Big match tonight, Wire & KR. Be amazing for KR to beat them after turning over Wigan & Saints in recent weeks
Rugby League - 2024 edition
- Thread starter jojojo
- Start date
Great game tonight. Warrington brilliant for 30 minutes and KR came back into it to some extent in the second half. Sam Burgess has made a big difference to Warrington's defensive organisation.
Not a KR fan, but I was losing the plot with their defence in the first half. Rushing out to meet the sweeping player….and fecking it up every time. Agony to watch. Warrington were good though, took the opportunities presented to them and defended like dogs
Really weird to see the top teams running neck to neck in the League like this. Lots of "anyone* can beat anyone" around at the moment. Every time you think a team is on a decent run they fall over the following week.
I'd love to see it stay like this - but then I've got some split allegiances. Frustrating if you're a fan of a team and waiting for consistency and solid performances I guess.
*I'm excluding poor old London there of course.
I'd love to see it stay like this - but then I've got some split allegiances. Frustrating if you're a fan of a team and waiting for consistency and solid performances I guess.
*I'm excluding poor old London there of course.
You can exclude FC as well.
Battle of the shitshows tomorrow, FC at London….the battle for second bottom
feck me this is a hard watch
One-sided semi-final yesterday…suspect today’s will be a very close game. Hoping Warrington shade it though.
Not an accurate prediction I made earlier. Easy win for Warrington and some brilliant tries.
Wire v Wigan at Wembley looks mouthwatering.
Wire v Wigan at Wembley looks mouthwatering.
I must admit I enjoyed the battle of the underdogs last year. This feels a bit more back to reality, but it should be a good contest.
Rob Burrow passes. 
Rob Burrow passes.
Yeah just seen it. Grim
That's sad. Even though you know how serious the diagnosis is and how hard the battle that he and his family must have been - it's still a brutal moment.
RIP. Much sympathy for his family and friends now - and all those who helped him live as good a life as he could for as long as he could.
RIP. Much sympathy for his family and friends now - and all those who helped him live as good a life as he could for as long as he could.
RIP. That has to be one of the most brutal illnesses there is, he dealt with it phenomenally well and has been an inspiration to everyone these past few years.
Also a top player in an all-dominating team that I absolutely fecking hated at the time I must say. I begrudge that Leeds side their wins one hell of a lot less now I've come to understand what a brilliant, genuine bloke Rob was.
Also a top player in an all-dominating team that I absolutely fecking hated at the time I must say
. I begrudge that Leeds side their wins one hell of a lot less now I've come to understand what a brilliant, genuine bloke Rob was.RIP. That has to be one of the most brutal illnesses there is, he dealt with it phenomenally well and has been an inspiration to everyone these past few years.
Also a top player in an all-dominating team that I absolutely fecking hated at the time I must say
Yes, and his great mate Kevin Sinfield too.
As you say, a truly awful illness and one that becomes progressively more debilitating over time.
You have to wonder what the incidence of MND is like among rugby players vs the general population.
Would scare the absolute piss out of me if I was a young athletic lad choosing a sport to focus on. Wouldn't go anywhere near rugby.
Would scare the absolute piss out of me if I was a young athletic lad choosing a sport to focus on. Wouldn't go anywhere near rugby.
As a parent of a 15 year old who plays both codes, I’m much less worried about him playing league than union.
Rucking, jackaling, scrummaging….its all a lot more nerve-wracking
Some research research for rugby union -
Research conducted at University of Glasgow finds a group of former international rugby players are at around two and a half times higher risk of dementia, and over 15 times greater risk of motor neurone disease (MND), compared to the general population. Player position had no impact on dementia risk.
That's based on a statistical study done on retired international rugby union players and includes players from 30 to 70.
All athletes who go through hard training seem to have an increased risk of MND, with people doing contact sports at most risk but there are genetic and other risk factors as well. Not a straightforward calculation especially as some sports (including rugby) leave you less likely to have heart and lung diseases etc.
As @T00lsh3d said RL is maybe less risky than RU as it avoids some of the more or less obvious planned routine head collisions.
Certainly does. Some great thoughts expressed about Rob Burrow's legacy from the pundits just now.
A cracking game in prospect later. It'll be interesting to see which coach made the correct decision last week, in terms of making wholesale changes in the case of Sam Burgess, or minimal disruption to the team in the case of Matt Peet.
On another note, I caught the tail end of the women's final, and there were literally a few hundred people in attendance. Not really a great way of promoting the women's game in all honesty...just wondering if there would be a better way of showcasing the game.
Standard Warrington final performance here. Poor in that first half, not much better thus far in the second.
that 3rd try was a killer to concede.
that 3rd try was a killer to concede.
Yeah, massively disappointing from Warrington. Felt like they have tried to force the issue throughout whilst Wigan have played a smart game.
I was quite worried about this game, a feeling not helped when we went two points behind early on, and I could see a real struggle and an upset against a massively enthused Warrington on the cards. Fortunately it was a very controlled performance once that penalty and the sin binnings were out of the way. I know Wire fans are very disappointed with how that went, for Wigan it was a very professional way to go about our business.
Fantastic win for Warrington at Saints tonight, considering the harsh red card on twenty minutes, and then a sin bin early in the second half. Sam Burgess has forged a phenomenal team spirit in the side.
When I switched on they were down to 11 men and I really didn't see them getting anything from the match, especially not when St Helens got their try to take the gap back to two points. Really good performance from Warrington.
In more random RL thoughts. My friend was travelling from Perpignan today, same flight as the Dragons. He confirms, "big units, but very compact, don't overflow their seats."
Wigan Warrington tonight. Lightening start from Warrington
Only got in to see the last twenty minutes…what a score line this is.
Some mental scores tonight, Wigan and saints getting smacked by 70 odd points between them
Yeah it’s extraordinary. Surely Wellens at Saints is under massive pressure now.
We look all over the place at the moment, filling too many gaps in the side. O'Neill's injury looks awful too.
Need to hunker down, hopefully beat Hudds next week and see where we are.
Need to hunker down, hopefully beat Hudds next week and see where we are.
I generally assume Saints will get their shit together sooner rather than later, but 5 in a row is massive
You’ll hammer Hudds, they’re in an awful state
I'm thankful it's them to be honest, but we could end up with plenty of egg on our face if we play like we did tonight or the first half against Hull. Those teams played well and deserve credit but from my point of view we beat our fecking selves by not doing the basics.
Yeah you should never have lost to FC in a millions years, they were trying to throw the game away at the end as well. Warrington, well, they were pretty shit hot tonight.
I went to watch Leeds vs Huddersfield at Headingly in April and Hudds were really good. They’ve won 2 games since then and just got battered by Leeds at home.
Giants over first @12OunceEpilogue @Northstand
Happy enough with the points in honesty. We were on the ropes at 8-0, then Wardle goes the length and changes the game. I think a better team would have had us grovelling.
I could only watch the first half but checked the score about halfway through the second and it’s gone from 0-8 to 20-8
In other news, how good is Mikey Lewis? He’s got it all. Shame he’s a red and white
FC making Saints look like Saints again
Great game tonight featuring the top two. HKR were actually the better side with a full compliment of players, but fair play to Wigan, they were pretty ruthless {and brilliant), in taking advantage of the two yellow cards.
Yeah HKR would have probably won if they kept 13 on the pitch but Wigan never give up and have some deadly strike players. Wigan will get better now Field, French and Smith are all back. It’s going to be a great play off series.