Entry 4: 5th November
There may well be fireworks tonight but be rest assured there will also be some tomorrow when New Zealand take on Australia and Papua New Guinea meet England in the Four Nations.
I've already gone into quite a lot of detail as to where I feel there have been deficiencies in the England game but pride really is at stake against a PNG team shorn of many of their stars and struggling.
Having said that, the Kumuls are not to be taken lightly. They boast a quintet of players that all have experience of the English game, playing for teams such as Sheffield (Menzie Yere), Featherstone (and from next year Wakefield in the case of Jessie Joe Parker), Halifax (Makali Aizue) and Hunslet pair Michael Mark and the superbly named Charlie Wabo.
Yere has just completed his second season in the Championship with the Eagles and still appears to be improving. His defensive work against Australia earned him the nickname "Jukebox" in the Aussie press.
Parker was having a tremendous season with Featherstone before having to return home. Certainly for the first half of the year, the raw boned centre was Rovers main go-to attacking player and even claimed a couple of tries against Warrington in a 48-24 defeat.
Aizue has had something of a mixed year at Halifax. After joining them in the close season and playing a few games, he got injured and then fell out of favour only to force his way back into contention in the closing stages. He turned in a couple of inspirational performances at the end of the season, including a crackerjack performance in the Championship Grand Final as Halifax recovered from 22-4 down to win 23-22 in extra time.
The last names I mentioned were those of Michael Mark and Charlie Wabo. Both have done well for Hunslet this year having first come over to try their luck in England after the 2008 World Cup. Wabo is a clever hooker and caused the Kiwi defence a couple of problems last week, especially when he chipped over the defence and regathered to then send stand off Glen Nami racing to the line. Mark is a winger small in stature, big on heart that has had little chance to show his wares in this competition but has scored a number of memorable tries for the Hawks.
It is hoped that England do not take to their task with any complacency. The team should have too much for PNG and for the first time on tour, club halfbacks Kevin Brown and Luke Robinson are paired together while Tony Clubb of Harlequins returns to the international side alongside Warrington's Garreth Carvell who is on the bench. There is also a recall at substitute for Gareth Widdop.
Here is the England team in full:
1 Sam Tomkins (Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Patricks)
2 Ryan Hall (Leeds Rhinos, Oulton Raiders)
3 Leroy Cudjoe (Huddersfield Giants, Newsome)
4 Tony Clubb (Harlequins RL, Greenwich Admirals)
5 Tom Briscoe (Hull FC, Featherstone Lions)
6 Kevin Brown (Huddersfield Giants, Thatto Heath)
7 Luke Robinson (Huddersfield Giants, Siddal)
8 James Graham (St Helens, Blackbrook) (capt)
9 James Roby (St Helens, Blackbrook)
10 Sam Burgess (South Sydney, Dewsbury Moor)
11 Gareth Ellis (Wests Tigers, Castleford Lock Lane)
12 Ben Westwood (Warrington Wolves, Normanton Knights)
13 Sean O'Loughlin (Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Patricks)
Interchange
14 Darrell Griffin (Huddersfield Giants, Oxford Cavaliers)
15 Garreth Carvell (Warrington Wolves, Stanningley)
16 Ben Harrison (Warrington Wolves, Barrow Island)
17 Gareth Widdop (Melbourne Storm, King Cross)
Hopefully I'll be blogging a little more positively after the game!
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