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Definite yellow. Red is harsh, though not inconsistent with previous judgements. He'll get at least 2 weeks for that too. Oh well. How are we looking for 2019?

Great to see Rodda and Nabuli back for the Reds, that evens the squads up a bit at least on paper.

Very strong team, and the advantage over the Reds will only be raised when the benches come on. If that Rebels team can stay relatively intact and get some combinations together, they should be a challenge for any side in the competition. Are Hardwick and Fainga'a injured or are Cottrell and...

Pretty sure Nabuli is still injured? Wrist injury IIRC. I agree when he's fit he'll be first choice for 23 over Ngamanu and Maranta.

"Lachlan Maranta could also be a possible replacement" Talking about Maranta already... dear God. The season hasn't even started yet. So it looks like Daugunu and CFS will be the wings, Paia'aua and Kerevi the centres. Stewart, Lance and Toua to fight it out for 10, 15 and 22. That...

The Stormers have a very heavy injury toll and didn't really impress against the Jaguares. The long travel should give the Tahs enough of an edge to win it IMO, as long as they show up. That Damian Willemse looked bloody good, though. He'll be a handful this season.

Did anyone see Perese back on his feet? That looked nasty and there was a lot of screaming, but the game didn't stop long enough for him to be carried off the field?! Edit: just read above that he was apparently hobbling. At least it's not a torn ACL - seen way too many of those go in trial games!

A lot of gassed Reds out there. I don't blame them, the conditions are horrendous. It will be good conditioning. And I will forgive any and all handling errors tonight. I'm a ball of sweat just sitting at home on the couch watching.

I suspect kicking the ball away is something we're going to see a lot of this season. They did it a lot in the Tens too, and often paid the price in the more open game. But in 15s with a strong defence it's viable... Hopefully more All Blacks than Highlanders, though. Highlanders do it a bit...

They may announce a live stream late in the afternoon, to try and encourage people to buy tickets until the last minute. Worth checking their Facebook page an hour or so before kickoff.

There are certainly a few vulnerable teams, and there is usually a win or two out of left field too, that nobody expected. Particularly at Suncorp which can still be a fortress, though these days it's probably more due to humidity, travel fatigue and complacency rather than crowd support. Last...

Interesting trial. Conditions were positively soapy but handling was generally quite good considering. The Brumbies had trouble getting over the ad line but when they did they really opened up the Chiefs off the back of quick ball. Lucas was very impressive in that regard, he's perfect for the...

Yep. If recent years are any guide, there will be a false dawn in the first round or two where we come up with a plucky and uncharacteristically skillful win, and then I'll start to do stupid things like organise friends to come to games ("it'll be fun and the Reds are looking okay this...

So the only four-transfer round this year is round 16. Handy to know.

Yeah I agree with TOCC, narrow losses will be encouraging. The Reds in the last couple of seasons have had a tendency to fall apart when they start losing, which has then turned into big blowouts. I think that's something that Thorn WILL be successful in, even if he we don't see a lot of the...

The way these teams lists are going the title could be anyone's. Harder to pick than a broken nose.

So we get McGahan and they get Stiles. Typical. I wish him well - as long it takes til round 2 to hit his stride. ;) I think he will do well - whatever shortcomings were exposed in the whole HC (and CIHC) debacle, he seems to be an excellent set piece coach. Under his guidance the Reds had...

Yeah 22 Red was definitely Isaac Lucas - much closer in stature to Matt Lucas than Ben Lucas. Genuinely concerned for his safety when he disappeared under a maul of about 10 players towards the end there, but he got up again.

I went along with my wife - who was impressed to get carded when she tried to buy a drink (she's 32!). Interesting trial - not a lot to be gleaned from it performance-wise due to the conditions but there was some good play by both sides. CFS had a very impressive break which bodes well for the...

CFS is another one who gave up in defence. Annoyed the hell out of me. Even when he had a chance to force the opposition to ground the ball on the sideline, he'd give up and let them put it under the posts, while some lumbering forward was busting a gut to get there from halfway. That comes...