he declared himself Scottish again not long back

www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... tland.html

www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... tland.html

I'd be happy to see Cudjoe on the wing for England (maybe even potential fullback in longer term), has always impressed me, not sure about Lawrence yet as he hasn't stood out as much as Cudjoe. I also think Brown could be a very useful option playing at centre, offering a bit of creativity in that position. I'm not convinced Robinson is really international class though, tries hard, but I wouldn't have him in my squad.

He plays standoff in the NSW Cup, I'm not convinced that should put him ahead of any of the other choices for fullback in the England squad.

If we have such GOOD players eligible for England and fighting for positions in the national team then why do clubs insist on signing overseas players?

Or is it, as I and loads of others have figured out, we just don't have the players or systems in place to create this scenario where there is a fight for places.

The "truth" AGAIN will come out in the 4 nations but still the relevant heads will be stuck up their collective backsides spouting forth that everything is lovely and working well!

I agree! The problem we have is players playing in positions that don't match their club! Is tomkins going to play 1? When did sinfield last play 9 for Leeds? Eastmond isn't fit, myler and gardner have been left out of their teams play off match therefore not first choice for their clubs!

brough is back in the scotland squad now.
i dont think we are lacking in players,it's just that some of the players we have got aren't world class but with the right coaching and attitude then it's not always about individuals but a team thing

people say we are struggling in the halves? i dont agree personally, obviously tomkins and eastmond would be first choice 6+7 but tomkins has proved he is equally adept at full back,whether he has the stature to take that onto the international stage,we dont know,but i think he has.after those 2, then kev brown and burrow would be the 2nd choice, both are experienced,although not necessarily at international level, both have decent kicking games,then we have the likes of myler,robinson who can also cover at 9,sinfield who can cover at SO,matty smith who has had a good season and has an excellent kicking game,danny orr,luke gale,scott moore who can play in the halves also,maybe not brilliant individual players but still they are options.
as for centre's, well i would say shenton and atkins would be probably first choice,but gleeson has shown the form this year he showed a few years back and could be an option? foster has been brilliant for saints and would also be a good back up goalkicker, same with cudjoe who can also play wing and full back,goulding can also play centre but has been great for wigan on the wing,lawrence has had a cracking season with the giants but not sure if he is international material yet and can play both wing and centre,i think centre is his best position though.as for the wingers, i think we have plenty options there.
so to summarise i would say the options are there for mcnamara if he wants them
halves:
tomkins,brown,burrow,robinson,myler,eastmond,sinfield,gale,smith,moore
centres:
atkins,shenton,gleeson,cudjoe,lawrence,foster,goulding,even ellis if needs be

Very true. Tompkins was looking good at 6, now he is a fullback. Lunt was developing nicely at 9, now he is a 2nd row. In both of these cases i think there original positions are their best. Some situations in the last few weeks of SL has created problems for the England set up. But if we had more strength in depth these problems would not be as bad.

With Tomkins and Widdop, it looks like we have two young players who are equally capable of being effective at full back or stand off. This can't be a bad thing and will give the coach some real options

Theres no issue with versatility
Just because Lunts played a bit of second row doesn't mean he's 'forgot' how to play 9 ala a pokemon move.

Our options are seriously limited at fullback though. Iam not convinced by tompkins at fullback (not his natuarl posotion) and think he may get targetted under the high ball at that level. Wellens (retired) and Briscoe are good lads but never had enough pace for this level. Widdop is the only other option. I watched the Melb v Dogs game and Widdop looked really good at fullback. I know it is only 1 game but the lack of depth at fullback leaves us with only 2 real options. And with Eastmond and McG injured imo this calls our hand and the only option is for Widdop to start at 1 and Tompkins in the halves (where he should be playing anyway).

I hope that McNamara agrees with you as I think that a Lunt/Roby interchange combination at 9 would work really well

Well except for the likes of Shenton, Bridge and Tom Briscoe who all played in the backs last season despite playing for teams that didn't make the playoffs. I don't agree that their is a prejudice against players from the lesser clubs. If you look at some of the players in the training squad its clear that if you play well you'll get some recognision, hence the reason why the likes of Watts, Murrell, Broughton, and Jones-Bishop are in the squad. They may not make the full squad to the fact that they're in the training squad shows they're atleast being considered.

I agree with you that Lawrence and Cudjoe should be in the squad, Lawrence looks to be one of the best centre prospects we've had in a while, has he played the full season at Hudds? Cudjoe seems a bit shaky to me defensivly but his pace and versitility are something we need, especially as it looks like we're going to go into the tournement with a few key players missing.

Have you read ANY of the preceeding posts?

Fullback options:

Widdop
Tomkins
Cudjoe

And thats just reading the posts on this page. thats 3 options right there.


EDIT.

Cudjoe's defence is sound, as sound as any winger's can be given they are often the target and 99% of the time he is safe as houses inder a kick.

Lawrence is one of the best defensive players we've seen in a long time, up there with the likes of Mick De Vere or Gary Connoly for defence. His try vs Saints shows his attack isnt too bad either...played the last 1/3 of the season as regular at centre/wing in partnership with Cudjoe.

Maybe so, but if Lote Tuquiri is playing for the aussies i'm not that scared.