Re: Mike Cooper England spot? : Wed Aug 13, 2014 8:45 pm  

Did you see him body slam Sam Moa last week? Bloody brilliant tackle. Moa sprinted into a stationary Coops and Coops just picked him right up in the air and slammed him on his back. The commentators loved it, showed replays of it during the game and at half time.

Re: Mike Cooper England spot? : Wed Aug 13, 2014 9:13 pm  

I think Cooper will get picked for England, yes McNamara being close to him in Oz will be a factor but I think the lad deserves it, he's bulked up and put in solid performances against the best in the NRL. Also factor in that Sam Burgess and Lee Mossop's places in the squad will be up for grabs, and Coops deserves it as much as Huby / Amor or any other front rower in contention.

Re: Mike Cooper England spot? : Thu Aug 14, 2014 12:01 am  

I have watched cooper pretty closely on premier sports and he has improved a great deal. The level of training in the nrl has made him fitter and stronger and he seems to have improved his handling too. It has been great to see him surprising people over there and good luck to him in his quest to get in the England squad.

Re: Mike Cooper England spot? : Thu Aug 14, 2014 5:30 pm  

I don't get why we are surprised that English forwards do well in Australia. The reason that the Aussies usually spank us is because they have far superior backs especially half backs, full back and hooker.

Re: Mike Cooper England spot? : Thu Aug 14, 2014 5:32 pm  

When did a Hooker(the guy right in the middle of a scrum) become a back?

[Uncle Rico]

Re: Mike Cooper England spot? : Fri Aug 15, 2014 8:55 am  

Wire Yed wrote:

When did a Hooker(the guy right in the middle of a scrum) become a back?

Come on Yed we all knew what he meant...........and breath ha ha

Re: Mike Cooper England spot? : Tue Aug 19, 2014 9:10 pm  

CW8 wrote:

I don't get why we are surprised that English forwards do well in Australia. The reason that the Aussies usually spank us is because they have far superior backs especially half backs, full back and hooker.

This is another misconception. Apart from 2010 when were England last "spanked" by Australia? They are always good, close games but frustratingly they manage to punish our mistakes, with a few terrible calls from the allegedly superior NRL referees thrown in.

Dave Parker reports in League Weekly that Cooper could return to us as early as next season.

Re: Mike Cooper England spot? : Tue Aug 19, 2014 9:56 pm  

Ganson's Optician wrote:

This is another misconception. Apart from 2010 when were England last "spanked" by Australia? They are always good, close games but frustratingly they manage to punish our mistakes, with a few terrible calls from the allegedly superior NRL referees thrown in.

Dave Parker reports in League Weekly that Cooper could return to us as early as next season.

I get you maybe spanked is a bit too much of an exaggeration, but can you hand on heart say we have really challenged them? We are still a way off matching their quality in key positions.

Re: Mike Cooper England spot? : Tue Aug 19, 2014 9:59 pm  

Wire Yed wrote:

When did a Hooker(the guy right in the middle of a scrum) become a back?

I am well aware that a hooker is not a back, I was listing it as a key position, which it is. You are correct though so I apologise for my mishap. It's still a key position that the Aussies are far better covered at than we are and that is the point I intended to convey.

Re: Mike Cooper England spot? : Wed Aug 20, 2014 12:04 pm  

Wire Yed wrote:

When did a Hooker(the guy right in the middle of a scrum) become a back?

I haven't seen a hooker in the middle of the scrum for years. Charnley packed down in the front row last Thursday.