He's got a point. With the exception of James Graham, I can't see what any of the NRL "superstars" have offered in this series. I've been most disappointed with the Burgess clan. It looks like Sam's been trying too hard. And the thing I've noticed most about the twins is the amount of errors they've made. Easy to criticize now I know, but I'd have picked Farrell before any of them.

half right there. we have produces some good hookers, Dermot was not that good but when he played for Gb he played above his ability and was fearless and had absolutely no respect for the aussies, never forget him squaring up to bully boy Harrogen, (big fan of the chief though)

sorry but your wrong. Jamie Peacock became a better player through playing A team think we all can agree he's probably a fur hall of Famer. Karl Harrison another late developer who came through A team rugby JJB another Phil Clarke another, phil Clarke takes some garbage but he's thoughts and experience from A team rugby are very Valid. there are many many more who have had great careers and international career who spent extended periods in A team rugby.

no ones saying that though are they. but Baldwinson may have been just maybe pushing for an england shirt rather than not even getting a game. he should have had 30-40 super league games behind him, and i am using him only as an example. there are probably 2-30 players cross the league in the same position.

Yeah cos that's what I said and definitely not what you made up to hide your terrible argument.

But maybe if Jordan Baldwinson was getting game time and being invested in and being developed, in 5 years time he might be one of the best forwards in the world. He and others in a similar position to him may be better than Tom Burgess. And when a player like Tom Burgess is losing his place to players we are developing, perhaps then we will beat the Aussies.

Perhaps Baldwinson wont be better than Burgess, but perhaps he will only be better than Mitch Garbutt. But even then Leeds would have improved. And that means one of the teams in SL has improved. And that means SL would have improved. And that will bring us closer to the Aussies, and thus the journey to victory begins. Brilliant.

Or perhaps because Jordan Baldwinson wont singularly be responsible for England winning we should just all give up.

Karl Harrison and Phil Clarke came through in a different world.

JP went to Australia and Fev, and was a regular by the time he was 21. He was an international by 22. JJB made his debut at 17.

Hodgson has certainly been disappointing, and hasn't been able to bring his NRL form to the national side. Of course this week he hasn't had Joey Leilua and Jarrod Croker running off him, but nevertheless he has still been poor. I agree the pack, especially the front row, have been disappointing. We fondly imagined they would be our strong suit, putting us on the front foot, but that never looked like happening. Despite all the comments on here about his size, I thought Bateman defended very well. I didn't think our much-criticised centres did too badly, Watkins was plenty involved, and although Percival failed to hang onto a couple of very difficult passes, I thought he did OK too. Our wingers are fine (as they were throughout the comp), if only they got a few more passes.

I didn't see the plan from Bennett with the halves. Even of he'd had a better game, Brown is surely the past, not the future, and in the end the game was lost by the time George Williams got on the pitch.

No but that's what you're hinting at. Same with football, foreigners aren't stopping the next top international coming through and even if they were, England are more than 1 international away from winning.

Also clubs can't build their squads based on what is best for the international team. They have to have squads they think will win trophies. Mitch Garbutt for example won a treble in his first 14 starts for Leeds so can you criticise them when he played a part helping then win trophies???

We have a world class 9 and he was sat in the stands.

It's because the ruck is so tidy over there it makes players look better than they are in and around those rucks. The rucks in SL are an absolute mess and only the really top quality would shine around that, inc NRL players. I'm adamant that Daryl Clark (closely followed by John Bateman) is the best English player and he was used at wrong times, incorrectly or not at all by Bennett in this tournament. Clark would look amazing around the NRL's tidy rucks, he already looks brilliant in SL around the mess.

No I wasn't at all. You simply made up an absurd straw man to try and distract from how awful your argument is. And yes we are more than 1 international away from winning but every journey starts with 1 step.

Because clubs have a wider responsibility to the game and to the youngsters who are trying to build a career in the game.

Even regardless of that fact, it is Leeds best interest to have players better than Mitch Garbutt.

Why do you feel the need to bring up another poster, has he annoyed you in some way?

If you're implying he will be elated with the result I think you're well off the mark. He's just probably feeling the same as many, resigned to the fact we aren't good enough & haven't been for many a year.

I think Bennett got a lot wrong.

Let's start with the halves. What coach hasn't worked out what his best halves combo is before we've reached a crunch game? What coach chooses to throw a guy in whose only played 40 mins against France in the whole tournament.?

What more does Williams have to do to get a go? Yes he was targeted when he came on, but how hard must it be to get thrown into a test match after 60 mins, at 6, needing to win and next to another young player, what sort of master plan is that?

Then look at the forwards, if your going to pick the twins, split them up, they are far too ploddy defensively to be on at the same time, especially if Hodgson is doing big minutes. Their form has been terrible. Sam also looks like he needs a proper off season and needs to stop reading his own press and looking at the ref for a penalty every time he's tackled.

Really, really annoyed. I don't think the Super League contingent let us down today (two wingers especially) but you know for sure they'll be gotten rid of at first opportunity by Bennett.

I get wanting to give the halves time together and needing to wok out who the best combo is, but the problem is that Widdop and Gale didn't work against NZ, Williams and Gale didn't work against Scotland, which one of the combos which didn't work do we stick with?

I felt this time it would be unfair to single out any player(s) for a poor performance. Bottom line was just the Aussies are better. It's not that our lads cocked up - I think they played as well as they could. It's just that the Aussies, particularly 1-7, are man on man better than our lads - more athletic, faster, more balanced, bigger, faster of thought.

Those Aussies out there are drawn from the best natural athletes their nation produces. Ours are drawn from the decent lads who don't play football from along the M62 corridor. The England RL team which could beat the Aussies is probably playing lower league soccer this weekend, and I struggle to see how we change that.