im fairly sure Danny Brough made himself available for England but McNamara decided to go for the "other" two "halfbacks" at Huddersfield?

2003 - won 6 drew 1 lost 1
2004 - won 1 drew 1 lost 1

so they haven't played much together, and it was a long time ago, but they seemed to go ok as a pairing.

Strange team selection - overall an improvement on last week's side though.

Sam at fullback is a good move, but that then forces Lockers into the halves simply because there are few other options. Brown is clearly not up to it. Crabtree for Griffin is a good move, as is the non-selection of Hall. I don't see why Widdop has been dropped, though. Apart from one "Mathers Moment" he had a pretty decent game.

The problem really is the squad that went out there, with poor centres and no real scrum half. On that basis, the "scapegoat" should be McNamara.

Out in the real world he will be, but in the fantasy world of Rugby League message boards it will be all the Wigan captain's fault.

Dont you just mean Wigans!

Can they still blame Maurice?

Who else can kick goals besides Westwood. ( That is if we get a chance to kick for goal. ) He is not going to stay on the pitch all of the match is he? Mind you with McBanana who knows.

Well no one from wigan after the grand final kicking display thats for sure!

Joking aside lockers has kicked a few for us, granted not many but a few, but doesnt cudjoe kick?

Danny Brough "Scottish" you are having a laugh. Put him self up for selection for England after the world cup because he thought himself better than he is. England said no thanks and like the mugs we are, we took him back.Would not touch him with a barge pole.

I have the uneasy feeling it isn't going to matter. Bookies have Australia by 18, which I think is on the low side.

Fair enough.

Still, I think his kicking game would make a big difference in this England side.

Danny Brough dictating to and playing behind the big English pack would be light years ahead of what wer'e going to get on Sunday morning.

We all moan and goan about the dearth of cocky, arrogant, gobe halfbacks since the days of Andy Gregory, Alex Murphy and even Bobby Goulding but in Brough you have someone right out of that mould. I'm not saying he's in their class but he would not cowtail to the Ausies, he would have a go with boot, ball, gob, shoulder the lot, the Ausies would certainly know he'd played!

He played 2nd row last week.

He actually packed down at prop a few times when we had head and feed!! Can anyone explain that?

No

I think Sam at Full back is a bad move. And why move Lockers into the halves when Sam is our best half back ?

Sam isn't big enough for a FB at this sort of level. The Ozzies will throw everything at him.

Cudjoe

Yep. I predicted this before the tournament.

agreed

I think he's gonna get his head taken off a few times

we'll get murdered.

sam at 1....good idea
wings....goulding..tick
briscoe...mmmmm
cujoe at centre...theyll trample all over him....

back 5 for mine...we need a BIG threequarter line....
1. sam
2. dazza
3. westwood
4. joel
5. atkins
halves....christ knows

8 stu
9 robinson
10 graham
11 burgess
12 ellis
13 lockers

bench
harrison
crabtree
lunt
a n other

which i suppose leaves roby and brown for 6 and 7

That's one thing they won't do. One of the best defensive players in superleague. Only missed 12 tackles all season.

England have a chance in this game but less so with a loose forward at stand off. Should have kept faith with Brown.

Side looked much better last week with tomkins at full back.

Cudjoe will be fine at centre. Atkins in the team is more of a worry.

I can only recall 3 away victory's V Aus ( Gregory and Gregory 1989, Phil Clarke Dummy and the whole Wigan pack playing and the Willie meets stuart Fielden game).

Hence what's new.

Quit the whinging and get behind the team. At least most of them have years ahead of them.

Thats probably the best 17 he could pick from the squad he chose tbh.

Players like Darrell Griffin and Tony Clubb - WTF are they doing in there seriously? Danny Brough had made himself available for England apparently so with all the halfback problems we are having we should have brought him in. Desperate times call for desperate measures and he has a cracking kicking game which could improve us as a team massively if our forwards manage to do the job.

And Tony Clubb instead of Martin Gleeson? Seriously? Gleeson and Goulding have been immense this year in SL they work well together at Wigan. Its obvious to anyone with a brain that Gleeson played a massive part in Gouldings success this year so why the f*ck has Mcnamara picked a crap centre from the bottom placed club instead of taking Gouldings partner who between them scored 3 trys in the píssing Grand Final, its ridiculous. I seriously believe someone had a word with McNamara on that one to make it look like RL is expanding down south by bringing a Cockney into the England squad.

1. Sam Tomkins
2. Darrell Goulding
3. Martin Gleeson
4. Ryan Atkins
5. Tom Briscoe
6. Kevin Brown
7. Danny Brough
8. Stuart Fielden
9. Luke Robinson
10. James Graham
11. Sam Burgess
12. Gareth Ellis
13. Sean O'Loughlin

14. James Roby
15. Ben Westwood
16. Joel Tomkins
17. Eorl Crabtre

Much stronger IMO obvious problems at 6 and 7 but thats genuinly down to injuries to McGuire and Eastmond.

For me now 9 is looking worrying for the future, Robinson, Lunt, Moore, Diskin just arent international standard. Roby is the best thing we have but he is more effective off the bench obviously. There is no-one else.

When I heard this team it was the first time I was happy I haven't gone

Gleeson is past his best and picking him would be a step backwards.

Lunt is possibly the best hooker prospect I have seen in years. Unfortunately due to Nathan Browns incessant desire to play scrum halves at hooker he has not had a good run this season. Agree moore is not a good hooker. Robinson is a scrum half.

Can't comment on Tony Clubb as i've never noticed him (and I've seen quins play live three times this season !)

You may think so but he's still a bloody good player and better than any of the centres in the current England Squad even 'past his best'. Its worth picking him only for his partnership with Goulding if nothing else. Goulding next to Cudjoe or Shenton or Atkins is nowhere near as dangerous as Goulding next to Gleeson.

You can't be serious??? The aussies will run riot if we don't have a centre that can actually defend... and there is no better centre out there for making tackles than Martin Gleeson.