Based on those stats I'd have McShane over houghton every single time

Regards

King James

Luckily nobody is interested in what you think.

Madness. I'm not a fan of Houghton but McShane is so overrated it's unreal.

Is he heck overrated

I agree.
McShane playes very well in a very good Cas team and has some excellent utility value for them (covering SH if needed) but, he's not as good as Houghton or Clarke.
Hodgson has looked nothing more than steady for England and seem to be one of those who gets the nod because he plays down under.
Clarke is a bit better than a "scoot merchant" and can score out of nothing if he gets quick ptb or tha defence is lazy. IMO he's better at this than Houghton.

Your judgement is gash. He's probably been our best player this season. His defence isn't brilliant but ball in hand he's a class player. Not starting England quality but squad material.

Eden back in about four weeks.
Surely a certainty for left wing?
A left edge of Gale, Hardaker, Shenton and Eden gives England the best chance of success. I'd also be tempted to run McMeekan in that side (he plays on the right edge for Cas).
They might not be the best individually (though they might be) but the advantage of playing together successfully all season surely counts for something?

I'm not convinced it works. I can't remember the Aussies ever picking a bunch of players because they play together? They just pick the best players in their relative position. In the opener of 2013 WC the 17 Aussie players came from 9 different clubs!

We also tried it in 2008 with Leeds players and failed massively.

4. Senior
5. Calderwood/Smith
6. McGuire
7. Burrow
12. Ellis

Anyone who thinks Eden should be picked over Ryan Hall is mental.

The australians have SOO though, giving many players the opportunity to develop combinations.
I suspect Australia's spine this year will be Slater, Cronk, Munster and Smith (all Melbourne).
Im not advocating picking players simply because they play together, but it has to be an advantage.

Over McGilvary though, any day of the week.

Also why should Ryan Hall be picked? Because he's experienced? You need to move on from players who are regular failures but get picked just because of their name and/or club affiliation.

Hall isn't beating anyone down the left edge and he isn't chasing anyone down if they get past him. He also only has 9 tries (according to the SL website) that hardly screams "pick me!" when it comes to international selection, does it?

England aren't winning the World Cup picking the tried & tested failures of the last decade, time to give some new blood a chance.

Tries: Eden 34; Hall 9.
Tackle Busts: Eden 56; Hall 34.
Average gain: Eden 8.41; Hall 7.99
Clean Breaks: Eden 40; Hall 11.

Picking players because they used to be good is mental. Hall has been an excellent winger over the years, but his form in 2016 and 2017 doesn't warrant international selection.
On the other hand, Eden's time in Australia has clearly improved him massively as a player. At the moment, he's the best English winger and far better than Ryan Hall.

I'd pick Hardaker at FB and McShane at 9. Wingers, I'm not too fussed who gets the nod.

Only concern with Eden is he still has that odd concentration lapse where he has his elbows far too wide apart when fielding a kick which leads to the knock on under no pressure.