Re: England vs PNG - WC QF : Tue Nov 14, 2017 11:16 pm  

I would have gone for Percival. I haven't been impressed with Bateman's online defence and we're not going to beat the best by being 'solid' but by playing with some flair and taking any chances we get.

With Hodgson, the one thing he would do against NZ/Aus is draw the attention of defenders in a way that Roby won't, because they are aware of how good he can be. Whether England can utilise that properly is another issue.

GAME ON GROUP Qtr : England v Papua New Guinea - Sun - 05:00:00 : Wed Nov 15, 2017 4:40 am  

RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP 2017

GAME ON GROUP Qtr : England v Papua New Guinea - Sun - 05:00:00

GENERAL CHAT ABOUT THE GAME, BUILD UP, THE ACTION AS IT HAPPENS AND AFTERMATH BELOW.

Re: England vs PNG - WC QF : Wed Nov 15, 2017 4:49 am  

NickyKiss wrote:

The one thing Bateman is doing is making good ground for us and he managed that not only against France (150m) and Lebanon (118m) but against the more physical challenge that is Australia (152m). I'm not sure Percival would manage those sort of inroads against the Aussies (although he did do well against France with 151m) and defensively I wouldn't be convinced.

Bateman wouldn't be my choice though but I can see why he's picking him. What I don't get is why not Currie in the centre? He's a more skilled ball handler and is quicker then Bateman. He is also coming back from a bad injury, which the slightly less demanding position of centre would help protect a little.

They should swap round for me.

Yeah got to agree there. If Bennett thinks Percival isn't up to it, I'm surprised Currie hasn't been gven the same chance Bateman has in at least one of the games this WC. Like you say his skill set and pace are better suited to Centre than Bateman's. Maybe they've given him a go in training and Bateman's looked better, that's the only thing I can think of. But saying that, it would be hard to judge his quality in that position off training runs especially with just a 24 man squad.

Tbh though with alll this sticking 2nd rowers into Centre, simply because they appear to want some size there. For me it makes it more the head scratcher why Shenton wasn't picked. The blokes 6ft3' and 95kg's, sound defensively & can actually pass the ball to his wing.

Re: England vs PNG - WC QF : Wed Nov 15, 2017 7:38 am  

Shifty Cat wrote:

Yeah got to agree there. If Bennett thinks Percival isn't up to it, I'm surprised Currie hasn't been gven the same chance Bateman has in at least one of the games this WC. Like you say his skill set and pace are better suited to Centre than Bateman's. Maybe they've given him a go in training and Bateman's looked better, that's the only thing I can think of. But saying that, it would be hard to judge his quality in that position off training runs especially with just a 24 man squad.

Tbh though with alll this sticking 2nd rowers into Centre, simply because they appear to want some size there. For me it makes it more the head scratcher why Shenton wasn't picked. The blokes 6ft3' and 95kg's, sound defensively & can actually pass the ball to his wing.

Ive got to be honest and say I wasn't one calling for Shenton to be picked because as Gale and McMeekan gave proven so far, it's not that easy to replicate that form they're showing at Cas in a brand new team but if we could go back and pick a squad again then I'd probably include him. As you say he's defensively sound and if Bennett wants to block that channel up with a 'solid' pick then he may have been the man.

In the longer term I'd love to see Oliver Gildart get a go. People will point to a lack of size but I've yet to see him be dominated physically and with his footwork, he's a nightmare for opposing defences. His handling has come on leaps and bounds over the past year and he's a real wingers centre.

Re: England vs PNG - WC QF : Wed Nov 15, 2017 8:45 am  

NickyKiss wrote:

Ive got to be honest and say I wasn't one calling for Shenton to be picked because as Gale and McMeekan gave proven so far, it's not that easy to replicate that form they're showing at Cas in a brand new team but if we could go back and pick a squad again then I'd probably include him. As you say he's defensively sound and if Bennett wants to block that channel up with a 'solid' pick then he may have been the man.

In the longer term I'd love to see Oliver Gildart get a go. People will point to a lack of size but I've yet to see him be dominated physically and with his footwork, he's a nightmare for opposing defences. His handling has come on leaps and bounds over the past year and he's a real wingers centre.

Yeah Gildart is definitely one for the future for England and it was a proper shame what happened to him this year, with that bad injury, because after his good start to the season, I was looking forward to see if he'd continue to improve. I mean the lads only 21 so there's time to add some bulk to his frame.
Saying that I'm not one that thinks size is the be all and end all, particularly in the Threequarters. As long as you have a good RL brain, know your position inside and out, have a good tackling technique and have some pace, size is just an added bonus to those skills imo.

Re: England vs PNG - WC QF : Wed Nov 15, 2017 2:43 pm  

Shifty Cat wrote:

Yeah Gildart is definitely one for the future for England and it was a proper shame what happened to him this year, with that bad injury, because after his good start to the season, I was looking forward to see if he'd continue to improve. I mean the lads only 21 so there's time to add some bulk to his frame.
Saying that I'm not one that thinks size is the be all and end all, particularly in the Threequarters. As long as you have a good RL brain, know your position inside and out, have a good tackling technique and have some pace, size is just an added bonus to those skills imo.

In fairness to Gildart he came back very well from his injury and was probably our only bright spot in what was otherwise a really poor second half to the year.

I agree with you on the size issue. We seem to be getting obsessed with having huge outside backs but if players have other skills that make them difficult to handle, it isn't the be all and end all. I've not seen an English centre with footwork as good as Gildarts since Martin Gleeson.

Re: England vs PNG - WC QF : Wed Nov 15, 2017 4:02 pm  

NickyKiss wrote:

In fairness to Gildart he came back very well from his injury and was probably our only bright spot in what was otherwise a really poor second half to the year.

I agree with you on the size issue. We seem to be getting obsessed with having huge outside backs but if players have other skills that make them difficult to handle, it isn't the be all and end all. I've not seen an English centre with footwork as good as Gildarts since Martin Gleeson.

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.

Re: GAME ON GROUP Qtr : England v Papua New Guinea - Sun - 0 : Wed Nov 15, 2017 4:10 pm  

I wouldn't be surprised to see Gildart come back 6-7kg heavier next season given his decision not to play with Italy in the World Cup.

[JTB]

Re: GAME ON GROUP Qtr : England v Papua New Guinea - Sun - 0 : Wed Nov 15, 2017 4:28 pm  

TheUnassumingBadger wrote:

I wouldn't be surprised to see Gildart come back 6-7kg heavier next season given his decision not to play with Italy in the World Cup.

There would be a certain irony if that gain came from eating a lot of pasta.

Re: GAME ON GROUP Qtr : England v Papua New Guinea - Sun - 0 : Wed Nov 15, 2017 5:10 pm  

Liam Sutcliffe could be a future England centre.