Took a point off Cudjoe for making a mistake in 2 of the Aus tries.

Thought Tomkins looked ineffective and would only give him a 7, Hill very good for a debut would give him a 7.

Tomkins was a constant threat IMO, and the Australians always had to make sure he was covered. He also put in a huge shift.

Whilst Hill did little wrong, he looked totally outclassed and didn't offer anything but simple (and easy to defend) drives in, and fairly solid defence. Perhaps I'm unfairly comparing him with the impact that Graham would have had.

I thought Hill played pretty well.

I thought Hill was superb with George Burgess at the beginning of the game, then when Tom Burgess came on and made 2 errors we seemed to lose it a bit. However it's unfair blaming the shift in the game on him.

I assume rating Tom Burgess's performance higher than Roby's is a typing error?

Tomkins - Ineffective = 7
Hill - Very good = 7

That's some St Helens logic right there.

thats the difference between a world class player and a good superleague player

You either don,t play any golf or you think Hill is a world cup full back.

I agree. I thought the same thing at the time. Hill and George burgess was going well but when we brought Tom burgess and Lee Mossop on the swing of the game went the Aussies way. I'm not sure if that was to do with them not being good enough or the fact the Aussies blew some cobwebs away in the first 20.

It's a shame Jammer and Gaz Hock wasn't out there, I really think those two could have made a huge difference.

I'm not so sure Tom Burgess is ready at this level against the Aussies and the kiwis just yet. He's grew more into the game as it went on but I think it's a year to early against the Aussies and kiwis.

I also don't think Lee Mossop is good enough at this level. He looked totally out of his depth in this game and Imo he's going to struggle big time in the NRL. I'll be vey surpised if parramatta play him. I think he will play most of his rugby in the reserve grade before coming back to Wigan after one season.

See your point.

Also agree that Mossop was poor, I'd rather have seen him starting the game than off the bench. He's a steady prop with a great engine and tackles like a second rower, but adds no impact off the bench.

Graham will rightly replace him next week.

I agree with you on Mossop. He's a good solid super league player but ion he lacks something at the top level and I think he will struggle in the NRL.

I can see him being back in a Wigan shirt in the very near future.

Chris Hill was outstanding, particularly in his first stint.

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Looks like you guys have signed yourself a bit of a monster in Mose Masoe

He did alright tonight didn't he?

He could do with losing few lbs and needs to work on his fitness but he's big, tough, aggressive and pretty mobile. Looks a good signing.

I really enjoyed the kiwi v Samoa match. The atmosphere in the 2nd half was brilliant and really fired Samoa up. All I all it was a good night.

How did he play tonight? Not got Premier Sports

I went the game. He played well. Didn't do many mins but he's certainly a big tough hard running/hitting prop.

If we can get him in better shape and shave few lbs off him he will be a excellent signing.

Masoe in some respects reminded me a bit of Vila Matautia in the sense that he is an assassin.
He destroys opposition packs by not only running at them like a train, but also completely killing them in the tackle.
He put on two or three tackles tonight that absolutely smashed the kiwi players, and had the crowd oohing and uttering four letter words of appreciation at the sheer brutality.

On the negative side however is that he isn't the fittest of blokes and can only play for short spells. Like all big blokes he is vulnerable against small fast nippy players. Saints will need to work him hard in the offseason to prevent him ballooning.

One thing that did surprise me was his passing ability. He can spin out a good 20 yard pass, which means he can be used close to the line as a foil, rather than just a plain battering ram. I can see Saints using this to good effect, similar to how we used to use James Graham in that role.

It was taking on occasion 5 Kiwi players to put him down. This is the Kiwi pack which is absolutely massive. I dread to think what Masoe will do to most SL packs.

Im also wondering if we will look to slim him down a bit. If so he could be a bit like Paul Anderson was for us. He was a big bloke who went to Saints, shed a stone or two and became a far better player than the one at Bradford.

I think Masoe will be the type of player that will really get the crowd going. Home fans will get a lift from his big runs and hits, while opposition fans will probably be calling for his head when he cleans one of their forwards out.
One thing is certain our pack will not be bullied while he is on the field.

Totally agree with all that.

The crowd was lifting every time he took the ball in or did a tackle.

Also, regarding his weight. He seems to have put few lbs on from when he was playing with the panthers.

When was the last time he played?

Just might be that he's not been very active since the panthers season ended

He looks an outstanding impact prop on that showing. His impact was pretty phenomenal and against probably the best pack in the world. He was rattling the likes of Warreah-Hargreaves and Kasiano. With the ball he was powerful too.

His fitness has to be a concern though. He is just an impact prop, we won't see more than 30 minutes a game from him in Super League at that weight. He was only on 15 minutes in the first half and he was constantly only getting back to the attacking line on the 3rd tackle when NZ kicked. There is the danger he could fill out too much and end up a liability like Feka was. They need to stay on top of it and hopefully the other 3 props will be strong enough to lay a platform for him to have an impact and potentially change the game in our favour.

Absolutely outstanding game and atmosphere tonight. Loved it, I've not enjoyed a game so much in years. Outstanding rugby league tonight.

Sonny Bill slipping over the touchline when arrogantly rubbing it in over a late try was the highlight, get that on youtube if you didn't see it.

I agree, I loved the game and the whole event. We got in there a hour and 20 before kick off so we could get a good spec but the time flew with the pre match entertainment.

The RFL actually put a great show on!

Did Samoa have a decent Stand Off?