The only thing annoying me is the usual Aussie tripe on forums/facebook/twitter about how pathetic/sub standard/swear filter words we/SL are.

They really f(swear filter) me off, especially as most don't even watch or know our game.

Tony Smith said a bit back that SL is more entertaining than the NRL(which it is) and they blew a gasket, i had a discussion(yeah we'll call it a 'discussion') with one guy who slated the hell out of SL then admitted he'd never seen a game, this is the mentality you have to deal with.

We win all the usual, our season started/home game/weather(Canberra can be worse than here)/crowd/didn't take it serious.
We lose and it's SL is 2nd rate/blah f'king blah.

Really hate the rugby ockers

To be honest though Yed, are we really bothered about NRL & it's superiority complex ? Apart from this "series" we only rub shoulders with them in internationals & our bread & butter viewing is our own domestic game. I am more than happy with the entertainment i see from the Wire every week without looking at what down under has to offer. The only interest i have in the Aussie game is that it means RL has expanded outside the M62 corridor.

The problem we have these days in this country is that we come across as way too desperate to be accepted by the folk down under. I mean, if the Aussies got the SKY broadcast tonight, which i assume they will have done, all the desperate fawning over there greatness from commentators before, during and after from Eddie and 'the boys' its no wonder they all have such big heads and such high opinions of themselves and brush us off as 2nd rate whatever the outcome.

Anybody who knows anything about RL could see that was a high intensity game with good skills at times which BOTH sides put 100% in and wanted to win.

Gets my back up, they genuinely believe because the UK is higher populated that it translates to RL, not realising that A) we are a minorty sport and B) our cap isn't the same.

We can offer the odd big contract (to the detriment of the rest of the squad) but because the odd player gets big bucks they think the rest do and that our cap is huge and the only reason we can't attract players is because we are inferior, trust me, if our cap was bigger than theirs, they'd see we had no problem taking their best players off them then.

Money talks and we(RL) have very little of it.

Our game must be doing something right though with the increase in the number of SL players being poacher for the NRL ,but unfortunately it isn't doing our game much good.

Let's be honest Thaler didn't drop the ball twice in standard carries (Sims), or throw nothing offloads in attacking positions (Atkins) which handed over cheap possession. He 100% didn't knock on twice from dummy half. And he defo didn't juggle then drop the ball with the line begging.

Did he get the high tackle calls wrong? The first looked like a dead cert yellow card.

What cost you the game was the 6 errors mentioned above plus others in and average performance against an NRL team in pre season that will be lucky to make the eight.

Will the Rabbitohs make the 8...the team they drew with a couple weeks back?

Wire made a lot of sloppy errors but it was a really good game to watch.

Now that's a silly statement from someone who didn't watch that game. It was unlimited interchange with unlimited subs. Both teams used 20 + players, I think maybe 25. For the last 1/4 it was mainly kids and reserves.

But if saying St George are as good as Souths makes you feel better than ok.

But still, Souths should have crushed them, shouldn't they, more so with the fact they can play anyone and everyone in that game?

No because both coaches used it as a pure trail game with very little intensity.

You insinuated St George are up there with Souths as the drew in a trail game with unlimited subs and interchanges.

I said St George are an average NRL which they probably are. That doesn't mean they don't have genuine quality in that team coz they do.

You recon they are as good as Souths?

Last year obviously not, who knows this year, i don't and neither do you.

Who is to say they won't win it, the NRL's unpredictable nature means the last season means nothing (except for the Eels )

They won't be wooden spooners.

Anyway i enjoyed it, also enjoyed the sledging with Ciriaco Mescia, i got right under his skin.

It was an exciting game.