The defensive nature of the Aussie's game maybe an efficient way of winning games but I'm afraid it bores me to death. Today's game only came to life once the result was determined. I'd much rather we played an open game and entertained rather than trying to match Australian tactics. Go down with all guns blazing.

Absolute garbage! I want us to play to win, if that means grinding out that win then fine.

If we win it by playing expansive rugby great if not the armwrestle can also be entertaining.

Please elaborate on how expansive entertaining unstructured rugby has been successful for us as a nation and ourselves as a club in our quest for grand final success.....

Knowing when you can play expansive rugby is the key and when to break from structured sets.

WB's use of substitutes is strange but he is just getting started and knows what he is working with, he has eluded to it plenty in pre match interviews we need to learn how to win these games, we have the personal but fall short. I think there will be some changes made for the wc, playing in the nrl should jot just mean that u get into the England team.

We really don't have the personnel. The forwards match up OK-ish, but we are nowhere bloody near their standard in the backs, especially in the halves.

Get ready for a dull ride, fellas.

I was never a fan of Mcnamara. He'd just won us a series, yet we'd let him go. We all know Bennett's cV, yet the Aussie's didn't want him, because they preferred Meninga, so Bennett goes for our job, so he can try to get even. Great. Snapping up cast Off's, just to give him a chance to massage his ego.

We'd have been better bringing back Nobby Noble, our last coach to beat Australia. That's appalling. Not beating them in a decade.

Today we played a poor man's NRL style game, and surprise surprise, we came up short.

The only chance we have of beating them, is to play an old fashioned SL style of rugby. But our (current SL) game style is so stifled, and NRLlite, we don't stand a chance.

As I said earlier, we need to go back to basics, and learn to pass and tackle properly. It may take a couple of seasons, but so be it. When we do this, play as a passing team. Not an NRL boreathon, where little risks are taken.

I fear Bennett will merely see his substantial (it won't be cheap) contract out, and we won't be any better than we were a month ago.

I find it hard to watch our wingers n centres taking tackle 1-3 from our own line, this was happening in the first few minutes, we need our pack to be taking these balls in to gain meters. Australia team had props doing the drives and they made yards.

Not having Clark to come on was a bad call fast play the ball or not a change of pace he can inject was needed. We had opportunities and there were periods of the game where we could have gotten on top but failed to capitalise.

Centres I'd look to Bateman and currie going forward they add size and strength and both are ball playing second rowers and had experience at centre leaving second row for Cooper Whitehead watts n Taylor to battle it out.

I agree about the basics our passing has been terrible especially from dummy half the amount of balls from ptb that have been way off mark is an issue.

Its been a predictable tournament with Scotland being the shining light with their performances against both us and nz showing improvement. I do think that we have the personal to beat both Australia and new Zealand. despite the players stating that they don't put the Australians o some kind of pedestal and believe that they are the best, they do and whilst there's not that confidence and refusal to lose were pretty much beat before a ball is even played

Fact is we were closer to the Aussies in the Ashes series in the late 80's and 90's then now, and that was with rugby that wasn't like watching paint dry. Compare that dirge today with this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4IYW4kwrQU

Fact is we were closer to the Aussies in the Ashes series in the late 80's and 90's then now, and that was with rugby that wasn't like watching paint dry. Compare that dirge today with this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4IYW4kwrQU

Mr Bennett has been touted on this forum many times as being the best coach on the planet. I do wonder though if the NRL tag has coloured his vision & made some of our players believe their own hype.

Perhaps Bennettus Maximus will be starring in the next Russell Crowe epic.

Until we get back to a format of tour sides and test match rugby, international league is dead in the water. There are two teams world wide, which is not good enough. Return to GB format and we stand a chance of resurrecting the international game. The RFL have diluted the pot so far it is now unworkable.

Lomax - Solid, had his best game for England against the Aussies and looks as though he's settled into the team.

Hall & McGilvary - Brilliant again

Percival - All the attributes to be a world class centre but not not ready for test level rugby yet

Watkins - Showed glimpses of that he is capable of. A bad season at club level knocked his confidence maybe? It shouldn't really matter in all honesty, very disappointing

Brown - utterly speechless. waste of space.

Widdop - Bang average. Matty Smith offered us more at 7.

Williams - was on the field for a shorter amount of time than Widdop or Brown and still looked better than both of them combined.

Hill, Graham, Coops, Whitehead - Tough, no nonsense go forward workhorses and more than matched their opposite number.

Bateman - Love as a player. No fear in him what-so-ever. I love his anger.

Slammin Sam - Been trying far to hard this series. needs to let go of the past and concentrate on his natural game.

Twins - Not going to lie.... Awful. Ball hangling skills are non existant and their fitness looks shot at. Taylor on the bech would have been better.

Hodgeson - showed glimpses of quality but other than that average.

Clark must be injured to leave him out. I've been very disappointed in how he has been used off the bench in this series. All in all England looked flat footed throughout most the game, not running onto balls and opened up by simple drop offs and tip ons. Come the 4th tackle it took that long for the ball to reach a half back the convict defence was already up in their face and closed any chance of anything down.

One thing I did think though is that after Graham & Sam starting dishing the biff out for 5 minutes after the Aussies looked soft. They don't like it one bit. I'd be inclined to roughing them up and niggling every tackle. They love a clean structured game, it's simple to stop them having it.

Also Hicks is a Scheißhaus. Cameron Smith did nothing but moan/whinge/complain about every decision. He effectively reffed the game himself.

not sure about lomax, he's looked ok during the series, but i do wonder about them passes yesterday, did percival overrun them all? likewise did mcgilvray or was lomax passing badly and behind them?


PS i dont like having lomax in the team as it makes me think someone has stuck chris hill in the drier for too long. Can we get him a different scrum hat.

Did anybody really expect us to win this ? i suspect most people were simply hoping to beat NZ and get to the final.

It's a warning to RL in the UK. We need to strengthen the grass roots, get more kids into the game. With a larger base we can hope to bring out a few more top quality players and start to challenge the southern hemisphere again.

Supporting both Wires and England I'd have to say:

"I've got a good feeling about 2017....."

Exactly.
Scrap the Magic Weekend, and start the season a week or two earlier.

Then go to Aus for a proper 4/5 week tour. If the clubs have to do without their International players for those weeks then so be it, it's why they have squads.
To make it a bit more even you could stop clubs playing some of their overseas quota players whilst the tour is taking place.

i.e. If say Wire had three players on tour then whilst they were away their opponents would have to forfeit three overseas players from their squad for their Wire games.

Also everyone is heaping praise on the Aussie half-backs, but it all starts with the #9. Cam Smith is a genius in that position, no endless dummy half scoots and then get tackled. We haven't produced a decent passing/controlling English hooker since Martin Dermott. some of the passing from the floor in the Superleague is atrocious. Look at how good Wire were when Monaghan was at #9, how much better Wigan were with Riddell.

Do you honestly believe what you have posted?

Please tell me which Wales/Scotland/Ireland players would walk into this England squad and improve it enough to be able to match the Kangaroos? An extra blue stripe on the shirt won't mean the players are any better...