This is a team that could beat an assemblage of the best English team of the past 30 years, but for the fact that there were few indigenous Australians who played prop forward.



Matt Bowen(Wigan)

John Ferguson (Wigan) Steve Renouf (Wigan), Steve Ella (Wigan, Wakefield), Nathan Blacklock (Hull FC)

Cliff Lyons (Leeds)
Jamie Soward (London),

Greg Bird (Catalans)
Ron Gibbs (Castleford), Chris McKenna (Sheffield, London, Leeds, Doncaster),
Sam Backo (Leeds), Denis Moran (London, Wigan, Widnes, Leigh), Arthur Beetson (Hull KR)

[uInterchange[/u: Willy Isa (Castleford, Widnes), Dean Widders (Castleford), Sid Domic (Hull),

Reserves: David Peachey (Widnes), Matt Sing (Hull FC), Dale Shearer (Widnes), Amos Roberts (Wigan), Tony Currie (Leeds), Brent Webb (Leeds, Catalans), Rod Jensen (Huddersfield), Owen Craigie (Widnes), Kevin McGuiness (Salford), Darrell Trindall (Sheffield, St. Helens), Leo Dynevor (London)


I have put Denis Moran as hooker, though he is best remembered and played most of his rugby league as a half back. Unfortunately there was never a quality Australian indigenous hooker playing in England.
Also there are no specialist prop forwards on the interchange, because there is a dearth of indigenous Australians who played prop.

I'll bite:

- Matthew Bowen
- Jonathan Ferguson
- Steven Renouf
- Steven Ella
- Clifford Lyons
- Gregory Bird
- Ronald Gibbs
- Christopher McKenna
- Samuel Backo
- Dennis Moran
- William Isa
- Sidney Domic
- Matthew Sing
- Rodney Jensen

Aside from the naming errors, a solid team.

As the previous poster pointed out, I inexplicably misspelled some of the players names. So here is the list again:



Matthew Bowen(Wigan)

John Ferguson (Wigan) Steven Renouf (Wigan), Steven Ella (Wigan, Wakefield), Nathan Blacklock (Hull FC)

Clifford Lyons (Leeds)
Jamie Soward (London),

Gregory Bird (Catalans)
Ronald Gibbs (Castleford), Christopher McKenna (Sheffield, London, Leeds, Doncaster),
Samuel Backo (Leeds), Denis Moran (London, Wigan, Widnes, Leigh), Arthur Beetson (Hull KR)

[uInterchange[/u: William Isa (Castleford, Widnes), Dean Widders (Castleford), Sidney Domic (Hull),

Reserves: David Peachey (Widnes), Matthew Sing (Hull FC), Dale Shearer (Widnes), Amos Roberts (Wigan), Anthony Currie (Leeds), Brent Webb (Leeds, Catalans), Rodney Jensen (Huddersfield), Owen Craigie (Widnes), Kevin McGuiness (Salford), Darrell Trindall (Sheffield, St. Helens), Leo Dynevor (London)

Loved Dean Widders.

Luke Walsh and Cory Paterson deserve mentions.

Could provide a decent opposition vs England mid-season (obviously age difference means those teams could never happen) but just like England vs Exiles/France/Wales or Yorlshire vs Lancashire it would die a death after one/two years due to usual RL glass half empty misery.

I'm looking forward to Jean's next "best team" thread.

What will it be? Best double barrel named team of players of Hispanic origin in England in the last 14 years? Maybe it will be a team made up of players who played for their country despite not actually being able to find it on a map?

Gaz Hock?

Is Chris McKenna aboriginal.

lol, I dont know where to start with this one so wont bother

Yes indeed. That comes for free when you are an indigenous Australian.

Jamie Sandy (Castleford)

That must be a nickname. We can only work with actual names if we are to communicate on this topic.

that is is name he played for Castleford in the 1986 Challenge cup final

I'd stick in Manly's Paul Shaw , Salford's Stand off for the 88-89 season.

Not a Rugby Player , more a Magician.
he featured in the 87 Wigan / Manly game, then terrorized Wigan again in the 88 Lancashire Cup final where he was given Man of the Match award despite finishing on the losing side .

unfortunately , Salford didn't have the pack to protect their Stand off , and he was the recipient of some ' unfair treatment' most notably by Paul ' Buffer' Forber at a saints away game that left him Hospitalised .
Years Later when Forber joined Salford he was asked about the Paul Shaw incident and said that the coach told him to "rough him up a bit."
But justice prevailed. The day he signed for us an old lady went up to him , hit him over the head with her umbrella, and said "That's for Paul Shaw".

Why, Gordon Tallis has counted as aboriginal indigineos but openly admits he has no real proof just been told one of his great grandparents my be or is part aboriginal, I have a great grandparent who is Irish but would never claim to be irish. Mc Kenna never struck me as looking particularly aboriginal and never heard it be mentioned before.

Tallis was clearly Aboriginal. One look at him and anyone who was brought up around Aboriginal families would pick out his features. Skin colour isn't always a good indicator with Aboriginality. I once had a girlfriend who was so blond and fair that she could pass for Swedish, but both her parents and her brother and sister were all very dark skinned and had Aboriginal features. In fact, in the district I live in, half the people I know to have Aboriginal heritage couldn't be identified by a casual observer. One family is all red headed and freckled.