Of course you can mark a kicker out of the game.

Watkins knees to the head was totally accidental the shoulder to Sinfields back was late and intentional the two incidents are in no way comparable

Agree. And that's a side to his game that has really come on in the last couple of years.

If a kicker stands deep enough off the play the ball how do you mark him out of getting his kick away?
Sinfield was not marked out last night at all, players that get targeted get run at in attack and moved up on fast in defence, that did not happen.
It was not a shoulder in Sinfields back it was a push, I will post the stills if it bothers you that much, even the biased commentary said as much.

Knees to the head accidental or not should have been looked at again, it barely got a mention.
If it had been Slater on Hall it would have been a massive issue.

[iChristopher wrote
Also To the poster who singled out McGuire, he didn't look 100% fit to me but to say he had no impact is wrong, for a start he created halls try with a fantastic cut out pass, he also created a few breaks with similar passes throuout the game[/i

That must be me.
If he is not fit enough to compete he should have told the medical staff and not taken the field, that is a massive cop out.
A player that is not able to compete is letting his team mates down, don't Leeds have players to cover injuries?
A couple of cut out passes are not that big a contribution are they? some players throw a dozen a game, some lead to something many do not.
What did he do himself running the ball taking the defensive line to unlock the Storms structure?

Well besides a insults aimed at my direction, I've just had excuses like the " pack was beaten, he was put u der pressure" so what! What do you think is going to happen on the WC. We will be playing against world class players who will be in your face giving you no time on the ball. Sinfield has to rise to it, the reason I singled him out is because we've seen him do this before against an Aussie side. He is our captain and he is meant to lead the team and take on the opposition like Peacock did. Just concerning that I can see the exact same thing happening come WC. I started this thread as an England fan questioning whether our captain was good enough in a big game. The answer was no.

By the way Widdop didnt't cover himself in glory either, but he's not nailed on for the 6 shirt or going to be our captain.

Widdop can do better though, many say he looks good because who he has around him, I think in some ways that is the problem, he defers to some of the best in their positions in the World, he should change Clubs when his contract expires and establish himself on his own ability.

The shoulder/ push to Sinfield doesn't bother me at all pal, I didn't bring it up. It was a penalty and that was it.

The knee was totally accidental Watkins could do nothing about it in fact if you watch it he looked to be jumping out of the way as the storm player dived to get the ball.

As for the posters rant on unfit players letting the team mates down I said he didn't look 100% fit to me, I have no idea if this is the case.

Look Leeds were beaten by a better side but not by much it was a great game and is a joy to see the best players in the world playing live.

I thought you meant this.
[iPathetic thread really, Sinfiels was totally marked out of the game (illegally at one point) [/i he got a late push not a swinging arm to the Jaw.

Was he taken out illegally twice?

I hear what you are saying, my reply is if you are not fit enough to compete you should not take the field as you are letting your Team and Fans down, If you are fit then you get judged on your performance, its that simple.
If you take the field fit and take a knock and have to stay on as there are no replacements on the bench for your position that is something totally different.

It was a good game at times, it could have easily been by 12 points more if some of the controversial forward pass decisions had not gone Leeds way.

Ok fair enough I did mention it and it was illegal as it was a penalty (not making an issue if it!), I was using it as an example if Sinfield being a marked man.

It shows what a good player he is, that after one poor performance there is a 5 page thread dedicated to snipers discussing it.

I actually agree with you on players not being fit where I disagree is that you said McGuire had no impact when he clearly did

Ok

Jealous are we, be a while before we are using Bradford Bulls and WCC in the same sentence so I wouldn't worry too much.

And what do you think will happen if we play someone else at 6 in the WC and they're playing behind a beaten pack and been giving no time on the ball? Do you honestly think they'll somehow raise above that?

The problem last night (and for England looking at how they'll probably line up) is other players kicking. Last night it was always 'give it to Sinfield on the last' and Melbourne always went after him. Their was no need to always go to Sinfield for the kick as Burrow (a great 40/20 in the GF) and McGuire can also kick well at times but we didn't put any doubt in the minds of the Storm about who would recieve it on the 5th. Like I mentioned above England will probably have the same worry because of just leaving all kicking duties to Sinfield. If you know one player is going to end up with the ball 90% of the time on the 5th it makes things a lot easier to read.

Are you one of them?

Agree with this, I thought Widdop was the most disappointing player on the night and many would have him nailed on for the 6 jersey for England for only one reason... he plays for the NRL champions

it is only one game at the start of their season so i wouldnt write him off just yet.

That game is why ours is the best sport in the world. Great spectacle. I think Kevin Sinfield is a very fine rugby league footballer but he went 'missing' on Friday night.

I agree, I thought Widdop was very poor and looks like an average player in a very good team. Melbourne need cheap, and lets face it average, players like him in the team so they can keep the Slaters, Cronks and Smiths. Put him at a Hull or Bradford and no one would even be mentioning him for England.

Reed is another who is massively over hyped, every game I saw him last season he was poor and weak defensively but he plays in the NRL so lets make him a shoe in.

When Leeds needed him in the last 20mins he couldn't step up to the plate. A sign of a truly great player is to dig your team out of a hole and win the game. Sinfield is a quality player but not a great player imo.

He's done that in plenty games for Leeds, just not this one. He is a great of the game, and history will prove this. He has actually won MOM in a win against Melbourne.

He's done that in plenty games for Leeds, just not this one. He is a great of the game, and history will prove this. He has actually won MOM in a win against Melbourne.

Oh look, it's the old English sporting disease again.

The good players are brilliant, until they have a bad game and then they're rubbish.

It's waiting in the wings for the likes of Joe Root and Owen Farrell, it'll be their turn for it soon.

Sinfield has stepped up in countless big games for Leeds. Last Friday wasn't his best performance in a Leeds shirt, but it was far from being as bad as some are making it out to be.

In direct comparison to one of the other contenders for the England number six shirt in the World Cup, he looked like Lockyer and Benji Marshall combined. I'll give Widdop another year at Melbourne before he's hawking himself around SL looking for a deal

Hear hear to this. Don't ever be any good at what you do, because you'll finish up with more critics than admirers. I am not, and never will be a Leeds fan, but Sinfield for me never lets them down and has won many a match for them.

My god all these people agreeing with me now after I was slated a few weeks ago for saying the same kind of thing. He's a great goal kicker no doubt but it's only because he has a decent team behind him that he wins all those accolades. The amount of last tackle kicks he puts out on the full, the amount of knock ons and forward passes he throws will never make him a worthy Golden Boot winner. I said there would be at least 50 NRL players worthy of that title before him and we saw 17 of them in a Melbourne shirt on Friday. For those that say it's for his leadership skills then where are those skills when the Rhinos have been getting beaten on a regular basis for the first 2/3 of the season in the last 2 years. While we have him as an England captain we won't have a cat in hells chance of winning the world cup.