it'll be alright...greg inglis won't be playing...we've got nowt to fear in a willie tonga or whoever they bring in to replace GI

I’m really struggling to pick a left centre – Yeaman is solid, no doubt but do we expect him to cause the Aussies and Kiwi’s problems? Atkins is probably the most athletic centre in the English game but he got found out badly in last year’s 4 Nations... has another 12 months under Smith’s coaching ironed out the defensive weaknesses in his game (the problem is he hasn’t really been tested in defence week in week out). I cannot comment of Reed as I haven’t seen him enough of him but as far as I know he hasn’t even declared himself for England

I would personally go for young athletic backs with a real view on the next two years and the RLWC

Tomkins
McGilvray
Watkins
Yeaman (just)
Briscoe
Widdop
Brough

Other notable players – J Tomkins as he can cover centre and back row and would be a good bench player, Lomax in the halves and Bridge who can cover stand off and centre (I rate Shenton but I don’t think he has had the year with Saints he would have hoped for and hasn’t really kicked on)

Ok then off the top of my head.

1: Radlinski
2: Offiah
3: Newlove
4: Connolly
5: Robinson
6: Edwards
7: Goulding

thats why i've gone with club partnerships..cos we don't have "superstars" in the /wingers surely its better to have 2 guys who play together week in week out,who should be on the same wavelength in both defense and attack...and lets be honest...charnley & tomkins and yeaman & briscoe are the standout english pairings..

thats a strength surely? and we have to play to that!

Josh Charnley is a liability in defense, Much rather have Ryan Hall on the wing.

Tomkins and Charnley get caught out on a weekly basis in Super League, but it's covered up by the rest of the team. You can't expose that to Australia no matter how much of a Wigan fan you are.

not got a problem with hall...i actually think hall,charnley,briscoe and j-mac are as good as anything the aussies and kiwis have...the likes of brett morris and jason nightingale are'nt special

im just thinking as a unit 2guys that know each other game is better than chucking 2 other guys together that don't...theres method in my madness .....and the wigan pairing on one side and the hull pairing on the other would work really well imo

Yes, yes and yes! I've been harping on about this for a while now. The main problem we have with our flanks when playing the Aussies is an inability to defend there. What's the point of throwing four players on the pitch to cover those areas if they don't play with each other week in week out. Two club pairs is what is needed! A pair spend the whole year or even careers running side by side in defence and attack, they know each others games and whereabouts like second nature. Why not take advantage of that? Why make four lads, new to each other try and learn each others games in two weeks?

Briscoe and Yeaman are a must, they have been sensational this year, especially Briscoe, he can open up a defence.

IMO we should play Leon Pryce in the centres. Great runner and great defender, he is a class above Joel Tomkins in that kind of position. JT won't create gaps etc, he wil just run hard and tackle his heart out.

We need speed IMO on the wings. Charnely could be an option but he is not good enough in defence for international level yet!

or the huddersfield pairing absolutely...not got a issue in that...i just think the wigan & hull pairing is better

1. Sam Tomkins
2. Ben Jones Bishop
3. Jack Reed
4. Kirk Yeaman
5. Tom Briscoe
6. Gaz Widdop
7. Danny Brough

So what do we have as far as English 3/4 partnerships go over here?

Briscoe - Yeaman
Charnley - Tomkins
BJB - Watkins
Hall - Ablett
Broughton - Gibson (?)

Who else?

And as far as i'm concerned I'd have Briscoe and Hall on the wings for a certainty with whoever inside them as in all honesty, they are all average on the world stage and pretty similar in the SL. If we had centres that were decent we wouldnt have this thread

does'nt matter how many pairings we have as long as we have 2 decent ones.....and we do