Smith has England options

Thursday 17th September 2009

England coach Tony Smith expects to draw his Four Nations squad from a cross-section of Super League after one of the most close-fought domestic competitions yet.

Smith called on players from 11 of the 12 engage Super League clubs for the mid-season international against France - Hull were the exceptions - and he anticipates another wide spread when he announces his next line-up.

"I'm pretty sure the national team will reflect the competition and how close it's been this year," he said.

It is a far cry from the World Cup when 15 of his 23-strong squad came from Grand Finalists Leeds and St Helens.

Smith is set to unveil the first batch of players for his train-on squad from the clubs who have failed to reach the play-offs on Thursday but will not finalise his squad until after the Grand Final on October 10 and he says selection is wide open.

Form during the play-offs will be crucial, according to the national coach, who admits he will be keeping his fingers crossed his key men avoid injury in the closing stages of the domestic season.

It is so far so good for Smith, who was robbed of the services of Sam Burgess (Bradford), Sean O'Loughlin (Wigan) and Gareth Raynor (Hull) for the World Cup, but he believes England will be much better equipped to cope with injuries this time.

"There's nobody of huge concern that I know of and that's great and I hope that continues," he said.

"If it does happen, though, I think we're better prepared to cope with it. There are a lot more players to consider this year and that's probably been shown by the evenness of the competition.

"There's a lot more players from a lot more teams putting their hands up because there is more talent coming through."