WN83

When you look at the £30 areas on the bottom tiers, they're in really short supply compared to tickets in the brackets above. I never had an issue with pricing, other than I thought there should've been more of those blocks on sale at £30. I don't really have an issue with them now opening up cheaper tickets up the top of the third tier. I've sat up there twice and it's too far away from the pitch but if families can get in and see an Ashes match for £20, then fair enough.

I saw some comments a couple of days ago that they'd yet to spend any of the marketing budget for Wembley but things we're starting to be put in place, with Junior Nsemba doing photo shoots, in his England kit, on the pitch at Wembley when the HKR side (IIRC) were having a walk about on Friday. Seems a bit late, when the cup final was on the following day but from the comments above, it sounds like there was plenty of advertising around the ground.

Lets just all stand still then and go precisely....nowhere! Only in rugby league could investment be seen as negative.

If a club investing in academy pathways and totally renovating a stadium/training facility for their woman's team kills off the league, then shame on all the other clubs.

He didn't like how white her trainers were! They seemed like best mates having a laugh with each other to me.

Saw quotes this morning with him saying they've hammered it home that they will never aim to play like a men's team and to just enjoy themselves. With the pace they have, it seems a great strategy.

Doubt the women themselves would agree. A chance to play at Wembley is massive for them. Good start for Wigan in terms of the game.

At least it's unlikely he'll have to learn who Tommy Makinson is.

Trout is having a good season. I also like the fact both played in that England academy side that beat the Aussies and mentally that doesn't hurt when it comes to having some belief that it's possible. If it was one or the other, I'd go Walters (I suppose I would) but there could be places for both. Looking at both statistically this season, Walters has run over 100 metes in a game 6 times, including a couple that have gone above 130 metres (157 metres being a season high), whereas Trout hasn't gone above 80 metres in a game yet. Both are absolute workhorses in defence as well but Walters missed tackle stats are unbelievable really, with him missing 7 from 332, against Trouts 36 from 422. It's not a direct comparison I suppose, with both flipping positions in recent months from where you probably would've expected them to play at the start of the season. If we want just one guy who can cover both prop and second row, I think it should be Walters but I'd be pretty happy with either/both. Trout has every chance to push his nose in front why Walters is out.

Sam Walters has to be in consideration for a spot in the squad for me. It's a shame he got injured but his form beforehand was absolutely magnificent. I was hugely surprised with just how good the lad was at prop. He's fit as a fiddle, played big minutes, made in excess of 100 metres most weeks and made 40+ tackles, while missing next to none. It was as good a spell of performances I can remember from a Wigan prop in a very long time.

Best case scenario is that we don't find out. Welsby should be fit and we need him fit. Above anyone, I think we need Welsby in that side. He just seems to have that attitude of nothing being impossible and he'll be a pretty big leader for the side in the series.

I think the great thing is that we're now looking like some depth is developing, certainly in the backs and we need that. Names like Pryce, Connor, Joe Burgess etc are being thrown around and I don't think any make the squad but that's positive because they're all good players, in really good form and if you can leave players like that out, you're in a pretty good spot.

I honestly think he'd be scary as a fullback. A player of that talent being tied down on one side of the field feels a bit wrong and is probably why he is roaming a bit, even playing as a centre. We'd obviously need to see how he'd cope with the other side of the game, fielding kicks and defending breaks but he's that good, I think he'd make it look pretty easy.

Without doubt but I think he could be a sensation at fullback. He moves around the field, popping up on both sides, like he is one anyway and with the freedom he'd get, you'd get the ball in his hands even more. Hopefully it doesn't come to that anyway. We need Welsby in this series because he's such a big game player and has magic in him when it really matters.

He's talented enough, that's for sure. He was really good when he played for England against the Kiwis, under Wayne Bennett and there's no doubt he's in top form now. You never know what will happen I suppose. At the very least, It would be amusing seeing Connor and Lewis winding the Aussies up.

Personally I'd move Farnworth in there as the first option. Fingers crossed Welsby can shave a couple of weeks off that recovery time and if he can then get 3 or 4 games in ahead of the first test, he will at least be fresh.

We seem to have an international calendar sort of set in stone (ish), which is about as good as we could hope for at the minute and when we have that, I think a War Of The Roses could work as a tool to feed in to that. It has no chance of getting off the ground if we don't know who England are playing at the end of that year but when we do, I think players would really take it seriously and use it as an audition for England places. It'll always have doubters and people who think it's pointless but we need something and I'm sure Origin was written off when that was first muted. Unlike us though, they stuck at it and built it in to a proper rivalry.

Maybe he will be but I doubt he'll take the risk of playing Connor against the Aussies. I've been so impressed with him this year and how he (finally) seems to have matured but that doubt about his temperament will always be there. He isn't quick enough for fullback at international level IMO, is behind too many specialist centres and doesn't get in the squad at halfback, ahead of Lewis, Williams or Smith. His chance would be an injury to a halfback I guess and then maybe we'd see if Wane would pick him.

TBH, I've not seen loads of him or Canberra (or the NRL in general) recently, so not sure. I wouldn't automatically think him being spelled is just down to Smithies own ability to cope with 80 minutes of NRL and is possibly down to Stuart wanting to get more impact on the field. Personally, I wouldn't pick Smithies in the squad anyway if Radley and Knowles are fit.

I don't see any world where Wane picks Connor, however good is form is. I get the feeling there was a lot of bad feeling towards the lad in the Wigan dressing room that Wane had. Every game against Connor was basically him and Sam Tomkins going at each other for 80 minutes and it didn't seem the sort of rivalry where they'd shake hands at the end of it.

I think there's every chance you could be right. I'm picking guys like Oldezki and Walmsley in my squad but I don't think Wane will and he values those supremely fit, mobile, defensive orientated forwards like Knowles, Lees and Smithies extremely highly. You at least know with those guys that playing a full game, at a high intensity won't be a problem.

Prop is probably the biggest concern but then I look at the Aussies and maybe they don't quite have a set of props that compare to the days of Webcke, Covoniceva and co. Payne Haas is unbelievable but it sounds like he'll turn out for Samoa. Isn't Tino the same? Mitch Barnett looks a proper test prop but is injured, so they might not be as strong as they could be. We're probably looking at facing guys like Carrigan, Collins, Cotter, Lindsay Smith etc. They're all good players but I don't see them blowing us away. The big difference makers could be Haas and Tino and if one or both plays in that Ashes series, then we could be in trouble. If they don't, then alongside that Injury to Barnett, I think we can take it to them.

I'm not saying they're Peacock, Morley, Graham etc but I do feel we have some forwards who've not really had an opportunity like an Ashes series to push themselves forward as really good players. Lads used to build a reputation in Superleague but it then went through the roof if they had a big Ashes series. Guys like Thompson, McMeekan, Oledzki and Havard at prop could be viewed totally differently after this series, as could hookers like O'Neill and Litten. Maybe they won't be good enough but I suspect a couple will really make people sit up and will come out with reputations massively enhanced. We have to remember our lads don't have an Origin series to build hype around them.

I get a feeling Warrington are going to give this one hell of a go and there is probably less than between the sides than the table would suggest. Willie Peters has got unbelievable consistency out of KR but in a one off occasion, Wire have plenty of players who can hurt you and a good few who know what it feels like to play in and win finals. I do think HKR will take it but not by many. HKR by 4.

I think that selection would be slightly worrying but it won't come to that (even though Matt Shaw earlier thought Hall should be picked, which blew my mind a little). I'm probably the opposite in terms of worrying about getting battered. I see a really talented backline and loads of forwards who need an opportunity to test themselves at the top level. We got told Tonga and Samoa would beat us and they were dispatched about as easily as the Aussies have done with them recently. We're outsiders without a doubt and the likelihood is we get beat but I think we'll give it a real crack.