NSWRL have helped them out as well.

Talk about letting a game flow, there would have been about 5 red cards had it been reffed over here. Fantastic game though and it's scary how far behind them we are.

If the game was reffed like that the idiots on sky and the fans in this country wouldn't shut up moaning about it. The reason the game will never be as big in this country is the fans and the media moan about pretty much every aspect of our game instead of supporting it.

SOO took a few years to catch on even in NSW and QLD but they stuck with it and its become a huge event. Where as instead of giving the origin concept in this country time to build we decreed it a failure after 2 years. The same will happen to the Exiles game.

loved it, the kick and take by Morrris for NSW last try was simply breathtaking. The only thing that was better than that was the kick on the 1st tackle at a scrum around the 76th minute where Hayne (i think) had to be taken off after taking it in.

Had NSW not kicked it out in goal in the set preceding Thurston's (spectacular) drop goal, I reckon they could've pinched it. Cracking match.

it started off with crowds of 25k+...it has grown over the years and is seen as a must watch TV event on a Wednesday night.......on Free to Air TV.
England v Exiles or English Origin needs to be on the BBC/ITV and needs to be shown in a stadium that is packed....so start in Leigh...sell tickets for a fiver, give the rights to FTA and let it build slowly......within 10 years, it will have attracted more interest, tickets will become harder to get and you can look at selling the TV rights at a premium...

Currently it's of little interest to RL fans, let alone anyone else......

To many head shots. Cheap tactics.

Plenty of "afters" in the tackle...more and more of it creeping into the NRL. It's only a matter of time until someone gets badly hurt.
IMHO, The NRL has become more about the contact and less about the Skill......it's easy to throw a dummy or a step when the idiot facing you is trying to hurt you rather than stop you.

You're not allowed to say that, we all know the NRL is the best thing since sliced bread!

[size=50But I agree with you.[/size

It's rugby league, brutal as hell from minute one. Superleague has nothing on it.

You're not wrong.

What a game!!! A classic.

Wonder what the greatest work of fiction ever written will say? ie. the viewing figures in Oz for Origin.

How did 2 refs, 2 TJ and a VR miss the punch that was thrown by Tait into the face of the tackled player on the ground? Then give the penalty to the retaliating player.

Everything is about the head. Elbows in the face on the ground, getting up of the player by pressing the head into the ground...... rubbish

The game won’t grow when it’s promoted and poorly managed like that was. Great it’s tough but cheaply tough.

Alan Tait playing origin now?? Gallen threw the first punch at the ptb if you watch it, Tate hit Greg Bird in one of the 4 separate tussles! Its origin always a bit of niggle as Gallen said in first match origin has different rules!! 3 sell out crowds 60,000+, 80,000+ and 50,000+ not doing too bad!!! Oh and Tate has been charged!

Record 4.8million viewers! www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entert ... 6417681324

Record 4.8million viewers! www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entert ... 6417681324

Charged? Surely it's not an offence

to hit Greg Bird?

Absolutely nfi. Over 400,000 viewers in the outpost of Melbourne disagree with you.

Absolutely nfi. Over 400,000 viewers in the outpost of Melbourne disagree with you.

That means nothing in isolation. Do you not have a comparator?

The Haye v Chisora fight is a sell out at West Ham next month. Is that good for boxing?

"as Gallen said in first match origin has different rules"

Is that a good thing?

Don't mind it being played tough but grubby fingers in the eye, elbows in the face etc plus the laying on and offside at most play of balls does nothing for the game imo.

Quote ="JB Down Under"Record 4.8million viewers! www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entert ... 6417681324'" Classic stuff. More than 1 in 5 people in the continent of Australia allegedly watched it..... hysterical stuff.

Quote ="JB Down Under"Record 4.8million viewers! www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entert ... 6417681324'" Classic stuff. More than 1 in 5 people in the continent of Australia allegedly watched it..... hysterical stuff.

Enjoyed it very much, the bit of niggle in the game helps, But in a Rugby League sense it was two evenly matched teams that made it the spectacle it was. I enjoy two evenly matched local league sides just as much (just that the skill levels are not the same), If the players put in all they have then any level of our sport is good.