A superb display by Australia, an exhibition game in fact, but hardly the game this great world cup deserved as a closer. Looks like the tight win over England took to much out of the Kiwis. They lacked intensity from Haka to final whistle. Back to Business as usual for the Australians.

New Zealand were poor but at least the best player in the world SBW turned up and performed, no......really.

Queue those who were drooling over a Aus/NZ final for weeks/months/years coming out with the line "well the scoreline would've been twice as big if it was England were there instead."

Why have the dig at one player? Is there any need.

New Zealand lost as soon as Silverwood was appointed ref. never came close on the day though. Just couldn't get the key players working in the right areas. Australia's offside defence just kept it's line strong.

Just shows the negativity in RL. When Spain beat Italy 4-0 in soccer, it was hailed as fantastic and Spain being great. In RL it's a dissapointment, and somehow the ref comes into it

Maybe be best to remember that when you do it next year about a Leeds player.



Yes, the ref made SO much difference to the result. If Silverwood wanted the Aussies to win so bad then why go to the screen 3 times, why not just give both Cooper efforts in the 1st half if he was so in the Aussies favour as you hint to?

That's what's wrong with our GREAT GAME, too many so called supporters who are all too ready to point out the negatives. We can do without them.
I think the Australians gave an almost perfect display of how to play rugby league. And I think that New Zealand had too much taken out of them by a very good England team in the semis.

Well done to the RFL for putting on a great tournament.

Don't let this forum speak for all RL supporters because it certainly doesn't. Great tournament.

I know Seth, I didn't say [i'all',[/i I said too many.

Silverwood had a decent game.

NZ not at the races, turned off when Morris scored and fell down the hole, I'm told I should watch them and appreciate just how good they are, sorry, I prefer a contest over quality and it was tedious knowing NZ just couldn't compete.

So the only team to score a try against the Australians in this tournament? And not just one try either.

England would certainly have had a dig this afternoon, which is more than you can say for New Zealand. Flat as a pancake from minute one, the injury to Tuivasa-Sheck left them horribly exposed down that right hand side.

Today could never compete with last weeks epic. Still a good advert for RL though, love them or hate them, the Australians are a joy to watch. I've gone from being quite non-plussed pre tournament to being gutted its over!

Only disappointment was that England were not in the final.

Still not recovered fro last week.

A dig for 20 minutes then we would have been steamrollered by Australia

We wouldn't have done better today

It wasn't that the kiwis were bad, I just think that Australia were sublime. They were embarrassed 5 years ago and they left nothing to chance. A complete performance. It was a good game. Just one sided

The game was never a contest because only one front row turned up. At this level the Kiwis need every player to hit his potential to have a chance, and too many were poor. I'd actually credit SBW for having a dig, he was effectively playing as an extra pivot at one stage because the Kiwi halves were so poor. One other thing I noticed was that the Kiwis consistently lost the collision meaning that there was regularly only one defender (if any) and the Aussies could pretty much play as they wanted. Compare this with the way Aus put pressure on Johnson every time he was kicking and then stopped to block the oncoming chasers. Australia were on a different planet today.

Overall the World Cup has been a roaring success, with tremendous support. It's a golden opportunity to improve the profile of the sport, let's hope the governing body can take it.

A poor contest, poor seating at Old Trafford, no seating on the ridiculously over-crowded trains going to and coming back from Old Trafford all coupled to end a really enjoyable World Cup on a very low note. Even the train at 9.35 from Dewsbury was packed to the rafters.

Packed trains going to a sporting event? Whatever next?

Packed trains I can understand, but not when one massive reason for it is that the only run a two-carriage train.

I find it hard to believe the match was solely the reason for the total mayhem at Manchester Piccadilly station last night. People were virtually fighting to get on trains,its a wonder people didn't end up falling on the track ! British Transport Police did a great job ( of keeping out of the way ! )

8.40am from Leeds was insane and the 8.40pm Manchester to Scarborough was hell on earth

The roads were bad as well, took us 3 hours to get to the ground from York

LOL at people that:

a) are saying new zealand were poor. Shows such a lack of insight into the technical aspects of the game. Cam smith holds the ball up in a 5 metre in goal from 40 metres out, and the chase is so strong (from 40 metres out) that a drop out is forced. Plays like that piled pressure on New Zealand and the execution of australias attacking plays was such that they were near unstoppable. That's not NZ been poor, that's australia being superb.

B) Think england would have done any better. They wouldn't have stopped any of the tries that australia scored and would likely have faltered more under the pressure australia were able to apply.

C) Are dissapointed with the final. Just because the result wasn't in doubt until the end. Boo f*cking hoo. Games between leigh and hunslet have the result in doubt. The level of quality on show from the aussies was breathtaking.

A) at times they looked as though they were caught in the headlights

B) I think the score line would have been bigger if it was us

C) I enjoyed watching a side in their pomp

I think New Zealand were poor. There was a lack of energy in the side displayed from the very start.

Yeah, they lacked energy, right from the start when they ran the ball in as hard as they ever have and the australian defenders hit them harder, eventually resulting in a knock on after a few hit ups.





If they'd lacked energy, they'd have lost by much more.