The Aussies have got another gear in them.

This week we will have all these fairy stories on this forum but after the weekend we can get down to discussing the proper issues, do we need a new coach, are there too many overseas players in the league, is it time for Morley/Peacock/Sinfield/Ellis/Wilkin to be pensioned off?

Dropping him twice isn't enough, he needs to be dropped from the team then dropped from the squad and then repeatably dropped until he stops whining

Like most, I think we have a genuine chance for once, but think Aus will win.

If a lot of things go our way we can win. We won't, though.

Had the game against NZ been reffed properly we'd have been running points in against 11 men.

You're not Leeds fan then. He worked hard, tackled well, kicked intelligently and moved our forwards around perfectly. Organised, tidy and efficient, the same qualities that have enabled Australia to cr@p all over us for 30+ years.
But no, let's play unpredictable off the cuff bollony, force every pass and p!$$ posession away like we've tried for so long and see how that works.

Exactly. Without the percentage paly and guidence Sinfiled gives us, we'll be playing out of our own half for the whole game.

Sinfield was a little guilty of forcing some short passes, but apart from that, he's doing a bang up job.

I do like it when Chase takes up first receiver, which he has been doing. He spent the whole game against France and Wales stood wide and was innafective.
When he's at 1st receiver, he creates doubt, which in turn sucks the defending players in to create space on the wings.

As I've said in the MOM thread, that's a complete myth. Sinfield didn't touch the ball most sets until the last tackle and it was Roby directing things from dummy half. Sinfield's positional kicking was good, but it's not hard to do that when you are kicking from inside the opposition's half every time because the pack is so dominant.

Every time we have a decent performance in one of these competitions, people start believing we're a match for the Aussies. I think we're probably closer this year than we have been for a while, but I still think they'll hsve a bit too much class when it matters. I really hope I'm proved wrong.

One things that is for sure is that we are building well and have looked better this year. I honestly think we have caught up a little during this competition. Not sure if our half backs will be the same next year but apart from that most of this squad will be around next year which is good. As for Saturday can we play as well as at Wembley, and can we catch them on an off day? I dont know, but there is genuine hope for the future.

It would be massive for RL in this country for England to get a win, with the 2013 WC coming up nothing is more important than some success for the national side.

It would be a very hollow victory for me. Picking players like Chase and Heighington devalues the national team and only goes to show how weak our game really is. I have no interest in the result and won't even be watching.

Are you Nick Fozzard?

What nonsense. Every other nation in pretty much every other sport has done it for decades.

Oh right, well that makes it okay then.

Including Austrailia Rugby League.

Chris Heightinton had been continually overlooked for rep honours in Aus, something that was considered a bad decision by many. He decided that if the Australia selectors didn't appreciate him, then he'd switch to England - What's the biggy?
I beleive this is similar to how Kevin Peterson ended up playing for England cricket.

If Australia lose to a side containing a player they've continually rejected, how is it hollow? If we'd somehow paid Thurston, Lockyer, Gallen and Inglis to swap allegence, then ok, but that's not the case. There certainly doesn't seem to be any lack of commitment from him.

Besides, if we'd had Burgess and O'Loughlin fit, there's a good chance he wouldn't have made the 17.