The newest member of the England squad, Victor Radley, is one of the biggest names in the game and has already achieved large amounts of success in the NRL with Sydney Roosters.
This may not have always been the case according to the man himself as he believes he owes a lot of his success to current Leigh Centurions Head Coach Adrian Lam.
Speaking at Leigh’s Premier Club before the Centurions win against Batley, Radley highlights how important Lam’s influence on him was from a young age.
“I grew up with Lachie and Adrian was my coach since I was seven years old,” he said. “He was a massive influence on my life and my footy. Besides my parents he’s probably had the biggest impact on my life.
“Since I was seven years old he spent three days a week with me coaching me, I was always an okay footballer but I was pretty stupid and he really showed me where I was going and without him I wouldn’t be where I am today, I wouldn’t be playing footy for a living I’d be on a building site.”
With the World Cup around the corner Radley has been selected to represent England for the first time.
His eligibility comes from his dad who is originally from Sheffield. Although he was picked in the New South Wales Blues squad this season, he declared himself for England which he admits wasn’t an easy choice.
“I knew the World Cup was coming up and I had a pretty big decision to make there and I was stewing on it for a while,” Radley added. “After speaking to the people close me I rang Waney (Shaun Wane) and said if you want to pick me I’m all in.
“It was pretty good to hear Waney, he was stocked. I was a bit nervous coming over on the flight but as soon as I got here I knew I’d made the right decision.”
Radley is a welcome addition to this England squad which has been decimated by injuries to the likes of Jonny Lomax and Alex Walmsley.
His addition to the forward pack and his ability as a ball playing loose forward will be vital to England as they progress through the tournament.
England get their campaign underway against Samoa at St James’ Park on Saturday 15 October.
