The Roar » Steve Mascord http://www.theroar.com.au Your Sports Opinion Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:19:13 +0000 en hourly 1 Kiwis tip Australia for Four Nations title http://www.theroar.com.au/2009/11/09/kiwis-tip-australia-for-four-nations-title/ http://www.theroar.com.au/2009/11/09/kiwis-tip-australia-for-four-nations-title/#comments Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:03:15 +0000 Steve Mascord http://www.theroar.com.au/?p=25085 England may have toppled world champions New Zealand but Australia will be “too good” for the host nation in this weekend’s Four Nations rugby league final, according to Kiwis halfback Nathan Fien. As the Kiwis prepared for the long journey home, members of the touring party were still picking over the bones of Saturday night’s [...]

Article link: Kiwis tip Australia for Four Nations title. Written by , on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

]]> England may have toppled world champions New Zealand but Australia will be “too good” for the host nation in this weekend’s Four Nations rugby league final, according to Kiwis halfback Nathan Fien.

As the Kiwis prepared for the long journey home, members of the touring party were still picking over the bones of Saturday night’s surprise 20-12 loss to the English at Huddersfield’s Galpharm Stadium.

“They’re going pretty well. I don’t know how they’ll go against the Aussies though,” St George Illawarra’s Fien said of Tony Smith’s England side.

“I think the Aussies will be a bit too good.

“(England) have got a young side too. They showed a lot of enthusiasm but they still had the likes of (Adrian) Morley and those big guys leading them forward all night.”

Fien said the Kiwis died at their own hand, with a fumble from the restart after their 44th minute try indicative of their misfiring evening.

“We’ve been together for about five weeks now and that was probably our worst performance — it was really disappointing,” he said.

“We were too far off the pace. They just got us around the rucks and their field position built up. I thought, when we scored that try in the second half, we could turn it around but I guess it’s a credit to their defence. They held really strong.

“We just couldn’t get anything going.”

He said the mood in the dressing sheds at fulltime on Saturday was “a little bit emotional”.

“A lot of hard work goes into all the preparations (by) the coaches behind the scenes, the medical staff. It was really just thanking everyone.

“We had a number of debutants throughout the tournament. It was just thanking those guys for putting their hands up and everyone did New Zealand proud.

“But with Papua New Guinea and Wales winning southern and northern hemisphere competitions held concurrently with the Four Nations and the World Cup holders failing to make the final, Fien said international league had never been in such a strong position.

“It’s good that international rugby league’s getting stronger,” he said.

“France put a number of good performances together, as well. They showed a lot of spirit and I’ve heard they had seven or eight players out as well.

“It’s only good for rugby league.”

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Article link: Kiwis tip Australia for Four Nations title. Written by , on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

]]> http://www.theroar.com.au/2009/11/09/kiwis-tip-australia-for-four-nations-title/feed/ 0 Kiwis to go one in, all in during Four Nations http://www.theroar.com.au/2009/10/28/kiwis-to-go-one-in-all-in-for-four-nations-showdowns/ http://www.theroar.com.au/2009/10/28/kiwis-to-go-one-in-all-in-for-four-nations-showdowns/#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:19:56 +0000 Steve Mascord http://www.theroar.com.au/?p=24733 Boom rugby league rookie Jared Waerea-Hargreaves has warned that New Zealand’s players will continue to adopt an “all-in” approach if any of their teammates are endangered during the Four Nations. And the new Sydney Roosters signing remains nonplussed about the fuss caused by his sledging of rival Petero Civoniceva as an “old man” during the [...]

Article link: Kiwis to go one in, all in during Four Nations. Written by , on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

]]> Boom rugby league rookie Jared Waerea-Hargreaves has warned that New Zealand’s players will continue to adopt an “all-in” approach if any of their teammates are endangered during the Four Nations.

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]]> http://www.theroar.com.au/2009/10/28/kiwis-to-go-one-in-all-in-for-four-nations-showdowns/feed/ 2 Benji’s comments fire up Kangaroos http://www.theroar.com.au/2009/10/22/benjis-comments-fire-up-kangaroos/ http://www.theroar.com.au/2009/10/22/benjis-comments-fire-up-kangaroos/#comments Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:24:06 +0000 Steve Mascord http://www.theroar.com.au/?p=24563 Australia are set to use claims by New Zealand captain Benji Marshall that the Kiwis are tighter than their rivals as motivation for Saturday night’s Four Nations clash at the Stoop. As the 2008 World Cup final combatants prepared to name their teams for the second match of the tournament, dubbed league’s biggest in the [...]

Article link: Benji’s comments fire up Kangaroos. Written by , on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

]]> Australia are set to use claims by New Zealand captain Benji Marshall that the Kiwis are tighter than their rivals as motivation for Saturday night’s Four Nations clash at the Stoop.

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]]> http://www.theroar.com.au/2009/10/22/benjis-comments-fire-up-kangaroos/feed/ 0 Kiwis aiming to avoid fluke tag, says Eastwood http://www.theroar.com.au/2009/10/21/kiwis-aiming-to-avoid-fluke-tag-says-eastwood/ http://www.theroar.com.au/2009/10/21/kiwis-aiming-to-avoid-fluke-tag-says-eastwood/#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:20:29 +0000 Steve Mascord http://www.theroar.com.au/?p=24548 New Zealand utility Greg Eastwood says a poor Four Nations campaign by the Kiwis could see last year’s World Cup triumph labelled a fluke by the rugby league world. Missing stars such as Roy Asotasi, Taniela Tuiaki, Manu Vatuvei, Setaimata Sa, Sam Rapira and Simon Mannering, the Kiwis are only third-favourites in this month’s tournament. [...]

Article link: Kiwis aiming to avoid fluke tag, says Eastwood. Written by , on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

]]> New Zealand utility Greg Eastwood says a poor Four Nations campaign by the Kiwis could see last year’s World Cup triumph labelled a fluke by the rugby league world.

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