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Widdop Named To Face France

G

getsmarty

Immortal
Messages
33,485
Widdop Named To Face France
Fri 21st October, 07:00AM
A A



St George Illawarra Dragons captain Gareth Widdop has been named in the England team to face France in the international fixture at Parc des Sports, Avignon on Friday.

The Kings Cross junior, alongside departing teammate Mike Cooper, is part of a 19-man squad named by Head Coach Wayne Bennett.

“The players have trained well all week and are looking forward to the trip to France," said Bennett.

“There’s plenty of competition for places in this squad and it’s good to see a few new faces in there possibly having a run out in Avignon.

“The week leading into this game has been good and the training facilities in London at the Honourable Artillery Company have been outstanding.

“France are a passionate team and will have plenty of support behind them in Avignon.

"There’s talent in their side and some Super League experience so we know what to expect on Saturday.

"As the away side, it’s the kind of environment that I want my side to be challenged in this international Test.”

Gareth Widdop (St George Illawarra Dragons)
Mike Cooper (St George Illawarra Dragons/Warrington Wolves)
Kevin Brown (Widnes Vikings)
George Burgess (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
Thomas Burgess (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
Daryl Clark (Warrington Wolves)
Liam Farrell (Wigan Warriors)
Luke Gale (Castleford Tigers)
James Graham (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs)
Ryan Hall (Leeds Rhinos)
Josh Hodgson (Canberra Raiders)
Jonny Lomax (St Helens)
Jermaine McGillvary (Huddersfield Giants)
Mark Percival (St Helens)
Stefan Ratchford (Warrington Wolves)
Scott Taylor (Hull FC)
Stevie Ward (Leeds Rhinos)
Kallum Watkins (Leeds Rhinos)
Elliott Whitehead (Canberra Raiders)

http://www.dragons.com.au/news/2016/10/21/widdop_named_to_face.af_news.html
 
G

getsmarty

Immortal
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33,485
Wayne Bennett pleased with England start
Sun 23 Oct, 2016, 6:30am
Ian Laybourn, AAP


image.ashx

England prop James Graham suffered a concussion late in the Test against France. Credit: Charles Knight. Copyright: NRL Photos.
Wayne Bennett expressed his satisfaction after making a winning start as England coach.

The veteran Australian handed out five new caps in the absence of his skipper Sam Burgess and five players from the Super League grand final and watched his new-look, somewhat experimental side gain a 40-6 victory over a spirited France in Avignon.

It was just the workout England needed ahead of the Four Nations, although Bennett already had an idea of his team to play New Zealand at Huddersfield next Saturday.

"I thought we handled it pretty well without blowing them away," Bennett said.

"I thought France tried really hard, they were really competitive and had good ball control.

"I was pretty pleased with all the new caps, I wasn't disappointed with anybody tonight.

"But it hasn't made my job of picking a side for next week tougher - I already had an idea of my team to face New Zealand anyway."

Leeds winger Ryan Hall extended his record try haul to 28 in as many appearances with two first-half touchdowns to put England on their way to a 22-6 halftime lead.

While five-eighth Gareth Widdop scored his side's seventh and final try and kicked a sixth goal to bring up a century of points for his country.

The only disappointment for England was the loss of acting captain James Graham, who was the victim of a late and dangerous tackle five minutes from the end and will have to face a concussion test ahead of the Kiwis game.

"He's a bit sick in there but the doctor says he should be OK," Bennett said.

Bennett denied accusations from new France head coach Aurelien Cologni that England had disrespected their hosts by flying in and out of Avignon on the day of the game and believes their performance bodes well for the future.

"There was no suggestion that we were trying to be smart," Bennett said.

"It was never mentioned to me or anybody else on the staff about being here early to promote the game.

"I thought it was great to be here. Watching France today, you've got to be optimistic about what they can do going forward if they can just hold it together and try to build from here.

"They kept turning up, we just had better players, that's a fact of life."

Cologni, who has replaced Englishman Richard Agar, was encouraged by his team's efforts, which was in sharp contrast to their 84-4 rout in Leigh 12 months earlier, and believes the final score flattered England.

http://www.nrl.com/wayne-bennett-pleased-with-england-start/tabid/10874/newsid/102182/default.aspx
 
W

watatank

Coach
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13,995
1 try, 1 try assist and 6 goals. nice cut out pass to set up the winger

he probably had a good game but France didn't make the 4 Nations, they can't be that good. it will be good to see how he goes against Australia and NZ at home.

highlights
 
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W

Weipa Dragon

Juniors
Messages
1,182
Bennett structures are quite simple, that's why teams like England can pick them up and run with them. Get them quicker and quicker and the team is lethal. I've got hope for Gareth with a coach who has an idea of how to win games.
 
S

Sigurd

Juniors
Messages
433
emu62 said:
Gee! how bad must France be, when apparently the worst player in the NRL & who is also not good enough for the Intrust Super Cup -scores 1, sets up 1 & kicks 6 goals.
Just Maybe this guy has more talent than some of us give him credit for
Click to expand...

Wasn't much in it. He backed up up for his try. Maybe support play is one of his good points. It's just since he arrived at the Dragons they make so few line-breaks it's hard to know. Not much in his try assist either. A long pass combined with terrible French defence. I wish he could do what #15 did. Take the ball to the line in both hands and leave the defence guessing as to whether he will pass long, short, kick or run himself. Alas, even though he is the "marquee" playmaker, he doesn't have the ability to do that.
 
Country Dragon

Country Dragon

Juniors
Messages
2,272
Sigurd said:
Wasn't much in it. He backed up up for his try. Maybe support play is one of his good points. It's just since he arrived at the Dragons they make so few line-breaks it's hard to know. Not much in his try assist either. A long pass combined with terrible French defence. I wish he could do what #15 did. Take the ball to the line in both hands and leave the defence guessing as to whether he will pass long, short, kick or run himself. Alas, even though he is the "marquee" playmaker, he doesn't have the ability to do that.
Click to expand...
I see you're still happy to make a complete fool of yourself Vas!
 
S

Sigurd

Juniors
Messages
433
Old Timer said:
Surely he must be getting RSI by now because all he does is cut and paste from the previous posts of his various accounts
Click to expand...

Are you referring to me? I knew that would get you worked up but I notice you didn't say whether it was untrue or not. i.e You know it's true. Nevermind. He is still the best Dragons player since Reg Gasnier and a future immortal. Happy now? Are we friends again? I'm not sure whether any of the "immortals" were able to run, draw a defender and pass.
 
Old Timer

Old Timer

Coach
Messages
16,930
Sigurd said:
Are you referring to me? I knew that would get you worked up but I notice you didn't say whether it was untrue or not. i.e You know it's true. Nevermind. He is still the best Dragons player since Reg Gasnier and a future immortal. Happy now? Are we friends again? I'm not sure whether any of the "immortals" were able to run, draw a defender and pass.
Click to expand...
If you are posting as Vas then yes I am referring to you as I did respond to a post about Vas.
You keep making the spurious claim that I somewhere some time said Widdop was better than Gasnier and the next immortal please show me the posts where I did this.
Your credibility is often questioned so here is a golden opportunity to show how your posts are both truthful and accurate.
Can you please also kindly explain what you mean by "I notice you didn't say whether it was untrue or not."
My interpretation of your use of the English language is that you are somehow asking whether what you had said was correct or not.
The odds are if you posted it, it is indeed most likely untrue.
Nice observation on you part well done.
 
emu62

emu62

Juniors
Messages
601
Sigurd said:
Wasn't much in it. He backed up up for his try. Maybe support play is one of his good points. It's just since he arrived at the Dragons they make so few line-breaks it's hard to know. Not much in his try assist either. A long pass combined with terrible French defence. I wish he could do what #15 did. Take the ball to the line in both hands and leave the defence guessing as to whether he will pass long, short, kick or run himself. Alas, even though he is the "marquee" playmaker, he doesn't have the ability to do that.
Click to expand...

Siggy. What a pleasant surprise , fancy you of all people replying to a Widdop post:)
I also noticed in your post" Maybe support play is one of his good points" is this a admission Widdop has more than one good point? If so, hugely disappointing coming from you
Saw the highlights of the game- actually saw Widdop draw & pass, run straight thru a gap
tackle one on one & throw a cut out pass
This i believe is a phenomenal improvement, as of a few weeks ago he could do none of these things.I believe If he keeps improving at this rate he might soon be elevated to the second worst player in the NRL
I do have 1 question though
Do you think by Bennet actually picking the worst player in the NRL in his squad,
This is a reflection of the poor standard of the English Super League or is it due to supercoach Bennet not being as astute as many believe?
 
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