NRL Ladder Prediction 2020 - Revisited

At the risk of spoiling this entire article, my 2020 Ladder Predictions were great this year. Far better than 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015.

But I will mainly remember 2020 as the year the Broncos were awful. 

Also, COVID-19. Actually I don't know what it's says about my predictive powers that my best performance in six years is in the season where everything changed AFTER I made my predictions.

Here are the full results...

School Pickup

I was running late for school pickup. It is at the back gate, so they would be hanging out in the field waiting for my arrival.

Report Cards

In the last week of the school term, we received report cards for R and J.

This surprised us.

It seemed strange not to provide input into the written assessment of their academic performance. We were their main teachers for about 40% of the year to date.

I know at work, if I have to do a performance review for a new team member, I will seek feedback from their previous supervisor.

So here are my comments nobody asked for...

A full list of stuff I got published for The Roar

They publish almost anything about sport; just not THIS.

Official NRL Grub Rankings - 2020 Season

I submitted the following article to The Roar a few weeks ago. Despite my best efforts to tone it down, it was rejected for being a bit too spicy, which is fair enough.

But nothing is too spicy for my personal blog.

Here's my previous stuff that they have accepted:

The Canberra Raiders are the real NRL champions. Here's why

Hot takes from the tennis

And here's the rejected...

OFFICIAL NRL GRUB RANKINGS - 2020 SEASON

The footy is back. Which means it’s time to unveil the most hotly contested player ratings going
around: the NRL Grub List.

In rugby league circles, ‘grub’ is traditionally the preferred insult to throw at an NRL player you don't
like for a myriad of reasons, from legitimate grub behaviour like excessively dirty play, to just being
from the wrong state or playing for the wrong club.

It is like ‘flog’ in AFL, although ‘grub’ is not also used to cover-up thinly veiled racism towards a
former Australian of the Year.

If you disagree that someone is a grub, or whether they have committed a grub act, the strongest
possible defence is to exclaim "it's not his go!". This leads to a stalemate, with no clear determination
of the players grubbiness.

It’s a highly contentious issue. Which is why I have developed the official countdown of the top 20
grubs.

The only strict rule is that I’m only ranking based on footy-related grub behavior, not off-field
indiscretions. So smashing someone on the field is in, but smashing someone on a Bali trip is out.

Also, this is not a reflection of a players actual character, just an acknowledgment of their white-line
fever.

Previous lists: 2019 NRL Grub Rankings, 2015 NRL Grub Rankings

Let’s commence the 2020 countdown…

The Simpsons: 30 for 30 - Part Three

Like almost everyone else I stopped watching The Simpsons at least 15 years ago, but the show has still had a great influence on me and the stuff I say.

Nearly three years ago I drafted a list of my 30 favourite episodes.

About two and a half years later I finally finished PART ONE.

After a further six months, I've realised I'm never going to properly complete parts two and three. I blame COVID-19. Even for the four months of procrastination from November to March.

So instead I'm providing a very brief synopsis of each episode. Images are generated from the outstanding website frinkiac.com.

Here is PART TWO.

And once in a great while, we are privileged to experience an event so extraordinary, it becomes part of our shared heritage. 1969: Man walks on the moon. 1971: Man walks on the moon... again. Then, for a long time, nothing happened. Until now.

Presenting Part Three....

The Simpsons: 30 for 30 - Part Two

Like almost everyone else I stopped watching The Simpsons at least 15 years ago, but the show has still had a great influence on me and the stuff I say.

Nearly three years ago I drafted a list of my 30 favourite episodes.

About two and a half years later I finally finished PART ONE.

After a further six months, I've realised I'm never going to properly complete parts two and three. I blame COVID-19. Even for the four months of procrastination from November to March.

So instead I'm providing a very brief synopsis of each episode. Images are generated for the outstanding website frinkiac.com.

And now, without further Apu, here is Part Two... 

Review: Messenger Kids

Messenger Kids is a new app that is like Facebook messenger, but for kids. Duh.

Now let's forget about our troubles with a big cone of soft serve ice cream

I was working from home this afternoon, appropriately social distanced.

I hear the familiar tune of Greensleeves, which can only mean one thing:

MR. WHIPPY VAN~!

My twins wrote some books

My twin boys R and J are no longer satisfied with merely drawing pictures, they now have to add words as well...

Fortunately I only own nine books, so there is plenty of shelf space for their literary masterpieces.

Here is one example by each:

NRL Ladder Prediction 2020

Predictions for 2020 first, followed by some retrospective analysis on my predictive capabilities.

Official Rankings of the Best NRL Tattoos

The start of the NRL season is rapidly approaching.

Players are training the house down with alarming frequency. The poor house is barely repaired before some other player has trained it right back down to its foundations. It's the same every pre-season.

Also the same every pre-season are the tattoos. Because they're done with permanent ink inserted just beneath the skin. Therefore they can't change.

Here are the OFFICIAL RANKINGS OF THE BEST NRL TATTOOS~!

There are 16. It was going to be one for each club, but some clubs have more tattoos than others, so it's now 16 for no reason.

(All images courtesy of NRL Facebook page)

Giraffe

GIRAFFE

(a.k.a The Art Gallery V)

The other day the twins were refusing to do something they are definitely capable of doing.

This is how children work. They stubbornly want to do things when they can't, when it will cause you more work to fix their mistakes or mess. They then lose interest at the precise moment in time they can do it themselves.

In frustration, I said:

Why are you guys so hopeless? You're six. Do you know a baby giraffe learns to walk within minutes of birth?

J immediately replied:

BBL09 Best XI

The ninth season of the Big Bash League still has its highly convoluted final series to come, but the annual Best XI is ready!

PREVIOUS EDITIONS:

• BBL08 Best XI
• BBL07 Best XI
• BBL06 Best XI
• BBL05 Best XI

Here is the team of the tournament (pending finals):

Not Listening to the Hottest 100

At midday on Saturday I realised, hey isn't the Hottest 100 on now?

J J J

A quick online search confirmed that 25 January was the #changethedate. Then I decided to go ahead and listen to a bunch of music I've never heard before.

Maybe later, I could even come to the conclusion that all new music is shit because as a middle-aged man I don't like what a youth radio station is playing.

Of course, it was different when my parents did that. They were wrong about new music. This time, I'd be right...

Stuff My Kids Say, Part 23

10 STORIES OF CHRISTMAS EDITION~!

(Because I wanted it to be like the 12 Days of Christmas but couldn't get that many...)

Actual photo of my house lit up for Christmas.