Why would anyone drop McGilivray after his WC performances? He was one of our stand-out players. Whilst I'm not a Hudds fan and haven't seen him play week in/week out this season, unless his performances have tailed off dramatically that wing spot is his to lose. Johnstone for Hall is a no brainer and the lad looks quality.

The likes of Makinson and Davies (hopefully Manfredi can get back to his best as well and stake a claim) deserve a crack if injuries hit but until then McGilivray has proven himself on the international stage and deserves to keep the shirt.

I'd hazard a guess that you can't physically be awarded a cap if there aren't actually any games to play?

He wasn’t for the first 9 of those 18 months because he didn’t play.

Also with these calls for other wingers, it depends what you want from your wingers and Bennett clearly wants 2 guys who can be like extra forwards carrying the ball back and Hall and McGillivary are the two proven best at that. With Hall our injured it is a great chance for whoever gets picked but previously his continued selection has always proven correct.

So he wouldn't be furthering his career if he moved to a top club in England? One who actually challenged for, and won, major trophies, something Wakefield don't do?

Absolutely typical though of the total nonsense you get off 'Wakey' fans thesedays.

Not fussed whether Johnstone plays for England or not, but he's no shirker when it comes to bringing the ball up giving the forwards a rest. He's not built like Mcgillivray or Hall but he's a pain to put down.

Not saying he is a shirker or any other winger is for that matter, but it’s an area that Hall and McGillivary have excelled in not just at club level but International level. If Johnstone gets his chance this Autumn then it’ll be interesting to see if he can replicate his performances at a higher level against better players.

An outstanding talent, a real xfactor player. He'd be in my starting England team if fit without a doubt.

There is no question Johnstone is a different kind of winger to Hall or Mcgilvary.
Its about whether you think his talent has more to offer.
He's not gonna drive 15 yds after contact and stay on his feet.
He is gonna take it in, run through lots of half tackles, be elusive and burn up the turf, catch kicks and score in situations he has no right to.
I'd sacrifice that meters in contact thing, but there will be a horses for courses factor to consider.

The others can catch kicks and score when the have no right to. He does have more speed and can be more elusive with half tackles but how many half tackles do you think you get against the Aussies and Kiwis in internationals?

I wouldn’t sacrifice the metres in contact thing at international level because it’s more crucially al and you will have it throughout the game rather than hopeful that an Aussie defence is going to come up with half tackles.

Think what you like, it would still be stupid not to consider him.
With my England hat on, play him.
Wakey hat, don't, less opportunity for him to get injured, then he can carry on outscoring the league in the red white and blue.

its not rocket science

Has anyone said they wouldn’t consider him? Or that he shouldn’t play this Autumn?

I dunno, maybe its just one big long typo.

Thanks for highlighting that I didn’t say I wouldn’t consider him and just reading what you want to read. If any set of fans are dismissive of other wing candidates for England it’s Wakey fans

Here we go, pouting your anti Wakey bias - if he were a Leeds player you’d be demanding the inclusion of SLs most exciting player - ever crossed your mind that these wingers you so love don’t actually work and that the Aussies can deal with them all day long - grow up and open your eyes.

I understand where your coming from here but the stats don’t lie. Johnstone is top try scorer, top of clean breaks, high in tackle busts, has a good metre stat and has a higher avg gain in metres per carry than Hall and macgillivray this year. He does make good fast yardage and eats metres with players on him but crucially what he does do mostly is land on his front for a quick pob.

So I do see where your coming from but Tom has more to his game than just scoring, clean breaks and speed. Just wanted to highlight that.

So you think Hall and McGillivary don’t work at International level and the Aussies have dealt with them easily? Pretty much most agreed our best area in the World Cup were our wingers.

Still ignore what Hall has done consistently for a decade at international level and in GF’s, CCF’s, WCC’s and Semi Finals and has lead to an NRL club signing him even post aged 30......because Johnstone scored a hatrtick against a Catalans team going through the moments post CC Final.

People are comparing Johnstones defence with that of wingers who play for teams who are better overall defensively than Wakey. He is going to look worse because he is more exposed. If he played for Wigan, Saints or Cas he wouldn’t have as many situations to deal with and there wouldn’t be this questioning of his defence.

His defence isn’t as bad as made out but his other attributes far outweigh any perceived weaknesses in that regard.

I am biased as a wakey fan but I would say he is the most complete winger knocking about in SL at present. There are others who are on a par or possibly slightly better in certain areas but none who are as good over all of the skills required of a winger imo

I think we should try navigate around your BS and cut straight to the chase, lets take "consider" out of the equation and go to "play" or "not play", then there can be no fog knitting and semantic rubbish muddying the waters.
Atm, it looks like not play, the reasons for that are detailed in your typo, but who knows.

Please see my post above. Proved by stats. Nobody is doubting what Hall has done and he is great winger who’s been good for England.

If you want to avoid fog knitting then admit, I didn’t say I wouldn’t consider him. I think he was worth considering end of 2016, 2017 was a write off for injury. 2018 probably worth the other wing spot because of Hall’s absence. If Hall wasn’t injured I’d go with Hall over him simply because he is the proven player.

What is the biggest game Johnstone has played in and excelled?

Fair play to your previous post which was a very good argument. My reply to the other poster was giving Johnstone the level of respect that that poster gave Hall and McGillivary who he clearly dismissed their international performances.

This. Johnstone looks flashy with ball in hand and space, like so many others before him (Greg Eden comes to mind!) Maybe people are forgetting that McGillvary was in with a shot of player of the tournament in the last world cup, from a field of only three candidates internationally... and Hall has consistently been class for the last ten years.

When and only when one of these two fall from grace should anyone else be considered. Really, winger is the ONLY position we were world class in at the last tournament and people are trying to line up replacements. Laughable

I won’t get involved in that one. I can’t see anyone doubting the good job both Hall and macgillivray have done. Undoubtably good players and done a great service for England. Johnstone is part of the next crop coming through and I hope he can achieve as much on the international scene as hall who in sure Tom will both habe respect for and the enthusiasm to continue a strong left wing position should he get the chance.

Thanks for replying btw. Good to have a discussion. It’s what these are for afterall.

I think one of the problems is lack of fixtures in international. You play so few can you really drop proven players for potentially good but unproven players against Oz and NZ in WC and 4N games. Not like football we’re you have so many games to try different players.

If he gets his shot this Autumn then realistically he’s not had to wait that long for an international shot especially factoring in his 2017 injury ruling him out of that year.

Why should a player be judged on how many trophies a TEAM wins, or one that has proved he can outperform the other wingers in the Comp playing for a 5th placed team That surely is how an individual is judged not a team. it's not as if he's playing for Widnes at the bottom of the league is it.
Moving from Trinity to Saints or Wigan isn't even necessarily going to make him a better player at all, could have the opposite effect & he may not fit in at either club as we've seen with other players.
Like the point I originally made, which is quite bloody obvious, it's one of the reasons we have guys from England playing there. A move to the NRL and the better coaching and the week in week out standard of the sides would see him against the best and potentially make him a better player. Hard to understand, isn't it.



A typical fruity little anti-Wakey response that doesn't know their a-hole from their elbow.

As far as England selection Hall and McGillvery are the 2 wingers at present and I've no problem with that. Hall, in particular, seems to excel for England even when his Leeds performances haven't. If Hall is out imo Johnstone is the next cab off the rank and ateotd we should be blooding the next generation in at some point whether that's Johnstone or not