i think its obvious why crabtree has been picked its because the rest of the pack dont seem able to offload the ball which crabtree does on a regular basis, something different to the other forwards other than graham occasionally.

On the fox Briscoe debate, I have watched Fox all season he is fast & brave & I like him even though he makes the odd mistake. Briscoe though is (if he plays to his potential) better. I would actualy have him at centre instead of Smith (he is leaving league so why give him the experiance) & fox out side him but maybe it is one season to soon for that. Briscoe will be in the team for the next ten years & will move in from the wings, Fox is good enough but an out & out winger once his pace has gone thats it with him, so with an eye to the future I would go with Briscoe.

Fair enough, i would be extremley dissapopinted, one is at the back end of his playing days and one has had his worst season in sl.

I would have preffered our chances with atkins in for smith, smith is a fantastic player but not a centre for me.

Pathetic. Stop talking complete nonesense.

Agreed - all the talk of the back line masks the fact that this current pack is nowhere near what we expect from the Kangaroos - don't get me wrong, they are a solid outfit and will do a job but compared with players of the recent past, they are definitely 2nd string

I'm just disappointed Sam Thaiday has been dropped, I have seen this guy play 20 times or so and I can honestly say I have never seem him dominate a collision in attack or defence - not once

I'm most curious about your new guys, so posts regarding Eastmond and Tomkins have stood out most for me. That and every other post was either about Fox or Carvell, who aren't even playing.

Why do a few of you keep mentioning Tomkins' ability to get under opposition skin? I don't think anyone has explicitly said they want him to do it against the Kangaroos, but the implication is certainly there. Do you really think it's wise for a rookie in such an important position, playing against Australia, to even have such thoughts in his mind? If goes in thinking about that, he's a dead man walking. He should be soley focused on whatever role Smith gives him.

For those familiar with Smith's coaching, when do you suspect Eastmond will come on? To be honest, his debut against us is reminding me a lot of McGuire 2004. Will Smith (stars in poor movies) keep to his gameplan no matter what? Say the Kangaroos are looking like running away with it at the half hour mark, does Smith throw Eastmond on to change the momentum or does he protect him by keeping him on the bench?


The "Nothing is Impossible" video is awe-inspiring. You would think they were highlights over a 10+ year career. He's only 22.


He has dominated collision in attack and defence fairly consistently in Origin, but frustratingly seems to lose a lot of passion when playing for Australia. Glad he's been dropped.

Inglis for a big man is very agile, he has the best fend in the game, some of the players he has sat on their backsides are worth watching on that video site

I noticed the channel Nine commentators were talking about his speed and they mentioned he had never been run down and he has scored plenty of length of the field tries.

He's going to be scared of our world class centres though

Was it just me or has he taken to "eating all the pies". His midriff seemed rather large in that last game - is he going the way of Ian Thorpe

What? Retire at 24? You can tell just by his belly? I hope you're wrong.

Huddersfield fan by any chance??

Crabtree has the potential to be great...he just isn't nasty enough in the tackle...far too easily hits the floor when he meets contact. I'm sorry if you don't like that opinion...but hey, deal with it!

I certainly don't think just because he's a Hudderfield player that he isn't good enough. For the past few years all we've done is select Leeds and Saints players...and oh..failed! I'm glad we've given players from outside the top 2 teams a chance...I'd suggest there are plenty more better than we've chosen this time...Louis McS. has proven himself everytime he's played for England but is overlooked for Graham (who plays well with good players round him) and I also have no idea how Shenton is in the starting position..but hey..everyone is entitled to their opinion...

But back to my point...Crabtree hasn't met his potential. I really hope he steps up another 2 gears on Saturday...cos we need him to play like the animal his size has the ability to be.

Often size that big doesn't translate to a great foward where a low centre of gravity can often do you good.
Give him another couple of years until he's about 27 and he has the potential to be an england quality player, im not sure he has it yet though.
Still, he's improved year on year imo