Rugby League World Cup Final - England V Australia 0900hrs 02/12/17

[meeesh]

I assume not in those words. Players always complain that the other side are being favoured.

Yup,those exact words,hence to say a few minutes later the commentator apologised for anyone upset that heard some inappropriate language,truth is the English player was spot on,and so it proved

 

[Ghandi's Flip Flops]

Haven't watched a RL game for many years but tuned in to the final and found it surprisingly entertaining but what is the point of a rugby league scrum?

there isn't really any 'point' of a RL scrum. it's just another way to quickly restart the game. the only thing it really does is group a large number of both sets of players in a small area giving the offensive back line a bit more space to exploit.

over the years RL has adapted the game to try keep it as quick and free flowing as possible, maximising the amount of time the ball is in play, the emphasis on scoring tries, whilst also trying to make the rules as simple and understandable as possible. so no line outs, un-contested scrums etc

compare and contrast to Union not so long ago.
scrums (after multiple collapses/re-sets) could take 5 mins to complete, you'd get kicking duels between the full backs going backwards & forwards until one made a mistake, teams with a decent line out purposefully kicking the ball out of play. rules that people barely understand (i played/watched union for years and still scratch my head as to why some decisions are given and others aren't).
thankfully union seem to be getting their act together over the last few years.

 

[MillionMilesAway]

They have probably picked the best referee, but a lot of people would disagree it's not an issue or doesn't give the Aussies an advantage.

This is because NRL & Superleague refs tend to apply the rules differently or more strictly/leniently within certain aspects in the game.

For instance, Superleague refs tend to be more strict at the 'play-the-ball' area and penalise more for lying on in the tackle/ trying to delay the play.
Therefore Superleague teams gear a lot of their game around getting quick play-the-balls, as it gives the defending side less time to get their defensive line 'set' and organised, which usually leads to more line breaks (or penalties).

In contrast Aussies refs are more lenient, which means the defending team get more time to get their defence organised, making it harder for the offensive team to make 'breaks'.

So in essence our players spend all season playing a certain way, but then have to adapt for one-off games when they get reffed by an Aussie, putting them at a dis-advantage.

You could then ask 'why don't SL refs ref similiar to the NRL?', and the answer is that SL games are generally considered more open and exciting games, compared to the NRL.
Some NRL teams (like the Melbourne Storm) are quite mechanical and rigid in their play style, where their whole game is based on five big carries, a good kick & chase, then pressuring the opposing team to make a mistake near their own goal line.

Bit lectury!
I maintain my opinion that having an Aussie ref is not an issue really, for all that Brian Noble whined.
Thaler, Bentham, Child are incompetent in Super League, and the ref today was absolutely fine.

Your description of Storm sounds like Wigan.

England (and I far preferred it when it was Great Britain) lost because they created very few clear opportunities to score. Macgilivray's last play which missed a clear inside try was unfortunate, because I like him.

 

[Ghandi's Flip Flops]

Bit lectury!
I maintain my opinion that having an Aussie ref is not an issue really, for all that Brian Noble whined.
Thaler, Bentham, Child are incompetent in Super League, and the ref today was absolutely fine.

Your description of Storm sounds like Wigan.

England (and I far preferred it when it was Great Britain) lost because they created very few clear opportunities to score. Macgilivray's last play which missed a clear inside try was unfortunate, because I like him.

Don't understand why you think it's lectury?
Just pointing out that if a team/players are reffed in a certain way all year, then they compete in a competition where the rules are applied slightly differently (and where the other teams in the competition are used to them), then that team is likely to be at a disadvantage.
Over the years i've attended a fair few Tri-Nations/ World-Cup games in this country, and even if we get an English ref we don't seem to get any advantage as they seem to try ref it like a NRL game.

As for Storm just sounding like Wigan. Maybe, but Wigan also focus a lot of their gameplay purely on slowing down the opposing team at the play-the-ball. They are probably the best team in SL for doing this (If they do this by fair means or fowl is another discussion though).