Sir Kevin Sinfield Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 For me Blake Austin and Jackson Hastings should make their GB debuts. With Gareth Widdop, that would give us three world class half backs. Kevin Sinfield said in a recent interview, the strongest possible squad would be selected for GB, from all who qualify, regardless of how they qualify. I hope that is true, personally I can’t stand it when we don’t play to the rules and discriminate against people on place of birth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Nice pot stirring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Being better than Liam Finn doesn't mean Hastings and Austin are world class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Clothesoff Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Josh Ralph at 7. He’s a Welsh International and we need some Welsh lads in the team. Can’t have the best players in the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whippet13 Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Won't almost the entire squad be making their GB debuts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MZH Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Not sure if this is serious or just looking for bites, but either way, you aren't the first person to mention this, and won't be the last. I personally don't mind us selecting players who qualify on residency grounds, but I am yet to be convinced that either of them are good enough to be involved yet. Hastings has been great for Salford, but it's all been against bottom 4 and championship teams. When he starts dominating against the big sides then he can come into the conversation, but looking good against Halifax doesn't get you into the GB team. And whilst Austin's ability isn't in question he hasn't been ripping up trees yet either, he has been fairly unspectacular from what I have seen (disclaimer, I haven't seen tonight's game yet, so he may have had a stormer for all I know). At this moment Widdop is nailed on. Then you have Connor, Lomax and Williams fighting it out. Maybe Trueman can be a wildcard if he continues to develop. If the two Aussies want to be involved they have to earn it, they haven't yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gates1 Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 1 hour ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said: Kevin Sinfield said in a recent interview, the strongest possible squad would be selected for GB, from all who qualify, regardless of how they qualify. I hope that is true, personally I can’t stand it when we don’t play to the rules and discriminate against people on place of birth. Don't start doubting yourself now Kev. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yipyee Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Theo fages could play, he could qualify through residency If not call the team GB +Ireland+France Jarrod Sammut could also play, he again could qualify under residency rules, or again call the team GB +Ireland+ Malta.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gates1 Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 1 minute ago, yipyee said: Jarrod Sammut could also play, he again could qualify under residency rules, or again call the team GB +Ireland+ Malta.. He couldn't. Hes gash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foozler Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 I would expect Regan Grace to be in the squad. And Ben Flower as well. So two bona fide Welshmen. Other than that, I struggle to think of non English players, so Scots and Irish, who are not heritage players. Parachuting in Australasian players who have a British granny is not my preferred way of filling a squad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man of Kent Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Would rather we beat New Zealand at Eden Park - which will be a very tough game - with Austin, Coote et al than lose without them. Not ideal but we should field the best team possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo5 Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 2 hours ago, foozler said: I would expect Regan Grace to be in the squad. And Ben Flower as well. So two bona fide Welshmen. Other than that, I struggle to think of non English players, so Scots and Irish, who are not heritage players. Parachuting in Australasian players who have a British granny is not my preferred way of filling a squad. Neither are good enough,especially as we have numerous better options in those 2 positions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 7 hours ago, foozler said: I would expect Regan Grace to be in the squad. And Ben Flower as well. So two bona fide Welshmen. Other than that, I struggle to think of non English players, so Scots and Irish, who are not heritage players. Parachuting in Australasian players who have a British granny is not my preferred way of filling a squad. Neither are anywhere near good enough. Flower would have been worth a shout about 5 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Clothesoff Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 7 hours ago, foozler said: I would expect Regan Grace to be in the squad. And Ben Flower as well. So two bona fide Welshmen. Other than that, I struggle to think of non English players, so Scots and Irish, who are not heritage players. Parachuting in Australasian players who have a British granny is not my preferred way of filling a squad. We’ve got four or five better options than Grace and about ten better options than Flower. We should pick based solely on ability and form, not birthplace or who they play International Rugby League for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughyedspud Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Jesus Christ.. OLDHAM RLFC the 8TH most successful team in british RL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man of Kent Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Wayne Bennett has already picked Chris Heighington for England so it shouldn’t be a surprise. It shouldn’t be underestimated how important the next World Cup is for our game. If England win it could be transformative. With that in mind, I don’t care if we field quality ‘plastic Poms’ if it increases our chances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Kevin Sinfield Posted March 8, 2019 Author Share Posted March 8, 2019 This would be my 17 1 Gareth Widdop 2 Tommy Makinson 3 Kallum Watkins 4 Euan Aitken 5 Ryan Hall 6 Blake Austin 7 Jackson Hastings 8 George Burgess 9 James Roby 10 James Graham 11 Elliott Whitehead 12 John Bateman 13 Sam Burgess 14 Tom Burgess 15 Alex Walmsley 16 Ben Currie 17 Daryl Clarke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunbar Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 1 hour ago, roughyedspud said: Jesus Christ.. A miraculous half back but I'm not sure he is eligible. "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...
MZH Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 1 hour ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said: This would be my 17 1 Gareth Widdop 2 Tommy Makinson 3 Kallum Watkins 4 Euan Aitken 5 Ryan Hall 6 Blake Austin 7 Jackson Hastings 8 George Burgess 9 James Roby 10 James Graham 11 Elliott Whitehead 12 John Bateman 13 Sam Burgess 14 Tom Burgess 15 Alex Walmsley 16 Ben Currie 17 Daryl Clarke So you are going to move the best HB in the world to FB to accommodate a couple of inferior Aussies? As for Aitken... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunsletgreenandgold Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 1 hour ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said: This would be my 17 1 Gareth Widdop 2 Tommy Makinson 3 Kallum Watkins 4 Euan Aitken 5 Ryan Hall 6 Blake Austin 7 Jackson Hastings 8 George Burgess 9 James Roby 10 James Graham 11 Elliott Whitehead 12 John Bateman 13 Sam Burgess 14 Tom Burgess 15 Alex Walmsley 16 Ben Currie 17 Daryl Clarke I disagree with at least 6 of those picks but if this was hypothetically the kind of 17 GB went for then it would be a very sad day for Super League, with only Makinson, Watkins, Roby and 3 bench players making the squad who aren't either current or former NRL players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Clothesoff Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Is Hastings actually that good? Genuine question. I’ve seen little of him bar playing Toulouse, a lower league side, and Saints last week. Admittedly, he tore Toulouse apart but there’s a gulf there and he was alright in defence last week against Saints and didn't turn up till the 57th minute in attack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Toppy Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 11 hours ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said: For me Blake Austin and Jackson Hastings should make their GB debuts. With Gareth Widdop, that would give us three world class half backs. Kevin Sinfield said in a recent interview, the strongest possible squad would be selected for GB, from all who qualify, regardless of how they qualify. I hope that is true, personally I can’t stand it when we don’t play to the rules and discriminate against people on place of birth. Hastings maybe, he's shown enough at his time with Salford to earn a place. Austin hasn't done anything yet to even warrent consideration (Eddie Hemmings hype & fawning doesn't count !). He hardly played last year for Canberra, has drifted in & out of games so far for Wire, plus had a shocker against Catalans last week with multiple errors. To be honest i'm struggling to think of any other non English players who are better than those eligible for England already. Morgan Knowles was easily Wales best in the last WC and has started the season really well for Saints (probably the best defender behind Roby) but there' a very strong English set of Forwards already and I can't see him displacing the likes of O'Loughlin, S Burgess or Bateman at 13. He's pretty versatile though and can play hooker or anywhere in the back row so may get a squad place. Coote may be in with a shout if there's injuries but Bennett has already shown he prefers Lomax at 1, and with both Tomkins & Hardaker available it going to be tough to get selected ahead of these 3 St.Helens - The Home of record breaking Rugby Champions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foozler Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Mine might be a contrarian view, but I really do not see the point of the GB tour if you are effectively only going to take Englishmen (and I include people like McIllorum in there) plus maybe a few Antipodeans with UK heritage. GB RL is a historical construct which worked at a time when the sport was able to attract top RU talent in numbers from Wales and to a lesser extent Scotland. And it should have been left in the past. The fat lad from Red Hall strikes again. If you cannot put together a proper squad with players from England, Scotland and Wales, then just don't bother, as you have a complete lack of credibility. As far as I am concerned, given that we cannot, it should be England touring in the Autumn. I certainly would not play Grace or Flower against the Kiwis, however I see nothing wrong in taking them in the squad to play against PNG. Tonga plus the Kiwis, three big games in a row is going to be very tough physically, PNG would be the game to line them up for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughyedspud Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 1 hour ago, Dunbar said: A miraculous half back but I'm not sure he is eligible. Why not...every f**ker else is apparently OLDHAM RLFC the 8TH most successful team in british RL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughyedspud Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 6 minutes ago, foozler said: Mine might be a contrarian view, but I really do not see the point of the GB tour if you are effectively only going to take Englishmen (and I include people like McIllorum in there) plus maybe a few Antipodeans with UK heritage. GB RL is a historical construct which worked at a time when the sport was able to attract top RU talent in numbers from Wales and to a lesser extent Scotland. And it should have been left in the past. The fat lad from Red Hall strikes again. If you cannot put together a proper squad with players from England, Scotland and Wales, then just don't bother, as you have a complete lack of credibility. As far as I am concerned, given that we cannot, it should be England touring in the Autumn. I certainly would not play Grace or Flower against the Kiwis, however I see nothing wrong in taking them in the squad to play against PNG. Tonga plus the Kiwis, three big games in a row is going to be very tough physically, PNG would be the game to line them up for. Total RL published a piece yesterday about "5 players from Wales,Scotland and Ireland who could make the GB" 2 where English anyway,2 where Aussie's and Ben flower who is a million miles away from shifting any of the England props OLDHAM RLFC the 8TH most successful team in british RL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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