WN83

Slightly taller maybe but he's some specimen Thompson and the one thing he has over Smithies is that explosive power. If one of Smithies, Knowles or Minchella had that same sort of punch, you could use them at prop.

Don't think so. He's in a similar position to a few English loose forwards now and that's behind our best option in Victor Radley. It's a shame one or two of them weren't a few inches taller and a couple of stone heavier and able to play at prop.

You and me both. I saw it mentioned in response to Wane saying the performance on Sunday wouldn't trouble Australia but I think he was right and I don't really know if they are or are not what they used to be. It's hard to look at current performances from Australia and to be confident where they're at exactly because it isn't their best 17 going out on the field. What I will say is New Zealand have beaten them over this past couple of decades and we've beaten New Zealand plenty of times, so you'd like to think if we can get over the mental hang ups of the past, we can put up a really good showing.

We can only hope that the break from it all will have done us good. The players are all too young to remember needing to hide under their seat/behind their sofa as the last 5 minutes ticked around in Ashes tests and (I've kidded myself with this before many many times before though) the current Australian team maybe isn't as strong as some of the past. If Brett Kimmorley plays though I ain't going.

What I'm looking forward to most is having 12 months of thinking we can beat them only to lose all 3 tests in the last 90 seconds. That sort of inevitable disappointment has been missing from my life.

Brad O'Neill is made for test match rugby league. He was absolutely superb against Penrith in the WCC. I just hope he can come back in good shape from his ACL injury and then put his name in the mix for the Ashes.

I like the idea I saw mentioned, which was to play the London test in the daytime and then maybe to get the other two on around 5/5.30pm. That way people could do the day in London if they wanted to and later kick offs in Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool etc shouldn't be too much of an issue, with many people driving or being on trains/coaches. An evening kick off wouldn't impact on any game at Elland Road and I don't think it would have major implications on other Northern venues (other than Newcastle).

12 pre match pints certainly helped when it came to thinking Adrian Morley had been hard done to

It'll just be based on what the BBC want you'd imagine but hopefully they can push for evening kick offs. I think back to the Ashes series in the early 2000's and images of the players with steam coming off their heads come to mind. It just feels right and in the modern day with all the light and laser shows and the like, it would really help with the atmospheres, which in truth have been flat as a pancake at internationals for a while (although that will naturally improve against Australia even if we play them at 9am).

Evening kick offs is a big one for me. Again, If it's got to be in the day, so be it and I won't complain but these games are just so much better under the lights in terms of building an atmosphere and an event.

I need to watch the game back but on live viewing at the game, that right hand side defence of ours was a worry. They were causing us problems down that side throughout that second half. Not a clue if it was down to any one individual but it certainly looked like some work is needed going in to the second test.

Not a clue of the reasons behind it but it makes sense. Had the World Cup been in France as planned, I think we could've lived with us not having test matches in the UK for a couple of years but once that got knocked on the head, it became a problem. As with things like the WCC, English teams will do what needs to be done and if they had to travel down under for the next 3 years to get games, they would've done it but thankfully that does not seem to be the case and an Ashes series in the UK will mean far more to the game than it would had it been in Australia. Now if we could somehow win the series, that would be one hell of a shot in the arm for the International game. We can but dream!

True. We can only throw around preferences and what will be will be. There won't be any complaints from me with Arsenal, Spurs or Wembley (or any other London venue). As long as the series is on and we take a test to London, I'll be more than happy and will have 12 months of counting down the days until it happens.

I'd been watching Wigan Athletic on 2 or 3 occasions before but was really looking forward to Rugby League at the Emirates but it was all just a bit flat. I don't think that all the talk in the build up to the World Cup was that we'd get a monster crowd for that game, with sales looking great and then we turned up to seas of empty seats. I wouldn't be against them going back mind against the Aussies, especially if they couldn't get Spurs. The capacity is much better than Wembley for us, which is just a but unrealistic to fill up.

Are the same guys making the decisions as back then though? The recent history has been to go to small venues and spend nothing on building an event but granted, it's been Tonga and Samoa. I don't think they will go with 3 safe options but I could see them going with something like Elland Road, a test in London and then somewhere like Wigan or Bolton, which would be the same/similar as that 2020 plan, which to me is still a bit 'safe'. I'd take 3 tests on St Pats field if it's on though.

The Aussie media make me smile with the pre game lines of Samoa being 'undercooked' and then after the game saying Samoa will be better for the run out. I must've missed all those warm up games England have been playing.

All that is spot on IMO. As much as it's a dump, Elland Road should be nailed on so we know we're guaranteed a sell out. That should be the only safe choice in the series and then they need to show some ambition. Spurs is an absolute must for me. It's a venue that is that good people will go just for the experience. I'd be happy with Everton/Man City but I still wouldn't be against Old Trafford as a venue for the North West. It isn't the Etihad or the new Everton ground but it's got tradition and tradition in hosting Rugby League matches. If that was a decider (a big if) I think you get 60,000 plus on, if not a full house. I just hope to god we don't find out it's on and they then stick with Headingley, Wigan and Saints/Warrington/Huddersfield. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest because this current lot seem to be happy to do things on a shoe string and not have to put any work in.

I really hope it does happen but whatever the case may be, let's just get it sorted and announced. The lack of forward planning needs to stop. Thinking positive and presuming it does happen I hope they have some ambition with the venues and people really back it. Maybe younger fans don't really have the same nostalgia around Ashes Rugby League but personally I'd be like a kid at Christmas should it go ahead and I think plenty would be the same.

Haas will be immense if he's on board. When you see the talent spreading as it is, it just makes you hope we can get regular internationals planned well in advance and build it. We've never had as many good teams, yet we used to have series and four Nations comps that would now be so much better due to that spread of talent. Next week should be a good tussle and quite intense from the off after the late dust up. It'll be a bit of a damp squib if Samoa win and we're left at 1-1 mind.

The aim for England in this next couple of years will be to win an Ashes and then a World Cup (as unlikely as it is) and when it comes to games against the Kiwis and the Aussies, you'd imagine they'll be tight and based on territory much like the Grand Final a couple of weeks back. In the first 25 minutes of that Grand Final, I thought Wigan would've been in all sorts of trouble had they not had Harry Smith in the team. He got us out of trouble with his boot time and time again and those sides will put England in tough positions. It's no use having two fabulous attacking halves in your team, like Williams and Lewis if they're just defending their line all game and trying to make things happen from their own 40.

The frustrations that it isn't only grow when you read rumours that a game was cut due to Stephen Crichton's wedding, which would ensure as strong a Samoan team as possible only for him and a couple of his pals not to bother. I noted Luai in the week saying people will be blown away with the side they'll put out in the 2026 World Cup due other players who are committing to them but why are they waiting until then? if it means so much to them, why are they not in the UK now? They either want to play for Samoa or they don't and it shouldn't take certain tournaments and host countries to tempt them out.

That statistical comparison is borderline pointless from the BBC because while they play with the same shirt numbers on their backs at club level, they're totally different players. There is no way Smith can play like Lewis, he just hasn't got the physical attributes but Lewis doesn't come close in terms of game management and kicking a side around the field and that is so important in tight games, especially against better opponents than Samoa. As they shown last year against Tonga, they're actually a really well balanced paring but Williams is top class and it's tough to leave him out as well. Good problems to have at the end of the day. We have 3 players who cover all bases for us and allow us to play in different ways. Not only can you mix it up from the start of games but you can see how games are going and change it up as and when needed.

Aye, it certainly wetted the appetite and with sales looking strong for Headingley and the late game biff, I think we'll see a step up again. I've said it before but I just think this England side needs more opportunities to prove what it's capable of. It very sadly blew having a crack at the Aussies in the last World Cup final but in the main, they've been pretty dominant against the opposition they've faced. We need to see that next step up now and while I wouldn't expect us to win the Ashes next year, I think we can be really competitive.

If Nsemba plays next week, be it from the start or off the bench, it would need to be on that left hand side for me. He was good on the right early in the season but his game kicked on massively when he moved to the left hand side and he was unplayable at times. He looked so much more comfortable on the left defensively as well. Thompson and Nsemba to come in next week for me. Who to leave out isn't as straightforward though.

It's the only real error from Wane today not picking Nsemba IMO. His loyalty to players can be his biggest strength and greatest weakness. There are just some players you can't ignore and have to make room for and he's one of those. I lile Morgan Knowles but I don't see much point in him as a bench player. In terms of Bateman, he's definitely lost a bit of that fight that made him special but I'd still pick him and use Nsemba from the bench to cause a bit of chaos.