Eddie and Stevo are currently choking on their afternoon brews having read that Sir Kevin Sinfield is not even in the top 100.

Basically , an Australian list of sprinkled players.

Look at Tomkins rating.

They've decided NRL based player only for one to ten , then slotted Tomkins in as the best player outside of the NRL owned top ten.
As for Sam Moa have you seen him play this year ? he's reinvented himself ( didn't see him in the ESL ) but he has taken his career seriously and gone from average to a key impact forward in Easterns Suburbs premiership campaign.
Eastwood....well he's not that flash but again he's going alright in his NRL return.
Watching the ESL top sides going around this season that list starts to smell with the lack of superleague rating.

Some of the order is patently ridiculous but you wouldn't go far past a better 1 - 4 best players in the world.

Best thing about the World cup is the players get to make a nonsense of the list......not long to wait now , one more sleep

Danny Brough made the list ROFL

I was always a massive fan of Greg Bird when he was in SL. I thought he was head and shoulders the best player in our comp.

Few more sell outs on the horizon: www.rlwc2013.com/rugby-league-wo ... ggest-ever

Few more sell outs on the horizon: www.rlwc2013.com/rugby-league-wo ... ggest-ever

Steve McBanana has walked out of the press conference after being asked why James Graham isn't playing. He was asked 3 times and wouldn't provide an answer before leaving. If his reason for not playing him is due to the Hock incident, I believe it was a perfect opportunity to put a real marker down about the standards expected and show himself as a genuine leader. Now I'm afraid he looks like a bit of a clown on national telly!

Sorry to inform you but . Sir Kevin Sinfield was not included on that list as it was a certain that he would have ended as No.1 and that it would not be fair for the likes of Slater, Smith, Inglis, Tomkins as if Sir Kevin was to be included it would be him at No.1 and everyone else in the world sharing second as they would not get a vote as all the people asked were voting for him.

After all he is the best player of all time and people like Boston, Hanley, Sullivan all bow to him as he is better than every player Before him, during him and after him.

I love it! The Referees sponsored by specsavers.

You couldn't make it up!!!

Genius idea by someone at Specsavers to spot that opportunity

I think they sponsor referees in quite a few different sports

Yep. Didnt they start off by sponsoring the ref in the SPL (some form of Scottish footie anyway) ?

Is he your dad.

How can sinfeild be the golden boot winner then 6 or 7 months later not even make the list of top 100 players in the world?

it would be interesting to see what team an Aussie/Kiwi/French journo would pick.
A genuinely neutral view would be interesting/informative.
After all - no matter how much we try to be impartial, the fact that we are on this forum would tend to say that we would find hard to genuinely independent

Some match that between New Zealand and Samoa. Full House too.
Different commentary from Voss who knew the players well due to most of them playing in the NRL. His off the cuff comments were good, that one about the Rodney and local culture made me smile
Looking good for the Tournament with games like that and sold outs being around the grounds.

I have to say that was a quality exhibition of rugby league. It has given me a better appreciation of the international game and gone some way to change my mind towards this competition vs an Ashes series.

It was a great atmosphere at the HJ as Samoa mounted their come back.

It's been a good opening weekend for the tournament. The OZzurri impressed on Saturday as well.

What a spectacle at the HJ, if you were in two minds whether to go, you missed out. It was absolutely fantastic, had everything. And for that price, you cannot go wrong.

Fair play to the (mostly) Warrington crowd they did Rugby League proud tonight.

Perhaps the colour choice is not so genius.
How can you respect a referee dressed in pink ?

[urlhttps://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201996666216579&set=vb.1183357916&type=2&theater[/url

The Haka from tonight's match

Yes the atmosphere was fantastic, a real throw back for me to the big games at Central Park. Sad that the all-seater DW will never generate anything like this.

Not been to a GB v Australia match at The DW then? Cracking atmosphere at the 2003 game.

Fuji v Ireland sold out apparently.

Great news.

The DW I suspect will be close to full for the quarter final as it looks like and England fixture there.

Ireland are playing against a camera company?

:2mueasp2

I'm Irish for the night tonight (and I bought the QF ticket at ours on the basis that it would in all likelihood be an England game, so I wasn't too nonplussed driving through the monsoon on Saturday night). Looking forward to cheering Pat on for the last time.

However: not been to Spotland since I was a nipper, does anyone know what the parking's like round there? The various sites say it's all (or mostly) residential [[url:2mueasp2http://www.footballgroundguide.com/rochdale/[/url. ??