Coach Tim Sheens says the Kangaroos have been copping plenty of ‘garbage’ from opposing Four Nations teams and he has warned the final is likely to be a rugged affair.
With centre Justin Hodges sporting a suspected broken nose and backrowers Paul Gallen (neck) and Anthony Watmough (head) also the victim of dubious play, Sheens claims New Zealand and England have got away with plenty thanks to more lenient policing of the ruck than his players are accustomed to.
“There’s been a bit of garbage in the games, and they’re not used to that,” said Sheens, when asked why his side had become flustered in two less than flattering performances against their major rivals.
“That’s the situation … there’s been plenty of marks on their faces.
“There’s been a little bit, from our boys’ points of view: “Is that how it’s going to be?”
“We have to understand that things are different here and you’re not protected like you are in the NRL.
“The Kiwis have picked up on it straight away, and the conditions here and the interpretations allow for it a bit more.”
Asked if the incidents were coming away from the play, Sheens said: “Not necessarily off the ball, but there’s been a couple of incidents I’m unhappy with.
“There’s been plenty extra in the tackle on the ground, and on contact … not everything’s been illegal, but there’s been enough penalties.
“And we haven’t been completely innocent either.
“I get a feeling that the final will be – I wouldn’t use the word spiteful – but I think it’s going to be a rugged affair.”
While unhappy with the extra attention some of his players have been getting, Sheens said the situation had been made worse by officials controlling the game not allowing the players to seek medical attention.
At one point against England Watmough was penalised while concussed, English referee Steve Ganson pinging the backrower for deliberately slowing down the play as he took his time getting to a scrum.
A lifting tackle which saw Gallen dumped on his head and left the nuggety forward with a stiff neck went unpenalised – though the match review committee could still take action when it reviews the incident and a forearm to the head of Billy Slater by Lee Smith on Monday evening.
The injury doubts over the two backrowers and two centres – with Greg Inglis getting a knock on an old ankle injury – looks set to open the door for the final three Emus to get a run against France on Saturday.
Centres Michael Jennings and Josh Morris as well as halfback Cooper Cronk are all yet to be given a taste of the action, while game two omissions Sam Thaiday, Ryan Hoffman and Trent Waterhouse are also set for a recall.
Sheens said he had made it clear to the entire squad that places for the final – should they get there with a win over France – were far from decided.
“This game (against France) will have a bearing on that, because there are a number of players still in contention,” Sheens said.
“It’s not a foregone conclusion that last week’s team will get an automatic start.
“The boys know that.
“The second half we dropped away. I made the point that there’s still a game to play to decide the team that’s going to play in the final.”
© AAP 2012Enjoy sports? Enjoy a bargain? All Sports Online has your favourite sporting brands at up to 70% off. Online only, premium quality sporting goods and merchandise at discounted prices. Get a deal now.
The Crowd Says (11) | Page 1 of Comments
Have Your Say
Do you have what it takes to become a sports writer? Write for the roar
Rugby League articles
- Gallop and some of his precious Sydney NRL clubs must go (101)
- The NRL is back baby! (65)
- The NRL needs a vision (50)
- The NRL’s scariest players (50)
- Bulldogs setting benchmark for Sydney’s NRL clubs (46)
- Channel Nine needs NRL-cricket ODI compromise (35)
- NRL tackle count rule a surefire winner (33)
- Federal Court has it wrong on sports broadcast copyright (0)
- An open letter to Channel Nine (0)
- The NRL’s scariest players (50)
- Is the All Stars match increasing the divide? (23)
- Channel Nine needs NRL-cricket ODI compromise (35)
- The NRL needs a vision (50)
- New breed of NRL players continue to develop (22)
PG said | November 3rd 2009 @ 7:58am | Report comment
Oh good grief this is the umpteenth article I’ve read about the chooks on your website. I’m sure all three supporters of this old money club will be interested. However in the scheme of things Easts aren’t that popular mate. The soap opera machinations are not gonna put Rugby League on its Knees
iHow about some nice stories on Parra or the Bulldogs or even Brisbane. Rich clubs that no body supports — It must be a RAH RAH thing
katzilla said | November 3rd 2009 @ 6:34pm | Report comment
Huh?
Mick from Giralang said | November 3rd 2009 @ 9:38am | Report comment
Steve: We shouldn’t be whinging, we should simply be adapting to the prevailing interpretations. It’s international football after all. If the refs are allowing a bit of biff then we should get stuck in and return it with interest. Belting Poms and Kiwis on the football field is in our DNA.
Is it just me or are others noticing our Aussie sports stars are sounding like a pack of whingers lately?
katzilla said | November 3rd 2009 @ 6:43pm | Report comment
The Roos shouldn’t get sucked into a physical upfront battle to see who has the biggest Peen.
They will lose that battle. Keep it calm and weather the storm, play to your strengths.
Gone are the days when Australia dominated from 1 through to 13, now its 1 through to 7.
Parity in the forwards is all thats required.
The Answer said | November 3rd 2009 @ 10:20pm | Report comment
How can a team with the likes of Hodges and Gallen complain? Fair dinkum.
This is a smoke screen from Tim Sheen who yet again finds himself in charge of an underperforming team.
It is a disgrace he played Robbie Farah against the Poms and seemed to use the build up of the Kiwis game to sure up his own position at the Tigers by leaking the Benji Marshall story.
If the Kangaroos don’t win this comp the blame must lay squarely on the shoulders of Tim Sheens.
King of the Gorganites said | November 4th 2009 @ 12:40pm | Report comment
Just a quick thought. Credit where its due to the organisers of the four nations, however, i think it is important to keep the competition in perspective and consider the game of rugby league generally in Europe.
The Wallabies have just defated Gloucester in a mid-week warm up game. 16,500 people packed into the stadium to make it a sell out. The Kangaroos played enlgand in the league over the weekend in league heartland and failed to fill the stadium, getting a crowd of 23,000. The week earlier england only got 12,500 against NZ in Doncaster (not league heartland). This clearly shows a lack of interest from the sporting public in england. whilst people may watch the game on tv, at the end of the day people are caring less and less about the game in england.
If the game in england has failed to grow signifcantly in 100 years, why now can the game take over europe? It takes a very long time to win over the public. It has for union. take Italy for example. whilst for a long time having a professional rugby comp, they struggled to win over the public imagination. This is now changing. In a great move from the italian rugby, they have taken the game agaisnt the All Blacks to milan’s San Siro stadium. ALL 80,000 tickets have been bought. so my point is that RL can not expect to conquer, or even get a foothold in a country where rugby is already established and where RL has no history.
Rugby is becoming a truly european game. This is coming on the back of rich millioniare owners. this does not happen in RL. The Parisian based Stade Francais is taking there Heinken Cup game against Ulster to Belgium. Its sure to create a lot of public interest.
League should stick to what it does best-a strong domestic competition in a few northern counties in england, and the eastern states of Australia. The rest of the world is Rugbys’.
Mick from Giralang said | November 5th 2009 @ 5:49am | Report comment
The union cheerleaders appear absolutely obsessed with the Four Nations…welcome aboard!
King of the Gorganites said | November 5th 2009 @ 1:44pm | Report comment
where are the crowds? should be a good one in paris. ha.
the wallabies will only have 80,000 people watching them at twickenham. the ABs will have 72,000 in cardiff (thats in Wales for all you leaguies).
Matt S said | November 6th 2009 @ 12:57pm | Report comment
And union people wonder why we go on.
Remember in June 18,500 turned up in Barcelona to see a league game and the Catalan Dragon effect has now seen a semi professional Catalan club competition take affect and an 8 club Catalan Universities comp. Both have majority of clubs based over the border, and from reports 25 % of players are of Spanish citizenship. From small acorns.
But really is this ‘I’m bigger than you’ thing about elitist egos or just the continuance of 100 years of fear?
Matt S said | November 6th 2009 @ 1:27pm | Report comment
I must elaborate on the Spanish citizenshp. The majority are probably citizens of Spain but many identify themselves as Catalan/Basque. 25% of these players actually identify themselves as Spanish rather than the other!
oikee said | November 6th 2009 @ 9:24pm | Report comment
Glad to see union are growing the crowds somewhere, in australia they have dropped by half.
Like the russians say their are suckers born every day, union is safe. 