Kenilworth Tiger Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 On 10/7/2017 at 8:34 PM, OMEGA said: Alarming performances from a couple of potential England World Cup players in tonight’s Grand Final. Obviously Hardaker will miss out. Gale was awful in every aspect tonight, poor control of his team, terrible kicking game, falling out with his own team mates and losing his composure under pressure from Rhino’s players Mc’Meekin was totally anonymous and seemed to be incapable of arresting Leeds forward momentum and turning it back in Castlefords favour. Eden reverted back to his rocks & diamonds form McShane was poor and showed his uglier side when milking a penalty early on I know they were all part of a poor team performance but based on Wayne Bennett’s comments last year when he stated that at least one player had played themselves out of the England team, I think we might see some surprisingl omissions. I guess it all depends on whether any selection committee are basing their decisions on form or on 1 performance I appreciate this year must have been terribly hard for you but don't be stupid Now then, it's a race between Sandie....and Fairburn....and the little man is in........yeees he's in. I, just like those Castleford supporters felt that the ball should have gone to David Plange but he put the bit betwen his teeth...and it was a try Kevin Ward - best player I have ever seen The real Mick Gledhill is what you see on here, a Bradford fan ........, but deep down knows that Bradford are just not good enough to challenge the likes of Leeds & St Helens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunbar Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 1 hour ago, ghost crayfish said: McGuire's GF performance was pretty much exactly what England need in a halfback. It's funny how some guys just stop being considered. It certainly was. McGuire has been a top quality player for a long time. Amazing how he still gets labelled a support player by some people, he has turned into a half back who can control a team and manage a game. But I have to say I would still go with the Widdop/Gale partnership. They have been the best in their respective positions this year and I would hope that Bennett makes a decision and sticks with it. My worry is that Bennett still doesn't know what he wants to do in the halves and we end up experimenting in the group stages which is all well and good as we will progress to the quarters but continuity is key here and I would give the Widdop/Gale combination as much time together as possible. Even if it isn't Widdop/Gale and Bennett decides it is Widdop/Williams or any other combination just make a decision and stick wit it to try and build a partnership and a game plan around a stable spine to the team. "The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby. "If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allora Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 The problem is there is hardly a smorgasbord of top class fast, powerful outside backs and crafty game controlling Halfback Generals. You can only pick from the players available and it seems the options are pretty limited in the scope of the upcoming challenge. Talent is secondary to whether players are confident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubby Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 2 hours ago, ghost crayfish said: McGuire's GF performance was pretty much exactly what England need in a halfback. It's funny how some guys just stop being considered. Especially when he is the same age as Kevin Brown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spidey Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 15 minutes ago, Scubby said: Especially when he is the same age as Kevin Brown. It's almost like Bennett chose his squad when he started, and has not looked at form since Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMEGA Posted October 11, 2017 Author Share Posted October 11, 2017 1 hour ago, Kenilworth Tiger said: I guess it all depends on whether any selection committee are basing their decisions on form or on 1 performance I appreciate this year must have been terribly hard for you but don't be stupid Hmmm, Check my previous posts, I’ve had nothing but admiration and praise for Castleford this year so you’re barking up the wrong tree there. Wayne Bennett stated in an interview this time last year that at least one player had ruled himself out of England’s 4Ns squad based on hid Grand Final performance. Given the poor performances last Saturday it’s valid to ask the question whether any Cas players might have suffered the same judgement. It May have been one game but it was a pretty important one, one of higher standard and increased intensity, a step up from the weekly Super League rounds. Perhaps Bennett looks at this as the closest he’ll get to seeing some players in an environment similar to an England match. If so he would have had to question a few England possibles from Cas. Also Gale in particular wasn’t good for England last year so again, it’s valid to ask if he’s capable of stepping up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubby Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 Just now, Spidey said: It's almost like Bennett chose his squad when he started, and has not looked at form since Have you ever tried to get a pensioner to change his preferred brand of beer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMEGA Posted October 11, 2017 Author Share Posted October 11, 2017 2 minutes ago, Scubby said: Have you ever tried to get a pensioner to change his preferred brand of beer? Bennett has no clue about the nature of Super League as opposed to the NRL, it’s not the same and unless you understand that you cannot accurately judge player quality. His selection of Heighington and his courting of the Morris twins etc betrays his lack of knowledge of English players and his lack of confidence to make a judgement of them. Further trouble comes from having Betts and Anderson as his assistants, neither are great coaches, certainly not international standard. They both have an affinity with Kevin Brown which is why he gets selected against all logic and form. I agree with those above, if we are struggling at half then pick McGuire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyMrsWouldPreferSinfield Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 I think Gale has had a fantastic season but he is a confidence player, he also has no big game form to speak of either. It strikes me odd that he’s only showing this level of form well into late 20’s which indicates he is maybe a little overrated. If his confidence remains and doubt has not crept into his head then he’s earned a start as the best option we have in the squad. If he flops then he doesn’t get a second chance. Brown has failed miserably since he stepped up to the Wire so by definition he should have played himself out of contention; Sneyd should have got his place. Sneyd has come of age in the last couple of years and does have big game form in the book. That is more of a concern for me, I can see Gale not turning up again and then we revert to Brown and he is just not test standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyMrsWouldPreferSinfield Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 If I remember rightly, Danny Mags declined an England call up a few years ago and has not been picked since. He would be in my team no question; I think he has proved he is a big game player too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMEGA Posted October 11, 2017 Author Share Posted October 11, 2017 Presumably that was under McNamara who’s psyche couldn’t withstand any form of rejection or challenge. Resulting in Atkins, Brough and maybe McGuire never being part of an England set up after upsetting him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyMrsWouldPreferSinfield Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 11 minutes ago, OMEGA said: Presumably that was under McNamara who’s psyche couldn’t withstand any form of rejection or challenge. Resulting in Atkins, Brough and maybe McGuire never being part of an England set up after upsetting him. Yeah it was, I think he said he wanted time off to recuperate or something trivial. I think the games were dead rubbers and he wasn’t bothered reading between the lines. Then a year or two later he was giving interviews saying he hopes to be selected, putting himself in the shop window so to speak, but was ignored. I get the impression that he is not at all interested in keeping the bench warm at the other side of the world though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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