Rookie Kiwis almost pip Kangaroos

I'll say this at the outset: from a purely footballing perspective, Slater is not my kind of fullback. I prefer five-eighth styles with size, speed and ball-playing ability, like Inglis, Hayne and Boyd. Plus, I find Slater frustrating with his all-too-common tendency to pass behind, in front or over the head of his outside men on scoring shots. Again, not my kind of fullback. Having said all that, let's have a look not only what Slater did last night, but when he did it. When the scores were 12-18 in favour of the Kiwis, it was Slater's try assist that tied the game (who in turn recived it from Cronk I think). At 18-18, it was again Slater's try assist that broke the deadlock. And, yet again, at 24-18, it was Slater's try assist-assist for Morris and then Cronk. I would argue it was Smith and Cronk who were the driving forces behind the victory, given the way they started to establish Australia's rhythm with their kicking game in particular, which then gave us good position for Cronk and Thurston to put on those Slater plays mentioned above. But Slater still had to do his job in finishing them off. So, unfortunately, well played Billy Slater (!)

Eye...Responding to the points you make...Slaters dropped bomb obviously did not cost Australia. Bringing that up is irrelevant and says much about your one eye. As I said in my post, it was the 4 dropped balls in the first half that enabled NZ to pressure the Australian line. They just happened to be dropped by NSW born Australians. The improved ball security in the second half was the NUMBER 1 reason Australia turned the tide. It was a great tackle by Dean Whare to tackle Inglis over the sideline...to say he 'flung' him over the sideline....well....it's pretty hard to take your comments seriously....regardless in a few weeks we will get to see who brings the dropsies.

Ok ,Dallas fair enough,lets leave it there,I realize they're champions,but always judge the performance not the CV.. @VOR so the dropped balls cost us momentum,true,but gee as I said its a quantum leap of parochiality to believe they were more significant in releasing the pressure valves than Parkers and Cams,don't know what S. Hayne was thinking in letting Billy get away with that spilt bomb,or GI letting himself get flung over the sideline,why didnt those incidents make your non-state lines analysis?

I totally agree with you Scott, we (kiwis') are now basically in the same position we were after the world cup final. We lost, the Roos' were flat in the first half, they won the 2nd half 18-0 after a kick in the butt. Most kiwis' I've spoken to after the game said we did well. Then they go on to say that we didn't get the floggin most people thought would happen, so the kiwis' were very good and showed promise. Well, I guess I'm different and I won't rest until we win and keep being on a equal footing with the Roos'. For some to say we were so close and next time as the Roos' are all getting old now is Disneyland stuff!

No such thing as a decoy in todays game mate. Every runner is an option. The difference is slater always gets to where he needs to be on the field. As phil gould said. He is the busiest fullback he has ever seen.

yeah theres no other fullback that could have run that decoy. it was all billys doing

Have a look at it again mate, Simon mannering is held up for a split second. If slater isn't there out the back mannering would have just jammed in on bird any and made his tackle, bird ran a very good line and obviously played the major part in this try. Im just pointing out the fact that Qlders were prevelant in all these try's, weather it was a try assist or not they constructed the plays giving there outside men the room they needed, the Morris brother deserve credit as well, brett Morris is the best winger in the game by far and when he plays in this team with smith, slater, cronk and Thurston giving him the room they always do, he runs a muck. You have claimed that they were cotton woolen, not me. I didn't compare the Qld players to the NSW players after the game, I dont judge players for what team they play for or what state there from. At the end of the day if the work on inside hasn't been done the guys on the flanks sent going to score these try's. And I know Cameron smith played a part in letting that try in but it is just funny that you leave out the bit where cordner misses him first to suit your argument. There is no point trying to bag these Qld players because they are all champions, it's just a waste of time.

Who cares guys. At least PNG has an IN as far as players being recognised as being from that area. That's what PNG needs to gain international status and perhaps later get a side into the NRL. One step at a time. The suggestion that Fiji may follow suit ad enter either the QLD or NSW Cu as a result of this venture is encouraging surely.

During the first half Gallen, Bird, Cordner and Morris all turned over possession giving the opposition field position. Without these fundamental errors the Kiwi's don't get to apply pressure. Note that in the second half errors were kept to a minimum and the tide turned. Go figure. Not an analysis down state lines...just fact.

@JH sweet,nah I was just returning a sledge from Damo @ Dallas I' m assuming you've had a look at the video prior to that post about the tries,which makes it inexcusable dribble..Bird caught Hiku out,simple as that..he did the right thing sliding to his corner but the cover he was praying for wasnt there..seriously,have another look JT orthodox pass,cover beaten by a beautiful line run,Billy Slater had 100% ZERO to do with that try,hes jogging out the back,absolutely kidding yourself there...2nd was again 2 standard passes to a flying Moz who put on a nice in and away...3rd was a very good ball from Billy,agreed..Moz turned it into a certain 6 by running it around..4th GI..5th try you've slapped it on pretty thick there as well,that movement wasnt going anywhere till J.Moz accelerated thru the line and passed it on...Qld put them all on,did they ?Pelicans ? Learn the difference between handing the ball on and actually try assisting..as for Bromwich,he was Cameron's just as much as Moa was Parkers..embarrasingly 1 eyed assessment Dallas..

Hurrell would have been handy on that right flank too

You seem to have an appropriate name I dont know what point you are trying to make, or are you just a negative guy? I did enjoy the game and Australia played very ordinary and still won the 2nd half 18 to nil. If they play the same game again next week with the same team, the betting will be the same and Aust would probably wiin by more this time. Any team that is < 1.10 is a mismatch. I thought the Kiwis went great and exceeded all expectations, but they are a long way from beating Aust.

Just have a look at the pride and passion shown by everyone within the Fiji Bati setup and tell me this game doesn't mean anything... looking forward to another great game tonight!

All three front rowers for the kiwis had a blinder and so did kevvy proctor on the left edge. If you add isaac luke, kieran foran and SKD to that team I dont see why they wouldnt compete with the aussies.

Waning? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_vs_New_Zealand_in_rugby_league#2000s Plenty of crowds in the mid 20K range since Superleague war.

Yeah absolutely. It's an idea that's been put forward before - there was an article on Thursday dedicated to it that reflected both our perspectives (shortened season and more rep). As for the answer TBH I think it's more the broadcasters than the clubs that is the problem. The NRL still lacks the necessary autonomy to implement more fan-friendly scheduling with a proper and logical rep build up. The game is getting stronger all the time though, and with NFL being the model the NRL likes to follow, we may yet get there.

you need to look at last night's test ratings to see intl league is not waning esp after a successful world cup. I think what most people are up in arms about is the timing. Last night was a competitive game and the Roos scored two tries off forward passes. Wait til the 4 nations later this year where we will see international games in exciting locations though it would be good to see Perth get a test.

Jack, Valid points and I somewhat agree. The NRL season was building momentum before this week so the timing is slightly off however there needs to be a strong presence of international fixtures in the RL calendar. I would reduce the length of the NRL season and introduce more international fixtures at the end but the clubs currently have too much power for that to happen so I'm not sure what the answer is.

Firstly, 25000 is a disappointing crowd but we come to expect it given the waning interest in international league. And 16 wins in a row? Nothing to celebrate. You don't want that kind of dominance in a sport. The invincibles of '82 were truly a great side playing quality opposition. This aussie team has run up huge wins over fiji (twice), usa and ireland. There's four of the winning streak. Other than england, no one came close to beating us in the world cup and in the last four matches conceded two solitary penalty goals. Didn't make for exciting viewing. The highlight? England v NZ semifinal.

Shayne hayne did appear to be biassed but certainly nothing like craig joubert and his love affair with the all blacks. We have as good a side as the all blacks but we have no chance this bledisloe as jourbert (who is a cheat) will be officiating.