Lyon has retired from rep rugby hasn't he?

Jennings is just fast, he isn't rated in Australia at all.

Yes. But he is still a top class player. If St Helens had him again he would make such a difference that St Helens would be hot Grand Final contenders and perhaps favourites. None of the English centres could match him.

Quote The Big Gun="The Big Gun"Jennings is just fast, he isn't rated in Australia at all.'" That is flatly untrue. Jennings is rated very highly in Australia and he will be NSW State of Origin centre if he is not injured. Watch him shine with the Sydney Roosters playing outside SBW. video.dailytelegraph.com.au/2350 ... l-Williams

Quote The Big Gun="The Big Gun"Jennings is just fast, he isn't rated in Australia at all.'" That is flatly untrue. Jennings is rated very highly in Australia and he will be NSW State of Origin centre if he is not injured. Watch him shine with the Sydney Roosters playing outside SBW. video.dailytelegraph.com.au/2350 ... l-Williams

It was nothing like the Bromwich try. He was in a no win situation for that. Had he gone low, Browmich goes in to score but he attempted to go high instead which had the higher percentage of causing the error. As it was, he got swatted by a bigger guy and they scored. The cause of that try came from Achurch and McShane's misses further down field. I havent seen him miss a 1 on 1 tackle in the line for a fair while now. Yes, he misreads the play in front of him from time to time which leads to tries but so does every player in the game. As a Leeds fan, I certainly have no worries about our right side defense when Watkins plays 3. Can he get better? Yes, a lot, but he certainly isnt a weak defender and in the big games has got the better of his opposite number each time, be it Matai or Carmont.



The problem with League fans in this country is that they remember for too long. In 5 or 6 years time, Watkins could be close to being the best defensive centre in the world, but he will still be remembered for missing tackles when he was 19/20/21 years old and this same conversation will still be going on. A bit like McGuire, who is still seen as a 1 trick pony at the age of 30, even though the majority of his tries come from him creating something on his own these days and he has more assists than anyone else at Leeds over the last 5 years. It happens across the board though and IMO it damages our game.

The Aussies are going to be playing 5 people in the centres in the WC?? There was me thinking we only had to worry about two...

I'd go with Cudjoe and Watkins at the moment, they've both looked pretty impressive so far this year, physically, skilfully, and defensively.

I'd have no problems picking Watkins at centre for England. I like him. That doesn't mean I can't be dissapointed when I think he should've done better. Both those instances I mentioned were when he was playing in a alien postion.

GI is a fullback playing out of position



The only Aussie centre to fear is GI who is a freak of nature

And a fullback playing out of position

Jennings isn't great, in fact he's quite ordinary. He'll get room to run outside SBW but that doesn't mean he'll convert the chances (see the woeful missed chance in Rd 1) Fitness allowing, Hodges and GI will play in the centres, and that is the best two centres in the world, even if one is a full back.



Defending those two wouldn't be the job of the centre though, a centre in England will defend 3 in, the pivot will defend the centre directly. So it will be Sinfield and the best of the rest on the other side.



If pick Atkins and Watkins. Decent size and speed, both score tries and attack kicks well. But, McNamara will go with the more solid Reed over Atkins I think, in cover for the right hand pivot. I wouldn't worry about that though, Widdop and Myler are both strong defenders whoever gets picked.

Well said. Long memories for the bad and short memories for the good (until it becomes nostalgia) is far too frequent over here, we're pretty much all guilty of it.

If Hodges gets picked before Morris it will be a travisty.