he can always change his mind and be playing origin in a few months ala Uate!

he can always change his mind and be playing origin in a few months ala Uate!

Whoever is debating that Ellis isn't a good player is quite simply wrong. Tim Sheens said he was the best dollar for dollar signing the club has ever had. He has been awarded Wests player of the year for 09 and 10. He's probably in the top 5 forwards in the NRL. I'd say the list would be: Gallen, Ellis, Burgess, Thaiday, Scott. (Thats just my opinion)

If Sam Burgess was fit Ellis should play in the centres, as if he had an Inglis running at him he would be able to handle it. If Inglis ran at lets say Shenton, I would be embarassed to see what happens. But because Burgess is injured I think Ellis needs to go back into the second row along side Westwood because I don't think we would be able to put someone in there who would get through as much work as him.

Reed is a good player, regardless if he has only played 20ish games in the NRL he has made the step up comfortably and you would think he would of been playing in the position for the last 3 years in the NRL. If we could get him for England he should go straight in. If he has been mentioned playing origin he is clearly a good player.

People mention our backline being exceptionally weak. The Aus/NZ backline run through our three quarters which is why we lose games. If we sort our defence out we may have a the slightest of chance. If we had everyone fit, and who is eligible for England I would play:

Sam Tomkins
Tom Briscoe
Jack Reed
Gareth Ellis
Jermaine Mcgilvary
Gareth Widdop
Danny Brough
James Graham
James Roby
Adrian Morley
Sam Burgess
Ben Westwood
Sean Oloughlin

Eorl Crabtree
Lee Mossop
Luke Burgess
Jonny Lomax

Well coached, and prepared we could have a chance against the Aussies/NZ. But our coach is useless.

Carvell has been immense when I've seen him this season.

Regarding Lomax, his inclusion could be a good shout. I would perhaps conceed there's better out and out 7s as (for a start) he doesn't have a kicking game, so whoever partners him would need to, but he's a very rumbustuous and fearless player and doesn't mind doing the work in close proximity of the defending forwards, he's also strong enough to get by in those situations. When your up against the best in the world, your not going to have much freedom, so these talents could be a real asset.

I picked Lomax over Robinson as he can also play in the outside backs where he started when he broke into the Saints team. I don't think we need an interchange hooker as Roby can play 80 minutes, if he can do that at international level is something different all together. Reason why I picked Burgess is because he is young, Carvell is in his 30's and isn't the future of our English game. The 1 - 7 is still young, (apart from Brough and Ellis) So the majority of it will still be playing and getting better for the 2013 world cup. When Watkins is ready for International level i'd put him at centre and put Ellis back in the pack where he belongs, but I've put him at centre for now because I don't think there is anyone else good enough in attack and defence to do a job at international level.

I don't think we have much chance at the 4N, but I think we will come 2013.

How many first grade games had Gareth Widdop played before his England debut?

I can't work out if you are posting this in support of my argument or against it

While Widdop is a good player and a pretty good bet for the 4 Nations this year after a second (and full) year in the NRL, it is fair to say he was probably thrown into the international game too early last year

Another cracking week for Gareth Ellis as he continues crushing 'em, mashing 'em and ripping it up big-style in the NRL.

Hit-Ups, Farah 9, Fulton 11, Galloway 13, Gibbs 14, Heighington 15.
All Run Meters, Fulton 58, Farah 80, Galloway 103, Heighington 108, Gibbs 136.
Tackles, Gibbs 22, Heighington 25, Galloway 26, Farah 34, Fulton 45.
Missed Tackles, Heighington 2, Fulton 2, Galloway 1, Gibbs 0, Farah 0.
Ineffective Tackles, Heighington 1, Galloway 1, Farah 1, Gibbs 0, Fulton 0.
Offloads, Heighington 1, Fulton 1.
Tackle Breaks, Farah 1, Galloway 2, Heighington 2, Galloway 3.

Also good to witness his [i'game-breaking'[/i offloads again.

The 6th best Tigers forward this week according to those stats.

Sure he could handle Inglis

Meanwhile, in the real world.....

Jack Reed will not be playing for England

he's not even that good....


from what i've seen on NRL FULLTIME his defence,especially in his own 20 is questionable,his tries are'nt nothing our guys don't already do...and that try he scored from the halfway line was more down to crap tackling than excellent play...

just cos he playing in the NRL does'nt mean he's a automatic pick for england.........christ he was laying brick last year...

Ellis is a predominantly left sided defender so would line up on the opposite side to Inglis but would be too good in defence for SKD in the games against NZ.
Joel Tomkins is a right sided player so he would be the one to face Inglis if we were to pick him as a centre.

A good post. It's a crying shame more people don't look at the statistics before mentioning Gareth Ellis 'crushing' the opposition.