NEVER mind whether Tony Smith will do any good as the new Great Britain rugby league coach, is he going to pick Lee Briers?

That's what I want to know and the Briers for Britain campaigners have been waiting with bated breath to find out whether the new man would be favourable to Warrington's Welsh wizard.

Sadly, I've already heard rumours that Smith may not be Briers' biggest fan, despite being the victim of one of the half back's greatest performances when Wolves knocked Leeds out of the play-offs last year.

But we will only find out for sure what Smith thinks when he names his first Great Britain squad for the mid-season international against France.

If, when Briers returns from injury, he replicates last year's form and still doesn't get picked it will cause much consternation among Warrington fans.

The object of their fury, Brian Noble, was seen off amid shouts of Richard Horne, are you serious?' and How's about giving that Lockyer fella a game?'.

The worst is surely over now from Briers' point of view because, even though Noble did select him for a warm-up match against a Newcastle select side, to not keep him in Australia for the Tri-Nations was crazy.

Great Britain had absolutely no cover for Sean Long and their kicking game was farcical against Australia after Long had unexpectedly jetted home.

We can only hope that one of the key questions asked when interviewing candidates for the job was not: Do you like Lee Briers?' Maybe Shaun McRae launched into a eulogy about Briers' talents and immediately saw his hopes disappear Down Under.

Joking aside, if Smith resists the urge to automatically select Leeds pair Danny McGuire and Rob Burrow, I think he is capable of doing a good job for Britain.

I certainly hope he does because his Leeds side are an entertaining bunch to watch and he has always seemed to be a genial sort of chap.

Another who fits that description is John Kear, who has done a fantastic job at Wakefield this year.

Wolves suffered at Kear's hands on Sunday and, despite all the daft talk about scrapping the relegation battle last year, Wakefield's close shave with the drop could be the best thing that ever happened to them.

It was said at the time that it was no good Wakefield getting a full house for a relegation decider because the fans wouldn't be back this year, but crowds up by more than 1,000 per game so far this year suggest otherwise.

Mind you, it's no wonder Wakefield are winning games at home.

I think I'd be a bit put off as a visiting player if I had to enter the field of play through the mouth of a giant inflatable cat.

* Naming pets is an awful lot easier when you're a sports fan.

When my mother asked for names for her three new gerbils, the only sensible solution was to call them Tal, Ben and Haim, in honour of the Bolton defender's excellent performance for Israel against England on Saturday.

That said, I'm still regretting calling the dog Jardel and even the gerbils are getting a bit twitchy now they've heard rumours they might be packed off to west London in the summer.



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