2008 WCC :: 29 Feb :: Leeds 11 Melbourne 4 @ Elland Rd, Leeds UK

[munro200]

As a Melbourne fan, I would say I am more frustrated than disappointed about this mornings performance. Leeds just played the conditions better (Matt Diskin is a quality player!!!), and Tigers fans should be very happy about Jones-Buchanan coming to the NRL next year.

A question to the people here:
Do you think any other NRL team (at the moment) would of come to Leeds and won (espescially in those conditions)? Personally I don't think so

 

[RainMan]

and Tigers fans should be very happy about Jones-Buchanan coming to the NRL next year.

I think Tigers fans would be happy about Ellis coming?

 

[westie]

im confussed what your trying to say?

i dont have the list of melbourne gf team in front of me, but not sure those 4 players played in the gf. quinn did.

donald avg.

i think Ellis will be a 1st grader in nrl. and be very solid.

Peacock would go abit better then ellis.

webb, is world class.

toopi had a gd season.. but teams worked him out real fast. hince why went to england.

burrow wouldnt make it in nrl.

Maguire, i loved to see how he goes in nrl. im not sure he would handle it well. but would like to see him have a go. im not sure he would make a big impact in nrl.

JJB, has impressed me whenever i watch him... how old is he?

Sorry, referring to your last point about most not being able to cut it. I would beg to differ both on what ive seen in the NRL and Super League.

 

[Th1rteen]

Haha, best team in the world? That's debatable.

Your Rhinos.. as stated, beat a depleted, out of comfort, pre-season Melbourne Storm club to take the title of best rugby league club, not team.

The World Cup this year will decide who the best team is.

I believe it was your commentators who said they won the title of "best club" not actually "best team".

I'd be very surprised if the Rhinos would ever score 4 points against the Storm if they were at full-strength, had played 4 rounds of the NRL and were playing in Australia.

A) I do not support Leeds Rhinos.
B) How is it Leeds fault that Melbourne are depleted, out of comfort and pre-season. They face whoever is infront of them. I agree that the game should be played after both Grand Finals but the Storm did prepare with matches in Australia as well as against Halifax. If they needed more preparation then they could have played more matches in England. I'm actually quite surprised though because Melbourne Storm have been one of the few NRL Champions to take this match seriously. It is taken hugely serious here in England and is regarded as the third biggest match in Rugby League.
C) Okay, I meant domestically. Obviously the WC winners side would beat them.
D) You (most Australians) always seem to underestimate Super League Europe. I do believe the Rhinos could score 4 points against Storm in Australia. You also must remember that Leeds aren't really used to those conditions either! Weather like that is more December and is very unusual for late February. It is annoying because I think the game would have been alot better had it not been chucking it down. The fact is that the winners of the NRL and Super League played eachother, Leeds won. It is not 100% fair yes, it can be made more fair, but nothing (from us) can be done about it. I would love for the game to be played abroad after Grand Finals but the argument against that is the GF would become a 'semi-final'. But the teams played eachother, Leeds won, it makes Leeds top of the tree.
E) Oh and I presume this years World Cup is rubbish then. All games are being played in Australia, surely that will mean 9 teams will be out of comfort??? I think that will be my excuse of choice if England lose against Australia in the Autumn. :crazy:
F) And finally I'm not plugging it but the BBC have done well with their WCC coverage. There is the match report, match reactions, photos and text commentary. There might be video news reports on there too (as it's the top sports story!). In about 12 hours time the match should be on the BBC iPlayer (watch and download) and you may be able to listen to the match again on Radio Five. Link

 

[t-ba]

Sorry, referring to your last point about most not being able to cut it. I would beg to differ both on what ive seen in the NRL and Super League.

Do the same for a side like Wakey or Quins and see how many first grade standard players you can find...

 

[whippy]

A) I do not support Leeds Rhinos.
B) How is it Leeds fault that Melbourne are depleted, out of comfort and pre-season. They face whoever is infront of them. I agree that the game should be played after both Grand Finals but the Storm did prepare with matches in Australia as well as against Halifax. If they needed more preparation then they could have played more matches in England. I'm actually quite surprised though because Melbourne Storm have been one of the few NRL Champions to take this match seriously. It is taken hugely serious here in England and is regarded as the third biggest match in Rugby League.
C) Okay, I meant domestically. Obviously the WC winners side would beat them.
D) You (most Australians) always seem to underestimate Super League Europe. I do believe the Rhinos could score 4 points against Storm in Australia. You also must remember that Leeds aren't really used to those conditions either! Weather like that is more December and is very unusual for late February. It is annoying because I think the game would have been alot better had it not been chucking it down. The fact is that the winners of the NRL and Super League played eachother, Leeds won. It is not 100% fair yes, it can be made more fair, but nothing (from us) can be done about it. I would love for the game to be played abroad after Grand Finals but the argument against that is the GF would become a 'semi-final'. But the teams played eachother, Leeds won, it makes Leeds top of the tree.
E) Oh and I presume this years World Cup is rubbish then. All games are being played in Australia, surely that will mean 9 teams will be out of comfort??? I think that will be my excuse of choice if England lose against Australia in the Autumn. :crazy:
F) And finally I'm not plugging it but the BBC have done well with their WCC coverage. There is the match report, match reactions, photos and text commentary. There might be video news reports on there too (as it's the top sports story!). In about 12 hours time the match should be on the BBC iPlayer (watch and download) and you may be able to listen to the match again on Radio Five. Link

leeds can only beat the team thats in front of them. they have done well.

and i reckon the WCC should stay in england. if it was played in aussie it wouldnt have got close to 33k in that weather.. 5k max. and even in good weather i reckon 12k max. the WCC should stay in england where at least the fans get out to watch it and hold it highly.

 

[Dutchy]

Storm were out-refereed. Not out-played.

 

[Shorty]

Ok here we go.
As I can see the usual suspects of the WCC claiming once again that they're a superior team despite the fact they're playing well into their season and always have the home ground/weather advantage.

Tell me this,why is it that mid year or end of year with Tri-Nations or whatever you always get your *ss kicked by us? Hmm?

Nobody is taking away the fact that the teams SL are usually very good but you cannot leave out the big *ss home advantage/season advantage that you have.
It's like a little kid getting a 3 meter head start in a 6 meter run...

I've said it once and I'll say it again,until you actually consistently belt us on even grounds you've got nothing.


Ok the game,Rhinos were awesome and their 9 is superb as was Webb.
Storm were typically self destructing when things didn't go their way,however Slater was notably good and Geyer was notably awful....
The loss of Smith and their X-factor Inglis dented their confidence.

Crowd was great,it's good to hear the crowd getting into things.
The ref was an idiot and tossing a coin on who he'd give a penalty to next.

And last but not least,the f**king idiotic commentators oh god I really feel for SL supporters because these guys are an embarrassment if it wasn't the forgetting of names or the bumbling of words or the complete and total utter bias!
I expect a commentator to be biased but I don't expect them to be as biased as a 10 year old.
I will watch it with the sound down from now on.

In conclusion great game,Leeds were good but had the usual advantages.

 

[Bicey_18]

Your not wrong about the bias....

Saying that they have the best young talent in the world in Sam Burgess? He goes ok but seriously.. better than Falou, Inglis, Hayne etc?

And I was waiting for Stevo to make the "One Point eddie" comment and it came sure enough

 

[Where Eagles Dare]

Now I see why we let Scott Donald go. We sent him as insurance. We knew his class alone would take whatever team he was playing for to premiership glory over there, so that if we were to be defeated in a grand final, he would be there to exact our revenge come WCC day. I thank you for your sacrifice Mr. Donald. The game's next immortal.

 

[DeeGan]

World Club Champions 2008 - Leeds Rhinos

Commiserations to Melbourne though congrats to the Melbourne team for the way they handled themselves in all facets in regards to the game. There wasn't a stone left unturned and this loss will be a bitter pill to swallow.

Melbourne weren't firing on all cylinders, we know that, this game proves nothing in terms of who is the best club side in the world. With all things equal, all players fit and available, Melbourne win 9 times out of 10. But, it ain't a perfect world and Leeds were too good on the day albeit with a lot of advantages on their side.

The Australian Kiwi Brent Webb has to be considered in an "World's Best Fullback" debate. I saw most Leeds games last season (thanks Bobby!!) and he was a class above more often than not. This season he has been strong as well. A very, very good player.

 

[Noa]

Ok here we go.
As I can see the usual suspects of the WCC claiming once again that they're a superior team despite the fact they're playing well into their season and always have the home ground/weather advantage.

Tell me this,why is it that mid year or end of year with Tri-Nations or whatever you always get your *ss kicked by us? Hmm?

Nobody is taking away the fact that the teams SL are usually very good but you cannot leave out the big *ss home advantage/season advantage that you have.
It's like a little kid getting a 3 meter head start in a 6 meter run...

I've said it once and I'll say it again,until you actually consistently belt us on even grounds you've got nothing.


Ok the game,Rhinos were awesome and their 9 is superb as was Webb.
Storm were typically self destructing when things didn't go their way,however Slater was notably good and Geyer was notably awful....
The loss of Smith and their X-factor Inglis dented their confidence.

Crowd was great,it's good to hear the crowd getting into things.
The ref was an idiot and tossing a coin on who he'd give a penalty to next.

And last but not least,the f**king idiotic commentators oh god I really feel for SL supporters because these guys are an embarrassment if it wasn't the forgetting of names or the bumbling of words or the complete and total utter bias!
I expect a commentator to be biased but I don't expect them to be as biased as a 10 year old.
I will watch it with the sound down from now on.

In conclusion great game,Leeds were good but had the usual advantages.

Odd statement.

Typically would suggest they "self-destruct" all the time. Their record over the last 2 years suggests otherwise. Particulary when you take into account that no team has a better record at coming back from a half-time deficit over that period or winning despite not scoring first.

 

[Shorty]

Odd statement.

Typically would suggest they "self-destruct" all the time. Their record over the last 2 years suggests otherwise. Particulary when you take into account that no team has a better record at coming back from a half-time deficit over that period or winning despite not scoring first.

If you read my statement correctly I said when things didn't go their way as in were behind or struggling against a team that's attacking.

Are you suggesting to me that Geyer played a good game at hooker?

 

[Noa]

OK, if you meant that its typical for a team to fall apart when things arent going there way then I did read it differently. I took it as a suggestion that its typical for Storm fall apart when their on the back foot which isnt true as no team wins more when the stats indicate they shouldnt.

In regards to Geyer as I first said a couple of pages ago Geyer was SLOW and soft as a butterfly. He should have had the good sence to retire last year when he looked past it.

You bolded the awful part in your first post.

 

[Iafeta]

Lauititi... benchie for Leeds. Voted best second rower in NRL.

Ellis - belts the Aussies.

Peacock - Belts the Aussies.

Webb - top class in the tri-nations, making aus look silly at times.

Senior - put the fear of god into the Aussies for years. Hopefully recapturing some form leading into the WC.

Toopi - I swear he was voted best centre in the NRL during the Warriors '02 run. Rubbish in England.

Burrow - Ducked straight through the Melbourne defense on a pitch most Storm players except Slater couldn't handle.

Maguire - Scored plenty of tries internationally. Also scored 39 in one season. I'd love to see an aussie do that in either comp.

JJB - Smashed plenty of purple tonight.

Diskin - Man of the match.

Donald - Pretty average player, but always had a knack of scoring in the NRL just as in superleague.

Need I bother going on?

Look at some of the players at Melbourne. Manu, Tagataese, Lima, Blair, Quinn. Not far from reserve graders if it wasn't for Bellamy's skill as a coach.

Ali has looked a long way off the old Ali for some time, NRL or ESL, and hence why his Kiwis career is basically done and dusted.

Topoi was the biggest defensive turnstyle in the NRL. He did have one good season, offensively, but still defensively he was fragile. He's no loss to the Warriors. The club made a very good decision to let him look elsewhere.

 

[westie]

Ali has looked a long way off the old Ali for some time, NRL or ESL, and hence why his Kiwis career is basically done and dusted.

Topoi was the biggest defensive turnstyle in the NRL. He did have one good season, offensively, but still defensively he was fragile. He's no loss to the Warriors. The club made a very good decision to let him look elsewhere.

I know they are both generally rubbish. But that goes further to highlighting my point that someone who can be fairly sh*t in SL can be the best player in the NRL in his position, even if only for a short time.

 

[Iafeta]

World Club Champions 2008 - Leeds Rhinos

Commiserations to Melbourne though congrats to the Melbourne team for the way they handled themselves in all facets in regards to the game. There wasn't a stone left unturned and this loss will be a bitter pill to swallow.

Melbourne weren't firing on all cylinders, we know that, this game proves nothing in terms of who is the best club side in the world. With all things equal, all players fit and available, Melbourne win 9 times out of 10. But, it ain't a perfect world and Leeds were too good on the day albeit with a lot of advantages on their side.

The Australian Kiwi Brent Webb has to be considered in an "World's Best Fullback" debate. I saw most Leeds games last season (thanks Bobby!!) and he was a class above more often than not. This season he has been strong as well. A very, very good player.

Webby seems to cop it over an incident in Melbourne a few years ago when the Warriors were copping a carve up, Slater stood him up and Webby fell over. But then he returns there a couple of years later to score the knock out blow to beat them, the Warriors are the last team to win down there.

He's extremely underrated. I dare say if he had played for a Brisbane or North Queensland club, rather than the Warriors, Webby would attract a lot of attention. He very rarely makes errors at the back, and when he's in the clear he's generally as good as gone. His timing on the inside channel run can be slightly off though, if he was a split second later in most of those 'offload' support runs at the Warriors he'd get the same attention and acclaim as Wade McKinnon.

Personally, I think McKinnon has turned out to be a better attacking player as a result of that, although Webb also did some play making, but Webb I'd rate as one of the very best positionally and in securing kicks. He is very, very rarely beaten. I wonder how he must have felt playing extremely good and pivotal roles in a few of the Kiwis shock wins over the Aussies in the last few years, particularly the Tri Nations final.

 

[Iafeta]

I know they are both generally rubbish. But that goes further to highlighting my point that someone who can be fairly sh*t in SL can be the best player in the NRL in his position, even if only for a short time.

Ummm... they were playing with guys like Kevin Campion, who covered up their defensive errors, and frankly PJ Marsh and Stacey Jones at that particular time were slicing and dicing teams for breakfast which got Toopi and Ali space, where they will revel ... whether that be NRL or ESL. As long as you create their chances, and as long as you give them someone to protect them a bit in D, they'll go good. It's now since teams have figured that out that their careers have stalled.

 

[DeeGan]

Webby seems to cop it over an incident in Melbourne a few years ago when the Warriors were copping a carve up, Slater stood him up and Webby fell over. But then he returns there a couple of years later to score the knock out blow to beat them, the Warriors are the last team to win down there.

He's extremely underrated. I dare say if he had played for a Brisbane or North Queensland club, rather than the Warriors, Webby would attract a lot of attention. He very rarely makes errors at the back, and when he's in the clear he's generally as good as gone. His timing on the inside channel run can be slightly off though, if he was a split second later in most of those 'offload' support runs at the Warriors he'd get the same attention and acclaim as Wade McKinnon.

Personally, I think McKinnon has turned out to be a better attacking player as a result of that, although Webb also did some play making, but Webb I'd rate as one of the very best positionally and in securing kicks. He is very, very rarely beaten. I wonder how he must have felt playing extremely good and pivotal roles in a few of the Kiwis shock wins over the Aussies in the last few years, particularly the Tri Nations final.

New Zealand didn't lose much with Wade McKinnon at fullback. Kinda' says it all on where McKinnon was heading this season until he injured his knee.

 

[Shorty]

OK, if you meant that its typical for a team to fall apart when things arent going there way then I did read it differently. I took it as a suggestion that its typical for Storm fall apart when their on the back foot which isnt true as no team wins more when the stats indicate they shouldnt.

In regards to Geyer as I first said a couple of pages ago Geyer was SLOW and soft as a butterfly. He should have had the good sence to retire last year when he looked past it.

You bolded the awful part in your first post.

No,the Storm have one good game plan which is executed smoothly 90% of the time so when it doesn't execute they don't have an actual plan B or the plan B doesn't go so well because they aren't as familiar with it.
This is what I think