Cake Tiger

Tonga Invitational can be sung to the tune of Robert Palmer's Simply Irresistible

That was some of the worst I've seen from players in England shirts. Those Lebanon lads are from reserve grade and lower and good for them. But what was going on with England filling the team with forwards? And the kick options on last tackle were abysmal. They should be embarrassed.

Distance from their home town to their home ground.

And you tell him to make it snappy

Crowd will be boosted when all the Sheffield and Widnes fans arrive towards the end of this curtain raiser. And Hicks is a gold standard clown for not referring the early try.

If French plays in the same position as he does for Parramatta, it will be in the reserves . When he broke through a couple of seasons ago, he did look an amazing talent. One issue to look out for is his effort. I remember one game he played in at Canberra where it was the 70th minute or so and his stats appeared on the screen - one run for 10 metres. There may have been a question over his fitness for that game but he disappeared from the Parramatta first team not long after that. Be interesting to see how he goes on the wing on a cold, wet and windy night in February.

Eats jambon baguette

They've got this wrong. The team winning the 1 v 2/3 in the second week of the playoffs should get home advantage if a neutral venue is not being used. If 1 loses that game, they lose their home advantage for the final. That would give the final host almost two weeks to prepare the venue, start selling tickets etc. Whoever wrote the operational rules did not understand how a top 5 playoff system is supposed to work.

Good question. The top 5 playoffs are not as straightforward as two semis and a final. If the winner of 2 v 3 goes on to win away at 1 in the second week of the playoffs, does that team gain home advantage for the final even if 1 goes on to qualify? That is what should happen.

Down calm.

Threads like this are why I read about RL mostly away from this forum these days. There used to be debates now it's just "NFL is very boring before anyone defends it". Why shouldn't people defend the NFL if they like it? People can like more than one sport if they want. There are different things to see in all sports. I can see why some people like rugby union and Aussie rules. If they wanted to engage in discussion, I'd be interested in what they have to say if they approach the subject with an open mind. I like RL and the NFL. Some people don't. It doesn't make me wrong and them right or the other way around. I'll look in here from time to time hoping to see a decent thread. But more often than not, I move elsewhere. I don't expect anyone to care - that's what choice is all about. But I do miss the better quality of forum that used to live here.

If anyone knows where overseas viewers might find the Eddie tribute show, let me know. I found this interview Eddie did on YouTube really interesting - particularly when he talks about the early days. He also seems to confirm Bill Arthur will do the Grand Final this year. Eddie Hemmings interview on Youtube

He's been the voice of rugby league in the Britain for nearly 30 years on Sky. Hope he enjoys retirement.

Yes, those knocked out in Round 1 would be banned from arranging any other pre-season fixtures so you're right. I would go further and not even let them train.

When Lolohea was at the NZ Warriors, some of his advisors got it into his head that he was better than he was. When he first broke through, he was fast and had a good step. He flitted around different positions in the backs, never really convincing in any of them. He had moments of brilliance but would back that up with a game where you would never see him. His defence, especially positioning, has always been an issue. The reports at the time stated that he wanted to play in the halves at the Warriors and he asked for a move when they couldn't guarantee that. I think a lot of Warriors fans were not too fussed when he left. At the Wests Tigers, he never settled and played a lot of reserve grade. He has put on a lot of weight since his early days, which must affect his speed and agility. He needs to knuckle down, lose some weight and do the hard yards needed to make it in the first team. At the moment, he is no better than a journeyman, which is bad for a 24 year old.