Just started to watch the Australian Grand Final.
And I’m jealous!
Whereas our game has been on a downward spiral for a number of years, the Australian game has thrived.
Their players are better, the administrators are better, the coaches are better, the games are better, the referees are better and the commentators are better.
Should I renew my season ticket for Wigan Warriors next year?
Definitely not!
Will I?
Yes.
Why?
I’ve no idea.
Even if Wigan improve, the game won’t.
Wish I lived in Australia.

The fact we make their administrators look good says it all about how poor ours are

What do you mean by that? Over the last 24 month's, Peter V'landys has probably been one of the world's best. He's made himself into a shrewd, top operator.

Last year, he brought the NRL back before any other major sporting comp and, this season, he's organised the full relocation of all players, families, support staff & others to QLD. That's two huge achievements.

He was also instrumental in the changes like 6 again etc that massively increased the speed of the game.

Kudos to the ref.

People are quick to comment when they make mistakes but no so much when they do well, he let the game flow and I thought he was spot on with his decisions.

Terrific match.

Here's the thing tho, all season long head high shots have meant cards.

The ref had the balls today to realise that fans & the players don't want to see cards in finals. The shot on Arrow, would have been a red if Kendall was the ref.

Kendall hides behind the letter of the law & gets praise for it. Sutton (in his 5th GF) goes against the law and gets praise for it.

Gus didn't praise the ref for ignoring the head shot, nor should anyone.
How can you have one rules for every game all season then different rules for a Final?
There was one play where the Souths players caught a high ball then when he was tackled the ball shot out went 15-20 mtrs and was grounded in goal. It was obvious that the Penrith player had punched the ball out and it was a knock on yet the ref gave a goal line drop out.
Every one knew it had been punched out due to the velocity of ball and the distance it went. The idea it had been dropped was ridiculous!

Thought the ref was poor and when commentators suggest Souths hadn't had 50/50 all game then you know somethings not right.

I could not understand why Cleary received hardly any kick pressure. The one time Souths did hunt him down resulted in a poor clearance. It was so obvious to me but somehow Bennet and Demetriou didn’t prioritise it.

He's also killed the game with the high tackle rule, sin bins etc.

Kudos for keeping things moving (although whether it should have done when half the country is in lockdown is another matter) but from my viewing this season of the many NRL programs, they don't see him as the success you do.

This. I think Sutton is the best ref, but they are all (even Klein!) better than ours.

Have been a Penrith season ticket holder for the past 20 years so was happy with the win.

Digressing a little, remember going to watch Penrith at home when both Mike Stephenson and Bill Ashhurst played their first match for them.

I have watched the game for 75 years and if I had to name the best Wigan side over this period I would put Bill in the second row.

A couple of times I've wondered if the last thing the RFL would actually want would be a lot more of us watching the NRL, which is exactly what's happened since the start of the pandemic.

In short, far fewer of us now need to be told that our game is in the Stone Age by comparison because we've seen it for ourselves.

I've heard all the excuses. We haven't got any money. Our TV deal is rubbish. We only play along the M62 corridor. Yet lots of us are old enough to remember the early 1990s, when some of the best players in the world were playing British rugby league, when we regularly won the WCC convincingly and when we ran Australia very close in a World Cup Final at Wembley, only losing because of a bent New Zealand referee.

I think we've got a right to ask questions of our administrators. To try and find out how we frittered all that away. To find out what plan there is to revive our fortunes. And if there isn't one, to find out how we get rid of them.

dont we all....... instead of this h0le and all the self -inflicted problems we have to deal with at the moment

It's about coaches, even more than players, I think. Time and again Craig Bellamy has taken unfancied journeyman players, often no better than SL standard, and made them into something better, so they can fit seamlessly in his side. Penrith just won the GF with 13 of the 17 coming through academy. That would warm Shaun Wane's heart!

And I think the other point, which I've made before, is that in criticising the standard of SL, it''s a bit harsh to judge it by Wigan's standard, as we have been literallly the worse team in the comp to watch this last year.

But Cruncher's point is a fair one. SL looks vastly poorer than the NRL in every respect. Not least the professionalism of the whole TV package, studio pundits, commentators, the Bunker set-up. All much better than our equivalents. And that won't change whilst it's on Sky. Does anyone buy a Sky Sports package just for SL? I wouldn't (I wouldn't give Sky a penny of my-earned anyway,as it goes, but I mean, even if I didn't have an ideological objection to Sky, I wouldn't pay God knows how much it is these days just for SL) Such SL needs as I have, I can get down the pub, if necessary (like tomorrow).

I was fortunate enough to go to the Grand Final. I said the the same thing that every time the bunnies kicked they were put on their backside. Pressure on Cleary worked the one time the Bunnies did it. The protection when receiving a bomb from the Panthers was far better too with their blocking players.

To be fair yeah I'm probably one of a small number but I buy Sky Sports for Super League. I watch NFL and occasionally NRL on there but if they lost Super League I would cancel and move to whoever got it.