Widdop was pretty atrocious last night and may have damaged his reputation in the northern hemisphere.

For a long time i think he has been picked for England purely on the basis that he plays for the storm. Last night showed him to be a passenger in the Melbourne machine.

Got to say though that Peacock was terrible in the second half. Dont get me wrong he made some fantastic yards, but i think he must have been to the Danny Sculthorpe school of offloading as he wasted so much possession it was becoming embarrassing.

I was also (and it pains me to say this) very impressed with Carl Ablett. He ran very well and seems to have developed a Lockers style super hand-off. Nobody could get near him in the first has as he invariably sat the defender on their arris.

Leeds MOM for me.

The tackle that Slater put in on Vickery was the highlight of the game IMO. He literally came out of nowhere and banjoed him into touch, stopping a certain try. The guy has it all pace, ability, bravery and agility and I think that Sam T is his equal regarding these attributes. The difference between the two though is his positional play.

He is literally in the right place at the right time, EVERY time. His skill at catching the ball is good, but it helps 100 percent if you are in the right part of the pitch to catch the thing in the first place.

I think Sam would have scored a try when Slater was in the clear in the first half though.

Well dont to to surprised to see him in a wire shirt soon then

SHIT, did not realise he was THAT old..

If that had been at the HJ with Wire playing the Storm I think the Wolves might have nicked it. The Melbourne pack were out on their feet with ten to go in each half and Wire's fast men could have done them.
Is that the end of Leeds as a "Big Game Team"?

Having said that, the HJ wouldn't be big enough to host the match, and Wire haven't been good enough to qualify for a World Club Challenge since 1955.

The match was enjoyable. I watched worse things on a Friday. Really enjoyed sky's Friday matches so far this season

The ackle was on Joel Moon, but I agree it was a belter. Tomkins is a class player, but I think Slater is miles ahead [ias a full back [/iat this point in time.

I dont disagree and i doubt you would find anyone on here saying that he is (not that i am saying you are),

I might go as far as saying that Tomkins has more natural ability on his own but Slater has the ability to work of other players much, much more effectively.

I do (well i did) think that Sam would move back into the halves a'la Lockyer anyway.

Either way i doubt we will be having the conversation in 2 years time as Sam will more than likely be freezing his nuts off watching his team mate Owen Farrell banging over his 9th penalty of the game.

Sinfield was mom against the Aussies at Wembley iirc. Certainly McNamara singled him out afterwards. He linked well with Tomkins that day. I agree England need to get Tomkins on the ball as much as possible. He is our greatest threat with ball in hand running at the line but no Wigan or England coach have rated him enough at halfback to give him a prolonged run there.

is that with the same Wire pack that struggled against us a couple of weeks ago

they couldnt dominate our young pack, so dont think they would have dominated Storm

You wish.

I know a few players had the same colour footwear but couldn't help smiling when I saw Cameron Smith wearing golden boots

Its not just British clubs, most NRL clubs cant get close to them either. Melbourne are very very good side in any context, not just a comparison between british and NRL clubs, nor even Melbourne and other NRL clubs, they are a very very good side in a comparison between Melbourne and any other club side ever. When was the last time we saw a club with a spine as good as Slater, Cronk and Smith?

Saying that, I think Wigan, Saints and Wire would all give Melbourne a decent game and it just highlights were SL stands in relation to the NRL. Some would tell you that they are light years ahead, but we see time and time again that whilst the difference is there, it isnt massive, the top 4 Sl clubs would all be top 10 NRL clubs and despite what the naysayers would have you believe that isnt something we, as game, in this hemisphere, cannot overcome.