Another game against the Aussies,another defeat.Surely after all these years without a series win the game in this country is going nowhere.Please don't say we are getting closer,we aren't.The Aussie players are bigger,faster,stronger and more tactically aware than our players.We think we are watching a decent standard in Super League,this proves we are not.After every defeat against the old enemy we get the same old soundbites,they have more playing the game in Aus,it's their national sport,training conditions are better and on and on.Our record against the Aussies is disgraceful,what other sport has a history of defeats like this spreading back over 40 years.I like our game as much as the next person but international games really show just how (good) we are.

I don't know what your point is?

Agree Dabhand, we really should have blooded Gaskell and Lomax in this tournament, Tomkins is wasted at 1, like us at FC the 6 and 7 pivotal roles are so important and we've lacked them for 6 yrs now, Chase and Sinfield v Thurston and Lockyer, just no contest, another ageing pack too, well beaten, and i know its not Westwoods fault, but a 13??

Lomax was Injured.

Think we are on the same wavelength.

Injuries or not we never seem to have a long term strategy.

Fair do's, but they're the type of players we need to be bringing on now,before the Union boys grab them

Is it just me or is graham a bit overrated, i know he puts in alot if minutes but goin forward he just seems to hit the first man and fall to the ground, which may mean he gets a quick ptb at saints but at international level it doesnt work

graham is overated but also the more briscoe plays in same team as ryan hall you realise how average he is

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Not really,considering Sinfield concentrates on looking for Hall all game.

is a good finisher but brilliant at releiving pressure off the team and the forwards when coming out of his own 20. Nearly everytime he leaves people on the floor with 1 square marker or gets a penalty.

I am not saying one is better than the other but to say Briscoe is bang average compared to Hall is just silly.

Maybe we're just crap at sport in this country, we dont have a winning mentality here & are taught growing up that its the taking part that counts

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I know its a different sport but look at English football, its our national sport, we have one of the best leagues in the world yet haven't won a major competition for the last 45 years.

not really look against the aussies he bombed 2 tries which hall would have taken and he was caught by a 2nd row last week when he should have scored i agree he does relieve pressure off the line well though

Briscoe had a torrid time last night for all sorts of reasons but he's far better than average and is one of the best 2 wingers in England. hall has the edge and had a good tournament but Briscoe will learn. thought both him and hall were as good as uate who just happened to be in a good team.

Graham is certainly not over-rated, top quality prop! Not many of our players could make the Aussie line up but I certainly think Graham could be one of them.

I think basicly,it is he is as pi**ed off as the rest of us at the Aussies continually ripping us a new one.

Aren't we all I just couldn't understand what he meant, barring a rant.

It's the same old same old. Our players have barely any brain cells between them and can't concentrate for more that 20 minutes at a time. It's a malaise in our game to varying degrees. Watching England against the Aussies is like watching FC against a top 4 side , you know we'll blow it in the end even if we play to our potential. Briscoe and Yeaman absolutely typified why we keep getting beat at club and International level when they'd clocked off. Hall was doing his damndest to find a way to make something happen whilst Yeaman and Briscoe were waiting for the next play the ball. We see it time and again where players aren't ready for the offload even where the player throws the offload every week in every circumstance. Until we start to unearth players that have sharp brains AND the skill to execute ( we have Sinfield who undoubtedly has the mental capability but is just short of world class ability ) we will always be just behind the Aussies.

We need to keep developing our young players, that's the way forward. However the way the quota system works makes a mockery of it.

Reduce SL to allow more International games but the clubs will never allow this to happen .

Why would you have to reduce Sl?

The fact we need a quota at all speaks volumes.

A demand-side problem to a supply-side problem will raise prices not quality. Not likely by enough to greatly incentivise different behaviour, in this case, IMO.

Australian starting 13 average age - 26.46
England starting 13 average age - 26.53

Not much in it...

Don't know why this is useful.

More space for International fixtures within the season.
Higher intensity of Games more competitiveness with the league.
More quality , Less quantity.

Sky tv wouldn't allow it anyway.