In fairness to Gildart he came back very well from his injury and was probably our only bright spot in what was otherwise a really poor second half to the year.

I agree with you on the size issue. We seem to be getting obsessed with having huge outside backs but if players have other skills that make them difficult to handle, it isn't the be all and end all. I've not seen an English centre with footwork as good as Gildarts since Martin Gleeson.

Really? Watkins on his day has some of the best footwork ive seen from any player. Id have a whole host of english centres above him for there footwork, that are even playing now; Watkins, Percival, Shenton, Cudjoe... Ive probably been more impressed with Jake Connor at Hull who i think has been great this year.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Gildart come back 6-7kg heavier next season given his decision not to play with Italy in the World Cup.

There would be a certain irony if that gain came from eating a lot of pasta.

Liam Sutcliffe could be a future England centre.

if leroy cudjoe can get himself back to form he could link up with mcgillvary at centre and get their great understanding/partnership going.

cudjoe has had an op end of last season on a knee which has hindered him and cost him his england place this time.

cant believe we are still chopping and changing half backs at this stage of the comp!!! not what you want to be doing really.

pleased walmsley has got a spot now on the bench.

we should be winning this game anyway .. england by 16+ points!

A whole host? I can only think you've not seen enough of him. His footwork is outstanding and better then any named above IMO (Watkins is another I thought of but he's as much power as footwork). That's not to say I think he's currently a better player then those named (apart from Connor, he's without doubt a better centre then Connor) but he's certainly developing very nicely indeed.

Bateman is very good in defence when playing second row, but as a centre his decision making is embarrassing and thankfully if we play Tonga he wont be opposite Jennings who would rip him to shreds.

I really dont understand why Shenton was not taken, he won't beat his opposite man too often but has good defence and knows when to pass

To be fair both Gale and Widdop are still playing, with Brown coming into the side. It’s not like England play 5 mid season games.

I've seen a lot of comment that PNG is a poor side because the PNG Hunters lost to Penrith reserve grade.

Just looking at the named PNG side, there are 3 current Hunters players in the starting side and 2 more on the bench.
Many of the starting side like Mead, Segyaro, Aiton, McDonald, Baptiste etc are very seasoned old pros who are very credible and respected players.

England should win well, but it should be remembered that a weaker PNG selection than this beat a near full strength Fiji in Sydney just 3 or 4 months ago, and they have just spent a month in camp developing a plan for this game.

The Fiji team they beat are nothing like as strong as this WC squad. The PNG players in the NRL are in the average to plodder range in NRL terms. Mead's a reserve, Aiton hasn't played NRL for years, Segeyaro is a bench player as is Baptiste (very much number 2 behind Hodgson). Don't get me wrong, England really need PNG to aim up and make them play as well as they can for as long as they can. But don't pretend anyone serious about winning the WC would or should worry about playing them. If England get beaten by PNG it will be a disgrace, and if we really struggle then you can write us off as serious contenders.

That is unfair. Mead is hardly an "average to plodder." At Brisbane he is competing behind full back Darius Boyd (QLD and Australia) huge winger Corey Oates (QLD) and goal kicking winger Jordan Kahu (NZ Kiwis) for a first grade spot. David Mead is a great player who should have gone to another club, or stayed at the Titans, in order to get the recognition he deserves. Segyaro is a bench player now but he plays very well and is an above average hooker. Baptiste is the bench hooker at Canberra but is still a good player. I can't see one average to plodder in that list except possibly Aiton. Yet I note that you omit mention of Nene Macdonald who is a regular and very successful winger for St. George, and who is also a very good centre -- on his displays so far Macdonald has been superior to either of the England centres. You also don't mention PNG winger Justin Olam who was signed by the Melbourne Storm, but is competing for a place in the first team with two of the three best wingers in the NRL in Vunivalu and Addo-Carr. Also winger Garry Lo, who was injured against USA and may not play on Sunday, is an outstanding talent.

So basically Mead is a reserve like I said then? I quite like him as a player, but he's clearly not quite top shelf. I certainly couldn't see him starting in any of the sides likely to be in the top 8 next year, injuries aside.

I didn't mention Macdonald because for the Dragons this year he was utter gash with bad errors every time I saw him play. Are you suggesting he'd be in the top twenty outside backs in the NRL? If not then he's at best average. And why would I mention a winger who - for whatever reason - doesn't make first grade, or another who has until this season reached the dizzying heights of playing for Sheffield Eagles?

Put it this way, there's not a single PNG player who would get into the Australia or NZ squads, or Tonga's (except maybe one of the hookers). So explain to me again why they're so to be feared? I don't have a problem with them competing and making England work hard, but if England really struggle then that's a clear indication we're light years behind Aus, NZ or even Tonga.

David Mead has played 160 NRL games.
half a dozen of the England side wouldn't make an NRL side.

Really???!

Totally agree with this. Like NK, I've seen both Gleeson and Gildhart first hand many times and I've been making the comparison constantly. His footwork is different to the ones you mention, SC. It's difficult to fully explain but, like Gleason, it's deceptive. Almost like they make space over a very short area, often when there seems to be no space there. He's a genuine winger's centre too. Those you mentioned are all good centres but I have no doubts whatsoever that Gildhart will be an international centre sooner rather than later. He simply has that extra class.

still changing the halves which at this stage should have been decided for me

I agree in principal but if its clearly not working and you stumble on something better then go for it.

Lets not forget we stuck by Rangi Chase playing with Sinfield all the last WC until the semi even when it clearly wasn't gelling. We reverted to Widdop and Sinfield for the Semi and got one of the best performances of this decade from England.

Give over. I know it's popular to bag England, but I bet every one of them has had an NRL offer.

Some of the fringe backs may struggle to be fair, not as many as half a dozen mind.The forwards would all make an NRL team no trouble imo.

Samoa have plenty of NRL apps between them too, England would have pumped them by 20+ this morning had they played them. I'm expecting a comfortable win for the English on Sunday.

Percival wont i think be considered until he proves he can cut out the errors.

He topped the SL charts with 51 last season.

Thats more than 2 errors a game.

At international level you cant afford to have a centre doing that with regularity.

Nearest other players to him were Albert Kelly with 43 then Greg Eden with 39.

Be fair, we have Newcastle, the Titans and Tigpies in the comp. Based on 2017 performances, I don't think there are too many of the England squad that wouldn't have got a run with one of those three if they were available.

That crowd

What crowd?! Shocking