OMEGA

It’s great news for the game that Kate is now the patron, let’s hope she’s still associated with Rugby League when William ascends the Throne. If I had a gripe, it would be at the RFL for being so slow that they are invisible (Guardians of the Galaxy style) and have allowed the RFu to grab all the headlines.

That’s a very strange way to gauge a players ability! Im now in my mid 50s and I could still score try’s playing on the wing for that Australian team. However, I’m not sure I could put in the performances that Des did against a team that was almost Man for man on another level and in my opinion neither could Boustead. Note: I played against both by the way

I agree but my original statement was that he was 1 of only 3 GB players who were better than his opposite number in the Australian team. While Des faced Grothe his opposite in the Roos team was Boustead.

In my opinion he was a better player than Boustead

RIP Des Drummond a real hero of the game! I made my debut against Leigh and played against Des, he made a break down the right wing and was flying. Being pretty quick myself and with the aid of the angle I had him bang to rights close to the touchline, I was preparing to put him in the East Stand then BANG he came off his right foot and I swear he made a right angle turn at full speed without losing any speed whatsoever. I never laid a finger on him! Amazing player, he was 1 of only 3 players who would have replaced his opposite number in the 1982 Australian Invincible Ashes Team. sad day!

Let’s hope they find him safe and well

Derek Pyke was one of the best at it, he’s not the first bloke you’d think of in this regard but he was an amazing handler of the ball and offloader. The absolute best ball handling forward I’ve ever seen was Bill Ashurst, he was a magician at it. There were times when you followed Bill with your eyes for a few seconds before realising that he’d already passed the ball and you never saw it. On the other hand he could throw a dummy that the whole stadium took. Closely followed by Steve Norton!

I played against both and I’d rather tackle Platt and run at Ward than the other wat around

He wasn’t a noted defender like Platt was, a hard man for sure but Platt was cast iron and had superb defensive technique & timing.

Kevin Ward v Andy Platt which would you pick for GB Ward was great going forward and had a decent ‘around the man’ offload Platt had more pace, got involved more and was a brick wall in defence!

Fielden was a very good player but he needed to play off the back of other very good players to be his best. The momentum created by Anderson, Vangana, Peacock, Mackay, etc was great for a player like Fielden who could time his runs so that he took the ball in full stride after a quick PTB following Vangana scattering the defence. He played a similar role in the GB side, again with other great players around him. He didn’t have those players around him at Wigan where ‘he’ was expected to be the front runner who created forward momentum and as a result he didn’t have the same impact. He should never have been on the tour with GB when Mason cheap shotted him, his mother had just died (the day they flew out) and I don’t think Rugby League 12,500 miles away was the Nō1 thing on his mind. The Mason incident just sickened him off I think and he never loved it the same after that. McDermott played his game wherever he went and it wouldn’t have mattered whether it was for Oldham, Wigan, Leeds, Great Britain or Saddleworth Rangers, he would have still been the same. There’s some value in that, he was never intimidated and saw other props as a challenge to his reputation as the apex predator on the field. He had good leg speed for a prop and a pretty good step just ahead of the collision which often saw him make busts or win a quick play the ball. Id take Barry over Fielden as he didn’t rely on others to make his impact

Full tours or something like them! Its not beyond the wit of man to create an International Calendar is it? 2022 World Cup 2023 Lions Tour of NZ, Tonga & Samoa 2024 Kangaroo Tour of Europe 2025 Northern Hemisphere Cup / Southern Hemisphere Cup 2026 World Cup 2027 Lions Tour of Australia, PNG & Fiji 2028 Kiwi Tour of Europe 2029 Northern Hemisphere Cup / Southern Hemisphere Cup cycle starts again......

Awful news Get Well Frank

If they’re not careful they’ll destroy the lad under the weight of expectation. He came on for 10 minutes, passed a ball and kicked a couple of goals but other than that he wasn’t involved. Listening to the commentary you’d think we’d just seen the emergence of the new Jonathan Thurston. His dad’s a Leeds legend and rightly so but that’s where Kevin Sinfield achievements end (on the field) so let’s not rewrite the limited levels of his career.

Newman gets his second of the day Leeds 34 v 6 Wakefield Newman 2 Murphy Briscoe Handley 2 sezer GK Sezer 3, Sinfield 2

Leeds running away with it now which was predictable when looking at the squads on duty. Leeds 28 v 6 Wakefield

Hall and Murphy on the left centre/wing positions look like they could be real prospects for Trinity. Hall has the stature and subtle skills to make a really good play maker for Murphy on his outside who has decent levels of physicality, genuine pace and the know how to play his position properly. They’ll need game time at SL level to act as a finishing school and drag the potential out of them.

Neil did a fantastic job at Dewsbury, they looked all but down and relegated when he took over and he had an immediate impact taking them to mid table. He improved them again in his second year and things looked to be heading in the right direction until a personal tragedy brought his time at the club to an end. Happy to see him back in the game, his knowledge of Championship Rugby and his time in Union will make his credentials tough to match.

Gallen had it painfully illustrated to him that Boxing has a skill set that can’t just be picked up in your late 30s over a short period of time. you wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of. Sam Burgess punch though

Why is it off topic

He’s had a good career which he’s done on his own merit, it can’t have been easy carrying the Jason Robinson legacy on his shoulders. Best of Luck to him

I’ve had cause to work with Rob Hicks in the past and have since often chatted with him when our paths have crossed. I have always found him to be honest, friendly & to have great professional integrity. He was a Referee so I get why some will never take to him but I’ve had the chance to really get to know him and he’s a good bloke!

Kevin Sinfield Prove me wrong, you won’t be able to because I’m right !