Yeah, realised as soon as I'd said it.
PNG will be a decent test, control the ball and complete to a decent level and we'll have to much.

I think so too. PNG will have their moments im sure, but they barely beat a game but average Irish team with everything stacked in their favour so the game being played in aus makes a huge difference imo.

Davies and Wilkin in the BBC studio naming their 17 for next week both had Widdop at FB and Roby starting but then had a bench of Hodgson AND Lomax. Only a two forward bench against the size of PNG just to include Lomax.....no thanks.

I'd go

Widdop
McGillvary
Watkins
Percival
Hall
Brown
Gale
Hill
Roby
Graham
S.Burgess
Currie
O'Loughlin

Hodgson/Williams
T.Burgess
Walmsley
Bateman

Not certain on Brown but he was better than Williams today who disappointed and started well with Widdop and Gale. Likewise not certain on Percival but can't keep picking Bateman at centre. Question over who you have on the bench between Hodgson and Williams. Whilst Roby can play 80 mins would it be better to give him a breather during the game, if your halves are going well then Williams becomes tricky to bring on and your going with 16 men.

Reality is though that I think Hodgson will start and Whitehead will be back in the 17 and Bateman will still be centre.

I don’t buy into this PNG can’t perform outside of Port Moresby. The PNG Hunters play in Australia every other week, they are used to traveling and playing away from home. I’m sure the locals in Melbourne will be supporting PNG, if not as passionately as the Port Moresby locals.

It will be a tough game but I expect England to win by 14 points.

One big reason why we did so well with the ball today was that we didn't have the stupid shuffle step that Hodgson does to contend with, meaning faster ball out of dummy half and hence the space out wide. Roby has to start, but probably won't.

If we play to our strengths like we did early in the game today we will beat PNG comfortably. PNG forget how to use the ball later in the game, last week against Ireland they looked poor in the second half in terms of the Rugby they played. As long as you deal with the early physicality they really don't have the ball movement to trouble good defences.

I agree with this side, but as with most previous England teams we are desperately seeking a decent half combination with bang average players in contention. Brown will still look good against PNG, but will go missing against a better side in the round after.

Thought Taylor did okay today, still think he's better than Hill currently, Burgess was far too loose with ball in hand yet again and was at fault for their try.

Losing Hardaker is really biting us because having Widdop at 6 is better than having him at FB and Brown did okay but then you should expect to against that level of opposition, Gale wasn't outstanding but did okay, Whitehead hasn't impressed either so not sure he deserves a place oveer McMeeken.

Lomax
McGillvary
Watkins
Percival
Hall
Widdop
Gale
Walmesly
Roby
Graham
S.Burgess
Currie
O'Loughlin

Hodgson
T.Burgess
Taylor
McMeeken

100% he will

Anyone with eyes can see Roby is playing far far better then Hodgson but I'm sure he'll go with Hodgson starting at hooker. I also think he'll put Lomax back in at fullback with Widdop in the halves.

It'll be the team against Oz with the only couple of difference potentially being Walmsley instead of Heighington and maybe Brown for Gale.

That's what worries me a bit. Bennet is 67 years old. Grumpy old men aren't known for their ability to change their minds rapidly. In his mind, players playing in the NRL are better than players playing in SL, and I doubt the evidence of his own eyes over the last three games is sufficient to seriously challenge that prejudice.

I suspect not even Bateman agrees with Bennett that Bateman is our second-best centre, and I think you'd have to be remarkably NRL-blinkered to see Hodgson as contributing more to the team than Roby. But I also suspect that both Bateman and Hodgson will start all the rest of the games, no matter what they do from here on in.

Agree 100%. Possibly that was part of the problem today. Players who know that no matter what they do, or how well they played. All they were playing for was a possible bench place. It must be hard to keep motivated for the whole of the game.

I have always said, my biggest problem with Bennett is that because he coaches and club side, he can't go to enough games to see how players perform. As TV only really focuses on the ball.
But his stubbornness is an issue that we don't need.

Just like in 2008 under Tony Smith when there was a Leeds- Saints split in the camp that affected things I've been concerned that they might be a SL-NRL split in this squad under Bennett and if fans at home can sense that NRL players will be picked regardless then how that must be obvious to the players and how can that possibly be a good thing?

I'd keep Whitehead in the team. His workrate in defence has been great so far in the two games he's played. Might not have impressed with the ball in hand in the Aus/Lebanon games but very few players did.

gale yet to stamp his authority on a game, disappointing.

brown fails on his kicking game but always been a top playmaker otherwise.

would have taken having to beat png and tonga to reach the final at the start of the comp...cant wait for the final!!!!! huge chance now, hopefully found out best combos by then... though i think bennett already knows his team, just gave others a run out today that hadnt played to keep them on his good side

Imo our best spine is
1.widdop
6.Brown
7.Gale
9.roby

Having bateman at left centre could be one of our undoings if we make the final. He should be in the engine room, he doesn't have the blockbusting power to barge over, the pace, or the handling. It means that when we create those openings and half chances on the fringes, which we will, they won't be converted. To win the WC they need to be.

If Bennett selected players for the sake of nrl he wouldn't have dropped the other Burgess. Could it possibly be these players are selected because, you know, they warrant selection? Being that they hold down places in a tougher higher quality competition.

I think we have a fantastic chance here, if we can make the final, I think we've got that perfect performance in us, maybe we'll get abit of luck this time.

Maybe he does pick the players who merit it (though I diagree). But the problem is he keeps picking them wether there performances deserve it or not. Bateman in the centres is an example, what's Shenton thinking when he sees that.

You're right we have a great chance to get to the final. And as I've said before it'show the results that matter. But it could be said if we don't make the final own, then it's as bad a tournamentas last year's 4 nations.