how Daryl Clark can't get a game is beyond me. He is 5 times the player Hodgson is but doesn't play in the NRL.

This post is frustrating.

Not because you’re wrong, but because I want you to be but I know you’re not.

Thompson is a superb prop, no doubt about it in my book. The big BUT is that where is his club form where it really matters; on the international stage. Webcke, Civinoceva, Fielden, Peacock etc. All made their names on the big stage. I’ve yet to see Thompson do it for England and GB (though I accept he was injured quite early on).

Now that’s not picking Thompson our for singular criticism, there’s plenty of others who fall into his bracket; Gildart, Hall, Clarke, Hill, Williams to name but a few.

The problem with today was that we just didn’t physically want to know or want to match the Tongan’s. If we’d have done that our play would have been a world away from where it was today.

It is what it is but we need an improvement versus New Zealand. I can only thank the RL Gods that Australia didn’t want to play GB.

Im sure Hodgson is a great player for Canberra but he has proven time and time again that he cant do it at International level. I dont know if he is being told to play a different game or if the team just dont understand him but he has to be dropped next week and Clarke must be given a go.

I think the point about Hodgson is that at Canberra he is dominant playmaker (probably more so than Wighton and certainly more so than Sezer). So, for example, he does an above-average amount of kicking from dummy-half. And for Canberra, it works very well. For England less so. There wasn't much organisation on display for England today between him, Widdop, and Hastings. I don't think that means that Hodgson is a bad player (or that Clark or Roby are 'better' players). But it might be worth giving one of the two a try against NZ.

He was left out and I guess has now flown home after the nines as Sam Tomkins has done. I’m all for continuity and giving lads who’ve historically done well for England the chance to continue that form, ala McGillvary and Hall but no Watts when players like Hughes, Philbin and Hill have been selected is crazy really. Those three are good players but Watts has been a stand out in super league all year long and should’ve been in. To pick 6 halfbacks but not find a place for Watts was always the weirdest call for me. It looks a shocker now!

No longer good enough for GB

Graham - burned out/plodder
Hill - Lost a lot of his physicality, now a plodder
Hall - Never a fast winger but even slower now. Looks old and tired.
McGilvary - Strong carries nothing else.

Need to seriously step up

Widdop - Too hot and cold for me.
Burgess - No longer runs his weight, similar to his brothers - declining
Lomax - Couldnt create beans on toast. Mega over-rated
Hodgson - Obviously good at Canberra but does not fit the national team

Time to give the outsiders a go. Clarke, Williams, Philbin, Grace, Connor and Hughes to come in but i can see Bennett going with a similar team again just replacing the injured players.

Well Connor will surely have to play instead of Gildart? I agree with most of that, but I think you were a bit hard on Lomax, who I thought improved GB when he came on, although I wouldn't make any great claims.

And as I've said before re Hodgson, he is a proven performer at the highest level week in, week out for Canberra. If Bennett can't make it work at GB level, OK, pick someone else at dummy-half. But it's up to the coach to get the best team out of his squad.

Because I don't buy the argument that he is overrated and only owes his place in the squad to playing in the NRL.

To me, Hodgson seems to look like hes doing a lot when in reality hes doing very little. Whats all this running sideways and then passing i just dont get it? A ball can travel faster through the air than somebody running with it. He just gives the defence time to move up on the edges and cut down the play.

Well, like I said, Hodgson plays well for Canberra and has won plenty of plaudits for it. If Bennett can't adapt his game to how he wants GB to play, it's up to him to choose someone else. Or maybe Bennett is happy with Hodgson? Who knows, he never tells us much.

He’s trying to take out and stand up defenders for attackers to run through the gaps left behind or hit the weaker shoulder of the stood up defenders and make more ground. It works at Canberra as the players around him are quick enough and have game sense to hit those lines. It didn’t work yesterday as it went back to kids RL where everyone runs sideways towards the touch line.

I seriously don’t understand some of Bennett’s choices. The amount of halfbacks in comparison to wingers and forwards is crazy.

Graham looks past his best. As much as O’loughlin has the back end of this year. Players running past him with ease.

If he’s so desperate for wingers who will make yards. Why did he not select Sarginson who makes as many yards as anyone plus can cover any back line position.

Watts not being in the squad is crazy too.

Agreed with all but one from the “no longer good enough” and “need to step up” lists; Hodgson. He’s a far better hooker than Clarke will ever be and is streets ahead of any other English hooker. There is literally no other option.

The “outsiders” list though I’d tend to agree with. Though I do question Grace, he would have been mullered v Tonga and I’m inclined to think he would v NZ/Aus but we’ll never know until he’s been put in there. Williams’ exclusion is down to his 9’s performance IMO which was sub standard. Philbin, Hughes likely excluded in the pack purely down to size. Connor excluded to make way for Hardaker who in turn made way for Coote. Connor should be given his chance v NZ given Gildart’s injury.

FWIW I think the only reason Clarke was excluded was down to needing a big bench to match the Tongan physicality.

Wayne Bennett as GB coach is akin to me playing Career mode in FIFA where I’m internal boss of a football team as well as a club side, you get an email saying you have to submit a squad ‘now’ so you just accept the previous squad without even checking it because you’re hearts not in it, your only coaching that international side so you can scout the players for that nation for your club, which is probably what he’s doing too. Eg Thompson