Reed didn't look fully fit after coming back from a broken leg earlier in the season. Widdopp is having a shoulder op.

Personally, I'd rather have Hardaker at fullback and Tomkins at 7 against Australia, as Hardaker offers a decent running game and is defensively pretty strong. When England have the ball Tomkins would play exactly as he does for Wigan anyway, regardless of the shirt number.

The biggest question is stand off. McNamara has picked Sinfield for the structure he brings to the side and his general kicking game. That's important, and maybe with Tomkins at 7 could work very well, but it also means not picking Widdopp, who is a more dangerous player than Sinfield with the ball and a very good reader of play in defence. In fact if you let Tomkins run the show, Widdopp would be able to play pretty much as he does for the Storm behind Cronk.

As for the likes of Heighington - bring them on I say. So long as they qualify and want to play for England then why the heck should RL be any different from cricket or union in picking them (why no bleating along similar lines from cricket fans about Strauss, Trott, Pietersen etc)? We're already way down on quality, tying one hand behind our backs in the name of some faux little-Englander rubbish won't help.

Just to add fuel to the last point, Mitch Achurch has already said that one of his aims is to to play for England at the next world cup. He may be nowhere near good enough, but given the real lack of depth in the england squad, the more the merrier.