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Aussies just too good for England
THEY were brave, they were plucky but England's rugby league team were ultimately beaten as Australia maintained their grip over the old enemy.
There were some people who felt going into the Four Nations final that this was going to be our time.
But the Kangaroos had other ideas and in the end were comfortable 46-16 winners.
The Aussies clearly know a thing or two about the game.
Sam Burgess was one of the best British raised youngsters playing in Super League last season.
Next year he will be with the South Sydney Rabbitohs - a rare accolade for a Brit these days.
All the best players in the world are in the NRL and Burgess will join Gareth Ellis (Wests Tigers) and Halifax's own Gareth Widdop (Melbourne Storm) among a select group of northern hemisphere players in the competition.
Those who are approaching the ends of their careers come to Super League as 31-year-old Manly Sea Eagles captain Matt Orford proved this week when agreeing a three-year deal believed to be worth 840,000 with the Bradford Bulls.
The Aussies showed more imagination at Elland Road and unshakable belief even when they were trailing.
They also scored a try I would have had trouble awarding when Darren Lockyer kicked through, Billy Slater knocked it forward then leapt out of play to push it back for Cameron Smith to touch down.
Slater was clearly not in touch, but surely when he knocked it forward that should have ended the play.
The video referee decided otherwise, awarding the score and, to my mind at least, opening up an interesting can of worms.
The best at any sport push the boundaries and Slater is the best.
But if you can knock a ball forward, then push it backwards before it has bounced or touched anyone, what is to stop a player from tapping it over the defensive line, racing through and creating a scoring chance for a teammate?
Several years ago, St Helens tried a move which saw the ball headed forward from a play the ball and there was nothing in the rules to deny a try.
It was outlawed soon after and I expect if anyone tries to lift a ball over an opposition player's head and retrieve it in open play then a knock on would be called.
Will anyone be daring enough to put that to the test?
FOOTBALL Association officials got to shake a few hands as they continue their bid to host the 2018 World Cup and England's team escaped with a 1-0 defeat in their friendly with Brazil in Qatar.
Quite what Fabio Capello learned from watching just two of his probable first team play is anyone's guess.
Perhaps he was just ruling the likes of Matthew Upson and Darren Bent out of his plans.
Certainly the absent players enhanced their reputations by not travelling to the Middle East or getting injured when they arrived there.
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Weather for Halifax
Saturday 04 February 2012
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