Putting team loyalties aside I would have to agree it pains me to say it but we cannot afford any passengers against the ossies and nz

Are you suggesting Kevin Sinfield is a passenger? Really?

Putting team loyalties aside, he's the best game manager and leader in SL. Hence I would like him and O'Loughlin to be the key controllers around whom the players like Chase and Tomkins can do their funky shizzle. One thing we're not short of in the squad is pace.

Ok passenger was a bit strong but I would hope the international team would be picked on form not reputation Talk of the best leader ,manager in super league maybe the season before last yes .last season not so much remind me again what we won last season.

Who cares about England?

SBW is on his way over

If he feels like it and he doesn't get invited to any good parties in the meantime.

Great !!
Can't wait to watch big Sam flatten him again

Did that happen when it really counted?

No?

Thought not.

SBW by plenty it is then.

It happened alright & it'll happen again.
Counts or not he still knocked him on his jacksie

Now, Now Jeff don't be like that, you are probably the biggest advocate of wanting the International game to prosper and flourish on these forums are you not?

RL needs a very successful WC this year and I can't wait to see genuine world Class stars on these shores like Slater, Inglis, Thurston, Smith, Cronk and Gallen for Australia

SBW's inclusion for the Kiwis squad means that he is now their only genuine world class player that will be recognized by the neutrals in this country during the tournament, especially after Benji Marshall's decision to move to the Kick n Clap brigade.

I also look forward to seeing the improvements of England's NRL based players during the competition and what it will bring to our side

I hope that England play Australia in the final

Which players are you most looking forward to watching in the WC? and can you see any real future stars to look out for?

Are you going to catch the Kiwis game against PNG at headingley?

Will be a tasty game that, real physical.

'Jeff' is only interested in being 'right' so he really doesn't give a damn about England, despite his claims of "being a true RL fan by not being a club supporter". Just check the VT to see him hoping for a Aus v NZ final. 'Jeff' only cares about 1 in his world, the one who gets ignored in the real world......himself.........so it's vital his keyboard self is successful.....and if it isn't he just goes into hibernation until a period passes when he can think of a new argument and what he said previously might've been forgotten by other posters.

I don't have a lot of experience of watching Hock or any England player for that matter since the GBR sides of the 80-90's era.
I've started watching the ESL again to take a Look at Sam Tomkins who's coming here of course next year.
The reason I picked out this post is It's exactly the plan NZ use to defeat Australia and will live and die by this world cup. Safe Footballers who stick to the game plan , a simple plan at that.
I would add :
The teams that went through to the NRL finals series ( with the exception of Melbourne who are a special case / structured like what I have seen of Wigan Games ) were powered by Monster Forward Packs with Mobile Big impact forwards off the Bench.
Crabtree not being in the squad makes no sense to me at all ( my expectation was England would reply in kind because they have the Big Humans who can ).
For Non NRL fans, a case for the Inclusion of the Burgess Twins cannot be overstated. George would be welcomed with open arms into the Kangaroo and Kiwi Line ups , Tom wouldn't be far behind selection.

Not wanting to get into an NRL is superior nonsense argument , my point being George has been better than anything we have here for impact , and I'm quietly confident the Kiwis Pack may prove better than Australia ( very close the tournament will tell ) our backs obviously are not , never have been , and probably won't be come the next world cup.
They would be where I would start in the forwards Crabtree and the Burgi. Sams done exceptionally well of course ,


Aussie are the most clinical of the teams and frankly neither England nor NZ have the personnel to be as clinical , fast , and dynamic, efficient , ruthless ....pick an adjective.

They're a parasitic organism that creates pressure by doing everything in Rugby league 101 well then feeding off your mistakes ( Origin is a game of Chess ).
Technically they have no weakness's. Sides rely on bounce of the ball and Luck to win games against them.

Their only weakness is their own greatness , they go into contests 'knowing' they will win , and if you can be within six points of them by half time in a low scoring contest ( twelve points or less ), they don't have a lot of mental experience of dealing with that anomaly from any team that is not Australian. It really throws them off especially if England Lift in the last twenty of each half , because the Kangaroo's .....believe it or not.......have a deep seated fear of choking.

When NZ beat them Aussie looked seriously upset when the Kiwis Lifted to make it a contest late in the first half. when the same momentum shift happened in the secound half of the world cup final Aussie started to panic.
That leaves playing a simple Game plan off the go forward , dominating possession and territory , letting your impact forwards bring that lift in momentum in the secound spell of both halves your best weapon.

For all the reasons that Make Australia brilliant , you can't try to employ tricky / complex / or ad lib tactics and hope for the bounce of the ball to go your way. I don't Like the look of Rangi chase , a mercurial styled half isn't called for ( well at least the fancy stuff shouldn't be his first option ) someone who can shift the ball well is the go ( the kiwis had Benji Marshall , tellingly.... it wasn't his footwork that got the Kiwi's to victory it was simple well delivered passes at pace.....Sam Tomkins looks as good on the move with the pass selection ).

Excuse the rant I really would like to see England do well

Credit where it's due. Burgess showed Williams no respect. Williams is a phenomena in terms of his profile in the Rugby codes , Sam smashed him that's what actually happened.

Can't wait to see what some of these World cup sides bring to target ( clean ) Elite players and try to make names for themselves in their own lunch times.

It's going to be unreal

Tim Sheens has said that he will stick to his Tried and True Squad with the addition of Impact Forward Andrew Fafita.

Who would be Englands best Impact forward ?

Fafita if you haven't heard of him is an explosive runner with a huge motor to chew up Meters.

Gareth Hock is probably England's best impact forward. Precisely what sort of impact it is varies a bit from week to week.

Depending on who we start with, James Graham could also perform that role very very well, if it was deemed as best.

Is he used in that way down under? I don't watch NRL. When last seen he was doing long stints at Saints.

Accepted that is what he is used for, and capable of. But my point was he could quite easily be an impact forward too.

Graham unlike a lot of players is quite an exceptional player, and can adapt to different roles. Didn't he play stand off for Saints one time aswell?

I have occasionally wondered whether the Bullfrogs use him differently - whether he could keep doing those huge stints in that environment.

He seemed to try to play stand-off a lot with his first receiver passing game. I always felt it was effective for a few weeks when it had the surprise element of not being what forwards usually did, but once people started expecting it, he was just a bigger, slower, slightly clumsier version of a stand-off. Still has exceptional ball skills for a big forward.

My reservation with using players who can do long stints as impact players is that (unless you bring in somebody else to do tyhose long stints) you effectively limit your interchanges. Having a prop who can happly do 50-60 minute stints and be on the field for 70 minutes is like having a free interchange.

I'm sure he could do it, but as you said, it's whether that's deemed the best use of his skills.

they've tried everyone else so probably

Just heard Graham, Hock and Hardaker have all been sent home from the England set up!!

Wha?

If that's true and England going without Graham, they might as well call it quits now.

Is Mick Gledhill a reliable source nowadays? Times have changed if so.

McIllorum too apparently.

Time will tell so I won't go into any detail yet, but I'm not happy about what they've supposedly been doing just 5 days out from the biggest England game in a long time.