https://www.rugby-league.com/article/57 ... ng-session No Connor or Trueman!

https://www.rugby-league.com/article/57 ... ng-session No Connor or Trueman!

Think overall it's a decent squad and once you reduce the numbers to say 23, the likes of Newman, Watkins and Sarginson (whose inclusions are strange IMO) will be out.

I would add in Watts in with those 2 personally.

8 centres and 2 halfbacks seems a tad imbalanced.

Lomax, Williams and Gale are in, with Tomkins a possibility in the position as well.

‘If’ guys like Connor and Trueman keep up the form they’ve shown in two games over the course of the season Wane will put them in. He’s basically made no changes to a squad he picked at the end of last year on the basis that 2 games isn’t enough for somebody to show if they warrant being in or out. Players from outside that group will make the World Cup squad I’m sure and plenty in there won’t.

I see Lomax and Tomkins more as fullbacks. Don't think either are top class in that position compared with who Australia and NZ get to pick from so maybe stand off is a better place for them.

Watkins? wow!

Think at centre there are a lot of options because there is an older guard that is probably past it but the younger players haven't quite had the opportunity to prove themselves. So Wane seems to have picked all of them.

Backs - as expected, except Connor is an odd omission, especially given how many he has taken. I'm surprised Manfredi has been picked after all his injuries.
Halves/hooker - No issue with the ones he has picked but I would have liked a younger half in there too so he's getting experience of the setup. Trueman?
Forwards - No issue with the ones he has picked but we look a bit light on numbers at prop. Watts+1 with fewer backs would have made sense.

Think we're lacking a bit of a ball handler in the pack and a bit of size in the backrow. A sort of Burgess or O'Loughlin size hole in fact. Williams is key too as I'm not convinced there is another halfback in the squad at his level.

Also interested to see how Wane handles the hooker/dummy half issue. Having a specialist hooker on the bench may be a bit of a risk. A lot of NRL teams seem to play the same dummy half for 80mins. How many subs are allowed at international level?

Lomax has been playing and playing exceptionally well as a halfback for a few seasons now. He’s a halfback end of story for me. Tomkins could play in either position but is a fullback week in week out and a damn good one at that. He’ll be huge for us. I’d argue the case that the current version of Tomkins will be more suited to internationals than the one around 2010-2013 who rampaged through Superleague sides. His game is more subtle now. He’s a creator and his ability to make space for others has come on leaps and bounds. He’s also a much more rounded defensive fullback.

Happy with the squad but fully expect some players to come in. He will select Jake Connor if he continues to play as he is. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Widdop make a push for the squad as well. There are one or two others who will push their claims as well. It’s great to be able to name plenty of lads who can feel frustrated not that get in when he’s named 35 players. I think the final 17 will lack 2 or 3 really World Class players which will harm any chance of winning it but we’ve got better depth than I can remember for a very long time.

Connor was excellent last season under Last and he is one of the few players that has stepped up and played well at international level. He wouldn't be in the 17, but should certainly be in the squad.

Newman hasnt played for about a year and Watkins last good game was about 3 years ago.

I wouldn't have picked Watkins, but saying he hasn't had any good games for Salford just isn't accurate, he has re-found form there. It's just better to turn the page and start looking at our younger centre options whilst we have quite a few good ones IMO.

I see that Wane has come out and said that Tomkins is his current fullback choice. Just worry a bit about his size when bringing the ball back - he looked out of his depth at the Warriors. I know it was some time ago but playing for England he's going to be in a side that might struggle for go-forward versus the likes of Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga and Fiji. Hope he's improved under the bomb too as he'll get plenty of those.

Compared with the likes of Tedesco, Mitchell, Papenhuyzen, Gutherson, RTS etc we're severely lacking at fullback.

Evalds is a great fullback in attack and defence.

Tompkins attacking play is streets above any other full back though.

Amazing how Salford players shouldn't be considered for an England squad until they leave for elsewhere (Evalds being the prime example). I take it he's improved massively in those 2 games for Cas?

I like Evalds and I agree that Tomkins is good coming into the line. Unfortunately neither are anywhere near the top echelon of NRL fullbacks.

Tomkins is defo the best current English fullback atm. However there isn’t an NRL club he would get a game for and as you say, shows the gulf in class and depth. Even someone like Dufty at the dragons would keep his shirt over Tomkins

He was in the last squad when he was still at Salford. He deserved it then and he deserves it now.

Watkins deserved to be in the last time it was picked and Wane clearly has stuck with those players and that’s fair. I don’t think Watkins will keep his place come World Cup time unless there’s a real pick up from these first two games but it’s such early doors and he’s more than capable if challenging. That centre area is cut throat though, so whoever gets in will have earned it.

You'd assume Thompson is going to play 13 so that adds some size, although ball handling skills nowhere near the level of Burgess or O'Loughlin. Same with Ryan Sutton - Wane liked playing him at 13 occasionally.

Agree on the hookers too. Picking 4 in the squad seems a bit crazy but it is very competitive. Hopefully he doesn't put one on the bench just because he can't pick between 2 of them. At least McShane can backup in the halves I guess at a push.

Sutton played 13 last weekend and was absolute quality against the titans

You're not wrong there Salesim, it's amazing what a new colour jersey can do for a players ability.

There are lots going on here. Simply being in form for your club counts for nowt.

Farrell great SL player never played well for England.

Connor somewhat inconsistent SL player but always played well at international level.

Wane is RL’s equivalent of Eddie Jones knows what he knows and sticks with the same old. I expect England to do as well in the WC as they did in the 6 nations.

Wane has a rugby brain. The squad list went out before round 2. Training next week and he will know the score. Too many reading into what should be..

Never been played in the right way for England, being used off the bench or in spells from the start. Farrell’s biggest attribute is his unbelievable engine, which means he does 80 minutes every week for Wigan and as opposition forwards are tiring, he’s getting stronger. His record is phenomenal for us on every score, tackles, lack of missed tackles, assists, try’s, metres and so on. I have never in my 30 odd years watching rugby league come across a guy as criminally underrated. He is World Class for us but because he’s not 6ft 5 and 18 stones or he’s not mouthing off and getting in to scrapes, he gets pigeon holed as ‘too small for internationals’. I love John Bateman and he’s been to the NRL and proved how good he is, well Liam Farrell has been every bit as good for us as John Bateman has been at every step of the way. They’re both fabulous players and whilst different in style I cannot split them in a Wigan shirt.

We’re lucky as a country to have both of them and Elliot Whitehead and I expect Wane will figure out a way of starting all three. That’ll do for me. I don’t think leaving Jake Connor out is a sign Wane doesn’t know what he’s doing, in fact it’s probably the total opposite. Keep a notoriously up and down player on his toes, keep pushing him and come World Cup time, if he’s still playing as well as he’s done in a whopping two games, I expect he’ll make the 17.