Rugby league’s 2013 incarnation of the World Cup certainly attracted more than its fair share of critics, but surely nothing can detract from that consummate Kangaroos performance against the Kiwis at Old Trafford in the final.
That’s the long and the short it.
What must be seriously questioned, though, is the wisdom of playing the code’s international showpiece at a soccer ground.
Old Trafford is the home of Manchester United has some of the shortest in-goal areas for any match of rugby league that I have seen.
It was a disaster waiting to happen.
It’s not as if Cup officials hadn’t been forewarned, the Luke Lewis injury earlier in the tournament, for one, should have had the alarm bells ringing.
In the event, they must have breathed a huge sigh of relief that the injuries to Australia’s Brett Morris and New Zealand’s Manu Vatuvei weren’t more serious.
The solution?
In the circumstances, while Cup organisers were playing so fast and loose with player eligibility laws, I wonder if they shouldn’t also have agreed to shorten the playing field length by, say, five metres to ensure (slightly) more player-friendly in-goal areas.
Controversial, maybe.
But I’d suggest a lot less controversial than if the in-goal farce had turned into a tragic “own goal” for the code.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Brad Arthur believed Tom Trbojevic was offside before Will Penisini was binned for a professional foul. Brad Fittler confirmed Penisini was unlucky
Clint Gutherson showed his frustration at the press conference, shaking his head when asked about Sivo's brain explosion.
Anthony Seibold claims Haumole Olakau'atu's dangerous throw of Shaun Lane was a good tackle with an unfortunate ending and is hopeful the Manly star…
There is only one way for Cronulla to shake off their reputation for being flat-track bullies. They are off to an impressive start in…
This can't have been a lot of fun for Brad and Gutho!
"You're five metres from your line - you can't be looking at the referee!"
