Rugby League: Looking for answers
As Australia and New Zealand prepare for the World Cup final, for England the soul-searching has already begun.
Richard Lewis doesn't get back for two weeks, but when he does he wants to sit down with players and coaches and get their views on where it all went wrong.
He already has some ideas of his own and one of them is that players skills are not devreloping sufficiently under the aegis of their clubs. Hence the mention of those two dirty words from other sports - central contracts.
Lewis stresses that he is not proposing to take players out of big sections of the domestic season, like rugby union and cricket, but he does want to examine whether there would be benefits in the league having more input.
To which certain clubs might reply that they have hardly prospered under the league's wing over the last month. Indeed, some of them have gone so far backwards that we will never see them at test level again.
This could be my last blog for a while, as I'm heading for the bush, or going walkabout as it is also known, in search of Australia's best named country team, the Stanthorpe Gremlins. I'll let you know if I find them.
Many have been disappointed by England's performance but lets face it England is not Great Britain....the sum of it's (4?) parts is always more competitive than England alone. The Aussie game has been allowed to descend into a wrestling contest of strength whilst the British game still thrives on ball play - I and many others are sick of the former and in light of this skewed dichotomy in the international game, England had no chance against the 'WWF' Aussies. I live in Sydney and am, like many locals here, a big fan of the NRL but also a big fan of the game. Australia has been allowed (or allowed itself) to place it's own interest in staying on top over the best interests of the game. Players chosen to represent Australia over the last 5 years who could easily have bolstered ranks of NZ, Tonga and Samoa should not have been selected (Willie Mason, Karmicheal Hunt, Anthony Tupou) - another blight on the game where NRL club contracts are incentivised towards rep selections.....for Australia. Finally - how about bringing back the old Kangaroo tours.
Posted by: Stoo | 21 November 2008 at 11:31 AM
It's not hard to find the Stanthorpe Gremlins. When you pass the town on the New England Highway coming from Brisbane, look to your left and you will see the clubhouse and the football ground. You can't miss it. There's a giant white Gremlin painted on the clubhouse roof.
Posted by: Murray | 23 November 2008 at 11:51 PM