WN83

Jeez, I’m sick of Welsby winning big games here but he’s proper rattled you. We’re masters in our game at crucifying young players. Yes the lad has an attitude but it’s what helps set him apart. Sam Tomkins has had to put up with British RL fans BS for over a decade and Welsby is next in line it would seem. At club level I can’t stand the kid but I wish we had a dozen of him. He deserves better from fans of the game here.

Left the house at 7am and got back about half an hour ago. What can you say?! We just put ourselves in a bad spot and couldn’t quite pull it back. We should’ve won the game, even playing like that but we just couldn’t settle and find the patience needed. What I hate on days like today is how the fingers start pointing, based on your club loyalties-It’s Watkins fault, Wanes fault, Tomkins and Micky Macs fault, Welsby’s fault, Whiteheads fault, Radleys fault, a mixture of them all and everything in between. It was the teams fault, not any individuals. We started slowly and got no intensity going until the last 15 mins and even then, we couldn’t stop panicking. Pretty gutted tbh, I thought we’d at least get a day out next Saturday. In the main the players and coaching staff have been great in the tournament. We need more internationals and we personally need to regroup and come again. I think we’ve a very decent side forming, with some big players to come back in and young lads to break through. It’s tough to keep putting these disappointments behind us but I’ve seen 2 amazing games in the last couple of days and I want more of it.

Thought it might be a few more sat in there but 28k is a good effort. I’d love to see Elland Road developed. It’s an uncomfortable dump (sat here with a stiff knee and back from being squashed in to the point of not being able to get my right leg down on the ground) but we draw good crowds there and it’s a good atmosphere.

The easy schedule thing is brilliant. We’re in to our third game the ‘experts’ down under predict we could lose. The Aussies and Kiwis play their first one tonight.

Marty Taupau has pulled out of the Samoa squad. Not sure if it’s injury or another reason. He’s been replaced by Connelly Lemuelu.

The issue we have with saying we'll play other teams is that the NRL call the tune for all the sides we'd want to play. They want guys like Taumalolo, Paulo, Sua'ali'i, To'o, Coates, Luai, Kikau etc to get as much rest as possible, so they're flying for the NRL season and in some cases, when they play Origin. International Rugby League is a huge inconvenience for them and that doesn't just apply to the Australian team.

Well, I watched him in the Press conference on Wednesday and he looks as happy as a pig in you know what to be over here representing his country. It looked much the same for Victor Radley as well. I don't blame the players, not even the Australian ones in the main, I blame the officials in Australia. The NRL wants to protect it's product and I'm sure if you asked the guys at the top of the NRL if they wanted Internationals canning altogether, they'd probably say yes (in private). They can tow the party line all they like about wanting to come up with an international calendar going forward but the proof will be in the pudding. Let's put it this way, I won't hold my breath when it comes to the Australian team playing more fixtures in the next decade, then they have in the last. I won't hold out much hope that teams like Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, PNG etc will get regular fixtures either. I hope I end up being wrong but we'll see.

Well that’s true enough in terms of it probably not being as many as 23,000 odd (whatever was given). I was in the South Stand and would’ve guessed around 20-21 ish from my experience of big crowds in the ground.

What a tackle!

Cheers for the replies. All we can ask is they give it a good go and try and overcome some of the advantages these players have. It’s developing the game over here for the woman and it’ll take time. I’m convinced some of our side will cause either of these issues though, even if we don’t get the win. I’ve been really impressed with a couple of our props especially.

Ignoring what I presume is an Aussie looking for a rise, are we a chance against these 2? I’m not close enough to the woman’s game to know. I’ve been hugely impressed with some of our players, like Goldthorpe, Winfield-Hill, Hoyle and Whitfield but tough to make out where we’re at against lesser sides and with my limited knowledge.

I’m sure he’s plucking figures from his backside tbh. Didn’t he say 18k for Wigan about Thursday last week? No way we shifted over 5,000 in less than 2 days from that point. He’s not putting a figure on Elland Road, so his ‘info’ can’t be that detailed.

The Aussies started backing away from International Rugby League a long time ago. At the time, granted we weren’t winning series, but I find it difficult to compare them not wanting to play internationals against us (or pretty much anyone), with us not playing enough against France. In three match test series we won tests over the years and more often than not they needed to work their backsides off for series wins. Compare that to England games against France, with us consistently putting big scores on them and them not winning a test against the England in donkeys years and it doesn’t compare like for like. I’m not saying our stance is right, I can’t stand the combined All Stars game and I think we should commit to travelling to France in every mid season for the foreseeable but the Australians aren’t just pulling away from internationals because teams don’t compete with them. They’ve done it because they’re happy to take the insular view that the NRL and Origin is thriving, so why should we bother! Especially when bothering means their players don’t get a longer rest.

Well I don’t go to those games and I don’t watch them on TV, so that tells you everything. We’re not perfect, I get that but there have been fixtures against the French and our league doesn’t call the tune regards what numerous countries can do about playing fixtures.

They’ve lost more than an aura, in my book, they’ve lost respect. The arrogance and contempt they’ve shown the International game has been a scandal. The ignorance I see on a regular basis towards anything to do with British Rugby League from people across the game over there is embarrassing. I’m not glad (because I’d have liked bigger crowds across the board) but I’m not gutted either, that the Aussie games haven’t pulled in bigger crowds than any of the other teams games. Why should people spend their hard earned going watching a side that is here simply because they couldn’t wiggle out of it this time? I’ve been to numerous games in the tournament but I had no interest in going to any of the Australian games and will only see them in the flesh should they make the final. In short, I’ve had enough of their BS. I’d go all Kevin Keegan and speak about how I’d love it if we beat them but I’m not daft, I still acknowledge they’re an exceptional group of players and as well as we’ve been playing, that would be tough to do.

We have Thompson on the bench this week as well, so he should bring more go forward from Lees has done (although you maybe lose a bit the other way). It's looking pretty relentless that prop and loose forward rotation with Cooper, Thompson and Knowles backing up the starters.

PNG bringing it like you expected the lads to do on Saturday.

Showing a total lack of technical knowledge there ain’t I?! Ha. Plenty will be as uneducated as me though I’m sure, when it comes to what they mean. So it needs be in the format that gives you a QR code, like the Apple Wallet and not a barcode. Used be easier when they’d give you a huge ticket

They noted that rubbish on every ticket, when it was only St James, Wire and Middlesbrough that needed a printed version. Mobile phone versions will be fine for all the games from now on.

Seems like Wane has confirmed one change of Thompson for Lees in his press conference. Not sure how to post a link but saw a piece about it by Aaron Bower just now on Twitter.

Lets hope so because it would be infuriating if the ticket site is that poor it's not giving up tickets people want. I've just had a look for tickets and can't get any £30 tickets but it let you select a couple of £55 tickets in area N9. I must admit I was only tempted in by £30 tickets though and wouldn't pay £55, simply on the basis that I'm going down to London early Saturday and didn't fancy splashing out £55 and doing all the travelling on not much sleep but I could live with it for £30.

I know Manchester United are selling final tickets on their own ticket website but Arsenal are not for this game. I'm not sure if it was possible but it's a shame that has not been the case. You'd love to think they would be targeting that game tonight to try and tempt some of the locals in. How they do that, be it by handing out leaflets, those mobile advertising vehicles, billboards, tube adverts, having the trophy on display, getting somebody on the field talking about it or a mixture of them all, it shouldn't matter but if it is going to slip by without anything being done at all, we don't deserve better crowds.

Just noticed Arsenal are at home tonight against Brighton in the League Cup. Every fan attending that should be made aware there is a game on Saturday where they can cheer their country on. To have no presence at the game tonight would be a real missed opportunity.

A lot of blocks seem to be sold at Elland Road and it feels like that one may keep growing a little quicker than Saturday, on the basis that a lot of heartlands fans would make late decisions on a quick-ish trip to Leeds. If you’re going to London from up here, it’s unlikely to be a late call (or certainly less likely). Any surge in sales for Saturday would need to mainly be from Southerners. I’d love to know if they’re doing anything to push that, especially in areas around the Emirates. I’ve seen the 43k figure mentioned at the start of this week, so I reckon we might sneak up to about 46,000/47,000 for Saturday and I think we’ll end up on late 20’s for Friday, so maybe around 75,000 in total. At the prices they’re charging that’s a solid effort.

Yes, it’s being heard this evening. It’ll get overturned I’m sure and that’s fine. I think people can give some leeway on that and call it an accident. Doing that makes the kid not getting banned for keep raising his knee even more baffling. He’s had his warnings.