One would of prefered a certain Mark Flanagan as a back rower rather than Manu at least Flanagan is English.

The same leon Pryce who destroys the likes of Crusaders and Quins , yet becomes the invisible man at test level = no thanks ..

Agree with that

They may not be up there with Robinson and Offiah but Briscoe, Fox and Hall are the best collection of wingers we have had since those days...

This whole thing is clearly a diversionary tactic to sneak Paul Sykes in under the radar...

Jesus, is this the best we can come up with?
Can see them giving Lockyer, Thurston, Cronk etc... etc... countless sleepless nights.

It is the best we can come up with, yes

If we compare these players to Lockyer and Thurston, they are obviously going to come up short... in fact just about 95% of the international half backs to play the game would come up short in comparison to these two

The real measure is whether this squad is developing England as an international RL team and I would suggest that in Myler, Tomkins and Eastmond we have some of the best young halfbacks coming through the ranks for a long time

Maybe in 10 years time, our Aussie friends will be commenting on their new halfbacks with "Jesus, is this the best we can come up with?
Can see them giving Tompkins, Eastmond, Myler etc... etc... countless sleepless nights"

OK... that may be a pipe dream but you know what I mean

Yeah, we have loads of players that step up to the plate when it comes to internationals, really stuck for choice aren't we...

Yep, Barba and Hodkinson will be sh!!ing themselves!

If we have to stoop as low as this then we know the international game is in trouble

Tom Briscoe not good enough, you really are an idiot. On current form easily the best winger in Super League

I hope that our young players don’t have the inferiority complex you seem to... if they go to Australia with that attitude they will be beaten before they start

Thought Goulding might have got a callup, being top scorer has propelled worse wingers into the squad in the past, and he's shown some fantastic finishing skills this year.

Yes, because the credibility of how good a player is is based on tackle busts.

Indeed... as demonstrated by number 5 in the tackle bust list, Stuart Fielden, who has a 5 page thread about him on these boards starting with the sentence "I cannot remember a player in any sport ever who has destroyed his reputation and his career so extensively as Stuart Fielden has"

But that is coming from someone who has more passion for hating Wigan than he/she has for their own team!

I know... but it does show how stats don't tell the full story, the hysteria behind the Fielden thread was ridiculous but he is still some distance away from the England squad despite being the first English forward in the tackle bust list (if you don't count Manu!)

I hope our young players are not realists too!

The only reason you have named those two players and think that they are better than the likes of Eastmond is because they are Australian. You are a dope and need to get a grip.

Barba and Hodkinson are Playing really well in the NRL, something I doubt, having seen a lot of Tomkins, Eastmond, Myler, and Brown, could do.
As for comparing them because they're Australian, I thought that was what this topic was about? Being good enough to beat the Aussies? Which we aren't, and comparing our younger players to theirs won't be for a while yet.
The dope comment just helps my argument to be honest, you can't see the bigger picture.
I've never doubted that our young backs, Tomkins and Eastmond especially, will progress our team. But if you think that they're good enough to worry anything the Aussies have now or likely to have for at least 5-10 years then you're more stupid than your post first suggests.

Although you seem to have misread/misunderstood my post, it's pretty sad that you and other fans view the pinnacle of international RL as 'beating the Aussies'. Quite frankly I couldn't care less if England beat the Aussies or not.

The only reason you think Ben Barba and Trent Hodkinson are world beaters and better than the likes of Tomkins and Myler is because they play in the NRL. If Myler or Tomkins were Australian, you would be creaming your pants over them. It's an absolutely pathetic mentality.

I think a much bigger problem for the England set up then the amount of overseas players playing here is just how over hyped our players are simply becuase they are English, until we realise and accept there is something wrong with the way players are trained at an early age rather then blame it on overseas players nothing will change, to say Westwood and J Tomkins are better players then Manu is a joke, all three offer very different qualities, had he actually been English he would have been an excellent addition to the squad, but have to agree with the sentiments of many about his age and that he isnt really English, it shouldnt have happened.

You don't think that (consistently) beating the most dominant team in international RL is a useful yardstick?

If he's calling up anyone then he should get on the phone to Pat Richards and ask him,

Here's another stat for you then;

J.Tomkins
Errors - 22
Penalties - 27

Those tackle bust stats show that Manu offers something different to our other 2nd Row options and why, IMO, he is a better option coming off the bench then the other candidates for the position. Nobody claimed it was an indicater of how good a player he is.

LOL,

Henry Paul and Les Vainakolo have represented England and NZ. Irrespective of which sport it is, they have represented another country.

There are a whole host of footballers who have played for more than one country. Going back a few years wasn't it Alberto Di Stefano who played for Brazil, Spain and Portugal?

I think John Fashanu played for England and Nigeria.