Hi Butcher , with all due respect , and I aren't a Cas fan with any axe to grind , I don't think he is second in line for England . If Welsby wasn't available then I think Evalds is clear second in line for the role and a much better all round FB than Max at the moment .



That said , England 2026 WC team may be a possibility , as Evalds will be 32 and , if Max continues to improve in the meantime , he would appear to be the obvious choice as understudy to Welsby ,



Sorry 'alegend', clicked the wrong post to reply to by mistake , hence the 'Hi Butcher' start to the message

am not suggesting we’d have 4 forwards the ones listed imo are all sl after that there is a question about the rest , so we are both prettty much in agreement. I think 2 injuries in pack and there’s a big drop in quality . Obviously all teams suffer when there starters aren’t available and perhaps lack of injuries and strength in depth is what determines league placing more than any other factor.

OK how about 'produce' because neither of them have really been strikingly prominent in SL so far- especially Russell.

I would personally have preferred it if we had signed a 'name' but like I say I hope they make me eat my words!

Trueman is a class act if he stays fit , however my views having watched him come through the Cas ranks are that he is much better and more effective when partenring another more senior half.



At Cas he was oustanding when partnering Gale , but when Gale left and Jake became the more senior half , he wasn't as effective . That's understandable as he got a lot more of the pressure from the opposition defence when in the more senior role.



A further example of this was at FC when he did manage to play. When partnering Clifford he was excellent , but when Clifford left and Trueman was in the more senior role , he found it much harder.



I guess the question is will he be seen as the more senior of the half backs at Wakey next season . I think he will , so it will be interesting to see how he goes , although in Russell you do have someone with SL experience who can take some of the pressure of Jake .

I think all our halves have something to prove so I see no senior player. Trueman and Russell have got the 6 & 7, but Lino and to a lesser extent Lawford will be pushing them should they not perform. .

Seen nothing in Russell yet (not just for wakefield!) that convinces me he's better than Lino but time will tell.