Re: Play The Ball : Fri Jan 31, 2020 9:30 am  

Fishermanscap wrote:

Burgess showed in graphic detail what I’ve beiieved for years.

Steer well clear of NRL players with big reputations and big price tags. There is s reason these players are available to SL, they are no go longer NRL standard! Not even Titans level.

Even the ones who do OK never and I mean never reach there NRL standards. If they could they would still be playing in the vastly superior Aussie comp.

Very occasionally one gets through but counting them takes one hand.

Gut aside just look at Burgess he has everything required to make it, everything except the desire, something he’s never going to find on a cold wet British evening.

When dear god are we going to learn and start investing the games cash in young British players instead of going for cheap fixes.

The only Aussies etc worth going for are the nearly men, the second chance brigade. They have desire, they have something to prove and many will travel hear for relatively small amounts. Yet even these should always be second choice to Brits.

I reckon there are have been dozens of young British players who given the chances and time lavished on these imports would have made it. But patience isn’t our thing I’m afraid. Very sad.

Burgess isn’t an import He’s English

Not only is he English he’s from Wakey and if he were any more English he’d walk round waving a St. George’s Cross while singing god save the queen

Re: Play The Ball : Fri Jan 31, 2020 9:48 am  

steve1g wrote:

"Kendall made some errors but they evened out"

Sorry but since when has a high shot been more serious than leading with the elbow...other than when a player gets sent off for one but another doesn't even get penalised, which allowed Wigan to gain a foothold in the game as it came in the tackle before their 1st try...shocking

But Kendall didn't see it, and in real-time it wasn't obvious. It was only on the reply that it was obvious, but it can then only be penalised if it warrants a yellow, and it seemingly didn't. I'm not sure there was any intent there. He was just pushing away but got it higher than expected.

I'm not sure there was any intent from Hill either, but it was incredibly reckless and took a player out of the game.

I think there were problems before each of the early tries. The first Warrington try followed a very dubious call on a fumble by Hardaker, when it was clearly a strip, and the first Wigan try came the tackle after a seemingly clear obstruction.

But Warrington scored first because Burgess was hopeless, and Wigan scored because Hill and Clarke let Bevan skip through them. It's not always about the refs.

I confess, however, I couldn't see much difference in the play the balls from last year. But then again, I don't watch RL to see men heel a ball back. I watch it for what happens after it's cleared the ruck.

Re: Play The Ball : Fri Jan 31, 2020 10:04 am  

musson wrote:

Burgess isn’t an import He’s English

Not only is he English he’s from Wakey and if he were any more English he’d walk round waving a St. George’s Cross while singing god save the queen

He's not from Wakefield.

Re: Play The Ball : Fri Jan 31, 2020 10:04 am  

TrinTrin wrote:

Outcome expected once send offs took place, however, the play the ball rucks are a total disgrace allowed to prevail with inept readings by the ref right from the start ! - - if the rfl have told the refs to clean up this issue then it shows that the refs are not up to it !!!!

No, it doesn't show that the refs are not up to it, it shows that this particular ref did not police the play the ball as we expected. Let's see how the rest of the round goes before getting the pitchforks out.

Re: Play The Ball : Fri Jan 31, 2020 10:31 am  

musson wrote:

Burgess isn’t an import He’s English

Not only is he English he’s from Wakey and if he were any more English he’d walk round waving a St. George’s Cross while singing god save the queen

That wasn’t the point and you know it. Do I need to be more specific, not for most people I don’t but as your not most people.

He is an import, he’s an import from the NRL, that’s the point. 99.999% of the time these players are Aussies:Kiwis hence the generalisation. All the same the bulk of his family now live in Oz so he may as well be an Aussie.

He’s no longer good enough for that comp or do you think he came here for the weather? Why are we happy with cast offs?

He may come good but I doubt he’ll ever trouble the NRL again. Yet due to that badge he now has he’ll walk into the England team whilst gaining inflated contracts for the rest of his career regardless of his actual form.

You may think being pedantry makes you look smart, it really doesn’t.

My point stands.

Re: Play The Ball : Fri Jan 31, 2020 10:41 am  

Fishermanscap wrote:

That wasn’t the point and you know it. Do I need to be more specific, not for most people I don’t but as your not most people.

He is an import, he’s an import from the NRL, that’s the point. 99.999% of the time these players are Aussies:Kiwis hence the generalisation. All the same the bulk of his family now live in Oz so he may as well be an Aussie.

He’s no longer good enough for that comp or do you think he came here for the weather? Why are we happy with cast offs?

He may come good but I doubt he’ll ever trouble the NRL again. Yet due to that badge he now has he’ll walk into the England team whilst gaining inflated contracts for the rest of his career regardless of his actual form.

You may think being pedantry makes you look smart, it really doesn’t.

My point stands.

That started off alright then you wrote that drivel, half my family live in Spain, does that make me Spanish??

Re: Play The Ball : Fri Jan 31, 2020 11:28 am  

Regardless of the referee you couldn't have asked for any more from a season-opening game, drama, excitement & tension was all served up by 2 very good teams...1 wanting to play attacking rugby, the other...Wigan
Either way i hope we can match the fitness and intensity levels and defensive efforts both teams showed last night cos if we can we won't be far off having a decent crack at it this year

Re: Play The Ball : Fri Jan 31, 2020 11:28 am  

Fishermanscap wrote:

He may come good but I doubt he’ll ever trouble the NRL again. Yet due to that badge he now has he’ll walk into the England team whilst gaining inflated contracts for the rest of his career regardless of his actual form.

I'm not sure many Wigan fans are impressed. If he was "adequate", the badge could get him a place, but I think a few scales fell off people's eyes last night.

But I'm with you on him being an NRL import. He has plied virtually all of his trade in the NRL and built all of his success in the NRL. Being born in Dewsbury doesn't make him a Super League player. He may not be an Aussie, but he is an out and out NRL player, and clearly one who couldn't cut it anymore.

As Logan Tomkins found out, sometimes you need more than a surname.

Re: Play The Ball : Fri Jan 31, 2020 11:35 am  

I'm unsure why Burgess started the season looking like Mr Creosote - and yes, his contribution was an epic fail; but it's very early to write him off. Maybe he had an injury in the off-season and hasn't been able to train? He's played in a top flight team in the best comp in the world for a few years, so he's very definitely got pedigree - I wouldn't be too quick to gloat - he could be steamrollering defences by March.

That said, I don't disagree with the wider point - we have an unhealthy obsession with antipods, regardless of their misdemeanours or what stage their career is at; if the same effort and resource was ploughed into player development here, we'd probably rescue quite a few lads who are late bloomers or misfits, and maybe discover more players who could be nurtured into the domestic comp. Or maybe it's not an either or - 'project' players are a longer term thing - ready made imports make an immediate impact - so perhaps SL clubs who are prepared to grow their own, like Wigan for example, could be rewarded and incentivised more, so that others follow suit?

Re: Play The Ball : Fri Jan 31, 2020 1:52 pm  

acko wrote:

Wire looked sharp all over the field all the game and were unlucky not to come away with something, I don't get the it evens it self out crap, wire were 6 down! down 2 men at the time in the wigan 10m last kick play by wire wigan player grabs for the ball drops it, it should have been wire ball kendall waves on, Forth official (thaler) should straight away tell him he's f**K up and this goes for all games we've seen it on non-tv games happen when the linesman has corrected the ref which is usual in kendalls games so why not just do it and get the correct call given instead of hoping it will even it self out.

That sort of fitness and pace in a game is what we should be thriving for constantly getting the opposite team on the back foot




Up The Trin

Just like Shudds did to us last week, you mean ??