Saw Wardle with O’Loughlin before the game at Wigan and he was noticeably limping.

Likely a sad coincidence this run of injuries around internationals then. He must be hugely frustrated with it all. Whatever it is, I hope he's available for the Ashes, then the World Cup and beyond. Watching Farnworth was mouthwatering and if you could get him and Wardle on either side, you really are running with a special pair of centres.

Playing devil's advocate here a little, but is Harry Newman not a specialist centre? I know people will have different views on his ability / attitude but there's no doubt he can play.

Either way, with Farnworth nailed on for 1 centre spot, we've got some good competition for the other centre plus Percival at Saints could still do a job (i know he's latter end of his career), and we've Eckersley coming through the ranks at Wigan (still long way to go before he'll get considered for internationals?)

The poster said special centres not specialist centres.

Yes Newman is a centre but going off the last couple of seasons he’s not a patch on Wardle all though to be fair he does go well for England.

yep, i did see that



i dont know / see enough of Newman to say he's special, but he's certainly capable of special things from what i have seen of him, whether he can do that week in / week out, its only likely be Leeds fans who could comment further

At Wigan we are privileged to see what Wardle does every week, and i'm not saying Newman is a better player, but he's certainly got the talent to be at that level IMO, but can he do it regularly?

I thought we saw good and bad from Newman in the series. He's a competitor and with the ball, he is a threat but he was a worry defensively. I do rate him but would see him as very much third choice if Wardle was available. Farnworth is just incredible and a clear first choice and Wardle is comfortably the best British centre in Superleague. I think we'll need Farnworth and Wardle available to give us a shot against the Aussies next year.

Newman is still raw but has plenty of potential. Needs to wise up defensively and also be more direct with his running - that crossfield stuff might work in some SL games but will be punished by the Aussies.

As with any international selection for as long as I can remember when it comes to taking on the Aussies we need all our 1st choice players fit as there is hardly any depth.

Wing and Loose Forward are the only two positions we could afford absences in pretty much (although there is a fair gap between Radley and the rest). Maybe hooker because we have 3 or 4 options that are much of a muchness but I do think O'Neill would be extremely useful if he can come back ok from his injury.

The Aussies are interesting. There will always be huge depth not it's maybe not as high class as once was because in the past guys like Nanai, Haas, Kikau etc would've put their hands up to play for them but now they're moving towards the countries of their heritage.

I don't think we're a million miles away from our strongest England team already but I would certainly have room for O'Neill in there assuming he can get back to something like his best. Wardle too

i think Dodd and Nicholson going over to Oz may add a little to our strength if they go well.

I'd say at this point Smith and Williams are the preferred hb combination, but to have Lewis and Dodd (if he goes well) could well be interesting, and give him a bit more of a headache. Will also be interesting to see if Welsby is moved into the halves at Saints this year, as that would add more competition but equally leave us light at full back, as he's not really got any competition there internationally at the minute

Wings, we can also add Handley into the mix, so we are definitely well stocked with good competition there

so in the backs at this moment in time, i think our potential weakness would be FB if Welsby is moved into the halves, as we have no real english depth there at the minute

Packwise, i've no real issues as we have some good solid props with Thompson, Havard and Lees all capable of doing big minutes, plus some good backup. Hooker we've got some good options, with differing skillset from o'Neill on the defensive, to Clarke / Walker who are a bit more dynamic scooting. 2nd row we are well stocked, and if Nicholson goes well, will add another into the mix. Loose with Radley, Knowles, Minchella, we are again well stocked with quality players.

i know to beat the Ozzies we need our strongest side to start and perform, but there is good solid starting side there, and hopefully with some further development (Dodd, Nicholson, Junior) over the next 12 months we can have a squad capable of beating the Ozzies in a test series

Welsby

Yeah, it's there or thereabouts in this series and you'd be surprised if anyone really jumped out and barged their way in for the Ashes bar Wardle and O'Neill. I think those two are in our best 17 and the only area you think might not be totally nailed down is prop. I'd like to see Oledzki really step it up next season and kick on. He was good in 2024 but he needs to do better and he should be getting in a 24 man squad with his talent. I guess his international career may be unofficially over but a swansong for Walmsley maybe 'if' he got back to his best. In fairness I was pretty happy with our props in this series. Guys like Havard and Lees are victims of the lack of opportunities at this level to show how good they can be and they more then held their own and Thompson clearly is top class.

I thought Welsby took a bit of unwarranted stick after Saturday. Plenty of Leeds fans around us where giving it to him but me and my mate were discussing how slick he is with the ball and how much he tested the Samoans with his distribution. I don't think he's had his best season but he's obviously a class act and he'll be big for us in the Ashes. I think that sort of environment will be right up his street. If anything did happen to him, I think we'd move Farnworth in to fullback. I believe that is where he'd like to play in the NRL but the opportunity hasn't come up yet. He could be an absolute sensation playing at fullback going off this series. He's a centre but is constantly coming in field and getting on the call and looks a threat every time he gets it.