We can't blame the rain says Tim Sheens

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/tim-sheens-dismisses-claims-that-a-wet-wembley-will-favour-england-in-four-nations-clash/story-e6frexnr-1226185487095
It looks like Sheens will blame the ref then if Australia lose then.

Can't wait for the games tomorrow, will be my first time at the new wembley. Hope England can give us a result, failing that would be happy with just a good game of rugby.

Looks like it is going to poor it down though.

As long as we make a good showing of ourselves and dont get hammered i will be happy . A win would be a huge bonus .

Looking forward to the game too. Not as confident if it is very wet. If that's the case then I think England will do well.

Linebreaker wrote:Looking forward to the game too. Not as confident if it is very wet. If that's the case then I think England will do well.

Was thinking the same, but I also feel that with the wet conditions England are liable to make more errors than if it was dry. Also with the wet conditions it'll be a forwards game, and from the looks of it the Aussies will out muscle us in that department.

If it does pour down the pitch could be in a right mess by the time England Aus play what with the Wales NZ game before it . That could go in our favour

I could be wrong, but i have feeling that today will see a surprise England victory. Well i hope so.

1991 (??). GB won in Wembley, Aussies won in the last minute at OT. Remember that Meninga burst for a Ricky Stuart try?

Off to Leeds for the decider, it rained all day. The Aussies ripped us to pieces. 18-0? I don't think they dropped the ball all game.

Errrm, can't see the rain helping us much

We cant blame the rain says Tim Sheens

Well no rain .

But can England blame the ref ?

Probably to some degree. England were hard done by some critical decisions which led to turnovers and that 'iffy' obstruction try. Instead of being a few points in it, Australia then scored and it was shut the gate. A bit harsh maybe for England. The surface held up quite well though in the end.

I was surprised how well the pitch did hold up to be honest after 2 games of rugby i expected it to be torn to bits .

Decisions can go for you or against you , i agree with what Jamie Peacock said that England need the 50-50 decisions to go for us and that we need luck and our A game . It was closer then the score suggests .

lets hope we beat NZ next week then we get the decisions in the final

Forgot to mention England's disallowed try... that was a shocker!

So was that try legit? I don't know the laws well enough but it seemed like double movement to me.

Or it could be argued that he wasn't held.

The slow-mo makes it look worse but in real time I believe he wasn't stopped in his tracks and was entitled to go for the line.

Boyd but him down and always had a hold on his jersey.

The commentators argued he still had momentum which is just ridiculous to be honest to try say that.

I dont know that much about Rugby League but surely that Aussie had to be sent off for the high tackle? That was a shocker. The ref also could have gone to the TMO for Englands disallowed try as well.

On the day, i feel the Aussies were slightly better but only slightly mind. Certainly not 16 points better.

Are the rules also not the same in Union where a player has to attempt a tackle? I saw so many shoulder charges that would have resulted in penalties in Union. Can someone clear that up for me?

Tony Williams it was, Billy. Yes, that was a cheap shot. He'll be out of the tournament after that.

Shoulder charges are allowed - unlike in union. That's why players like SBW, Tuquiri, etc had to modify their tackling styles when they switched codes.

Cheers line, i figured that they had to be legal with so many of them flying in. The Aussie fullback really seemed to hurt himself when he shoulder charged the English winger for Englands first try.

As i said, i dont know much about the rules but i am starting to enjoy watching the game. Some excellent skills on show.

Yeah, Billy Slater got a broken collarbone and it's over for him. Who to replace him? I'd probably go for Brett Stewart. He is a devastating fullback too.

Is he in the squad ?

Whether you want to believe of not Sheens constant whinging did get to the ref. He had a very poor game.
Williams should have walked 100%
Why didn't he go to the video ref for the Briscoe try?
This ref certainly won't be taking charge of the final thats for sure.

MBTGOG wrote:So was that try legit? I don't know the laws well enough but it seemed like double movement to me.

Trust us who know the laws of the game better than you it was a legit try. If the ref wasn't sure he should have gone to the video ref.

George Hotel1895 wrote:

MBTGOG wrote:So was that try legit? I don't know the laws well enough but it seemed like double movement to me.

Trust us who know the laws of the game better than you it was a legit try. If the ref wasn't sure he should have gone to the video ref.

The big question for me is why couldn't the ref see that Briscoes ball carrying arm hadn't touched the ground ? he looked to be in a good position to make the call .

eirebilly
thers nothing wrong with shoulder charges as allowed at the proffessional level in league, i personally think they should also be allowed at that level in union.
What the unintiated dont realise is that they often dont come off and came be a very expensive missed tackle. and if anyone gets hurt its often the tackler as opposed to the tacklee.
on Perenara's reffing, rangi Chase should not have been penalised for the strip, which lead to I think it was GI's try.There was only one tackler at the time of the strip.
The Australian try should not have been allowed as the elbow of the arm carrying the ball touched the ground prior to going over the line,at least thats the way that I saw it, but probably would need to have a second look before I could be sure.

KingKenny7Heaven wrote:Is he in the squad ?

Unfortunately no. He is a specialist fullback with the freak factor, whereas Darius Boyd (who will switch positions) is quite capable, having played there in the past. Should be OK - but you know me... I'd just love to see Brett Stewart do his thing. I would have put him on the plane on Saturday afternoon.

Linebreaker
and on a similar note,I would prefer Steve Matai to be left centre for the Kiwis...

Is he injured Laurie?

It's just been announced Robbie Farah is returning home for family reasons.

Look's like Bailey could get a run out against the Kiwis if Graham and Peacock are out, that should be interesting.

Bailey and Carvell would be an interesting prop pairing with Morley off the bench .

aucklandlaurie wrote: Linebreaker
and on a similar note,I would prefer Steve Matai to be left centre for the Kiwis...

A very good player, but he does have rushes of blood to the head on occasions. He can become a liability in a must win game and his Manly connections won't be able to help him out in a International game like they have in the NRL.

Matai would be a thousand percent improvement on this crazy habit of Kearneys to play second rowers at centre (Alex Glenn and Louis Brown)
I somewhat think that there are a number of players who arent taking these international series all the serious. Two weeks ago my son came home after playing touch, he said he had a tough night as he spent the game marking Krisnin Inu.who wasnt available for the Kiwis due to injury.

Wow laurie, that's an experience for your boy!

I agree, Inu is a class player and would have been a welcome addition to the squad had he not been injured.

Linebreaker
And there's more, Fisiahi also was playing, The warriors no2 fullback after Kevin Locke.

He played a few games this year didn't he? I recall some commentator talking him up quite well... can't remember which game it was though.

He actually has a lot of talent, and yes he played about 4 or 5 games in top grade, he has all the pace in the world, but is still a little over awed in NRL,hes only 20.