Leigh Leopards star Zak Hardaker reveals obvious solution to England disaster

Former Leeds Rhinos and Wigan Warriors star Zak Hardaker was perhaps unlucky not to be called back up to the England squad after a terrific season with the Leigh Leopards.

However, to the versatile outside back who can play wing, centre and fullback has had his say on what England should do after the Samoa series collapsed.

He took to social media to call for the return of the War of the Roses saying: “Yorkshire vs Lancashire, easy.”

This is a concept that has long been discussed and suggested and is used at academy level under the watchful eye of England Knights coach Paul Anderson.

So could we see it return to First Team level? That is for the RFL to decide.

It is of course comparable to the State of Origin in Australia which has taken a historic step forward with a three game women’s series confirmed.

With the match-winning Sky Blues and series-winning Maroons admitting to a ‘strange feeling’ after the final siren of the 2023 two-game series, both teams called for the women’s competition to be extended to three matches.

And when NRL CEO Andrew Abdo confirmed a historic three-match State of Origin series on Monday, Blues forward Kennedy Cherrington believes the women’s game took another big step forward.

“Both teams have been the driving force for this result, it wasn’t just New South Wales advocating for three games, it was Queensland as well,” Cherrington told NRL.com.

“I know we’re quite competitive against each other and then there’s always going to be that rivalry, but we did share that common goal.

“There was a lot of like awkward energy after the game, it just felt a bit odd with us winning the second game but I think it’s a big step forward for our game.”

After the Sky Blues won the series final but lost on points aggregate, Cherrington quickly took to social media, encouraging the NRL to “GIVE US 3 GAMES”.

The 24-year-old Jillaroo said she knew the push for the series to match the men’s three-game structure had to be driven from the players themselves.

“It definitely had to be us advocating for this because people care about what the players want and if they’re hearing it directly from us, we’ve got to be that driving force and speaking up for what we actually want,” the Eels lock said.

“We’ve got a few big profiles in Origin and we know that when push comes to shove, we have to be the ones speaking up and advocating for our own game.”