Super dooper league is back in full swing.
There were some shocks in the first proper round of Super League to begin 2010. Castleford came from 10-6 behind at half time to leave the Champions pointless in the second half and go on to win 24-10. Leeds seem to be focusing on their World Club Challenge match against Melbourne as it is idiotic for any team to think that at 10-6 up they can waltz away with victory. The players are out to regain their world title crown and in doing so, they are sacrificing the opening league games in order to prepare for the big game. That said, look out Wakefield next week. You could be in for a bumpy ride with players to prove two weeks before the big day.
Huddersfield played very well against Bradford, in a game I was expecting Matt Orford and Heath L'Estrange to tear the Huddersfield defence in two. It does pile pressure on Steve McNamaram early in the season after a dire performance and dissatisfaction from the fans stretching as far back as 2008. Bradford play St Helens next week at Odsal. More on that game later in the week, which could spell the beginning of the end for one coach.
Wigan brushed Crusaders aside in a thrashing that will spell concern for Brian Noble. After a promising start, this defeat could be bump back to reality as it shows the club and playing staff will have to dig deep in order to gain lost respect this season.
Hull KR beat Salford comfortably at New Craven Park, while Wakefield just got past Catalan in a competitive eight point win against the French side, who were missing star-man Thomas Bosc. Warrington also put 58 points past Harlequins, who must be wondering what happened to them as they failed to score even a point leaving them bottom of the table at this early stage.
The game of the week was difficult to see, but that was mainly thanks to an awful lot of fog at Knowsley Road on Saturday night. However it was a pleasure to see Saints defeated so comfortably as the opening game went from bad to worse for last year's beaten grand finalists. Hull FC made the best of the awful conditions, and outplayed Saints in every department for over an hour. Mick Potter said after the match that his side didn;t make the most of their chances. The truth is, Saints didn't create any chances and sufferend in a humiliating defeat.
Pity nobody saw it.
Showing posts with label World Club Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World Club Challenge. Show all posts
Monday, 8 February 2010
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
Laziness is a terrible sin - a flashback over the past six weeks or so.
Manly won the World Club Challenge in a very physical game against Leeds. Jamie Peacock, it seems, needs to learn how to control his temper after being sin binned for the second time in the space of three weeks.
Tony Smith took up a rather fancy role at Warrington. He is not officially a coach, but indeed much higher than that in some sort of capacity, despite still calling the shots. James Lowes therefore, is still 1st team coach, despite being under Smith. To cut through the bull, Smith is coach, Lowes is assistant but yet Lowes still has an assistant. Don't ask! Still, its good news in some ways for Warrington, having won three out of the last five league games. A much better record than when Smith joined the club.
Leon Pryce and Stuart Reardon go up in front of the judge who said they may go to jail soon, for the assault of Mrs Reardon and her boyfriend. Stuart Reardon has since left Warrington to go to Hull FC. They like criminals there, you see. Ben Cockayne was also up in court recently for assault.
Canterbury were docked two points for having fourteen players on the field late on during their 28-26 win over Penrith. The fact that the fourteenth man was on the field when the winning try was scored has seen the appeal turned down. Its nice to see that NRL officials are strict on such offences. In Super League over the years, Saints got away with a 13th interchange and Bradford have also felt the need to field 14 men against Warrington back in 2004. Both teams were 'fined'.
Martin Gleeson has felt the affect of Tony Smith's wrath and has moved to Wigan. Richie Mathers and a reported £100,000 go the other way, putting an end to specualtion that Gleeson will move to the NRL. Rumours are floating around Warrington as to who will be next to go. Favourites include Matt King, Michael Monaghan, both Anderson brothers and Lee Briers.
Tony Smith took up a rather fancy role at Warrington. He is not officially a coach, but indeed much higher than that in some sort of capacity, despite still calling the shots. James Lowes therefore, is still 1st team coach, despite being under Smith. To cut through the bull, Smith is coach, Lowes is assistant but yet Lowes still has an assistant. Don't ask! Still, its good news in some ways for Warrington, having won three out of the last five league games. A much better record than when Smith joined the club.
Leon Pryce and Stuart Reardon go up in front of the judge who said they may go to jail soon, for the assault of Mrs Reardon and her boyfriend. Stuart Reardon has since left Warrington to go to Hull FC. They like criminals there, you see. Ben Cockayne was also up in court recently for assault.
Canterbury were docked two points for having fourteen players on the field late on during their 28-26 win over Penrith. The fact that the fourteenth man was on the field when the winning try was scored has seen the appeal turned down. Its nice to see that NRL officials are strict on such offences. In Super League over the years, Saints got away with a 13th interchange and Bradford have also felt the need to field 14 men against Warrington back in 2004. Both teams were 'fined'.
Martin Gleeson has felt the affect of Tony Smith's wrath and has moved to Wigan. Richie Mathers and a reported £100,000 go the other way, putting an end to specualtion that Gleeson will move to the NRL. Rumours are floating around Warrington as to who will be next to go. Favourites include Matt King, Michael Monaghan, both Anderson brothers and Lee Briers.
Monday, 2 March 2009
Manly win World Club Challenge.
It all ended in tears for Leeds as they lost the World Club Challenge 28-20 to a very good Manly side, who for most of the game seemed flawlessly in control.
Brett Stewart showed why he is currently one of the biggest contenders for Billy Slater's NSW and Australia shirt, while Anthony Watmough performed sensationally giving Leeds no room for any attacking movement, as shown when Rob Burrow got smashed sensationally by Watmough.
Leeds did score just before the break to give them some slender hope of a comeback on virtually home soil at Elland Road. But even at 12-0 they never looked like being able to seriously test the Manly defence.
But after half time, a five minute blitz left Leeds playing catch up. Tries from Stewart, Watmough and Steve Matai condemned Leeds to their defeat and it was an all but lost cause despite Keith Senior and Ryan Hall doing their best to repair some of the damage.
Brett Stewart showed why he is currently one of the biggest contenders for Billy Slater's NSW and Australia shirt, while Anthony Watmough performed sensationally giving Leeds no room for any attacking movement, as shown when Rob Burrow got smashed sensationally by Watmough.
Leeds did score just before the break to give them some slender hope of a comeback on virtually home soil at Elland Road. But even at 12-0 they never looked like being able to seriously test the Manly defence.
But after half time, a five minute blitz left Leeds playing catch up. Tries from Stewart, Watmough and Steve Matai condemned Leeds to their defeat and it was an all but lost cause despite Keith Senior and Ryan Hall doing their best to repair some of the damage.
Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Aussie boss in criticising WCC shocker.
Craig Bellamy has done what all the other coaches in the NRL do at this time of year, and that is to criticise the current World Club Challenge format. Wayne Bennett did it last year and Tim Sheens did the year before and rightly so. The WCC is played at the wrong end of the year as many people have said because the start of Super League is five weeks before the start of the NRL. NRL sides are focusing on their domestic competition and not worrying about what is happening outside the eastern coast of Australia. The World Club Challenge has the potential to be a respected competition to find the best club side in the world, but are the RFL, ARL and RLIF actually doing anything about it? The answer is no.
And in fairness there are two sides to this argument. On the one hand the NRL Grand Final winners know they will be competing in the game five months before it actually kicks off so the “we’re unprepared” excuse flies right out of the window. The format was agreed by representatives of the NRL and Super League so when the match is organised these representatives should be echoing the views of the Australian clubs, not sitting in the corner staying silent while the clubs have to battle against the system each and every year. And let’s face it, if the NRL clubs were really unhappy about the format they would just boycott the event all together. It wouldn’t be the first time they Aussies have done things their way even if they weren’t successful at it. (The Australian Super League of 1997 springs to mind)
However there are factors that the Aussies try to blow out of proportion but they are very valid points non-the-less. For starters the match is always played on a bitter cold Friday night in the north of England. Not exactly the most attractive place to play Rugby League but this is because of SKY Television acting as puppeteers and controlling the RFL. However, the English cold is opposed to the Australian heat which isn’t exactly ideal Rugby League playing conditions either. As well as that there is the fact the teams have to travel half way across the world to play just one game and its always the Aussie clubs that have to travel. Why not those in Super League? Well, again the answer to this makes the competition a further farce. You see, despite the calls from Red Hall for the game to be played in Australia the RFL know it’s a good source of income for the match to be played in the UK. The RFL only concede major tournaments and matches that will get them money when common sense takes control. For example, it would be pointless to interrupt the ARL’s Centenary Season celebrations by hosting a World Cup on the other side of the world. Now the World Club Challenge has not been around and played as often for it to be given special celebration any time soon so it seems we could be stuck with it.
The idea that the game should be played at the end of the season is a sensible one. Both teams would be at peak match fitness having just played their Grand Finals. However for this to work, the NRL have to shift their season forward to accommodate this extra match and as not to overlap the international season which is also at the end of the year. But if I haven’t mentioned this already, the ARL and NRL fail to recognise Rugby League outside the eastern coast of Oz. They will run their competition as they like, organising fixtures and dates as they like and working them around Australian holidays if they so wish to do so.
So it seems the NRL won’t take the WCC seriously unless it is played at a different part of the year, but they won’t cooperate with the relevant governing bodies to see out these revolutionary plans of theirs that will finally decide in a fair manner who is the best club side in the world.
Their loss, I suppose.
And in fairness there are two sides to this argument. On the one hand the NRL Grand Final winners know they will be competing in the game five months before it actually kicks off so the “we’re unprepared” excuse flies right out of the window. The format was agreed by representatives of the NRL and Super League so when the match is organised these representatives should be echoing the views of the Australian clubs, not sitting in the corner staying silent while the clubs have to battle against the system each and every year. And let’s face it, if the NRL clubs were really unhappy about the format they would just boycott the event all together. It wouldn’t be the first time they Aussies have done things their way even if they weren’t successful at it. (The Australian Super League of 1997 springs to mind)
However there are factors that the Aussies try to blow out of proportion but they are very valid points non-the-less. For starters the match is always played on a bitter cold Friday night in the north of England. Not exactly the most attractive place to play Rugby League but this is because of SKY Television acting as puppeteers and controlling the RFL. However, the English cold is opposed to the Australian heat which isn’t exactly ideal Rugby League playing conditions either. As well as that there is the fact the teams have to travel half way across the world to play just one game and its always the Aussie clubs that have to travel. Why not those in Super League? Well, again the answer to this makes the competition a further farce. You see, despite the calls from Red Hall for the game to be played in Australia the RFL know it’s a good source of income for the match to be played in the UK. The RFL only concede major tournaments and matches that will get them money when common sense takes control. For example, it would be pointless to interrupt the ARL’s Centenary Season celebrations by hosting a World Cup on the other side of the world. Now the World Club Challenge has not been around and played as often for it to be given special celebration any time soon so it seems we could be stuck with it.
The idea that the game should be played at the end of the season is a sensible one. Both teams would be at peak match fitness having just played their Grand Finals. However for this to work, the NRL have to shift their season forward to accommodate this extra match and as not to overlap the international season which is also at the end of the year. But if I haven’t mentioned this already, the ARL and NRL fail to recognise Rugby League outside the eastern coast of Oz. They will run their competition as they like, organising fixtures and dates as they like and working them around Australian holidays if they so wish to do so.
So it seems the NRL won’t take the WCC seriously unless it is played at a different part of the year, but they won’t cooperate with the relevant governing bodies to see out these revolutionary plans of theirs that will finally decide in a fair manner who is the best club side in the world.
Their loss, I suppose.
Friday, 15 February 2008
Super League's second round build up.
St Helens V Warrington
Undoubtably the tie of the round. While Saints may have lost last week I doubt they will take this game as lightly and I predict a solid comfortable win for them. This is coming from a Warrington fan who witnessed a half decent performance last week against a wounded Hull team. However I don't think we will have the performance within ourselves to pull it off. If Warrington are going to win tonight it will be because Saints are going to have a slow start to the season.
Wakefield V Leeds
Wakefield's shock win last week could extend into a second if (and I cannot stress this point enough) Leeds are starting to put one eye firmly on their World Club Challenge match against Melbourne. They proved last week that they are focused on their Super League games but it is human instict to focus on bigger things. With the match only two weeks away, could the players be worried about injury or suspention?
Wigan V Castleford
Wigan will win unless Castleford can improve on their error filled performance last week. While they may have been given the shakes by Quins, Wigan showed in the scoreline they can urn it on when needed. Cas will struggle tonight because Wigan have too much to prove to their home fans.
Bradford V Huddersfield
Speaking of having something to prove to their fan base, Bradford should expect a hostile reception when they walk out tomorrow. Their loss to Wakefield was without a doubt a disappointment but they should re-group and perform their magic. Huddersfield will push them though and possibly expect a tight finish.
Catalan V Hull KR
I'm going for a Catalan win. Firstly because its in France and secondly because Hull KR will not repeat the show they put on to host Saints. In fact, if I'm honest I should be tiping a Hull KR win because that display was superb and Catalan were poor against Cas. But then again Hull KR only just fought off a Saints comeback. I will go Catalan to win, but only because of home advantage and their record at home last season.
Hull FC V Harlequins
With Gareth Carvell another player seeing Dr Fish at the Royal Squid Hospital of Kingston upon Hull, his side are dropping worse than fish is Shrek's bathtub. However the return of Gareth Raynor is a plus for Peter Sharp who should be feeling the pressure from the inpatient board of directors who fail to understand that you cannot possibly win in Super League with so many injured bodies in the ranks. I expect Sharp to go because of this in less than five weeks time.
Undoubtably the tie of the round. While Saints may have lost last week I doubt they will take this game as lightly and I predict a solid comfortable win for them. This is coming from a Warrington fan who witnessed a half decent performance last week against a wounded Hull team. However I don't think we will have the performance within ourselves to pull it off. If Warrington are going to win tonight it will be because Saints are going to have a slow start to the season.
Wakefield V Leeds
Wakefield's shock win last week could extend into a second if (and I cannot stress this point enough) Leeds are starting to put one eye firmly on their World Club Challenge match against Melbourne. They proved last week that they are focused on their Super League games but it is human instict to focus on bigger things. With the match only two weeks away, could the players be worried about injury or suspention?
Wigan V Castleford
Wigan will win unless Castleford can improve on their error filled performance last week. While they may have been given the shakes by Quins, Wigan showed in the scoreline they can urn it on when needed. Cas will struggle tonight because Wigan have too much to prove to their home fans.
Bradford V Huddersfield
Speaking of having something to prove to their fan base, Bradford should expect a hostile reception when they walk out tomorrow. Their loss to Wakefield was without a doubt a disappointment but they should re-group and perform their magic. Huddersfield will push them though and possibly expect a tight finish.
Catalan V Hull KR
I'm going for a Catalan win. Firstly because its in France and secondly because Hull KR will not repeat the show they put on to host Saints. In fact, if I'm honest I should be tiping a Hull KR win because that display was superb and Catalan were poor against Cas. But then again Hull KR only just fought off a Saints comeback. I will go Catalan to win, but only because of home advantage and their record at home last season.
Hull FC V Harlequins
With Gareth Carvell another player seeing Dr Fish at the Royal Squid Hospital of Kingston upon Hull, his side are dropping worse than fish is Shrek's bathtub. However the return of Gareth Raynor is a plus for Peter Sharp who should be feeling the pressure from the inpatient board of directors who fail to understand that you cannot possibly win in Super League with so many injured bodies in the ranks. I expect Sharp to go because of this in less than five weeks time.
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