{"id":259341,"date":"2025-11-03T08:38:35","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T08:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/259341\/"},"modified":"2025-11-03T08:38:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T08:38:35","slug":"the-field-for-kangaroos-vs-england-ashes-game-was-an-embarrassment-column-reece-walsh-nathan-cleary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/259341\/","title":{"rendered":"The field for Kangaroos vs England Ashes game was an embarrassment, column, Reece Walsh, Nathan Cleary"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Kangaroos defeated England 14-4 to retain the Ashes<\/a> in a game that failed to reach any considerable heights, with Australia holding on in a defensive arm wrestle.<\/p>\n

But that in itself exposed one of the biggest talking points to come out of the contest.<\/p>\n

Read on for all the biggest talking points out of Sunday morning\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2025 Rugby League Ashes LIVE with no ad-breaks in play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

AN EMBARRASSMENT TO TEST MATCH RUGBY LEAGUE<\/p>\n

You can only call it as you see it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And as gritty as Australia\u2019s 14-4 second Test win over England was to secure the Ashes, as a TV spectacle it will hardly go down as one of the classics in years from now.<\/p>\n

But in fairness to the players, particularly the Kangaroos, it wasn\u2019t entirely their fault that the match was such a scrappy affair.<\/p>\n

While the Aussies\u2019 attack was poor, the fact referee Grant Atkins couldn\u2019t keep the teams apart certainly didn\u2019t help.<\/p>\n

Which leads us to the issue of the lack of clear line markings on the field.<\/p>\n

Seriously, how in the hell do you have a rugby league Test match played at a state-of-the-art stadium where the referee can\u2019t keep the teams 10 metres apart \u2014 because he can\u2019t see the bloody lines?<\/p>\n

Hill Dickinson Stadium, which cost an estimated \u00a3800 million ($A1.6bn) and is the home of Premier League side Everton, is supposed to be one of the world\u2019s great sporting venues.<\/p>\n

But the ground staff were obviously more worried about the next soccer match be played there \u2014 and bugger the rugby league.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just not good enough for what is supposed to be the pinnacle of our sport.<\/p>\n

They would have paid massive money to get the match played at this ground.<\/p>\n

Yet the lack of clear field markings made it impossible for Atkins to keep a consistent 10 metres.<\/p>\n

MORE FROM THE GAME<\/p>\n

KANGAROOS PLAYER RATINGS: Walsh crashes back to earth; Munster magic burns Poms<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018NO DEFENCE\u2019: Walsh binned as ugly mid-air tackle sparks melee<\/a><\/p>\n

Will Walters coach Australia in 2026? | 03:10<\/p>\n

As a result, defence dominated the attack of both teams.<\/p>\n

More than anything else that destroyed the game.<\/p>\n

Yes, it was tough and some of the defence at times was brutal.<\/p>\n

But the attack was second rate \u2014 because the players weren\u2019t allowed the space they are used to.<\/p>\n

Even when Nathan Cleary launched a 40\/20 kick referee it was guess work for Atkins and the video referee to make the correct call.<\/p>\n

Cleary launches a 40\/20.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n

Can you imagine if a Premier League team came to play in Australia and our ground staff dished up line markings for a soccer match that were on par with this?<\/p>\n

It was an embarrassment to Test match rugby league.<\/p>\n

We have stadiums all over Australia where multiple sports are played at the same venues on a regular basis, and each time the fields are marked up perfectly.<\/p>\n

No wonder there were only two tries scored in the entire match.<\/p>\n

Although the cynic in my wonders if maybe that was the hometown plan.<\/p>\n

To make it as ugly as possible and give England its best chance to contain the classy Australians.<\/p>\n

MORE FROM THE GAME<\/p>\n

\u2018MUST HAVE BEEN KEVVIE\u2019S COUSIN\u2019: Munster\u2019s hilarious run-in with infamous pitch invader<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018HE\u2019S A POMMY\u2019: Munster roasts England legend over crucial try<\/a><\/p>\n

Kangaroos take Ashes after grinding win | 02:32<\/p>\n

MUNSTER TRY WAS NO CONTROVERSY<\/p>\n

Cameron Munster was the deserving man of the match.<\/p>\n

And I reckon the video ref got it spot on with the crucial try Munster scored early in the second half to split the 4-all deadlock.<\/p>\n

There was some debate about whether it should not have been awarded due to an obstruction.<\/p>\n

James Graham was of the belief George Williams and AJ Brimson were denied a chance to tackle Munster when he ran around Angus Crichton.<\/p>\n

You go back and watch that try and at no stage did Crichton interfere with any of the defenders.<\/p>\n

And Munster was right when he explained: \u201cLook there is obviously grey areas in our game. We can talk about going behind the block. But at the end of the day, the rules have changed a little bit, where if the block doesn\u2019t really take anyone out or stand in someone\u2019s way, it\u2019s play on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Double movement or momentum? | 00:44<\/p>\n

IS IT TIME TO GIVE MOSES A CRACK PLAYING IN THE HALVES?<\/p>\n

As for Nathan Cleary, he\u2019ll always cop it when he doesn\u2019t dominate at rep level.<\/p>\n

But Cleary has played well in both Tests, even if he has played within himself \u2014 and his kicking game was again crucial in this one.<\/p>\n

Along with the 40\/20, his bomb to set up Hudson Young\u2019s try was the match-clinching play.<\/p>\n

Although with Mitchell Moses yet to play on the tour, it makes you wonder if Kevvie Walters should give Moses a go in the third Test just to see how he goes.<\/p>\n

Whether it is resting Cleary or Munster, I\u2019d love to see Moses in action after the way he finished off the season for Parramatta.<\/p>\n

Double SIN BIN after early Melee chaos! | 00:45<\/p>\n

WALSH IS HUMAN AFTER ALL<\/p>\n

After five straight man-of-the-match performances, Reece Walsh has shown he\u2019s human after all.<\/p>\n

Walsh\u2019s supporters will argue that he tried his heart out in this one.<\/p>\n

And that he should be praised for some of his desperate defence that shut down at least two try scoring opportunities.<\/p>\n

But two were also penalised, and the one that resulted in a late sin bin had the potential to be critical heading into the final 15 minutes.<\/p>\n

The fact England was unable to cash in on having the one-man advantage probably said as much about their attack as it did Australia\u2019s gritty defence.<\/p>\n

But against better quality opposition, it could have been a huge moment.<\/p>\n

And it was a legitimate sin bin after he collected Dom Young high, when the giant winger wasn\u2019t even in possession of the ball.<\/p>\n

There was also an early forward pass that butchered one attacking raid.<\/p>\n

Walsh was also lucky to escape with only one escort penalty after a couple of questionable calls went his way.<\/p>\n

While there was a bizarre moment when Walsh turned his back on the defence and didn\u2019t even attempt to catch a bomb after a mix-up with Mark Nawaqanitawase.<\/p>\n

Overall, the Poms did a great job containing him, limiting Walsh to seven runs for 56m and not a linebreak or linebreak assist among them.<\/p>\n

But again, the conditions of the field was a huge factor in this game and how it was played.<\/p>\n

BEST OF THE REST<\/p>\n

The best of the rest in my eyes were the two backrowers, Crichton and Hudson Young, along with Kotoni Staggs.<\/p>\n

All three were also very good in the first Test win at Wembley.<\/p>\n

While Staggs hasn\u2019t had a lot of opportunities to show his explosiveness on this tour, he works incredibly hard, and the tap back off the Cleary bomb was typical of his effort.<\/p>\n

TINO SIN BIN A TOUGH CALL<\/p>\n

Good on big Tino.<\/p>\n

It was like watching Steve \u201cBlocker\u201d Roach race to protect Benny Elias when Tino went straight on the attack when Harry Grant got in a scuffle with his opposite Jez Litten in the opening minutes.<\/p>\n

Although it cost Tino 10 minutes in the sin bin (along with Dom Young), isn\u2019t that what you want a front-rower to do when someone is giving it to his hooker?<\/p>\n

The overreaction was from Grant Atkins to sin bin both players.<\/p>\n

Marky Mark flick passes to himself?! | 00:25<\/p>\n

VIDEO REF ON ANOTHER PLANET<\/p>\n

Is the video referee in England on another planet?<\/p>\n

While I thought they got the Munster try call correct, some of the decisions were so slow it was just painful to watch them unfold.<\/p>\n

Again, it was another factor that slowed down the game and stole away from the spectacle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Kangaroos defeated England 14-4 to retain the Ashes in a game that failed to reach any considerable…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":259342,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,689,30190,4567,152787,152790,55223,75321,152782,152783,152788,34150,1208,152777,2057,152785,152794,122333,152792,83670,152784,152793,152780,143657,3196,152778,4744,151481,7615,1613,152779,152776,22326,673,7204,3583,677,11396,1614,13391,152774,760,159,130928,8088,53077,85,151200,152775,152781,152786,152791,152789,143535],"class_list":["post-259341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-benny-elias","tag-cameron-munster","tag-clear-field-markings","tag-clear-line-markings","tag-controversial-try","tag-crucial-try","tag-defensive-arm-wrestle","tag-deserving-man","tag-desperate-defence","tag-duke-of-montrose","tag-england","tag-escort-penalty","tag-europe","tag-fact-referee","tag-flying-shoulder","tag-george-williams","tag-giant-winger","tag-grant-atkins","tag-ground-staff","tag-hes-a-pommy","tag-infamous-pitch-invader","tag-kangaroos-player-ratings","tag-kevvie-walters","tag-kick-referee","tag-kicking-game","tag-line-markings","tag-linebreak-assist","tag-liverpool","tag-match-rugby","tag-mid-air-tackle-sparks","tag-mitchell-moses","tag-new-south-wales","tag-north-melbourne-kangaroos","tag-northern-europe","tag-oceania","tag-paul-crawley","tag-premier-league","tag-reece-walsh","tag-rep-level","tag-rugby","tag-rugby-league","tag-rugby-league-ashes-live","tag-sin-bin","tag-soccer-match","tag-sports","tag-straight-man-of-the-match-performances","tag-tackle-sparks-melee","tag-tries-scored","tag-try-call","tag-try-scoring-opportunities","tag-ugly-mid-air-tackle","tag-video-referee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}