Re: Oledski : Fri Nov 04, 2022 9:38 am  

Seth wrote:

No, games like these if he were picked would improve him as a player.

Absolutely, testing himself against the best forwards in the World will make him a better player, sitting in the stands watching won’t.

Mike Cooper must have really ripped up Super League this year to be selected ahead of him, I must have missed those Warrington games, as must Powell who thought he wasn’t good enough for the 11th placed side.

Australia Ease Into The Semi-Finals With Win Over Lebanon : Fri Nov 04, 2022 9:17 pm  

Australia Ease Into The Semi-Finals With Win Over Lebanon The Men´s World Cup entered the quarter final stages which what appeared, on paper, to be the most one-sided of the four games as Australia took on Lebanon at the John Smith´s Stadium in Huddersfield on Friday night. Australia were handicapped by forty-four points on the coupon, a loss unthinkable and you could get odds of 40/1+ on The Cedars springing a surprise and eliminating a Kangaroos side which coach Meninga had stated was his first choice starting thirteen. To create the close spectacle that people now craved from the World Cup it would need to be a night where everything went right for Lebanon while the Australians had a very bad night at the office. The cold weather and English referee Chris Kendall were a couple of unknowns thrown into the equation. READ MORE ON THIS STORY...

Australia Ease Into The Semi-Finals With Win Over Lebanon The Men´s World Cup entered the quarter final stages which what appeared, on paper, to be the most one-sided of the four games as Australia took on Lebanon at the John Smith´s Stadium in Huddersfield on Friday night. Australia were handicapped by forty-four points on the coupon, a loss unthinkable and you could get odds of 40/1+ on The Cedars springing a surprise and eliminating a Kangaroos side which coach Meninga had stated was his first choice starting thirteen. To create the close spectacle that people now craved from the World Cup it would need to be a night where everything went right for Lebanon while the Australians had a very bad night at the office. The cold weather and English referee Chris Kendall were a couple of unknowns thrown into the equation. READ MORE ON THIS STORY...

Re: 2022 | RL World Cup : Sat Nov 05, 2022 9:52 am  

I’m still not sure whether Mik is 100% fit after his late season shoulder injury.

I think he needs to improve a bit next year; he has been overplayed at Leeds for years and he will do better with some support from other players in the pack.

Don’t overly rate Cooper but Mik could make his case stronger too.

Re: Oledski : Sat Nov 05, 2022 10:09 am  

Sir Kevin Sinfield wrote:

Absolutely, testing himself against the best forwards in the World will make him a better player, sitting in the stands watching won’t.

Depends. It won't if he believes the blue and amber hype that he ought to be a shoo-in. But if he recognises he needs to stand out better against all SL packs then he'll be better placed to make that step up against the best in the world in years to come. Might sound harsh but there's still more he needs to do imo.
That said, if Cooper's all that's keeping him out of a place in the 17 he may yet get his chance this WC.

Re: 2022 | RL World Cup : Sat Nov 05, 2022 10:10 am  

Beat me to it, Jim.

Re: 2022 | RL World Cup : Sat Nov 05, 2022 10:23 am  

Clearwing wrote:

Beat me to it, Jim.

Yep. By his own admission he didn't have his best game against France, and that was his opportunity to shine. He'll come again and nail down a starting spot I'm sure. I bet Luke Thompson is gutted to be missing out to Cooper. BTW - the blue and amber hype comment counts double for Harry Newman. Bags of potential, but needs to improve his all round centre play in order to compete with Watkins and Farnworth. When he gets fit I'm sure he will.

Re: 2022 | RL World Cup : Sat Nov 05, 2022 1:32 pm  

I agree and feel Mik has been above average in nearly all of the Leeds games he played in.
Nothing brilliant and not poor.
This is probably down to the amount of minutes and games he has played and having to carry an underperforming pack for the last 2 years.
All that said he is much better than Cooper.
I did think picking Hill was a mistake but he has stood up so far in the games he`s played.

England Cruise Past the Ravens And Into The Womens Semi-Finals : Sat Nov 05, 2022 1:50 pm  

England Cruise Past the Ravens And Into The Womens Semi-Finals In the first match of an England double header at the DW Stadium in Wigan it was the England Women who took on Canada in the opening round two match of the Women´s World Cup. England were looking for a second victory to almost guarantee their progression to the semi-finals, Canada needed the victory to keep their hopes alive after losing to Papua New Guinea in the opening round. The hosts are ranked as World number three side while the Ravens are sixth, but the bookies and pundits were predicting a walkover for England as they were handicapped by forty-six points on the coupon, Canada 25/1 for the win with England an unbackable 1/500.   READ MORE ON THIS STORY...

England Cruise Past the Ravens And Into The Womens Semi-Finals In the first match of an England double header at the DW Stadium in Wigan it was the England Women who took on Canada in the opening round two match of the Women´s World Cup. England were looking for a second victory to almost guarantee their progression to the semi-finals, Canada needed the victory to keep their hopes alive after losing to Papua New Guinea in the opening round. The hosts are ranked as World number three side while the Ravens are sixth, but the bookies and pundits were predicting a walkover for England as they were handicapped by forty-six points on the coupon, Canada 25/1 for the win with England an unbackable 1/500.   READ MORE ON THIS STORY...

Re: 2022 | RL World Cup : Sat Nov 05, 2022 3:04 pm  

You can only play what's in front of you but the international game is nowhere near strong enough to have a world cup in this format. How many truly competitive games have there been? 1?

Re: 2022 | RL World Cup : Sat Nov 05, 2022 3:35 pm  

The only close call is whether to stick around for the second stanza or go midsomer murders instead..