New Zealand 16 - Australia 12
Re: New Zealand 16 - Australia 12
I have to say and it is not something that can be said very much. SKY commentators were objective and no bias. Criticism was aired of some awful officiating which was far below the standard required to befit such a battle. 3 out of 5 tries should have been disallowed.
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highland convert
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Re: New Zealand 16 - Australia 12
Two of the forward passes were not forward. Both for kiwi tries. First hit an oz player and deflected. Impossible to call forward. Second was palmed by Lokier and knocked forward. Laying on spoiled what was a great game, Funny the Kiwis got pegged twice when on a roll in the first period. Oz players needed a sleeping bag but never got pegged.
Jim
Jim
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exile in Tiger country
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Re: New Zealand 16 - Australia 12
That's why the Aussies insist on picking the ref.highland convert wrote:Two of the forward passes were not forward. Both for kiwi tries. First hit an oz player and deflected. Impossible to call forward. Second was palmed by Lokier and knocked forward. Laying on spoiled what was a great game, Funny the Kiwis got pegged twice when on a roll in the first period. Oz players needed a sleeping bag but never got pegged.
Jim
No good reason why Silverwood shouldn't have had the job, except he may have been neutral.
I've never seen a woman with hairy ears, and I've been to St Helens." John Bishop
"BANG,CRASH,WALLOP, TRY". E. Hemmings describing Palea'asina's try against KR, Play off 26/09/09
"BANG,CRASH,WALLOP, TRY". E. Hemmings describing Palea'asina's try against KR, Play off 26/09/09
Re: New Zealand 16 - Australia 12
The irony is Aus may have been better with Silverwood as referee. Sorry Jim but you are so wrong it is worrying. The last try even had the line marking to guide officials / fans. The first Kiwi try was a forward pass to SKD. Australia scored their first try after a player had stepped in touch. Even allowing for the much vaunted hand direction excuse both were still forward.
Too much hysteria about the referee who IMO showed rather than being biased he is just not very good. The 2 referee system make make for better officiating but when a referee is then asked to fly solo he is poorer. However, both TJs were very poor and it was an Englishman that missed the Aus foot in touch.
Too much hysteria about the referee who IMO showed rather than being biased he is just not very good. The 2 referee system make make for better officiating but when a referee is then asked to fly solo he is poorer. However, both TJs were very poor and it was an Englishman that missed the Aus foot in touch.
Re: New Zealand 16 - Australia 12
Having watched the match it was an absorbing gripping match that could have gone either way. Quality play with ball in hand was limited with ball security the key call. Towards the end desparation/desire saw NZ show some key ambition with ball in hand. Defence was superb and at times wonderfully brutal / cynical.
The officials - All 3 must be unhappy with their effort. However, the referee particularly.
Playing a team in successive weeks can be very difficult. The second gam is invariably tighter. I personally think Australia let the genie out of the bottle and showed too much in the easy previous weeks win. Kearney was correct in his post match comments that Aus are still top dogs but the gap, a gap that still exists is narrow. Shame the gap between Aus/NZ and England is so large.
Some tough love by Kearney and a master stroke bringing Wayne Bennett back in close to game day worked superbly for the Kiwis. I think Aus were largely beaten by an aggressive no prisoners defence by NZ. Aus seemed stunned to some extent and really needed to fight fire with fire.
A word on Mr Blair. No not Tony. The meanest most cynical destructive forward in the game today. He's not the best forward at anything but he is a mongrel who knows the dark arts better than anybody IMO. Man after my own heart. I would have him next to me in the trenches. AB has a history of joint pressure / manipulation. The Lewis tackle IIRC he used a secondary effort on the locked lower legs and goodbye Mr Lewis. All is fair in lover and war.
Mannering to centre worked to the Kiwis advantage IMO. Tommy had a very good game putting on one great hit. The interchange of Tommy and Luke works superbly and wisely I think at one stage they brough Luke on but kept Tommy on. Very simplistic scoot, low risk plays coupled with resolute defence eventually got Benji some opportunities.
The Aus team reflects modern RL at the highest level. At lower levels RL is a completely different sport but at the highest level mistakes kill and effort in defence is everything. Hence you are gradually IMO seeing fit agile even smaller forwards dominate. NZ played back rowers frequently at prop. Aus were afraid to pick Petro. Liam Farrell is not huge but he can be the modern prototye for a British back rower. The days of Feka forards at the highest level are gone.
Aus forwards although not aggressive enough were good enough. They reflect the low mistake, great defence forward of the modern era. Greg Bird as an interchange added a dash of ambition/flair that was sorely lacking at times. Cameron Smith was amazing IMO.
With NZ having at least parity / the edge in the forward battle it came down to the backs. With the best will in the world the Aus outside backs were never going to pose the threat that Inglis, Folau, Hodges, Hayne would. The tragedy for me is that Brent Tate suffered a serious injury. He has been the outststanding Aus 4N outside back. A player that has suffered so many serious injuries. Tragic.
Lacking the all time great outside backs meant Billy Slater and the halfbacks became the key. Slater was subdued from the start. Whether or not the coach wanted the game played differently who knows but normally Slater plays off Smith and Cronk in a telepathic fashion. None of that from the start, none of the boundless energy. Cronk controls a game superbly but lost out as the game progressed and his pairing with Lockyer lacked flair. Legend but Lockyer is gone as an athlete, a spark.
The big difference. Boldness/decision making. The SKY pundits praised Cronk kicking into the ingoal for a repeat set when Aus were 6-0 up. On the face of it fantastic. However, the kick posed no danger because Nightingale repeatedly swept as the line moved up. The kick got a repeat set but Aus yards from the try line had 3 men over and a certain try. On that occasion Cronk needed to play what he saw and go for it. Try, conversion = 12-0. In the context of such a struggle, huge advantage. Contrast that with Benji deciding to run it on the last seeing Lote defending the long kick. Boldness, playing it as he saw it = a win albeit from a referee mistake. Perhaps the RL Gods smiled on NZ/Benji
The game could have gone either way. Cronk's chip chase was terribly unlucky. Injuries. Billy Slater having a mare at times but NZ were always there like a long distance runner tucked behind the leader ready to pounce and win the race in the last 200 metres.
The sad part England are not nearly as good as either Aus or NZ.
The officials - All 3 must be unhappy with their effort. However, the referee particularly.
Playing a team in successive weeks can be very difficult. The second gam is invariably tighter. I personally think Australia let the genie out of the bottle and showed too much in the easy previous weeks win. Kearney was correct in his post match comments that Aus are still top dogs but the gap, a gap that still exists is narrow. Shame the gap between Aus/NZ and England is so large.
Some tough love by Kearney and a master stroke bringing Wayne Bennett back in close to game day worked superbly for the Kiwis. I think Aus were largely beaten by an aggressive no prisoners defence by NZ. Aus seemed stunned to some extent and really needed to fight fire with fire.
A word on Mr Blair. No not Tony. The meanest most cynical destructive forward in the game today. He's not the best forward at anything but he is a mongrel who knows the dark arts better than anybody IMO. Man after my own heart. I would have him next to me in the trenches. AB has a history of joint pressure / manipulation. The Lewis tackle IIRC he used a secondary effort on the locked lower legs and goodbye Mr Lewis. All is fair in lover and war.
Mannering to centre worked to the Kiwis advantage IMO. Tommy had a very good game putting on one great hit. The interchange of Tommy and Luke works superbly and wisely I think at one stage they brough Luke on but kept Tommy on. Very simplistic scoot, low risk plays coupled with resolute defence eventually got Benji some opportunities.
The Aus team reflects modern RL at the highest level. At lower levels RL is a completely different sport but at the highest level mistakes kill and effort in defence is everything. Hence you are gradually IMO seeing fit agile even smaller forwards dominate. NZ played back rowers frequently at prop. Aus were afraid to pick Petro. Liam Farrell is not huge but he can be the modern prototye for a British back rower. The days of Feka forards at the highest level are gone.
Aus forwards although not aggressive enough were good enough. They reflect the low mistake, great defence forward of the modern era. Greg Bird as an interchange added a dash of ambition/flair that was sorely lacking at times. Cameron Smith was amazing IMO.
With NZ having at least parity / the edge in the forward battle it came down to the backs. With the best will in the world the Aus outside backs were never going to pose the threat that Inglis, Folau, Hodges, Hayne would. The tragedy for me is that Brent Tate suffered a serious injury. He has been the outststanding Aus 4N outside back. A player that has suffered so many serious injuries. Tragic.
Lacking the all time great outside backs meant Billy Slater and the halfbacks became the key. Slater was subdued from the start. Whether or not the coach wanted the game played differently who knows but normally Slater plays off Smith and Cronk in a telepathic fashion. None of that from the start, none of the boundless energy. Cronk controls a game superbly but lost out as the game progressed and his pairing with Lockyer lacked flair. Legend but Lockyer is gone as an athlete, a spark.
The big difference. Boldness/decision making. The SKY pundits praised Cronk kicking into the ingoal for a repeat set when Aus were 6-0 up. On the face of it fantastic. However, the kick posed no danger because Nightingale repeatedly swept as the line moved up. The kick got a repeat set but Aus yards from the try line had 3 men over and a certain try. On that occasion Cronk needed to play what he saw and go for it. Try, conversion = 12-0. In the context of such a struggle, huge advantage. Contrast that with Benji deciding to run it on the last seeing Lote defending the long kick. Boldness, playing it as he saw it = a win albeit from a referee mistake. Perhaps the RL Gods smiled on NZ/Benji
The game could have gone either way. Cronk's chip chase was terribly unlucky. Injuries. Billy Slater having a mare at times but NZ were always there like a long distance runner tucked behind the leader ready to pounce and win the race in the last 200 metres.
The sad part England are not nearly as good as either Aus or NZ.