My take on the full player roster - England hat firmly off once internationals start and I like to look at the players in the context of their role for England:
1. Sam Tomkins - went some way to alleviating the accusations of a fear of the high ball in the last 2 games. I still don't think he'll ever eradicate it from his game though, for mine I guess it's a symptom of playing all his rl until his 20's in the halves and having to learn probably the most demanding of rl skills in the full glare of top level competition. Linked well and looked for gaps all the time with mixed results, not unlike his NRL season. Tendency to do the odd petulant thing and waste possession such as the rash ptb today. 7/10
2. Hall - he has that fantastic element to him that can't be coached - an ability to step up to meet the quality of the stage he's on. Whilst he wasn't at his best today, he inspires confidence with his carries, line breaks and defence. 8/10
3. Sarginson/Shenton - I was concerned when Shenton was picked early doors and felt much the same as Cudjoe last year, decent players across the park but with a centre not quite upto the standard and his showing v Samoa did nothing to change my opinion. 4/10 That said, I felt exactly the same with Saginson but boy has he surprised me, he reminded me a lot of a young M Gleeson, not the biggest but instead uses footwork off the mark and precision timing of the draw and pass. He must be a pleasure for a winger to play outside. 9/10
4. Watkins - I find myself frustrated with Watkins, he's obviously got talent in spades and looked right on the edge of using it a few times but can't seem to quite slip the leash in attack. 6/10
5. Charnley - I don't know here. 2 years ago there wasn't a winger in SL to get near him for finishing or exploiting breaks. He did some solid stuff in the games but not enough for me to see him as a potent attacking threat at this level. He's one of 3 or 4 I would say at threat of losing his place next time an England starting 13 is named. 6/10
6. Widdop - I like this fella. Very unlucky to clip the post twice today with conversions and looked very reliable with the boot in the other games. He injects himself into the attack well although lack of real pace will stop him being an outstanding 6. 7/10
7. Smith - He looks just like a 7 that is being coached by Deacon - outstanding as an organiser and obviously puts hours and hours of work into his kicking game. The negative is then obviously he doesn't threaten the line and the opposition know what he's almost certain to pass. I'd like him to be more attacking on his kick variety too, he goes for safety more than he should. That said, clearly followed the role he was given to the letter and there is no obvious replacement 7 for England. 7/10
8. G Burgess - This bloke is immense, an absolute wrecking ball of a runner with age on his side. Different in style to their Sam but he has to be in the top 3 props in the world now. Pleasure to watch. 9/10
9. Clarke - well after being sceptical about his MOS award (admittedly due to watching less SL last year than any season I can remember) I ate my words with 3 types of sauce on the last couple of weeks. Superb attacking threat and the performance notably dropped off in the manner of McIlorum/L Tomkins when he was interchanged. Pretty unhappy that Wire have him. 9/10
10. Graham - interesting comment by Robbie Paul (!) on the BBC aftermatch today that English forwards are re-defining the way RL is played in the forwards from being battering rams commanding 3/4 tacklers to an attacking option that may run direct, use footwork or act as provider for a team mate with the pass. He's an exceptional player and his catch and pass off the deck today actually made me laugh out loud. Odd character that he is, we're very lucky he's English. 9/10
11. J Tomkins - felt he was lucky to be in the squad let alone the starting teams, not on ability but I simply don't think he hit his straps enough with Wigan to earn the call up and his performances in the games didn't change my opinion. He looked better today than previous 2 weeks but was put in before he was ready for mine and got caught flat footed in defence for a try last week. 5/10
12. Farrell - What he does better than any of the other 2nds in SL is run lines. Not unlike Sarginson, he doesn't have sheers size but uses footwork to wrongfoot the marker. I'd have liked to seen more of it but accept that space is at a premium at this level. He'll tackle what comes at him. 7/10
13. Westerman/ Lockers - Westerman looked like he was playing an unfamiliar role in the first game and took a bit of unfair flack based on a half-chance offload he probably on balance should have held onto. Not sure he's anything more than an England backup player though 6/10 Lockers - I was actually shaking my head in despair at some of the morons comments on a FB thread when he was named captain. What does this bloke have to do, other than switch to their club to fit within the blinkers, to win the accolades he deserves? His work in attack and cut out balls, offloads, support is staggering when you look at the volume of work he does in defence. Like Hall, he has the knack of being able to up his game to match the opposition. If he ever takes on one of these teams 100% fit I think we'd see a career-defining performance. 9/10
14. T. Burgess/ Hill - Tom isn't George unfortunately. He's a decent enough player in his own right and a unit, always feels like we're in a holding pattern when he's on over his brother though. That said, held his won with any of the opposition forwards. 7/10 Hill - Am a big fan of this bloke too and feel he's very close to Graham in both style of play and ability. His footwork close to the line for a big lad is outstanding and his performances aside from getting done at marker in game 1 must have shone one hell of a spotlight on him for NRL money men. 8/10 (9 without the brainfart v Samoa)
15. Ferres/Whitehead - Ferres didn't look on the form that made him a genuine choice on merit in the RLWC although I felt he picked up today from earlier weeks. He can hold his own at this level but along with the Wigan pair he didn't have the big impact needed on this stage and helped emphasis the big miss of Sam B. Would definitely have him on the fringes of future teams on past performance though. 6/10 Whitehead - too little too late to throw him in today. It was the right call to play him from the start of the tournament as he's a good talent but looked rusty today and gave away a poor penalty with his first involvement. One for the future with more gametime. 5/10
16. Hodgson - did OK game 1 but looked out of his depth last week. Maybe the NRL will get him upto Clarkes level but as Canberra is something of a graveyard I'm not expecting an overnight transformation. Shame he couldn't up his game to match Clarke and hold onto his place this week but still one for the future. 5/10
