats you could ever want or need with added barely interesting stats to go with. Giving you a decent wrap up of all that went on in the NRL on the weekend.
Warriors have won just two of 15 Anzac Day clashes. All but two of those Anzac Day clashes were in Melbourne against the Storm. And lost all three of the Thursday games.
It’s 9 losses in a row now on Anzac Day for the Warriors.
Titans are now 2/2 on Anzac Day, both against the Warriors.
Gold Coast have now won four of the last five games v Warriors.
H2H for Anzac Day Clashes overall is St George Illawarra 12 Roosters 11. At the Sydney Football Stadium it is St George Illawarra 10 Roosters 8.
Dragons have lost all three of their games at the Sydney Football Stadium on a Thursday. They have won only three of their last 14 at the SFS on any day.
The Roosters 60 points scored is the second best tally behind Melbourne’s 70 points score in 2022. The game’s total points of 78 scored is two short of the total record from the same Melbourne game.
The Dragons’ 1233 Run Metres was the third lowest for a Team/Single Game this season.
That’s now 19 losses in 19 games in Melbourne v Storm for South Sydney. A truly magnificent stat. Olympic Ground (7 losses) and AAMI Park (12 losses).
Melbourne have never lost to anyone on a Thursday at home too (18 games).
Melbourne have won all ten games v Sydney clubs anywhere on a Thursday.
Melbourne have all three Anzac Day clashes on a Thursday.
Melbourne like Thursdays.
Since 2022 South Sydney have lost 5/6 Thursday away games.
Melbourne averaged 52 points scored from their last five Anzac Day clashes.
Melbourne haven’t lost an Anzac Day clash since 2011.
The Rabbitohs’ 16 Tackle Breaks was the lowest single round team stat for the season.
Manly have won all four home games this season v Roosters, Penrith, South Sydney and Parramatta. There also on a five game winning run at home.
It’s also four in a row at Brookvale on a Friday.
Parramatta have now lost six in a row on a Friday.
Wests Tigers have lost ten straight at Campbelltown.
Brisbane have won all nine games v Wests Tigers at Campbelltown, and feature in our Best Teams at Grounds analysis above.
Broncos have won 11 in a row on a Saturday. And their last seven in a row away on a Saturday.
It was the Broncos’ first away win of the season.
It was the Panthers’ first win in Townsville on a Saturday since 2009.
Penrith have won six in a row v Qld clubs and 18 of their last 21 v Qld clubs since 2020.
Penrith have lost just two of 18 games away on a Saturday since 2020.
It was Newcastle’s first win as the away team in Qld v Qld sides since 2015. Breaking a 20 game run of losses.
The Dolphins are still equal with the South Queensland Crushers for total wins ever in the NRL. Crushers played 65 games and the Dolphins are sitting on 31.
Dolphins are W4 L4 on a Sunday in their lifetime.
Cronulla have won their last four games, scoring 34 points or more on all occasions.
After nine straight losses to Canberra, Cronulla are now on a three game winning streak.
Formula One heads over to North America for the first time in 2024 for one of the season’s most over-hyped race weekends. It’ll be full of celebrities, an awkward grid walk, and hopefully a decent race. That last one is not guaranteed. Talking of no guarantee our 2024 Miami F1 Grand Prix Preview will give you a bit of everything without promising anything ahead of the upcoming big weekend of F1.
The Gurgler’s 2024 Miami F1 Grand Prix Preview brings some thoughts on the race itself, a few bold predictions here and there, a more than a few barely interesting stats.
Essentially a quick summary of what a casual F1 fan needs in the shortest possible time for your convenience.
By GabrielStella – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=103863916
The track map seems appropriate enough as it looks a badly drawn Alligator head, and Florida is kind of famous for their alligators.
It’s a track set in the carpark around a Football Stadium in Miami, with a back straight running almost under a highway.
The fake marina is always a talking point. The race rarely is.
2024 Miami F1 Grand Prix Preview – Race Rating
The Gurgler does like to use some obscure drivers in our Race previews and report, so who better to use than Teo Fabi to determine a race rating system.
So before each race we give a rating out of ten for four key category that are loosely based on each letter of Teo Fabi’s surname. Don’t know who Teo Fabi is, you should.
FAST? 3/10 – It’s got some long straights, and a few fast sweeps, but it’s no….most other circuits.
ACTION? 5/10 – It’s a street circuit so anything could happen. There’s not been many DNFs here in the past, but with walls nearby and loads of ambition there’s always a chance. And there’s a sprint race where the drivers will be too scared to wreck thie car for the race.
BIG HISTORY? – 1/10 The US Grand Prix has a long and storied history. USA also has a history of uninspiring tracks in carparks like Las Vegas, or tired street layouts like Dallas or Phoenix. This Miami GP is in it’s third year and if it wasn’t for Max Verstappen winning everything we couldn’t tell who’d won the races.
INCLEMENT WEATHER? – 2/10 Anywhere between 8% and 24% for rain for Friday to Sunday is currently being forecast for Miami according to The Weather Channel. That’s not enough for our liking.
RACE RATING 28% – It’s Meh-ami Grand Prix.
2024 Miami F1 Grand Prix Preview – Stats
Want to know if your favourite driver for this weekend is a master of the track or the track is a master of them? Here then are some barely interesting facts and stats.
Pole sitter has finished second in both races here. 2nd on the grid has finished third in both races. The winner, aka Max Verstappen has won from third and ninth on the grid.
Max Verstappen has the same average qualifying grid slot in Miami as Pierre Gasly.
DRIVER GRID POSITION vs RACE RESULT – CURRENT DRIVERS
TEAM GRID POSITION vs RACE RESULT
HISTORIC DRIVER RESULTS
99 = a DNF. Grid position 20 is overstated as that was also used for cars starting in pitlane.
HISTORIC TEAM RESULTS
GRID POSITION INTO RACE RESULT
99 = a DNF. Grid position 20 is overstated as that was also used for cars starting in pitlane. Results from 2001.
Ferrari 1-2 in Qualifying. And one Ferrari driver will win the Sprint race.
Back to Max Verstappen to win the proper race.
Points for Kevin Magnussen
Sergio Perez to find the wall or another car in either the Sprint or Main Race.
Lewis Hamilton to be slow in the Mercedes and the TV Coverage spending way too much time broadcasting the moans.
Didn’t catch up with all the 2024 Anzac Day NRL action? Well here to review the games in the quickest possible time is our collection of one minute Match Reviews for Round 8’s Anzac Day clashes.
GOLD COAST 27 d NZ WARRIORS 24
The Titans have won their first game of 2024, beating the Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium. It was a big occasion for the Wahs: their first home ANZAC Day game since 2015 (also against the Titans) and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad’s 100th NRL game. While the Warriors raced to a 12-0 lead (with CNK scoring in his milestone game), the Titans dominated from there: converted tries to AJ Brimson, Tanah Boyd, David Fifita, and a field goal to Tanah Boyd, giving them a 19-12 half-time lead.
Alofiana Khan-Pereira scored soon after the break to push the Titans’ lead to 23-12, then the Warriors were disallowed a try to Roger Tuivasa-Sheck when Wayde Egan knocked on at dummy half in the lead up. The Titans seemed to put the game away when AJ Brimson scored in the 54th minute. But the Warriors fought back: tries to Addin Fonua-Blake (his second) and Rocco Berry getting them within three points. Berry nearly scored again, but the try was disallowed with a knock on from Dallin Watene-Zelezniak. The Titans weathered the Warriors’ attack in the final 15 minutes to hang on to the win.
SYDNEY ROOSTERS 60 d ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA 18
The Sydney Roosters have destroyed St George Illawarra in the ANZAC Day clash at the SFS. The Dragons had a horror start with Moses Suli knocked out in the first tackle. Will it spark a new debate about kick-off rules? While the Dragons scored first through Jaydn Su’a, Eastern Suburbs dominated from there: the game was over at half-time, with the Roosters leading 30-6.
Sam Walker was a deserved winner of his second Ashton Collier Spirit of Anzac Medal: he scored a try (penalty try), kicked 10 goals from 10 attempts, had 370 kicking metres, and two try assists. His 24 points passed Jamie Soward’s 21 in 2009. Joseph Manu and Nat Butcher both scored doubles for the Roosters. It was the Roosters’ biggest win and highest score in ANZAC Day games.
MELBOURNE 54 SOUTH SYDNEY 20
Melbourne rounded our ANZAC Day by thumping Souths at AAMI Park. The Storm won their 10th ANZAC Day game from 13 attempts, and their sixth straight ANZAC Day win. Xavier Coates only played the first 34 minutes due to a hamstring injury, but still scored a first half hat-trick. Ryan Papenhuyzen also scored a double.
Melbourne looked comfortable leading 36-4 early in the second half: then Souths scored through Jacob Gagai (his second), Taane Milne, and Cameron Murray to give themselves a sniff at 36-20 with 20 minutes left. But Melbourne shut the game down with tries to Cameron Munster and Tyran Wishart. Melbourne then brought up the 50 with Joe Chan’s first NRL try. The game had an ugly finish when Taane Milne made an unnecessary low tackle on Cameron Munster with seconds left and was sin binned. There could be massive repercussions for Souths and Milne over this moment of stupidity.
Match Summary above courtesy of Not Six Again – NRL Fanatics & Banter from Gurgler contributor Andrew Pelechaty. For more NRL Banter and Views please follow the link below.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The triple header works for Anzac Day, giving New Zealand a deserved game on home soil on the special day and avoiding a Melbourne based loss every year. Plus the three games have a good mix for the neutral fan. May the NRL continue it every year.
The popular juggernaut that was the Warriors has run out of a bit of steam, and it’s a shame. Hopefully they get back on track soon to take advantage of the uncertainty of Origin period, which should affect them less.
Two premiership heavyweight flexed their muscles on Anzac Day, and the competition needs them to follow through to give the competition some real quality come finals time, rather than being Panthers fodder.
Given the game was in Melbourne, where Souths have never won, no one would have expected the Rabbitohs to win, and they were beaten by a red-hot side. But for Jason Demetriou to say their season is salvageable is a long bow. Sacking a coach isn’t always the answer, but Souths need to do something. Perhaps long-suffering captain Cameron Murray is the only player who is playing better this season out of the entire squad.
Taane Milne should never play first grade for Souths again.
Courtesy of nrl.com
WARRIORS v TITANS
Warriors have won just two of 15 Anzac Day clashes. All but two of those Anzac Day clashes were in Melbourne against the Storm. And lost all three of the Thursday games.
It’s 9 losses in a row now on Anzac Day.
Titans are now 2/2 on Anzac Day, both against the Warriors.
Gold Coast have now won four of the last five games v Warriors.
DRAGONS v ROOSTERS
H2H for Anzac Day Clashes overall is St George Illawarra 12 Roosters 11. At the Sydney Football Stadium it is St George Illawarra 10 Roosters 8.
Dragons have lost all three of their games at the Sydney Football Stadium on a Thursday. They have won only three of their last 14 at the SFS on any day.
The Roosters 60 points scored is the second best tally behind Melbourne’s 70 points score in 2022. The game’s total points of 78 scored is two short of the total record from the same Melbourne game.
Melbourne averaged 52 points scored from their last five Anzac Day clashes.
Melbourne haven’t lost an Anzac Day clash since 2011.
STORM v RABBITOHS
That’s now 19 losses in 19 games in Melbourne v Storm for South Sydney. A truly magnificent stat. Olympic Ground (7 losses) and AAMI Park (12 losses).
Melbourne have never lost to anyone on a Thursday at home too (18 games).
Melbourne have won all ten games v Sydney clubs anywhere on a Thursday.
Melbourne have all three Anzac Day clashes on a Thursday.
Melbourne like Thursdays.
Since 2022 South Sydney have lost 5/6 Thursday away games.
