Sat 9 Nov: Intl: New Zealand v Great Britain KO 7am (UK Time) (TV)

[MatthewWoody 646]

7 minutes ago, SilentAssassin said:

Yeah can't argue with that. Guess he is on the cusp of greatness still needs a couple more seasons of what he has produced recently and to do it on the international stage. 

We'll see.

Let's say that...even if this Kangaroos doesn't look "invincible" yet, something tells me they would have destroyed Eng/GB this season. 

That's why it's so hard to think about that final in 2017.

They were so close.

Not sure they're now.

[Liverpool Rover 427]

Watching GB on the Kiwi line was like watching RU. All biff and barge and not even an attempt to try and do anything creative and once again they were much better when Clark had replaced Hodgson. You can't say that the errors were down to the Super League players wither as some of the biggest culprits were the NRL based players and Austin although being on the wing he wouldn't have been used to having high balls aimed at him.

It will just be the same next week against PNG next week as well as Bennett is just so risk averse. One of the things that the NRL commentators said that they loved about the English players in Aus was that they weren't afraid of playing what they saw and Bennett isn't allowing them to do that. Bennetts tactics are outdated and we need a more positive coach who will encourage the players to play to their strengths.

[eal 180]

Wayne Bennett destroys everything he touches. He is past it as a coach. You could give him the best XIII players in the world and they would only just eeke out a victory against lesser teams.

[Farmduck 3,054]

5 hours ago, Allora said:

Is it on TV Ducky?

Fox Sports, Kayo and NRL LivePass

[kiwis 13 6 688]

Well for the Kiwis this year would be the 1st positive year they have had in about four seasons to any people in the UK wondering why Support for the Kiwis is pretty low at the moment let me recap.

Kidwell in his 1st game as coach leaving Taumalolo on the interchange bench for most of the game against Australia, when he could have made a difference to the result being on the field. 

Kiwis Draw with Scotland in the Four nations. 

Kiwis thrashed in an Anzac test, then the Captain and a senior player get caught after the game buying and using cocaine on CCTV.

 2 weeks before 2017 World cup 4 players in the kiwis squad change nations to Tonga, NZ Lose to Tonga, then lose to Fiji in Quarter final and are knocked out of the World Cup at home, followed by the Captain and star player not taking responsibility for teams poor performance and accusing the media of getting what they wanted!

Kiwis 1st test with Maguire as coach was held in Denver USA, NZ lose to England but even worse the promoter dosnt pay the agreed match fee leaving the NZRL in debt.

KIwis pull off an upset defeat of Australia in 2018 end of season test watched by 12,000 which is one of lowest NZ vs Australia crowds in decades. NZ lose series 2 - 1 to England marked by some strange officiating calls.

So this year with a mid season win over Tonga, a loss to Australia where the kiwis were competitive but made to many errors and now a 2 - 0 series win over GB. Looks like Kiwis have turned the corner after several very bad seasons and started to regain a bit of lost ground

Edited November 10, 2019 by kiwis 13 6

[Allora 1,391]

5 hours ago, Farmduck said:

Fox Sports, Kayo and NRL LivePass

Thanks mate.

[Man of Kent 5,654]

1 hour ago, kiwis 13 6 said:

Looks like Kiwis have turned the corner after several very bad seasons and started to regain a bit of lost ground

Good stuff.

The story of the impact of the Tonga phenonemon on the NZ Kiwis is undertold. 

If several of England’s best players switched to Scotland or Wales just before the WC, it would be pretty devastating.

What’s the view of the NZ fans towards the players who switched to Tonga and the whole Tonga thing? And how has it affected fan support for NZ? 

[kiwis 13 6 688]

2 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

Good stuff.

The story of the impact of the Tonga phenonemon on the NZ Kiwis is undertold. 

If several of England’s best players switched to Scotland or Wales just before the WC, it would be pretty devastating.

What’s the view of the NZ fans towards the players who switched to Tonga and the whole Tonga thing? And how has it affected fan support for NZ? 

I can only speak for myself I dont like weak eligability rules where a player can play for NZ in mid year test and then in the same year change nations 2 weeks out from a World Cup and not even make a phone call to let officials know they are changing nations.

But selecting Kidwell as coach caused a lot of this mess so NZRL are responsible for that and as a result of poor performance the Kiwi side has put some hardcore league fans off attending and NZ fairweather general sports fans look like they have totally abandoned Kiwis at the moment, Tongans Community in NZ are now totally behind Tonga when previously some would have supported NZ.

[Lowdesert 2,588]

16 hours ago, GUBRATS said:

As I said , only going on what I read on here , but what I don't understand is if you have 2 hookers playing , why wait for over an hour till the game is essentially lost before introducing the second one ? , Is this again NRL ' bias ' ?

Certainly agree there.  Clarke has speed and we had to use it.

[solly 160]

20 hours ago, RugbyLeagueGeek said:

Just watched the highlights of the 2013 World Cup semi, and the difference between the level of enterprise and opportunities created between then and now is night and day. The end is still heartbreaking though...

 

I let out a breath that I hadn't realised I was holding when Ryan Hall couldn't hold on to that intercept.

Then, Sinfield. He must still be having nightmares over that last tackle attempt...

[Scubby 10,759]

6 minutes ago, solly said:

I let out a breath that I hadn't realised I was holding when Ryan Hall couldn't hold on to that intercept.

Then, Sinfield. He must still be having nightmares over that last tackle attempt...

It was a career defining moment for Ryan Hall for sure. Had he gone the length of the field to win the game it would have been all over the news and be one of those Davies/Offiah like clips played again and again! And, of course, Johnson doesn't get a chance as a result!

[solly 160]

36 minutes ago, Scubby said:

It was a career defining moment for Ryan Hall for sure. Had he gone the length of the field to win the game it would have been all over the news and be one of those Davies/Offiah like clips played again and again! And, of course, Johnson doesn't get a chance as a result!

Even watching that highlights reel now, so many years after the event, leaves me with chills. An absolutely incredible match.

Would have been good to see England in the final but alas, it was not to be.

[graveyard johnny 1,599]

9 minutes ago, solly said:

Even watching that highlights reel now, so many years after the event, leaves me with chills. An absolutely incredible match.

Would have been good to see England in the final but alas, it was not to be.

just goes to show what a dads army we have become in 6 years, the lack of new talent coming in to the uk game is alarming- rts still great while Tomkins has fallen away ever since he grew that stupid beard

[Gooleboy 650]

Just now, graveyard johnny said:

just goes to show what a dads army we have become in 6 years, the lack of new talent coming in to the uk game is alarming- rts still great while Tomkins has fallen away ever since he grew that stupid beard

And the Clubs in SL continue to employ overseas players who aren't good enough for the NRL.

[RugbyLeagueGeek 568]

3 minutes ago, graveyard johnny said:

just goes to show what a dads army we have become in 6 years, the lack of new talent coming in to the uk game is alarming- rts still great while Tomkins has fallen away ever since he grew that stupid beard

At the risk of opening a can of worms, is this possibly linked to the reintroduction of promotion and relegation, and teams having to go for the safer short-term option of imports rather than the riskier longer-term option of developing their own players?...

[GUBRATS 3,092]

31 minutes ago, RugbyLeagueGeek said:

At the risk of opening a can of worms, is this possibly linked to the reintroduction of promotion and relegation, and teams having to go for the safer short-term option of imports rather than the riskier longer-term option of developing their own players?...

Can opened

[DavidM 8,137]

39 minutes ago, graveyard johnny said:

while Tomkins has fallen away ever since he grew that stupid beard

It is a shocker and no mistake . 

[Gooleboy 650]

Just now, RugbyLeagueGeek said:

At the risk of opening a can of worms, is this possibly linked to the reintroduction of promotion and relegation, and teams having to go for the safer short-term option of imports rather than the riskier longer-term option of developing their own players?...

In the first season of Franchising the SL Clubs brought more overseas players in than ever, and they continued bringing them in.

[RugbyLeagueGeek 568]

11 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

Can opened

Admit it – I've got a point though...

[RugbyLeagueGeek 568]

3 minutes ago, Gooleboy said:

In the first season of Franchising the SL Clubs brought more overseas players in than ever, and they continued bringing them in.

Have you got any stats for that? Would be interested to see them.

[Gooleboy 650]

32 minutes ago, RugbyLeagueGeek said:

Have you got any stats for that? Would be interested to see them.

I will try and find some, but I recall Stevo on Sky who was all for franchising, saying pre season that there would be no need for so many overseas players now that the drawbridge is up, and that Clubs could develop their own talent without the fear of relegation. Then when the season got going he remarked that disappointingly the flow of overseas players arriving showed no sign of abating. Do you honestly think the SL Chairmen, even if Franchising came back, would cut down on overseas players? 

[MatthewWoody 646]

2 hours ago, Gooleboy said:

And the Clubs in SL continue to employ overseas players who aren't good enough for the NRL.

And they become Men of Steel

[flyingking 970]

3 hours ago, Scubby said:

It was a career defining moment for Ryan Hall for sure. Had he gone the length of the field to win the game it would have been all over the news and be one of those Davies/Offiah like clips played again and again! And, of course, Johnson doesn't get a chance as a result!

Also career defining for McNamara, that ball sticks and then in the Four Nations there is a video ref who can see that Hall has touched down, McNamara's legacy would have been two finals and England's most successful coach for generations. 

[Lowdesert 2,588]

21 minutes ago, flyingking said:

Also career defining for McNamara, that ball sticks and then in the Four Nations there is a video ref who can see that Hall has touched down, McNamara's legacy would have been two finals and England's most successful coach for generations. 

That would not suit the agendas on here.

 

 

[RugbyLeagueGeek 568]

55 minutes ago, Gooleboy said:

Do you honestly think the SL Chairmen, even if Franchising came back, would cut down on overseas players? 

I think there will always be a need for overseas players, not least because they add a touch of excitement to the comp.

However, I think that in a situation where a club is near the bottom places in mid-season, we won't see owners and coaches panicking and making short-term stop gap overseas signings to keep them up. I think they'll be far more likely to let the younger players have a go.

If you can manage to dig out any stats I'd be interested in seeing them ta.

Edited November 10, 2019 by RugbyLeagueGeek