Ok, so I'm almost 61 and have been a dyed in the wool magpie fan since I was a kid. My late uncle Stan 'Ned' Lothian played Wests Reserves during the War years and only got one chance to play 'firsts' but Ray Stehr smashed his collarbone. Stehr just pulled him up off the dirt by the scruff of the neck and said "Welcome to first grade son!" and dropped him again.

My Dad Jack Lothian only played one season in 1943, playing thirds and reserves before he was whisked off to fight the Japs in the Phillipines.

Uncle Eddy Hooper played Reserves in the '50s but made a bigger name for himself as one of the great Western Suburbs Football Club Presidents. Those who remember Eddy will have fond memories of a big bloke with a bigger personality and an even bigger heart of gold.

Me, I never found the time to play the game but it was a big part of my life just the same. My biggest memories are being on the fence in front of the O'Reilly Stand for all trilogy Grand Finals ie. '61, '62 & '63. The other big memory was watching Tommy's boys win the Amco Cup in 1976. Now that was a game. Tony managed to scrounge up a copy of the Channel 10 coverage and it's worth watching over and over again. It was a 'great' game in every sense of the word.

I've seen the old 'no-tackle rule' game, the 'four' and 'six-tackle rule' game and this modern game which is a mish-mash of Rugby League, Soccer, Basketball, Gridion and Touch with 13 blokes running around pretending that they actually play a set position. Which is or was the best? I'd have to say the 'six-tackle' of the '70s, '80s and early '90s before Super League buggered it up. Back then they used to attempt to do something with the other five tackles before they kicked it.

The Poms started the demise of the game, you know. Irrespective of what the spin-doctors tell us, we did not bring in the four-tackle rule 'to stop one team controlling the game'. That is just a poor excuse because if you look at the facts, the Poms brought in the four-tackle rule a year before Australia and for the sake of international footy, we had to go along with it. I'd be interested if anyone has any views on this topic.

Champion players that I've seen? Where do I start? Far and above all others would be Noel Kelly. A tougher bloke never played the game. Never took a back step to anyone. Johnny Sattler is also up there with Peter Dimond (get his book 'Playing with Legends), Johnny Raper, Reg Gasnier, Keith 'Yappy' Holman, Tommy Raudonikis and the great 'Dallas' Donnelly. The list goes on. Cliff Lyons, Arthur Beetson, Ron Coote, Ray Price, Mal Meninga, Laurie Daly, where do I end.

So where do I rate todays players in this sanitised game of today that they still call Rugby League? The game may have changed, some say for the worst, but thankfully we still see some brilliant young players. Darren Lockyer, Scott Prince, Benji Marshall, Robbie Farah, Petero Civoniceva, Greg Inglis, Billy Slater, Brett Stewart to name but a few. Every one of these blokes would have been champions in all the previous modes of the game.

So what is wrong with the game today. No.1, it's being over refereed. Now they are going to have two refs on the field. Haven't we tried in-goal touch judges. They didn't work. We already have the 3rd Ref with cameras from 76 vantage points on the ground and even then, they can't get it right. So why is an extra ref on the field, that gets in the way of players, going to make any real difference, I think not.

A clear No.2 is that the game has lost a lot its entertainment value by making it far too clean. The Rugby League 'White Shirts' worry unnecessarily about Mums not allowing their kids to play such a rough game. Let's face it, Rugby League hasn't really given a stuff about their Juniors for years. It's all about image and worrying about AFL. Since when has a parent had any control over a teenager who wanted to play any sport and in particular rugby league. How many good players have we seen not start playing till they were 15 or 16. Darren Lockyer played AFL until he was 16. Ivan Cleary was in his late teens. Open the game up and let it get a bit heated now and again to enthuse the fans and increase the gate.

No.3, those bloody awful scrums. I don't need to elaborate on this subject. I don't know of one fan of the game that enjoys the no-contest scrums of today, they are a farce. Why do they persist with this rubbish. Why don't they just hand the ball to the other team and get on with the game.

There is No.4, 5, 6, 7 and so on but you all know what I'm going to say so I'll save space.

To get back to my original story. Wests Tigers - Every Bit As Good? I like to watch the Wests Tigers but I have to admit that the Tigers bit still gets stuck in my throat. Tim Sheens has to be the 'Coach of the Millenium'. Sheensie encourages the boys to throw the ball around and win or loss they are very enjoyable to watch. Peter Dimond says in his book that he likes to watch the Storm because of their open play, well I guess that he should know because he's played a few more games than me but think that the Storm are the most boring team to watch. They play gridion until they get to half way then they may pass the ball once or twice.

Robbie Farah has recently re-signed with the Tigers as has Chris Heighington and hopefully Benji Marshall will follow suit shortly. Chris Lawrence has yet to take the next step up but I've always had a good feeling about this young bloke, this will be his year.

I'll go out on a limb and state right now that Wests Tigers will win the comp this year. Do you agree or not? Here's the chance for you to have you say, email me at yoursay.noelkellyskids@gmail.com. Got a good story or opinion, then let me know.

Steve Lothian

Assistant Editor.