Reds pip the 'Tahs in tight contest

No argument. Just stop trading on the history of the Waratahs and Reds and Victorians of the amateur days. Those men like Weary Dunlop would be ashamed of modern RU and everything it stands for, especially players being paid.

Adam Gilchrist played for WA, Bevan played for Tassie etc etc etc

SEP - not sure what your point is. How many Sydneysiders play for the Swans? How many Newcastle players play for the Knights? I know that they are not state teams but if you look at the Academy, Wider training squad and professional players at the Tahs - 90% would be from NSW I would imagine. Dont forget that the move from Amateur to prof in the 90s brings with it these change in tack for a former representative team.

Give Super Rugby time and it can develop into something special in terms state/city rivalry. Waratahs already have it with Reds and Brumbies, throw Melbourne into that mix and you have something to get excited about. SOO and Bledisloe are the pinnacle and should be goal.

Lismore is not known for its rugby union teams or competitions. Thats not surprise but good on the NSW and QLD franchises for taking the game there.

Where's the RU State of Origin series? That's right. There isn't one and never will be one. And we all know little Kev that YOU watch all three Origin games every year.

we all know what the difference is...... (rolls eyes)

Its amazing to think that there is nearly a whole team of Wallabies still to come back for the Tahs: 1. Benn Robinson 2. Tatafu Polota Nau / Adam Freier (Hoping Fitzpatrick can earn the reserve spot but pretty sure we'll need all three this year) 3. Sekope Kepu / Al Baxter (I hope Dan Palmer gets selected in front of these two) 4/5. Dean Mumm 6. Ben Mowen (I know not a Wallaby but regular from last year - and Dave Dennis played didn't he? Any word on DD's performance?) 7. Phil Waugh 8. Wycliff Palu 9. Luke Burgess 10. Berrick Barnes 11. Drew Mitchell 12. Kurtley Beale 13. (I know he isn't a Wallaby but don't think he played) Rob Horne 14. Lachlan Turner 15. Don't think I've missed anyone. Here's hoping a couple of the lads who played can force their way in. How many missing for the Reds? I can think of Horwill, Cooper, Ioane and Hynes - anyone else?

ha ha ha! that's cerise and blue mate! and don't you forget it.

but the SoO is only 3 games a year! What a monkey

In what sense does the AFL have interstate teams as franchies? Or the NRL? Interested in your answer.

Out of curiosity on this point, what is the population required to sustain league in Australia long term? 30 million? 40 million? And what is the population required to sustain union? Aussie rules? Caber tossing?

on a side note, has anyone actually read the words of the waratahs team song ? http://www.waratahs.com.au/HSBCWaratahs/WaratahsTeamSong/WaratahsTeamSong.aspx it includes some cracking lines such as: "We are the mighty Waratahs Rough and tumble rugby stars We play the game as it should be played" "Famous when we run the ball We can scrum and ruck and maul Playing the game as it should be played " "We’ve got talent We’ve got heart We will tear your team apart Playing the game as it should be played" i wonder how often they sang the song over the last two years ? maybe just sang the line about being stars over and over again and left the rest ?

TT, maybe Nado needs a fire up from Wycliff's Mum. A number of Roarers who seem to have followed Ratu have questioned his skills, technique, team attitude and work ethic, as well as his ability to play S14 and his injury history. The tahs haven't seen much of him, and those that get excited about him seem to be Roaoers who don't know much about him, purely on size. That is, he might go well for the Wicks (or now manly) in club rugby, but can he do the same in S14. I am not sure when his contract runs out, but if he doesn't front up he ain't going to get renewed. I expect he will be a bench player, perhaps for impact, given the presence of Turner, Mitchell, Anesi and Beale.

Blinky Bell do you think big Nadolo will be a shoein for the Tahs in the regular season? Islanders generally dont play with angry pills in their system, the only exception to this was Lote Tuqiri, who is Nadolo's cousin...maybe needs to give him a call for a gee up. Maybe Nadolo is scared about hurting other guys, he weights like 120kg, and is probably as good an athlete as Jonah Lomu.

Thanks Blinky and Blue Sue

We also turn-up early for the Far North Coast (Dolphins is it?) v the Gold Coast Breakers trial that was also a most entertaining game of 4 x 20 minute quarters. Personally I enjoyed having the Tahs warm-up with drills etc right in front of our Northern stand. And.......I was even happier when I saw some of those sharp passing and cleaning out drills actually happening on the field. Well done boys! I get Austar installed in 4 days but even so I think I'll still get myself up to Brisbane for that opening game. Phil Waugh has come out and stated that they need to play more entertaining & skilled footy and from what I'm seeing we have the players to do it and they are having a crack at it.

westy - I've written my thoughts about Anesi above. Hope that helps.

Yes Blinky,it was a great turnout. We drove up to Lismore from our holiday house and had a great evening. It only took 2 hours and was worth the drive. The prelim game between the Gold Coast and North Coast was most entertaining as was the main game. Both sides played some good footy and made their intentions clear from the outset with some heavy contact. It was a little difficult in the second two periods to keep an eye on some of the young players as Queensland did not provide names for the program for players 20-28. There were some great breaks made by both sides and some nippy runners making nice breaks. Disappointing to see the Reds take so many kicks for their penalties. Why, when it is a trial, would you take a penalty kick from 40 out only 3 minutes into the game? Surely kicking for the line and taking the lineout would have been the preferable option when wanting to "trial" your set piece? I think the Reds had about 6 shots at goal through the game. A bit disappointing. The forwards from both sides had some good set piece and the Tahs had a good try from a rolling maul close to the line. Many of the front line players were missing, or running the water and doing the PR thing, so some very young academy and uncontracted players got the chance to have a go. Players like Peter Betham, Brendan McKibbin, Paddy Ryan, Kane Douglas all accounted for themselves well. Our SA import Hendrik Roodt showed some promising plays in tight. Some of these young guys may be needed at some point in the season should injuries play a part as they have in the past few years. The real game in 3 weeks time should be a much better guide to the season. We were feeling quite hopeful when we left! Thanks Lismore for a great event.

Who impressed? Where we sat (Northern end), Murphy's Law too often applied & the Tahs action was at the Southern end. But hey such is life. So here goes:- Anesi - I liked what I saw from him at FB. Good defence, good kick & chase, linked well with the backs and didn't overplay his hand. He would be my choice at 15. To be frank, overall no other individual player impressed or 'stood out', which to my mind isn't all that bad because they worked as a unit rather than a bunch of individuals, something I think they were occassionally guilty of in the past. The Tahs scrum was good, so too the lineout. The forwards worked as a pack and I loved their effort at the other end of the paddock resulting in a try from a rolling maul. Sorry my old eyes couldn't pick out who did what there. But it was great to see the boys working together as a unit & getting a reward. Halangahu - From what I saw he was okay at 5/8 without being outstanding. Hey it's our first hit-out, it's a trial, we're rusty, etc, etc but I was still hoping he'd show something special that would cause Hickey to ponder if he's the best for the 5/8 role. From what I saw he's a very good back-up 5/8 but I'd still reckon Barnes (who was water boy) would be my choice with DH as a back-up for if & when BB gets injured. Nadolo - Right Wing was this large dark frame with beard & shaven head that I thought was Ratu from Randwick but the program said otherwise. He moved, dropped the ball and missed tackles like Ratu so I wasn't sure but had my suspicions. Just this morning I have Googled & found Ratu changed his name to Nadolo, so it was him. IMHO Nadolo needs to change more than his name. He needs to learn to defend, catch a pass, run into a gap AND run over the top of people. He's a bloody big unit that needs to take some angry pills. I saw him do a nice catch from a high kick and bounce a defender, which the crowd loved, but not much else. So it's over to the backs coach to show him endless video tapes of Lomu in full flight and maybe the Tahs will have a decent 14. The Qld team was good too and especially sharp in the backs with some real steppers in there that were difficult to tackle. Being a trial I thought perhaps the teams had opted against penalty kicks but when Qld took several penalties rather than apply pressure and go for the extra points, the crowd gave them some stick which was fun. On the Tahs - Here's hoping that Mr. Foley continues his excellent work with the forwards and that the Back's Coach (is it Wisemantel?) & Head Coach (Hickey) pull their fingers out and give us backs that do more with hard earned clean ball than just boot it away for the forwards to trudge up field and do it all again. I live in hope.