The first 40 minutes had not one piece of skill...not 1. The "wow" factor that some desire only happens when fatigue kicks in....
Look at the NSW fist try.....you see similar tries week in week out in SL and the NRL.
Same with the first Q'lnd try......a bomb that a 10 year old could have defused......

SoO is a distraction from the NRL that assassinates attendances surrounding it and means SFA to anyone outside of the 2 states involved...the press/media build it up and "some fans" start to believe it.....

Don't get me wrong, SoO is pure theatre and the game in a few weeks will be must see TV.....but then again, so is masterchef.

If you don't like great defence watch the u20's.

Regular attendee at the Stoop eh?

I watched the game with 2 lads from uni who have hardly watched any RL at all apart from a couple of Hull away games, and they absolutely loved it. There is more to RL than just scoring tries, and that showed this morning, 66 tackles from Farah and he was still getting to the ptb in the last minute, a massive effort.

Stick to masterchef then. It's about your level.
Because you haven't got a clue about rugby league.

It was an average game of footie......nothing more, nothing less. Farah's tackle rate was great......up there with the often ignored Steele Retchless record at London...but because it was Origin, expect churches built to honour it soon

What moments of skill in the first 40 stood out for you then? Come on genius...rather than just try to look clever and fail, try to debate the issue without the personal insults?
1 x Try in 39 minutes......the only other opportunity was the comical miss by 4 Qlnders in the early stages.....Tate, Slater etc getting knocks.......that was about it.
Line breaks? Clever /lipped offloads?

Even St Billy of Slater made mistakes.....it was a very average game of footie.

You really need to get over your hatred of SOO

Been watching RL for almost 40 years and SOO is the most intense, captivating and enjoyable rugby league I have ever experienced. Include in that Grand Finals, Challenge Cup Finals, Internationals, etc... before you try smart ar$ed quips about being a Fax fan

Last night there was no shortage of skill, just as somebody mentioned two very good sides cancelling each other out. Positional play was supurb, Cronks kicking excellent, Carney's break sublime, and so on and so on. Considering the conditions it was a testament to the strength of the game at this level that is was as good as it was.

SOO also brings out pride and passion in players (and supporters) which is too often missing from modern sport. If all this doesnt excite you, maybe RL is not your game. And before you ask, i was at the game and its the best $85 i have spent in a long time.

Great game but considering it is the pinnacle of our game there were some basic core skill errors on display!

Which Basic core skills are you talking about?

Because it was played at a normal speed in great weather.

Thought it was a great game and the intensity and brutality in defence was unreal.
However in fairness to others, there was very little attacking endeavour to match. I don't think people are asking for a Super League speed ruck in which the 9's can make tons of metres from dummy half or terrible defence, but just less of the 5 drives and kick and the reluctance to take an attacking risk.
Defensively, Mitchell Pearce should take a bow! We saw in game one he's not afraid to mix it with bigger men, but his hit on Myles(?) was sensational.

I have been to Origin and I have to say, I have witnessed more passion from fans at a Hyde/Stalybridge Celtic game. Passion and RL in Australia is vastly overrated. The atmosphere in grounds and bars in Australia (or bars in England full of Aussies) during games is best described as 'sterile', in my experience.

If someone doesn't like SOO, it doesn't mean they don't like RL. I have watched some SOO games that have been great to watch, some of them have been rather dull. What people like about the game of RL will vary. Maybe you should accept that what you regard as ‘best’ is not necessarily the same as everybody else’s opinion.

What do you define as passion?
In Australia sports fans are not the same as the UK in how they follow their chosen team.
England has people singing songs and doing the big group hand claps, that stuff is not in the Oz make up.

The Crowd at Wednesdays SOO looked pretty passionate to me, it was a sea of Blue and Maroon, I did cringe somewhat at the silly wigs they must have been giving out.

Look at Cricket and the barmy army with their antics and Trumpets and Drums etc, for some people that is the pinnacle of following your team, for others they are a pack of arsxholes trying to grab their own attention.

As you say each to their own.