Shaun Wane’s remaining dilemmas after England squad hints at half-back pairing

Shaun Wane has dropped a major hint on his preferred half-back pairing after naming his England squad but a number of key dilemmas remain.

Wane has named his 19-man England squad for Saturday’s first Test against Australia and it’s fair to say he’s made some major calls.

The biggest of those is that Wigan Warriors’ Harry Smith is not named with the playmaker set to miss an England game for the first time since the 2022 World Cup, when England played with Jack Welsby in the halves alongside George Williams as Sam Tomkins played full-back.

Smith has played seven consecutive England games since then with Jack Welsby being the only other member of the squad to do so, highlighting what a massive decision it is for Shaun Wane to make.

It still doesn’t guarantee Mikey Lewis a starting shirt though as NRL man AJ Brimson is also a left-footed kicker who can play in the halves, though Lewis has been seen training there so seems the likely partner for George Williams.

With the halves pairing seemingly sorted, there’s still a number of key calls Shaun Wane has to make to take his 19-man squad to a matchday 17.

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Who plays nine?

Both Daryl Clark and Jez Litten have been named so we’re none the wiser as to who will be playing at hooker, whether it be one of this pair or both of them in spells.

Litten has proven himself the best nine in Super League this year and he’s shone playing from the bench, as he did in the Grand Final, or for the full 80 minutes.

Daryl Clark hasn’t had quite as good a season but he’s been impressive and is far more experienced on the international stage.

A wildcard option for Shaun Wane would be to have AJ Brimson on the bench as his utility and just name one hooker in his 17, with Brimson then able to cover all the backs and nine as well.

Which prop misses out?

Wane has named five prop forwards, two second-rowers, one loose forward and the versatile Owen Trout to his 19-man squad.

It seems likely that Trout will feature given his ability to play in the second-row so he’s one of the forwards set to be picked but at least one, if not two will miss out.

Morgan Knowles is a lock at lock, whilst John Bateman and Kai Pearce-Paul also seem nailed given the lack of second-rowers so that means one of Alex Walmsley, Mike McMeeken, Matty Lees, Mikolaj Oledzki or Ethan Havard will miss out.

McMeeken and Lees seem the favourites to start whilst you could argue Walmsley has been recalled for a reason, indicating either Havard or Oledzki could miss out.

Who plays in which centre slot?

Both Herbie Farnworth and Jake Wardle are left-sided centres with Harry Newman, the only specialist right-sided centre named to the 24-man squad, omitted from the group for Saturday.

It might seem trivial but the value of having a specialist left or right-sided centre is immense so it looks to be a case of Wane working out which player he’s willing to sacrifice to their weaker side.

He could opt for an NRL connection on the right with Farnworth and Dominic Young, with a Super League left side of Wardle and Tom Johnstone. He also may consider match-ups with Farnworth a former teammate of Kotoni Staggs at Brisbane, with Staggs set to line up on Australia’s right side.

Similar to the dilemma at both halves and hooker, AJ Brimson can fill into this position so it’s no certainty that Wardle is a starter either.

All these questions and more will be answered on Saturday when Shaun Wane confirms his 17-man squad that’s set to take the field as England host an Ashes Test for the first time since 2003.

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👇 Shaun Wane has named his 19-player squad for Saturday’s @ABKbeer Ashes Opener at Wembley!

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— England Rugby League (@England_RL) October 23, 2025