G’day coaches, it is with much regret that I am announcing that the NEX website will no longer provide content for its visitors. Unfortunately, the decision was made by myself that I personally could no longer commit the time required to continue to upkeep the website.
I’d like to thank Mick for his valuable contributions, and his tireless efforts regarding the NEX statistical information and extra DT related information. The great numbers we experienced could not have been realised without his assistance.
It’s been a great experience and I will never say never for the future, but I have decided to end it before we get into the nitty gritty of head to heads for each of the leagues.
My apologies for any inconvenience this has caused and good luck to all Coaches for the season, see you in the Comments Box!
Cheers,
Coach Villain of the TownsVillains
This was supposed to be published before I left for work this morning but unfortunately time got the better of me. The Tipping Analyser got just over 100 votes in all, not too shabby coaches thanks for your input – but I think we can do better! I will post the results and update them as we go and see if the DT Coaches who frequent this website really know what we’re talking about ? I personally was really happy to see the Cowboys lopsided result, now all we have to do is transfer that to field! I’ll be heading out to Dairy Farmers this weekend to see the Cowboys v Knights clash and hope you do the same in your respective league strongholds.
Canterbury coach Kevin Moore will delay the decision on a replacement for injured centre Josh Morris until the eve of Sunday’s NRL clash with South Sydney. Morris will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks after suffering a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during Monday night’s 24-14 win over the Wests Tigers. “We’re looking at a few blokes,” Moore told reporters on Thursday. “We had three or four guys still recovering from Monday night that didn’t train today so we’ve got a final session on Saturday morning and we’ll make a decision depending on how those blokes recover in the next couple of days. “There’s two or three in the mix but rather than toss any names out at the moment, I don’t want to get bloke’s hopes up so we’ll make that decision on Saturday. 
After just one match-up it is obviously tough to get any concrete statistical trends; however fans of the Cowboys, Roosters, Eels, Dragons, Storm, Knights, Raiders and Bulldogs can take heart from the fact that more than 72per cent of grand finalists in the past 50 years, and nearly 80 per cent of premiers, won their opening match of the season.Guessing is fantasy; but what we can do is take a look at some of the major statistics categories to see if they correlated to a win in the opening round.
Newcastle captain Kurt Gidley has been ruled out of the Knights’ round two clash with North Queensland with a back injury in a major blow ahead of Saturday night’s clash. Gidley was forced from the field with back spasms during the Knight’s 42-8 win over Penrith on Sunday. He was cleared of any serious damage after undergoing scans on Monday and named at fullback on Tuesday. But the Knights today decided to take no risks with the injury responding slower than expected to treatment. Gidley has been replaced by former Wests Tigers fullback Shannon McDonnell. Newcastle spokeswoman Michelle Smit said Gidley was only ever a 50 per cent chance of playing when Rick Stone named the side. “He was hoping the back would have settled down by now, but it hasn’t responded as well as he hoped so he’s out,” she said.
Winger Glen Fisiiahi has been forced out of the Warriors’ NRL clash Wests Tigers in Sydney on Saturday night. Fisiiahi, named in the side on Tuesday, has been ruled out with concussion and has been replaced by Kevin Locke. “We were set on Glen playing but he took a heavy knock against Parramatta last week and he hasn’t been passed fit to play after failing a concussion test,” Warriors coach Ivan Cleary said. “He’ll be back for sure but now Nobby (Locke) has his first chance of the season.” Fisiiahi, a star in the Junior Warriors’ last season, became the 163rd player to represent the Warriors when he made his debut in the 18-24 loss to Parramatta last week but he struggled under the high ball.
Mended Titan Anthony Laffranchi has the Broncos in his sights after admitting another week on the sidelines would ensure they were no setbacks yesterday. Confident he could get through this weekend’s match-up with Melbourne, Laffranchi, who suffered a setback in his comeback from off-season shoulder and wrist reconstructions when he tweaked a hamstring, said with only five days before the meeting with Brisbane the risk was not worth taking. “I’m definitely fit and if I had my choice I would like to get on the plane for Melbourne,” Laffranchi said. “I’m back to full training this week but as they say with a hamstring ‘if it feels good give it that extra week’.” “Coming off the back of Melbourne and the short turnaround if I can get the kilometres up this week and get back running with the team (next) Monday I should be right to get stuck into Brisbane.” Faced with the toughest road trip in the league when they meet the Melbourne Storm in the Victorian capital on Saturday night, the Titans will name the same squad who went down to world champions St George Illawarra last weekend. The only change could come with the return of 18th man Mark Minichiello, who is expected to travel south and force his way into the 17-man lineup after getting another week of rest last weekend. 
In-demand Adam Blair’s absence from the Melbourne Storm front row has turned out to be more of a weekend break than an extended holiday. Blair spent the pre-season preparing to play in the back row and was named there for the opening-round win over Manly. But coach Craig Bellamy decided on a late reshuffle of his pack, with Blair starting in the front row in place of Bryan Norrie and being one of the Storm’s best in the 18-6 victory over the Sea Eagles. The coaching staff must have been pleased, with Blair listed at prop for Saturday’s home game against Gold Coast, allowing Kevin Proctor – who also shone against Manly – to start in the back row. “I thought I was going to be on the edge but the coach wants me in the middle so I’ve got to do some hard work,” Blair said on Wednesday. “The fitness is a little bit tougher in there, but once I get one game out of the way it can only get better.” 
Wests Tigers backrower Liam Fulton will be sidelined for up to six weeks with a shoulder injury suffered in the NRL opening round loss to Canterbury on Monday night. Scans on Wednesday revealed that Fulton has a sub-luxed left shoulder and the Tigers’ expect him to miss between four to six weeks. There was some good news for Fulton with confirmation he would not require surgery. Touted as title contenders after a promising 2010 and with a roster brimming with representative talent, the Tigers looked below par in their 24-14 loss to the Bulldogs. The Tigers host the Warriors at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday night and welcome back fiery prop Bryce Gibbs.
DT 2011 - NEX CUP 