Sat 29 Oct: RLWC: England v Greece KO 14:30

[arcticchris]

I think we will win by 50+ no matter what 17 we put out there but I can’t obviously see who will be picked in the centres especially as I would like to see Welsby rested and protected for the knockout stages.

I think that it shows we have one too many props and are light by at least 1 outside back in the squad. The players coming in deserve to get their chance in their best positions not as fill ins in other spots.

[GeordieSaint]

Welsby in the centre with KPP with Makinson at full back. The other option is Young at centre with Makinson on the wing and Welsby at full back. Just hope he doesn’t play Bateman at centre as having pace in the outside backs has been a key reason we’ve looked dangerous.

[Dunbar]

If we are honest, the make up of the side is pretty irrelevant with Farnworth and Watkins hopefully back for the q's.

Seems like Radley is being given the chance to play in front of family from Sheffield as otherwise he would surely have earned a rest - especially with Knowles available. 

The key for me is getting through this one with no injuries. 

[hunsletgreenandgold]

1 hour ago, WN83 said:

Looked to have his leg strapped last week, so no point taking risks. He's been impressive so far and we'll need him fit for the big games.

Wane said KPP will play a few positions, so I expect a start at centre but then some time in the backrow. I wouldn't be surprised to see Makinson or even Young line up at centre (probably Makinson) and then Makinson to maybe even spend some time at fullback, as I could see Williams having a turn this week to get some minutes off. It'll be a bit of a constant shuffle I'd imagine but that shouldn't hurt us too much.

 

I'd start-

Welsby

Young, Pearce-Paul, Makinson, Hall

Williams, Sneyd

Oledzki, Ackers, Lees

Bateman, Batchelor, Knowles,

Subs

Cooper, McMeekan, Thompson, Hill.

Rests for Radley and T Burgess because they'll also be massive for us come the knock outs. Big minutes for guys like Oledzki, Lees and Knowles with them not having many so far. I'm not worried about changing too much and would rather get rest in to players. Wane will have them 100% ready come that quarter final, just as he did for the opener. 

There's no chance Radley doesn't play IMO - his dad just flew in for this game and I know that might not seem immediately important, but I just can't see Wane doing that, especially in Sheffield.

[Black Country Wire]

1 hour ago, Northern Eel said:

Thinking about rotation, resting etc, it's a bit of a square pegs scenario, but here is how I think it will play out: 1 Welsby, 2 Makinson, 3 Pearce-Paul, 4 Bateman, 5 Hall, 6 Sneyd, 7 Williams, 8 Burgess, 9 Ackers, 10 Hill, 11 Batchelor, 12 McMeekan, 13 Knowles

Bench: 14 Oledzki, 15 Radley, 16 Lees, 17 Cooper

Young and Thompson to miss out.

Only 1 to miss out. It's 5 subs in this tournament isn't it?

[SydneyRoosters]

Just now, Black Country Wire said:

Only 1 to miss out. It's 5 subs in this tournament isn't it?

18th Man is only available if a have team has 3 players ruled out from concussion so they are rarely ever used, just a saftey protocol.

[SydneyRoosters]

33 minutes ago, WN83 said:

Fully agree with Radley being rested. If we want to get to the final and have an outside sniff of winning it, he needs to be fit. My big worry going in to the tournament was the absence of some really influential leaders. Guys like Sam Burgess, Lockers, Graham and Roby were all good players in that last World Cup but if anything, were slightly past their best in terms of performance (although still very good) but what I felt they did give all the other players was a real sense of confidence and calm. I think in Radley we've found a guy who is doing that this time. He is gluing the side together in the middle and fair play to the likes of him, Whitehead, Tomkins etc, who have stepped up to help lessen the impact of those guys I mention not being around. 

It’s a special event for Radley and he’s family, Radley’s father (who is from Sheffield) is flying over with 50 mates to watch him play for his country in his hometown, he was never going be rested. I assume he will come of the bench and play limited minutes though, Knowles deserves to show what he can do though, after all he arguably Englands best player and needs to be given an opportunity.

[WN83]

Totally slipped my mind the Radley connections with Sheffield. He will clearly play then, so fingers crossed everything is ok. I'd certainly limit his minutes though regardless of the occasion it will be for him and his family/friends. Give him 50 minutes, take him off and let his crew get over to Wigan next week to watch him in a knock out game. 

[WN83]

17 minutes ago, SydneyRoosters said:

It’s a special event for Radley and he’s family, Radley’s father (who is from Sheffield) is flying over with 50 mates to watch him play for his country in his hometown, he was never going be rested. I assume he will come of the bench and play limited minutes though, Knowles deserves to show what he can do though, after all he arguably Englands best player and needs to be given an opportunity.

I was surprised with Knowles limited minutes in week one and two, with just one bench appearance across both games. I'm convinced Wane will have a huge role for him in the knock outs though. If somebody said to me Shaun Wane is back as a superleague coach and he's been told he can sign any English player, I think he would choose Knowles, or I would've expected him to say that until Radley became an option. Looking at Radley's performances so far, you can't blame Wane for putting him ahead of Knowles but they're both fine players. I said it before the first game and it didn't happen but I wouldn't be surprised to see Knowles get minutes at prop as the tournament progresses. I think he wanted more size against Samoa but if we played the Aussies in a final, I think we'd need plenty of stamina as well and Knowles brings that in spades. 

[Jim Prendle]

37 minutes ago, WN83 said:

I was surprised with Knowles limited minutes in week one and two, with just one bench appearance across both games. I'm convinced Wane will have a huge role for him in the knock outs though. If somebody said to me Shaun Wane is back as a superleague coach and he's been told he can sign any English player, I think he would choose Knowles, or I would've expected him to say that until Radley became an option. Looking at Radley's performances so far, you can't blame Wane for putting him ahead of Knowles but they're both fine players. I said it before the first game and it didn't happen but I wouldn't be surprised to see Knowles get minutes at prop as the tournament progresses. I think he wanted more size against Samoa but if we played the Aussies in a final, I think we'd need plenty of stamina as well and Knowles brings that in spades. 

I would expect him to say Welsby.

[WN83]

5 minutes ago, Jim Prendle said:

I would expect him to say Welsby.

He's the only other that came in my mind when thinking of Knowles but if Radley was in the mix, I think he'd pick him over both of them. We know how highly he rated Lockers and he's as close as you're getting to that type of player. 

[Tex Evans Thigh]

Picking Radley so his dad can watch him play has got disaster written all over it. If he is picked hope we minimize his minutes and Knowles gets more of a run this time as both are important and Knowles could do with more minutes in his legs for the knock-outs.

Agree with most that the line up almost doesnt matter as we will win by 70-80 points anyway but it might be an opportunity to see how players go in positions they might need to fill in later in the tournament. I can see all three wingers playing with Makinson either at FB or center and Welsby in the other position. 

I'd go with:

Welsby

Hall, KPP, Makinson, Young

Williams, Sneyd

Oledski, Ackers, Lees

Batchelor, Bateman

Knowles

Cooper, McMeeken, Radley, Thompson

Hill and Burgess rested.

[Black Country Wire]

2 hours ago, SydneyRoosters said:

18th Man is only available if a have team has 3 players ruled out from concussion so they are rarely ever used, just a saftey protocol.

Wasn't aware of that so thanks for clarifying.

[daz39]

11 hours ago, JimBronco said:

England by 300 points.

i'll bet ya £1 it isn't.

[Gomersall]

 

[Gerrumonside ref]

A few more mistakes crept into our game against France that would have been punished every time by the elite countries.

Hopefully we can put on a bit of a show for the fans (new and old) and I hope the Greek fans can get some enjoyment out of it too.

Not been to Sheffield for years so can’t comment on the state of the watering holes now, but it was always a good place to go out.

Lets hope too that Sheffield Eagles, Huddersfield Giants and Doncaster can boost their presence a bit on the back of this.

[Gerrumonside ref]

20 minutes ago, Gomersall said:

 

More progress!

[Father Ted]

Whatever the squad selection Waney will want a Greece 0 on the final score.

 

[moorside roughyed]

Regardless,just the fact that Greece are in the competition is a minor miracle itself. The things they've had to do to get here is amazing.

[Northern Eel]

3 hours ago, Father Ted said:

Whatever the squad selection Waney will want a Greece 0 on the final score.

 

Yet, I think they could actually score points against any international side. The thing I have particularly enjoyed about their attacking play is those chips over the top midway through the set, which seem to catch defenses cold. They are spontaneous. Whilst they tend to concede on the back of a failed effort in this regard, they do create opportunities to score when it comes off. 

[SUPERSTUD]

Proper World Cup starts soon. Then we will really see what England are made of!

[langpark]

10 hours ago, Northern Eel said:

Yet, I think they could actually score points against any international side. The thing I have particularly enjoyed about their attacking play is those chips over the top midway through the set, which seem to catch defenses cold. They are spontaneous. Whilst they tend to concede on the back of a failed effort in this regard, they do create opportunities to score when it comes off. 

Very true. But the instigator.of those plays most times was Billy Magoulias and it seems he is not playing today. So I can definitely see them being nilled today. I hope I am wrong though. 

[George Watt]

22 hours ago, Gomersall said:

 

She is the more experienced of the  2 NRL female referees and has refereed several games when the NRL had 2 referees a few years back. Wonder when we will have the first female video referee?

[Waynebennettswinger]

On 27/10/2022 at 13:38, GeordieSaint said:

Welsby in the centre with KPP with Makinson at full back. The other option is Young at centre with Makinson on the wing and Welsby at full back. Just hope he doesn’t play Bateman at centre as having pace in the outside backs has been a key reason we’ve looked dangerous.

2nd option is the one, I think. That said I seem to remember Makinson at centre VS New Zealand once and he had a great game, not sure if my memory is playing tricks on me though.

[Waynebennettswinger]

Looking forward to the pre- match plate smashing. 
Really hope it’s a useful workout for England but imagine it will be a walk over.