WN83

Aussie Ref, Aussie touch judges, England winning for an hour, fall apart in the last 20 minutes, Aussies by 20......great to be back.

I don't understand why we've decided France aren't worthy opponents anymore. The games haven't been hugely close but we had to work in the World Cup for the win and we were trailing in the test last year for a decent while IIRC. They aren't going to get better by not playing us and it's sad if they don't see the point because of how poor the crowd was in Toulouse. It all feels a bit lazy and disrespectful and regardless of how hard England would have to work for a win, it's still a run out and a chance for players to build combinations.

I could see Headingley selling out pretty rapidly. I haven't given a seconds thought to when I'll get the tickets for the first two tests because I know I'll still be able to get them in a few months time but with Headingley, I think i'll get in there as soon as they're on sale and I think plenty will have the same mindset.

I'm bias I guess but I really think Brad O'Neill is made for international Rugby league but we'll have to see how he comes back from his injury. He makes his return this Sunday and it'll take time but I'm hopeful he can get himself back to his best before the end of the season. If he can replicate how he played against Penrith, on the international stage, then we have one hell of a player. Any kid that will take it to James Fisher-Harris and Moses Leota for 60/70 minutes and not take a backward step, has plenty about them.

Has their been any confirmation of Moran's involvement in the series, the Wembley test only etc? He won't need to be involved in Headingley to sell that one out but it would be interesting to see what could be done with the other two.

Not massively tbh, certainly in the cases of Ashton and Thompson because they've shown what they can do for England and in huge games (in Thompsons case). You put a timeframe of 6 months on it but it's impossible to put any real timeframe on 'form'. There's a lot to be said for players having form for performing in big games and for England. It's the same in all sports. We get it in football, cricket etc and people calling for form players to be picked but I don't think I've ever seen an international coach pick a side that you would say is purely based on form. Outside of form there are so many factors to consider that it makes picking a purely form team impossible. Coaches will have relationships with players, know what they can do at their best, know what they bring to overall camp and to training, what leadership qualities they have and so on and on and on.

I don't think it's ever as straight forward as picking 'form players' in Internationals and players having a history of performing at their best, in the biggest games should and does always come in to it. Would you pick somebody in rotten form? probably not but would you pick a proven top level player, who plays well in big games but might not be in their personal best form, over a guy unproven at the top level, who is absolutely smashing it? It's a balancing act, with loads of factors to weigh up. If the first test was tomorrow, I think you would say guys like Ollie Pratt, Lewis Martin and Oliver Wilson have out performed Jake Wardle, Matty Ashton and Luke Thompson for example but would I pick them over those 3? not a chance IMO.

I do feel like there would be a split with the players tbh. When all you're told is that the NRL and Origin is the be all and end all, some will believe that but It does feel like most are still sensible enough to see how important international rugby league is.

I think they should be more expensive tbh, simply because of supply and demand. I'd have no issue with paying more to go to Headingley, than I would to go to Wembley.

The RLPA are hurting their members chances and future members chances of getting increased pay/endorsements by holding the international game back IMO. There will only be so much growth the NRL can drive, so while they may think they're doing them all a favour now by making sure they get a long rest, they'll pay elsewhere in the longer term. The NRL players won't be going hungry but they're still underpaid in the grand scheme of things, in the sporting world.

Not a bolter but looking at this form this season, it looks like the time for Mike McMeekan to take on a bigger role. He's 30 years of age now, has good experience and looks really confident in his own game. He's be a starting player for me if his form holds.

Would've loved evening kick offs but you can't have everything. It's just great to see the Ashes back and to have everything confirmed, even if the delay has been frustrating. Lets hope we can make a real success of it, both on and off the field. It's tough to get a real read on what is possible on the field but there have been some encouraging signs against Samoa and Tonga, so we can hopefully go in with some confidence and belief.

Will be at all 3 I think. Nothing beats test matches against Australia for me, even if we lose more often that not.

I don't see what could be gained from shaking the game up to the point where teams like Saints and Leigh weren't in any sort of reformed top league or breakaway league. If a club like Saints were not on board, you're on the back foot straight away and there just isn't enough interest in the sport in this country to start dropping new teams in and hope that they catch on in rapid time. To my mind, there are 9 teams in Superleague currently who I feel are in a reasonably good place. Some have work to do in certain areas (squad strength, academies etc) but if those 9 weren't all involved in any plan (or didn't want to be), I don't see the point. The other 3 have some work to do IMO and they are Cas, Salford and Huddersfield. There are varying issues at those 3 clubs, that would make them the only teams currently in the top flight who would be at risk IMO of not being involved. Even those 3 have some strengths to bring to the table but I don't think it could be denied that some improvements are needed.

Oliver Wilson and Morgan Gannon from what I've seen so far this season. Harry Robertson possibly but I think he needs another year or so to settle in to a position and develop physically.

We have runs of defeats/bad performances every single season. I thought we played ok and would've seen it out had it not been for the head of god incident. One area of urgent importance is our discipline. We lose penalty counts pretty much every week and got battered on that count and set restarts tonight. We must do something drastically different to other sides, because it's unusual for a dominant side to lose 80%+ of penalty counts (as we did last season).

Extremely worrying position to be in from a Salford fans/players/officials POV, when you're owners clearly have absolutely no interest in the club itself. It just feels like this can't end well, even if some decent money eventually lands to cover them in the short/medium term.

Leigh have had a great start to the season but I can't see them coping with the HKR pack, especially with them missing a couple of key forwards themselves. HKR by 12

Wire have the better backline but Saints forwards could make them redundant. I just don't think that Wires pack is good enough to hold out against guys like Wamsley and Paasi. Saints by 10

I always read that we bounce back really well from defeats but I'm not sure that's hugely accurate. We have iffy spells of 3 or 4 games pretty much every season and had one last year that included a pasting at Headingley. We've had a couple of big wins at Headingley in the last decade but overall, our record is pretty poor and I never feel confident going there. If we win, it'll be close IMO but it could go either way. I doubt Field will play and he's been comfortably our best player this season. I'll say Wigan by 4.

Kerr looks like he could be something special from the bits I've seen. Brad O'Neill might see some time at 13 as well, which would allow Ellis to spell in at prop if they needed him to. If they don't do that, then I'd imagine we'll see Tom Forber exit the club as well.

Personally, I'm gutted Hill is leaving. Props mature later and I think he'll be a very good player in time. I look at Oliver Wilson at Huddersfield and he's improved year on year and is now really kicking on. He's very nearly 25 years old, whereas Hill is 21 and like Wilson, he will need the game time to kick on. He'll get the at Hull, so fair play to him. I don't think it'll be a case of Wigan 'letting him go' but more that he's decided to go, so he gets guaranteed minutes and better pay.

Really good open draw with Wigan out. Now I'm a neutral fan, I think I'd like to see a Hull Derby in the final and it's probably the only game that would tempt me to make the trip down to London for it. Outside of that, one of those two against Wakey would be good. It would be a good reward for the work being put in there and there's nothing like a final to get casual fans on board going forward. If they avoid each other though, I can't see past it being 2 from HKR, Saints and Leigh in the final.

They deserved it. They played the game at a totally different pace to Wigan in the second half and wanted it far more. Aidan Sezer was absolutely superb. Wigan's injuries are no excuse. There was enough out there to get the job done and injuries to other players doesn't stop the ones on the field concentrating and treating the opposition with the respect they deserve. Wigan got loose and thought the game was in the bag and couldn't stop Hulls momentum. It'll probably be a good lesson in the long term.

Fair play to Hull, they were outstanding and deserved the win. Disappointing to go out but the bigger picture is that it's great for the game to have Wigan out and Hull looking like turning a corner.