Exiled Wiganer
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Posts posted by Exiled Wiganer
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Slava Ukraini!
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As a sign of how well we are doing, I was musing on what an alternative England 13 might look like, with none of today’s team in it. Any help with filling in the gaps v welcome (and apologies for a Wigan bias)… I think that back line looks particularly potent:
1 Farnworth
2 Makinson
3 Wardle
4 Percival
5 Young
6 Williams
7 ? (Dodd)
8 Walmsley
9 ? (Walker/Ackers?)
10 Havard (maybe early, but he looks the real deal to me)
11 KPP (as above)
12 Knowles
13 Thompson
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4 minutes ago, Just Browny said:
England controlled the game; Tonga did not throw enough at us to make it a thriller.
I took a newbie who had literally never watched a RL game before and she enjoyed the simplicity (versus RUWC) and wanted to see a Super League game.
England were comfortably the better side today.
Glad it went well. It’s somewhat off topic, but are WIre fans looking forward to seeing King back? He looks good to me, completely at home at this level. I am not sure how he ended on the outer there. If you want rid, I am sure lots of Wiganers would be happy to see him.
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2 minutes ago, Futtocks said:
This forum would be full of it regardless. The great mistake is thinking that this forum is the only collection of available opinions, especially for an event that's been broadcast live on terrestrial TV.
I have taken over 100 newbies to league games down south over the years and could count the ones who did not enjoy it (and didn’t come back for more) on the fingers of one hand. As it happens, they were 2 died in the wool push over try nutters, and 2 from Melbourne.
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There are a lot of eligible England players, and emerging talents, to add to the squad which have seen off Tonga. I must confess to having had my doubts about Wane as England coach, but he has got a lot out of this new team. Good times.
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3 minutes ago, StandOffHalf said:
Err, but NRL!!! These are super humans! Does not compute. Does not compute…
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Just now, SUPERSTUD said:
Attempting to deflect from the rubbish that has been served up.
I am sorry you didn’t enjoy it. I thought that the game reflected the conditions and what England needed to do to beat strong opponents. I watch a lot of sport, and find there is more skill and excitement in any of our games than in any other sport.
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2 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:
Disagree, this was a very poor game.
I am not sure whose post you are responding to.
I enjoyed the game, particularly given how this is a brand new England team. It also makes me smile when the NRL = gods fetishisists are put temporarily back in their box. The post I was responding to was one dismissing the absolute quality of the 2 teams. I hold a different opinion, based on the results when these teams have actually played each other.
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Our game now. We have played the conditions superbly. Our discipline and defence have been world class.
For a new team, we have performed superbly these last 2 weeks. Harry Smith’s performance was the best by a half back out of the 4 we have seen today.
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Phew! Lewis won that one. Just what we needed. Dig deep, boys!
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Smith a month ago would be 50:50 to kick this.
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8 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:
It may change in the second half, but having a direct comparison with the game played this morning I doubt that any of these teams will trouble the world order of merit.
I disagree, and time will tell.
How have New Zealand got on against Tonga in the last few years? How did England get on the last time we played a series against them? There is nothing to suggest that any of the 4 teams are miles ahead of any of the others.
The 2 games have certain similarities - our spine and our structure are better than the Kiwis, who relied on the same attributes Tonga are relying on: power and pace.
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1 minute ago, Johnny Ringo said:
To lose it would be catastrophic, Tonga are very poor today, sluggish and predictable.
Not sure I agree with any of that. Tonga are a very good side, who are being out played. That’s how our game works. A good side gets to determine how the opposition plays.
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1 minute ago, StandOffHalf said:
Most of them aren't accustomed to the messiness though and having a player who is used to SL probably adds to the uncertainty about numbers in tackles/how long to stay on.
I completely agree that the SL players have shown themselves to be more intelligent footballers and more adaptable in this series so far. We downplay how many superb players we produce and watch every week.
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We score next, we win this. Smith has been particularly superb, and our defensive discipline has been on since minute 1. We look like a side which knows what it is doing. Come on England, bring this home.
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Get in! Fine work from Lewis and Ashton. With our defence playing superbly, we can afford to let Lewis do what he likes. He makes a difference.
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That was close… I like what england are trying to do, though. Wane has done a good job with a rebuilt side.
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Ashton and Newman did superbly there. That right hand side is working very well.
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Great build up, great finish, and great kick. Smith has had a great start.
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Next week will be very different. The Kiwis will leave nothing out there. The Kangaroos did what they always do - they challenge their opponents to be on it for every tackle for 80 minutes. If not, they hurt you.
The Kiwis will be at home, with a full house, and no fear. It should be an absolute classic.
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Kristian Woolfe is one of the best things in our game. He is so professional, and thinks so deeply about the Tonga identity.
He is the beating heart of this Tonga side. It would not be the end of the world for them to win and set up winners take all.
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3 minutes ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:
Looks like the RFL have outdone themselves this time, holding a Test match in a town with only 3000 rugby league season ticket holders, one week before holding the same game 14 miles away. Genius.
Note for next time: There are 20,000 season ticket holders in Hull, where England haven’t played for 5 years…
There should be an appetite for internationals in Hull. But they have had awful crowds over and over in the World Cup games they bid for.
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21 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:
Sadly Makinson is too old for international rugby nowadays. He’s regularly injured, even at SL level. The likes of Young, Johnstone, Ashton et al are the future.
When you have built a (v successful) career on running as hard as you can into the defence, there is only so long before it takes its toll.
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It’s a funny world when Johnstone is our most durable winger.
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Pacific Tournament: Australia, Samoa, NZ
in The General Rugby League Forum
Posted
Is an issue with Fiji that they don’t have the second and third generation support in places like Sydney and Auckland, so that there isn’t a home from home area, outside of Fiji itself. Whereas there are far more tongans and samoans outside their islands, meaning their games in exile are events?
The lesser code can bring good money and is far easier to play so some people will always choose it, but if we get the pathway right we can get the cream of the crops.