Uncle Wayne Bennett's first major task with the England rugby league team was to select a squad for the Four Nations and this came after we heard whispers about Bennett courting numerous Australian Englishmen. In that regard, Bennett's first England squad is a bit of a let down as it only features true-blue Pommies but obviously it's a bit silly to think of it that way and instead, we can look at this English squad and be slightly scared.

The Kiwis squad is stacked, as is the Kangaroos squad and it's great to see that England will also roll out an impressive collection of footy players. This not only sets the scene for an intriguing and competitive Four Nations tournament, we're also going to be graced with a little taster of what to expect at the World Cup next year.

Bennett outlined that he didn't want to shake the apple cart too much from England's squad that faced the Kiwis last year, which goes hand-in-hand with him resisting the urge to select Australians who are eligible via an English mother or father. There's enough talent in England that Bennett didn't need to go that route and the talent out of England is led by a handy NRL contingent. Sam Burgess, James Graham, Tom and George Burgess, Mike Cooper, Gareth Widdop, Elliott Whitehead and Josh Hodgson have all been selected which is almost a team in itself, throw in Dan Sarginson who is off to Gold Coast next season as well.

Following a whole bunch of sports closely doesn't leave much room to enjoy the Super League, so I'm on the same journey as all of y'all in learning about the English-based players selected. Guys like centre Kallum Watkins and winger Ryan Hall have been staples of any England squad, so they are familiar faces and Brett Ferres was a beast against the Kiwis last year. Winger Jermaine McGillvary was also a stand-out last year and gave England some x-factor off the flank, while George Williams is shaping as a decent half to partner Widdop heading into the World Cup.

That leaves us with Jonny Lomax who appears to be an exciting option at fullback, Mark Percival is a young centre, Scott Taylor is a middle forward, Luke Gale will offer depth in the halves/hooker, Daryl Clark will likely play second-fiddle to Hodgson at hooker, Stefan Ratchford is a utility, John Bateman is an edge forward/centre, Kevin Brown is another half option, Chris Hill's a big bopper and Liam Farrell is an edge forward.

It's hard to ignore how strong England's forward pack will be and with Hodgson playing alongside what is an all-star forward pack, we can expect Hodgson to shine with his crafty work out of dummy half. A starting England forward pack could look like this; Sam Burgess, Elliott Whitehead, Liam Farrell/John Bateman, James Graham, Josh Hodgson and George Burgess. I'd roll with a bench of Tom Burgess, Brett Ferres, Chris Hill and Daryl Clark or Mike Cooper depending on whether Bennett wants size or zip.

A possible England backline; Jonny Lomax, Jermaine McGillvary, Kallum Watkins, Dan Sarginson, Ryan Hall, Gareth Widdop and George Williams.

As kiwis, we should be very weary about England's squad as they have all the bases covered and in that top-17 there aren't too many weak spots, if any at all. They've got a forward pack that can contain a powerful Kiwis pack and with Bennett at the helm, they will have many plans in place to fight off the pressure applied on them by the Kangaroos play-makers. 

As international rugby league fans, this England squad only reinforces that international rugby league is in a nice spot. The Four Nations should provide us with a highly competitive tournament and ahead of the World Cup, it'll be great to get a gauge on how England are truckin' along.