Clubs won't be in a rush to change

4:40pm Wednesday 26th November 2008

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Stick to what we do best – that’s the message from Bulls hooker Terry Newton in light of England’s World Cup disaster.

Super League has come under fire from some quarters for being one of the primary reasons why the national side failed so abysmally in Australia.

Critics believe the competition’s attack-minded style – unlike the NRL’s predominantly defensive-orientated approach – left England unable to deal with what came their way Down Under.

Tony Smith’s squad were embarrassingly ripped apart by the hosts and clinically exposed by eventual surprise winners New Zealand to leave our game yet again searching for answers.

People have asked whether Super League should adopt more of the Australian principles and become more conservative in a bid to start the recovery work.

But Newton, who has featured every season since Super League’s inception in 1996, feels that is not the right approach and 2009 won’t see sweeping changes to the way the club game operates here.

He said: “It’s down to the game’s chiefs. Do they want a better Super League or cut it back and concentrate on international football? It’s a tricky situation but I think it’s going to carry on as normal.

“Clubs want to win things and I don’t reckon St Helens, Bradford, Leeds or Wigan will change anything they do just because it’s better for England’s chances.

“That’s not a bad thing; I feel the NRL can be one-dimensional and it isn’t as entertaining as Super League.

“People aren’t afraid to do different things in our competition and there’s some great skill shown. I’m not saying that’s not true in Australia, as we all know how talented they are, but watching their games is like watching the same one over and over again.”

Newton, who has won 15 caps with England and Great Britain but missed out this time due to injury, feels the tourists’ main problem over the five-week trip was an inability to produce and execute a defensive system to suit all.

England conceded a shocking 142 points in just four games and at times players, especially out wide, looked completely confused and disorientated by the employment of opposition dummy runners.

But Newton, 30, said: “One of the biggest problems seems to be that most of the clubs over here tend to play different defence systems.

“We probably are different to Leeds, Wigan or Castleford, for example, but watching some of the Aussie club games and it seems they all play the one same system throughout.

“Because of that, when they do go to international level, everyone understands what is going on. England didn’t and I didn’t need to speak to any of the England lads to get that; you could see straight away some were playing differently to others.

“I’m absolutely gutted for them all but that’s just one of many things that just didn’t go for the team. Australia made us look like amateurs “When the defence is no good, you get tired as all your energy goes on tackling. Then there’s the knock-on effect as when you do have the ball you haven’t the energy to use it to its best and everyone ends up saying how bad you’ve all played.”

Meanwhile, Newton refuses to accept foreign players are killing England’s international chances.

The former Leeds and Wigan No 9 has operated alongside Aussie stars such as Steve Renouf, Matthew Johns, Dave Furner and now Steve Menzies during his illustrious career.

Newton said: “All they have done over here is help me and push me in the right direction. It’s not about giving a lot of English players the chance – if they are good enough they will get in and push an overseas player out.”

Personally, Newton is refreshed ahead of the new campaign and added: “I’m enjoying training at the moment.

“It has been difficult as we’ve not got a full squad together yet while we’re coming in each day, training hard and not having the reward of playing at the end of the week, which is always the problem, so the sooner we start playing the better!

“It’s the first time I’ve missed international football for a long time and I’m feeling the benefits now. I’m feeling a lot fitter and sharper already and I’m after a big year.”