The World Cup

[Mojo]

7 minutes ago, DavidM said:

1) Welsby 

2)Makinson

3)Newman ( injury worries ) 

4)Farnworth ( hopefully fit )

5)Young ( he can tell me he doesn’t want to play )

6)Williams 

7)Tomkins

8 ) Walmsley

9)Radley

10) Thompson

11) Bateman

12) I’m not sure . Whitehead ? Mcmeeken/Batchelor 

13) Knowles

14)Clark ( not sold but other options ?)

15) T Burgess

16)Oledzki 

17) Dunno , Watkins / KPP to cover edge & centre 

I don't watch any SL but how does england spine compare to the top teams in the world cup. Surely Tomkins is the starting Fullback. I say that because I'm a warriors fan, I used to watch Tomkins back in the day and he actually played well. He wasn't amazing but he did have a few good games back in the day

[Dunbar]

Have to say, while Cherry-Evans and Munster are both very good, they are also very capable of having off days and they can make mistakes.

They are not the 9 out of 10 every single game you got from the likes of Cronk and Thurston.

I think there is a reason why they were the halves when Australia lost their first ever game against a tier 2 team.

[Mojo]

1 minute ago, SydneyRoosters said:

No Chance Cleary Starts Mal Meninga has already said Several times DCE Is Starting and DCE Has arguably been better than Cleary this season

You're joking right? Cleary has been carrying the Panthers to the top of table with Luai for most of the season. DCE hasn't been consistent like Cleary. I don't remember Cleary having a bad game at all. Unfortunately DCE goes missing just like the last game they've played. And I don't remember Mal ever saying DCE will start.

[Dunbar]

7 minutes ago, Mojo said:

I don't watch any SL but how does england spine compare to the top teams in the world cup. Surely Tomkins is the starting Fullback. I say that because I'm a warriors fan, I used to watch Tomkins back in the day and he actually played well. He wasn't amazing but he did have a few good games back in the day

A lot of unknowns to be honest.  Fitness and also how Wane will go in selection.

If they are fit I expect him to go 1. Tomkins, 6. Lomax, 7. Williams.

Edited August 15, 2022 by Dunbar

[MattSantos]

2 minutes ago, Damien said:

I think Cook needs his forwards to set the platform with quick the balls. I wouldn't like to write off Australia but their pack certainly isn't a standout to provide that.

You would have thought with the 6 again rules, Cook would be truly excelling, but we (i) just dont see that he's kicked on. Still a wonderful player, but i'd go Grant and Koroisau ahead of him.

[MattSantos]

1 minute ago, Dunbar said:

Aot of unknowns to be honest.  Fitness and also how Wane will go in selection.

If they are fit I expect him to go 1. Tomkins, 6. Lomax, 7. Williams.

I've not seen Lomax in a few years. What type of 6 is he?

[DavidM]

4 minutes ago, Mojo said:

but how does england spine compare to the top teams in the world cup.

I just did that in seconds to stimulate debate , but that spine is Welsby-Williams-Tomkins-Radley -Knowles . Pretty good I’d say 

[MattSantos]

I think Radley could be a decent 9 for England and gives us mongrel yet mobility in the middle as well.

Would love to see Roby give it one last crack.

[Mojo]

4 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

A lot of unknowns to be honest.  Fitness and also how Wane will go in selection.

If they are fit I expect him to go 1. Tomkins, 6. Lomax, 7. Williams.

I think that's what makes england dangerous in the world cup. It's the unknown. No one knows what to expect from England. The big southern hemisphere teams will turn up at the world without knowing what type of game england will play.

[UTK]

3 minutes ago, MattSantos said:

If you're saying Brown is one of the best players in the NRL then you need your head examined. Seriously?

I like Hughes, but yes, injured now and possibly rushed back for playoffs. Not great prep, but i'm saying this more in hope as i alluded to.

Who was playing hooker when Smith scored? It wasn't Smith. 

Munster is the only 6 in the NRL that you could say has performed better than Brown this season and even then Brown bested him when they met earlier this year. He's the best defensive five-eighth in the NRL by a very significant distance.

 

[jim_57]

57 minutes ago, UTK said:

 

I'm more worried Mal will go the other way - filling his wider squad with players eligible for other countries and only playing them in the weaker pool games to prevent them from lining up against Australia.

This is a concern in coming years, Radradra was picked by Mal. Players like Olam, Kikau, Sivo or even Farnworth who were born & raised in other countries are eligible for Kangaroos under the 5 year rule.

This year anyone who played in the pacific tests is locked in to those nations luckily.

[DavidM]

1 minute ago, Mojo said:

I think that's what makes england dangerous in the world cup. It's the unknown. No one knows what to expect from England. The big southern hemisphere teams will turn up at the world without knowing what type of game england will play.

I don’t think Wane will do anything out of the box tbh , he’ll be safe and go tried and trusted and be pretty conservative. I’m not sure that’ll work but we’ll see 

[Dunbar]

2 minutes ago, MattSantos said:

I've not seen Lomax in a few years. What type of 6 is he?

He is good without being great.

He is the key playmaker for Saints who are the best team in the country so in the box seat for the 6 spot for me (although he is nursing a bicep injury and we don't know if he will be fit).

He offers a decent passing and running game linking with edge forwards.  Probably not as much pace or off the cuff brilliance to be a top top player but still a good stand off.

[Dunbar]

1 hour ago, UTK said:

 

I'm more worried Mal will go the other way - filling his wider squad with players eligible for other countries and only playing them in the weaker pool games to prevent them from lining up against Australia.

There are just too many top class players for the PI nations now for that to be a major concern. 

[Ragingbull]

23 minutes ago, DavidM said:

1) Welsby 

2)Makinson

3)Newman ( injury worries ) 

4)Farnworth ( hopefully fit )

5)Young ( he can tell me he doesn’t want to play )

6)Williams 

7)Tomkins

8 ) Walmsley

9)Radley

10) Thompson

11) Bateman

12) I’m not sure . Whitehead ? Mcmeeken/Batchelor 

13) Knowles

14)Clark ( not sold but other options ?)

15) T Burgess

16)Oledzki 

17) Dunno , Watkins / KPP to cover edge & centre 

I take it you have been in the local Wetherspoons since opening time.

[SydneyRoosters]

9 minutes ago, Mojo said:

You're joking right? Cleary has been carrying the Panthers to the top of table with Luai for most of the season. DCE hasn't been consistent like Cleary. I don't remember Cleary having a bad game at all. Unfortunately DCE goes missing just like the last game they've played. And I don't remember Mal ever saying DCE will start.

Idk about Cleary not having a bad game at all. Getting Sent off 15 minutes in and costing your the next 5 matches is a pretty bad game in my eyes

[jim_57]

47 minutes ago, UTK said:

They are going to be extremely strong, the forward pack in particular is going to be one of the best we've seen assembled for a very long time IMO and they have the spine to back it up. 

One weakness for them is probably the lack of depth at centre, especially with Reimis Smith ruled out for the season. For team balance I would've considered playing Te Maire Martin at fullback with Joey Manu left in the centres but Madge has made it clear Manu will be fullback (which is understandable anyway)

Was going to list my side but this is practically the same, I would have only slightly different pack. 

8. Tapine, 9. Smith, 10. JFH, 11. KBromwich, 12. Papali'i, 13. Harris

14. JMK, 15. NAS, 16. JWH, 17. Niukore

 

I’ve liked the look of Timoko at the Raiders this year from the 4-5 games I’ve had the chance to catch. I’d go him & Hiku as centres with Manu at fullback and TMM backup or bench utility. It is a shame Reimis Smith is out as he looked great last year and this year before his injury.

[DavidM]

3 minutes ago, Ragingbull said:

I take it you have been in the local Wetherspoons since opening time.

Good contribution 

[Damien]

1 hour ago, UTK said:

 

I'm more worried Mal will go the other way - filling his wider squad with players eligible for other countries and only playing them in the weaker pool games to prevent them from lining up against Australia.

With squad sizes of only 24 I don't think anyone would do that. It would be crazy for anyone to do anything other than pick who they see as being the best 24.

[DavidM]

Just now, Damien said:

With squad sizes of only 24 I don't think anyone would do that. It would be crazy for anyone to do anything other than pick who they see as being the best 24.

And utility players will be of great value 

[Damien]

12 minutes ago, MattSantos said:

I've not seen Lomax in a few years. What type of 6 is he?

I know Saints fans will differ but I've never seen an international class 6 there.

[SydneyRoosters]

1 minute ago, Damien said:

With squad sizes of only 24 I don't think anyone would do that. It would be crazy for anyone to do anything other than pick who they see as being the best 24.

Hopefully They Make the squads Bigger 26-27 men is the right size 

[MattSantos]

1 minute ago, UTK said:

Munster is the only 6 in the NRL that you could say has performed better than Brown this season and even then Brown bested him when they met earlier this year. He's the best defensive five-eighth in the NRL by a very significant distance.

 

Manu when he's played at 6 has been better. As as Burton, Luai, Cody Walker and maybe even Dearden. To say that Brown is one of the best players in the NRL is absolutely deluded. I'd rather have Wighton and even the fella at Wests whose name escapes me than Brown. Dylan Brown. Jesus.

[Mojo]

8 minutes ago, SydneyRoosters said:

Idk about Cleary not having a bad game at all. Getting Sent off 15 minutes in and costing your the next 5 matches is a pretty bad game in my eyes

The Panthers have dominated this season so much even if they lose the last remaining games they'll still finished 1st. The Panthers will have a fresh Cleary and a fully healthy Luai in the playoffs and I don't see any teams beating then. DCE's manly are on a 4 game losing streak and DCE hasn't performed well in any of those games.

[MattSantos]

20 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

Have to say, while Cherry-Evans and Munster are both very good, they are also very capable of having off days and they can make mistakes.

They are not the 9 out of 10 every single game you got from the likes of Cronk and Thurston.

I think there is a reason why they were the halves when Australia lost their first ever game against a tier 2 team.

Would massively agree with this.