Can see Joe Burgess pushing for a shirt. Greg Eden possibly aswell.

Only position for me which is up in the air is Centre. We've just got no quality there. As a Wigan & International fan I'm hoping Gildart makes a full recovery from his injury as he was putting down a huge marker at the start of the season to be thought of for international honours.

Shenton? Gildart (if fit)? I'd prefer either of those to Sarginson, and Watkins is a flat track bully who looked good against our kids last week, but has shown nothing at international level.

Watkins has just under a try every other game at international level. 9 in 19.

I'd certainly be keeping Watkins in. Other centre is there for the taking; I'd personally like to see Percival get another crack.

Lot more potential occupants for wing spots over the next few years, Eden having a storming season, Joe Burgess, Manfredi was awesome last year before getting injured. Ethan Ryan at Bradford is showing a lot of promise, he could come into the reckoning years down the line when he inevitably moves to a SL club.

v Australia and New Zealand he has scored 2 tries in 9 games, hardly prolific when it counts.

We won 2 of those 9 games and scored over 20 points as a team once.

I'm not saying it's totally his fault, but you can't justify selecting him on the basis of him being a regular try scorer when he only really tends to score against inferior teams. There is only really Ryan Hall who gets in as a regular try scorer (10 from 12 v Australia/New Zealand) regardless of whether we win, lose or score many points, he almost always gets over the line at some point.

I'm really not trying to defend Watkins, he frustrates me as much as anybody, but imo he is still slightly ahead of any other centre we currently have. If he is playing well come October, which he is now to be fair, he should be in the team. The only other viable options we have in that position to play centre are Sarginson, Percivill and perhaps Shenton. Bottom line is, we just don't produce anywhere near the quality in that position that Australia and NZ can.

I'm biased, but I do think Ratchford's best position could be centre, alongside Pervical would be quite the nimble centres.

Watkins is one of the few centres we have who comes close to the Aussie or kiwi centres physically. All the talk of the likes of Gildart and Percival being better at this stage is madness. It'd be men against boys.

Watkins has often been up against Greg Inglis for Australia, one of the biggest and strongest outside backs our sport has ever produced. I shudder to imagine some of the names mentioned against him.

In fact Australia's pure physicality, particularly in the threequarters, is often overlooked. Whoever they pick the backs will be fast and strong. We need backs who at the very least can mix it physcially, which is why the likes of Hall, Watkins and McGillvary have to be there ahead of the likes of Eden (looked a complete wuss playing for the Broncos), even if they are in poorer form at club level.

Indeed. Many said last year's Australian back line was one of the weakest ever, but it was certainly the biggest I've seen. All of them are at least 6'3 and over 100kg. The thought of scrawny kids like Percival, Crooks, or Gildart defending against them is frightening. I've not seen anyone in the academy grades who looks like they could one day provide that physicality at the moment.

The game will apparently be available streamed on line for a fee and not live on the BBC who wanted to screen it which is about dumbest idea I have ever heard.

RL is completely locked in a mindset of squeezing a bit more out of the same people and doing nothing to attract new fans. Few existing fans are going to pay for this game, attendances are being propped up by subsidised away travel, SL is locked behind pay tv.

International RL is the easiest hook for a new fan. Whether they have seen a game or not they already have an affiliation. It should be spread as far and as wide as we can. FTA live broadcasts get us audiences of millions. It is our greatest possible marketing tool.

Ridiculous decision.

I'm sure there will be a free stream somewhere online and because us northerners are quite tight. The RFL will then not make any money from this folly.