'SIX TO GO' - COLUMN1 - WORLD CLUB SERIES SPECIAL

I really enjoyed the series of games this weekend and believe that this is a concept that the game needs to stick with – not necessarily expand upon just yet – but with one or two tweeks it could grow to be a very meaningful event. As the saying goes ‘’Mighty oaks from little acorns grow’’.

After the first two games the overall feeling on Social Media was that this was a great concept and all was rosy after a couple of tight and hard fought victories for the NRL – after the blow out in the official World Challenge match last night there seemed to be a total wind change and it was all back to doom and gloom and the ‘’massive’’ differences in class between Super League and the NRL.

I think there is no doubt that there is a difference in class to a certain extent but not as big as South’s did a really good job at making it look last night – that gap will only be closed by our Super League players being exposed to their NRL counterparts on a regular basis.

Here are 6 things that I picked up on this weekend:

1.

Josh Dugan - NSW No. 1?

What a great player Josh Dugan is. The St. George Illawarra Dragons full back had an outstanding game on Friday night at Warrington and deservedly took out the man of the match award. Not only did he score the match clinching try but he was a constant threat with the ball in hand, solid under the high ball and fearless in defence. Previously, his off the field behaviour has seen his contract terminated at former club Canberra Raiders and then saw Brisbane Broncos withdraw a considerable contract offer. Since he joined the Dragons early in the 2013 season he seems to have settled down and appeared in the winning New South Wales State of Origin team in 2014 at centre – on this form he will be one of the major challengers to replace Jarryd Hayne in the Blues no. 1 shirt in the 2015 series.

2.

Joe Burgess - struggling.

Two young British players caught my eye this weekend for differing reasons. Wigan Warriors young wingman Joe Burgess, Sydney Roosters bound in 2016, has not had the greatest of starts to the year. His handling has been poor and he has coughed up possession in dangerous positions that have cost his team tries in the opening round at Widnes and on Saturday against the Broncos – on the other hand he comes up with that special play that got the Warriors level with the Broncos. I think he has bags of talent but I also think that his move to the NRL is very premature. Shaun Wane described him as a work in progress after Saturdays match and I just wonder how much game time he will get at the Roosters when they have the likes of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Daniel Tupou and Blake Ferguson already on their roster.

The second young British player who caught my eye was Kevin Penny – although he is now 27 years old. The Warrington Wolves wingman filled in at full back for the injured Matty Russell AND Stefan Ratchford and was outstanding in their close defeat to the Dragons. Penny was seen as something like the next Martin Offiah when he broke through to score 13 tries in 13 appearances in 2007 and then followed that up with 13 tries in 24 appearances in 2008 but then seemed to fall out of favour at the Wolves and was loaned out to Harlequins, Widnes and Wakefield before dropping down the leagues to join Swinton Lions. He has since been given a second chance at the Wolves by coach Tony Smith and looks much bigger and stronger and was very confident running the ball back and was strong defensively on Friday night. It will be interesting to see how he develops this season.

3.

The concept of the World Club Series itself is sound and needs to be kept in place long term – we know it will definitely happen in 2016 – and it could be used to develop the game in other country’s further down the line but we don’t need to tinker too much with it just yet. Let it roll forward and grow before we try to expand it. A lot has been said about top 3 v. top 3 and the fact that the Broncos finished 8^th and were knocked out in the 1^st round of last year’s play off’s and the Dragons finished 11^th and were outside the play off spots – but that wasn’t important this year – the Brisbane Broncos are a huge name in Rugby League and were needed to pull in the crowds and give the fixtures real significance over here – especially as they and Wigan have history. I think, in the future, clubs need to earn the right to play in these games so both Grand Finalists from each country are a gimme – the 3^rd placed team in the NRL would be the next way to go as they have no Cup competition but the Super League could use winning the Challenge Cup Final as a way of enhancing it’s reducing appeal to both club’s and supporters.

4.

Russell Crowe is good for the game. No matter that Sky licked his royal backside last night, our sport suffers through lack of coverage in the press, in the UK at least, and the more we can get this man speaking about the sport he loves the better it is – maybe he could be given a role as a Worldwide Rugby League Ambassador by the Rugby League International Federation.

5.

Russell Crowe and Shane Richardson
 

It takes time to become the best team in the world. Salford Red Devils owner Dr. Marwan Koukash should have been straight on the phone to Russell Crowe and Shane Richardson, he may well have been, to pick their brains about how they have turned the Rabbitohs from perennial losers to the best Rugby League team in the world. I bet they will have told him it is not just about throwing money the coaches way and attracting ‘’big name’’ players. When Crowe bought the club in 2006 the Rabbitohs were an embarrassment to South Sydney according to the man himself and bringing Richardson to the club was the first step in taking them back to the greatness they once had. Providing clear player pathways and engaging with the local community are two reasons for the Rabbitohs success along with strong player recruitment, major brand sponsorship and the appointment of Michael Maguire as Head Coach three years ago. The Rabbitohs blue print is worth it’s weight in gold and Koukash should be begging for a copy.

6.

I miss the Ashes Test series. The confrontation and aggression in some of the clashes – particularly in the first two matches of the weekend – was what you get on a regular basis in Ashes Rugby League. The Ashes are part of the folklore of our great game and this series needs to be brought back – even if it is once every 3 years so that we can fit in Four Nations and World Cup’s which are also very important to the future of our game. An Ashes series held in the UK would draw massive crowds and I am sure the same would be the case in Australia and I see no reason why we could not contest the series as Great Britain which is the way it should be.

A few other things that crossed my mind as well:

The crowd figures were fantastic – 13,000+ for the Wolves / Dragons game, 20,000+ for the Warriors / Broncos and a 17,000+ sell out for the main game between the Saints and the Rabbitohs and the atmosphere, particularly at the first two games, was electrifying.



This was a high tackle right????

Have referee’s forgotten that you can send players off for high tackles?????

How good were South Sydney or, on the other hand, how poor were St. Helens?? I think a mixture of both but you have to say that South’s would beat most teams on the planet at the moment and I expect them to be the first team to win back to back Premierships since the Broncos in 1993 – I don’t expect the Saints to retain their title.

What impressed me a lot was some of the last ditch tackling on their own defensive line from the NRL sides – I am sure all the Super League sides would have scored more tries against fellow SL opposition because there doesn’t seem to be as much desire to make that last effort to prevent a try at all costs.

And finally let’s have a good old gripe about the Sky TV commentary – we all do it every week so why should this be any different. Fortunately, there was no Stevo this weekend (I genuinely hope he recovers from illness) but Eddie Hemmings was rank last night and Phil ‘’aren’t Wigan great’’ Clark is really starting to grind with me and Terry O’Connor just talks nonsense whilst his mate, Barrie McDermott, actually talks a lot of sense. The other bright spots are Brian Carney and Jon Wells who have an affiliation with the modern game and know what they are talking about.

Someone mentioned to me that this year is Eddie and Stevo’s last – I don’t know if that is true but I sincerely hope so – they have been in the job for 25 years and we need someone like Andrew Voss to come over and give the commentary a breath of fresh air.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQjgksSRLzI - Wigan v. Brisbane highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yD7hqMiFJM - Warrington v. St. George Illawarra highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgFFMk_Lc1Y - St. Helens v. South Sydney highlights