Re: GAME ON GROUP Qtr : England v Papua New Guinea - Sun - 0 : Wed Nov 15, 2017 6:07 pm  

if leroy cudjoe can get himself back to form he could link up with mcgillvary at centre and get their great understanding/partnership going.

cudjoe has had an op end of last season on a knee which has hindered him and cost him his england place this time.

cant believe we are still chopping and changing half backs at this stage of the comp!!! not what you want to be doing really.

pleased walmsley has got a spot now on the bench.

we should be winning this game anyway .. england by 16+ points!

Re: England vs PNG - WC QF : Wed Nov 15, 2017 7:52 pm  

Wildcat26 wrote:

Really? Watkins on his day has some of the best footwork ive seen from any player. Id have a whole host of english centres above him for there footwork, that are even playing now; Watkins, Percival, Shenton, Cudjoe... Ive probably been more impressed with Jake Connor at Hull who i think has been great this year.

A whole host? I can only think you've not seen enough of him. His footwork is outstanding and better then any named above IMO (Watkins is another I thought of but he's as much power as footwork). That's not to say I think he's currently a better player then those named (apart from Connor, he's without doubt a better centre then Connor) but he's certainly developing very nicely indeed.

Re: England vs PNG - WC QF : Thu Nov 16, 2017 3:37 pm  

Biff Tannen wrote:

He is obviously now going to stick with Bateman in LC, I assume simply for his defensive abilities, but I would really have liked to have seen him go with Percival there at least for this one. We have one of the best finishers in World rugby near the line in Ryan Hall but Bateman does not posses the centre skills or vision to give him enough time or space to work with so he is pretty much redundant in attack. Again, I like Bateman the back rower but a centre he is not and never will be.

Bateman is very good in defence when playing second row, but as a centre his decision making is embarrassing and thankfully if we play Tonga he wont be opposite Jennings who would rip him to shreds.

I really dont understand why Shenton was not taken, he won't beat his opposite man too often but has good defence and knows when to pass

Re: GAME ON GROUP Qtr : England v Papua New Guinea - Sun - 0 : Thu Nov 16, 2017 5:33 pm  

brearley84 wrote:

cant believe we are still chopping and changing half backs at this stage of the comp!!! not what you want to be doing really

To be fair both Gale and Widdop are still playing, with Brown coming into the side. It’s not like England play 5 mid season games.

Re: GAME ON GROUP Qtr : England v Papua New Guinea - Sun - 0 : Thu Nov 16, 2017 11:04 pm  

I've seen a lot of comment that PNG is a poor side because the PNG Hunters lost to Penrith reserve grade.

Just looking at the named PNG side, there are 3 current Hunters players in the starting side and 2 more on the bench.
Many of the starting side like Mead, Segyaro, Aiton, McDonald, Baptiste etc are very seasoned old pros who are very credible and respected players.

England should win well, but it should be remembered that a weaker PNG selection than this beat a near full strength Fiji in Sydney just 3 or 4 months ago, and they have just spent a month in camp developing a plan for this game.

Re: GAME ON GROUP Qtr : England v Papua New Guinea - Sun - 0 : Thu Nov 16, 2017 11:45 pm  

The Fiji team they beat are nothing like as strong as this WC squad. The PNG players in the NRL are in the average to plodder range in NRL terms. Mead's a reserve, Aiton hasn't played NRL for years, Segeyaro is a bench player as is Baptiste (very much number 2 behind Hodgson). Don't get me wrong, England really need PNG to aim up and make them play as well as they can for as long as they can. But don't pretend anyone serious about winning the WC would or should worry about playing them. If England get beaten by PNG it will be a disgrace, and if we really struggle then you can write us off as serious contenders.

Re: GAME ON GROUP Qtr : England v Papua New Guinea - Sun - 0 : Fri Nov 17, 2017 5:30 am  

BrisbaneRhino wrote:

The Fiji team they beat are nothing like as strong as this WC squad. The PNG players in the NRL are in the average to plodder range in NRL terms. Mead's a reserve, Aiton hasn't played NRL for years, Segeyaro is a bench player as is Baptiste (very much number 2 behind Hodgson). Don't get me wrong, England really need PNG to aim up and make them play as well as they can for as long as they can. But don't pretend anyone serious about winning the WC would or should worry about playing them. If England get beaten by PNG it will be a disgrace, and if we really struggle then you can write us off as serious contenders.

That is unfair. Mead is hardly an "average to plodder." At Brisbane he is competing behind full back Darius Boyd (QLD and Australia) huge winger Corey Oates (QLD) and goal kicking winger Jordan Kahu (NZ Kiwis) for a first grade spot. David Mead is a great player who should have gone to another club, or stayed at the Titans, in order to get the recognition he deserves. Segyaro is a bench player now but he plays very well and is an above average hooker. Baptiste is the bench hooker at Canberra but is still a good player. I can't see one average to plodder in that list except possibly Aiton. Yet I note that you omit mention of Nene Macdonald who is a regular and very successful winger for St. George, and who is also a very good centre -- on his displays so far Macdonald has been superior to either of the England centres. You also don't mention PNG winger Justin Olam who was signed by the Melbourne Storm, but is competing for a place in the first team with two of the three best wingers in the NRL in Vunivalu and Addo-Carr. Also winger Garry Lo, who was injured against USA and may not play on Sunday, is an outstanding talent.

Re: GAME ON GROUP Qtr : England v Papua New Guinea - Sun - 0 : Fri Nov 17, 2017 6:25 am  

So basically Mead is a reserve like I said then? I quite like him as a player, but he's clearly not quite top shelf. I certainly couldn't see him starting in any of the sides likely to be in the top 8 next year, injuries aside.

I didn't mention Macdonald because for the Dragons this year he was utter gash with bad errors every time I saw him play. Are you suggesting he'd be in the top twenty outside backs in the NRL? If not then he's at best average. And why would I mention a winger who - for whatever reason - doesn't make first grade, or another who has until this season reached the dizzying heights of playing for Sheffield Eagles?

Put it this way, there's not a single PNG player who would get into the Australia or NZ squads, or Tonga's (except maybe one of the hookers). So explain to me again why they're so to be feared? I don't have a problem with them competing and making England work hard, but if England really struggle then that's a clear indication we're light years behind Aus, NZ or even Tonga.

Re: GAME ON GROUP Qtr : England v Papua New Guinea - Sun - 0 : Fri Nov 17, 2017 11:18 am  

David Mead has played 160 NRL games.
half a dozen of the England side wouldn't make an NRL side.

Re: GAME ON GROUP Qtr : England v Papua New Guinea - Sun - 0 : Fri Nov 17, 2017 11:57 am  

roopy wrote:

David Mead has played 160 NRL games.
half a dozen of the England side wouldn't make an NRL side.

Really???!