Channel 9

[Dan]

I blame the elderly really

 

[Matabele]

Goodness that was boring. The poor girl looked exhausted. He looked like the rest of his family - stilted and awkward.

 

[ManlyBacker]

Outstanding match. We all knew it was going to be a big one by the massive buzz going through the crowd long before kick off. The Brittish team's Marketing Dept deserves a wrap as the team's colours were absolutely everywhere as the fans battled to get vantage points.

The new look refs were easy to spot with their golden yellow uniforms and it made it easy for spectators to spot the linesmen. The eye-in-the-sky views of the play enabled the audience at home to work out some of the carefully crafted positional plays.

The loss of Lowie before the whistle was one major concern but there was no effect on team morale. Timing was everything and not one mistake ensued and every set was a full completion. The only unforced error was the difficulty Willie had in slipping the ring to Middleton but despite the juggle he came up with a scoring play. A negative was the length of the half-time summary but get officials in front of the camera and you can't stop them.

No doubt the post game celebrations rivalled the Sea Eagles' victory in 2008. I'm not one for players kissing each other but no one was complaining after MOTM Willie planted one.

Coach 'Prince' Charles at the post-game interview lamented the loss of Lowie but described the result as "one for the true fan". "There were some who doubted that the merger would be succesful but with the new tv deal sealed with the ABC, 7, 9 and 10 and our new home venue at Buck Oval we are set for many seasons to come" he said.