England, Australia, New Zealand: rugby league's big three

Ed Hurrell cudnt tackle a weet Bix

Raugeee Thanks for caring. I will have a win/win dont worry. Let me share something with you. Formlines dont work in footy. They are not as important as in horse racing. NZ didnt have have Frank last week and they will miss him again. Maybe his "love child" Kasiano can finally fire up, he is capable but Im not holding my breath.

Metres gained is one measure. Those figures you quoted are for the entire team. If you add the forward numbers England come out on top. A lot of NZ metres were made by Isaac Luke against tiring marker defence. I am talking about the physical domination of the pack and the hard yards. Go watch a repay of the semi and it will be evident that my assessment was right.

+1. Yay, Somebody making sense.

A big 30+ OZ win is more likely than any NZ victory. They will need the refereeing and the luck for that though. I imagine Smith was grooming the ref last week v Fiji. OZ were exemplary and there was no grubbiness a la JWH or SBW with his shoulder charges. Freak injuries is another area that could stop OZ. Nobody can predict those, 2010 4 nations final, I think OZ had 3 freak injuries before 1/2 time, is a good example.

I wouldn't underestimate the crowd factor either. England had 65-70k cheering them on at Wembley last week. This time, I'm guessing the majority of the crowd will be behind the underdogs.

Completely outplayed? You sure you're not overstating it a little there? "Possession stats for the two teams were almost identical, the Kiwis completing 27 from 35 and England 28 from 36; the Kiwis gained 1279 metres in all, England 1129." Isn't metres gained like the best measure of the forward packs effectiveness?

Maybe they'll put SBW in the centres. I was hoping before the WC started that it'd be a Hurrell-Williams centres pairing!

Am I the only one noticing the form line in this tournament? FIji are a good team. They beat Samoa by the same amount as NZ that is 18 points. In fact Samoa put on 5 tries against NZ and only 1 against Fiji. OZ annihilated Fiji because they played a near perfect game. The much vaunted Kiwi pack was completely outplayed by England last week. The OZ pack with their wonderful bench are going to do an even better job. Scott, I really hope you have off laid most of that $6.20 you got about NZ. In actuality it should be about twice that. OZ by 15.

I think the Kiwi forwards have our measure particularly with there off loading skills. If we allow them latitude and momentum it could well be back to back titles. However I'm expecting big games by the Roos who played in the 2008 decider. So with that I'm tipping the Roos by 6.

WB I think the market under rated England in the last game but have got it correct here. NZ were excellent value with Pritchard in but with him out 8.5 points is a fair rating. NZ have an excellent spine + SBW so they can definitely go back to back, but I only have 5 Kiwis in my top 17 combined teams.

Has anyone ever been to the casino and seen 0 come up three times in a row? Aberrations occur.

I agree. SKD and Matai would have been my first choice at centre. I think this position is the Kiwis weakness while the Kangaroos backline is all class regardless of who is playing

So who are you tipping Scott ?

With Frank Pritchard out I know have a "soft on" but the Kiwis can still winn because: • Australia has had a “soft’ lead in. Since they defeated England 28-20 win at the Millennium Stadium that kicked off the tournament, Australia have won by a combined 210-2 and not conceded a try in 322 minutes. They had a “barrier trial” against Fiji last weekend, winning their semi-final 64-0. They have not come under any pressure except in the opening 40 minutes against England. • Australia has an ageing list. The Kiwis do not have a player over 30 while the Kangaroos have six (Thurston, Smith, Slater, Gallen, Tate, Parker) and another six aged 28 or 29. • The big Kiwi pack is suited to the International rules. With 12 interchanges (the NRL has 10) and a single ref., the big Kiwis can roll forward up the middle and providing they can do quick play the balls little hooker Isaac Luke can create huge problems. • The Kiwis did not handle the emotion of last week’s match against England. They were very nervous and kept going for big hits and giving away dumb penalties. At one stage in the second half, England had possession for 13 out of 15 sets. • The Kiwis know the Kangaroos better than the Lions. Many of the England players were not known to the Kiwis last week and so was the coach and they were able to initiate a strategy that NZ were not ready for. The Kiwis will be much better prepared this week as they know all of the Aussies intimately and their moves. • Shaun Johnson still leads the tournament with the most points at 74. This is made up of 29 successful kicks at goal and four tries, but for mine, he has been quiet and played poorly last week except for his last gasp brilliant try. He is capable of turning a game on its head and if he learns from last week, he could make all the difference. If he fails to get away his 5th tackle options then Australia will win. This is his chance to become a potential great.

Glenn No mate I agree, I would have had him in my team, but he missed out. It will be; Australia: B Slater; B Morris, J Hayne, G Inglis, D Boyd; J Thurston, C Cronk; M Scott, C Smith (capt), J Tamou, G Bird, S Thaiday, P Gallen. Subs: D Cherry-Evans, A Fifita, C Parker, J Papalii or B Tate. New Zealand: K Locke; R Tuivasa-Sheck, D Whare, B Goodwin, M Vatuvei; K Foran, S Johnson; J Waerea-Hargreaves, I Luke, J Bromwich, S Mannnering (capt), S B Williams, E Taylor. Subs: A Glenn, S Kasiano, B Matulino, F-P Nu'uausala.

Pritchard injured-ouch! Eastwood has good feet and hands, hes no Big Frank though. And Sleiman- '...wandering the land bereft of a tune.' Top draw! You sir, are setting the bar higher on this site ( ;