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25 Nov: RLWC2017 (Semi Final): England v Tonga - Match Thread

John Drake

By John Drake
in The General Rugby League Forum

Who will win?  

83 members have voted

  1. 1. Who will win?

    • England by 13 points or more
      30
    • England by 7 to 12 points
      31
    • England by 1 to 6 points
      10
    • Tonga by 1 to 6 points
      8
    • Tonga by 7 to 12 points
      2
    • Tonga by 13 points or more
      2

This poll is closed to new votes


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stevereed100

stevereed100

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, B rad said:

http://www.nrl.com/tonga-v-england-rlwc-preview/tabid/10874/newsid/115520/default.aspx

Sean O'Loughlin and Jason Taumalolo head to head stats in that article for those interested. 

Oh my god is that all OLoughlin has done in 4 games Inc France and Lebanon! 1 offload from Wigans top ball handler. 

Does this professional analysis clear the scales from the eyes of all these superior RL analysts on here?

Does it highlight the danger of picking on name not form?

Roll on Saturday when O'L storms it and leads from the front.

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Vichyssoise

Vichyssoise

Posted
Posted

He's saving himself for the final... :ph34r:

Up, up Cronulla; The boys in the black, white and blue; Up, up Cronulla; Name of the Sharks fits you; Sharks, Sharks forever; Go out and play without fear; Now's the time to see good football*; For the Sharks are here!

* Subject to change

Currently playing: Gorbachev: The Fall of Communism & Swing States 2012

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Dunbar

Dunbar

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, stevereed100 said:

Oh my god is that all OLoughlin has done in 4 games Inc France and Lebanon! 1 offload from Wigans top ball handler. 

Does this professional analysis clear the scales from the eyes of all these superior RL analysts on here?

Does it highlight the danger of picking on name not form?

Roll on Saturday when O'L storms it and leads from the front.

Offloading and ball handling are not the same thing.

"The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby.

"If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris

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Jim Prendle

Jim Prendle

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, stevereed100 said:

Oh my god is that all OLoughlin has done in 4 games Inc France and Lebanon! 1 offload from Wigans top ball handler. 

Does this professional analysis clear the scales from the eyes of all these superior RL analysts on here?

Does it highlight the danger of picking on name not form?

Roll on Saturday when O'L storms it and leads from the front.

Do you know the difference between an offload, and a pass?

And you still haven't told me who we should replace him with, apart from your ridiculous call of Sam Burgess as a ball handling loose forward.

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Lowdesert

Lowdesert

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, Wolford6 said:

 

No brothers. Been in plenty of dives but can't swim.

We had a swimming pool at school but I contracted a verucca in the first form and was banned from the pool and gym (we had to do that barefoot) till it was cured. Bingo! For six years I told the sports teachers that I had a verucca and they took my word for it. You can't blame them for not wanting to inspect my feet; like many of my contemporaries, I wore Tuf shoes. Tuf had welded soles and were guaranteed to promote and retain sweat; cheap slight seconds were always available from the factory shop in Brynmawr.

The Owl Lane pitch? Big by tennis standards.

I take my username from Johnny Wolford, my favourite ever player. He wasn't blessed with pace but used to walk through defences with a repertoire of dummies and shimmies, then pass it quickly to a supporting player before the covering defenders could tackle him. Often walked off the Odsal mudbath with a pretty clean shirt. I think he's from Castleford, though we got both him and Jack Austin from Bramley.

Jack Austin mainly played wing for us. He was great in defence and once smashed into three Leeds players during their same attacking movement; all were struggling for air at the end of it. For one nanosecond I nearly felt sorry for them. He was interviewed once on the wireless, long before players received media training, and he sounded really cultured.

Great days.

 

Kippax mate.  He used to go Brid with his brother a bit diving.  Still practicing those dummies the last time I saw him.  

Just thought the name being uncommon you might be him or Taz.

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Futtocks

Futtocks

Posted
Posted

The King of Tonga, Tupou VI, will be in attendance in Auckland on Saturday for the World Cup semi-final with England. No pressure there then, lads..!

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Dunbar

Dunbar

Posted
Posted
11 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

The King of Tonga, Tupou VI, will be in attendance in Auckland on Saturday for the World Cup semi-final with England. No pressure there then, lads..!

Tough day for Tupou, all the pressure of his royal duties and then having mark McGilvary on the wing.

"The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby.

"If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris

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Allora

Allora

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Jim Prendle said:

Do you know the difference between an offload, and a pass?

And you still haven't told me who we should replace him with, apart from your ridiculous call of Sam Burgess as a ball handling loose forward.

Is there no one else?

 

That is like saying Mother Hubbard's Cupboard is bare.

One Centre.

No Fullbacks

No quality Halves

What is left, a reasonable pack with one decent Hooker.

 

Talent is secondary to whether players are confident.

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andyscoot

andyscoot

Posted
Posted

So we have a huge discussion about O'Loughlin and Taumalolo are different played but then judge them on the same stats? How many offloads have England done all together? How many passes or try assists have either of them done?

Judging a 13 like S'OL who is being treated as an extra pivot to the same standards as Taumalolo who is being used straight up the middle is going to skew the stats for both of them and judging them by the others standards is unfair on both of them.

I'd like to see Currie tried at 13 someway down the line. As discussed before in his amateur days he almost always played 13 with the odd game in the SR. I also see Ward as another potential 13 for the future. Interesting to note that some of our best 13's over the years have come from other positions. S'OL played at 6 for a long time. Hanley played in the centres. Is there anyone else that could fill the void? I think we're wasting both Burgess' talents and the 13 spot by playing him there.

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Trojan

Trojan

Posted
Posted

I've never been a lover of Wigan, but O'Loughlin's presence is key.  Everything we do comes from his passes and his positioning, and his tackling is exemplary.  IMO he has taken over where Sinfield left off.  Sinfield was always getting decried as over rated.  It took Leeds an entire season to come to terms with playing without him.  I don't know how much O'Loughlin has left in the tank, but I hope it's enough to see us to, and through the final.

“Few thought him even a starter.There were many who thought themselves smarter. But he ended PM, CH and OM. An Earl and a Knight of the Garter.”

Clement Attlee.

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Dunbar

Dunbar

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, Trojan said:

I've never been a lover of Wigan, but O'Loughlin's presence is key.  Everything we do comes from his passes and his positioning, and his tackling is exemplary.  IMO he has taken over where Sinfield left off.  Sinfield was always getting decried as over rated.  It took Leeds an entire season to come to terms with playing without him.  I don't know how much O'Loughlin has left in the tank, but I hope it's enough to see us to, and through the final.

I wonder if Bennett has used O'Loughlin a little sparingly through the tournament because he is a vital cog and a big game asset.  I expect him to do more minutes on Saturday and again in the final if we get through.

"The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby.

"If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris

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Lowdesert

Lowdesert

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Trojan said:

I've never been a lover of Wigan, but O'Loughlin's presence is key.  Everything we do comes from his passes and his positioning, and his tackling is exemplary.  IMO he has taken over where Sinfield left off.  Sinfield was always getting decried as over rated.  It took Leeds an entire season to come to terms with playing without him.  I don't know how much O'Loughlin has left in the tank, but I hope it's enough to see us to, and through the final.

He played very well in the 1st half v PNG.  Whatever he has in the tank, it’ll be needed v Tonga.  There cant be any conservation from here on in.

We need to make opportunity for his killer short passes in the oppositions 20, with of support around him.  

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Charlie RL

Charlie RL

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, Futtocks said:

The King of Tonga, Tupou VI, will be in attendance in Auckland on Saturday for the World Cup semi-final with England. No pressure there then, lads..!

I expect Die for Tonga guy will be there also.  He's been at all their matches?

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Desert Skipper

Desert Skipper

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, scrumhalf said:

according to bbc he has to pass a series of tests but bennet is confident he will pass them

Yes, one of the cognitive tests is to be given the names of 13 players and then be asked to put them in their correct positions on the rugby field.   For some reason he failed this test as he kept associating Bateman with the left centre position.   Bennett is confident he’ll pass the next test though, which is “Name any obscure NRL second rower who should be picked ahead of a form Super League player”.

“There is perhaps no better a demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world.”   Carl Sagan

 

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Exiled Wiganer

Exiled Wiganer

Posted
Posted

Interesting insight into this game from Millward on Sporting Life, suggesting both that Tonga have already peaked, and that a number of their players are carrying injuries. We, in contrast, looked to be jumping out of our skins fitness wise last week end, and are peaking round about now. 

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