The Clue is in the Subject

We go through the same thing every year and it's always ''they're light years ahead''

''My great great great grandchildren won't see us win a series''

''SCRAP THE SALARY CAP''





Ap will be celebrating tonight.

blame Leeds Rhinos and Kevin Sinfield and jump on the band wagon, its always Kevs fault

I don't think they are lightyears ahead. I don't think it has anything to do with that.

We still have the same weaknesses because our clubs are not addressing them. Our backline and our halfbacks are weak. You can't go and play the best team in the world with a weak backline and weak halves. Sure we got all cozy as a team this time around but that cannot replace talent and skill.

Personally, I don't believe that there isn't the talent and skill out there here in the UK. I just don't think enough clubs are committed to bringing it through.

Also, we revere the Aussie players too much in this country. Just now on Twitter the media are all drooling over Lockyer. Sure, he's a great player. But we need to stop drooling.

Once again we've talked the good talk. Not sure MOM Thurston should have been on the field after the tackle on Hall (I will have to watch it again) but that apart they were slicker at handling, made more ground than us and as the name of the thread the Aussies are years ahead of us.

We were beaten in the forwards tonight, they were slightly better than us in every area. A little bit faster, a little bit stronger, a little bit cleverer plus a big dose of assistance from the reffing.
We played a bit within ourselves and they played strongly.
They are certainly not years ahead of us, just a bit that's all.

The things is, rugby league is a ruthless, unforgiving sport.

If you are just slightly deficient in little areas, then it will show on the scoreboard. It will always show in the scoreboard. There are no hiding places.

In other sports you can blag it.

If last weeks england v spain football game was a rugby league match and the play followed a similiar pattern, then spain would have won by a big scoreline.

Australia do all the little things, that bit better than england. If england think they have driven the ball in hard, australia will drive it in harder.

They offload at the right moment, they pass at the right times, the dummy runners and receivers come into play at the perfect time.

If they were as far ahead of us as some will have you believe, they would be putting MASSIVE scorelines on us, because rugby league is an unforgiving sport.

Simply out played and could have been worse had video ref not chalked off a try for them. What about phil clark on rat boys failed attempt catching the high bomb , " no one in the world could have caught that " biased pie to the end.

Once they get any sort of momentum they've got the skill ,pace and power to make it count and on a higher level than us.
We can debate the pros and cons of every position but they hit you as a TEAM and defend the same way and more often than not always remain composed when they are threatened or concede.
I think overall we've done well the likes of Jack Reed ,Roby ,Hall and Tomkins have decent futures at this level imo and i think we can give them a game the challenge is producing the other components within the team to take it to the next level because the Kiwis have quality to come back and will be stronger come the WC plus the Aussies are producing every season so whilst we have an uphill struggle we still have positives to take us forward.

Josh -RE-Clarke absolute embaressment tonight even Stevo put him right.

Never. We had the most biased pie sat behind us.

'If Sammy wasn't on the field England would have had no flair'
'Sammy was taken out everytime he dropped the high ball'
'Sammy wasn't protected under the high ball'
'Sammy is the only one making a break and no-one's backing Sammy up'

etc etc we were subjected to 80 minutes of this blurb

I think I'll hear her screeching Sammy's name in my sleep.

What do we expect when we have a team of individuals on the pitch and the fans only cheer for their club players

Great first post - Lets hope your future post are as accurate and informed



I was there tonight and booed every player except those who play their domestic football at Headingley.

I'm really glad that the only point scorers tonight were Leeds players - don't know what I'd have done if the likes of Graham, Roby or Chase would have scored - I'd have just had to leave the ground there and then in total disgust.

It's stlll the same old story at the end of the day.
We can just about live with them for 60 minutes then the superior skill, power and fitness take over.
We are still several years behind them in all aspects of the game and the lack of talent in the English game will do nothing to alter that.

Chase should have had the respect and loyality to his own country and demonstrated this buy refusing steve Macs request to pull an england shirt on he will end up in no mans land.

Chase went to McNamara, not the other way around.

What a surprise

Years ahead,,and they beat us without the best fullback on the planet...Phew...

Billy slater may have been missing but they had Darren Lockyer the best true loyal Australian half back in the world who does not have an Identity problem you cut him in half and hes green and gold all the way through. Its time the R F L reconised and develop true red and white and if you like blue. Sort it or you will always fail.

Consider yourself lucky. We had the Rangi Chase fan club behind us, doing their very best to confirm every worst prejudice ever written on these boards about the genteel country folk of Castleford.

Brian Carney is the best commentator on Sky and he always gives an informed & unbiased opinion.

Saying that I much prefer the BBC commentary !

One thing I hope results from last night is that Sky will stop trying to build all the hype surrounding certain players that they seem to favour.
As for the game itself, although we were in touching distance with 60 minutes gone we were lucky to be so and never really troubled Oz.
What really dissapointed me were the some of the shocking errors in our own 20 which came from just complete lack of concentration.

Australia were (and are) better than us in every department of the team - full back, three quarters, half back, front row, back row and bench, with the biggest differences in the half backs and three quarters (and full back last night). Even though we have some quality players in some positions - Graham, Roby, Peacock, Ellis, Hall, Tomkins (thought not last night), they have players who are at least as good, if not better. They did every facet of the game better than England last night - running, tackling, kicking, chasing, passing, ball movement, exit sets, applying pressure, creating chances etc. Only some good last-ditch defending to deny chances to Uate, Yow Yeh, Williams, and a very iffy video ref call to deny Lawrence a try meant that we were still in the game at half time - 8-6 flattered us! Australia could have run in 40-50 yesterday - they were that dominant - had Lockyer got the final kick, Lawrence's try being given and converted that's another 8 points just like that.

So, yet again, we are outplayed by Australia when it matters and we now have the inquest into why and what can we do to catch up. To misquote Sean Connery in the Untouchables: "Do we really want to catch up? What are we prepared to do?". Are we prepared to reduce the size of Super League to 12 or even 10? Are we prepared to play fewer games if that will help? To put proper measures in place to encourage or demand all clubs to nurture and promote young talent rather than imports (which franchising was supposed to do but hasn't) by doing something bold like reducing the salary cap but excluding Club Trained players from it? Will the powers that be force clubs to have the quota of Club Trained players which Harlequins, Huddersfield, Hull KR, Salford and Wakefield didn't meet last year (according to Rugby League World) as clubs are allowed to count 'Club Trained Whilst There' players - basically someone you signed whilst still academy age (e.g. Jay Pitts)? We shall see but I have my doubts.

Finally, the worst part of last night was the booing of Johnathan Thurston. His high tackle on Hall was not malicious and not a sending off offence and we got the penalty try for it. He is a great player, up there with the best scrum halves I have seen (along with Sterling and Johns) and in my opinion the best player in the world (although I'd have given Sam Thaiday last night's MOTM). It's a shame he isn't appreciated.

Agree with much of your post, and Thurston is indeed a very, very special talent, but I can't remember a game where a player guilty of a foul that leaves a player dazed on the ground or seriously injured hasn't been booed for most of the rest of the game. It adds enormously to the atmosphere and is a great part of the excitement of being in a large partisan crowd.
I was certainly a 'booer' when it happened, as were most of the people around me, but that didn't in any way detract from my appreciation of the extraordinary skill and quickness of mind he displayed for most of the game.

Same old story, until England have at least 12 world class players we will struggle to compete. We currenty have 6 or 7. Having said that I still think its as much a mental issue as a physical one. It seemed that whilst some of the players had that inner belief they could win it, but the majority didn't - hence there was some panic rugby at times it just wasn't needed.

It doesn't help that our own media/press put the Australian team on such a high pedastal either. Don't get me wrong, Lockyer has been a fantastic servant to the sport but could you see the Australian press gloryfying one of our retiring greats in such a manner?