“He must have been really close” – Radford believes Hull star was unlucky to miss out on England selection

Hull FC coach Lee Radford believes Black and Whites’ centre Josh Griffin was unlucky to miss out on the England squad.

Hull players Scott Taylor, Jake Connor and Jamie Shaul were all named as part of Wayne Bennett’s Elite Training Squad on Monday, while Josh Bowden and Masi Matongo were selected for the England Knights.

But Radford thinks Griffin, who has scored 12 tries in 22 games so far this season, was just as worthy of a call-up.

“I’m really pleased that we’ve got the three guys named in the EPS, but I think there are a couple more that must have been right on the cusp of being in there, but I think that will depend a lot on how we do towards the back end of the year,” he told the Hull Daily Mail.

“I think Griff especially is unlucky to miss out, and he must have been really close. We’ll see how the year pans out but it goes without saying that the more success we have the more chance he, and other players, will have of being in the squad.”