Jump to content

Who would you pick for the Great Britain touring team?


Recommended Posts


  • Replies 184
  • Created
  • Last Reply
28 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:

I genuinely would leave Graham, Tomkins and O’Loughlin out of the squads. Great players. But I don’t think they’ll be available in 2021 so I’d be building for that competition right now...

It's funny (if that's the right word) to be talking about Great Britain as a development squad for England.

And some people have the cheek to suggest that international Rugby League doesn't have a joined up plan!

"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

39 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:

I genuinely would leave Graham, Tomkins and O’Loughlin out of the squads. Great players. But I don’t think they’ll be available in 2021 so I’d be building for that competition right now...

Great Britain are not playing in the next World Cup 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 18/08/2019 at 23:31, Mr Frisky said:

Lomax is a decent SL player but is slow and cant make a break, Tomkins has been and done it all and can break a line so let's agree to agree your wrong lad.

This season (noting Lomax has played one game fewer than Sam)

Tackle busts: Lomax 81 Sam 65

Clean breaks: Lomax 16 Sam 7

Lomax is also better defensively and has better discipline.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Rupert Prince said:

Did you see the Storm Raiders game last week?

I didn't to be fair so happy to accept that I may be wrong.  I'm not doubting Hodgson is a good player but having watched them both in the same competition and compared them both in an England shirt - I'm fairly comfortable in my view that the only reason Hodgson would find himself ahead of Roby is because both he and the GB coach are NRL based.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:

We’d be lying to ourselves if we differentiate between England and GB right now; same coach, same players.

So you wouldn't have 33yr old Roby and "Scottish" Coote in your team either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, FearTheVee said:

This season (noting Lomax has played one game fewer than Sam)

Tackle busts: Lomax 81 Sam 65

Clean breaks: Lomax 16 Sam 7

Lomax is also better defensively and has better discipline.

Hmm what would Lomax's stats be if he played for a poor Catalans team I wonder,Lomax also has no kicking game,tends to go missing in big games and hasn't played halfback internationally,I'd have him in the squad as a utility.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Davo5 said:

Hmm what would Lomax's stats be if he played for a poor Catalans team I wonder,Lomax also has no kicking game,tends to go missing in big games and hasn't played halfback internationally,I'd have him in the squad as a utility.

That's certainl;y up for debate, I was responding to a post saying Lomax is too slow to break a defensive line, which is demonstrable nonsense.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, FearTheVee said:

This season (noting Lomax has played one game fewer than Sam)

Tackle busts: Lomax 81 Sam 65

Clean breaks: Lomax 16 Sam 7

Lomax is also better defensively and has better discipline.

To be honest you could put Christopher Biggins in this Saints team and he could match those figures and score 20 trys as well.

Cats have been getting hammered most weeks.

How do their England performances compair?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, GeordieSaint said:

We’d be lying to ourselves if we differentiate between England and GB right now; same coach, same players.

You could have wrote that 12 years ago when we selected the last GB squad in 2007..

OLDHAM RLFC

the 8TH most successful team in british RL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, FearTheVee said:

This season (noting Lomax has played one game fewer than Sam)

Tackle busts: Lomax 81 Sam 65

Clean breaks: Lomax 16 Sam 7

Lomax is also better defensively and has better discipline.

Interesting stats.

As some others have pointed out above, the team performance does have a big impact on individual stats... particularly things like clean breaks which could well have been on the back of a forward roll or a stretched defensive line.

I think tackle busts is a more individual stat though and I am surprised that Lomax has broken more tackles than Tomkins this year given that Tomkins elusiveness is a big part of his game.

On the wider Lomax point.  I think he is a very talented player who hasn't yet made the step up to the international level when given a chance.  But at 28 he is in the prime of his career and having a big influence in a top team under a very good coach.  I would have him in the GB (or England) squad and probably in the 13 at this stage.

"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

3 minutes ago, Mr Frisky said:

To be honest you could put Christopher Biggins in this Saints team and he could match those figures and score 20 trys as well.

Cats have been getting hammered most weeks.

How do their England performances compair?

Can't remember too many games with Lomax getting a chance in the halves.  He's only been an undisputed 6 at Saints for two years.  I think he played in Denver when we beat NZ 36-18.

The likes of Brown and Gale have been playing in the halves ahead of him recently which is probably reflective of the fact he's only had two years as a starting 6 - but he's been excellent in those two years, a big part of that being injury free finally.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, FearTheVee said:

This season (noting Lomax has played one game fewer than Sam)

Tackle busts: Lomax 81 Sam 65

Clean breaks: Lomax 16 Sam 7

Lomax is also better defensively and has better discipline.

One player is head and shoulders above the rest for try assists 

Hastings 33

Sneyd 21

Lomax 20 

Coote 19

Williams 18

Tomkins 17 

Connor 15 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said:

One player is head and shoulders above the rest for try assists 

Hastings 33

Sneyd 21

Lomax 20 

Coote 19

Williams 18

Tomkins 17 

Connor 15 

Hastings is a very good player.  And I don't particularly want him to play for Great Britain or England.  The same with Austin.

I have said on these boards that identity is complicated but I would take a hell of a lot of convincing that Hastings and Austin 'feel' English/British and feel an allegiance to us as a sporting nation through their grandmothers.  If they had British parents I think it would be different but these links are too tenuous for my liking.

The bottom line is I bet they both grew up dreaming of playing for the Kangaroos and not pulling on a Great Britain shirt.

I know what the eligibility rules are and I know what other countries and other sports do. It doesn't change the way I feel.

As someone said on here a while back, international sport is 'the best of ours vs. the best of yours' and it wouldn't be that with Hastings and Austin in the lineup.

"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

43 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

 

I know what the eligibility rules are and I know what other countries and other sports do. It doesn't change the way I feel.

As someone said on here a while back, international sport is 'the best of ours vs. the best of yours' and it wouldn't be that with Hastings and Austin in the lineup.

Don’t these statements contradict each other. If every other sport and every other nation plays to a different set of rules to England/GB RL, I don’t see how International sport is currently, best of ours v best of yours, but would stop been that if we followed the same rules as every other country.

Here are some players not born in Australia, that have played for Australia. If there were more players good enough, the list would be longer, they don’t select on some nostalgic principles, they play to the rules. 

Felise Kaufusi, Semi Radradra, James Tamou, Akulia Uate, Antonio Kaufusi, , Karmicheal Hunt, Toni Carroll, Hazem el Masri, Willie Mason, Petro Civiniceva, Lote Tuqiri, John Hoporate 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, FearTheVee said:

I'd like to think we won't see Hastings, Coote or Austin play for GB.  Doesn't do it for me.

But if Bennett has no qualms picking dross like Heighington I think he'll probably pick one of those.

Hastings had hinted, but has he formally made himself available?  Does he principally play 6 or does he also at 7?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Davo5 said:

So you wouldn't have 33yr old Roby and "Scottish" Coote in your team either.

Roby was a difficult choice - due to his durability and quality, I think he may still be around in 2021. But you are absolutely right to point that out... it's very much open for debate. O'Loughlin is gone... but Graham is in the same boat as Roby... but I think we already have better props coming through: Thompson, Watts etc are the two main examples and would be in my 17 now; not just in 2021.

Coote... yep; get it. He would be the anomaly in the my argument. I actually don't expect him to stick his hand up (long season with Saints), but if he does, he'd be my only selection outside of England team in the gameday 17. Knowles would be the only other one... but he'd be in the squad; not the gameday 17.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said:

Don’t these statements contradict each other. If every other sport and every other nation plays to a different set of rules to England/GB RL, I don’t see how International sport is currently, best of ours v best of yours, but would stop been that if we followed the same rules as every other country.

Here are some players not born in Australia, that have played for Australia. If there were more players good enough, the list would be longer, they don’t select on some nostalgic principles, they play to the rules. 

Felise Kaufusi, Semi Radradra, James Tamou, Akulia Uate, Antonio Kaufusi, , Karmicheal Hunt, Toni Carroll, Hazem el Masri, Willie Mason, Petro Civiniceva, Lote Tuqiri, John Hoporate 

OK, I will add another word.  International sport 'should' be best of ours vs. best of yours.  I really don't care what other nations/sports do... I believe that our Rugby League national team should not include Australians.

It can get complicated and I admit that and I am happy to judge these things on a case by case basis.  And in the case of Austin and Hastings I don't want them representing England or Great Britain... because they are Australians.

"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

26 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

OK, I will add another word.  International sport 'should' be best of ours vs. best of yours.  I really don't care what other nations/sports do... I believe that our Rugby League national team should not include Australians.

It can get complicated and I admit that and I am happy to judge these things on a case by case basis.  And in the case of Austin and Hastings I don't want them representing England or Great Britain... because they are Australians.

What is categorised as an Australia. How did Jack Reed fit into this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, Scubby said:

What is categorised as an Australia. How did Jack Reed fit into this?

I have already said it is complicated and I am happy to look at things on a case by case basis.  So, as you ask.

Jack Reed was born in England (to English parents I believe) and moved to Australia with his family.  I would have thought that he had very English/British roots and when making a choice on who to represent the English heritage won out.  I would be ok with Reed choosing England or Australia as he has strong ties to both countries.

Hastings and Austin were both born and raised in Australia and both have one British grandparent.  Now, for me, that puts them very much in the Australian camp.

As I say, I don't expect both Austin and Hastings grew up in Australia dreaming of pulling on a Great Britain rugby jersey one day.  If they did dream of playing for Great Britain to honour their respective grandmothers then I will admit I am wrong... but I bet I'm not.

"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

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.