HERE we go!

The World Cup squads have been confirmed, the teams are arriving at their initial destinations and the opening matches are looming.

I gave my personal England picks two weeks ago – and 17 of them have made Brian McDermott’s final 23.

Of the 24 I went for (to get to 23 I would have left out Dean Hadley, bright season for Hull KR though he has had), three have been ruled out through injury issues: Grand Final-winning captain Mike McMeeken, his Wakefield teammate Tom Johnstone and Sydney Roosters back Billy Smith.

The six inclusions I didn’t have are Gold Coast Titans back AJ Brimson, Mikey Lewis, Kai Pearce-Paul (who seemed to be a major fitness doubt but has overcome pectoral surgery in time), Morgan Smithies, Sam Walters and Ben Talty, the Brisbane Broncos prop.

I would like to have seen Johnstone and Herbie Farnworth working in unison again, but it isn’t to be, and it’s unusual that the team winning Super League aren’t represented in an England squad (although Jazz Tevaga will be flying the red, white and blue flag with Samoa while incoming hooker Mason Teague will be with Cook Islands).

Wigan have seven players involved, and while I’m tempted to say Brian has borrowed his predecessor Shaun Wane’s cherry-and-white goggles, I only take issue with one, Sam Walters.

I’m struggling to see why he is in rather than Oliver Partington, who has been outstanding this year and for me, definitely the better of the two.

But as for Zach Eckersley, who can do a job as winger or centre, halfback Harry Smith and forwards Ethan Havard, Brad O’Neill, Luke Thompson, Junior Nsemba, I have no problems.

There are no Leeds players, and as I wrote a fortnight back, this isn’t the time to be taking a Jake Connor risk.

Yes, he can be brilliant, and yes, he offers something different, but current form has to be a major factor in selection, and there were just too many times this year when Leeds needed him but he went missing.

Neither did I go for Lewis, and I just don’t see why Brian apparently does.

That’s on both form, because I don’t think he has done anything special for Hull KR this time, and his performances in the Ashes, which didn’t suggest he is up to international standard.

Maybe had Jake Trueman, who has had such an influential year with Wakefield, been considered fit enough, he would have got the nod and not Lewis.

My other bit of beef is with the selection of Brimson, who I’m not particularly a fan of. I’d rather have seen Umyla Hanley in there, because he’s been in fine fettle.

But Brian is the man who makes the decisions, and the squad is what it is.

From those in it, for the opening game against Tonga in Perth on Saturday, my back five would be Brimson at fullback, Matty Ashton and Dom Young on the wings and Hugo Savala and Farnworth in the centres.

Given my opinion of Lewis, it won’t be a surprise that George Williams and Smith would be my halves, and surely that’s who Brian will go with.

My starting pack would be a front row of Canterbury Bulldogs’ Max King and Thompson either side of O’Neill (I’d bring Jez Litten off what will be a six-man bench as we fall in line with the NRL), and a back row of Roosters NRL Grand Final winner Victor Radley, Morgan Knowles and Ben Currie.

It’s a ten-team tournament, and we go from the group stages straight to the semi-finals, so it’s absolutely crucial that England hit the ground running.

With no warm-up matches and only a handful of training sessions, it’s going to be a real test for Brian and his two assistants Paul Wellens and Sean O’Loughlin, who I think are good choices.

England might have beaten Tonga 3-0 when they came over here three years ago, but let’s not read too much into that now.

It was a strange tour, because while teams usually get better as a series goes on, Tonga got worse, and their coach Kristian Woolf will have something to prove after what came across as a bit of a jolly boys’ outing.

This is a different team, with some exciting young talent coming through, and Dolphins halfback Isaiya Katoa, with his kicking and passing skills, is being much talked up.

I hope I’m wrong, but I have a nasty feeling Tonga will win, and I going for a 28-16 scoreline.

A humdinger

JUST taking a quick glance at the squad lists for Australia and New Zealand shows what the other nations are up against.

The Aussies are without some top-line players but can still list a pool packed with real quality, and Kevin Walters having to choose between James Tedesco and Reece Walsh at fullback and Sam Walker, Mitchell Moses, Tom Dearden, and Cameron Munster in the halves illustrates the strength at his disposal.

Meanwhile the Kiwis have ace pivot Jahrome Hughes back in harness and a formidable-looking pack including James Fisher-Harris.

I wrote last week that I fancy New Zealand to win the World Cup, and their tournament-opening clash with Australia in Sydney on Thursday promises to be humdinger.

I’m going 16-10 to the Kiwis.

Wakefield heroes

THE dust might be (grand) finally settling on Wakefield’s superb Super League title triumph over Warrington at Old Trafford, although I suspect it will live long in the memory of Trinity supporters.

Talk is now turning to a World Club Challenge against Sydney Roosters and if the green light is given, where it will be played.

It’s a shame there always seems to be a degree of uncertainty over whether or not the match will take place, never mind where, and it would be great if it could be bolted down as a fixed fixture.

Mind you I remember saying something similar about an international calendar when I was writing this column week in, week out, and we don’t seem any closer to that.

I also remember, like many, when Wakefield’s fortunes had fallen, and I’d like to pay my own personal tribute to Michael Carter.

He kept the club going during some really tough times, and along with John Minards, who worked so hard on the redevelopment of the stadium, made sure there was something for current owner Matt Ellis to work with when he took Trinity over three years ago.

Going further back, Richard Agar had a spell as Wakefield coach between 2012 and 2014 and later spent time on the staff at Warrington with Tony Smith.

As I mentioned last week, he is now assisting Andrew Webster at New Zealand Warriors, the latest stop-off in a varied career, and we keep in regular touch.

While not quite reaching the heights of Trinity, the Warriors have had a good year, and I’d like to give Richie a mention. I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves.