Films about rugby league are so rare that it's a shame this one - which I think is the only rugby league biopic (I could be wrong) - isn't better. It's about the first tour of an Australian team in Britain, which took place in 1908 - a difficult trip, from all accounts, with players having to work as stokers to pay their way, but it helped establish the international bona fides of the game and saw some marvellous work from Dally Messenger.
The best thing about this movie is they've cast actors who actually look like they could play rugby league - Dominic Sweeney, Tony Martin, Dennis Waterman. And I always enjoy Chris Haywood, who's the manager.
But it's dull. The director is slow paced and plodding the script bland and amateurish - scenes feel as though they drag on forever. The challenge of filming the matches in an interesting way is not met, there's little complexity, gags are repeated incessantly. The novelty of the concept meant I made it through to the end but it was very hard going.
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