George Burgess omitted from England Academy squad

[JasonE]

I wonder if this means he has accepted the two year deal which is on the table from Souths ?

BTW, it's a small squad they will get over run against the Aussie Schoolboys.

England Academy Squad to face Australian Schoolboys:
Danny Bridge (Wigan Warriors) second rower
Greg Burke (Wigan Warriors) second rower
Ben Evans (Warrington Wolves) second rower
Rhys Evans (Warrington Wolves) centre/wing
Carl Foster (St Helens) second rower
Jack Hughes (Wigan Warriors) second rower
Ryan King (Wigan Warriors) wing
Olsi Krasniqi (Harlequins RL) second rower
James Laithwaite (Warrington Wolves) second rower
Reece Lyne (Hull FC) wing/centre
Adam Milner (Castleford Tigers) hooker Captain
Adam O’Brien (Bradford Bulls) hooker
Gareth O’Brien (Warrington Wolves) half
Sam Powell (Wigan Warriors) half
Matthew Russell (Wigan Warriors) fullback/centre
Matthew Sarsfield (Wigan Warriors) second rower
Ryan Shaw (Warrington Wolves) wing/centre
Cain Southernwood (Bradford Bulls) half
Jared Stewart (Leeds Rhinos) second rower
Jordan Thompson (Castleford Tigers) centre/fullback

 

[dibviking]

not sure who selects this team as there are no props and not one player from the best academy team this yr widnes, probably a wigan coach with a wire assistant.also theres no need to pick two welsh lads really

 

[dibviking]

...

 

[WireMan]

not sure who selects this team as there are no props and not one player from the best academy team this yr widnes, probably a wigan coach with a wire assistant.also theres no need to pick two welsh lads really

Get over yourself, there is no one from Widnes in the team because no one from Widnes is good enough. ;-)

 

[dibviking]

http://www.therfl.co.uk/matchday/results
haha look at this its all im sayin

 

[dibviking]

link sends u to wrong page but its got all the widnes academy results on there if u would like to back up ur fact

 

[hutch]

i find it very surprising that widnes has the best under 20's team when they arent even in super league! how is this possible? surely all of the best juniors are signed up to super league teams?

 

[WireMan]

link sends u to wrong page but its got all the widnes academy results on there if u would like to back up ur fact

Ok, the team has been picked and there are no Widnes players. Hence no Widnes players are good enough.

Consider the fact backed. ;-)

 

[dibviking]

we have one of the best academys going, when o'connor took over at widnes one of his first signings was stuart wilkinson the man who started the leeds academy that brought through the likes of mcguire burrow and sinfield, him and the other coaches have worked wonders with the kids and theyve been beating almost everyone they played, i went to leeds away and we won 32nil.
players want to play for the club that gives them the best opportunities not just in rugby but in life, we have links with colleges and uni's that our players study at. Plus they have a great chance of playing in the 1st team if they play with widnes, we must have played 10 academy players last yr in the 1st team.
the surprising thing is that none of these players seem good enough to represent england

 

[JasonE]

we have one of the best academys going, when o'connor took over at widnes one of his first signings was stuart wilkinson the man who started the leeds academy that brought through the likes of mcguire burrow and sinfield, him and the other coaches have worked wonders with the kids and theyve been beating almost everyone they played, i went to leeds away and we won 32nil.
players want to play for the club that gives them the best opportunities not just in rugby but in life, we have links with colleges and uni's that our players study at. Plus they have a great chance of playing in the 1st team if they play with widnes, we must have played 10 academy players last yr in the 1st team.
the surprising thing is that none of these players seem good enough to represent england

Alex Gerrard and Danny Craven, both from Widnes Vikings should have been in the squad

 

[overandout]

I would be interested if someone would want to give their opinion on who would be the stronger players amongst the England team?
Also who are the halves,and how are they rated?
Cheers

 

[Evil Homer]

I would be interested if someone would want to give their opinion on who would be the stronger players amongst the England team?
Also who are the halves,and how are they rated?
Cheers

Quite a few of the players have got some first grade experience this year. Krasniqi, Lyne, Milner and Thompson have all got a decent amount of game time. The strongest players would probably be Lyne, who is a very athletic winger/centre, and Rhys Evans, who is one of the best prospects over here at the moment. Rhys and his brother Ben are actually Welsh and hopefully will not play for England in the future. Also Adam O'Brien is a good prospect but not sure where he'll fit into the team with Milner captaining the side, maybe as an interchange hooker.

Cain Southernwood will be one of the halves, he was very highly rated and moved from Wakefield to Bradford this year but didn't really get much game time even with their lack of halves. He's very lightweight and apparently has a poor attitude but he's still got good natural ability. Not sure who will partner him, probably Powell who has just been added to Wigan's first grade squad for next season along with Hughes, King and Russell.

 

[overandout]

Thanks for the rundown on the team Homer.
Hopefully our blokes can go over and do well.
Is it shaping to be a bad/cold winter over there?

 

[nadera78]

Thanks for the rundown on the team Homer.
Hopefully our blokes can go over and do well.
Is it shaping to be a bad/cold winter over there?

Heading home from a party in the early hours of sunday morning I saw a brass monkey crying his eyes out.

 

[overandout]

Heading home from a party in the early hours of sunday morning I saw a brass monkey crying his eyes out.

That bad hey! lol

 

[nadera78]

That bad hey! lol

For this time of year it's pretty cold. And very wet. Winter is starting early this year.

 

[WireMan]

For this time of year it's pretty cold. And very wet. Winter is starting early this year.

Blue sky and sun where i am. If your cold, buy a coat.

 

[overandout]

Just wondering if any of you blokes would be going to watch any of the Schoolboys matches and would be prepared to throw in a bit of a match report for those of us interested but far away?

 

[JasonE]

It's not a bad squad, especially the backs but i can't see how they can match the Aussies up front with such a small forward pack.
England have gone for speed & mobility instead of size and power (not my words).

One positive should be is that is the youngest England Academy squad i have seen with over half still eligible for next season.

 

[WireMan]

It's not a bad squad, especially the backs but i can't see how they can match the Aussies up front with such a small forward pack.
England have gone for speed & mobility instead of size and power (not my words).

One positive should be is that is the youngest England Academy squad i have seen with over half still eligible for next season.

That could be a good thing. We have always had a bigger pack than the Aussies but keep getting beat.

Now the youngsters cannot rely on that and have to play a little to win, it could help them when they get older.


Not going to the games, sorry overandout.