The winner comes from the clash of the two Grand Finalists, obviously!

The other two games are an early attempt to expand the concept into something that will mimic the Champions League at some time in the future. If the SL representatives in games 2 & 3 fall flat and get mullered then the idea will be stangled at birth much like the original expanded series in the mid 90s

Oh so true!

I think that William Eve v Jean Capdouze should feature as a warm-up. See who can prove to be the most cynical, pessimistic, glass-half-empty bore of them all.

Given the St. Helens win over a 12 man Wigan side, and given Nathan Brown's departure as coach, and given the departure of Iosia Soliola as player, the South Sydney vs St Helens match is likely to turn into a fiasco. St Helens cannot possibly compete with the power of South Sydney. I fear a more one sided WCC than when Sydney Roosters thrashed St Helens 38-0 in 2003 (a match held in bitterly cold weather which I unfortunately attended).

Don't you have a BBC website to go and obsessively monitor for it's glass half-empty RL coverage?

The Brisbane vs Wigan match is going to be the match of the weekend, given the likely thrashing of St Helens by South Sydney. I expect a few fisticuffs early, and a bitter forward battle, before Brisbane runs riot in the final 20 minutes.

You might be right but then again if Saints have all their players fit and replace Soliola, they might just give the Bunnies a game.

Stolen from the front row forum

Soliola is difficult to replace because of his passion for the club - but we do have cap space for it. I suspect it will be saved for whoever comes in though. Thompson may be the man for the job all along...

At least next year we will have some halfbacks available.

The team would be a whole lots more creative. You are looking at

Lomax Makinson Percival Turner Swift Burns Walsh(if fit if not Lance) Amor Roby Thompson LMS Vea Wilkin

Richards, Mose, Walmsley, (last place to one of many forwards or possible Lance if Walsh is fit.)

I've highlighted those players who would be able available who were not tonight or were playing out of position tonight due to Lance having to leave the field.

As you can see our best line up is very much changed from last nights line up.

At least 8 changes,

Has nobody started a campaign for Wigan's withdrawal from the Word Club Series yet? Well I can't speyk!

It has caused an uproar in Australia. Even the normally jovial commentator Andrew Voss was shocked. He described it in the Sydney Morning Herald as the worst he had ever seen.

Benjamin Flower would have been a marked man were he to play in the WCC. But I am sure his punishment will include him not being selected for the Wigan game against a rampant Brisbane.

Is that a joke? If not, that's a ing joke!

You're implying that every single Yorkshire man and woman is a sad ... I take it Yorkshire have not bothered to watch either of the last two Grand Finals? did Yorkshire think the season finished two weeks ago? and did the whole of this country not bother with the World Cup Final last year?

"If I'm not playing I'm going home!"

I'm quite happy to play [iany[/i Aussie side. St George will by the best team Wire play next season, even if they did finish 11th in the NRL.