For the point about English centres, Cas have Kirk Dixon, who although has played his majority of games at winger, would be a more than adequate centre. Not sure about international class but can score tries for fun down the right and think he's probably more suited pace wise to centre than wing.

Hull Have three on their books that could make top class centres.

Briscoe
Hall
Lynne.

The first two you all will have seen, Reece Lynne has just left school and is already in the first team squad, a big lad who is very fast.

Possible the best centre in England for his age.

CAM his opposite number had to make 9 because we went left an average of 1 pass per set at most.

It's not the number of tackles - it's WHO he's tackling. The most dangerous players for Australia seem to prefer the left hand side. That's not to say they aren't prepared to try the right - it's just that they are less keen on it.



Do me a favour and drop the emotion. I said the lad did nothing wrong. Which is praise enough given the shambles England delivered for much of the game.

It seems you want us all to prostrate ourselves before his shimmering visage. What for? It's not like the Aussies are qualing in terror.

Be interesting to see what kirk yeaman can do with some service next year. We'll get to see if 2006 was a flash in the pan or if its something he can sustain. Defensively hes outstanding.

Clubb was switched between wing, centre and second-row during the season, although given that Matt Gafa kept being selected at centre that's as much a sign of coaching ineptitude as anything Clubb did. Personally I think he has more potential as a strong-running second-row than as a centre, but then we don't play that way, we try to bore teams to death instead.

Purdham also played some time at centre, although he's primarily a LF he's comfortable playing at centre, unfortunately he also injury problems that make him unavailable for selection.

My club has developed 3 back-row centres, non of them can ply for England, natch.

Fair enough he was taking hodges on rather than inglis, but on the other hand shentons side of the defence did far more tackling than smiths, shentons 27 tackles in defence were nearly double his net rival in tackles, tompkins who made 15 and was the on the same side as shenton. The aussies tries to break through the left of hall-shenton-tompkins-ellis several times (more times in the end than they tried to go down the right) and couldnt find a way through. Shenton also deserves credit for causing two aussie knock ons with his agressive tackling and forcing a player into touch.

If we actually get the ball out to him in a decent position him and hall are going to score tries being the top try scoring winger and centre in sl.

I certainly hope so. We have Kallum Watkins at Leeds who I also have high hopes for. Maybe there's a little bit of hope for a year or two down the line but none of those players were ready for [ithis[/i series were they?

Didnt Gilmore play for Scotland in 2000?

And?

He might be patriotic to his scottish roots of Dewsbury

No, the point is that 'he did nothing wrong but...' and then make a made up point implying as to why he did nothing wrong. Why not leave it at he did nothing wrong, rather than creating excuses as to why the little Cas player managed not to mess everything up on the international stage.

Wakefield had:
Sean Gleason (Irish)
Ryan Atkins (Injured)
Luke George (Centre/Wing who finished the season in better form than any other threequarter in the SL (except maybe Ryan Hall, scoringsomething like 8 tries from 6 games)
Aaron Murphy (Wing/Centre, who's not ready for internationals)

Ahhead of Smith, In no particular order I'd have picked:
Tony Clubb
Michael Lawrence
Leroy Cudjoe
Chris Bridge
Kris Welham
Kirk Yeaman
Chris Riley (wing)
Darrell Goulding

Leroy Cudjoe?

Seriously?

I know he's only young, but if the main criticism of Smith's performance was his work in defence then I don't see how Cudjoe - who failed twice this season to cope with the superstar that is Francis Meli - represents any sort of an upgrade.

Not before last Saturday you wouldn't.

My team selected and posted long before the final squad was announced.
No sign of Lee Smith!

And while not many of the players on my list are in this team they certainly would have been before I selected Smith.

That's not to say I don't like Lee Smith, I actively defended him against Freaky when he said Smith's World Cup appearances had been atrocious. I pointed out that in Smith's one of only full appearance he scored a hat-trick.

None of that change is my opinion that he should not even be in the squad as a centre or a winger, though I may have had him at full-back. However his decision to sign for wasps rugby union club would have ruled him out completely for me.

FFS at least 2 of those are ginger.

and even more amazing neither of them are from Castleford.
Proving that bespeckled, carrot topped, milk bottle skinned hillbillies can naturally occur outside of their natural breeding ground.




just joking

Name added.

I concede the point.

Kirk Dixon and darryl Goulding would've walked all over Inglis and Hodges and gotten us a victory on Saturday.

Dear me.

If that is based on the principle Simth is off to Union, fair enough. If it is based purely on ability then give your head a shake.

I've no problem with Smith going off to Union - he's a professional rugby player and if that is where he can get the best deal, then he is only exercising a right that Rugby League was founded to grant (I know it was more complicated than that, but humour me).

I think he is a decent and versatile back - ideal for a touring party, because he can cover 1-5, but I've never thought he looked very special. the alternatives [imight[/i not have been much better on Saturday, but they could not have been much worse with hindsight. I don't want to slag him off particularly, but he should be dropped or at very least switched to the wing.

Bridge isn't much of a replacement unfortunately and T.Smith must have a [ireally[/i low opinion of other English centres if he was seriously considering O'Loughlin there. Eastmond would get the nod for me.

Of those not in the squad, I can of a good few I'd rather see in the centres for the New Zealand game than Smith - [inow[/i

The only reason O'Loughlin played at centre in the warm up game was to try and get him 80 minutes - a number of other forwards had also either missed out on or taken little part in the playoffs and needed game time, so Todd Flanders got shifted into the centres so everyone could be accommodated.