RP London

let me just quote my "poor post" if you notice i said "dominated" not beaten.. that is very different.. we have not been dominated by another team.. you can get beaten without being trampled upon.. plus we were beaten for 20 minutes not for the whole game.. for the other 60 we were are least on a par in the pack, we were not dominated. bar that which is open to debate which other bits of it are poor?? in games where we have been equal with the other forwards our problem has always laid in the backs as i point out in other posts.. in the one you believe is a "poor post" i have pointed out how this is changing and how i can see that we are getting stronger in the positions. The aussies' backs are so dominant (and i use that term again deliberatly) that they destroy us when their forwards get on the front foot.. even if only for 1/4 of the game when our forwards are on the front foot we cannot do this and we struggle to score even with a dominant pack or just a good pack. our forwards not being dominated means that we are on an even keel, the game ebs and flows but to be winningt he arm wrestle for 60 minutes you should win the game, the reason we dont is the backs not completling the sets of 6 in the same fashion as the forwards start it. The point being we have the forwards and have done for a while, we are now starting to get the backs.

IIRC Eagles werent doing that badly (the crowd averages printed in RLW this week were quite interesting) until the owner (not really a sugar daddy but he had a bit of cash) was offered silly money for merging with Huddersfield.

can i please applaud this.. i love the idea of conferences, this helps expansion and you can always have cross division matches if you want the derbies etc.. the less derbies there are in the season the bigger that match becomes.. cross division matches which are derbies in two "magic" venues on one weekend (warm one!) would be great.

id also like to know how flanagan is nowhere near the england squad when you look at the others in there.

considering the financial climate i think its pretty good.. major shifts can be put down to form etc rather than every dropping etc.. i would say this is all quite good.. the drops (bar perhaps huddersfield) can be righted by sorting out the on field issues rather than sitting there thinking, #### no one has any money and no one is turning up.. (saints and hull kr are 2-3% which could just be fluctuations or actually a recession based drop but 2 from 14 down to that is good)

wouldnt disagree with that.. sam tomkins is an interesting one as you could pick him at both 6 and 1 as he has been the stand out at both.. be interesting if widdop starts at 6 for melbourne next season which way round they play at international level!

With regards to the dream team.. Jones Bishop would have been a fine shout without the injury i think.. and agree wellens shows we have an issue there.. the fact our full back could come of the reserve grade in aus is a worry.. why arent we producing full backs??

what the hell just happened thats 4!

triple post

dp

on any pitch it is hard to do anything if your forwards are being knocked backwards and you have no platform. If your forwards are going forwards and getting quick play the balls you get to control the pace of the game.. Like Dave i dont think we have done this right i the past and IMO taken the extra drive rather than releasing the backs as the aussies or kiwis would do. We dominate for periods but never make teams pay.. but without the forwards giving you that platfrom even the aussies would struggle to build much off it.

we'd be ok i think he would explode before he got near the keyboard

at which point what was the point in the first match?? its still a repeat.. the only play off system that stops you meeting the same team in the play offs at any point is the american systems of the NFL etc.. but then you could have met any of your play off teams at any point during the regular season.. to critisise the play offs for possible repeat matchs IMO is pointless it CAN always happen

my opinion and mine only is that its a proper 3 way this time around.. Australia are always good but perhaps not as strong with the unjuries they have this time around New Zealand look good but depends if they turn up or not.. England.. when was the last time our pack got dominated? yes we are without Peacock but that is one player, we still have graham and morely leading the line with then a couple of inform (one would hope) players coming in too if its LMS then by god he has to prove himself as he will next year and this may make a big difference, he looks good at quins, how good could he be with the right support around him etc. we will not be dominated IMO the 3/4 line got us to the final last time around and arguably will be stronger this year becuase they are a year older, we have otpions at fullback, Atkins has looked good this year, bridge too and shenton so there is competition in the centres etc... Personally england could balls this up like they did last time in aus, mcnamara could ###### it up BUT to right them off now becuase we have seen a good but not sh*t scarey nz team is just daft (but i'm not shocked).. i[ve watched a lot of the NRL this year, and the games are intense but none of theplayers in the NZ team bar Isaac Luke and Benji make me tremble.

yes in theory widnes could be (tolouse hasnt got a liscence yet and need to be invited to apply) but it is unlikely and it is unimportant becuase the whole franchising set up is about the club not the first team. this announcment on Widnes/Halifax whoever will be made in march so all teams will know that if widnes finnish second to bottom they better not finish 3rd from bottomor they are down.. the teams will know this from the start.. this becomes then a non issue for who gets relegated and goal posts changing etc.. dont see this being an issue or any ineptitude the fact they are making the announcment earlier shows actually IMO a good sense of making sure there is a level playing field and clubs know the situation and the implications of it rather than ineptitude.

i answered it but you have ignored it.. c'est la vie.. oh and have you watched tolouse.. they arent "going thourgh the motions" they just arent as good as the other teams.. Widnes team this year has been poor i am sure they would agree and as such they are releasing players and building on the youth who are fighting for places next year for the super league if they get in.

top 6 format could have produced the same fixtures too.. any type of play off format can produce the same fixtures at some point as the round 1.. it doesnt make round 1 fixtures pointless they are part of the league campaign to get to the play off series.. why is that wrong?

IF Widnes get given a franchise in March and the players they chose cannot see that this is their chance to go up with the club then someone somehwere needs to be shot, be it the coach and/or chairman for not getting that fact across or the players for not realising that if they play well they may well be retained. If anything for those players there is more to play for than for anyone else.. what are the legal beagles going to do? the RFL have set out the rules for entry to the competition, you can apply to join their competition or you cannot its up to you.. This is how they get around the quote systems, rather than limiting the number of imports you can have they make a stipulation of entry that you must have x number of youth players etc.. if you dont like it you dont have to join the comp.

cliff always a pleasure to read what you have to say whether on here or in the magazine. Good luck with the future and hope all the illnesses get better. Hopefully you will keep contribution from time to time to the mag and may well see you around and about the amateur scene from time to time. Rich

that last paragraph is spot on.. carney and clarke will give up on it if we're not careful.. hemmings needs to know when to shut it but would love to get the world cup chap on board.

i was thinking O'Connor but wrote mcdermott for some strange reason.. maybe it shows how interchangable they are!

and there was eddie last night arguing the toss with carney and mcdermott and talking over their "expert opinion" Carney looking more and more p*ssed off as the first segment went on biting his tongue it looked to me.. but eddie talking over them had me shouting "shut up for gods sake let them talk!" at the tv!!! tuirned off at the first break will watch the rest at another point was watching the late night repeat anyway and wanted to go to bed, especially after watching the first part.. it is no way to run the flagship magazine programme.. get someone presenting it who doesnt give his two penneth of balls all the time for gods sake please!

yes i saw this weeks on friday and eddie was his usual self again! please give us someone to anchor all this properly!!!

erm thats the point i'm making.. the second bite comes from their first match.. one off match and 7th goes through ahead of 2nd without a 2nd chance.. no dont think thats very good.. and i dont think you should get a second bite later on.. the only reason you have it is becuase of the large gap between 2nd and 7th and the possible upsets in one off matches.. 2nd gets no added advantage if they are out in the first round.. the advantage is a first round cock up reprisal..