Test RL will not be taken seriously until England compete with Australia. That means that England need to be able to beat them, and for it not to be a complete shock if they do. Uncertainty and tight contests is what makes international RU a sporting event.

Central contracts etc etc won't make squat difference ATM because SL just doesn't produce enough good players. We're struggling to find a single quality halfback and have full back options a million miles behind Australia. Yet our backline options now are better than they have been in years, at least 2-5.

But if we pick Australians more and more then that takes even more pressure off the rfl to encourage the production of quality young players, meaning that in the long term it would only decrease our competitiveness

Also, the Australians didn't take it seriously when the Kiwis beat them three times in a row, and even declined to take part in any post season fixtures, so why would us beating them (especially with a team full of players who may never have been to England before) make any difference?

International RL won't be taken seriously until we have several more top nations competing, not if/when England beat Australia.

People who think the international game can get anywhere when it basically consists of 3 teams needs to give their head a shake. International RU and cricket would struggle if it was only really made up of Eng/NZ/Aus with all the others well below them.

Exactly. Something needs to be done to develop the game in this countries dipping their toes in the water.

In terms of producing players. Our youngsters regularly compete and beat their counterparts. It seems we're struggling turning these kids with potential into top quality players

Not this year they don't. Getting tonked for the second week in a row at the minute. Physically and technically miles behind in the one and a half games of this series so far.

I believe we beat them earlier this year though when the Aussie schoolboys came to England. I agree though that the Aussie backs look better than ours.

A positive from a Leeds perspective though is that Oledzki looked good and was getting on top of his counterpart, in fact the England pack struggled a lot when he went off. Looks like he should be in the first team squad next year.

The Australian backs look good because they're playing off fast ball from their forwards winning collisions. When they put their foot on the gas we don't look quick enough or strong enough to cope with it.

Oledzki went ok, but he needs to work on his lateral movement in defence. Too many times he plants his feet then can't adjust his body if the target moves. Must have been getting fatigued though, IIRC he played the first 30 minutes straight.

What I will say from these two games is I really don't get why people were upset at Morgan Smith moving on. Done very little in either game of note with the ball and his field kicking has been ordinary at best.

But if he is playing on this tour then he must be better than the halves we have in the academy

Whats the age limit for this game btw?

Yep. We need to focus on developing France and Wales. 2 nations that have a basis (albeit a small one) of people who play RL and there's a network to work from and that can be developed.

In my opinion international development in RL should focus sharply on getting France and Wales competitive with England.

The problem with that is that the gap between England and France/Wales is much bigger than the gap between Australia and England. England are focusing on getting close to Australia and rightly so.

Without big name signings from RU, which will never happen again, Wales will never be close to England. With a bit of luck from a couple of star kids in the right positions France could get competitive, but right now they are not much better than Championship standard at full strength. Over time they could get better, but its really hard to see them ever being strong enough to challenge England, let alone Aus/NZ.

And that's the problem and why International RL will never get big because it's only made up of 3 teams.

Imagine if in RU, the Welsh, Irish, French and Scottish teams were as weak/far behind England as their RL counterparts. They probably wouldn't even have a 6 Nations and even if they did it wouldn't be anywhere near the success it is in terms of money/attendances/media coverage with England winning every game every year 50-0. Likewise with the Southern Hemipshere with Argentina and South Africa, the latter a 2 time World Cup winner in RU, in RL they don't even qualify for the WC.

Unless RL gets bigger in other countries (which will take over a decade or more at least) then England beating Australia will be nothing other than a nice moment for long suffering long term RL fans to enjoy. The international equivalent of Wakey finishing above Leeds this season.....something to brag about now for the fans in question but in the long run doesn't mean or change anything.

State of Origin, a 3-game interstate series, is a massive earner for RL here. If Aus-England tests were properly competitive, they could be even bigger, as the wider Australian public has shown a huge appetite for them. The Tri Nations in RU here is also massive. The point is you can make Aus-NZ-England into something very significant in and of itself. 'All' it would take is a competitive England.

That last bit is the hard part. Suggesting that Wales will ever compete with England is pie in the sky. The only other country worth focusing on is France, who at least have some pro players. But it will take an almighty effort for France to get close to the current England team, let alone one which was better.

Same can be said of Cameron Smith on this tour

Except Cameron Smith got voted Man of the Match for GB by the Aussie coaching staff in the second Test.

Still, what do they know?

They know they have to give it to somebody - Leeds had a MOM against Cas at home this season, didn't mean that person covered themselves in glory more a case of best of a bad bunch?

As you say what do they know?

At a guess, I'd say a bit more than me or you.

Still, if you know better...

Lets hope its a bit of a reality check for some of the England Academy. There's nothing wrong with finding out at a young age that you need to improve massively. The future stars from that England team - if there are any - will be the ones who learn from it.

An issue RL in this country has struggled with, IMO.

Young players get into SL sides, think they've made it and stop trying to develop the weak points in their game because they don't have to any more. They can quite happily coast along getting picked every week despite their flaws.

Why it's incredibly important for RL to widen its player pool and create more intense competition for places, starting at Academy level and continuing right up to the first team.

Completely agree

Too true. Watching young SL halfbacks who seemingly don't know how to pass being praised because they are fast drives me nuts. Ditto centres who apparently have no idea why there's somebody standing outside them calling for the ball.

Interestingly, easily the best half backs over the last couple of seasons have been Luke Gale & whoever has been at stand off. Cas's coaching team are 3 ex half backs. Most teams seem to be coached by (brain dead?) ex front rowers.

Think having former halves on the coaching staff can only help younger ones develop. They understand what a half wants and can structure the team in such a way to help them maximise the talent they have. If you watch the way Cas set up in attacking positions, it's all structured around giving Gale options when he goes at the line and letting him make a decision whether to run or pass, and if he is going to pass which runner he wants to hit.

That said, you can put all the structures you like in place but if a young player isn't prepared to put the hours in on the training pitch to make sure their passing is sharp and accurate under pressure then it's wasting your time. See so many young halves who look up and if they see half a gap their first instinct is to tuck the ball under their arm and throw a huge sidestep, irrespective of what play might be on outside them. George Williams is a prime example, yet he got in the England side. Where's the incentive for him to go away and work on his game awareness, passing and understanding of structures?

Well we can probably thank Powell for developing Sinfield McGuire and Burrow for us

Good point. I would like to think Williams has enough in his head to realise he has the opportunity to be an England fixture. His problem is there is no-one at Wigan with much HB experience & he is playing alongside the most limited international HB I have ever seen, which almost illustrates your point again. Hopefully, for Williams' career, the arrival of the excellent Leuluai will aid his development.