is he injured or has he been left again as Powell did seem to have an issue with last season, has his case been heard as yet

"A top team like Cas"






He hasnt got the requisite number of fingers to play for Cas and they are not a top team.

Injured at the moment. He was getting picked at the back end of 2020 and playing very well. As you say, though, Powell doesn't seem to like his 'unpredictability' at times!
He's due to stand trial later in the year.

Okay, a decent team like Cas!
I would love an NRL team to take a chance with him to be honest - I think he's got what it takes to be a top winger over there. I know they won't, but imagine him replacing Addo-Carr at Melbourne. I'd love to see him given the chance over there, but it would be a loss to SL.

I’m more concerned about our halfback options then our options for the wings.

Williams and Lomax for me, with Gale in reserve.
And if Trueman continues the season like he's started it...

If Wane were to pick his starting wingers for an upcoming match he would be insane not to pick Makinson and Johnstone. With maybe Ash Handley if fit in reserve.

Lomax looks great at Saints but, has he ever looked good enough for England ?
Unfortunately, he will be feeding off scraps at international level and for me, isn't the right choice for England.

I'd be delighted to be wrong though

No, that's the interpretation anyone being serious would follow.

Eden is good, Johnstone has start quality, that's where it ends. Eden is not an international, Johnstone almost certainly is.

He's got much more experience playing at half-back now than he had previously. All his previous games (bar one) for England have been at full-back too.
I think he's a better player than he was the last time he played for England back in 2018. He'll have been playing regularly at half-back for Saints for three more seasons when the WC starts.

My biggest worry is Hodgson; looks great for Canberra, but has never been anything other than poor for England.

Makinson and Johnstone are the best two wingers at the moment. Think Hall, Handley and McGillvary are ok backup. Eden is too prone to brain farts under pressure IMO.

when he was at kr and hudds I like his style of play and I personally would of had him in my team, cas has certainly got the best from him

He's a fantastic winger, but a dreadful full-back. As soon as he has to think or make a decision, he's prone to ballsing up in quite a big way.
When he needs to do something instinctive or just run as fast as he can, he's great. As soon as he thinks about doing something other than running or putting the ball over the try-line, he's in trouble.

To be fair, it doesn't even need to be under pressure.

I agree about Hodgson.
Bennett certainly saw something different than I did.
Lomax, great for a Saints side that "wins every week" but, playing for England is completely different.
Mind you, we havent had a decent HB pairing for 30 years.

The worrying thing is that our pack has been excellent for the last 4/5 years but, there are plenty of changes to be made and whoever we have in the halves will need to be playing behind a competitive pack.
Assuming that some of the Kiwis stay with their Tonga preference, we may be ranked 4th.

Another semi final loss ?

Hopefully not - I have tickets for the final.
My main worry is injury. Beyond a good starting 17, I don't think we have much to compete with the Aussies, whereas they can pick two or three players in every position who are international standard.
Lose a couple to injury and we'll be picking players who wouldn't even get a club game in the NRL, let alone who can compete with a team of the best.

Let's see if TJ can actually play 20 games in a season before we start getting too excited about his international prospects.

Oh dear

Why? He's not managed more than 20 games in a season since 2016, and has never played more than 18 SL games in a season in his entire career.

If he stays fit, he likely plays, but history shows it's a big if.

So, you are "bagging" a player that had 2 absolutely seperate ACL injuries on different knees and played the vast majority of last season, albeit a disjointed season ?

Think we look ok in the wings and centres. We have options at halfback too but it all depends on the pack. We look short on quality, big aggressive backrowers and anyone with a decent offload or passing game. The Aussies seem to have heaps of options (as usual) but we're missing some big names now from the pack that kept us competitive in recent years (Graham, S,Burgess, O'Loughlin).

Fullback is another matter, the Aussies have heaps of amazing options, the Kiwi's have one and we have erm, ummm...

Sam Tomkins and Niall Evalds.
I think there is a pack that can compete, but lose any through injury and we are replacing them with players who are nowhere near as good.

Correct.

Half back wise they should all be fighting it out to partner Williams, he’s had a great start to year and is Wane type player. Lomax would be my guess.

Tomkins
Makinson
Sarginson (again Wane a big fan, he signed him twice)
Gildart
Johnstone
Lomax
Williams
Walmsley
Clark
Thompson (hopefully he recaptures 2019 form)
Farrell
Whitehead
Bateman

Cooper
TBurgess
Connor (can cover centre/halves/full back)
Bentley

Farrell? Really? Good club man but not good enough at international level.