Leeds Rhinos star Jake Connor’s Ashes chances assessed as Jon Wilkin hits out at Man of Steel rankings

Jon Wilkin has given his verdict on the Ashes chances of Leeds Rhinos star Jake Connor whilst questioning the Man of Steel rankings.

Connor, who was signed by Leeds Rhinos ahead of the season, currently sits atop the Man of Steel rankings with the former Huddersfield man leading the way from Hull FC duo Herman Ese’ese and Aidan Sezer.

Few would have predicted Connor to have such an influence at Leeds, particularly when he was handed the number 18 shirt with no apparent route to the starting XIII.

However, he deputised at full-back in Lachlan Miller’s absence and has since moved into the halves, initially due to injury but he now warrants his spot as one of the club’s most important players.

That’s seen him pick up a number of Man of the Match awards and slowly move to the top of the Man of Steel rankings, which in turn has thrust him into conversations to make England’s squad for this autumn’s Ashes.

Is Leeds Rhinos’ Jake Connor an Ashes contender?

England will host Australia for the first time since 2003 with the three-game series set to end at Leeds Rhinos’ Headingley stadium and questions are being asked if Connor could come into contention.

One man who posed that question was Sky Sports host Brian Carney, explaining Connor’s prominence atop the Man of Steel standings as a possible reason why he could don an England shirt in October.

To that, Jon Wilkin argued: “The Man of Steel (competition) needs looking at because is Jake Connor the best player in our competition right now? No.

“Mikey Lewis was right up there (in 2024), Bevan French was right up there (in 2023), I don’t think Jake Connor is currently in the top five or six players in our competition.”

Explaining his reasoning, Wilkin added:”He’s playing very well in a Leeds team that is vastly improved and he’s playing in better parts of the field and touching the ball an awful lot more because he’s playing scrum-half and he’s on the ball a lot more.”

Despite that, Wilkin did concede: I think he is an Ashes contender for sure.

“I think Shaun Wane would like the way that he has seen him evolve and improve his mentality but that’s still a work in progress.”

Connor faces one of his toughest tests tonight when he leads Leeds Rhinos against Hull KR with young Jack Sinfield as his partner in the halves. A statement win and performance would do his Ashes chances no harm at all.