Dave T

Yes, it was sort of the point I was making tbh, admittedly clumsily! We weren't ruthless enough in attack with the backs, and I think some of that was down to tactics, which is somewhat surprising considering Smith now coaches a very expansive style at Warrington, however maybe he felt that he didn't want to over-expose the very new and young back-line last year, whereas maybe they are more ready to play that style this year.

Hmm, not sure about that tbh. Bailey was not looking at Radford when Radford punched him, so there is an argument that this was a blind-side cheap shot (although I certainly wouldn't say that to Radford!).

Personally, once you have a certain number of cautions, I would like them to hand out bans for intent as opposed to whether he actually makes full contact. In the CC Final he was highlighted for dropping with his forearm in the last tackle of the game, and then this attempted headbutt. It should be highlighted that this kind of activity isn't welcome and he should get a token 1 match ban IMHO.

Whilst I think it should have gone on record with the disciplinary (to add to his extensive list) he didn't make contact, so it was never going to attract any kind of punishment.

Looks like you are right mate, apparently there are only 7.5k tickets left, meaning that 15.5kish have been sold, excellent effort so far!

I don't really understand your point here. There is an absolutely clear point to Rd1. My team Warrington have a clear chance this Friday to tip the scales in their favour if thy beat Saints. It isn;t just a case of going through the motions and there is a guarantee of the same games repeated. Warrington actually have the opportunity to gain home advantage, send Saints into a tough 2nd round game and get the chance for clubcall. That is what teams are playing for in the 1st round.

Wouldn't that be standard for the last game of the season?

My reference to it being a good post was purely based on the views of the England team rather than the overall post. I also don't agre with the fact that our forwards were done in the 4N final. I would agree that by the time the Aussies got in the game we should have had more points and been having them pinned in the corners, forcing more mistakes. The forwards were making the territory, but we weren't as clinical in the backs as we should have been. We can win territory for 60m, and our backs were ruthless enough to get 16 points, the Aussies can have a purple patch for 20 minutes, and they can put 30-40 on you. There will always be spells in the game when the Aussies get their spell, and there is an argument that their forwards stayed in the game for longer, but I think this was easier as their backs helped them get on a roll. England's forwards could make great yards, and then not finish it off, meaning that the Aussies are coming straight back at them. Had we been more clinical and turning them round more (the backs job IMHO) then it would hav been more difficult for their forwards to turn the game round and claw themselves back into it. We have seen this in a couple of crucial games against the Kiwis, namely the TriNations final and the WC Final.

Interesting that you pick King and Atkins in the centres, as tbh, before his injury Bridge was our best centre IMHO! King has been excellent there since he took over from Bridge though, although I do still believe that having a 6 like Briers must be a dream for a right centre.

Anyone who knows me on here knows how highly I rate Morley, so as I say it is no slur on him to be rated only behind Westwood for us. I think Westwood has come on leaps and bounds during the past three years tbh, his first appearance in the Dream Team was 2008, and he has been exceptional since then. I certainly won't complain about Morley getting more votes than Westwood, as it is simply opinion, as they have both been excellent IMHO.

For the 2nd time in about 5 minutes I'm going to agree with you! He is not effective as the main man, but as part of a big pack he is still a very good prop. I have said a few times this year, I would like to have seen him at Warrington, and playing alongside Morley, Carvell, Wood etc. he would be very very good, and it looks like Wigan will have a big pack next year so we may see an even more improved Fielden.

I agree, and completely disagree with other people on the whole 'steely' thing - it is nonsense. Personally, I couldn't say whether I would vote for Richards, as I haven't seen enough of him, but plenty of neutrals have and if they vote for him, then that's good enough for me. I remember Jonathan Davies winning it back in 1993/4 (?) and he certainly wasn't 'steely'. From my team, I know Morley came second in the RLPW award, but personally feel Westwood has been better than Morley this year (although that clearly is no slur on Morley!). I just don't buy that it is a one-horse race (although it may turn out like that in the voting) as there have been many great performances throughout the year.

Nope, not at all, I don't want a close game wrestle, but even in an open game, your forwards need to make the yards. Not sure if you saw the CC Final, but Warrington played with some flair and scored some nice tries, but the forwards needed to lay the platform and that is all I am saying. Our forwards wouldn't have scored enough points to beat Leeds had w ekept it tight, so I am a big fan of moving the ball once the forwards have done their work, something which I feel we have got wrong at Test level for a while now. We have tried to hang on, when I'd rather see us have a bit of a go and move the ball out. We have seen quite often (usually against the Kiwis who tend to bottle it less) that the Aussies are human, and put under pressure they will make mistakes, the WC Final being a perfect example of it. If we don't move the ball enough though and isolate players and put them into 1on1 situations, then the chances of them making a mistake is drastically reduced.

I think the point was more that if you play the Aussies or Kiwis and your pack is poor then you will get trampled as their backs will get on top. We shouldn't have that issue really, and if the forward battle is even then it can become a battle of the backs. If that is the case, the Aussies will probably win, but if we can get on top, it makes it difficult for their backs to get a roll on. I do agree though that in previous years we have been on top at times and not been able to turn ths into points, hopefully this is where our new backline can click.

I agree that Richards is very valuable and not just for finishing moves off, but it was your statement that it would be a farce if he doesn't get it, when you acknowledge that there are other candidates.

Good post, and I agree with much of this, in terms of the merits of the England team at least, as I have seen very little of the NRL. As you say, the three-quarters are much better than they previously were in past years, as are the halves, so this can only be a good thing and move us in the right direction. I'd also hope that we have learnt from the WC and last year's 4N (which was very positive let's not forget).

Richards - since when has that been a qualifier for MoS? I'm not sure I can ever remember the top try scorer being given the award, otherwise it would be boring, just like if it was only given to a tough tackling forward every year as some people seem to want. It should be judged on overall impact and importance to a team and competition, if they decide Richards I won't complain, but I've no doubt many will complain if it went to someone like Westwood over Richards.

I don't buy that. Richards has been very good, but then so have a lot of other players. He broke records because he kicks goals, which obviously attracts more headlines and makes him seem more important that plenty of other players. There are a handful of players who could get it. One other thing to consider is that in a team that plays good dominant expansive RL, wingers (and fb's) can finish off a lot of moves - see Riley at Warrington (not in the Dream Team despite 25 tries) - and get the headlines. If Riley was a kicker then I'm sure he would have had more headlines and been in ahead of Hall. Like I say, Richards has been very good, and I would have no issue with him winning it, but statements like the above really annoy me.

I'm not sure why people would want something to fail. Surely it would be best to hope that you are wrong and it is a brilliant series. Also, this scenario didn't happen last year with exactly the same format.

Hope you are right mate, just being conservative I suppose after seeing so many below par crowds in playoff an cup games.

After I wrote that I noticed that Hull KR have already sold 3k and had a further 2k sent on. I was basing it on the fact that the game got 20k in the league where over 10k will have been in on season tickets. I would expect this would be lower, but will be very happy if I'm wrong about that.

I know people grumble about Sky, but considering the low number of teams in the league it means that we get to see our teams televised a hell of a lot. 10 of the 14 teams had at least a quartr of their games broadcast live throughout the year.

I think that's harsh tbh, Richards has had a huge impact on that Wigan team this year, and if the judges rule that he has had the biggest impact then he should get it, no matter what position he plays. In that team there are a few who I wouldn't complain if they got it. Westwood, Richards, Roby, O'Loughlin have all had great seasons.

I think that he is probably out of the running now he has missed out on the Dream Team.

In fact looking again, it seems that every game is priced differently: Wigan v Leeds North Stand