World Club Series

[Cult]

Kind of makes me less optimistic about Round 1...

It's ok. Wigan would have beaten St. Helens in the final if it weren't for them playing most of the game with 12 on the field. Also St. Helens were missing a few players from that game.

 

[Socnorb]

Teams get smashed in the NRL by this type of score lines all the time. It means nothing really.

Aren't Wigan and St Helens no 1 and 2. playing at home, part way into their season, with every advantage, against a team with has traveled half way around the world, who have not had a full team trial game. I'm sure questions have to be asked. Mine would be. Under what conditions would an ESL team win. NRL team down to 10 men for the last 20 mins maybe.

 

[Big Pete]

Stick to the original question.

Has the ESL gone backwards based on these results?

No it hasn't. The first two games were competitive and if calls had have gone the other way we may have had different winners. With Souths, they just put in a good performance and they would have pummeled a bunch of NRL teams with that sort of performance, Brisbane included.

 

[Big Pete]

Finally completed the trifecta and watched through the World Club Championship.

When it rains, it pours for South Sydney. They've really come along as a team and they're well on track for giving the upcoming NRL season a real shake. They're just strong all across the park and they tick every single box, while I don't think they've got another premiership in them (at least this early) they're going to go a lot closer than initially expected.

What really struck me was how seamless Glenn Stewart transition into the team was. It seemed like he'd been playing for them for years and he's already formed a fairly impressive combination with young Dylan Walker who appears to be on track for a big season.

I felt bad for Saints watching this. Souths were in a mood and on this night, everything just came together for them. It was a performance most fans would dream of where most of the bounces, most of the calls and most of the passes just stick.

I don't think it's all bad news for Saints but it's clear they've got a lot of lessons they need to learn before they can really consider themselves on even pegging with the NRL and hopefully the entire competition can make up the difference. One thing I think fans take for granted is that the ESL clubs have to make do with a smaller salary cap meaning they're always competing with the NRL and Rugby in trying to hold onto their best and brightest. It's real tough because anybody with a lick of skill is more often than not going to pick the bigger pay day.

However they've got some immediate improvement in them. They still have the likes of Walsh and Hohaia coming back into the team, their presence alone should hit two birds with one stone as it'll enable their captain Jon Wilkin to shift back into his preferred spot in the backrow.

But yeah, full credit to Souths. They played some great Rugby League and their fans deserve to revel in their success.

Lord knows though that it's a long season. Many clubs have been in the Rabbitohs position and faltered. That will be their challenge...