Rugby League World Cup 2021 - Final Network Diagram

Two network diagrams for the teams in the final.  

From the semi-final image (https://fulltimesportsfan.wordpress.com/2022/11/09/rugby-league-world-cup-2021-mens-semifinal-network-visualisation/), it's not surprising that England lost, they are very much the outlier in that diagram. 

To an extent, England are the Super League punching above it's weight (the new NRL television deal made L realise how big the financial gap between NRL and Super League is, apparently I hadn't conveyed the size well enough). Given the number of NRL players, Samoa should have won the semifinal, and did. 

At the moment, basically, if an English player plays in the NRL, they will get into the national team, because the NRL is the harder competition. The question becomes how can the gap be closed, so the Super League isn't left behind as a feeder league. 

(I have no answer to this question, only I don't think it's money) 

On the other hand, while there were no Saints, Leeds or Wigan players in the final, Hull, Huddersfield and Catalans did provide players so it's not all sad for the Super League. 

Penrith Panthers provided the most players in the final, with 9, 6 for Samoa and 3 for Australia. This is followed by 5 for the North Queensland Cowboys (4 Australians and 1 Samoan), and the Sydney Roosters and Manly Warringah Sea Eagles with 4 (Roosters = 3 Australians, 1 Samoan, Sea Eagles = 2 each). 

I was so hopeful for Samoa and I wasn't alone. There's a few Australian fans complaining that every non-Australian was cheering for Samoa - take it as a compliment. In my lifetime, there has been only 1 non-Australian winner (Stephen Kearney's glorious New Zealand team), we are all desperate for a not-Australia winner. 

Would I like it to be England? Yes, but I would be happy for Tonga, or Samoa, or New Zealand or anyone. 

If Samoa can keep this team together and build (because several of the building blocks are still so young, e.g. Stephen Crichton is only 22 and already that good) ... oh there is such great potential. 

I'm going to use this space to highlight two things: 

1 - The Jillaroos are just the best. No idea if they're just paying forward Cam Smith mentioning them in his victory speech last time, but for whatever reason, good on them for giving the Wheelchair winners an honour guard. 

https://twitter.com/RLWC2021/status/1594029871197523970?t=R7SVxCgrZRa1ChVE7yi4iQ&s=08 https://twitter.com/AusJillaroos/status/1594044439269609473?t=XMiBwIy8YyxeTM00U1V9ww&s=08 

2 - Also the best, Kevin Sinfield. I recommend watching the clip in the link (https://twitter.com/BBCSport/status/1594011819630383109?t=9ZXIU8Rh-_fwmUPa7lX5vw&s=08) and joining me in saying, "may we all have a friend like Kevin". 

In his general honour, and that of Dodie Wier, he's the Motor Neurone Disease Association's website - https://www.mndassociation.org/

Future Content

Work and a couple of other things have meant I've failed at the "one blogpost a week" plan.  

I hope to make up for it between now and when the Formula 1 starts up again.

The traditional yearly round up of the films I've seen the cinema (only 9 this year), a couple of film reviews, and tidying up some outstanding projects from this year, including the Benford's Law project (no I hadn't forgotten it), the final diagram for the Men's Rugby League World Cup, a series of diagrams for the Women's Rugby League World Cup (I'd do it for the wheelchair World Cup but I do not have the data) and something for the women's Tour de France.

End of the Formula 1 Season

Sorry about the lack of Formula 1 posts.  Partly it was the hellish cold I'm still getting over, partly it was real life getting really busy, but mostly it was that the end of the season was really uninspiring.

Despite George Russell winning his first race, which is something I have been looking forward to.  (Don't look at me in that tone of voice, I've been fond of the Powerpoint Kid since he started at Williams).

It's just that the rest of it was so meh - no one was going to beat Verstappen if Max got into a lead and the nearest thing there was to intrigue was when people decided to be surprised that Verstappen, a man who would run over his own grandmother for a victory, didn't let a teammate through.  Why people, including Perez, were surprised is beyond me.

Ferrari did not help matters (Ferrari never help matters).

Okay, I have unrealistic expectations, I'm a tifosi, I was born to have unrealistic expectations.  And the season started so well.  But ended without even a whimper.

It was the sheer dull thud of the end of the year that depressed me.  It wasn't even an entertaining disasterpiece.

Ferrari's response to this is yet another bout of regime change, because if something hasn't worked the last three times, why not try it again.  I think the problem goes deeper that just the figurehead.  None of four people who have taken up the poison mantle since Jean Todt were bad at their jobs before or after (ignoring the recent Juventus weirdness with Arrivabene which I think is a Juventus thing not an Arrivabene thing).  I think the way Stefano Domenicali looked 10 years younger with a year of leaving Ferrari is telling.

There's something deeper wrong at Ferrari and I can't see yet another team principal fixing it.