DiH68

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 :-)

I'd buy it if I still lived in England - looks like a good read this month Except {pedant subbing mode}, on-the-ground should be hyphenated (I suppose it might be actually, but it doesn't like it on screen) - otherwise it sounds like a special about the ground report That was the very first thing on the cover that jumped out at me - God, how sad am I?

I know Royce really well - he's a great guy and a great coach, who I'm sure would do an excellent job. Don't forget Penrith won the NRL only a year or so after Royce was sacked - he played a large part in bringing through the players who eventually won the premiership. He's excellent with young players, who really look up to him, so I'm sure he'd do well at bringing through saints' youngsters. He's been really keen to go back to England ever since leaving Hull. If you want to know how committed a coach he is, remember he ran five marathons in five consecutive days when he was coach at Hull, to raise money for the club to sign Des Hasler. That's some achievement

I've only just come across this thread, and that is fantastic. I love the presenter's tone and questions too. Genius . Certainly brightened up my day

36C (97F) in Melbourne at the moment... and it's just gone 9pm Heading up to Brisbane tomorrow for Xmas... gonna be a cool 30C on Xmas Day

Yes, I'm very annoyed as I'm fairly sure they played Melbourne earlier this year (I remember seeing the name) but I didn't know who they were then and didn't go....grrrrrrrr

My new fave band The Gaslight Anthem: And The Hold Steady - just discovered them too so have been out and bought three albums this weekend