Tim Mander you cheat!

[Razor]

The rest - Devere, Gower, Kimmorley, Simpson, Kearns, Waterhouse, Crocker would be certainties to not be included.

Gower - probably would make the side
Simpson - probably would make the side
Kearns - probably not, but could have

The others no hope, but could have made the squad.

 

[JJ]

I like Gower, don't get me wrong. But, Johns and Barrett would be halves, Buderus hooker and WIng on the bench. That means Gower wouldn't be in the side. They might drop Buderus, have Wing start and Gower on bench - but unlikely.

The top 3 props are Webcke, Ryles and Baley - no question. Fletcher would be in too, so unlikely to be room for Kearns and hopefully Mason

 

[Razor]

I like Gower, don't get me wrong. But, Johns and Barrett would be halves, Buderus hooker and WIng on the bench. That means Gower wouldn't be in the side. They might drop Buderus, have Wing start and Gower on bench - but unlikely.

The top 3 props are Webcke, Ryles and Baley - no question. Fletcher would be in too, so unlikely to be room for Kearns and hopefully Mason

Have Gower at 5/8 instead of Barrett. Barrett is incredibly over-rated. Gower is much better than him.

Fletcher wouldn't be in the side. No hope if everyone was fit.

Props - Webcke & Bailey easily to start. Ryles would likely be the first bench prop picked, but no guarentee.

Ricketson wouldn't be a special in my mind.

Hooker - Buderus
Prop - Webcke & Bailey
2nd Row - Hindmarsh & Simpson
Lock - Kennedy
Half - Johns
5/8 - Gower
Centre - Gidley & Timmins
Wing - MiniC & Lewis
Fullback - Lockyer

is what I'd pick as my 13 if all players were available. Lewis is in the squad, but hasn't been picked so obviously Anderson disagrees on him.

 

[ChiaPete]

Leading 20-8 I think it were GB's options that blew the game not Mander.

Pete
GO BULLDOGS

 

[The Observer]

Well that didn't take long.

The Kangaroos were getting off their line awfully quickly - it looked a little like they were inside the 10 at times.

As for the refs, blame yourselves. If Australia and Great Britain didn't want to have everything their own way, then other refs might actually get a chance to develop.

Well there has been some development of referees from outside NRL and Super League.

French referee Thierry Alibert refereed in the Russian Club Final - he kept up with the speed of the game well but his knowledge of some of the rules was a bit dodgy. IIRC he also reffed the European Nations CUp game between England A and Wales in Bradford and Scotland vs Ireland in Edinburgh.

Another French referee Richard Frileux officiated the game between France Select and the Kangaroos.

NZ referee Glen Black took charge of the Ireland France game in Dublin, Wales Russia at Aberavon AND England A vs the Kangaroos.
http://www.rugby-league-world.com/2003/Internationals/Ire-Fra.html

For the Kokoda Memorial Challenge (Junior Kangaroos vs PNG Presidents XIII), an Indigenous Australian referee officiated an international match for the 1st ever time.

 

[innsaneink]

To quote Andy Farrell, "I have never seen anything like this, all the calls have gone their way!"

Mander didn't give GB a chance, he was as biased as it is possible to be. Is he seriously suggesting that the Roos were NOT OFFSIDE ONCE? They did not concede any penalties what so ever in the second half.

This is surely the last game of international league he can be allowed near. The decisions he made destroyed the match and the series. The arrogant b@stard goes to the screen when the Roos player quite clearly grounds it a yard over the line, yet for the 'try' to Fitzgibbon he decides he's seen enough, when there was far more doubt about it than the ones he did go to the screen for.

He set out from the start to penalise GB for everything he could possibly get away with, he succeeded. There were some awful decisions, ones that seriously make you wonder whether he was being impartial. One thing that really wound me up was the marker defence from Australia, which who were often stood hip to hip, and the blatant offsides. I would love to see the stats about the average distance he took them back. The holding down was also attrocious from Webcke in particular yet he isn't allowed to be penalised under NRL rules is he?

The killer one though was the decision to give the scrum to Australia before Kimmorley's drop goal. The chasers were ALL OFFSIDE yet he searches as hard as possible to find a reason to give the call Australia's way. Even after ignoring the blatant offsides the first touch came from the Australian hand onto Horne's.

Why can we not have impartial referees for Test matches? There is a French ref knocking about that did several games in the World Cup who is excellent. Why do we have to watch idiots like Mander strive for insanity. How the GB players kept their cool I'll never know.

Ever wondered why Poms are called whingers???
Just read the above!

Simple mathematics
Lose Game + Blame Ref =SORE LOSER

 

[The Observer]

Ever wondered why Poms are called whingers???
Just read the above!

Simple mathematics
Lose Game + Blame Ref =SORE LOSER

That would make the fans of every single club in the NRL sore losers.

 

[In-goal]

I'm still in tears and simply can't bear to watch again, This Australian side is the very best available so that is the team GB had to play end of story.

I am in disbelief that the dream is over for atleast another 4-5 years, oh well bring on the tri nations.

I feel like shit.

 

[mightypanther]

All I can say about the English fans blaming Mander for the loss is this,

First off, Mander may have good days and bad days, but I would never accuse the guy of being a cheat.

At the international level of rugby league, no country's coach has ever been backwards in having a say if they think the refereeing had any bearing on their side's loss in an important international match, and yet the only comments made by Waite and Radlinski about this loss was for them to admit that the Poms lost the match all on their own.

David Waite's response?

"We blew it. We need to learn as Britain rugby league players that we need greater composure and when you get in those situations you have to finish them off. We weren't ruthless enough."

Radlinski's comments?

"We are losers. We can't keep saying we've improved, I'm fed up of saying that," he said. "Sport's a cruel business, it's about winners and losers and they are winners, we aren't. It's harsh, but true."

 

[innsaneink]

Ever wondered why Poms are called whingers???
Just read the above!

Simple mathematics
Lose Game + Blame Ref =SORE LOSER

That would make the fans of every single club in the NRL sore losers.

That may be so...but I rarely hear fans from losing teams complain the ref cheated....by the way, when was the last time you saw a ref have a perfect game with no mistakes??? Just because a ref makes mistakes or misses incidents doesnt make him a cheat.
Refs dont cheat.......players cheat!

 

[Twizzle]

Perhaps not a third string side. There are oficially 17 players unavailable through injury.

Having watched the game I'm not surprised to hear someone blame the ref........this happens in nearly every close game.

If you guys got the same pommie commentators that I did (Fox Sports), the pomms had their chance but dhose not to go for a field goal.

I was very surprised to see the pomms first try awarded. No try IMO.

Tim Mander may not have had his best game, in the last quarter, no one kept their 10 metres, as fatigue set in.

It did not let the game open up as it should have, but that effected both teams.

Sure he did not have his best game, but I dont believe that he influenced the result in any way.

 

[ozzie]

Extremely well said. Whilst Great Britain and Ireland could and should have won the test anyway, this is no excuse for Mander's total mediocrity. Having said that GB were very lucky in regards to Radlinksi's try which baffled me.

GB&I are getting there, both games I thought they were the better team. They just need to learn to take the chaces they create, ala the australians.

Good on you for not trampling me for my passion-filled outburst. It proves that International league is not dead yet when it hurts as much as this.

I thought Rad's try was okay-ish. He was quite clearly ahead of Deacon's body, but as he jumped to kick the ball his foot and the ball were roughly level with Radlinski.

I just hope we now see the future of GBRL play against Australia next week. Burrow must get on the field next week, along with the likes of Gleeson, Reardon and Sculthorpe. It surely time to hang up the shirts of Connolly, McDermott, Forshaw etc.

The 3rd Test sold out this week if my information is correct, I just hope people turn up.

absolutely bullsh!!t. Radlinksi was at least a yard off side - so open both eyes and have a good look, a great cop out....oh and blame the ref - we over here have a great reputation of doing that - we don't want to hear from wanta bee footballers coming up with excuses... when a team leads 20-8 they should win..sorry you were not good enough...

 

[Bob8]

Super League in the UK has made a massive difference and the gap between it and the NRL is certainly closing. There are now at least 5 teams in with a genuine shout for the titles, and the decent players are spread around more.

If you can name 5 teams with a chance of winning the title then you`re a better man than me . Apart from the obvious 4 there isn`t a fifth team that springs to mind . I`ll make a bet with you now that the winners of SL IX come from any one of Saints ,Wigan Leeds and the Bulls. SL is too predictable .

I imagine Hull will finish in the top three in the table, although I can't see them winning the Grand Final. Certainly they're one of the big clubs now.

 

[Fairleigh Good!]

Whilst the first post I made was with the red mist still fully descended, I would like to say that Mander's performance was shocking.

I have watched the game again and the Australian line of defence was no better marshalled than the GB line for the majority of the game. They were offside at least on the blind side and flanks numerous times, and particularly on the last tackle. The markers were also rarely square.

For Mander to suggest that the Roos were NOT OFFSIDE ONCE is frankly ridiculous. How many easy repeat sets did he give Australia for something or nothing offences, the same ones he ignored when GB needed them.

In a competitive game of top level rugby league as this was, it is impossible to remain perfectly disciplined for the 80 minutes, yet apart from Lockyer's kick off going dead and a stolen ball that is what Mander is suggesting happened!

I will tone it down for the sake of not appearing to be a whinging pom, but Mander was at least trying to make up for the interpretations he believes the British ref made wrongly in the 1st Test. It is not his place to do that.

GB have to suffer British refs who are desparate to show the Australians they are not biased and know the NRL interpretations, and Australian refs trying to show us how they think the game should be played.

It's about time someone sat down around a round table and thrashed out exactly how the rules of RL should be, and for that to be implemented into both the NRL and SL. If you watch the two leagues at the moment, it would be easy to think they are two different sports entirely.

 

[Fairleigh Good!]

Extremely well said. Whilst Great Britain and Ireland could and should have won the test anyway, this is no excuse for Mander's total mediocrity. Having said that GB were very lucky in regards to Radlinksi's try which baffled me.

GB&I are getting there, both games I thought they were the better team. They just need to learn to take the chaces they create, ala the australians.

Good on you for not trampling me for my passion-filled outburst. It proves that International league is not dead yet when it hurts as much as this.

I thought Rad's try was okay-ish. He was quite clearly ahead of Deacon's body, but as he jumped to kick the ball his foot and the ball were roughly level with Radlinski.

I just hope we now see the future of GBRL play against Australia next week. Burrow must get on the field next week, along with the likes of Gleeson, Reardon and Sculthorpe. It surely time to hang up the shirts of Connolly, McDermott, Forshaw etc.

The 3rd Test sold out this week if my information is correct, I just hope people turn up.

absolutely bullsh!!t. Radlinksi was at least a yard off side - so open both eyes and have a good look, a great cop out....oh and blame the ref - we over here have a great reputation of doing that - we don't want to hear from wanta bee footballers coming up with excuses... when a team leads 20-8 they should win..sorry you were not good enough...

If you watch the replay, get a ruler and place it level with the end of the ball nearest the Roos line as Deacon kicks it. Then run the ruler so it is parrallel with the lines going across the pitch and it is clear (Because I've done it!) that he was close enough to being completely level with the ball that it would be impossible to tell. With the naked eye it looked ridiculous, but the decision was correct IMO, benefit of the doubt to the attacking side.

 

[deluded pom?]

Super League in the UK has made a massive difference and the gap between it and the NRL is certainly closing. There are now at least 5 teams in with a genuine shout for the titles, and the decent players are spread around more.

If you can name 5 teams with a chance of winning the title then you`re a better man than me . Apart from the obvious 4 there isn`t a fifth team that springs to mind . I`ll make a bet with you now that the winners of SL IX come from any one of Saints ,Wigan Leeds and the Bulls. SL is too predictable .

I imagine Hull will finish in the top three in the table, although I can't see them winning the Grand Final. Certainly they're one of the big clubs now.

Sorry Bob but Hull are going backwards and only a lopsided fixture format will make it look better than it is .They have failed to kick on with poor signings ,Swain excepted ,for next season .Hull are no better than London ,Cas or Warrington . I have £50 says the winner of SL IX comes from the usual four .

 

[Fairleigh Good!]

Super League in the UK has made a massive difference and the gap between it and the NRL is certainly closing. There are now at least 5 teams in with a genuine shout for the titles, and the decent players are spread around more.

If you can name 5 teams with a chance of winning the title then you`re a better man than me . Apart from the obvious 4 there isn`t a fifth team that springs to mind . I`ll make a bet with you now that the winners of SL IX come from any one of Saints ,Wigan Leeds and the Bulls. SL is too predictable .

I imagine Hull will finish in the top three in the table, although I can't see them winning the Grand Final. Certainly they're one of the big clubs now.

Sorry Bob but Hull are going backwards and only a lopsided fixture format will make it look better than it is .They have failed to kick on with poor signings ,Swain excepted ,for next season .Hull are no better than London ,Cas or Warrington . I have £50 says the winner of SL IX comes from the usual four .

How exactly are Hull going backwards. Last season they had probably the most serious injury crisis a club has ever seen and for that reason alone missed the play-offs. Hull however have one of the best set of young players in Super League, certainly more talented youngters than my own team St Helens.

The Australians they have signed for next season are either class (Swain) or young. They will beat many a team in the top 6 next season, and with a bit of luck in the Play Offs could win the thing. You can't call it a top four anymore. If anything its become a top 3 with New Zealand Bulls, Leeds and Wigan the obvious favourites. Saints are not going to be competitive when it counts unless that 'Daddy' prop arrives to replace Britt.

On the whole though Super League has been a fantastic success for the sport. I seriously doubt we would have Rugby League in GB if it were not for that competition. ALL the decent players would be playing Union, and the supporters would have ebbed away to fence around a field status.

The Super League clubs are now demanding a lower salary cap. Whilst this may see the NRL and Zzzzzzzzurich Premiership benefit in the short term it would bring the league even closer than it is now. The only thing holding back Super League is the short-sightedness of idiots like Caisley :evil: , Lyndsey and Hetherington.

Ban the evil NRL players and Super League would have a chance...

 

[JJ]

one does wonder where the saying f'in whinging Pom came from!!!

No one used to cmplain when home and French referees meant penalty differentials of 15+ in favour of English and GB teams.

face it, you guys are born losers - what sport are you actually any good at these days.

This is the worst post I've ever made, and I apologise, but the whinging and blaming refs is tiresome. Radlinksi was offside - even your biased, stupid commetators said that at the time (although forgetting it later when whinging about Mander), and Morely's pass was brilliant, but it was also forward! In reality, the score flattered you - get over it!

 

[dannyboy]

Yep....ban those evil NRL players & let England loose even more touch with how real rugby league stars play the game

 

[JJ]

Super League in the UK has made a massive difference and the gap between it and the NRL is certainly closing. There are now at least 5 teams in with a genuine shout for the titles, and the decent players are spread around more.

If you can name 5 teams with a chance of winning the title then you`re a better man than me . Apart from the obvious 4 there isn`t a fifth team that springs to mind . I`ll make a bet with you now that the winners of SL IX come from any one of Saints ,Wigan Leeds and the Bulls. SL is too predictable .

I imagine Hull will finish in the top three in the table, although I can't see them winning the Grand Final. Certainly they're one of the big clubs now.

Sorry Bob but Hull are going backwards and only a lopsided fixture format will make it look better than it is .They have failed to kick on with poor signings ,Swain excepted ,for next season .Hull are no better than London ,Cas or Warrington . I have £50 says the winner of SL IX comes from the usual four .

How exactly are Hull going backwards. Last season they had probably the most serious injury crisis a club has ever seen and for that reason alone missed the play-offs. Hull however have one of the best set of young players in Super League, certainly more talented youngters than my own team St Helens.

The Australians they have signed for next season are either class (Swain) or young. They will beat many a team in the top 6 next season, and with a bit of luck in the Play Offs could win the thing. You can't call it a top four anymore. If anything its become a top 3 with New Zealand Bulls, Leeds and Wigan the obvious favourites. Saints are not going to be competitive when it counts unless that 'Daddy' prop arrives to replace Britt.

On the whole though Super League has been a fantastic success for the sport. I seriously doubt we would have Rugby League in GB if it were not for that competition. ALL the decent players would be playing Union, and the supporters would have ebbed away to fence around a field status.

The Super League clubs are now demanding a lower salary cap. Whilst this may see the NRL and Zzzzzzzzurich Premiership benefit in the short term it would bring the league even closer than it is now. The only thing holding back Super League is the short-sightedness of idiots like Caisley :evil: , Lyndsey and Hetherington.

Ban the evil NRL players and Super League would have a chance...

Swain's a Kiwi last time I checked, and I think class is a bit generous - he's a whole hearted player with a huge work-rate. But he's no Wing, Buderus, or Priddis!