Alan Robertson

I'd be completely fine with Walker playing for England - in terms of his ability and due to the fact that he currently qualifies. I'd be stunned if it happened though.

Very good point mate!

I've heard that Keano Kini (Titans) also qualifies to play for England. I'm not suggesting that he should be picked, just stating what I've heard. He's also currently injured. Jasmine Strange, last year, stated a desire to play for England. She would have added plenty to the Lionesses.

I can only use the available reference points and, whilst internationals are not direct (or conclusive) evidence, Eng-Aus games provide one of the few guidelines that I have. As for our players in the NRL, such a small proportion have played in the competition, it is difficult to estimate how many might be successful. I have my opinion and many oppose that viewpoint. Neither side can conclusively prove their argument. It's a rugby league forum not the defence of a PhD thesis. Many of our players have performed fantastically in the NRL. Virtually all of those successful players have possessed physical attributes that are rare amongst English players.

There are so many delusional posters around here that I'll take any points that I can get, even those laced with sarcasm.

Most of our players don't cope against the Aussies, that's the entire problem. I love supporting the greatest club side in the history of the sport and all five WCC wins have been amazing. But, as I mentioned, I'm still craving some success in an international series against Australia. Not one series victory in my lifetime, not a single one. Have England/GB beaten Aus in a single match since 2006?

Very few things would make me happier than witnessing England beat Australia in a series and/or a World Cup Final. Similarly, dozens of English players dominating in the NRL would be great too. Have 'superior' England/GB players simply been 'letting' the 'Aussie weaklings' consistently beat them for the last several decades? (If - for example - England are considered to be 'level pegging' with the Aussies, again, why have they/GB not beaten them in a single 'meaningful match' at any point since the 1970s?) Or, as painful as it might be, are the top Australian players consistently better than the vast majority of English players? Feel free to regard the questions as rhetorical. It will probably make some of you feel better if you don't have to attempt to justify your responses.

I agree that I should have listed Lewis and Walker as certainties. I was 'sure' that I'd written Lewis but it seems not Walker was an oversight.

I'll have a bit of a go. Starting with the six existing ones: Young, Farnworth, Bateman, KPP, Smithies, Nicholson. Add: Nsemba, Knowles, Welsby, Walmsley ('for now', due to age), McMeeken, Lees, Clark, Tom Burgess, Currie, Havard, Makinson, Harry Smith. Players like Dupree, James Harrison, Joe Batchelor (and a number of other forwards) would also have a solid chance - in my opinion. I'd also add Williams and Thompson (neither of whom played as many NRL games as some of us might have expected. I think Williams became homesick and Thompson had a bad injury at one point, from memory). Farrell, maybe. A few years ago, definitely. He's no older than Walmsley but the big lad could be rotated whereas Liam might have to play the 80 each week. I think a significant proportion of our backs would struggle. Gildart, Hardaker and Hall are examples of British backs who only played a few dozen NRL games between them. Again, I know (for example) that Hall's time in the NRL started with a very bad injury. Before game one, from memory. Other backs that could potentially make it: Ashton, Jake Wardle, Liam Marshall and a few others. I'm guessing that I've missed some 'obvious ones' and I'm guessing that some of my ideas will be criticised but that's my attempt.

Considering all British players, currently playing in either the NRL or SL, is anybody willing to speculate how many have the ability to hold down a regular NRL spot (in the 'first 17')? I'll kick things off for a reference point, 25.

There's more media speculation that Dodd's Souths career might not be a particularly long one: https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/nrl-2025-south-sydney-rabbitohs-lewis-dodd-cody-walker-resigns-extension-contact-deal-dolphins-2026/news-story/25bc6f43c62026c732000fb670a7e3cd

Absolutely, in many other sports, to at least some degree, 'hiding spots' exist. Football, '10 players behind the ball'. Cricket (particularly in some formats) - setting ultra-defensive fields, in addition to certain types of defensive batting and bowling. The lists goes on. None of those tactics are likely to lead the defensive team to victory, but, crucially, they can reduce the margin of defeat (or even achieve a draw). RL is, of course, very limited in offering 'score-limiting' options (that won't be penalised by the ref).

Prior to the start of the game - I feared that the margin might reach 60 points or, worse still, a-point-a-minute but the reality felt like even more of a nightmare. During the first five minutes, I developed some hope that we might end up offering a reasonable level of resistance but that hope diminished extremely quickly. There are (justifiable) reasons for disparate fitness levels between the sides but the speed/intensity of England's defensive line was disappointing throughout a significant proportion of the match. Thinking about the result is misery-inducing.

I would have actually written 1.01 but I thought I was writing 'colloquially' (by using the term '100/1 on').

Good point, I appreciate the pedantry.