Starting 13 against Australia

[The Future is League]

If we was playing Australia next weekend what would be your starting 13 and 4 interchange players?

[Damien]

This is pretty much this ongoing thread isn't it:

 

 

[The Future is League]

7 minutes ago, Damien said:

This is pretty much this ongoing thread isn't it:

 

 

I did look for another thread to put this on, but couldn't see one.

[JM2010]

14 minutes ago, Damien said:

This is pretty much this ongoing thread isn't it:

 

 

What about if we discuss potential bolters for the Ashes on here. A bolter for me is someone who isn’t usually in the England team but is playing well enough to be considered 

Mine would be

Broadbent 

Litten

Minchella

Brimson

Eckersley

Handley

O Conner

Mulhern

Trout

Smithies

Martin

Robertson

Jowett

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 22 by JM2010

[The Future is League]

14 minutes ago, JM2010 said:

What about if we discuss potential bolters for the Ashes on here. A bolter for me is someone who isn’t usually in the England team but is playing well enough to be considered 

Mine would be

Broadbent 

Litten

Minchella

Brimson

Eckersley

Handley

O Conner

Mulhern

Trout

Smithies

Martin

Robertson

Jowett

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would hope that Shaun Wane would have a couple of bolters in his squad. Players that would trouble the Aussie defence with unconvential play at times, IF given the chance.

[LeeF]

1 hour ago, The Future is League said:

If we was playing Australia next weekend what would be your starting 13 and 4 interchange players?

Mikey Lewis to play 1, 6, 7, 9 and 14. The rest is irrelevant. 

[The Future is League]

15 minutes ago, LeeF said:

Mikey Lewis to play 1, 6, 7, 9 and 14. The rest is irrelevant. 

Playing Mikey Lewis at hooker would certainly be interesting and offer something different, and he can rattle other teams not only with his play at times, but also his verbals.

[WN83]

I'm one for believing there is more to picking an international side than just form and a couple of months ago I wouldn't have had Lewis in the starting 13 but that's changed for me. You want players to smash the door down and he's done/is doing that. If that's in place of Williams or Smith, I'd say that's to be decided and the coming months will be huge for all 3 of them. 

 

[Just Browny]

1 hour ago, LeeF said:

Mikey Lewis to play 1, 6, 7, 9 and 14. The rest is irrelevant. 

We're almost halfway through the year and Wane hasn't picked Lewis even once yet. The big Wigan bully.

[LeeF]

51 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

Playing Mikey Lewis at hooker would certainly be interesting and offer something different, and he can rattle other teams not only with his play at times, but also his verbals.

I thought about also chucking him in at 13 but that’s more of a prop these days and he would then have to also be picked at 15 so that he could spell himself and that would be just pushing it too far 

[daz39]

We all know it will be mainly the same players with a couple of new faces thrown in.

Would love to see an England Knights team or U23's to see how the likes of Whitby, Robertson, Flanagan, Eckersley, Pratt, Pryce, Martin, Barron etc look playing together, my opinion is that all that talent in onse side would be exciting to watch.

NB: Obviously i've named backs who clearly can't all play together, i did that as they are the exciting players to watch.

[JM2010]

9 minutes ago, daz39 said:

We all know it will be mainly the same players with a couple of new faces thrown in.

Would love to see an England Knights team or U23's to see how the likes of Whitby, Robertson, Flanagan, Eckersley, Pratt, Pryce, Martin, Barron etc look playing together, my opinion is that all that talent in onse side would be exciting to watch.

NB: Obviously i've named backs who clearly can't all play together, i did that as they are the exciting players to watch.

What would be your Knights/u23 team? We’ve got a lot of exciting young players at the moment

[daz39]

10 hours ago, JM2010 said:

What would be your Knights/u23 team? We’ve got a lot of exciting young players at the moment

Flanagan

Martin

Robertson

Broadbent

Lumb

Pryce 

Whitby

Trout

O'Neill

Delaney/Wilson

Gannon

Walters

Shorrocks/Partington

[JM2010]

I think all mine are u23, although some of them will be in the Senior starting 17

 

Pryce

Martin

Litten

Robertson

Eckersley 

Farrimond

Whitby

Delaney

O Neill

Eseh

Gannon

Nsemba

Nicholson

 

 

 

[Harry Stottle]

On 22/06/2025 at 19:26, The Future is League said:

Playing Mikey Lewis at hooker would certainly be interesting and offer something different, and he can rattle other teams not only with his play at times, but also his verbals.

If Lewis is to play, it has to be just as he plays at HKR with the No6 on his back operating on the far left side of the attack that is his prominent position most probably worked out by his coach to utilise his skills to their best effect, no good expecting him to be just as efficient anywhere else on the field or he would be doing that week in week out.

[Harry Stottle]

On 23/06/2025 at 08:43, daz39 said:

We all know it will be mainly the same players with a couple of new faces thrown in.

Would love to see an England Knights team or U23's to see how the likes of Whitby, Robertson, Flanagan, Eckersley, Pratt, Pryce, Martin, Barron etc look playing together, my opinion is that all that talent in onse side would be exciting to watch.

NB: Obviously i've named backs who clearly can't all play together, i did that as they are the exciting players to watch.

Who is the team you would be playing their Knights against?

[Wakefield Ram]

2 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

If Lewis is to play, it has to be just as he plays at HKR with the No6 on his back operating on the far left side of the attack that is his prominent position most probably worked out by his coach to utilise his skills to their best effect, no good expecting him to be just as efficient anywhere else on the field or he would be doing that week in week out.

Players have to play in their normal positions. We have played great players like Andy Farrell and Kevin Sinfield out of position in Tests and it has not worked. 

[The Future is League]

58 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

If Lewis is to play, it has to be just as he plays at HKR with the No6 on his back operating on the far left side of the attack that is his prominent position most probably worked out by his coach to utilise his skills to their best effect, no good expecting him to be just as efficient anywhere else on the field or he would be doing that week in week out.

I just think he would offer something different at hooker in the first test  and with Williams and Smith in the halfs the 3 of them would seriously give the Aussie defence something different to think about

[Harry Stottle]

21 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

I just think he would offer something different at hooker in the first test  and with Williams and Smith in the halfs the 3 of them would seriously give the Aussie defence something different to think about

Really, I think whoever is donning the green and gold uniforms play against better expierienced No9's week in week out than putting a virtually untried rookie in that position, and as for the other two their form is going to have improve greatly from what they are exhibiting in recent weeks.

 

[Just Browny]

Surprised Josh Thewlis isn't in any of those u23 picks, he doesn't get the full 'Jon Wells treatment' that any Saints youth player enjoys but he is one of Warrington's few shining lights.

[JM2010]

6 minutes ago, Just Browny said:

Surprised Josh Thewlis isn't in any of those u23 picks, he doesn't get the full 'Jon Wells treatment' that any Saints youth player enjoys but he is one of Warrington's few shining lights.

Didn’t realise he was u23. He seems to have been around for a long time 

[ELBOWSEYE]

39 minutes ago, JM2010 said:

Didn’t realise he was u23. He seems to have been around for a long time 

He is 23

[Trojan Horse]

On 23/06/2025 at 08:43, daz39 said:

We all know it will be mainly the same players with a couple of new faces thrown in.

Would love to see an England Knights team or U23's to see how the likes of Whitby, Robertson, Flanagan, Eckersley, Pratt, Pryce, Martin, Barron etc look playing together, my opinion is that all that talent in onse side would be exciting to watch.

NB: Obviously i've named backs who clearly can't all play together, i did that as they are the exciting players to watch.

There’s huge young talent coming through and you can add Harvey Smith who looks a class young 9 too. 
 

I would also be very interested in seeing an England U23. Do they still do that?

 

 

[StandOffHalf]

1 hour ago, Harry Stottle said:

Really, I think whoever is donning the green and gold uniforms play against better expierienced No9's week in week out than putting a virtually untried rookie in that position, and as for the other two their form is going to have improve greatly from what they are exhibiting in recent weeks.

 

I am coming around to the idea of a Sneyd and Lewis partnership. I thought Sneyd had a great game on a big stage at Wembley and Lewis is one of the standout stars in the competition.

I think there's a strong argument that they are both playing better football at the moment than incumbents Smith and Williams.

Thoughts, Harry?

[Chrispmartha]

If we're going by form then 6 & 7 should be Lewis and Connor.

I've not been impressed by the incumbents at all so far this year, they will start though.