Aussies furious as non NRL player wins the Golden Boot

Looking through the Rugby League media today you may have expected to see many posts or articles congratulating England International Tommy Makinson on winning the Golden Boot , the International player of the year .

Makinsoon was on a shortlist of 4 players , including clear favourite Roosters star James Tedesco  and it seems some of the games former players Down Under are struggling to come to terms with Tedesco missing out on another award .

The chorus of disapproval was led by former Aussie Test star Greg Alexander who said the decision shattered the integrity of the award . New Zealand International Shaun Johnson criticised the criteria for the award which is handed to the player who makes the biggest impact on International Rugby League between last years World Cup Final and now . This is the main problem for Alexander who showed little respect for Makinson calling him ‘this bloke’ ‘ .

Both Alexander and New South Wales Coach Brad Fittler think the award should have gone to Tedesco , who won the NRL , Origin and made his Kangaroos debut . The most disappointing comment was from Fittler who admitted he’d only seen snippets of Sunday’s International , this coming from a representative Coach ? He told NRL.com

“I watched the highlights of the England game yesterday and just saw him score a couple of tries.That’s all I’ve ever seen of him and he’s the best player in the world? I find it ridiculous.”

This is a man who has scored 11 tries in Super League and made the Dream Team , and Fittler has hardly heard of him ?

The award is handed out based on International performances , England are the only unbeaten major nation in 2018 so it’s right an Englishman has won it , yes Makinson was a surprise but he timed his wonder show on Sunday to perfection . the fact the award is based on only a few Internationals is mainly down to Australia so they should look closer to home on this one . England are happy to take on the Green n Gold anytime , any place anywhere and are ready to take their mantle as the World’s best side . Ironic that an Origin Coach should choose to enter this debate .