i like brown but his kicking was always very poot at huddersfield and still holds him back, luckily we had brough to do the duties when they were together. brown had his chance with luke robinson for england but it didnt work out.

i like mellor as a runner he is elusive and got some pace.

gale deserves a chance now i think

Surprised JEAN hasn't been on yet proclaiming the excellence of Richard Myler since his link up with the great Todd Carney at the French show ponies

Wish Brown's kicking was poor last night.



I actually think that brown is a better player at Widnes than at Hudds, as he is now the main man rather than Brough's sidekick.

I always think half backs get written off too early at times. I look at the likes of Brown now, McGuire(who has become a far better all round half since losing his acceleration) both early 30s, Briers always had the skills from a young age but didn't really hone it and become consistently good player until later in his career.Even in the NRL greats like Lockyer, Thurston although always pretty top level were late 20's early 30's till we saw the very best of them. Gale is another example, in his mid twenties until he starts to find his feet and control a team.

[iGood point. Thats why if Brown is selected Mellors must too, as any other Half would jeopardise Browns form, whereas Mellor complements Brown's game and vice versa.
[/i

I agree. At 55 there's time for me yet.

It's good that we've got a slight bit of competition in the half-backs at last. George Williams hasn't been mentioned yet either.

Whether any of these options are good enough is different question.

That's true, none of the current British halfbacks are anywhere near as elusive as you when it's your round

I had doubt about Williams last year when everyone was saying he HAD to play for England, based on the fact he plays for Wigan and had a few good games, and i'm still not convinced he has any more quality than every other half in the competition.
Always rated Kev Brown, he never had a settled position with us though and i don't think we ever got the best out of him.but as a senior partner he has made Widnes tick, not just this season, but since he signed for them.
Gale was good last year, but then so again was Sneyd the year before and he was been touted as the next best thing etc.
Widdop... not sure, i don't watch much NRL i will admit but when i've seen him for England he hasn't really done anything any middle of the road SL half back would do.

Jury is still out for me though, where England's 6&7 are concerned, we've wasted too many years and possibly missed out on a very good partnership by trying to shoehorn big name players in from big name clubs over the years.

Gale was the best half back in Super League last season in my opinion.

im not just going on browns kicking lastnight.

brown was the main man for long enough before brough arrived and was quality thats when he played for england . he left for family reasons to go to widnes.

So Gale is too old but Brown isn't?

[i

Quote Leon Ashton Wrote: So Gale is too old but Brown isn't?'"

No Gale's game wouldn't complement Brown's, they'd be to much wrangling which isn't fair because you wouldn't be getting the best out of either of them hence picking a proven combination instead like Brown & Mellor. There's nobody better than Brown when he's bossing the show which the combination with Mellor allows and that's testimony to Denis Betts for cementing a great partnership. I agree with Wayne Bennett's view that he'll be looking at striking and nurturing combinations for the English squad. Lets look at combinations throughout the international game what's been used and .available.

=#004000Australia... The Spine. 1. B. Slater 6. J. Thurston 7. C. Cronk 9. C. Smith 13. C. Parker All Melbourne or Queensland and grew up together throughout their Schoolboys years. Other Combinations. =#000080(2.Josh Morris 3. Brett Morris Bulldogs & NSW & They're twins.) =#FF0040(4. M. Jennings 5. D. Tupou Both Roosters and NSW). (=#400000 11.S. Thaiday 12 M. Gillette 13. C. Parker All Brisbane & Queensland.) (3. G. Inglis 2. D. Boyd Both Queensland) =#400040( 11. B. Cordner 12. A. Guerra Both Roosters )=#0000FF ( 8. M. Scott & J. Tamou Both NQ Cowboys )
[/i

[iNew Zealand obviously utilize combinations with 3/4 of their squad having coming through routes of the New Zealand Warriors.

England's recent last 3 test teams. No Combinations
Spine. 1. Z Hardaker. 6. G. Williams 7. G. Widdop. 9. J Roby. 13. S O'Laughlin
2. J Burgess. 3. K. Watkins. 4. J. Bateman. 5. R. Hall. 8. J. Graham, 10. C. Hill. 11. B. Ferres. 12. E. Whitehead.

England team with possible combinations.
Spine: 1.Z. Hardaker/S. Tomkins (6. K. Brown 7. J. Mellor Widnes) OR ( 6. G. Williams 7. M. Smith Wigan). 9. J. Roby. 13.S. O'laughlin. (2. R.Hall 3. K.Watkins. Both Leeds ) ( 4. D. Sarginson. 5. J. Burgess. ) OR (4. L. Cudjoe/J Wardle 5. J. McGilvray. Huddersfield) OR ( 4. J. Turner 5. T. Makinson ) (8. S. Burgess 10. G. Burgess/T. Burgess Souths ) ( 11. L. Farrell. 12. J. Bateman 13. S. O'laughlin All 3 Back-rowers Wigan ) OR ( 11. B. Ferres & 12. C. Ablett. Both Leeds ) ( 8. C. Hill 10. M. Cooper Ex Wire.) ( 11. B. Currie 12. J. Westerman )

Possible England outlook Teams. With highlighted combinations.
=#BF0000 1.S. Tomkins /=#400080 Z. Hardaker
=#FF00002. J. Burgess. 3. D. Sarginson.=#4000BF 4. K. Watkins. 5. R. Hall.
6. K. Brown / =#FF0000S. Tomkins
7. J. Mellor / =#800000M. Smith
=#8040008. S. Burgess. 9. J. Roby. =#804000 10. G. Burgess.
=#FF0000 11. L. Farrell. 12. J. Bateman.
13.. S. O'loughlin.
=#BF400015. T. Burgess.
=#4000BF14. D. Clarke
=#4000BF16. C.Hill
17. J. Graham
As you can see Australia cement combinations, Obviously our game isn't as fruitful for talent as theirs however we are able to put a decent team together when combinations are picked. Obviously we must allow for real talent to come through even if they're not part of a combination but we must have combination factors i feel especially within the attacking setup mode.
[/i

Good god, the thought of Joe Mellor putting on an England shirt. The game must be in bigger trouble than I thought if he's considered international quality. Saying that, Matty Smith and George Williams aren't that great either. Personally, Widdop/Gale is the way forward.

[i Come on man give credit when its due, i suppose its all about opinions Gale ain't good enough in my opinion and Widdop's constantly slipping on his , you may slag off Mellor but name a English scrum half playing better at the minute. Their isn't one. And i ain't a Widnes fan..[/i

For me Brown is the best English half back in SL. The guy oozes class and the question should be who pairs him. He is a play maker who seems to be a second ahead of everyone. For me he needs a diminutive so next to him, Mellor has to be in with a shout. But I also Like Gale, who has an x factor about him. Widopp is done and has been sussed out. He shovels to much and offers nothing in attack. Flip side of all this is that Matty Smith looked really good against the kiwis. Mr Bennett, over to you

[iGood, fair post there Stan, you're quite right, who partners Brown. For me Mellor is the only half that won't wrangle Brown's game. Gale, Brough, Smith, all like to boss which would hinder Brown, I also agree Widdop's gone.[/i

Agreed, we have tried putting two leading half backs together and it failed. We need someone to compliment Brown. He is the man and am a bit dissappointed he's never been given a shot before. Always pick intelligent players who can pick a pass and knows a team's strength

He was given a shot before, when he was with us, our then coach, Nathan Brown said at the time that Brown and Robinson would be England's half back pairing- that didn't work out!

jon sharp signed them both and said brown and robbo would be englands half backs and he was right! albeit for one game

[urlhttp://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/news/12196/2709753/giants-move-for-robinson[/url

This idea of a leading halfback in itself is a bit dated. Thurston and Cronk are both leading halfbacks, should Australia not pick Cronk because he can organise too? The best halfbacks are all leading halfbacks, that's why they lead.



Here was Australia's team from the 2015 Anzac Test:
Greg Inglis (Souths)
Josh Dugan (St George)
Will Chambers (Melbourne)
Michael Jennings (Roosters)
Alex Johnston (Souths)
Johnathan Thurston (Cowboys)
Cooper Cronk (Melbourne)
Matt Scott (Cowboys)
Cameron Smith (Melbourne)
Aaron Woods (Wests)
Greg Bird (Titans)
Sam Thaiday (Broncos)
Corey Parker (Broncos)

The only real club combination here is Smith and Cronk together at Melbourne. You might argue Thaiday and Parker but Thaiday plays on the right edge and Parker plays in the middle, is that really a combination? Of course you're going to have more combinations if you look at NSW and QLD combinations, because they're the only two teams Australia players could possibly play for at that level.

Widdopp needs to improve drastically IMO. Yesterday he again showed the same issues as last year, creating zero over 80 minutes.

The best British halfback in the NRL this week was Josh Hodgson. Kicked one of the best 40/20s you'll see.

Josh Hodgson is one of the best hookers in the NRL now. Widdop got better a 2015 went on for the Dragons and I wouldn't write him off. Obviously I'd love to see Brown given a go but players like him and Brough are not going to be around at their high level for much longer. I'm not even sure if Brown can maintain this form to the 2017 RLWC. You can pick a squad of players to hopefully win this year's 4 Nations, but I thought England were all about longer term thinking....then along came Wayne Bennett. My head hurts.

maybe one step away

I'd say the opposite about Widdopp last year - started off well and tailed off badly in the big games at the end of the year.