It would have been an absolute fluke of a victory. Halls finger did just happen to brush the ball as it bounced on the ground. Where you are wrong is that is downward pressure.

Nonsense, his finger bends backwards. Try it yourself and see how much pressure you have to apply for that to happen.

I don't see the difference between the Jenson try and the Hall no try, both only had tiny amounts of pressure on the ball

I thought we were excellent to day but our back row didn't create anything not generate any offload, Widdop is an outstanding half back, if our back row run some lines then he would pick a pass for them
We also have two exceptional wingers in Charnley and Hall and neither for them got a decent pass from our centres

The above negatives aside we have come on in leaps and bounds, we were excellent today and I'm very proud to support them, we just need to keep going and we will beat the Aussies

I completely agree and feel that really they should be having neutral refs in an international game. ie if possible New Zealand refs for Eng v Aus and English refs for Aus v NZ etc. I stick by what I say if that would have been in England, super league then it would have been a try. Does this highlight the fact that effectively we were playing Australian rules in an international game - yes I believe it does. Another example of the greatest sport not having an official body that has unified rules throughout the world.

I am not a sore loser and have been to many, many aussie defeats but this now highlights a problem in international games really. Well done lads and great to see two Leeds players score. However, I didn't like some of Watkins' defence. Ryan Hall the man of the match for England. Great play by all players really and Sarginson was the architect of Hall's play, - true class that pass and step. Time to look forward.

This could potentially be the last time we play them for 2 years now. Too little too late I'm afraid.

Forget the Hall incident at the end, at 12-4 we had plenty of opportunities to put on extra points and really take a hold of the game.

Unfortunately it was the same old story though - stupid stupid penalties and individual errors put the Aussies in scoring positions, and like always, they were much more clinical than us when given the chance.

Big Samuel Burgess will probably return to rugby league in time for the 2017 World Cup. By that time Darryl Clarke will probably have learned how to pass the ball to supporting players when there is a three on two advantage to his attacking side. By then Joseph Burgess will have developed at the Sydney Roosters into the second best winger in the world (behind Ryan Hall). By then England will have found another world class centre to compete with Jack Reed and Daniel Sarginson for the two England centre positions. By then the Burgess twins and Christopher Hill will be in their prime, and 32 year old James Graham will still be giving everything.

In 2017 England will still have a chance for redemption through victory over Australia.

Meh. F*ck em. If they want to cheat their way to "victories" let them play by themselves. I honestly don't care if we lose to them. It's like if Ultimate Warrior had lost to British Bulldog. Why would anyone care about a manufactured event.

Explain to me how it's possible to touch the ball while it's on the ground without any downward pressure.

Calling it a 'graze' doesn't make it less of a contact.

All very well but Australia will never be more there for the taking than they were today and we passed up the best chance to humuliate them in decades.

The past tells us these chances dont come often.Australia will also be far stronger come 2017.

I have not yet read the thread but to me it was the same old. Worst Oz team in over 50 years only had to play for about 15 minutes to beat us. They beat us in the way I predicted - held onto the ball, used their quicker, more creative men and launched GI a few times. The fact that they managed to win by this route despite not getting it together and being frankly poor for most of the match speaks volumes for our lack of ability on the pitch and in coaching. We need to rip up the Yorkshire coaching manual of sending a few big guys up the middle. We need more James Graham and less Burgess boys. Joel Tomkins does nothing for me, Liam Farrell for me is too light-weight and niggly and Sam Tomkins is too physically lightweight at this level, although did play reasonably well today (especially with Ryan Hall taking his high balls for him early on). Clark gave us some go forward but his two errors in passing in attack, especially the one before half-time, arguably cost us the match. As to the last minute decision - maybe under current interpretations it could be a try but at first sight didn't look it and in times gone by would never have been given. What should be investigated and perhaps overturned is the decision that it was no try because it was bouncing up when Hall touché it. That was manifestly incorrect and if the video ref did say that (the actual ref did) then the England management should not just lie down they should object and keep objecting throughout the rest of the tournament. This Australian refs are best nonsense needs knocking on the head once and for all if we are ever to have a credible international game.

Australia were poor. GI dropped the ball several times. They had no go forward. But they won. That's all you need to know.

so close yet again!

how many times have we seen those tries given?! was a try for me.

shame we dropped off in the second half to let them back in it

going to be hard to get into the final now, need to beat NZ by more than 10?

England had no field position second half, primarily because every time Australia were pinned in their own half Sutton managed to find a dubious penalty to get them out of trouble.

Consciously or otherwise, that refereeing performance was corrupt.

Agree 100%, there was something not right about that performance from the officials today. They ignored so many 2nd attempts and flops by the aussies and countless late shots on the English kickers and yet managed to pull us 5 times for very dubious offences in the 2nd half and at key times too.

Never felt so genuinely cheated as I do after that showing today. Questions MUST be asked!

People say we have the best pack in the competition but the reality is we are over-reliant on one man - James Graham. He takes the ball up, tackles and now seems to be doing the running and ball handling you would normally expect from the back three. I think for all the size of the front row the pack let us down (with the exception of Graham) today.