I like your thinking.
It's only fair.

i believe only one player out of that 17 actually played in the semi finals...not bad for a team of mid table aussies

If they gave us Cherry-Evans i still believe Mac would select Sinfield and Chase in the halves.

I have been watching Australian teams come to these shores since 1986, I am sure many posters have seen more than me. If I were to look at this team and then think which players would make a 17 made up of the best Aussies I have seen only three of them would come close

Billy Slater is probably the best Australian full back I have seen but he prone to real calamitous errors

Cam Smith is the best hooker I have seen play for Australia

Greg Inglis is a fantastic player and would probably get into a Dunbar best ever Australian 17… although centre would be hugely competitive with the likes of Meninga and Miles to name just two

Of the rest, I can honestly say that they wouldn’t get near a best 17

Yes, Thurston is good but not when he is next to Lewis, Kenny or Lockyer

Cronk is good but he is no Andrew Johns

The wingers are solid but remember when we used to see Sailor, Tuqiri (at his best) and Folau named on the wings – now those were scary names

I could go on but the bottom line is that team is very beatable. I hope that the English team see it even if the fans don’t

Yes, but Australia probably will only be beaten by New Zealand.

As for Thurston he is probably one of the five best players in the world today, along wth Inglis, Smith, Slater ad SBW.

Is Jennings injured then?
And is Brent Tate really the third best aussie centre available? For all the flair on show in the NRL he seems decidedly average.

We need to stop this professionalism stuff that's in evidence in SL and start a fight in the first 5 minutes. Send one of the Burgii to tvvat Thurston straight away, then the whole pack goes in.
The Aussies are superb, but just like the Germans, they don't like it up em.

As great as the Aussies are, that team isn’t unbeatable. Of course they are favourites but there are weaknesses.

You swap the name of that team for England and we would be seeing people complaining that we have a full back on the wing, and a fullback in the centre being played out of position. That we have an out and out 13 playing in the 2nd row to fit in a prop playing at 13. That Luke Lewis is a jack of all trades master of none.

Thanks for that... not really anything to do with my post but thanks anyway

Im not sure id quite go along with that but every Australian high tackle, every bit of foul play needs the forwards in and about, pushing and shoving. If an ocker swings a punch, two or three swinging back at him straight away. If you are grabbed round the neck, he is punched in the head before has time to think. If they are laying on and slowing the tackle, throw them off, get in their face and get them worrying, get them thinking.

I've gone from thinking "oh sheite" from the first post, to thinking there's actually a chance if England go hell for leather. Get yourself doing the team talk pre match (along with Wacko from Mike Bassett, obviously).

That's not the strongest OZ line up I've seen. As another poster said,
Compare it to the other OZ teams, it's not as good IMHO
(Could still have the potential to post 50+) passed us though.

We're much stronger in the backs than 5 years ago. We had Welllens at fill back and Gardner and Smith on the wing.

This time we have Tomkins/Charnley/Hall.
We have a lot of speed and size in the pack. Trouble is can our half backs use them.

The biff is an ancient tactic now.
Don't like it up 'em? Do you not watch SOO? They seem to be able to handle themselves there.

Hard fast skillful rugby will win.

It should be actively encouraged IMHO.