I tend to agree with criticising all 3. However Yeaman & Briscoe should have been pushing up and then they would have been position.

A brain fart but he created an overlap and had every right to expect them to be in position.

People on this thread blaming one player are fools!! Whether Sam is a full back or Sinfield is a stand off or whether Hall should have passed or Roby was lacking aggression or whatever dosent matter, if England scored the first try in the 2nd half they could have had the Aussies panicking and may well have gone on to win the game but they didnt. The Australians are far better, its nobodys fault, get a life and enjoy it for what it was.... i did!

What is worthwhile mentioning is that England players werent getting in hard or bullying the way Australia were, too soft!

The Scoreline flattered Australia for sure but England (but for all the moany d fans like most on here) were superb throughout the tournament.

The pivots are all queenslanders.

We need to be patient with the Exiles concept but also make big and some will say harsh changes to the league set up.

You can't blame Tomkins and you also can't blame Sinfield. I was hearing people saying after the game that the forwards matched the Aussies and the backs were the problem. What game were they watching? The Aussie pack was miles better than ours in every way. The were stronger, quicker, more skilful, they played the ball quicker, they dominated our forwards in the tackle almost every time.
Their pack ran ours ragged and there's little that the halves or the outside backs could have done to influence the game.

I think not. I think the scoreline flattered England. Had it not been for Agent Smith on the video replay Australia would have been out of sight by halftime.

England were crap last night. They have gone backwards. I don't really care how well they did against NZ. We have beaten NZ many times over here and tbf NZ didn't look like they wanted to be here at any time during the comp. They also left half their team at home.

Our test is always against the Aussies in a final. We were better in 2009. We have gone backwards since then under McNamara. No surprise there IMO. Bradford did too.

Correct!

Spot on this. I don't think even Brough or Briers (IMO the best field kickers in the game) would have kicked well under that sort of pressure.
Similarly, most fullbacks would have been at least a little nervy if given so little protection from their team-mates.
Nor do I think Thurston and Lockyer (great players though they are) would have looked so impressive if the England forwards had dominated in the way the Aussies did.

The "who's to blame" mentality is typical of the small-minded parochial and blinkered attitude of many RL fans, and just gets in the way of any sensible analysis of the game.

Disagree, It starts from 8 & 10-13 allowing 6,7 and 9 the time and space to get on the front foot and express their cleverness/craft.

I think the difference was out kicking game and PTB speed. The first part of the 2nd half we was looking good, untill the last 20 minute syndrome kicked in as per usual.

one thing that could be said of the utilisation of sam is that when the ball was sent back on the inside instead of out to sam, he would often act as a foil which the aussies followed, enabling the likes of wilkin and jjb, who would often receive the ball, to make a little more ground. intentional or not, now people are more and more aware of sams strike power maybe this is a tactic that needs to be adopted or at least something to be aware of.

No, 6, 7 and 9 (in particular) handle the ball more than the other players. If their passing is not crisp and accurate enough then those player you mention can't get the momentum.

Sadly in our game, they are at premium because we've become obsessed with quick play the balls and scoots from dummy half. The craft has been removed.

They all tried their best, they all gave their all. I wouldn't criticise any player, or the coaching staff or the RFL. The Aussies are just too good for us. Thaiday and Gallen were outstanding, Smith was superb and then as back up they had Thurston, Inglis, Lockyer etc. It was too much. If we played them every week for 6 months, I'd be surprised if we even won 5 games.

The plus points for me from the 4 nations is that we did install some sort of competition into the tournament and I for one thoroughly enjoyed it even though the result went against us.

+1. Class players who play at 6,7 and 9 every week at the highest level. Until we start producing quality players in these key positons we'll always be behind them.

One good thing from last night , parked right across from the ground car park B, didn't leave early ( no Wigan walk here ) Saints fans note! stroll back after final whistle, from getting in the car less than 5 mins and on the M621, well done Leeds police, they had blocked the road to allow traffic to leave, please note Wigan police !