I must have confused him with another player.

Can't think of a player who would improve us. Players win matches not coaches. Though agree somewhat with Brian Carney that S McNamara isn't the personality for international sport coaching/management.

McNamara has got himself into a bind before in short series, by not making changes after the first game. I'm not talking unnecessary wholesale changes, but one or two where players didn't fire. I understand the temptation to 'stick with a winning team' but in a Test series you have to expect the other side to adapt, especially after a loss. If you don't and lose the middle test, you're then looking at picking players who have yet to play and are by definition rustier than the incumbents. Which for a conservative coach would tend to push even more for sticking with the players already used.

Surely Lucas Gale is deserving of the number 7 shirt?

Is this the same player known in Germany and Hungary as Lukas Gale?

If so, I wouldn't think that he deserves the shirt ahead of the "Jack in the box" known to the Royal Family as Robert Burrow.

Absolutely correct. Gale and Westwood haven't played since mid-September, Cudjoe not since end of Sept and Smith not since the Grand Final. Playing them now would be a massive gamble - and McNamara isn't a coach to take risks.

McNamara says "I thought George defended really well.....he played extremely well in that part of the game.....particularly on our goal-line defence"
I didn't realise we picked our HBs for their defence. He must have missed that pathetic attempt on our goal-line where, after tigging the NZ player who didn't stop, he then didn't chase back but sulk.

I'd go with that too. Roby can certainly do 80 mins, that frees up others to spell for Westwood (as he hasn't played for weeks) if he needs it.

Haven't all the comments but as usual there seems to be a lot of Wigan players who should be dropped.

Move Burgess to the left wing, Williams likes to run that way and some of the short kicks Williams puts in to Burgess make it look like a telepathic understanding. Added to that u'd have a better understanding of players with Farrell, Bateman and Burgess all together.

The key thing is the forwards though, Ive said it time and again Roby is non existant behing a slow ptb, look at the difference between the 2 matches. Hodgson offers nowt so i'd play Roby for 80 and bring in another forward on the bench because that is where the game will be won.

BTW if Sam Tomkins had offered as little in attack as Zak Hardaker has for 2 games he'd get slaughtered.

Apart from 30 minutes from Williams none of the Wigan players have offered anything in attack in both games. If any other player had performed as badly as Williams in game 2 they would have been slaughtered. He was garbage, but people, me included, have been light on him due to his inexperience. Hardaker's defence has been excellent.

Squad named: McGilvary and Smith in for Cudjoe and Westwood.

Not sure what that means for the team.... smith in for Williams? McGilvary in at centre for Bateman???

Wigan.

Bateman must still be playing centre.

My guess is Smith for Williams in the only change.

If we're just picking people who aren't actually in the squad, I'd go

Hardaker

Lord Sugar, Hulk Hogan, Jeremy Corbyn, Alan Shearer

Lockyer
Thurston

Dame Edna Everage,
Doctor Who, Len Goodman
James Graham, Joshua Hodgson, Simon Cowell

Interchange: Sam Burgess, Flavor Flav, Carlos Santana, James Roby

Hulk Hogan in at prop, and surely have to have Jeremy Corbyn on the left wing.

Len Goodman has just had a knee reconstruction.

Ian Laybourn who usually knows what he's talking about says the 17 will have Smith for Williams and McGillvary for Burgess.

I would go with this, Boris Johnson in for Shearer on the wing though, stipulation- can only play in three piece suit

If Smith is in I will tear up my ticket & pack in RL. He's not even good enough for the Wigan team.

Try to keep calm TT. Tear up your ticket at the end of the match and re-assess the other bit when we know the result.

I called it straight after Saturdays defeat, So predictable. Harsh on Gale, who probably should have started the series on form and now when it is glaringly obvious to all he should come in, McNamara selects a guy who has been average at best this year.Shows his attention is far away from SL at this current time and he needs moving on after this series

The thing most clearly lacking last week was any form of attacking flair and creativity. Smith is probably the most conservative and risk averse half back in the league. It makes no absolutely no sense to pick him.

The only performance McNamara has seen this season was the grand final, where Smith was so ineffective that Tony Clubb had to take over the kicking duties.

This series has me questioning whether McNamara is trying to get sacked on purpose. He probably feels like he can't walk away from the job, but if he gets sacked he can fully focus on his training cone duties in Sydney.

Said at the time McNamara was a terrible appointment and still stand by that. Should be sacked after this series, England are so dull and boring to watch.

I can't defend McNamara anymore. If we win the Series it will be because of poor NZ performances and despite McNamara not because of him.

His selections make no sense and his stubbornness in this series has seriously affected the team.
He was obviously dead-set on Tomkins at full back, regardless of his form or even his physical condition. He's now dead set on Bateman at centre when it's obvious it's not working and frankly wasn't a clever choice in the first place. He was dead set on having Smith regardless of his form. He's also obviously dead set on a very conservative game plan.
What exactly do the likes of Gale and Cudjoe have to do to get in the team?.

It's a stupidly chosen 19 but from it I'd have to go with:
1. Hardaker
2. McGilvary
3. Watkins
4. Bateman
5. Hall
6. Smith
7. Widdop
8. Graham
9. Roby
10. Hill
11. Farrell
12. Ferres
13. O'Loughlin

14. Hodgson
15. Burgess
16. Cooper
17. Whitehead

If I had a choice I wouldn't have Bateman at centre. I'd have him at second row in place of Whitehead. But the coach has bizarrely dropped Cudjoe from the 19. I'd also rather have Gale in for Smith, but again, bizarrely, the coach has chosen Smith over Gale.