In his post match interview he said very little but what he did say was that James Roby was left out to give George Williams a game. That sort of says he’s reluctant to leave out Hodgson or Gale , both of whom have brought very little to the team. Roby is miles better than Hodgson and can easily play 80 minutes. Hodgson distribution is too slow. Bennett is far too obsessed with NRL players

Team should be

Widdop
McGillvary
Percival
Currie
Hall
Williams
Gale
Taylor
Roby
Graham
Burgess S ( when fit )
Bateman
O’Loughlin

Burgess T
Walmsley
Ratchford
McMeekin

Heighington brings nothing, Whitehead is a penalty machine and Hodgson overrated as is Watkins, and Hill is not the player he was

Roby is the key for England , he plays we play better ! However , Bennett will stick to his NRL favourites

Watkins is a shoe in, showing good form so far

It's obvious what Roby brings. Gale and Widdop need as much time as possible.

Nothing wrong with Watkins and I haven't seen many complaints about Whitehead either.

Its very much looking that way, Heighington, Whitehead and Hodgson very overrated in what we've seen so far.

His biggest failing so far is his NRL bias for me. I just can't have it that Hodgson is a better player than Roby, that Scott Taylor or Mike McMeekan wouldn't offer more than Heighington or even that Whitehead is bringing more in that backrow then Currie or Bateman could (and are doing but with one out of position).

I'd also love to see Widdop at fullback and give Taylor a crack over a struggling Chris Hill. I'd go with-

Widdop
McGillvary Watkins Percival Hall
Williams Gale
Taylor Roby Graham
Bateman Currie O'Loughlin

Subs
T Burgess Walmsley Whitehead Hodgson

Percival would get absolutely Annihilated against Australia or New Zealand
Bateman simply isn't big enough to play international rugby in the back row,that is why he was picked to play as a centre
Ratchford would have to defend somewhere really safe on the field because he's a traffic warden defensiveley,where would you put him so that he was not exposed?

Bateman has proven size isn't an issue for him. He's making good ground with the ball and is tenacious in defence. He just isn't a centre. The much lauded Elliot Whitehead is bigger but is offering far less with ball in hand.

To be fair Watkins has done ok . He does have all the attributes to be world class but he doesn't show them anywhere near often enough.

Currie can play second row or centre , and Percival deserves a run out at some point. He may now get a place on the wing if McGillvary gets a ban

What damage would Bateman do whilst playing out wide in the back row against Australia or New Zealand?

The OP's team looks a damn sight more effective than Bennett's selections so far.
Never rated Hodgson, can't remember when Whitehead last had a decent game for England, and as for Heighington.......the less said the better. As for Gale, I think we need to persevere - he clearly is a decent player but not sure if Bennett knows how to get the best out of him. Whilst Sneyd can be predictable, he has a proven big game temperament - which seems to be lacking in Gale's skillset right now.

Agree with this. As does the World’s most successful coach, Wayne Bennett.

He made plenty of ground last season against them and he did last week as well. He also had a superb game playing against a back row of Wade Graham, Luke Lewis and Paul Gallen over here in the WCC in Feb (with a busted shoulder).

He's never a centre but to write him off as an international back rower is way off imo. As I say he's producing far more statistically then a top NRL player in Elliot Whitehead.

Just to add some statistical context in regards to carries/meters-

Vs Australia

Bateman 19 carries for 152 metres

Whitehead 8 carries for 59 metres

Vs Lebanon

Bateman 11 carries for 118 metres

Whitehead 9 carries for 72 metres

Currie 14 carries for 136 metres

Maybe Bateman might end up not being big enough to play 2nd row at this level....but I'd rather try it first than just dismiss it without giving him the opportunity.

Nicky - Whitehead is playing more centrally than Bateman, and making a shedload more tackles. If you're going to try to use stats then at least be fair. Bateman's on line defence is poor IMO, but he may improve as he's not used to defending as wide as he is for England.

I understand your point but Bateman has been running into the teeth of the defence throughout both games. It's not like he's been making easy metres with 50 metre line breaks so I think the comparison is a valid one. The point re: defence is a fair one but to level this up Whitehead has given away some stupid and costly penalties.