Yeah, I agree. Lomax was the big worry for me, but what choice have we got. Sarginson was very poor. Play Bateman there instead.

Bateman got a knock in his first tackle but looked physically out of his depth all match. Never an international centre.

Hardaker looked big and strong in SL and dominated with his power.

He was the smallest man on the pitch in most of the NRL games he played, looking under weight, physically imposing himself on the games was simply not an option. Kids from the under 20's were conditioned better.

Bateman and Farrell for forwards are in that bracket too, against strong ANZ teams we can't play too many of those blokes. Certainly not together.

I agree. I was surprised Hughes didn't make the squad for that reason.

I would consider moving Widdop to FB, with Williams in the halves and Brown in place of Sarginson. To beat Australia we have to score points and cannot rely of a good defensive effort. So we need some players with attacking flair that can pass and kick.

Hardaker did look lightweight, but it would be very interesting to see how the 2015 version would have gone in the NRL. Amongst other things he clearly let his fitness go out of the window this year.

But its definitely true that the NRL is much more physical than SL. That's why it should be no surprise that our most robust players tend to do much better in tests than smaller ones (e.g. Hall vs Charnley). You can get away with smaller players, but they need to be able to play above their weight - in the last series here Farrell just looked way too small, losing the ball in collisions as a result. If Farrell came to the NRL he'd put on a heap of weight, as would Hardaker and a number of others. You just can't play in the NRL if you're going to get ragdolled.

I think you may very well be right about size in the NRL.

However Bateman and Farrell are the two best SRs in Super League regardless of size. You don't pick someone on the basis of size alone, otherwise you might just as well pick a couple of props to play SR.

By the way I went to all three of the tests last year and can't recall Farrell dropping the ball in collision (possibly once at the DW but in mitigation it was hosing down all game and he wasn't the only one - from both teams). Still maybe your memory is better than mine.

They are the two best second rows in SL in YOUR cherry and white opinion

Personally think Jack Hughes has been the best SR this year. Can do everything Bateman/Farrell can do but isn't as lightweight. Can't believe he wasn't in the squad, is he injured?

Hughes doesn't make enough metres compared to Bateman and Farrell. Hughes is a good player but the other two are match winners on their day and he isn't and I think too much is made about their size.

In the NRL they do pick props to play in the SR, look at Tapua and Frizell, who would definitely be props in SL

The way to beat this is of course to tire them out by playing an expansive game with lots of second phase play, but for some reason we try match the Aussies tactics of safety first rugby.