The wait is almost over for those Huddersfield Giants stars who are in the frame to be picked in England’s 24-man squad for this autumn’s internationals against France and New Zealand.
All will be revealed tomorrow lunchtime (around 11.30am), when national coach Steve McNamara announces which players will be involved in the one-off France clash at Leigh on Saturday, October 24, and three-Test series against New Zealand which gets under way the following weekend.
After finishing top of the Super League tryscoring charts with 27 (Wigan winger Joe Burgess has 23 heading into tonight’s Super League Grand Final) and earning a place in the Super League Dream Team, in-form winger Jermaine McGillvary has to be the prime Huddersfield candidate for England selection.
He was joined in that Dream Team by Burgess, who is among the frontrunners for wing selection, along with Leeds’ Ryan Hall.
Fellow Rhinos ace Tom Briscoe could also gain selection out wide, particularly after his stunning five-try display in his side’s 50-0 Challenge Cup final triumph at Wembley over Hull KR in August.
The fact Briscoe is comfortable at centre could give him the nod over McGillvary for the final call, while Saints duo Tommy Makinson and Adam Swift and rising Wigan star Dom Manfredi are others who could earn a last-minute call-up.
And talking of centres, is it too late for Huddersfield’s Leroy Cudjoe?
Earlier in the year, his chances look slim.
But over the past two months, his wing-centre partnership with McGillvary has been one of the most lethal in Super League, so how about Cudjoe and McGillvary on one side and Leeds pair Hall and Kallum Watkins on the other?
The chances of this happening were raised when Brisbane Broncos centre Jack Reed was ruled out after picking up a shoulder injury which required surgery in last weekend’s Australian NRL Grand Final.
And with a slight question mark still hanging over the fitness of Dream Team centre Michael Shenton, Cudjoe wouldn’t be a bad bet at all for an England re-call.
In the forwards, the big question for the Giants is whether Brett Ferres has done enough to keep hold of the England back-row spot he held throughout last year’s Four Nations competition.
He’s a player McNamara likes, but having played less than half the season because of various injuries (ankle, knee and bicep) and a two-game suspension, a lack of match fitness could count against him. As a result, Wigan’s three main second-row forwards Liam Farrell, Joel Tomkins and John Bateman appear to be in pole position.
A long shot for selection from the Giants could be prop Craig Huby, who has been on the fringe of the England squad for the past couple of years and has had a rock-solid first season at the John Smith’s Stadium.
St Helens front-row forward Alex Walmsley looks certain to be sidelined with an ankle injury that dogged him during the end of the domestic season.
The loss of both Walmsley, who was shortlisted for Man of Steel after a stellar season with his club, and NRL-based George Burgess reduces McNamara’s options up front and that could pave the way for Huby or a re-call for Warrington’s Ben Westwood, who missed the 2014 Four Nations Series through injury.
