Phil Clarke pick his England team for the Four Nations
Thursday 25 August 2016 15:54, UK
Sky Sports' Phil Clarke reflects on the Super League season so far, and picks his England team for the Four Nations...
There is nothing worse than a pundit who won't answer the question; a crime I was guilty of on Friday night. We had just seen Wigan and Hull win convincingly in the third week of the Super 8's and Eddie Hemmings asked who I would pick as my England full-back. Jamie Shaul or Sam Tomkins - As simple as that.
It caught me cold as I hadn't even considered who I would select for this year's Four Nations. I didn't want to give an answer based on one performance and have since had time to reflect.
Sorry it's late Eddie, but here's my England Team, not just the full-back:
1 Sam Tomkins, 2 Jermaine McGillvary, 3 Dan Sarginson, 4 Kallum Watkins, 5 Ryan Hall, 6 George Williams, 7 Luke Gale, 8 Chris Hill, 9 James Roby, 10 Scott Taylor, 11 John Bateman, 12 Liam Farrell, 13 Joe Westerman, 14 Daryl Clark, 15 Kyle Amor, 16 Alex Walmsley, 17 AN Other.
"Sam Tomkins' competitive nature puts him into my team. He hates losing more than he likes winning and those people are hard to beat in sport."
I have selected a UK-based team for two reasons. Firstly, I have not seen all of the games played in the NRL this year and secondly I am not 100 per cent sure which players are eligible to play for England in the NRL right now.
The other thing that I find impossible, but something that Wayne Bennett is paid to do, is to compare the performance of a player in the Super League to that of a man playing in the NRL - sometimes it can look like a different game.
I don't know many people who three years ago said that Josh Hodgson should be in the England team. He was never on a shortlist to be Man of Steel when he played for Hull KR, but all of a sudden stands a great chance of being the England No 9 because of his outstanding performances at the Canberra Raiders.
What makes me think that Sam Tomkins is a better option than Jamie Shaul? Jamie Shaul has been brilliant at Hull this year. He's a more dangerous runner of the ball, makes more breaks than Sam Tomkins now and is a better support player for the team. But he doesn't have the ability to pass the ball as well or as often.
I also think that Sam Tomkins' competitive nature puts him into my team. He hates losing more than he likes winning and those people are hard to beat in sport.
I also considered Stefan Ratchford, who I would have in my squad. I am assuming that Dominic Manfredi is out for the year and that Josh Charnley will be playing at Sale Sharks by the time we get to Autumn. I wasn't sure if Denny Solomona was eligible, and so left him out.
I deliberated over Leroy Cudjoe and Dan Sarginson for my centre position. I've gone for Sarginson because Cunjoe is playing in the Qualifiers and, rightly or wrongly, I don't think that you can jump from there to Test-match level. If fit, I would consider Mark Percival, but his injury looked serious and I'm not sure he'll be back in 2016.
In the half-backs I questioned why I hadn't selected the 'new' Lee Briers. Marc Sneyd is a contender for Man of Steel in my eyes, but I didn't put him in my England team. Some say you need to try something a little different at Test level, but I am happy with the kicking game that Gale and Williams can provide and believe they will do a better job over 80 minutes.
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I didn't find a place for Matthew Smith but would put Joe Mellor in the squad. I like the threat that he provides with his fast and elusive running in the Middle of the field.
One of the most difficult decisions was in the second row: I might have been swayed by the brilliant performance by Liam Farrell last week against St. Helens, but I also like Ben Currie and could be talked into selecting him. He's the sort of player who could win the Lance Todd this week and finish the last two months of the season on a real high. On reflection he'd probably be my number 17 as he can play centre or second row, just like John Bateman.
Brett Ferres' team are out of fashion at the moment, but that doesn't mean he is out of form. He would make my squad. As would Josh Jones who I think can play centre or second row and has impressed me at Salford this year.
One of my friends said he would have Ratchford as his stand-off, but he's not really playing there for the Wolves. Not that I think that should matter.
My other big call was selecting Joe Westerman at loose forward. Wayne Bennett announced that Sean O'Loughlin would be his captain in the Four Nations, but his season has been interrupted by injuries. He is probably a better passer of the ball than his Warrington rival but I wasn't sure if he would be available or if his form this season is as good.
Good luck to every player who has a chance of being in the England team this year. I will be cheering you on.
And good luck to both teams at Wembley on Saturday. It is one of our sport's greatest days, let's hope it is one of our greatest games.
