I enjoyed both the Scotland and the England games, and was impressed with actual physical effort put in by all the players.



The tactical kicking was generally pretty good, and I reckon any of the players on show could earn a living in our code.



It was a great result for Scotland and a brillant opening spectacle at Murrayfield, but simply just a bad day at the office for Australia.

To the OP - when did Workington win a game 1-0 (assume you're talking RL and not soccer!)?



Town drew 0-0 at Whitehaven in Dec 1993. Barrow won 1-0 at Hull KR in 1994

clearly you have high standards and expectations

They beat Warrington 1-0 around 1979,'twas my first ever RL game.



Arnold Walker drop goal and just for the record Steve Hesford(one of the finest goalkickers I've ever seen)missed a kick from in front of the posts.

He has some pace about him and can dart around the pitch



shame he isnt 5 years younger and I would agree about playing League

the best 1-0 game I have ever seen(the only one) was the Hull FC v Leeds 2006 Academy grand final



one of the best games of Rugby League I have ever seen

Great game IIRC - although it was hardly a ‘neutral’ venue though.

dont have to be at that level I dont think

So you dont think they dont have to be at that level.



So what you're saying is they do have to be at that level.

I was tired

Yeah there has been a steady invasion of League coaches into the Union ranks hasnt there, admittedly only as defence coaches.

As it is for the play the ball in League.

Its an interesting point. Look at how much fuss some saints fans put up about the slowness of the PTB this season.



The breakdown in both sports is vital, and for very similar reasons

The collision is the vital factor in both codes. Winning it allows you to get your body in the correct position to either slow down or speed up the ball coming back into play.

True, but sadly with more and more wrestling techniques being used by both the attacking and defending sides the collision is becoming less important than it was, in fact McClennen himself said that our 2008 GF win was mainly down to our ability to wrestle better than the opposition.

Though I would agree that the collision is still the most important factor its just slightly less important than it used to be.

Yep, like I said the big problems for Union arent necessarily the rucks and mauls but the lineouts and scrums, and the fact that a drop goal and penalty goal are worth 3 points.

But they can't drop the value of these to 2 points because for penalties at least that would make it the same as RL.

They could abolish the mark for kicks taken on the full inside the 22.

Anyone remember a centre called Tyran Smith who played for the Quins (Broncos at the time I think)? Never set the world alight & a bit punchy, well he played for the Aussie RU 2nd team tonight against the Cardiff Blues.

So there's every chance that Lee Smith could play for England if he shows any promise.

Also I note that Brad Thorne who went from the Brisbane Broncos to the All Blacks, then back to the Broncos for a season, is still playing in the 2nd row for the All Blacks.

You're joking aren't you, I think Thorne has been an All Black twice with two holidays in RL. He's a bit special that man.

True, but its a major reason why no-one scores any tries. I can understand the reasoning behind why they have penalties at 3 points in that it should discourage defending teams deliberately giving penalties away on their own line (quite why a drop goal is worth 3 points is beyond my comprehension), but if they decreased the drop goal to 1, the penalties to 2 points and sinbinned consistent fouling on the try line then I think that would increase the amount of tries scored.

Its not a perfect plan though because they'd have to coach the players how to pass a ball first.





IIRC I think that was brought in to try and discourage some of the kicking in general play. If you take that rule away all attacking teams will do is hoof it in the air and chase it as there is little downside to it.

He played junior RL in Brisbane and signed for the Broncos at 19 years of age. He didn't switch codes to Union until 2001 and wasn't an All Black until 2003, when he was 28. He has been an All Black twice, as he has been a Bronco twice, but he started his career in RL. His first international appearances were for Australia in RL.

So a Bronco at 19, Australian International RL player, New Zealand All Black at 28, then back to RL, then back to Union, and an All Black again.



Yep, bit special that man.

The problem this year has been that - particularly at international level - referees have been reticent to use the sin bin as often as they should for blatant offences close to the try-line so there has been no disincentive.



If I could change just one rule in Union it would be that if you have an advantage of any kind, be it penalty or knock-on, the minute you put boot to ball that advantage is over. So annoys me to see teams with a penalty advantage taking drop goals in the knowledge they have a guaranteed three points on offer if it doesn't work out.

Yep that annoys me too, plus I cant understand it, why not go for a try if you've got the advantage, otherwise why not just take the penalty.