Tryline UK

We have waited 22 years for an Ashes test between Australia and England but anticipation soon gave way to reality. England were taught a lesson in how to play Rugby League by a side who appeared far superior in every facet. A defeat so emphatic in its nature means that the first question to ask is not whether England can turn a 0-1 deficit into a 2-1 series win, but whether England will be able to compete in the remaining tests. That is not to say it is impossible that England will turn this series around. This is sport. Unexpected things can happen. The evidence of today is that this is very unlikely. Jack Welsby has borne the brunt of criticism from fans. And, whilst it wasn't his best day, I do think some of the criticism was harsh, especially in defence. For the first Australian try, he had a five on one. For the fourth try, it was a three on one. These are situations that are near-impossible to stop, especially when you look at the quality of attackers he faced. The second try...

What was the first international Rugby League match you remember or attended? The first one I went to was the first test of the 2003 Ashes Series at Wigan. Little did I know that this would be the last such series for 22 years. With us on the brink of the next Ashes series beginning, I decided to look back on that night from my own recollection. It was the first time that I had been to the stadium formerly known as the JJB Stadium. In 2003, I was a child and went to the match with my Dad. He bought tickets as part of an organised trip with work. One of his close friends from work, Geoff, was attending with his son, Nathan (who was a few years older than me) too. With the stadium being relatively new, we didn't know where to park so ended up parked outside Geoff's house.  It wasn't far from the stadium, we were told. Geoff wasn't waiting for us at his house when we arrived. He was at the pub with Nathan, several pints deep, or so his wife assumed. My adult reflections wo...

We are a little over one month away from the Super League Grand Final and with two rounds of the regular season to go, the play off picture is starting to take shape. After 27 weekends of shuffling ourselves into order on a starting grid, the play offs will begin which may have the impact of rendering those 27 weeks of work largely irrelevant in 80 short minutes.  We tend to brush over that inherent unfairness in the pursuit of manufacturing the greatest possible level of drama that we can. Still, for those who believe that the best team over a long season should receive greater reward, we can console ourselves that this play off system does offer some form of reward for the higher placed teams. We have had this current iteration of the top 6 system in place since 2020 and only on one occasion has a side outside of the top 2 reached the Grand Final. Anyway, enough about my grumbles and on to the purpose of this post. Looking at the prospects of the contenders. Derby victory for Hul...

St Helens Head Coach Paul Wellens has a dilemma. His star full back Jack Welsby has returned to fitness. But his replacement Tristan Sailor is in tremendous form. The solution? Paul Wellens has mooted playing two full backs . Wellens may have taken inspiration from his predecessor. In his final game as St Helens coach, Kristian Woolf employed a tactic he had never used before. The pendulum. In the 2022 Grand Final against Leeds, Jon Bennison defended at full back and Will Hopoate defended on the wing. In attack, they switched. It worked like a dream as Hopoate and Bennison combined for a try and Hopoate made a try saving tackle on the wing. An almighty risk for a Grand Final but it paid off. In Rugby League, teams largely play the same. Ok, there is some variation but you rarely see anything really off the cuff. Here are a few ideas of tactical innovations teams could try. (In case it needs to be said, this article is just for fun and not meant to be taken too seriously!) 1. Kick Off R...

I will start this blog with a simple question that has a not so simple answer. What is the point? After just two years, Rugby League in this country has decided to effectively junk the IMG-endorsed idea of a grading system to make up Super League and simply hand pick the top flight teams. Leave the semantics aside and ignore the rhetoric suggesting a grading system remains. It doesn't.  Arguably, hand picking the teams was the point of the ‘IMG’ system all along. We are now just being more overt about it. And it is clear this was long planned. Gary Hetherington didn't just take a senior role at London by chance. Paul Vaughan has not signed for York thinking they are going to be a Championship team. Bradford have friends in very high places. So w hat was the point in sides contorting themselves and expending time and effort to fit to the ‘IMG’ criteria? There was none. Rugby League’s obsession with change prompts lots of similar questions. What is the point in investing ...

In the Challenge Cup, there have been 8 different winners in the last 10 years. We have also had 8 different winners of the League Leaders' Shield since it was introduced in 2002. Yet there are still just four names on the Super League title since the league's creation in 1996. Since 2018, the title has simply changed hands between Wigan and St Helens as Leeds' "golden generation" ended.  Interestingly, despite the Super League title only having red and white (sorry, cherry not red for Wigan!) ribbons on it since 2018, Wigan and St Helens have only met in one Super League Grand Final in that time. It is strange that we get a variety of teams winning the Challenge Cup and League Leaders' Shield but the Super League champions remain a select few.  And it is not like we haven't come close. Hull FC, Warrington (four times), Castleford, Salford, Catalans (twice) and Hull KR have all got to the Grand Final and all failed. On 10 occasions has a 'new' side...