He had his limitations, but he did OK, and never let anyone down. He was far better than Radlinski when it came to playing for GB, anyway.

He also didn't have anywhere near as a good a three quarter line as we have now.

Hall, Watkins, Briscoe/Burgess/Charnley, Reed/Shenton.....much better than some of the three quarter lineups Wellens would've played with for GB.

Didn't we play Richard Horne as a winger for GB???

We also had Senior, Gleeson and Carney so it wasn't all bad.

Kinda like Sinfield you mean

Really? A handful of MOM awards for England, 2 golden boot nominations say otherwise.

He was awful in the first 79 minutes of that World Cup semi-final when he created two tries as well, don't forget that.

Samkins still hasn't produced an international performance even close to his SL performances. It also seems he isn't playing well for his club.
I know the NRL is superior but Burgessx3,Ellis,Morley,Graham etc have managed it. I don't belive they are any more skilled,just that if you have size and power it works better in the NRL than elusive running and broken field play because the NRL have defence very well coached and play to strict patterns.

By that token I believe Zak would do well at FB in the NRL.

As for the comments on Sinfield he was unlucky early on that Sculthorpe and Farrell were clearly better options at FB and then later SOL. By the time he switched to SO he was then competing with Samkins, Mcguire,Widdop,etc. He did very well playing Hooker for England given him being a SO and being no spring chicken.

Hardaker has to be England number 1 this year what else does he have to do to prove it personally I think he is better attacking wise and definitely defensive wise.

Zak is a much better defender. Attacking wise he is solid and steady and can bust more than a few tackles . His work early sets and returning the ball is world class IMO.
Samkins is someone that can pull something from nothing in attack that normally leads to broken field play and either a try or big metres made.
however you won't get that happening that often vs the Aussies or kiwis.

We should be team planning / building for the next ashes / world cup and use this game series vs the kiwis to blood/ introduce the players we expect to take part in that ,where possible.
That's why I'd leave out SOL for cuthbertson ,Tue former will be too old and he is already injury prone. It's also why I'd have Hardaker at fb, Samkins and Widdop in the halfs and Roby/ J Burgess at hooker.

Back to the original topic I think Samkins is feeling the pressure. He's playing badly, had games out injured and hadn't been a big success over there compared to others. In contrast Hardaker had a great year in 2014, and a fantastic 2015 in which he has been head and shoulders above every other FB in the comp. I can't remember the last time he had a bad or poor game.

J Burgess at hooker?!

Tom Briscoe is surely a better option.

Judging by Tompkins comments, I suspect McNamara has already told Tompkins he will be number 1 regardless. Which sounds about right for him, and probably Joel will get picked regardless.

Haha my bad !, I meant J Hodgson lol

You want your best players on the pitch if you can fit them in. Tomkins in the halves, Hardaker at fullback.
Don't see why Hardaker saying he really wants to play 1 is such a big deal. Journalists ask questions and sometimes they get answered.
Hardaker has been sensational this year to add to the impressive way he has built and improved his game over the last few seasons. What a player.

Did anyone see Tomkins latest moment for his NRL highlight reel in the Warriors charge for the play offs do or die game? His defensive effort of leaping out of the way of the attacker at the try line was something to behold!

Instead of putting his body on the line he just hurdles out of the way.



He has become a bit of a joke down here now. The sooner his pitiful NRL career comes to an end the better.

Which site are you referring to?
There is jack shoite on the forum re who should play FB for England so pray tell me where you get this information?
For what it's worth I would have Hardaker at FB but hey I'm just a goon.
Do you know what kn0bheads in Wigan call kn0bheads like you?

I think they're referring to this very thread.

From what I've seen of Sam this year he needs to return to SL and get his mojo back. Last year he did pretty well TBH, and I thought he'd really improve in his second year. It hasn't helped that he's playing for the team with the worst attitude in the NRL, who once they lost Johnson have seemingly thrown in the towel.

ATM he's a shadow of the player that left Wigan, and IMO playing full back is really hurting him. He's such a class act ball in hand but he's being forced to work really hard on the parts of his game that were weak, to the point that his confidence looks shot. I'm sure in SL he'll get his form back eventually, but I think for his own sake he needs to move back into the halves because he's below average at some of the most basic full back roles, particularly kick returns.

There was a thread on the saints forum, comments on here as Brisbane Rhino pointed out and I think comments on VR in the Hardaker thread.
Yes, you are a goon, I'm a whino and I'm sure you've heard of stains. Wether you want to admit it or not Wigan fans are some of the most blinkered and biased you speak to, even when talking about international games. When it comes to Samkins a lot believe his sub par performances in the NRL this year and his slightly above average ones for England last year means he should be handed the #1 shirt .if Hardaker was playing as bad as Samkins and we were pushing him for FB I am sure you'd think we were blinkered.
Especially if we said Hardaker at FB and force Samkins to centre or out of the 17.

Also, no need for the name calling. I'm pleased you found the 0 key but this not needed. Lets not ruin a thread and a good conversation . I don't want the mods to have get as ..ban / lock /happy as those on some forums .