Luke Thompson to return.

Jack Hughes to centre and Zak Hardaker to wing.

Shaun Johnson and Brandon Smith are also back for NZ, so they will actually have two proper halfbacks and a hooker to rotate this week!

Part of me almost wishes GB gets hammered so that it helps get rid of Bennett quicker.

Who would have thought that taking only two wingers in the squad might be an issue?

It was clear when the squad was named it was chronically unbalanced. So it has proved to be.

Not hindsight, blindingly obvious from the outset.

Blake Austin to play on the wing as Hardaker is now injured. What a joke

Just can't see how we are going to win this one. Hope there is something to build on after the next couple of weeks as I have never been less excited about an International series than the 2020 Ashes, the standard of players available to our International team just gets worse year on year.

Less excited about the Ashes tour? I couldn’t be more excited, decent venues announced in good time, first time in over a decade the Aussies have toured over here properly. Final game in one of, if not the best stadiums in the world.

I can’t wait. Rugby League fans are a miserable bunch sometimes.

Only other replacement back options for Bennett were Williams and Coote. Perhaps he has some cunning plan to win.
I said on here we would do well to win one against NZ with the squad selected.

Embarrassing

You've got the moaning having to go to London to come yet.

I can not wait for the Aussie tour brink it’s on I thought I would not see another one in my life time so role on next year

Carney is spot on here


The Great Britain tour Down Under has descended into a farce.


I made the point previously how it was important to incorporate all of the Home Nations under the Great Britain brand - and let's remember, it is a brand.

To have Wayne Bennett appearing to suggest Welsh star Regan Grace not being part of the England set-up has worked against him in terms of making this tour shows how far the head coach is from grasping what the Great Britain & Ireland Lions team should be about, and how rudderless the concept is.

We've had 12 years to prepare for the Lions returning to the international stage and we have a coach who is calling it a training exercise for England's World Cup prospects in 2021.

We'll wait to see if Blake Austin plays on the wing against New Zealand on Saturday, but the selections from the start have been perplexing. When we found out the reason was to prepare England's halves for the next World Cup, they needed to turn the plane around and come home.
'"

Here is how it will play out. Like it has for the past 20 years. For the next year, rlfans posters will claim our forwards are much better than Australia’s whilst the more informed posters like myself, Jean and saddened will rubbish this claim. We will then suffer a whitewash.

Large cup of black coffee at the ready.

Lets hope for an encouraging performance.