2020 Super League

[adamkungl]

Less encouraging is the lack of news about any mid-season tests or pre-Ashes warm ups.
Wane's biggest problem might be the lack of games he has before the World Cup to nail down how he wants to play.

 

[Jack Deth]

KR and FC is for the nouveau fans. Otherwise it’s Hull and Rovers. HTH

Tosh i have been saying FC since 1978.

 

[Jack Deth]

https://www.totalrl.com/gareth-widdop-absent-from-englands-31-man-list/

SHAUN WANE has invited 31 Super League players to an early squad gathering with some notable absentees.

Josh Charnley (Warrington Wolves)
Daryl Clark (Warrington Wolves)
Mike Cooper (Warrington Wolves)
Ben Currie (Warrington Wolves)
Niall Evalds (Salford Red Devils)
Liam Farrell (Wigan Warriors)
Luke Gale (Leeds Rhinos)
Oliver Gildart (Wigan Warriors)
Josh Griffin (Hull FC)
Zak Hardaker (Wigan Warriors)
Chris Hill (Warrington Wolves)
Jack Hughes (Warrington Wolves)
Tom Johnstone (Wakefield Trinity)
Josh Jones (Hull FC)
Jonny Lomax (St Helens)
Reece Lyne (Wakefield Trinity)
Jermaine McGillvary (Huddersfield Giants)
Paul McShane (Castleford Tigers)
Tommy Makinson (St Helens)
Dom Manfredi (Wigan Warriors)
Harry Newman (Leeds Rhinos)
Mark Percival (St Helens)
Joe Philbin (Warrington Wolves)
Stefan Ratchford (Warrington Wolves)
James Roby (St Helens)
Dan Sarginson (Salford Red Devils)
Scott Taylor (Hull FC)
Luke Thompson (St Helens)
Sam Tomkins (Catalans Dragons)
Alex Walmsley (St Helens)
Liam Watts (Castleford Tigers)

NOT included:
Widdop
Hastings
Austin
Connor
Lineham
Handley
Briscoe
Myler
George Burgess
O'Loughlin


A strong statement early, showing he'll be going in with a fresh attitude and won't be wasting time with NRL has-beens and never-weres like Bennett did squandering opportunities for the last 4 years.

Here's the England squad I'd choose today

Tomkins
Makinson
Griffin
Gildart
Johnstone
Williams
Lomax
Walmsley
Hodgson
Watts
Bateman
Whitehead
Thompson

Philbin
Jones
T Burgess
Ratchford

Hodgson? McShane , Roby and Clark are all better.

I would add Connor to the squad for Sarginson.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Less encouraging is the lack of news about any mid-season tests or pre-Ashes warm ups.
Wane's biggest problem might be the lack of games he has before the World Cup to nail down how he wants to play.

For England to get regular matches, they cannot be depending on Pacific teams to make the trip each year...

They should be looking at European/NA opponents to form a regular fixture.

To me, the obvious one is a mid-season 3 game series against France. Not only would England have the chance to form regular combinations, it would also give France the chance to step up and develop some local interest too.

 

[deluded pom?]

Tosh i have been saying FC since 1978.

Nobody said FC in the 70s. The three main teams in Hull are Hull, Rovers and City. End of conversation.

 

[Springs09]

That squad has a lot of players left out, especially young players I thought might have been included for experience. There's what, two halves in there? Also a bit of Wigan bias with Manfredi and Sarginson picked. Manfredi seems to be a good player but has been injured for 95% of like the last 5 years, while Sarginson has been average since before he came to the NRL.

 

[adamkungl]

That squad has a lot of players left out, especially young players I thought might have been included for experience. There's what, two halves in there? Also a bit of Wigan bias with Manfredi and Sarginson picked. Manfredi seems to be a good player but has been injured for 95% of like the last 5 years, while Sarginson has been average since before he came to the NRL.

George Williams can be considered a defacto inclusion to bring it to 3 halves (which is about how many you actually need for a 3 match series)
Sarginson no longer plays for Wigan
There are 8 Warrington players and 6 St Helens players to 4 Wigan players

 

[Springs09]

George Williams can be considered a defacto inclusion to bring it to 3 halves (which is about how many you actually need for a 3 match series)
Sarginson no longer plays for Wigan
There are 8 Warrington players and 6 St Helens players to 4 Wigan players

I know he no longer plays for Wigan but he was at Wigan when Wane was there. What's he done since? Compared to Connor or Handley?

3 halves in a 24 man squad yes. This is a 40 man squad if you count the NRL players 'under watch' like Williams. Players like Trueman, Connor, Widdop should at least be considered. All 3 of Gale, Williams and Lomax have shown very little at international level so far.

 

[adamkungl]

I would personally pick Connor over Sarginson. Especially because he's handy at both centre and five-eighth.

As for why they weren't included - maybe SW felt certain players would get more value out of a wake-up call than a call up. It certainly isn't a final squad.

Regarding criticism of Gale Lomax Williams - all 3 have been key members of recent England sides.
They ran a pretty successful World Cup attack despite Bennett shuffling them around to figure out how to use Widdop. Lomax and Williams were involved in big wins over NZ. If beating Australia is the only bar to be considered worthwhile it's a high one indeed.
These 3 are England's best playmakers.
Sub them out for Hastings and Austin and we get last years GB shitshow.

 

[Jack Deth]

Nobody said FC in the 70s. The three main teams in Hull are Hull, Rovers and City. End of conversation.

Lol
Oh really? I am from Hull. Hessle Road in fact and i can tell you I have called and heard Hull being called FC since the 1970's.

I have stood on the terraces and in the threpenny stand and sang along to ''FC Aces''

 

[deluded pom?]

Lol
Oh really? I am from Hull. Hessle Road in fact and i can tell you I have called and heard Hull being called FC since the 1970's.

I have stood on the terraces and in the threpenny stand and sang along to ''FC Aces''

They didn't sing "to see the Hull Aces" because Hull doesn't have two syllables and Hull Aces were a baseball team. HTH.

 

[Jack Deth]

They didn't sing "to see the Hull Aces" because Hull doesn't have two syllables and Hull Aces were a baseball team. HTH.

Is this a wind up?

The following song was sung by us in the old threpenny stand in the 70's.

Oh me lads, you should of see their faces, going down the Boulevard to see the FC aces.
All the lads and lasses and all the smiling faces.
Going Doowwwn the Bouleverd to see the FC aces.

Or did i imagine that?

 

[deluded pom?]

Is this a wind up?

The following song was sung by us in the old threpenny stand in the 70's.

Oh me lads, you should of see their faces, going down the Boulevard to see the FC aces.
All the lads and lasses and all the smiling faces.
Going Doowwwn the Bouleverd to see the FC aces.

Or did i imagine that?

Did you imagine “Come on you ‘Ull” or did they sing “Come on you FC”?

 

[Jack Deth]

Did you imagine “Come on you ‘Ull” or did they sing “Come on you FC”?

What are you talking about?

Did you or did you not say nobody used the FC moniker until recently?

Did i or did i not show you song sung on the terraces and threpenny stand of the Boulevard in the 70's?

You are wrong simple as that. End of conversation.

 

[deluded pom?]

What are you talking about?

Did you or did you not say nobody used the FC moniker until recently?

Did i or did i not show you song sung on the terraces and threpenny stand of the Boulevard in the 70's?

You are wrong simple as that. End of conversation.

You know what I mean. Did you ever talk about a game saying how well/poorly FC had played? In general conversation nobody ever said FC. HTH. The song you quoted was poetic licence.

 

[adamkungl]

Leeds.. ugh
Disjointed and ill disciplined. I won't write them off again as I've been very wrong before but they looked so poor. Some decent individual performances... Prior, Martin, Ward were decent in the forwards. But the playmakers were offering nothing and it all fell apart. Gale was passive and flat. Lui is a bum.

Undefeated since this comment including 3 huge scores.
Glad I didn't write them off.

Toronto on the other hand I am confident to write off. They have too many weak players in key positions. They will struggle to avoid relegation, home games or not.

 

[Timmah]

Undefeated since this comment including 3 huge scores.
Glad I didn't write them off.

Toronto on the other hand I am confident to write off. They have too many weak players in key positions. They will struggle to avoid relegation, home games or not.

I saw a UK journo on Twitter say they only have 21 on their list at the moment? And that Stanley isn't properly registered?

How is that even possible? How did they go from rising star to dumpster fire so quickly?

 

[adamkungl]

I saw a UK journo on Twitter say they only have 21 on their list at the moment? And that Stanley isn't properly registered?

How is that even possible? How did they go from rising star to dumpster fire so quickly?

They signed fringe first grade talent (eg McCrone) on inflated deals to breeze past the Championship.
Now they're stuck with a squad full of players who are too good for the Championship and not good enough for Super League, on good Super League money. Their squad is terribly unbalanced with a handful of legitimately good footballers padded out with overpaid nobodies.

 

[Front-Rower]

Probably the best halves combination in Gareth Widdop and Blake Austin really dominating the Super League at this early stage HAHAHAHA No wonder they can’t get a game in Australia....

 

[Springs09]

So far apart from Toronto, Salford and Hull KR the other teams seem to be quite even. Hopefully it continues and the end of the year sees a real close battle for the top 5.