ANOTHER week, another load of talking points in rugby league.
Clubs’ trips Down Under have finished with three defeats to NRL opposition, but what did the jaunts show other than what was on the scoreboard?
Closer to home, Warrington finally got up and running while Widnes’ Chris Houston is paying the price for crossing paths with ref Phil Bentham again.
And there were celebrations in east Hull as Hull KR ntched their first success since being promoted back to the top flight.
Then there is the plan to cut Super League to 10 teams and Wayne Bennett’s re-appointment as England coach.
If anything, the hardest part was narrowing everything that happened down to six points.
DUD DRAGONS
THERE is no doubting the fact that Catalans Dragons have added to Super League off the field, unless they improve on it, they may find themselves out of it. The talent is there in Perpignan but seeing the likes of David Mead and Greg Bird make basic errors in an awful performance only made those alarm bells ring louder.
LEEDS’ N-R-HELL
HEADING to face arguably the best club side ever on their home turf was daunting enough, then the NRL came along. Storm did not need any help in the World Club Challenge, they are just too good, but the farcical decision to have two referees in charge, like they do in Australia, would have provided it through sheer familiarity, or rather unfamiliarity for the Rhinos.
TEN TO TACKLE
SUNSPORT revealed the plan to cut Super League to 10 clubs, introduce a second tier of 10 and leave the rest to fend for themselves. It will no doubt cause an outcry but is it not time for rugby league to enter a new era? Could this provide a more solid platform for the game to grow from than clubs not attracting 1,000 fans to games and living hand to mouth?
WAYNE REIGN
SO Wayne Bennett is the ‘new’ England coach, although SunSport readers would have known that anyway, on a two year deal. Progress under him cannot be denied and the players have given him their backing to stay but like many things in rugby league, the question now is, ‘What happens next?’ Hopefully, the Rugby Football League has a succession plan rather than starting again two years ahead of the 2021 World Cup.
NATIONAL GAIN
WIGAN and Hull undoubtedly deserve applauding for their brave decision to head to Australia for a Super League game and clashes with NRL giants Souths and St George but Warriors owner Ian Lenagan’s claim that international club rugby league is the way to grow the game has a hollow ring. It may do at club level but the reaction of a national side’s win Down Under rather than a club side tells you all you need to know about where the whole game can really grow – Test matches.
MIND THE GAP
YES, results showed that Super League sides are not at the level of their NRL counterparts but where they should really have been felt are among youth coaches and the game’s administrators. All three Aussie sides had inexperienced players who looked more than capable of playing Super League, then there are the ones who play second-string agmes, while we do not have a formal reserve grade. That needs sorting fast.
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