I was being polite

Why have you chosen Danny McGuire? Was he included in the last England squad?

Hope McGuire does not get selected, better having a good pre season at Leeds next year may be his last. Sutcliffe is a future England player (injury permitted) but not ready yet needs another 12 months to really kick on.
However both ayers form if it continues cannot be ignored as candidates for an England shirt.

The best England qualified half back I have seen this year is not even on your list, Try looking at a few Cas tigers games & a certain Mr Gale might get your attention.

My error to omit Luke Gale.


Unfortunately in my eagerness to make things right I changed the poll which, as I didn't realise, obliterated all 26 previous votes. Liam Sutcliffe was just ahead of Daniel McGuire.

My apologies to all who have voted before. Please vote again in the new poll..

I'm still trying to work out why anyone seriously thinks that McGuire and Brough should be anywhere near an international shirt now. Thurston & co would eat them alive. At least when Mcguire was younger he was worth playing but Brough

, not even half as good as the other one trick pony Sinfield!!

Sutcliffe is a 13 not a half back. At 13 he's nowhere near the same level as O'Loughlin or Sam Burgess who can and will play 13 for England.
McGuire's days as an International are gone. He'd do himself a favour by announcing his International retirement.

Widdop at 6 and Smith at 7 for England up to now!

I'm sorry, but even now in McGuire's twilight years he's got more ability than Matty Smith will ever have. And Sutcliffe doesn't seem to be doing a bad job of playing at 6.

I've never been that taken with McGuire; flattered, I think, by those around him, especially the much-maligned Sinfield. And in fact, I think the Aussies have more respect for Rob Burrow than McGuire.

The Aussies wouldn't give a stuff about any of our halfbacks if we're being honest.

I thought Smith did OK last year but his lack of a running game is a major weakness, particularly alongside Widdopp, who's also more of a playmaker than runner. Unless they're split left and right (which may be the case) I'd probably go for more of a runner than playmaker alongside Widdopp.

As an aside, why would anyone want to move Sutcliffe to loose forward? He's quite big for a 6, but he's pretty quick and has the skills of a stand off. If anything his size is a plus. The days of the ball handling 13 are hopefully disappearing - the peculiarly British obsession for adding an extra playmaker at 13 has played its part in retarding the development of halfbacks. I'd prefer Sutcliffe to stay at 6 and become a proper stand off, not some hybrid forward.

So to answer the original question, I don't know. I'd say Sutcliffe is a long way from ready yet and McGuire clearly isn't a long-term solution.

That list just shows how far behin the NRL we are

Funny, that. I've always thought the dull, defensive, Australian obsession with effectively playing another prop at 13 (with one or two exceptions like Glen Stewart) was a shame, too.