DiH68

I do wonder if the cost of living crisis, and the fear that things are going to get worse, have been a big factor. When organizers first priced the tickets, things probably weren’t as bad then as they are now/are going to get. But having priced them as they did at the time, they can’t very well then go and reduce them all, as those who’ve already bought them would be up in arms. Let’s just hope that as the tournament gathers momentum into the later stages, people who have been watching on TV and getting into it might decide to splash out on tickets.

Maybe left then went back in? Maybe a mistake that he was seen leaving? Anyway, what a horrible tragedy. https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/queensland-rugby-league-player-liam-hampson-found-dead-in-barcelona-nightclub/news-story/444e768e24575da346e774ccb45c087d

Apparently it’s all Welsby though, according to the commentary. You’d hardly know Young was on the pitch

FFS! So as usual the Aussies get what they want. Really hoped the organizers would make a stand on this. Should have known better

That’s an interesting question. I’m not sure to be honest. Given Australia’s history, I’d think a large proportion of people that live here would either by Indigenous or qualify for another (European) nation? But I’m not sure of the qualification for the Indigenous teams. Some people say they’re, maybe, an eighth Indigenous? But they often very much identify as Indigenous. So I genuinely don’t know

Yes, this is exactly what they are suggesting, and the general population are now so scared they actually support this approach. As for the vaccines, that’s a whole other ball game. It doesn’t help that the government hasn’t ordered enough, or that the rollout was botched from the start (in the words of the Prime Minister - ‘this is not a race’ ). It also doesn’t help that the different states, the Premiers, the health officers and the fed government are all giving different messages. In the words of the Qld chief health officer - ‘younger people should not be getting the Astra Zeneca vaccine because there’s more chance of them dying from the vaccine than Covid’ Honestly, you couldn’t make it up. And yes, the attitude here is so insular. The WC decision doesn’t surprise me in the least

A lot of its to do with bubbles and border closures. For instance, there were big calls for Qld to close the border to NSW when Sydney cases started spiking - they resisted until the day after all the NRL wives and families flew in to join the players in the Qld bubble, then slammed it shut. ‘Normal’ people are suffering big time through these lockdowns and border closures, yet the sports teams seem to be given so much preferential treatment. And we all know it’s because all the betting brings in a lot of money for the government…

Well my hope was short lived! All games to be played Sun/Mon, right in the middle of lockdown. No crowds obviously, but a lot of people are going to be seriously ###### off with the preferential treatment they keep getting compared to everyone else

To be fair to the NRL (and it pains me to say that!) the Qld government announced a snap lockdown today (because of six cases… yes…just six) and said no community or pro sport could be played. It’s not actually anything to do with the NRL. There’s no Covid in their bubble. And apparently they are talking about trying to play a triple header tomorrow - I hope the state government kibosh that idea as everyone is sick of the double standards when it comes to pro sport compared to everything else

oooooh.... SLF..... Still one of the best bands ever!!

I am going to be listening, live, to the great Frank Turner in a couple of hours in Geelong... cannot wait!

Cool! Thanks for that. not much difference really then. The top Aussie players have just been around at the top for a long time, I think

Just out of interest, anyone know the average age of the England squad?

Post removed, due to my inability to actually read the original press release!!

They have a weekly show on Fox in Australia called NRL Tactics which discusses the tactics of all the games at the weekend. It's usually Brett Kimmorley and a couple of other guys.it's really good and gives a great insight. Shame super league can't do something similar on Sky

true, but for all we know the two are mates and having a laugh about the whole thing. You have to remember it's just part of the pre-match build up - I'm sure no one is taking it too seriously

I think it's great when players talk like this before big games - it spices up the affair for the fans and the media. It happens a lot in the NRL before big matches and really helps to hype up the event. Who wants to read endless comments like: "we know it's going to be a tough game, we're not taking them lightly, we'll have to be at the very top of our game for 80 minutes if we want to get to wembley, blah, blah, blah" The livelier the comments, the more interest from the media, and the more rivalry between the fans... All good, i reckon!

Atmosphere? At an Aussie game!!! You must be mistaken...

Give the guy a chance - and I don't just say that because he's a mate He's always been brilliant with younger players - they loved him at Hull, he brought through a lot of the players who won the Premiership at Penrith a year or so after he left, and the Tigers youngsters all look up to him. He's assistant coach of Australia, he's been assistant coach of NSW. He's assistant coach of a team that's won the NRL Premiership. And he's very very highly regarded by Tim Sheens. He's supremely professional, he knows the game inside out, and he always gets the respect of players. He may not be that young anymore (he's 51), but the flip side of that is that he has the experience. He's a top bloke too, who I'm sure the fans will take to if they give him a chance. Oh yes, and it was five marathons in five days when he was at Hull, to get the money to buy Des Hasler. Royce has been really keen to go back to England, so there's no doubt he'll give this job everything. I'm looking forward to seeing how he goes. I just hope he's given a fair chance to make his mark

I also think coaches sign players what they can bring off the field. Many of the Storm boys have said that Finch has been a brilliant guy to have around the club since he arrived - he's a real joker/character who lightens things up a bit. Hoffman is first class in every respect. Don't know much about Lima, but I'm sure Maguire does. I imagine he's signed them because he thinks they'll be a good 'fit' for Wigan, off the field as well as on it.

The pundits on tonight's NRL show were suggesting that Hoffman may have only signed a one-year contract, to see what happens at Melbourne - if they get back under the cap, he might head back there. They're all very good players though. Should go well for Wigan

Interesting quote from Karl Harrison, and nice to see they are happy to treat the Championship for what it is, and not just look at it as leg up to SL: "We'll be realistic about it, we have no ambitions to go into Super League. We are happy to stay in the Championship and that is what Batley is about." From BBC

Was just reading this about Burgess: Burgess becomes the big hitter Interesting that his size has increased sicne arriving at Souths, but body fat is down: "When he joined Souths from Bradford, he weighed 109kg and his body fat was 12 per cent. He now tips the scales at 112kg, but his body fat has dropped to less than 8 per cent." Looking forward to seeing him in the Four Nations

Sam burgess has gone so well over here - everyone from coaches to media guys can't stop raving about him - that it wouldn't surprise me if more follow. Think it will be good for England too. Ellis said before that playing over here removed that fear of the Aussies, and he's realised they're only human. So hopefully we'll beat them soon :-)