'13 WC | Group A | Australia 28-20 England | Cardiff

[Joely01]

Look at the rest of the team, he just has to keep on doing what he's been doing all these years, finishing off their good work, and he'll be selected unless he is injured.

I could finish off most tries that he gets to, he literally walks over te line for some of them, what I don't see him do in rep teams is the hard dummy half runs to give the forwards a rest.
He doesn't have any real spark to his game.

England would be glad that there is no Jennings or Hayne in the backline, only really have to worry about inglis in the back 5 now.

 

[innsaneink]

I love Ryan Hall....he's a beast.....who's charnley>?

 

[Joely01]

haha ryan hall might be a big name over there but everytime he's come up against australian wingers he gets owned. infact all the players do. even tomkins. they lost to italy ffs. young charnley is in for a big lesson on saturday, at least he will be able to learn from it and go better against new zealand. boyd and inglis' combo is just too strong.

and the bench? one of the best props this year, the second best hooker in the comp and 2 incredibly talented, experienced and top-class backrowers.. yeah so weak! the only thing going for england's bench will be george burgess but remember we have fifita too. no comparison.



yeah that's why people are saying they want australia to lose and they're going for england and england will win now. what great support! i can just see the support oozing out of this thread....

of course people are going to disagree with selections, it's one thing to disagree but to carry on like some are on here over a few selections in game 1 of a massive tournament is embarrassing.

It's embarrassing to want to smash the poms in their home tournament?
I'm a proud Aussie, and will be cheering for them, but with the team chosen I really do think England have a massive chance now. Some of the selections whether you are Aussie or not are quite laughable.

Has nothing to do with not wanting to support your nation.

 

[roughyedspud]

we would'nt have been worried about jennings or hayne anyway......

 

[roughyedspud]

I love Ryan Hall....he's a beast.....who's charnley>?

josh charnley...wigan winger

 

[Timmah]

Tim Sheens is a clueless idiot. GI is the best fullback in the world and DCE is the best halfback in the world. One isn't playing in his right position, the other isn't even in the team.

The sad thing (for international rl) is we'll still win by 20.

Speaking of clueless idiots, do you hold the same opinion of Mal Meninga, who kept GI at centre for QLD's eighth series win? The same position he's scored all his record representative tries?

DCE best half in the world? :lol: please.

 

[innsaneink]

Not many better that DCE right now

 

[umina panther]

DCE is the form half in the world. BM gets one or two right in every million

 

[Billythekid]

Yeah i think DCE is probably the form half of the NRL.

 

[Sujskiez]

i wonder who sheens would pick when slater is at his retirement by then hayne would probably would have decided to play for figi instead of kangaroos

 

[Puntastic]

Cannot understand the selections. I have to hope that Sheenius is saving the best for last. If this truly was his 1st string side...

The full 24 (?) man squad has plenty of question marks in it. Boyd is a shocking choice, and Third Man In Thaiday doesn't deserve a spot. Parker certainly does. The Cronk/Thurston origin combination makes Cronk more valuable for me than DCE, not to his discredit. Parker, Lewis and Bird are a bit light though.

Are Fifita, Tamou and Scott the only props in the squad?!?! I guess Papalli and Myles are the two backups (behind Gallen who can play there at a pinch)? I wouldn't be going up against the Englishmen with less than four props at any rate, and surely a couple more specialist props wouldn't have gone astray. I guess with that being the case, Tamou is kind of the only choice.

My top squad would be:

1. Slater
2. Hayne
3. Jennings
4. Inglis
5. Tate
6. Thurston
7. Cronk
8. Gallen
9. Smith
10. Scott
11. Bird
12. Myles
13. Parker
14. Farah
15. Fifita
16. Tamou
17. Lewis

 

[Parra Pride]

i wonder who sheens would pick when slater is at his retirement by then hayne would probably would have decided to play for figi instead of kangaroos

Hayne will only play for Fiji if he isn't first selected for Australia. Even if he would switch, it's not like we are short on fullbacks.

 

[Danish]

DCE is easily the best half in the world right now.

Cronk is only holding onto the 7 jersey by reputation, and thurston is an overpaid selfish sook who'll never win a premiership so long as he demands 15% or more of the salary cap on his own.

DCE will be the qld and Aussie half for over a decade

 

[watatank]

It looks like Sheens is being safe and sticking with the Qld combinations which is probably fair enough.

I think Myles is the most significant omission and should be starting, with Tamou or Fifita to miss out.

I would have liked to see Hayne in the team but I don't think his omission is that significant, same with Jennings/Morris. If there's any changes that could be made that would make a real difference, it would be Inglis to fullback IMO.

 

[Billythekid]

DCE is easily the best half in the world right now.

Cronk is only holding onto the 7 jersey by reputation, and thurston is an overpaid selfish sook who'll never win a premiership so long as he demands 15% or more of the salary cap on his own.

DCE will be the qld and Aussie half for over a decade

Who will never win another premiership ;-). I know what you meant though. Whilst i agree about DCE i really don't think it will be what determines if Australia win or not. Whether they go with Cronk/Thurston/DCE it will still be probably the strongest halves pairing in the comp and certainly isn't Australias weakness.

 

[Joker's Wild]

The Boyd hate is pretty funny imo. He has been in rep sides for the last 3-4 years and has never put a foot wrong that I have seen. Thats more than I can say for Morris but apparently he deserves to be there.

If anything, Hayne should have gotten the nod over BMoz

 

[roughyedspud]

loving all the in fighting...you lot are starting to sound like us poms :lol:

 

[RHCP]

Very shocked Jennings isn't getting a run.

 

[morningstar]

England 19 man squad....

http://www.englandrl.co.uk/article/33984/england-squad-to-face-australia

England have named a 19-man squad for this Saturday’s opening Rugby League World Cup 2013 Group A match against Australia at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, kick off 2.30pm.
Coach Steve McNamara has added four uncapped players including twin brothers George and Thomas Burgess. Huddersfield Giants forward Brett Ferres, who was drafted into the England World Cup squad earlier this week, is named alongside Wigan Warriors second-rower Liam Farrell.
South Sydney forward Sam Burgess, who has not played for the national set-up since November 2010 when England defeated Papua New Guinea 36-10 in Auckland, could line-up alongside brothers George and Thomas.
“The players have trained well all week and we are ready to take on Australia,” said McNamara.
“We have healthy competition for places across all areas. The players are aware of this and continue to put in the effort in training to make sure they are prepared and ready for what should be a thrilling game.
“There is a sense of anticipation and determined resolve amongst the group. This is what we all have been working for over the last few years. We know we are going to have play well to win.
“Our focus on the tournament and throughout the year has been about being the best we can be. We respect all opponents but the aim is to focus on ourselves and continue to improve.
“You sense there is real momentum around the tournament. As a team you want to play on the biggest stages of all and nothing can beat that. We are very excited to be playing at one of the most iconic stadiums in the world and our aim is to put on a performance that excites the nation.”
A full video interview with England coach Steve McNamara is now available. To download, please go to http://sltv.therfl.co.uk/ the file is called eng_mcnamara-precardiff_HD.mp4
England will hold their final training session ahead of the Australia match at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on Friday October 25 11.00am. Vision only - first five minutes of training. The rest of the session closed to the media. After training, coach Steve McNamara will do an ‘all in’ interview.
Tickets for the opening ceremony of RLWC2013 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, featuring England v Australia (2.30pm) and Wales v Italy (4.30pm) cost from just £20 for adults and £10 for concessions. To purchase please visit www.rlwc2013.com/tickets or call the 24-hour Ticket Hotline on 0844 847 2013.

The England 19-man squad to face Australia at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on Saturday October 26, kick off 2.30pm is as follows (professional club and community club in brackets):

Carl Ablett (Leeds Rhinos, Hunslet Parkside)
George Burgess (South Sydney Rabbitohs, Dewsbury Moor)
Sam Burgess (South Sydney Rabbitohs, Dewsbury Moor)
Thomas Burgess (South Sydney Rabbitohs, Dewsbury Moor)
Rob Burrow (Leeds Rhinos, Featherstone Lions)
Josh Charnley (Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Patricks)
Rangi Chase (Castleford Tigers, Dannevirke Tigers)
Leroy Cudjoe (Huddersfield Giants, Newsome Panthers)
Liam Farrell (Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Patricks)
Brett Ferres (Huddersfield Giants, Smawthorne Panthers)
Ryan Hall (Leeds Rhinos, Oulton Raiders)
Chris Hill (Warrington Wolves, New Spring Lions)
Lee Mossop (Wigan Warriors, Hensingham)
James Roby (St Helens, Blackbrook)
Kevin Sinfield (captain) (Leeds Rhinos, Waterhead)
Sam Tomkins (Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Patricks)
Kallum Watkins (Leeds Rhinos, Latchford Albion)
Ben Westwood (Warrington Wolves, Normanton Knights)
Gareth Widdop (Melbourne Storm, King Cross)

 

[Didgi]

Ferres and Widdop to drop off from there I'd expect.

Not a terrible side, but I feel with those halves England won't get the win. Still, in with a chance, particularly if they can stand up in the forwards. Off the back of a bit of momentum it only takes on error or piece of Tomkins brilliance to win the game.