Clearly we are. Could you explain what a "moderately team" is please?

I may not be a bon viveur or gastronome, but still I feel certain nothing remotely like this can ever have been seen in England. No, really. Much less at such a bargain price. I mean, there's no ice cream there, but hey, at the money, it would be churlish to quibble, even if they don't run to a soup and a roll.

Half a mile outside of any town or city in Aus it's just pure scrub, filled with things that bite and poison you. Waiting for you in the sea are those lovely box jellyfish, sharks and all sorts of nasties. In Britain, as long as you stay away from Leeds, St Helens and parts of Warrington, there's very little chance of your rest and recreation being disturbed by horrible venomous things.

I'm sure Aus is a lovely place, if beaches and BBQ is all you want

What about culture, food, arts cost of living etc.. Infact I'm sitting in leeds city centre drinking on a terrace right now.

On any given weekend I can visit Paris, Barcelona,Berlin, London for a couple hundred quid. In the winter I can snowboard in world class ski resorts in just a couple of hours.

Sydney and Melbourne have a thriving cultural life. Haven't you heard of the world famous Sydney Opera House? As for food Sydney is one of the great restaurant cities of the world, with every variety of European, Asian and Middle Eastern food available for your choice. Melbourne is not far behind. There are numerous cafes in both the city centre and the better suburbs. Only London can compete with Sydney in restaurants. No northern English city can.

The Economist has in recent years rated Melbourne the world's most livable city, with Sydney in the top 10. Leeds and Manchester are not in the race.




Skiing is available in Australia in the winter too. (Perisher, Thredbo).
However I will concede that the ability to visit the great European cities at ease is the one great advantage that Britain has over Australia.

Maybe he's just sick of being surrounded by Aussies with their stupid accents, fake American lingo 'bro', know it all attitude, 80's Buffon or gangster rapper haircuts, and stupid nicknames that all end in 'O'.... Stevo, Wayno, Bozo

Having to spend more than 10 minutes in their company is enough to come back home - they're almost on a par with the yanks!

It's a ly I tell you, a ly!!!

To ease the minds of the pedants.

Without the ly the comment is still valid IMO

I think you may find its the Kiwi /Pacific Islanders that use the term Bro and Cuz more than the Aussies.
I don't think I have hardly ever hear an Aussie use those terms.

Then again, The English people that speak like American street rappers with thick English accents sound really cool if you could tell what they were saying, often movies have sub-titles for the American market.

How has this turned into a living in the UK v living in Australia argument??? LOL, quite frankly who cares, live where you want to live. None of us know what Widdop prefers either.

Jean, you are sooo narrow minded my little 'Pétain' frenchie,
I'm sure Widdop if he did move back to England would be quite happy with his stash of cash and be able to take jollies to any beach he so pleased, there are some lovely ones all over the UK, the Scily Isles & Jersey are fab too. All of which Mr Widdop and any little widdops would be able to enjoy without fear of sharks and 40+C cancer inducing sun.

We have some of the most amazing countryside in the world, Yorkshire is just breathtaking and I love coming home to just sit and look at it, Scotland & Wales have incredible places to see that can just make you smile. We have some of the most interesting heritage and culture, across the water Normandy/Britanny all just a couple of hours away and the selection of apple & pear brandies..oh my, further on Germany, Denmark, Spain, Italy etc and the Eastern European countries with all their thousands of years of culture to explore, North Africa only an hour further.

Whilst Sydney et al might well have tropical weather all year round and and an oprey house and a bridge, that's about it..oh and let's not forget Uluru. Comparatively Australia is devoid of culture and a few large shrimps and some types of fish just isn't anything close to the diversity you can find here in the UK alone. There is just so much more to getting your budgie smugglers on and lazing by the beach, there is so much you are missing out on living over here with a decent wedge in your bank account..
You must be so bitterly jealous he could have the chance to pick and choose where he lives, if he moves what's it to you..I really pity narrow minded folk like you, how sad your life must be ...

Gareth [imight[/i be willing to be financially worse off at Leeds if he wants to raise a family in England whilst transferring from one good team situation to another.

Who are in your opinion, the moderate by NRL standards teams in this country?

Any Super League Team!

They do not have the resources or will to be like the NRL teams consistently.

I would rate Leeds, Saints and Wigan around Penrith standard but not consistently and the rest maybe , on a very good day around the Titans/Sharks level.

The Dragons IMO look to be a team capable of going places, their defence is, currently, very good and consistent.

One off games prove nothing.

The Dragons are looking good, but they've flattered to deceive before. I wonder if this new-found defensive steeliness can last.

Penrith standard is pretty good these days. I don't disagree with you, but hold to my view that, for the all the justified complaints about the poor standard of SL this season, the NRL in fact has been pretty ordinary too this year. I've lost the will to live watching Canterbury and Manly this year, and just watched the mighty Rabbitohs concede a try so comically soft that a pub side would be ashamed of it.