I'm surprised how so few people have mentioned Kevin brown, been outstanding this year. Could he do it at international level in the halves? Him and widdop?

Full back:
Tomkins, Hardaker

Wing:
Hall, Briscoe (Cant really pick Charnley at the moment)

Centre:
Watkins, Cudjoe, Reed

Halves:
Sinfield, Widdop, Chase

Hooker:
Mcllorum, Roby

Prop
Graham, G Burgess, Hill, L Burgess, Taylor, Walmsley

Back Row
O'Loughlin, Westwood, Farrell, Ablett, Bateman, Westerman

I was going to ask about him, seems to have gone up a gear when I've seen him lately. Tough, hardworking and a good all round skill set.

From Saints, Lomax is our gem. None of us would swap him for Hardaker.
Our starting front row is a real strength. Amor, Roby and Walmsley.
Walmsley has some silly errors in him, but his go forward is immense.
Roby's starting to look jaded from being flogged for 80 minutes a week, but is still England's best hooker. I'd like to see him interchanged with Clarke - very exciting.
Amor's been a real rock. He's out injured for awhile now, but should be back in good time to stake a decent claim.

Supposed to be picked on form, and not one Cas player in the 24man squad. Aye, alright.

If I were picking a 17 for a match tomorrow. I'd select

Hardaker
Makinson
Watkins
Shenton
Hall
Widdop
Sneyd
Graham
Clark
Peacock
Westwood
Whitehead
O'loughlin

Amor
Huby
Roby
Ablett

Yeah because I think there are better players to pick. A few touchy Cas fans on this thread. Chris Clarkson has been in great form for Leeds so far this season, it doesn't mean I'd pick him for England.

Lunt isn't half the player Daz Clark is!

It's the Daz Clark's, Joe Westermans we need to have in the 24man squads now, get a feel for the environment of an England squad.

Fully agree with you there. For far too long we've persisted with the old guard then thrown up and coming players in at the deep end expecting them to just slot into international rugby league. They need some experience first.

I agree with this, both are gifted players and need to show they can step up.

Deluded one eyed Cas fans - never change. Your a decent team, that doesn't make you a team of internationals.

Two, four and six years ago we had a teams firing like yours but we produced no internationals bar Atkins and rightly so, we were just a good team. Get over yourself.

Clark is the only one I'd look at, your defeating your own argument with Shenton who was given a chance and found wanting and Huby again "s".

Kirmond deserves a chance well ahead of Westerman but hey not a Cas lad so we won't mention him will we.

I don't know how much of Westerman you've seen this season but Kirmond isn't in his league based on recent form. One of the good things Radford has done is get him back in his proper role a of ball playing forward, as a result he is getting his hands on the ball a lot more. Not only is his work rate better than anyone (and I mean anyone) in Superleague, but his link up play has resulted in a lot of tries and chances being created.

Stats aren't everything but let's take a look at a select few:

Carries:
Westerman - 230, Kirmond - 99
Metres:
Westerman - 1355, Kirmond - 648
Tackles:
Westerman - 395, Kirmond - 313
Offloads:
Westerman - 15, Kirmond - 5
Try Assists:
Westerman - 5, Kirmond - 0
Tackle Busts:
Westerman - 34, Kirmond - 13

Their errors, penalties and missed tackles are similar, but given Joe's extra involvement he wins in all these catergories too. This is only half of it, like I've said his strength this year has been his ability to draw in defenders in the middle and link with the backs, this is something he does very well and it's resulted in a lot of tries.

So stop talking rubbish, Kirmond is a good player and always impresses me with his attitude and professionalism, but he's got an awful long way to go to get to Westerman's level.

Kirmonds a decent player but not international standard. He is a hard worker and he hits hard but we have better.

Westerman has always had the potential to be something special, he just never put it together for a long period of time. He has had a good start to the year but needs to put it together for at least one whole season before looking at international caps.

Do you have an indication of games played by the two lads to give these stats some better perspective?

Westerman has played 11. He plays 80 minutes most weeks but he has been brought off early in each of our last 2. Kirmond has played 10, I don't know how many minutes he generally plays.

Given Kirmond is a big player for Wakey, I don't imagine them spelling him much. In this light, Westerman's stats look very impressive in comparison.

Glad things are working out for him. He seemed to have stuttered a little following his move to Hull, especially as people were calling him the next big thing when he came through at Cas.

How's Liam Watts doing?

Last season Watts disappointed a bit. This year he missed the first few games with injury, but I thought he looked good when he came back. Trouble is we have Paea, Feka, Carvell, Watts, Bowden, Green and Thompson (he was given a run at prop when we had injuries and really impressed there) at prop, and Radford tends to rotate them, so he's been in and out of the team, he's only played 5 times.

Thought Shenton got a centre lesson from Watkins last night. Shenton is a good SL centre, but he be found out like that against the Aussies. Need to look to the future.

Not a fan of players out of position, but for me would Watkins and Hardraker, with the Leeds wingers also.

Burgess obviously has to be replaced which is much easier said than done, probably by two players given that he plays all across the pack. I would give Westerman first shot as he has the size and skill set to be a success at a higher level, he looks like he's finally showing what he is capable of. I like Liam Farrell too and wouldn't be disappointed if he got a run but I would prefer a bit more size. There are plenty of candidates at prop but with McNamara tending to favour a 3-prop rotation I don't think we could do better than George, Graham and Hill

Cudjoe had a decent World Cup but I wouldn't be against someone else getting a go should they show the form to merit it. Shenton looks to be playing very well on Cas' left edge and had Cudjoe clutching at straws on a few occasions last week - he's ever let England down in the past either and looks in great touch.

Would like to replace Chase too but unlike prop this is a position where we are not particularly blessed. Kevin Brown is in great form but I don't think I'm being unfair in saying that a lot of his good plays in Super League would get short shrift from the Antipodean defences.

Apart from that I don't think there's a need to make wholesale changes to what was a pretty successful World Cup squad.

It will be interesting to see if Hock wants to play and if he does, will McNamara pick him. I believe his form for Salford has been excellent so far this season.

I'd go with

1. Tomkins
2. Briscoe
3. Watkins
4. Hardaker
5. Hall
6. Widdop
7. Brough
8. Crabtree
9. Roby
10. Peacock
11. Westwood
12. Hock
13. Graham

14. Clark
15. Amor
16. T Burgess
17. G Burgess

18. Sinfield
19. Lomax
20. Reed
21. O'Loughlin
22. Farrell
23. Walmsley
24. Hill

I'm still not a fan of playing people in a different position internationally from one they play for their club however it works for Australia. I'm also not a fan of selecting players that aren't actually English but that works for everyone else so I'm changing my mind on both. My Squad would be:

Tomkins, Hardaker, Lomax, Hall, Briscoe, Charnley (assuming he is back to form and fitness by the 4 nations), Watkins, Reed, Cudjoe, Widdop, Hodkinson (if available if not Sinfield), Graham, Hill, G. burgess, T. burgess, Amor, Taylor, Roby, Clark, Westwood, Westerman, Ferres, Ablett, Sean O'Loughlin

1. Tomkins
2. Briscoe
3. Hardaker
4. Watkins
5. Hall
6. Widdop
7. Hodkinson
8. Graham
9. Roby
10. Hill
11. Westerman
12. Westwood
13. Sean O'Loughlin

14. Clark
14. G. Burgess
15. Amor
16. Ablett

There are others that are playing themselves into contention though, it's not an easy squad to pick.

Number 7 seems like a position we are most struggling to fill, if Sneyd carries on playing like he did last night he could have an outside chance of getting into the squad.

See, I wouldn't pick Sinfield, I would argue he never performs as well for England as he does for Leeds and isn't the future of our squad. Take him out of the team, O'Loughlin is a better LF, miles better - But it would leave you a goal kicker short. Thats one thing you get for sure with Marc Sneyd. And, with the right HB partner, he could step up if he keeps his current form, he should definitely have a chance of making the squad.

Sneyd looks to have the potential of being an international but I don't think he is anywhere near ready yet. Ideal candidate for the Knights squad.

.

Goal kicking wouldn't be an issue if Widdop is playing.

Sinfield had a superb World Cup yet people continue to criticise. If he isn't up to it nobody else in the league is, and if we are to replace him then who better to learn from in the mean time?

I certainly have never said he isn't up to it but IMO we are at a point with England where we should be looking towards the next World Cup. I may be proven wrong but by the time that comes around I don't think Sinfield will be up to it. I wouldn't pick anyone over 30 or 31 at a push.