what does England A consist of??

[newcastle_guy]

in the euro nations cup.
what players make up the end A side? is it the players that didnt make it into GB? or the top players from national league 1 or wat?

 

[The Observer]

AFAICT England A consists of the best young English talent in Super League under the age of 21 - they are the guys that didn't make the GB team.

 

[In-goal]

A development team if you like, the talent they have in this side would probably stretch the real GB.

England A v Australia will be a classic young kids throwing the ball around willie nillie against a very millitant defence, should be exciting.

 

[Stevo_G]

i don't think england a is restricted for players 21 or under

 

[PD]

i don't think england a is restricted for players 21 or under

:idea: emerging talent

 

[Jiffy]

generally younger players but there aren't age restrictions....supposed to be players who are "not far off" the full GB side

 

[JasonE]

I can't wait for this side to be named, it will be interesting to see who takes Paul Woods place, hopefully Ryan Bailey now that he wasn't included in the GB side. KIrk Yeaman also withdrew.
My side would be

1. Reardon
2. Calderwood
3. Aspinwall
4. Gleeson
5. Gardner
6. McGuire
7. Rooney
13. O'Loughlin
12. Tickle
11. Coley
10. Lynch
9. Higham
8. Bailey

res: Hock, Sculthorpe, Griffin & Burrow

Is Edmundson available ?

 

[JasonE]

Well I was fairly close with my prediction, only Ryan Bailey was not considered and Thorman came in for Rooney although Rooney remains in the squad.

No Coley or Griffin, Parker, Radford & Sibbit are in.

 

[The Observer]

Jiffy and Jason, would you say the England A team definitely picked the best performed players outside the GB squad?

 

[terracesider]

England A consists mostly of the young talent that would be in the GB team if Waite wasn't such a timid, defensive coach who picks his sides on favouritism rather than on form.

 

[Fairleigh Good!]

Jiffy and Jason, would you say the England A team definitely picked the best performed players outside the GB squad?

How long is a piece of string? How tall is a Chinaman?

In Britain we are far, far stronger at youth level and young professional (Under 23) than we are at the senior side. If you went on a UK forum and asked what the finest England A side would be you would get a veritable barrage of names. All the clubs in the League have talented young players who look like they could become world class. It hasn't been like this for decades and it certainly looks like the next GB coach will have a tremendous selection problem in finding his next backbone.

The problem in the UK in the past has been that once you are in the GB team, you stay in. Form, ability and enthusiasm seem to disappear as criteria, instead the same old names are wheeled out again and again. Players like Farrell, Forshaw, Connolly, McDermott etc should never have been allowed near the Ashes. Good players in their prime they were, but they are years too far down the line.

 

[deluded pom?]

The problem in the UK in the past has been that once you are in the GB team, you stay in. Form, ability and enthusiasm seem to disappear as criteria, instead the same old names are wheeled out again and again. Players like Farrell, Forshaw, Connolly, McDermott etc should never have been allowed near the Ashes. Good players in their prime they were, but they are years too far down the line.

I can`t argue with that .

 

[mono_mal]

i cant say i saw much much of Farrell this year for Wigan though i thought he performed fairly well in the test series.
i dont think he should be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Forshaw and McDermott who have clearly had their time and Connolly who may well have had his time as well now.

 

[Fairleigh Good!]

i cant say i saw much much of Farrell this year for Wigan though i thought he performed fairly well in the test series.
i dont think he should be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Forshaw and McDermott who have clearly had their time and Connolly who may well have had his time as well now.

I'm not saying Farrell is a bad player, but he is one that is so beaten up now that he cannot go into a Test Series without carrying injuries. Super League is incredibly physical and he always goes into the International matches with more patches than a tramp.

His record as captain and leader of the GB team is also second to....everyone that has ever done the job. He cannot inspire players or lead from the front. When the going gets tough he vanishes. Look at the capitulation at the end in all of the Ashes games, and Wigan's record in finals under his reign.

GB eradicating Farrell from the squad would breathe new life into our setup. There are better players than Farrell at both loose forward and second row so he shouldn't play. With stand offs like McGuire, Thorman, Orr, Briers etc there is no excuse for playing Scully there to accomodate Farrell.