When last year’s Rugby League World Cup concluded I thought England would be a force for years to come. Sure, the loss of Sam Burgess is a huge blow but I believe he will be back in a couple years.
Even if he doesn’t return, there are still his twin brothers to call upon who look to be developing into fully fledged stars of their own.
The retirement of Kevin Sinfield is also a big loss to English rugby league but I think that this, along with the fact that its the year after a home world cup, presents them with the perfect opportunity to rebuild for a golden future.
With that in mind, Here is the 23-man squad I would select for the upcoming Four Nations tournament.
1.Sam Tomkins (age 25)
Took a while to find his feet in the NRL but really began to show his class over the back half of the season. I think his time in Australia can only help his International game as well. He’s one of the best fullbacks in the game and provides England with a lot of x-factor
2.Josh Charnley (age 23)
A clinical finisher who is one of the most prolific try scorers in Super League history. Has also carried that form over to the English team, scoring seven tries from four appearances.
3.Leroy Cudjoe (age 26)
Is coming to that age where most rugby league players begin to hit their peak. He possesses explosive speed and good foot work. Has assisted a big number of tries this season while also scoring seven of his own. Deserves his spot.
4.Kallum Watkins (age 23)
Has really come of age over the last 18 months and developed into a world-class centre. Easily Englands first choice in this position.
5.Ryan Hall (age 26)
Is regarded by many as the world’s best winger. He caused a lot of problems for teams at last year’s World Cup including the Kangaroos and Kiwis. An automatic selection.
6.Gareth Widdop (age 25)
Has gone to another level since leaving the shadows of playing at the Melbourne Storm for more of a spotlight role at the Dragons. He was one of the early leader’s for the NRL’s Dally M award and has consistently performed at a high level throughout the year. Will be a massive part of Englands future.
7.Marc Sneyd (age 23)
With the retirement of Sinfield I think England should select a young, genuine halfback who could develop into a leader of their national team. Is the major influence behind Castlefords successful 2014 campaign and for me, Sneyd edges out the 27-year-old Matty Smith.
8.Chris Hill (age 26)
Has arguably been Super League’s best prop this season along with a resurgent Jamie Peacock. Works hard and regularly bends defensive lines with his carries. Will add a lot to a potentially dominant English pack.
9.James Roby (age 28)
Will be one of the veterans and leaders of the national team. The 2007 Man of Steel award winner, the youngest ever to win the prestigious award, is a truly world class rake who works harder than most.
10.James Graham (age 29 and captain)
He is without doubt the best prop in the world at the moment. Was one of the youngest-ever English captains back in 2010 and I now think he is ready to make that role his own, despite playing his club footy in Australia. I genuinely think he could lead England to a Four Nations or World Cup trophy.
11.Brett Ferres (age 28)
After a stand out season last year which culminated in selection for England’s World Cup squad, where he was one of their top performers. He has carried that form into this year and possibly even gone up another gear.
12.Joe Westerman (age 24)
A big talented back rower who has been on the brink of a international call-up for a while, I think his time for that could be now.
13.Sean O’Loughlin (age 31)
Would be the oldest player in my squad and a key member of the leadership group. One of the best defenders in the Super League his work rate is as good as you will see anywhere.
14.Darryl Clark (age 21)
Has established himself as a future star this season, emphasised by the fact that he is now one of the front runners for this year’s Man of Steel award. He is also a big part of the Tigers’ rise.
15.Carl Ablett (age 28)
A versatile player who is equally capable in the centres as he is in the back row. I think he brings a lot of impact off the bench.
16.George Burgess (age 22)
A beast of a player from that famous family. He has established himself as a starting front rower at the Rabbitohs this season but I still believe he is best utilised as an impact player.
17.Tom Burgess (age 22)
George’s identical brother has always been considered a bit off the mark when compared to Luke, Sam and George. That was until 2014. He has real;y come of age and is arguably playing better than his twin at the moment.
Other members: Zak Hardaker (age 22), Matty Smith (age 27), Michael McIllorum (age 26), Liam Farrell (age 24), Scott Taylor (age 23)
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Ranga get used to it.This guy gets free reign to troll at times.
Philip Tate
Guest
Pommie Here! The SL is getting more and more even helped by the salary cap and a restriction on the number of imported players is forcing teams to develop their own players or recruit only the best players from abroad. The strength of teh aussie dollar has also reduced the influx. Our top 6 was split by only a couple of points up to a couple of weeks ago. The problem SL has is that whilst there can be some very high intensity games there are still some mismatches although nowhere near as many as thee used to be. Im a leeds Rhinos fans and our success over the last decade has been built on an incredible youth development programme which also breeds loyalty. All our outside backs would go extremely well in the NRL but they all want to keep playing together. Ryan Hall would get in any team in the world a beast in attackand defence. Zak Hardaker is also a huge talent, a greta broken field runner and very secure under the high ball. The player with the most potemtial is Kallum Watkins who is a fantastic athlete. He still needs to fine tune his handling but he is a real talent.
E-Meter
Guest
Gees where did that come from?
Dan Wighton
Roar Guru
This is a good piece, a good read. Looking through the list, there is plenty of quality - and the best thing about it is that they are mostly on the better side of 25. Next tri nations in england - with the ageing storm boys and thursto - will be a real close one. It's just a shame Burgess has gone. He really tied the room together.
Gregg
Guest
RL needs a strong England. The day they beat Aust again in a series or a RLWC is the day international RL regains its competitiveness.NZ always challenge and will continue to grow and have the potential to be the greatest RL nation however England are needed to make everyone take notice. If we can have Aust,NZ,England,France and a strong pacific islands along with the developing Euro nations then RL will reach its potential and be a truly international game.Is is the way to grow the game
fiver
Guest
I think it's more like 38% pacific islanders, then there's about 12% indigenous/Torres straight islanders.
Kris
Guest
Lol hahaha
Knightblues
Roar Guru
All burgess brothers will be in the England team
Knightblues
Roar Guru
good to see, I believe Rugby league is slowly growing stronger in England because more people are becoming aware of it, but its been a long slow ride.
Knightblues
Roar Guru
Im not saying our code is national, just saying we have more places where league players can develop than England does, which has basically only got 20 towns in north england
Ranga
Guest
I left this clipper a response earlier and it was posted, why do i come back 3 hours later and it's been removed? yet this clipper fellow can post whatever garbage he wants, haha, yeah no bias at this site.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
By my count, there were 7 Polynesians between the two Origin sides this year. Doubt it's even close to 70% in the NRL in general, might be close to 50% but I would still expect lower.
Renegade
Guest
like who? Our (Kanagaroos) wingers in the World Cup last year were not better than Ryan Hall.
Jay C
Roar Guru
I don't know if anyone said beating the Kangaroos did they? Golden Era could just mean making the final in the next world cup. That would be a good achievement. No one beats Australia except maybe the kiwis, but they cheated by allowing players who have come from New Zealand to represent them. We all know that players from New Zealand, who have spent most of their adult lives in Townsville should represent New South Wales.
Jay C
Roar Guru
Yeah he is eaily in the top 20 of left side centres running around in the NRL at the moment!
Jay C
Roar Guru
Don't 70% of NRL players come from Polynesia anyway? You don't see a lot of anglo's running around nowadays.
Kris
Guest
I honestly can't see England beating the Kangaroos within the nest 10 years.
steveng
Roar Rookie
Graham hasn't had a better year then Burgess I would have thought, I very rarely see him make a break like Burgo does he doesn't off load as well as Burgo or run as hard or as fast and mostly he just takes the ball up too often and just takes the tackle and that is it. In yesterdays game he surely did all the things that I've just said that he didn't but that was just one or two games this year where he has stood out and had an outstanding game like he did on Sunday.
steveng
Roar Rookie
England just haven't had a one and only great like "Tommy Bishop" he was just an outstanding half and won test matches on his own. Those were the day's of the great test match footy.
TeamListGuy
Roar Rookie
Likewwise with New Zealand. Their NRL contingent would predominently come fron the North Island. Infact I could probably count on my fingers the ones currently playing that are from the South Island... here goes... Simon Mannering, Jason Nightingale, Lewis Brown, Matt Duffie, Nu Brown, Penani Manumaleali'i, Pita Godinet, Matt Mcillwick and Jeremy Smith(arguably)