Re: Our England lads. : Mon Nov 10, 2014 9:41 am  

I'm encouraged by the whole 4 nations.

We are still within touching distance of both NZ and Aus, (you could argue the worst Aus team in recent memory though). Some of the senior citizens of the England team have gone (for the better IMO) and I think we'd be in the final had Slammin Sam not gone.

from a Wigan point of view

Sarg's rehabilitation seems to be coming on leaps and bounds, at London, due to lack of quality around him was forced to be greedy, now at the higher level it is more about creating space and choosing when to go yourself and when to give the winder that half yard.

Tomkins looks better each game since his return from yawnion

Re: Our England lads. : Mon Nov 10, 2014 10:21 am  

Dan Sarginson was a revelation. Hand on heart - I was so nervous for him before the Aussie game and he was superb. Then I thought maybe it was a one-off and he'll blow up against NZ, but he was even better.

Now did ANYONE see that coming in the middle of August at Hull KR when he was so poor? He has improved beyond belief since that night.

Credit to Shaun Wane or whoever at Wigan spotted that potential. Also he must be a confident type of lad because many players would have been overawed by a debut against Aussie in Aussie.

Since this time last year he has played in a World Club Challenge, a Grand Final and played for England twice (and lost the lot - though that is certainly not down to him). So there is lots to be enthusiastic about next year and lots for him personally and (the team) collectively to aim for.

Personally I can't wait for next season.

Re: Our England lads. : Mon Nov 10, 2014 12:29 pm  

i thought budgie should have played instead of charnley against NZ, the stats may back charnley up but they rarely win you games on their own. looked ineffective, partially down to Watkins, however I thought watkins, in defence in particular, was superb in the first two games so it is unfair to blame charleys "poor" tournament on that.

hill is and continues to be a revelation in the England team. the burgess brothers give us a great platform for years to come. widdop for me was the biggest flop, I'd rather have sinfield in there! a lomax and smith partnership will do nicely for me moving forwards.

hodgson didn't do much for me either, a fit roby or mcilorum would easily take his place in the squad.

all in all we have a lot to be positive about, that squad was very young and certainly has the potential to win tournaments over the next few years if we can keep the starting 13 fit.

Re: Our England lads. : Mon Nov 10, 2014 12:38 pm  

I think a lot of people are forgetting about Reed as a centre.

He's certainly the best overall one that we have.

Re: Our England lads. : Mon Nov 10, 2014 12:41 pm  

sergeant pepper wrote:

I think a lot of people are forgetting about Reed as a centre.

He's certainly the best overall one that we have.

He looked good at Brisbane earlier this year before he got injured. He can play left or right too. But Watkins and Sarg have those places to lose now. They did enough over the tournament to earn another go next year.

[Pemps]

Re: Our England lads. : Mon Nov 10, 2014 12:46 pm  

Aboveusonlypie wrote:

He looked good at Brisbane earlier this year before he got injured. He can play left or right too. But Watkins and Sarg have those places to lose now. They did enough over the tournament to earn another go next year.

Sarginson was excellent and a real surprise for most fans. Watkins showed glimpses of what he can do but he seems to have lapses in concentration. A move to the NRL would be ideal for him. He's classy enough and he'd learn a hell of a lot.

To be honest I think any one of England's starting 17 could get a gig in the NRL and it's been a long time since we could say that about the team.

Re: Our England lads. : Mon Nov 10, 2014 1:28 pm  

I think the problem with Charnley is that he appears so laid back at times, I think it annoys people. Overall he was OK throughout the 4Ns, and he was in there on merit. I do think however that if Burgess and Lineham can stay fit and develop as we all hope then he won't be first choice much longer. Another player I really like is Jermaine McGilvery at Hudds. He's a real wrecking ball kick returner, gets a quick PTB and has genuine pace, he is however very error prone

Re: Our England lads. : Mon Nov 10, 2014 5:57 pm  

Wigan Peer wrote:

Ok, i think i'm getting the gist here... England did well, but it's the Wigan players fault we lost.. Ok, right, carry on...

calm down precious, no one has said that

Re: Our England lads. : Mon Nov 10, 2014 6:46 pm  

suffolk rhinos wrote: calm down precious, no one has said that But it was so much better when we had all those super Leeds and Saints players and that brilliant Tony Smith as coach wasn't it? http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/n ... eagueteam1

suffolk rhinos wrote: calm down precious, no one has said that But it was so much better when we had all those super Leeds and Saints players and that brilliant Tony Smith as coach wasn't it? http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/n ... eagueteam1

Re: Our England lads. : Mon Nov 10, 2014 6:58 pm  

Rogues Gallery wrote: But it was so much better when we had all those super Leeds and Saints players and that brilliant Tony Smith as coach wasn't it. http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/n ... eagueteam1 no one said that either, plenty on here slating watkins (with some justification) and sir kev was usually being blamed when england or gb lost, we are all england/GB at the end of the day, sarginson was superb and tompkins should be a half back with zak at fb we were a dodgy video decision from the final with 5 wigan players in the team, the only one i had any doubts about was j tompkins

Rogues Gallery wrote: But it was so much better when we had all those super Leeds and Saints players and that brilliant Tony Smith as coach wasn't it. http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/n ... eagueteam1 no one said that either, plenty on here slating watkins (with some justification) and sir kev was usually being blamed when england or gb lost, we are all england/GB at the end of the day, sarginson was superb and tompkins should be a half back with zak at fb we were a dodgy video decision from the final with 5 wigan players in the team, the only one i had any doubts about was j tompkins