Test match 2018 NZ AUS

[ALinda]

Social media is a blood bath tonight.

Apparently the Kangaroos lost because of DCE and only DCE. And of course, the Qld Mafia is out in force with their "this team is crap" dribble because of no Smith, Cronk, Thurston and Slater.

So who else would've done any better? I didn't think DCE played that badly and its more about being anti-DCE than how he played.

 

[HoldenV8]

So who else would've done any better? I didn't think DCE played that badly and its more about being anti-DCE than how he played.

100% agree. I think they're barking up the wrong tree putting the blame on Cherry.

 

[winnyason]

Social media is a blood bath tonight.

Apparently the Kangaroos lost because of DCE and only DCE. And of course, the Qld Mafia is out in force with their "this team is crap" dribble because of no Smith, Cronk, Thurston and Slater.

I seen it. Look once those boys pulled the pin we come back to field. Historically since 2007 kiwis have really started to give it to us at test level, wining world cup and few 4 nations titles.Dce had good game but if its his team he needs to be able to overcall both sides of ruck. I have a feeling desmond may fix this in off season. Does anyone think sometimes dce is too nice to his 6 rather than demand ball when he wants it.

 

[ManEagle]

I seen it. Look once those boys pulled the pin we come back to field. Historically since 2007 kiwis have really started to give it to us at test level, wining world cup and few 4 nations titles.Dce had good game but if its his team he needs to be able to overcall both sides of ruck. I have a feeling desmond may fix this in off season. Does anyone think sometimes dce is too nice to his 6 rather than demand ball when he wants it.

DCE hasn't had to demand the ball at all for he has only had 1 season over the past 3 with a recognised 5/8, he knew he was getting the ball, but the problem has been the opposition knew it too.
First game in the Aussie jumper, he should be allowed to roam both sides of the ruck, but as V8 also mentioned, the game plan was likely to go left using Kearny Mitchell and Teddy, they just didn't adjust when Kearny left leaving that bloody Hunt spelt with a c at 5/8 on the left

 

[wombatgc]

Mate, Dane Gagai could outrun our wingers.

A Honda Z could outrun our wingers.

Marty Bella, Neil Tierney, and now the mighty Z! None of them built for speed, but they were tough!

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

Was out in the garage playing darts against the father in law so didn't see the game til very late last night, very surprised with the result

Pre match I thought the Aussie forward pack was poor and that it exactly where the game was won, the likes of McLean, Kaufusi and McGuire in a starting rep pack isn't frightening, and seeing Ben Hunt on after 20mins was certainly in our favour as well

Mitchell v Manu was a hell of a match up, Manu probably got over Latrell in the end, can't believe Australia stopped attacking that side of the field after cutting the Kiwis to shreds in the opening 10

 

[Captain Moondog]

The Kiwis were the better team and deserved the win. If the dickheads on social media are looking for scapegoats perhaps they should look at the Australian forwards, pretty hard for DCE to create anything playing the majority of the game in Australias half and doing a mountain of work in defence behind a beaten pack. Josh McGuire for example, did a great impression of a speed bump, don't see him copping any flack though.

 

[winnyason]

DCE hasn't had to demand the ball at all for he has only had 1 season over the past 3 with a recognised 5/8, he knew he was getting the ball, but the problem has been the opposition knew it too.
First game in the Aussie jumper, he should be allowed to roam both sides of the ruck, but as V8 also mentioned, the game plan was likely to go left using Kearny Mitchell and Teddy, they just didn't adjust when Kearny left leaving that bloody Hunt spelt with a c at 5/8 on the left

Agree hunt ****ed that edge. Dce had good game in my opinion 1 try assit and 2 drop outs forced.

 

[jbb/james]

Kiwis deserved there win. They controlled posession way better due to a superior kicking game. Johnson had a few kicks that were not to flash , but overall his kicking game and involvement was instrumental in wearing down the Aussies. Once posession started to take its toll , as the Aussies tired , lack of ball security cost them further.

The kiwi pack certainly did a great job , especially there lack of errors, but it was complemented with a steady gameplan when they were on the rack early. Johnson pulled the right strings when the kiwis were under the pump with field posession and repeat sets and stepped it up when the tide turned. He got them back into what was looking like a walk in the park early.

In the end they deserved a bigger win . One of johnsons better games for the kiwis i thought. The next few years will be interesting for both teams

Australia defence especially in the first half was awesome.

 

[double hoops]

Kiwis deserved the win.

It was won up front. Maguire has their forwards dominating. SMITH showed why we need a mongrel in our team. Its the size of the fight in the player. Not always the size of the player in the fight. Smallest bloke on the field. Said give me the ball, get out of my way and scores. Destroy The Kanga in defence.

Kangas summed up by the fact Aaron woods is in that team. Its a disgrace.

Turbo made a lot of handling errors.

DCE didn't take control like his team needed him too.

Same old same. DCE lacks composure, and organisation that talking out on the field, steering the ship more often than not. He's too hit and miss. If he gets to spend a few more weeks at that level improving that side of his game now.

Mel trying to make him the teams new Cronk or Smith. Can only be a great thing.

Half backs need to direct.

 

[Supreme Leader]

So what did we learn from the game?

1) We survived International football without season killer injuries
2) That Turbo is not a better centre than a fullback
3) That Hunt (in my opinion) thought he was better the DCE and tried to take over the team and at same time trying to make DCE look inept.

Best team won.

 

[Shoe1]

The sun herald didn’t blame or mention any of the manly boys. Cook got most of the blame, followed by hunt. Cordner’s comments in the article about cook came across as pretty scathing. Cordner as captain should have said no comment or changed the subject.

 

[Briza]

Was out in the garage playing darts against the father in law so didn't see the game til very late last night, very surprised with the result

Pre match I thought the Aussie forward pack was poor and that it exactly where the game was won, the likes of McLean, Kaufusi and McGuire in a starting rep pack isn't frightening, and seeing Ben Hunt on after 20mins was certainly in our favour as well

Mitchell v Manu was a hell of a match up, Manu probably got over Latrell in the end, can't believe Australia stopped attacking that side of the field after cutting the Kiwis to shreds in the opening 10

You can add woods to that list!
Kiwis played well for 70 minutes, poor ball handling in the 2nd half cost the roos the win imo.

 

[HoldenV8]

Was out in the garage playing darts against the father in law so didn't see the game til very late last night, very surprised with the result

Pre match I thought the Aussie forward pack was poor and that it exactly where the game was won, the likes of McLean, Kaufusi and McGuire in a starting rep pack isn't frightening, and seeing Ben Hunt on after 20mins was certainly in our favour as well

Mitchell v Manu was a hell of a match up, Manu probably got over Latrell in the end, can't believe Australia stopped attacking that side of the field after cutting the Kiwis to shreds in the opening 10

I thought Kafusi had a decent game. McLean should never have been picked, even Woods went better. Maguire over Jake was a bad call by Meninga. The rot started when DWZ just ran straight over the top of him.

Cordner as captain was solid in his play, but as captain he needs to lead by example and talk a hell of a lot more.

Meninga needs to give DCE license to roam the field directing the play and not leave it to Cook who in his debut was pretty much overwhelmed. Cherry was basically stuck twiddling his thumbs for most of the game on the right because Cook went left around 80% of the time. When Cherry got the ball, we made ground. We didn't take advantage of that like we should have.

I don't know about anyone else but I got the feeling that Meninga had a personal quota of Qld players he wanted to fill in this squad. Gagai, Maguire and Hunt should never have been selected.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

You know what , and this isn’t being anti patriotic, I think the international game is better when Australia isn’t so dominant.

Games will start to mean something again.

 

[Blake A]

You know what , and this isn’t being anti patriotic, I think the international game is better when Australia isn’t so dominant.

Games will start to mean something again.

Being a NZer, we often feel the same with the All Blacks. A loss keeps people interested in the game. A team that continually wins is not good in any sport or competition.

 

[tookey]

Lucky Jake isn't a new zealander

https://twitter.com/i/status/1051795306642198528

 

[HoldenV8]

You know what , and this isn’t being anti patriotic, I think the international game is better when Australia isn’t so dominant.

Games will start to mean something again.

There was a time when Australia wasn't dominant in the international game. The Kangaroos did lose tests and indeed tournaments (World Cup) or series even when the original Immortals in Churchill, Gasnier, Raper and Fulton were mainstays in the national sides.

Part of the problem is that mist of today's league fans have been used to the Kangaroos dominating for the most part. We haven't lost anything to the Poms since the 1972 World Cup and its only been in the last 14 years that the Kiwis have started winning things.

Dominance by one team is never good. While of course as an Australian I love seeing the Kangaroos win, I also know that its not good if they are too dominant because history has shown that if one side dominates then fans, even home fans, just won't bother turning up in numbers. Proof positive was the test attendances in Australia during the late 70s and through the 80s, especially against the Poms and especially in Sydney. They went from attracting 50-60,000+ to struggling to attract more than (or in some cases, close to) 20,000 and attendances only began to rise again when we started losing the odd-test match.

 

[HoldenV8]

Here is a telling statistic.

During the 1960s, the average test attendance in Australia was 36,909.

By the 1980s when the Kangaroos were dominating, the average test attendance for the decade in Australia had dropped to 19,946.

That is a drop of 46% in attendances.

During the 1990s when admittedly, the Kangaroos still won every series but the others (NZ and Great Britain) were at least a fair bit more competitive, the average attendance in Australia rose to 24,868. An increase of 20% over the 1980s, but still 33% down on the 1960s.

History shows, especially in Australia, that when other sides are competitive with the Kangaroos, attendances are generally good. But when we're dominating the international game, fans tend to stay away. Interest is still there and fans will watch on television, just that a lot less will attend games.

 

[Blake A]

Lucy Jake isn't a new ealander

https://twitter.com/i/status/1051795306642198528

Lucky you aren't a proof reader.