Hull FC man Jordan Lane has the ability to force his way in Shaun Wane’s England plans next season. That’s the belief of the Black and Whites’ interim boss Simon Grix, who believes the back-rower has been ‘brilliant’ this season, despite Hull’s woeful form.
The performances of Lane, who has spent his entire career to date at the MKM Stadium, have been one of the few positives to come out of west Hull this year. The 26-year-old has played all but one game this season and captained the side in recent weeks as he steps up to become a leader in what is an extremely young squad.
Given he was once described as the best defender at the club by then head coach Lee Radford, it’s no surprise to see Lane ranking highly in the Super League tackle charts for 2024, making 733 including 134 from marker. He has a try and an assist to his name, too, with 1414 metres being made from 226 carries.
It’s fair to say Lane, who has been seen through the middle as well on the edge, is having a strong campaign, then, and he deserves the praise Grix has piled on him. But, the Hull FC coach has also challenged him to build on his recent success by taking that next step in his career by becoming part of the international conversation.
“Laney has been brilliant, but I do think there’s still more in him,” Grix said, per Hull Live. “It’s a bit of an outside opinion, as this is my first year working with him, but he came on the scene with a lot of potential, and you could argue he’s not quite achieved what people thought he possibly could.
“But as a back-rower who can play in the middle, I look across the England squad, and I don’t think it’s a position of massive depth, particularly back row. For any young Englishmen, but Laney, at 27, he’s a good age and in his prime, it shouldn’t be something that isn’t on their goal list at the beginning of next year, to get involved in that conversation. I do think he’s got the qualities to do that. It’s over to Laney.
“A lot has happened in between him playing England Knights and now, but from what I’ve seen this year, he’s certainly got a lot of the tools you need to get there. He needs to have a good think about that and decide what he wants out of the rest of his career. Does he want to stick international honours next to his name? I’m sure he does.”
