Dunbar

I asked you what you meant when you said Leuluai and O'Loughlin were "the brains" and you said "rugby brains. They've been there and done that".

I am not arguing the importance of O'Loughlin and Leuluai but you are suggesting that there are some elements of Rugby League game play or tactics that they possess that Peet doesn't because he wasn't a top class player. And I disagree with that view.

This goes back to my previous point that people think to have rugby brains you need to have been a top class player.

That's social media for you. It's a minefield of nonsense.

Just wondering what you mean that 'they are the brains'?

Agreed.

I was going to post that at the time but didn't want the thread to get derailed. I thought that was poor as the words were changed to respect the indigenous people of Australia, a few of which were in the Penrith side.

I guess that's the difference of being sent up a try or not. The laws state that the referee should not disallow a try because he was not in a position to see the grounding of the ball. But equally, if he didn't think the ball got to the line then he shouldn't award a try. If a ref thinks it got there and wants to check he send it up as a try. If he thinks it didn't and wants to check then he sends it up no try. I thought that decision was handled OK.

Hull?

I'm a Wigan fan and I think it is OK to say the Wardle try was a poor decision while still saying the game was outstanding and Wigan deserved the win with a superbly gutsy performance. These things are not mutually exclusive.

I am assuming the 80k figure is the peak for main event. That meant the game peaked at 619k before Sky Sports Action is added. That a lot more than a normal Super League game isn't it?

I am starting to think I may support the NRL team in next year's Challenge as the lack of competition is not good for the game.

Exactly. You could do a find and replace for Saints last year and they would have faced the same challenges away from home as Penrith did this year.

I haven't given NRL Round 1 much thought with both the Super League and the WCC beforehand. Now, I expect to chat about the Vegas games.

If people don't want to add anything then they don't have to. But it is a significant Rugby League event and we are in the build up week, I think having a thread on it is fair enough.

Smithies was solid in the first quarter for the Raiders today, good in defence and effort plays (as always) and threw a few nice link passes. The commentary team were saying how pleased the Canberra coaches were with Smithies. Will be keen to see if he gets the 13 jumper for Round 1.

To be fair, we had a 20 page thread. But it got locked.

This is a very good and really important point. Last year the likes of Welsby and Lewis Dodd were among the best against Penrith, last night O'Neil and Hill were excellent. Against the 3 times NRL champions, these kids really stood up. It shows the young players we are developing in the UK game are very good and it bodes really well.

And there is a picture above your post that shows it did. That's why the ref sent it upstairs as a try, he came from behind the try line to get a view and saw the ball on the line and so sent it up as a try. The ball got there but it was either a triple movement or quadruple movement so should never have been given.

I thought the most important part of the game play last night was the number of times Penrith turned the ball over on the last tackle in Wigan's 20. Some of that was poor execution and some was clearly a policy of running the ball and turning the ball over in good field position if needed. Maybe Penrith felt that would help grind Wigan down but the fact Penrith didn't force a repeat set from Wigan all game meant that Wigan were able to go set for set, even if many of the Wigan sets were exit sets. Their backs kept holding their hands up for exit runs and Smith gained some distance with kicks. For all his talents, I felt that Cleary's short kicking game last night was poor and a few repeat sets may have seen Wigan crack. I'm glad he didn't and Wigan didn't.

I was happy with the way Wigan (Smith) was kicking last night. Penrith were dominant in set distance and held Wigan many times to their own half and often the 30/40 metre mark. If Smith had looked to find touch then he would have had to make much shallower kicks which would have ceded more territory and have the Panthers on the Wigan line time and again. I thought the Wigan defensive effort was fantastic but without one of the best distance kickers we have produced in a long time in Smith, I don't think Wigan would have won.

Peet helps to put to bed the ludicrous notion that you have to be a top class player to be a top class coach. They are completely different roles with a completely different skill set. I really do think this attitude holds so many sports back with top quality players going on to be poor coaches/managers but given multiple chances due to their playing reputation.

That was across the UK.

Agree with this summary of the game.

Wigan and World Club Challenge trending 4th and 5th on Twitter.