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Please be advised that i’m no longer blogging here but you can find my new, improved and “very exciting” blog at http://matrogers.beinvolved.com.au/ Hope to see you there soon...!!

Monday Night Footy – I’m not a fan. Even though I didn’t play in last week’s game against Penrith I pretty much detest it. You wait around forever when you feel like you should be playing and then it is a struggle to get up for it.

We had ten days between games and it puts you completely out of whack. With that long between games you can, and we did, lose our rhythm. The break hurt us, I have no doubts about it. Watching the game you could see we were struggling with our game, and watching was tough.

You get into a pattern over the season of backing up six or seven days after games and then have a 10 day break, weird.

This week we are on what is the supposedly dreaded back up from Monday Night Footy. Apparently the majority of teams fail to win on the back up, with seven out of twelve losing.

That’s only just over half in a tight competition and we have been defying stats all year. We blew the one about not winning in Melbourne out of the water and did the same to the one that said we couldn’t win without Scott Prince. So, as far as I’m concerned this one about backing up from Monday Night Footy is also likely to be irrelevant.

Directly it also has little effect on me as I make my return from a neck injury. I had a little bit of a nerve problem and wasn’t able to train properly.

Many would think given my history this would be a major concern, but because I knew it was minor it wasn’t at all and I’m simply happy to be back for the Gold Coast Titans this week as we take on a high quality South Sydney side.

Souths have proven themselves to be a very exciting and capable team this season and one look at their squad shows they can measure up. They have speed to burn out wide with Fetuli Talanoa and Nathan Merritt and both those wingers know how to make the right calls in defence.

Then you have Issac Luke at rake, but what defines them as a side and their depth is that Craig Wing, who is quality at five eighth, halfback or hooker, is playing lock.

Wingy is a pretty talented player and I’m sure he hates being termed a utility or even being used as one, but you have to do what is best for the team and he is definitely doing that.

Their pack is big and strong and the battle between a returning Luke Bailey, who we badly missed last weekend and probably had more to do with the loss than yours truly being out, and Roy Asotasi should be a clash to watch. I however don’t want to get in the middle of those two huge boys going at it.

We have also lost Matt White for a few weeks after he took the early plea for a ‘Crusher’ tackle on Panthers fullback Lachlan Coote. Ask a Titans fan or player if it’s harsh and they will likely say yes. Ask a Panthers fan or player and they will say it’s fair.

I’ve long since given up trying to understand the judiciary, but what I do know is nothing looks good in super slow motion. No matter what the tackle there is likely to be contact with the head at some point, as the game is all about controlling the upper body and slowing down the ruck.

Having said that, if that was one of their forwards producing that tackle on Princey I probably would have been filthy.

I’ll be looking for big games from Anthony Laffranchi and Luke Bailey as they look to press their Origin claims, but I want to know where Boof's try scoring form has gone?

He bangs on all the time about having the most tries in a season for the club, but once we had a bet I’ve been killing him. 3-0 mate!

In all seriousness I think they should both make the Blues side, which  needs them. I’ll still be expecting a Maroons victory when Origin does roll around. After all the Blues will be trying their umpteenth halves combo in recent memory and they have to try something new out wide aside from Matt Cooper who has to be picked.

Back at home Jack and Skyla have gone back to Sydney after spending some time with their old man and getting a run as extras on kid’s show H2O. Their episode airs in November and both reckon they are now headed for Hollywood.

Mat

Terry Campese. Those two words are sending shivers down the spine of rival NRL defensive lines at the moment.

The Raiders’ 100 kilogram five eighth is on fire and I’m going to say it now, if NSW selectors don’t pick him for Origin they have rocks in their head!

Could you imagine if they went with Campese in the 6 and either Kurt Gidley or Trent Barrett in the 7? NSW wouldn’t have to worry about Queensland running at their halves, the Maroons wouldn’t want to.

This week it’s our job to stop the 24 year old whiz kid and his Raiders and it will be no easy task. We watched some footage of them and they are a good team. They have good forwards who can offload the ball, solid finishers out wide and in the middle of it all Campese, who is the architect of everything they do.

What has really struck me about Campese is the ease with which he executes plays and the time he always seems to have with the ball in hand. Add his natural speed to that and you have one very good footballer.

I am a five eighth, I play his position and I wish I knew how to have all the time he does.

In many ways he reminds me of another great pivot, Jason Smith, especially with the time he seems to have. As good as Smithy was I reckon Campese is better, just based on the pace he has. Jason never had it and that’s not a knock on him because he was a great player.

This week we do have to shut down Campese, which is easier said than done, I also think he may have been underestimated in the past, but certainly isn’t any longer.

We’re definitely coming back to Skilled Park on a high. We have had two away wins on the trot and they were not easy. I don't think many teams would do the Melbourne, Townsville double, especially in a row, but at the same time we aren’t fooling ourselves.

Premierships are not won in rounds four and five and we know we have a long way to go and a lot to improve upon. Our attack isn’t where we would like it to be and hasn’t been since we showed glimpses of good attack against the Knights back in round one.

Two weeks ago we beat the Storm and I was given wraps for my kicking game. The truth is, who would want to kick straight to Billy Slater? No one. Coach John Cartwright gave me the instructions to kick long, if it went dead so be it, if it stopped in the in-goal it was a bonus.

Negating Billy Slater is important and I would liken the tactic to walking a great hitter in Baseball – you don’t want them to hit you out of the park for a grand slam home run. With Slater you don’t want him running in the open field. It’s courting trouble and he is the best in the game at running with the ball. You have no idea what he will do and I don’t know if Billy even does.

Despite their current struggles I still expect Melbourne to be there when the whips are cracking this year as I do Manly. Brett Stewart didn’t miss a beat did he!

Last week’s victory against the Cowboys saw me sit on the bench and only take part for 20 minutes. I could have gone back on but we couldn’t afford to waste an interchange with Aaron Cannings and Brad Meyers being struck down with shoulder injuries.

The gash on my head looked worse than what it was, it was just a lot of blood there.

I was happy with the way the boys ground out the win. Sure it wasn’t pretty but we did the job and I will take one of those wins every week, if it means two points.

One thing is for sure I wouldn’t be great at coaching - watching is pure stress. I don’t know how Carty does it.

In other good news the club has re-signed serial pest Nathan Friend and he will continue to torture me in all respects of life. Seriously, though, I’m happy for Friendy, he has a new child on the way and his future is taken care of.

Nathan’s great to have around the club and he is as professional as anyone I have ever seen. He takes care of his body in an almost obsessive compulsive manner, second only to Wallaby great George Gregan.

We were able to re-sign Friendy due to Ian Donnelly leaving and I reckon the deal works for both. Ian will be playing first grade at Cronulla and getting a better chance to show how good he is and Friendy gets to stay. Plus all the clubs Ian has left have won premierships. If we do win I’ll give him my premiership ring.

With Brett Finch leaving Parramatta for Melbourne this week, the issue of mid-season transfers has once again arisen, but I’m all for them. In Ian’s case he has been provided an opportunity and left the club on good terms, whilst in Finchy’s case it appears the environment at Parramatta was unhappy for him and the coach and he probably needed a change. It all works out.

I’ve got all the kids up here for two weeks and am looking forward to spending some time with them.

Mat

Ah, the media, it’s a love hate relationship between athletes and the media. There is no question we need them, but sometimes they take it too far. At the present time I think they are doing as much damage to rugby league as some players in the way they are reporting.

That some of the rubbish in the papers passes for news is laughable.

However what really got to me during the week was some of the questions in regard to Shawn Mackay, the Brumbies player injured in South Africa. Who cares if he was out late? The guy is fighting for his life. Why go for the jugular? Imagine if you were his family watching that!

The journalist reporting on that story needs to go get some perspective.

As for Shawn, my best wishes go out to his friends and family.

With all the current dramas enveloping our game I think it’s interesting to look at how the game has changed and how various incidents affect clubs.

There were some comments made by Brett Finch and Nathan Hindmarsh today to the effect that the game is losing its characters and that you face such a high level of scrutiny that you basically can’t have a beer after a match. I know how that feels.

Whilst I don’t think it’s a good idea to go out till 5am and crawl home like in the old days, because let’s face it you will get caught, I still think it’s fair enough to be able to have a quiet drink but with the current level of media sensationalism, it’s becoming harder and harder.

Take our time after the Bulldogs game. Some of the boys went back to the club’s Titanium Bar for a few drinks and some dinner. But then you have fans asking for photos but you say no, because you don’t know them or know where the photo may end up. There is that much media scrutiny that something innocent can be taken completely out of context if a photo ends up in the papers.

Fair enough most fans aren’t going to sell a photo but you never know and you don’t want to face media scrutiny for an action which was completely innocent.

I think it’s hard for the younger guys these days. Imagine you are 20 and you want to go out with your mates at the weekend. It’s hard to be a normal 20 year old, because you have a playing contract and are well known. Therefore getting absolutely hammered isn’t really an option unless you want to end up with your face splashed across the back page.

Let’s now have a look at the affect out of footy stuff has on a team. Take Manly as an example. The players and coaching staff can say all they want that the off field stuff after their season launch isn’t affecting them. They can bust that line out until they are blue in the face, but the reality is they are 0-3 and were looking very good in the World Club Challenge, but have struggled in every game since the dramas begun.

I’m not saying Manly won’t bounce back, because I believe they are too good a team not too. I still believe they will be there at the end of the year when it counts, but the Brett Stewart incident has had an effect.

Not one team this season who has had an off field incident has come out and won the next week. Manly, Cronulla and the Bulldogs have all lost games following what may or may not have been deemed serious incidents.

I’ll also be surprised if the Roosters can get up this weekend without Willie Mason and Nate Myles who breached their clubs alcohol policy during the week. All clubs have a policy and you have to abide by it.

Anyway onto footy and we had quite a good win last weekend over the Bulldogs, somehow I even jagged the man of the match award. Although I think its rightful owner was my halves partner Preston Campbell.

Presto hadn’t played halfback for a long time before the weekend and slotted in like he had never been away from the 7 jersey. People tend to forget he won a Dally M halfback of the year award back at Cronulla.

To be honest playing alongside Presto was easier than playing next to Princey. I felt like I had to get a bit more involved in the play and was able to take the initiative a bit more.

When Scott is in the team it’s easy to let him make all the plays given he is such a dominating player and in my opinion the best halfback in the game, but I also want to take some of the pressure off of him.

As for Princey I had dinner with him last night and can tell you the great man will not be playing this weekend, despite the media speculation!

I’m looking forward to the match against Melbourne on Saturday night. There is no tougher road trip in the NRL. They have only lost three games at home in the last three seasons which is an impressive record!

It also means we are heading down there with no one giving us a chance of winning. It’s the backs to the wall, pressure free games that I love and they are the ones where you can really pull off an upset.

Having said that we have been crunched the last two times we have been to the graveyard otherwise known as Olympic Park and we need to arrest that trend.

Whilst the Storm were very good last weekend in disposing of the Cowboys in Townsville, this competition is a week to week deal and I am aware the week to week thing is a cliché, but I don’t think it has ever been truer than this year.

Look at Penrith they were 0-2 heading into last week and the wooden spoon favourites knocked off the reigning Premiers. This season is that close that I don’t even know who we are playing after Melbourne and what’s more my focus on them is so complete that I don’t care!

Mat

I’ve got to say it was a pretty nice start to the year for us, knocking over the Knights. Personally it was pretty satisfying for me to score the first try of the Titans season, wonder what I was paying?

Although I scored the first try it was my little buddy Nathan Friend who once again felt he had to upstage me. If he’s not doing it on the golf course he’s doing it on the footy field.

The way Esi Tonga chased down that ball and flicked it back showed amazing commitment and it was as much his try as it was Friendy’s.

Once again my halves partner, the incomparable Scott Prince, showed us all just what a genius he is. If I was 24 again I would be concerned about Princey getting all the wraps, but as I have got older I’ve learnt to put my ego in my back pocket and I certainly don’t mind my mate getting some well deserved attention.

One thing I will say is while Scott isn’t hard to play alongside in that respect, he is in another.

Princey is always challenging you on the field to come up with the best plays and the best game possible which makes him a very demanding player, but that is what you want in a captain and a leader.

I honestly believe if he can stay fit then we are a chance of beating anyone. That’s not a knock on the rest of the boys but more of a reflection of how good he is.

The co-captain Luke Bailey isn’t too bad either and I really hope he can also have an injury free season.

However it was the big red head Brad Meyers who got all the wraps on the weekend for his performance and, as good as that was, it was nothing on what he did against the Broncos in a trial. The whole team was looking around asking, who is this guy? It could be time that the Meyers, who has represented Queensland and Australia, shows himself again.

This week we are off to Wollongong to face the Dragons, who in my opinion looked like they had the Storm’s number last week and were unlucky to lose.

We don’t have a good record there and need to right the ledger. Unfortunately the Dragons look a difficult prospect and seem to be doing the simple things right in their play and are looking very good.

Even scarier is the sight of a fit and firing Wendell Sailor. Big Dell is a super player who hasn’t got any slower over time and I am having nightmares about the potential of a wound up Dell running at me.

It looks like he will line up against Esi Tonga and I’m sure that will be an experience for the youngster, playing directly against a guy he likely idolised growing up.

I felt like South Sydney were the best performing team of the weekend and tip my hat to them, Russell Crowe and the whole crew as they hammered the Roosters.

I’m going to finish this entry on a sad and contentious issue.

First of all I wish Ben Ross all the best. Having had neck surgery I know it’s not fun. Mine wasn’t as severe as his is and I hope he can come back, but it goes to show that we are not playing tiddlywinks here and that bad injuries do happen.

I remember vividly when former Sharks prop and teammate Craig Greenhill broke his neck. I have heard doctors describe the injuries of some players as worse than being in a car crash.

As such I want to bring up pay for players. Yes I have been treated very well in the contracts I have signed but it’s not the same for all players and when your career can be ended in an instant I think the majority who aren’t on huge contracts should be paid more.

Mat