nospam49 said:
Isnt it funny how all of these people love to attack me (very personally as well) because I dare to suggest that teams that have not beaten Australia in a series of any kind....IN MY ENTIRE LIFETIME....are not up to standard.
Carney when fit....give me a break.
McGuire was good last season and has been over shadowed by his Leeds team mates this season.
Sinfield ia very very solid player, but not near the class of a Johns or Lockyer.
Wellens....Im not even goping are argue this one. Take a look at his performance through last season....its there on tape.He is one of the major reasons GB lost the series.
As for what other teams need to do to beat Austyralia..;..start a topic on it and I'll reply to those posts as well.
If Lockyer and Johns played for GB, it would go an awful long way towards levelling the teams up. IMO, and i havent watched much ESL at all lately. It is the halves and forward depth that really sets the two sides apart. I think that GB need to be a little bit more aggressive in their selections and gamble a bit more on youth. The non selection of Danny McGuire last year was a joke. When he was young and easily the form 5/8 going around, he was selected on the bench, from memory he was replaced by an old out of form Iestyn Harris. Now, this year he will be probably be expected to play a leading role even though he is not in the same sparkling form as last year, just because they didnt want to throw him to the wolves as their saying goes.
Looking at their side, LF is right. Fulback is their first problem.
Raklinski hasnt been up to scratch in all his games and Wellens is not in the same class as the Aussies and never will be. Both are solid players and can be called on in a crisis but they need a better fulback. Mather is apparently young (i havent really seen him). If his form is good enough, i think they should take a gamble. He wont do any worse than the above 2. Horne is another option who should be a certainty, although i think he will play halfback instead of fulback. Maybe a gamble on someone like Leon Pryce might not be out of the question
The wing options are solid. Carney and some of the younger players wings going around seem to be good players and more than capable of holding the Aussies. Centre is a position where there seems to be little depth or class although GB centres do traditionally seem to lift and match Australian counterparts. Ellis and Gleeson did well previously and should be picked unless someone has a purple patch of form.
Halves is a major problem for GB. Long was once a wonder kid but he never lived up to the hype. IMO, GB need to find their best two young players and gamble on them. I would have thought that McGuire and Horne would be the logical selections, but if the form of Sinfield, Burrow, Thorman or anybody else is there, then maybe they could replace either. Particularly since McGuire is apparently playing halfback now, which is my understanding.
The British Backrow is pretty solid and does match australia if they are on form. Sculthorpe, Peacock,Seinfield but there are only really one or two players i can think of who could replace those, if there are injuries. The front row of Fielden and Morley seems to pick itself, with probably a Ryan Bailey on the bench. Hooker is a strange one. I wouldnt rule out Cunningham if he is playing well but realistically it will probalby be between Alkers and Diskin who both shouldnt let the side well.
To summarise, my side to meet NZ first up (assuming all players fit and in form):
1. Mather
2. Pryce
3. Ellis
4. Gleeson
5. Carney
6. McGuire
7. Horne
13 Sculthorpe
12 Sinfield
11 Peacock
10 Bailey
9 Diskin
8 Morley
14 Fielden
15 O Laughlin
16 Gilmour
17 Walker
And for the record, i think they will make the final but wont win it.
