Re: 4 Nations 2014 thread : Wed Oct 15, 2014 10:49 am  

Biff Tannen wrote:

Does that mean Hayne is out of 4nations with him joining NFL or is it after he goes?

Would imagine GI to fullback. if so, good news as it severely weakens their centres which would be very good news for whichever Centre of ours would have had to mark him. That said, he is probably Australias best full back and his extra involvement could make him more dangerous so perhaps not such good news after all!!

Hayne has been replaced in the Kangaroo squad by Moylan which may indicate that Inglis shall remain at centre.

Re: 4 Nations 2014 thread : Wed Oct 15, 2014 10:52 am  

William Eve wrote:

Hayne has been replaced in the Kangaroo squad by Moylan which may indicate that Inglis shall remain at centre.

Fair enough.

Have not been able to watch much NRL this year and have to confess i don't know Moylan. Is he a young kid who has just had a big year?

Re: 4 Nations 2014 thread : Wed Oct 15, 2014 11:11 am  

Biff Tannen wrote:

Fair enough.

Have not been able to watch much NRL this year and have to confess i don't know Moylan. Is he a young kid who has just had a big year?

He's had a very good season with his club side who were a solitary missed drop goal away from reaching the NRL Grand Final this season. He will not look out of place in the Green & Gold.

That Hayne news is disappointing on so many levels. Even with the millions of dollars swilling around the NRL, it still cannot compete with top offers from other more high profile sports.

However, it's not just about the money. Hayne isn't fussed about missing out on this 4N tournament. He could easily have delayed his announcement by a month. Along with all the other players who have pulled out of the upcoming 4N, it is further testament to the current profile and standing of international RL which registers a big fat zero on the sporting richter scale.

Re: 4 Nations 2014 thread : Wed Oct 15, 2014 12:33 pm  

William Eve wrote:

He's had a very good season with his club side who were a solitary missed drop goal away from reaching the NRL Grand Final this season. He will not look out of place in the Green & Gold.

That Hayne news is disappointing on so many levels. Even with the millions of dollars swilling around the NRL, it still cannot compete with top offers from other more high profile sports.

However, it's not just about the money. Hayne isn't fussed about missing out on this 4N tournament. He could easily have delayed his announcement by a month. Along with all the other players who have pulled out of the upcoming 4N, it is further testament to the current profile and standing of international RL which registers a big fat zero on the sporting richter scale.

True.And it will take something like us taking advantage and beating them while they have left the door slightly ajar for us this time .Sadly, i still don't think we are good enough to do so but NZ will.

Re: 4 Nations 2014 thread : Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:24 pm  

Biff Tannen wrote:

True.And it will take something like us taking advantage and beating them while they have left the door slightly ajar for us this time .Sadly, i still don't think we are good enough to do so but NZ will.

Still Australia's tournament to lose IMO.

Normally, I reckon Australia are an 80% chance to win, Kiwis 20% and we are 0%.

I think it's 67%, 33%, 0% this time around.

Re: 4 Nations 2014 thread : Wed Oct 15, 2014 11:17 pm  

England with Sam Burgess could give NZ a damn good game. With or without him the only way we beat Aus is if for some reason they don't play an expansive game. As soon as they start throwing the ball around they'll score a lot of points against England.

Sheens has shown that he's decided that's the best plan by picking only 2 real props in his squad. It will leave England with a big, strong front row probably making good yards up the middle but being comprehensively beaten out wide, where all the points are. A bit like Souths last year in fact.

Re: 4 Nations 2014 thread : Thu Oct 16, 2014 2:34 pm  

Are the BBC showing the games - it appears Sky are not?

Re: 4 Nations 2014 thread : Thu Oct 16, 2014 4:02 pm  

BBC Two are showing all the England games and the final. All other games are on Premier Sports.

Re: 4 Nations 2014 thread : Thu Oct 16, 2014 4:13 pm  

BrisbaneRhino wrote:

England with Sam Burgess could give NZ a damn good game. With or without him the only way we beat Aus is if for some reason they don't play an expansive game. As soon as they start throwing the ball around they'll score a lot of points against England.

Sheens has shown that he's decided that's the best plan by picking only 2 real props in his squad. It will leave England with a big, strong front row probably making good yards up the middle but being comprehensively beaten out wide, where all the points are. A bit like Souths last year in fact.

There are still some tough Aussie forwards in there. They may choose not to mix it but they would still be competitive if they chose to. Out wide they will have the beating of us - there's a lack of experience and/or form in our three-quarter line just waiting to be exploited.

I have my concerns with the hookers aswell but that can't be helped, they are two of the best three available. I'd like to think we will be competitive but would be a huge surprise if we beat either Aus/NZ, and Samoa don't look too shabby either.

Re: 4 Nations 2014 thread : Fri Oct 17, 2014 12:54 am  

I agree that it would be silly to underestimate the Aussie forwards, but genuinely up the middle England look stronger, particularly if Woods is off the field. I don't think that we'll necessarily be able to score a lot of points even if we are dominant up the middle though.

I've said before, my main hope is that we're competitive for 80 minutes against Australia and NZ. That would be a big start. Sadly I just think Australia will be able to score too easily. Losing Thurston hurts, but they'll play Cronk left and DCE right, and all it takes is one England player to misread the attack and they'll be in - not to mention they both have super kicking games if all else fails.