MANLY PROPPING UP THE NRL BASEMENT!

When Manly ripped the Leeds Rhinos apart in the WCC a month ago at Elland Road, it was proclaimed by many that they were one of the best (if not the best) ever NRL teams to visit the UK and challenge the very best of Super League. There was no shame in losing to them. After all, they'd trounced Melbourne Storm in the 2008 NRL Grand Final to the tune of 40-zip!

Such unenlightened views somehow serve to help ease the pain of defeat for many feckwitts... erm, I mean... supporters of the super duper, it just gets better and better each year, Super League competition.

Interesting that this marvellous Manly team who defeated the Rhinos with such ease in the WCC with only 40 minutes of match fitness under their belts should now find themselves at the cellar-dwelling end of the NRL competition having played 3 games and lost all 3. They've been beaten by last seasons 16th placed wooden spooners the Canterbury Bulldogs in Round 1, then by the NZ Warriors at home in Round 2, and now they've been beaten at home by the Penrith Panthers who make a regular habit of residing in the lower reaches of the NRL ladder more often than not.

Of course, it goes without saying that Super Duper League teams like the Leeds Rhinos would still be very competitive if they played in the NRL competition instead. They'd be seriously challenging for the top positions on the ladder as well as all the top honours down under.

No, really.

Meanwhile... in the real world...