Some of the tries scored it that game were superb, McGuire's in particular was superb.

Very entertaining game indeed, although a tad embarrassing that it was so competetive given the respective teams (although my dodgy memory may be exaggerating the Bulldogs absentees . . . .)

Unfortunately I think the Leeds v Manly game last year was a pretty fair reflection of the respective strengths of SL and the NRL. If Melbourne turn up with a decent team including Slater, Inglis and Cam Smith - it could get a bit messy. Having said that, they've pasted plenty of NRL sides too in the recent past . . . .

It might be earlier in the season by 3 games, but Melbourne have been back in training for this game long long before the Leeds players that will take to the field in the game.

They will hardly be undercooked for the match.

Our World Club Championship games have always been far from embarrassing. They've been entertaining, tight affairs. We were well beaten last year but still made the score respectable.

I can think of a few WCC games that didn't involve Leeds that were embarrassing though................

Leigh v Wigan was an entertaining, tight affair at the weekend which Leigh won. It was still pretty embarrassing for Leigh though.



No doubt about that, we've had a couple of pastings. We've also beaten Brisbane at full strength. But I suppose that serves only to support my point about the NRL being stronger generally.

Perhaps, although we've played loads of games that turn out to be more competitive than might reasonably have been expected. I'd suggest the term embarrassing only really applies to those that are ultimately lost.

Why was it embarrassing for Leigh to beat Wigan?


I don't want this to sound too sarcastic but............this years award for stating the bleedin' obvious goes to FearTheVee.

Why is the fact that the NRL so clearly much stronger than Super league in any way embarrassing for Leeds if they go out and beat an NRL team in a World Club Challenge?

I suppose I just wanted to see the Dogs ground into the dirt (particularly Luke Patten and Steve Foulkes, both of whom I can't stand).

Because they barely scraped a win over an academy team and were taking drop goals to do so. Most of the Leigh fans' comments I've read suggest they found it pretty embarrassing.



It's not embarrassing for Leeds to beat an NRL team, it's pretty embarrassing for British RL that our best team struggles to beat an NRL team putting out lots of reserve graders and is clinging on at the death. In the same sort of way it was pretty embarrassing how England toiled against PNG in the last world cup.

Not much I can do about the state of British RL. All I can do is hope the other clubs match the efforts of Leeds and Saints on the field and in junior production.

In the meantime I pay my money and watch the games. I paid and watched the Canterbury game and they were not as under strength as you recall and, even if there were, given the supposed superiority of the NRL so what? I left that happy we'd won a title, satisfied with the matchup I had seen and with feelings pretty much far from embarrassment.

This aint a cheap dig but I'd have felt embarrassed had I come away with my team suffering a 38 nil defeat.

Absolutely - not a great night. Perhaps Leeds may have suffered similar agonies had the Dogs sent a proper team, but I suppose we'll never know.

By the same "ain't a cheap dig" token, until Leeds beat a full strength NRL team (i.e. in 2001 the Broncos team beaten by Saints contained the likes of Lockyer, Tuqiri, Sailor, Berrigan, Prince, Webke, Priddis, Civoniceva, Tallis, Carlaw etc) then their WCC record will consist of beating reserve graders and losing comfortably to a Manly side with the cue on the rack.

Here's hoping you can turn over Melbourne.

The conclusion being that all NRL teams only have 13 really good players, the rest just making up the numbers and not therefore counting in any assessment of their team as a whole - presumably the same people who follow this mantra don't therefore include those games throughout the season when those 13 ace players are injured ?

Aye, those well known reserve graders Patten, El Masri, Lolesi, Tonga, Anasta, Corey Hughes, Perry, Asotasi, Maitua and SBW the Dogs put out just weren't good enough.

They were certainly good enough, and had they had some more of their regular team mates (like Willie Mason, Mark O'Meley, Matt Utai, Ben Harris, Brent Sherwin, captain Andrew Ryan etc) with them rather than the likes of Trent Cutler, Brett Oliver, Adam Brideson, Ben Czlisowski(?), Nate Myles on first grade debut and Chris Armit signing from Parra reserve grade, they might have covered off the eventual 7 point margin.

I suppose Bradley Clyde was on standby to cover Trent Cutler's suspected DVT though so it could have been worse . . . .