It was always going to be the case for someone, but if youre a Saints fan, you gotta be disgruntled about 2 of your key players not playing and on a free holiday mid season with your position in the league.

Saving grace probably jetlag will be the only thing to affect them.

Yet to see the impact missing Hall and Watkins this weekend will have on us but we have the added benefit of an easier CC tie than most next week.

Against the only unbeaten side left in all 3 leagues? Haha. In all seriousness, I hope Leeds go into the game with that complacency as Barrow will give it a good shot! It's just a shame that we have to go to Keighley a few days before due to that being when the RFL decided the re-arranged fixture needed to go

There’s only one other team I’d rather be playing out of that draw after a grueling Easter period and mid-season International. Swinton.

More and more Aussies being sneaked into the England squad. n a few years all 17 will be. It's a farce. England needs some pride.

Hope we lose....the silly old Australian should not be in charge - GET RID !!

wonder if this game will be on a tv streaming channel (i use plex)

dont fancy watching the game on a laptop

Agreed, I hope we loose this so all of the England 'support staff' grow some bottle and tell bennet that he shouldnt pick aussies and that if he wont pay attention to SL (only explanation for the selection) then they should pick the players

Also pretty dissapointed in the England players for defending picking a former Queensland player in McQueen, especially the captain

Obviously Bennett watching loads of SL. probably hasn't seen Hardaker playing ouy of his skin in his proper role at FB and remembers him playing for Penrith at centre end of last year and thinks Kev Brown has been ripping it up since his excellent debut against Brisbane in Feb. A real head scratcher.

McQueen today is a better second row option than most in SL. Heighington isn't. But given the limitations of numbers of players per team I can understand him going with a solid NRL player.

Re Percival and Hardaker, I wouldn't be surprised if the reasoning is the sheer size and strength of the likely opposite, Leilua. He's an absolute beast. Hardaker's a far stronger physical presence. Anyway I guess that's the idea.

Again, please spare me the precious England nonsense. Bennett is the coach and he's going to pick teams to try to win. By far the biggest boost our sport could get is England winning the World Cup. Trying to do so was the whole reason behind getting Bennett on board.

Give over we are not going to win picking a team like that, Heighington is average at best and McQueen hasnt been international standard in 3 years. If we were picking Aussies that were clearly better then I dont think people would mind

Heighington probably been better than McQueen this year but both are nowhere near good enough. Neither is Tom Burgess. Walmsley has clearly been one of the best in England for some time but can't get a look in. A number of good back rowers in England left at home.

Isn't the purpose of this game to give English players the chance to go up with NRL-calibre talent on foreign soil?

I don't normally have too strong feelings either way towards coaches. But Wayne is taking the out of English rugby league and doing more harm than good. Even if he brings some short term success (IE a World Cup final) I'd still want him long gone after this year.

If McQueen and Heighington were players like Wade Graham and Paul Gallen, you could see the reasoning behind Bennett's decision. He says he's only d about winning. But they're not. They're over the hill and never was. It's a disgrace.

Well said Budgie. Agreed 100%

If you pay to watch the game do they send you a link or will you be able to go on the site and log in?

No, because that was a meaningless warm up..... Samoa knocking England out of the World Cup would be massive for all Pacific nations - it would justify players putting their hand up for the heritage team.

Absolutely agree, England beating Oz in a knockout game would also be a huge boost.

I'm sure if Samoa win the papers here will be going on about it being a "disaster" or a "humiliation" for England. It wouldn't be. Samoa are not plucky underdogs, they are a bloody good side. That Samoan team could easily beat NZ (as they nearly did with a weaker side in the WC).

And what Charlie said about McNamara.

Mirror was pretty no holds barred about Bennett's choices www.mirror.co.uk/sport/rugby-lea ... a-10357418 Sometimes it feels like rugby league is going out of its way to alienate those fans who love the game so much.... Tom Burgess seems to have spent more time on the gossip pages of the Sydney tabloids this season than he has causing mayhem for South Sydney Rabbitohs. And even Chris Heighington’s mum would probably agree at 34 he’a a lucky boy to be near this squad, NRL Grand Final winner with Cronulla or not.

Mirror was pretty no holds barred about Bennett's choices www.mirror.co.uk/sport/rugby-lea ... a-10357418 Sometimes it feels like rugby league is going out of its way to alienate those fans who love the game so much.... Tom Burgess seems to have spent more time on the gossip pages of the Sydney tabloids this season than he has causing mayhem for South Sydney Rabbitohs. And even Chris Heighington’s mum would probably agree at 34 he’a a lucky boy to be near this squad, NRL Grand Final winner with Cronulla or not.

Plug your laptop into your TV using a HDMI or other compatible lead ?

yeh could do , thought there would be a way round it !

Or you fire Kodi up and look for sky sports nz or fox sports aus I'm sure they will be on there somewhere

Totally agree, Percival would get walked all over by most international centres.

But Hardaker has only moved to centre thanks to Ratchford being drafted in to squad late on. So it clearly wasn't what he was planning to do so it just shows indecisive thinking on Bennett behalf which is a worry.

Has anyone considered that Percival has picked up a knock? In which case, Hardaker to centre and Ratchford to full-back makes complete sense.

Could be injured. But Ratchford has played centre just as much as Hardaker. If Hardaker is his front runner for FB heading to the World Cup then he's the one that should've stayed at FB. For the combinations then who plays FB is more important than who defends at LC in a friendly.

whats to say Hardaker won't be taking up the full-back position come kick-off?

So why not just name him there?