What this weekend has proved is just how far behind the aussies our game is....yes our 2nd and 3rd best teams gave their mid table sides a run, albeit in defeat, but the game between the champions is like SL v Championship in the cup....Saints are absolutely nowhere near Souths, they haven't looked like threatening their line !
We need to stop pretending we're getting closer and embarrassing ourselves. Maybe next year we invite some of their feeder clubs to partake to actually give our top clubs a chance !

Who is pretending? (apart from the circus SKY team) We have always been capable of running the Aussies close in one off games, still are, but there league and top teams in particular are far superior, and it doesn't take a brain surgeon to work out why. it has been the case for the 30 years i have watched the game and will probably still be the case when im long gone. Not point getting down on it.

Saints have been awful though, shouldn't have been a blow out

Don't think anyone needed this weekend to know that.

Sadly Saints are the weakest SL champs for a few years, and it has shown tonight.

Class act Souths though. Miles ahead anything we have got.

What is the difference in salary cap between SL and the NRL?

We are miles behind Souths, but then so was most of the NRL. They are a team of freaks with a genius coach.

£1.65m vs. £3.57m

They will take some stopping.

I liked the look of St George though, Widdop and Benji will work well imo and Mcgregor should be good for them.

I for one feel slightly embarrassed that we are the equivalent of 0-39 behind the Aussie game, I really didn't think it was so far apart, thought Warrington and Wigan would have won anyway.

This is certainly an argument for an increase in the salary cap.

Just paying somebody more money doesn't make them a better player

South will win 2-3 more titles in the next 5-6 years and be up there with parramatta, Canberra and Brisbane sides of 80's and 90's.
Saints will not. They were a poor side tonight and are indeed week champions.

The Roosters and Canterbury will run them close this season

as wilkin said at the end what this series has shown is that if you make silly mistakes the top sides will punish them. in superleague you can get away with making mistakes, in the nrl more often than not you get punished.

on a different point i was disappointed with roby tonight, was easily outplayed by luke. was ok in defence but took a lot of wrong options in attack. hope he's not another one who is found wanting at the very top level. to be fair to him its a difficult game when you are losing the ruck

It's important to remember that Souths are miles ahead of the majority of the NRL teams too, and physically nobody can match them, even their scrum half is massive for FFS.
What has been evident in the games though is how small some of our backs are in comparison, and the ones that can match them physically lack the class to go with it.

I agree with you about Roby but then you have take into account he was playing behind a beaten pack behind the 8 ball with practically everything on his shoulders. A big burden