Peacock has been immense towards the back end of the year after finally getting match fitness. Hope he recovers from his latest set back.

Morley unfortunately has been on the decline, over the last year or so he was regulary out performed by Paul Wood and Carvell.

With regards Wigan players, mossop will make the 2013 team all day long and is the next big English enforcer. Prescott is no where near international standard yet.

It is funny i started a thread saying exactly the same thing after the last 4 nations and said the time was ready to blood newer players and give experience to younger players. The aim should be to have a group of 8 props ready to pick from for the WC.

I was roundly condemned especially by Warrington fans.


Funny that those sheep are all now agreeing with me when it may be too late to give enough opportunities to get enough players experience of international games before the WC. At most they will have 6 International games before the next world cup. That is not enough for the likes ofHuby , Prescott, Mossop et al.

I'm still undecided about Adrian Morley but I believe Jamie Peacock is done at international level. Lee Mossop and Ben Harrison are the two for me that would have been in the final 24 man squad.

I thought Harrison dropped off a little last year compared to the previous season's displays.... i am however expecting him to come back strongly this season.

Seems a Tony Smith tactic to me. Let the young player build up, bigging him up all the time, telling him how good he is. Then the first time the player shows some swagger or cockyness they are dropped, cast aside and ignored. He then gauges their reaction and they go back in, lesson learned and raring to go. He has done it successfully with Myler and Riley.

Both Morley and Peacock were finished a couple of years ago at Test level.
When the Aussies seem them on the squad lists I am sure they smile, Morley was on the way down when the Rooster downgraded their offer to him, he was past his best, Peacock is a myth at Test level always has been. Just a grinder.

The fact they are still selected suggests the selectors do not want to blood new players or they think that the two old stager's are still better than the new boys.

You can get away with it with props. Australia would have selected Petro again no doubt and he was around when Stanley Gene made his debut in the fifties.

No Petro is done and he knows it, he was afforded a few Tests passed his best out of respect for his achievements in the game, same as Price.
Even in the case of Locky, respect plays a big role in rep selections.

We do underestimate the quality of some of our younger players. I'm sure there are other good examples, but I get the feeling that if Mossop had been turning in similar consistent quality performances in the NRL as he has done at Wigan, he would have been a shoe-in for Origin selection.

Is he injured?
If he was playing for Cronulla probably not.
The NRL is a grind every week, if it was like SL where the Melbourne Storm played Redcliffe Dolphins 2 out of three games it would be a fair comparison.

I really am a big fan of Ben Harrison. I think he can achieve as much as he wants to in the game.

Heighinton, Ellis, Graham and Peacock all missing from training apparently.

I'd say fill the bench with forwards.

Widdop to six, four forwards on the bench.

If all of those are missing, do England have four more forwards to come into the 17?

Bailey, Carvell, Ablett and...?

Who will they be?

I don't think they'll all miss out. I think Peacock and Graham will probably play injured knowing what they are like.