Graham, Peacock or Pryce?

The Man of Steel awards is part of a traditional process with the week leading up to Grand Final day. Its similar to Good Friday before Easter Sunday, the boat race before the grand national and Sydney before South Sydney. But as ever, its generally full of contraversy, or full of agreement. Last year we saw contraversy as Trent Barrett had his Man of Steel award pickpocketed by James Roby. In fact, I wouldn't at all be surprised if Barrett stood up as last year's announcer said "And the winner is..."

A Saints player has won the award for the past three seasons. In fact the last player not to play for Saints and win it was Andy Farrell in 2004. He is one of three players to have won it more than once, with Farrell also securing the prize in 1996 while Paul Sculthorpe is the only player to have won it back to back in 2001 and 2002. Only Ellery Hanley has won it three times, 1985, 1987 and 1989, the last two he did playing for Wigan and Bradford before that.

So who will claim this year's award? Well if it were up to me I would pick James Graham. The ginger prop has had a never-back-down attitude similar to Jamie Peacock all year. In fact there are times I would say he has outplayed the England captain, especially last time the two sides met. As much as I respect Peacock, because he is an inspirational player and national captain, I do think Graham has excelled himself.

So where does this leave Leon Pryce? Well, the lads done good, but trying to compare him to a prop forward is like comparing Huddersfield Underbank to a football club. You can't do it because they are two different players. However, I do think Pryce has a very good case to win. His playing style is similar to McGuire, only much better. He is there when teammates make a break and he is there in support on the inside of Long or Cunningham everytime.

I think Graham will win, but either way the award is going to a Saints player...again.

Calderwood for the English left wing? I don’t think so.

Mark Calderwood had the game of his life on Friday. Watched on by Tony Smith, he kept Wigan in the game time and time again when Leeds seemed to have got one over them. Jamie Jones-Buchanan was denied in the corner thanks to Calderwood, as was Burrow, in a situation that has seen the little scrum half score from countless times before. And with Gareth Raynor out of the world cup with a toe injury, it seems the left wing shirt is up for grabs.

Peter Fox would seem the likely candidate. He made his international debut against France in this seasons international against France. However, despite Fox being the favourite Lee Smith is also a worthy candidate. But some pundits are now saying Calderwood should be within a shout. And in all fairness, they couldn’t be more wrong.

On Friday, Calderwood showed what he could do at the top of his game. In my opinion he was man of the match despite being on the losing side. No single player in a Leeds shirt outplayed him, but was let down by a second best forward pack in the cherry and white. But despite his heroics at Headingley, I don’t think he has shown enough of the same throughout the season to warrant himself a place in the starting seventeen against Papa New Guinea. Smith will no doubt feel the same. Smith, in his second year as the national team coach, has come across as a coach who is after quality and consistency in all of his players. Calderwood has not shown that this season.

All of this speculation is despite Calderwood being named in the Scotland squad via his grand parentage. Well good luck to him in the Scottish thistle, but if he were to be included in the England squad I have no doubt his selection would be a waste.

EDIT 29/9/08: Tony Smith has said previuously he will only pick players who are on form for the international side. However he has failed to mention if this is good form, bad form or previous season's form.

The End of Term Report - Part Four

Wigan
Fourth place finish is no mean feat after 27 rounds of the regular season. To finish third after the play offs is always an achievement worth celebrating. But to do so in the manner that they did yesterday against Leeds is a tough pill to swallow.

Last nights game is up there with some of the best I've seen this year. I'm talking about Saints V Warrington, Brisbane V Melbourne standards. It was full of drama, controversy, bone crunching tackles and moments of genius with a few good tries thrown in for good measure. Mark Calderwood stood up and was noticed last night, for the first time since he joined Wigan from Leeds way back in 2005. He was truly remarkable. However I've got a whole article lined up for him so I'll leave the praise until then.

Wigan's season has seen more up and down than Jodie Marsh, ranging from the highs in Perpignan to the lows in Cardiff. They were never lucky to have gained fourth place in the final round of the season. A certain other team had it in their back pockets only for Dick Turpin aided by his merry band of scoucers to pick poket it from them. Actually thays a lie, they were given it on a plate.

Wigan never seem to go throuh a season without contraversy. They seem to have a reputation for breaking the salary cap, which in fairness is rightly deserved. An example of this is the signing of Tim Smith from Parramatta. Speculation was rife they were once again over the cap despite the earlier but unknown loan release of a few younger players. And then theres the whole stadium fiasco a feww weeks back. I've never been a fan of Wheelan, in fact I hate the guy for they way he treats the club as second class citizens despite the fact they have just as much right to play at the JJB Stadium as much as the football club do.

So another tough year for Wigan players, staff and the fans. Thats all in a years work, isn't it?

Injury worries for Smith.

It seems many players eligible for England have been dropping like flies recently. The first to go was Sean O'Loughlin, no real loss but more of an inconvenience. Then Any Lynch decided to cry off sick, again with players like Peacock, Morley and Graham it would need a miracle if Lynch were to be selected anyway. Newton then "did a Cunningham" the way only hookers can, which was no real worry as Roby and Clarke can easily cover that role. Unfortunately, Clarke also decided to "do a Newton" away in France. Maybe a small concern for the newly adopted-Englishman Smith, but the loss of Sam Burgess was a huge blow. However, with a reasonable depth in the propping area it seems size up front has not been affected by the credit crunch or global warming. I even hear that the price for a barrell of props is coming down, which for one reason or another, is bad news for the oil industry.

However, the valuable backs have also been affected by HIV or even bird flu. Paul Deacon, who hasn't played internationally since he was knocked out by Nigel Vagana in 2005, is out. As cover for halfbacks goes, he was suitable if Burrow couldn't cope against Australia. And while Deacon may have been a stone, the sapphire in Tony Smith's avaliable wingers is no longer avaliable. Gareth Raynor has today came out and said he needs a toe operation.

This news might suit Peter Fox, who made his international debut against France mid season. Wingers are in short supply, so will someone please wrap Ade Gardner in bubble wrap for the Grand Final?

So overall, it seems our strength in depth think we're in the seventeenth century and we're sending them to Australia as convicts. This is not the case. While the starting seventeen seem to be in place and still alive (as far as I'm aware) the disease that is 'injury' seem to be eating this England side at the seems. With a maximum of two games left for those players still in season before England face Papa New Guinea in Townsville, the intensity will not let up and the risk of injury will be higher. Lets hope our star players can weather the storm and they can pull on that England shirt come the 25th October.

The End of Term Report - Part Three

Unfortunately I couldn't watch tonight's game due to being in a city that fails to recognise any other sport other than soccer. However, after finding out the scoreline I'd have said it was one game too many for Catalan. They only beat Warrington last week due to the English side being in worse form than themselves. Wigan, after a point against Saints and seeing off Bradford in Widnes, were full on confidence and by God the scoreline must show it.

But overall, Catalan have surprised many people this year including myself. They were destined for a battle to avoid the wooden spoon by may pundits but did the exact opposite. I even had them at one stage to win the league leaders shield. They were brushing teams away like no tomorrow including fantastic wins over Saints, Wigan, Bradford and Warrington. They also made their home advantage count, winning eight out of thirteen games and stunning teams with a fantastic away record. Thomas Bosc, Adam Mogg and Justin Murphy lived up to expectation with Clint Greenshields, Jamal Fakir, Sébastien Raguin and Alex Chan all impressing as well as making themselves noticed.

Those that said the French experiment wouldn't work were wrong. On field wise they have become a force to be reckoned with, and combining that with the off field progress that has been put together for the past four years, there is little doubt Catalan are part of the family. Super League will no longer be the same without them.

The Dream Team.

For once, very few complaints with this year's Super League Dream Team. In the past there have been the odd controversial selections which has meant many fans have taken previous teams with a pinch of salt. This year however, sees not so much complete abandonment but rather disagreement. You'll know what I mean when you look at the first name on the fantasy team sheet.

Clint Greenshields has had without a doubt one of his best seasons ever. He is smart in his positioning at full back and is in no way afraid to approach defenders. However, I don't think he is the best full back in Super League. I personally would give that accolade to Brent Webb. He possess all of the qualities that make Greenshields a great player but with the added bonus of having a knowledge of the game that is second to none on this side of the world. He is able to support both halfbacks and hooker all the time therefore giving him the edge.

Onto centres, and I think there must be a shortage of decent centres around at the moment. Yes, Matt Gidley can live up to the Gleeson's and Lyon's of past but is that it? I may have given Carmont's place to Adam Mogg had he not been covering for the injured Casey McGuire for half the year. But the fact is, Gleeson, Senior and Yeaman, three noticable players within the competition have all failed to live up to their very high standards and that worries me weeks before the world cup.

Donald and Gardner were odds on to claim both wing spots, as were Pryce and Burrow in the halfback roles. In the forward pack James Graham has rightfully earned the number eight shirt next to the never-back-down personality of Jamie Peacock. Back row sees Kevin Sinfield take up loose forward, unsurprisingly and will no doubt feature in that position ahead of the Papa new Guinea game. Second rowers see the ever present Gareth Ellis, his last apperance for some time. Contraversial? Maybe but I do feel he has narrowly been outplayed by his partner, Ben Westwood.

I'm not being biased, but Westwood has worked his genetalia off for Warrington this year. he is one of few players who have seen that plane ticket and scrambled to get it. However, the journey is not over to the former-Wakefield centre. With the competition being incredibly hard in Gilmour, Wilkin, Fa'asavalu to name just the Saints players, he will have to impress Tony Smith in camp and against Wales in Doncaster.

The End of Term Report - Part Two

Two teams were eliminated at the weekend. Bradford were pipped in a controversial game the moment Wigan Athletic FC wanted the rugby side them out. However, that didn't take away the fact that Wigan would struggle. Instead they battle bravely despite a late start and exposed Bradford's poor defence to march onto another elimination tie at the home of Catalan, who dispatched Warrington with comfortable ease 46-8.

Bradford
Never made any real impact this year. Remained out of the limelight for the majority of the season with very average displays that saw them punished. A loss to Huddersfield springs to mind. However as a team they stuck by each other and managed (after a few results going their way) to finish in fifth spot. No mean feat, but I feel they know themselves that they didn't live up to their full potential. I don't think they have since Brian Noble left for Wigan, and feel once Steve McNamara goes the team will get back to striking fear into opponents hearts like they did in 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2005.

Warrington
Another year over but the same question arises, why do I bother? Over the course of the regular season, this is the third season in a row this team has disappointed on a weekly basis. Anyone would think the players were doing it on purpose. What were described as 'the best signings in Super League history' failed to show any signs of being worthy in Super League. Michael Monaghan and Matt King both know this. You don't need to tell an ex-international and a scrum half who played in Matt Orford's shadow for two years. However, you may need to tell an inexperienced young winger who seems to have the ego of a hot air balloon that he has let his side down. The same can be said for Lee Briers, who despite winning more games for Warrington than he has lost in a eleven year club career, has never made less of an impact this year since he signed.
However, there were signs of life within the squad. Chris Hicks is without a shadow of a doubt my player of the year. Having had to move to fullback to cover the injured Chris Bridge and Stuart Reardon, he has coped amazingly well and managed to score in every game he has played in. Only Andy Farrell and Kevin Sinfield have done the same feat in thirteen years. Chris Reilly has matured from a nervous wreck to a confident young player. He still has a long wy to go, but the progress is good. Adrian Morley has also lead from the front, and as for Ben Westwood...the guys a power horse. He never game less than 100% all year and really wants an England place for the world cup. I personally put him on the plane now.
So where did it all go wrong? Injuries are never an excuse in my opinion but Warrington have had more than their fair share. Three players went off for the season after the Challenge Cup campaign ended, and to lick salt into the wounds Jon Clarke broke his arm last night. But as an observer I don't think the team gelled together. Its one thing getting your cheque book out, its another getting thirteen individuals to work as a team. And for twenty-seven rounds they played like decent individuals, which makes them a very poor and underachieving side. Paul Cullen's exit seemed to act as a moral booster, and the team strung a very good run of victories together including Bradford and Leeds. But the loss to St Helens five weeks ago was the stake being nailed into the coffin. From there we never recovered despite the work and effort going into that very good performance.

It show the quality of potential champions when you play the best you have all year and still lose.

Wigan get kicked out of the JJB.

Once again Rugby League has been left with egg on its face after Dave Wheelan chose not to let Wigan RL play their home play off game at the JJB Stadium. Wheelan, the owner of both the JJB Stadium and Wigan FC, decided that because Wigan FC had a home game 24 hours after Wigan RL were due to face Bradford then the rugby game will have to be moved.

However, this would have been an acceptable reason to change the play off venue had the same scenario not happened previuosly when Wigan FC were in the second teir of English football. Neither game was reschedualed back then.

So what has changed since that time? Why are Wigan being forced to play at Widnes tonight? Well, now that Wheelan no longer owns the rugby club he is simply protecting his club. That is despite both Wigan RL and Wigan FC having a 50/50 share in the stadium. Somehow, the rugby club have been given the poor end of the stick.

On a quick but disgusted note, I feel that rugby league has bowed out to football in a manner that is purely unacceptable. How can a club be forced out of a stadium when another club will play there on an entirely different day? Despite what Wheelan has said on TV, radio and newspapers, he does not care about Wigan RL. In fact, I strongly believe the reason he bought the club to begin with was to give the stadium some use during the summer months.

As Wigan RL are being treated as second class citizens at the JJB, I feel they need a stadium of their own to become the respected force they once were.

The End of Term Report - Part One

After twenty-seven rounds, the season has ended for six unlucky teams. These six teams will not feature in the play offs and the players will no doubt have a nice rest before pre season starts again in November (for those not playing in the world cup). Below are my views and opinions as to how these six teams went throughout the season and why they didn’t add an extra week onto their season.

Hull KR
Paul Cooke has been a major figure in this side since he joined last season. I say that in off-field terms, as his on-field achievements haven’t exactly reached the highs of when he played across the other side of the river. In fact, even his off-field record isn’t exactly clean. Considering the whole squad has had to react to his behaviour for the past eighteen months, they have done exceptionally well to finish seventh. His suspension for leaving Hull FC until the Easter weekend did nothing to help team morale. Added to the fact he was dropped for no reason for a lengthy period of time towards the back end of the season, it’s a wonder Justin Morgan has kept the side together and stayed on target for a play off spot, which they were unlucky to miss out on.

Wakefield
To me, Wakefield were never within a shout of a play off place. Yes, league positions show they were fourth with nine games to go, but they never played any Rugby League that justified that position. However, the light at the end of the tunnel is that they have a player worthy of his world cup place, despite it being in a side that won’t eclipse the achievements of England. Danny Brough has been a godsend for a side that twelve months ago, was a serious contender for another taste of play off football. But Wakefield have been hit with some serious injury worries this year. Brad Drew, Jamie Roony and Jason Demetriou have not had as much game time as John Kear would have liked and their impact has been missed throughout.

Harlequins
Started strongly, but then just seemed to fade away as the season progressed. Stats show after five rounds, Quins were second in the league. By the time Quins played Catalan again in Cardiff, they were ninth. After which their form showed consistency that remained average. Brian McDermott has a long way to go, but signs are good. Home-grown heroes, Rikki Sheriffe, Joe Mbu and Louis McCarthy-Scarsbrook all look promising individual international potentials. But overall, the squad just didn’t have the quality to improve their league position from 2007.

Huddersfield
Its not been the best of seasons for Huddersfield fans. For the second year in a row, the team that has tasted play off football for the first time the previous season has not achieved the expectations to improve and become a decent outfit. In fact, the loss of Brad Drew is one the club will no doubt be reeling over as his form alone catapulted Huddersfield into the play offs last year. Kevin Brown and Luke Robinson have not had the impact that was required whereas Chris Thorman is a shadow of his former self.

Hull FC
I can’t begin to understand what went wrong here. One minute the club was shocked to be out of the play offs thanks to sixth place Wigan, next thing you know they struggle to replicate any of the past three or four years of very good rugby that we had become used to see from the black and whites. Theres little doubt these players under performed and without Richard Horne for the majority of the year they have struggled to play any decent form of attacking rugby. Shaun Berrigan was due to be one of the reasons Hull FC would be nearer the top of the table than what they achieved. However, I also think the loss of Shaun Briscoe had something to do with their downhill spiral.

Castleford
Never in the history of Super League have I respected a team finishing bottom of the ladder than what I have with this Castleford outfit. It’s been a rocky roller coaster that’s not gone without controversy. The trial of athlete Dwain Chambers is one that will go on living in people’s memories for a long time. As the announcement was so close to April Fools Day, even I had trouble believing such a thing had occurred. But this hasn’t derailed the team from playing when it matters. Wins against the top six four times, plus a draw shows that they are a team that can play when they have to. Its just they haven’t played when they weren’t massive underdogs and when they limelight wasn’t on the team that could ship in seventy/eighty points. They have three years to build on this season, but all the signs are there that they can produce decent rugby league football.


So how well have I done in predicting the final league ladder? Well, going off my first ever blog post on here, I predicted the bottom six would look like this;

Wakefield
Hull KR
Huddersfield
Catalan
Harlequins
Castleford

The only team I got right was Castleford, even my pre-season analysis wasn’t that far off. However without blowing my own trumpet too loudly, I wasn’t far off with Wakefield and Hull KR and I was only one place away from getting Huddersfield right as well. However, I seem to have completely mis-judged Catalan and Hull FC. One has done the complete opposite to the other and that to me comes as quite a shock.

How will Toulouse playing in the National Leagues help the French or British games?

Toulouse will take part in National League One from the beginning of next year meaning there will be two French teams playing in the professional British Rugby League pyramid. Although no word has been spoken from the RFL, the official Toulouse Oympiquie website has in fact came out and said that the club will accept the RFL's invitation to play in a revamped 11 team competition with the first game to be played in March 2009 (supposedly after the Northern Rail Cup group stages are over).

This will see National League fans given the chance to experience what Super League has been doing for almost the past three years. What I think the RFL are missing is the fact this may not have the same impact as that of the Catalan experiment. Away fans are few and far between in the National Leagues with very few making the effort for fixtures on the other side of the pennines. How will they react when given the chance to go to the fourth largest city in France?

However, things may be different on the other side of the pitch. How will the attraction of playing in the second tier of British domestic Rugby League appeal to the Toulouse public? Will we see smaller versions of enthusiastic Catalan supporters, or will there be one man and his dog and the seventy year old die hard fan turn up for every home game?

But contrary to if Toulouse would have been in Super League, I can't see this side making as big of an impact to what the Catalan club has become. In fact Catalan have nothing to worry about gaining a new neighbour into the British system. They're in completely different leagues and should for the next three years be helping each other out as best they can.

Scotland to brave Fiji and France.

Danny Brough will captain the side that beat Wales over two games to put Scotland through into this world cup, which is only fifty four days away from commencing. With Georgia being disqualified after failing to field a team in the final European B group, only Russia went through into the European A, Pool 2 with Lebanon and Ireland. Therefore the Pool 1 ties between the Scots and the Welsh would be similar to a two legged affair with the points difference being important into the outcome of the group winners. As it was, Scotland shocked a dominant Welsh side on paper in Bridgend to win the first match by seven points. Wales, led by Lee Briers and Iestyn Harris, could only win by two points in the return game up in Glasgow meaning Scotland qualified automatically.

Steve McCormack submitted his preliminary man squad to World Cup chiefs in time of the deadline, but within the past few days it has only been released to the general public. With seventeen first grade NRL or Super League players (including Mark Calderwood) the squad looks like thus;

Chris Armit, Nathan Armit (both Canterbury Bulldogs), Kier Bell (London Skolars), Jamie Benn (unattached), Danny Brough (Wakefield, capt), Mark Calderwood (Wigan), Paddy Coupar (Edinburgh Eagles), John Duffy (Widnes), Ben Fisher (Hull KR), Keith Galloway (Wests Tigers), Daniel Heckenberg (Harlequins), Andrew Henderson (Castleford), Kevin Henderson (Wakefield), Ian Henderson (NZ Warriors), Graeme Horne (Hull), Jack Howieson (Sheffield), Paul Jackson (Huddersfield), Wade Liddell (Brisbane Easts), Scott Logan (Canberra Raiders), Rhys Lovegrove (Hull KR), Neil Lowe (Keighley), David Lynn (Edinburgh Eagles), Iain Marsh (Workington), David McConnell (Leigh), Duncan McGilvary (Wakefield), Dene Miller (London Skolars), Spencer Miller (Whitehaven), Iain Morrison (Widnes), Gareth Morton (Widnes), Mick Nanyn (Oldham), Lee Paterson (Widnes), Michael Robertson (Manly), Iain Sinfield (Oldham), Jamie Smith (Fife Lions), Jonathan Steel (Hull KR), Alex Szostack (Sheffield), Andy Todd (Edinburgh Eagles), Matthew Tunstall (Workington), Tom Wild (Rochdale), Oliver Wilkes (Wakefield).

Scotland has a small but proud history in Rugby League despite never having a full time professional club. Dave Valentine, captain of the successful 1954 wining Great Britain side, was obviously the first man to lift the trophy at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris. The domestic competition was indeed an individual competition until it was placed under the Rugby League Conference umbrella from 2006. Fife Lions and Edinburgh Eagles have both won the title but before the division became part of the RLC, the Scottish Rugby League Conference was participated from 1997 where Edinburgh took the title four times.

Scotland face an uphill struggle if they are to progress into the semi finals. I feel they are more than capable of taking on Fiji at Bluetongue Stadium, but France will be a whole different kettle of frogs. France's performance against England earlier this year showed promise but also exposed flaws in the team that Steve McCormack is able to identify. Providing they expose these weaknesses and play tactically they can beat France as well as beating Fiji and as a miniumum target, they can make the Semi Final Qualifier.