North Sydney launch is this Wednesday!
Where else but Percy's, over the road from North Sydney Oval?
I’m in Australia two more weeks - the clock is ticking!
We obviously aren’t going to hit 22 book launches - one of every top flight team in 1997 - but this one is the 20th over all our of a target of 34 so I’m going OK!
Late notice I know but I’ll be at Percy’s, over the road from North Sydney Oval, at 6.30pm on Wednesday.
There MAY be one more in the Sydney area before I head off to south-east Queensland and onto London.
Stay tuned!
TALLIS SHOULDERS BLAME FOR LOSS
GREAT BRITAIN 20
AUSTRALIA 12
By STEVE MASCORD
Old Trafford
AUSTRALIAN second-rower Gorden Tallis described himself as "a disgrace” after he was reported and sent to the sin bin during Great Britain's epic series-levelling victory at Old Trafford on Saturday.
The Lions' 20-12 Super League triumph was one of the highlights of this divided season, a contest which had sufficient doses of controversy, athleticism and brute force to be labelled a truly great Test match.
Tallis was involved in several of the incidents on which the result swung including a sin-bin dismissal for repeated infringements and a tackle on British winger Alan Hunte, which earned him a mention in New Zealand referee Phil Houston's report.
It was something of a fall from grace after his dream debut the week before, but his own assessment of his performance was infinitely harsher than that of any observer.
"I was a disgrace," Tallis said. "I was on a high last week and I just took that into the game and it didn't work. I should have just knuckled down and played footy.
"They scored every single point off me. People say no one person can win a game but I lost a game for my country today.
"I got head-butted, I got baited and if I can't take a smack in the mouth for my country I shouldn't be playing the game."
Tallis who, luckily, escaped being cited, neglected to mention he was also Australia's best forward despite the amount of punishment he absorbed as fire and brimstone returned to the Test arena before 40,324 baying Brits.
Distilled to a result, Saturday's game was won by Britain because they scored 20 points with skipper Andy Farrell bagging 16 of them to Australia's 12.
Hooker Steve Walters (29 minutes) and halfback Craig Gower (54) scored for Australia, five-eighth Farrell (35) and winger Jason Robinson (50) for the Brits.
But surely the measure of a classic contest is the number of other incidents which conspired to create the result.
And there were plenty of them, woven into a game which swept from end to end one moment and was fiercely confrontational the next.
Great Britain led 10-6 at half-time, but only after Australian lock Darren Smith's try was disallowed because the pass from replacement centre Russell Richardson was ruled forward.
Winger Wendell Sailor's punch on Farrell, Tallis's high tackle and sin-bin sentence, a holding down penalty against Richardson and a couple of errors out wide when the visitors looked to be storming back all played their role.
Then came the gilt-edged finish.
Tallis returned from the bin just as Richardson flashed past him on his way upfield.
Tallis quickly followed Richardson in support but the Cronulla centre seemed unaware of his presence and instead passed awkwardly in-field to Smith, who got his fingertips to the ball before knocking on with the line open.
Hunte made a 70m run after fielding a Gower kick on his own line.
Smith desperately tried to stop him playing the ball, the tourists were penalised, and Farrell sealed the day with a goal.
Britain won at Old Trafford for the first time and put themselves in the picture to take an Anglo-Australian series for the first time since 1970 and end a 38-year drought in Britain.
The Brits' openly-declared intention to increase their aggression and test Houston's patience could not have been more successful.
In a perverse sort of way, Houston's schizophrenic enforcement of the ruck area and offside only enhanced the drama.
Australia, who lost centre Brett Mullins to a burst blood vessel in his leg but hope to have Brad Clyde and Ryan Girdler back, go to Elland Road next Sunday with the stakes high and the consequences of defeat dire.
Coach John Lang said: "I think some of our guys maybe over-reacted to some niggling tactics. I hope they over-reacted to something."
His opponent, Andy Goodway, was as direct as any of his forwards had been earlier when asked his response to that comment.
"If you look at our niggling tactics to the Australian tactics, which was to smash them in the mouth, smash them round the head ... we didn't retaliate," he said.
"It's Test match football, it wasn't an overly-physical game, it was just a game that was more like what Test football is.
"You enjoy the occasion, enjoy the skill and just enjoy the day."
After a bleak year of World Club Challenge thrashings and the resulting cancerous pessimism, that is exactly what international rugby league did at Old Trafford on Saturday.
GREAT BRITAIN 20 (Andy Farrell, Jason Robinson tries; Andy Farrell 6 goals) defeated AUSTRALIA 12 (Steve Walters, Craig Gower tries; Darren Lockyer 2 goals) at Old Trafford. Referee: Phil Houston (New Zealand). Crowd: 40,324.
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