Id rather he had a full pre season tbh

On the other end of the spectrum I would say that England could do a lot worse than taking McGuire with them in case Gale cant get the job done, he is the ultimate big game player

Shaul, for me, has to be picked. Comparing his stats to Tomkins and Ratchford they are far better, but I think it's going to be the off the cuff plays that could trouble Australia. Going against them with repetitive structure, side to side, isn't going to beat them IMO

I feel Shaul is too one dimensional for international level, the lad has no passing game, it'll be Tomkins, Ratchford or even Widdop if it isn't Hardaker. Bennett will want an extra pivot at the back, and Shaul simply can't fulfil that role.

But do we need a pivot at 1 if we go with SOL at 13?? I'd have Shaul for his pace, balance etc.

I'd go with Shaul and Tomkins as the two options at fullback so then you have a couple of different types to choose from. I do however think that Bennett will go with Ratchford and one of those two.

Gary Carter has tweeted that Roby and Ben Currie are in.

Ratchford should be nowhere the England set up and if he is god help us.

The Kangaroos squad is normally leaked before being made official, has anyone heard any leaks regarding the England squad. I must admit that I know Walmsley, Roby & Ben Currie are in.

Ben Currie could do without this really

I'm 50/50 on Currie. There's no doubt he's top quality and has the potential to be one of the worlds top forwards but he's obviously coming back from a very serious injury. He will at least be very fresh but I hope they're not pushing him too far. At Wigan Dom Manfredi came back from the same injury in a reserve game and he's done more damage and will miss a decent chunk of next season by all accounts.

Done some analysis of the stats between the full back candidates, and for me, it is a no brainer that Shaul should be in the squad:

Tries - Shaul = 17, Tomkins = 5, Ratchford = 1, Lomax = 8
Assists - Shaul = 4, Tomkins = 7, Ratchford = 12, Lomax = 11
Tackles - Shaul = 170, Tomkins = 85, Ratchford = 117, Lomax = 169
Missed Tackles - Shaul = 19, Tomkins = 9, Ratchford = 11, Lomax = 10
Tackle Busts - Shaul = 124, Tomkins = 21, Ratchford = 52, Lomax = 19
Carries - Shaul = 336, Tomkins = 112, Ratchford = 201, Lomax = 235
Metres - Shaul = 3199, Tomkins = 615, Ratchford = 1824, Lomax = 1708
Av. Gain - Shaul = 9.52, Tomkins = 5.49, Ratchford = 9.07, Lomax = 7.27
Clean Breaks - Shaul = 24, Tomkins = 2, Ratchford = 9, Lomax = 9
Runs from DH - Shaul = 103, Tomkins = 13, Ratchford = 45, Lomax = 23
Errors - Shaul = 29, Tomkins = 12, Ratchford = 24, Lomax = 19
Offloads - Shaul = 18, Tomkins = 8, Ratchford = 20, Lomax = 5

To me, Shaul would be picked all day long. His ability to cause danger when running the ball, is something England just don't have in their squad, and is probably the only player in the squad capable of seeing a gap and being through it before the defence can set. These stats also don't include the Challenge Cup

You do realise that Lomax and Tomkins both missed a large part of the season earlier on, so wouldn't measure up against Shaul in stats.

I also know that Ratchford and Lomax didn't play only at Full Back, they both had spells in the halves which again wouldn't make the stats completely like for like. But as an indication of what each player can bring, I would go for Shaul. Like I have said earlier on this thread, if we play SOL at 13, then we can afford not to have a pivot at 1, and play somebody with a bit of x factor to his game - see the tackle busts, clean breaks etc. as an example

Not sure how many games Shaul played but Tomkins stats are pretty good given that he only played 12 games. He hands off to a winger for kick returns too so the metres/average gain are a bit skewed. Depends what style we want to play, I suppose.

Kevin Brown is in

Aside from Brown and Ratchford have no real complaints about that.

Brown, Ratchford, Heighington, Currie (just due to his injury worries) shouldn't be anywhere near that squad.

And I'm a Wire fan..

I know no one ever agrees on a 24 man squad, but i'm pretty sure unaimously among RL fans, we think Kevin Browns inclusion is up there with Calderwoods in 08

A 35 year old aussie ahead of Farrell?

Very light on specialist backs there. I'd have taken Tomkins over either Ratchford/Brown as well

I would have probably gone with Joe Burgess instead of Brown, I don't really see the value in picking 4 halves, ideally you want two of them playing together throughout the tournament.

Other than that, as expected really, probably about 12-16 points behind Aus and possibly about level par with NZ.

I think the tackle in the 2nd half of the GF on Ward when he got up holding the shoulder decided where his season was going to end. Probably shouldnt have played in the GF but is an absolute warrior for doing so.

Too much of a risk to take to Oz. Massive shame but pretty certain he'll have plenty more opportunities to pull on an England shirt in the future.

Edited: Might be wrong, rumours Ward being called up to the Wales squad?

I admire your optimism but I can't see this squad keeping Australia to within 12-16 points. I think we could be in for a pretty torrid time over there in this WC.

If there are 6 better English props than Liam Watts then I'm watching a different game.

Kevin brown over double lance todd winning Marc Sneyd.

35 year old Aussie instead of Farrell

It seems it's harder to get out of this England team than it is to get in it!

What a laughing joke Kevin Brown is in this squad jesus christ