Human Punk

This is a nonsense. The ban should have applied as it was originally intended, in the NRL. Apart from the obvious issue that drug use out of competition would not result in a ban in the SL, this is just a win for the NRL, in that any club in Aus can now welcome Barba back with the ban served. Where's the punishment there? No wonder the Ausiies were so keen to see us take the hit.

A good intense game that neither side really deserved to lose. Saints will be glad they don't have to back up on Monday - it's going to be tough for WIgan after a punishing match like that. Struggling to even think of what Wane's 'tough calls" might have been though - if anything Saints possibly could have had a couple more penalties, but there was very little need for action from the ref at all in the 2nd half.

An inevitable end, I suppose, but as others have said, it would have been better if he had resigned with his head held high instead of leaving under a cloud. Hope he finds something else and redeems himself in the years to come. Will always be remembered as a legend as a player though, arguably the best hooker in the world when there was no shortage of top quality competition both here and in Aus.

I'm no Bradford apologist, but that is the singular worst idea I have ever seen on this forum.

I think this is a very valid point that isn't properly recognised over here. Our love of RL makes us a bit blind to the reality. Why would Australian RL give us more attention than their own domestic concerns? They are the biggest sport in the country, no doublt due to a lot of hard work. We aren't even 2nd. It would be like expecting the English football premiership to look on the Aussie Soccer League or whatever it's called as an equal. That doesn't mean we should 'know our place' and defer to the Aussies in every respect, but we need to get a proper sense of perspective.

That would explain why he's been utterly useless recently on the occasions he's been fit to play. Maybe he deserves some sympathy. In any case he won't be a loss to the Dragons on his current form.

If the results go as suggested, then I'd expect Salford to have easily made up the 50 or so points, which would make it KR v Hudds two weeks on the trot. I think KR will beat Hudds in the last round though (as long as Campese stays fit), and it'll be Salford v Hudds.

Certainly something needs to be done. I watched my 1st NRL match of the season yesterday on TV and there was almost no nonsense at all at the PTB - no wrestling, pushing, diving forward, stepping off the mark, whatever. And as a result very few penalties. Our game is a total mess in comparison. Weren't there 30-odd penalties in the Wigan/Widnes game the other week - even if some were down to the ref it's still beyond a joke. On the basis that we can't provide 2 refs (which seems to have done the trick in the NRL) maybe the 'take again' option is the best for now. But the teams need to sort it out. It's an embarrassment, and if England come up against an Aussie ref in the 4 nations it could be horrible.

Sums it up for me. Made for a much better game that I suspect we'd have had with pretty much any of the other options. Well done Gareth!

Watkins is already a shadow of himself. Weren't great things expected of Ben Jones-Bishop at some point too? I'd say Bateman, Currie and Percival could be the big assets in the next year or so. Slightly further away, Lilley and Golding at Leeds seems to have plenty of potential, and to be fair Fages seems to have something of the Sean Long about him, and he was worth a few bob. Right now I think you'd have to pay large for Sandow, T Carney, S Tomkins (general injury issues aside) and Joel Moon. Gelling is just too random.

And on the debit side, he had us playing with only 16 men in the world cup semi, putting an obviously tired Burgess back on the field to give away the penalty that cost us the game, and oversaw a performance completely deviod of any attacking threat at the weekend, beore we even talk about his overall record against Aus/NZ. Like I said, he's not without his qualities, but if people don't like him as a coach, it's not without any basis at all.

I think that win or lose at the weeknd it's time for a change. MacNamara has undoubtedly brought something to the table in terms of professionalism, but Jimmy Lowes, FFS. It's time for a whole new package, and I'll be happy as long as that serial loser Andy Farrell is nowhere near it. MacNamara has had a good enough shot at it, longer than most international managers at any sport get.

Don't get me worng, I'm not saying it's a good idea, but it would certainly allow some forward planning if Saints were to rest up a few players and concentrate all their efforts on a semi-final at the DW. I don't know if I'd be tempted by that. Not that I think it's going to happen anyway, and it's nice to see that everyone who has replied thinks it's utter bllx.

With Cas winning last night, as I see it Saints now have the opportunity to almost guarantee a semi-final tie against Wigan if they lose tonight. Should they exercise the 'club call' option and deliberately lose, or try for a win and see what happens?

I think Bridge will go OK if he stays fit. I reckon he's been improving over time, and today's Bridge is certainly better than the 2010 version. I was surprised that Wire let him go. Their centres last night (apart from Atkins' Oscar winning penatly cheat) were very average. Good luck to him.