Former Super League Man of Steel nominee Blake Austin believes that Jake Connor should be England’s half-back for the Rugby League World Cup, and has been tipped to be the nation’s game-changer.
Connor, who is the reigning Man of Steel and the current joint frontrunner alongside Ash Handley for this year’s award, has been in sensational form since his move to Leeds Rhinos, the club that Austin frequented for two seasons in 2022 and 2023.
He single-handedly won Leeds the game against Bradford Bulls on Sunday, with his monster of a 40/20 kick proving to be the turning point.
That kick, which left his boot 15 metres from his own goal line and landed eight metres from the Bulls’ line, changed the game completely and, as a result, went viral on social media, capturing the attention of Australian viewers.
From that, former Rhino Austin believes that Connor should be England’s number seven at the end of the season, predicting that he can “shock a few Aussies.”
The 35-year-old is a regular guest on Sporting News Australia, and it was there that he waxed lyrical over the Rhinos star.
He said: “If you don’t know Jake Connor, during my time there, he was always mercurial. He was always coming up with crazy plays, but he was always at second-fiddle clubs.
“Now, there’s a lot of fans that’ll come at me for saying that, but he was at Huddersfield, Hull FC, so he was at clubs that competed and overachieved, but they were never going to win comps and stuff.
“To see him finally go to a club that could match his talents, it’s been cool to see, and from all reports Brad Arthur has really really helped him.”
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Blake Austin wants Jake Connor to be England’s starting half-back
Connor’s attitude in his earlier years had always been his downfall, with acts of petulance often overriding his talent. However, Brad Arthur’s influence has allowed him to remove that from his game, and since then, he has been able to find another level to his game
“He was a nightmare to play against,” Austin revealed. “He’d come at you, the sledger from hell he was. He’d get in your face, he’d try and rile you up.
“Brad Arthur’s really taught him to leave that stuff behind, and say ‘you’re good enough, just get out there and show us what you do’.”
With the World Cup around 10 weeks away, the former Warrington, Leeds and Castleford man believes that Connor should be England’s focal point at the tournament, and with Brian McDermott now in charge, there is every chance that could happen.
Austin continued: “Shaun Wane, for whatever reason, overlooked Jake Connor on countless occasions. He used to play for Wayne Bennett’s England, played centre a lot, but I think the time is now, in a World Cup year, that we may just see him in the halves for England.
“He’s the type of player that could just shock a few Aussies. Could he do it over a 26-week competition? Probably not. But for three or four games in a World Cup, I reckon he could come up with some pretty crazy stuff to really shock some Aussies.”
