I dont think he has had much chance to shine in attack by our tactics, rarely do we get the ball outwide (relying on offloads from the forwards far two much and dropping alot of balls) when we do get the ball outwide its generally to the other side of the field. We arent putting our outside backs into space which is terrible at this level.

As for westerman he didnt have his best year after his head injury, seemed to take out his confidence a bit, but towards the end of the season he was back to his best and he at least deserved a place in the train on sqaud, right now i think he would make a great option in the centres as he's fast and powerful.

I thought Inglis was the best?? I think if you are to critisize a player then at least watch the game properly. Shenton is not my cup of tea, but I thought he was one of the better players on show (imho). Hayne and Hodges had far less space to run at than Inglis and Morris, who were up against Briscoe and Smith/Mcguire.

OK so I got 1 positional place wrong but I did go back on the unfair statement I first made and held my hand up at being too harsh.

Nitpicker!



I did attend the game and was pretty much angered at the time like thousands of others I may have forgot to look at the actual broken play defence correctly.

If Inglis is the best then who is 2nd? I'd pretty much say Justin Hodges isn't far behind would you!

Agree, Hodges is probably second, and yes i was nitpicking (sorry). I understand where you are coming from i just think that Shenton is a player that was possibly expected to struggle against the Aussie backline, and in truth didn't do too badly, where as the 'stars' from Leeds (smith/Mcguire) were awful, even Ryan Hall showed them up and he's not the best tackler in the world! I think Ryan Atkins would have played if fit, but given the choice i would play Fox/Eastwood and Shenton/Hall, not world beaters but the best available.

I get a bit 'touchy' when all we do is have a go at England, instead of looking at the possible positives. I know we are not in the same class as the Aussies, but after all they are up against probably the best 1-7 ever!!??

Just for his defence and his link up play with tomkins i would have given Gleeson a go at centre...

Wait till you watch jennings for austraillia this weekend hes as good as hodges if not better....

lewis, stirling,kenny, maninga, grothe, rogers, miles, think they would fit in somewhere

on current form

It is stunning Jennings cannot get a game for the First String the lad is a fantastic player, pace to burn, i have not seen a centre with his pace for a long time if ever.

I agree with posts above regards Gleeson, he has not set the world on fire at Wigan but he certainly has not been poor and his defence has been first rate, i would have had him in just for that, i do not think any of the England Centres could cope with Inglis for a full 80 but either him or Yeaman would cope the best due to having experience and producing pretty good consistent performances at that level.

Smith clearly though did not want Gleeson in the squad regardless i think he has paid the price for the Saints v Leeds fractions at the World Cup as I am certain he would have been well in the Saints camp.

It is interesting to note that when Lee Smith and Greg Inglis lined up at Academy level against each other it was a battle described by many to be the 2 best juniors in the world going up against each other, not that there has been any doubt in there first team years but it is another example of how our lads fail to kick on from Junior to top level rugby.

Jack V Slater = Slater
Grothe V Morris = Grothe
Miles V Hodges = Miles
MeningaV Inglis = Draw
Boustedv Hayne = Hayne
Lewis V Lockyer = Lewis
Stirling V Thurston = Stirling

thats 4 to 1982, and 2 to 2009 plus a draw. This is not the best 1 to 7 ever, its playing against the worst backline in my memory for GB/England IMHO

Gary Jack was a much harder fullback than Billy Slater will ever be,The difference is Jack was an awesome defender whereas Billy Slater has all the skill in the world in attack.

I think we can add Gary Belcher to the fullback spot also as he possessed both allround defence and attack.

Do not underestimate Slater in defence, he has made some high profile errors but it is normally excellent week in week out in the NRL.

im not picking but steve rogers was the other centre to meninga in 82 but still better than hodges

well he hasnt shown great defence of late he was hopeless in the kiwi match, but id have him at wakefield.

Probably due to the fact he was behind the most organised defensive line in the NRL.They were outstanding in the game V Brisbane in the play-offs.

Iv'e just spent a month in Aus and watched numerous live games and it really is Slaters weakness even though it is very minor.

He may be a good leg tackler but iv'e seen him shy away from a few of the big boys of the NRL coming straight at him.

Again were clutching at straws saying this considering Englands alternatives.

Agreed he was out of position a couple of times vs the Kiwis but it tends to be the exception rather than the rule.

It is only highlighted as a weakness as he is so good in every other aspect of his game, it is relative. If you gave his defensive abilities to most fullbacks in SL whoever got that ability would not be noted as a weak defensive player, quite the opposite.

I also think the Aussies fell foul of some excellent shape out wide from the Kiwi's they maintained a great structure and through some very smart play by Hohia i think it was varying the same play on 2 seperate occasions, very hard to defend against regardless of how good you are.

I was reffering to them as a collective rather than individually.

You can argue the halves all day, who was/is best Lockyer or Lewis, i would go lewis he was a genius player but Lockyer is not far behind of the 7's I would have to go with Thurston over Stirlo.

The outside backs are missing Falou had he toured I do not think there would be any doubt, certainly not in my mind that these outside backs are superior to anything that has gone before them, at least that I have seen.

Inglis I feel will go on to be remembered as the greatest player to ever play the game, and while we look back over older sides there legacy is one that has been completed and hence a final judgement is made these backs are still in the early stages of developing that legacy which is why they can never be held in the same regard, regardless of how they perform.

Frightening thing about Greg Inglis is he is only 22,A relative rookie in Rugby League terms!

Interesting selections.........

Eastmond in at 6
Bridge at Centre
Fox on wing.....................smith/mcguire/briscoe dropped....

Wilkin on bench.

Looks a hell of a lot better to me.

Only time will tell, but tend to agree.

I think its a little harsh on Briscoe, not sure what else he could do, but hopefully he will come back bigger and better for the experience, he has bags of ability and potential. Reminds me of a young Adam McDoogle.

As for the other changes bang on the money, Bridge has had a good season deserves his shot. Smith should not have been anywhere near involved in this tournament.

For the first time in a long time I am genuinly excited by the halves, I think these 2 will represent our country as a partnership for a long time to come, assuming the cap does not force Eastmond from the game, just hopefully to Wigan!

got to do after tonight's performance, leave Mcguire out and smith too I wouldn't change the team from tonights game against new zealand

That was a great performance tonight, Australia are proving to me that their pack is soft, Lockyer and Thurston are not clicking and Tim Sheens doesn't like his forwards offloading.

If England can cut off the supply chain to Inglis, Hodges and Slater then they have every chance. Australia are arrogant and are not the best ever team to leave their shores but Inglis and Slater are the two best players in the world.

hats off to our forwards...graham and morley and peacock top work
ellis and burgess with the hits..
big earl off the bench...
being a forward myself a pleasure to watch....