Shaun Wane has named his 19-man England squad for the third and final Test of this Ashes series.
England find themselves 2-0 down in the series after losing to Australia at Wembley and Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium so far. That means that irrespective of Saturday’s result at Headingley, Australia will be returning down under later this month with the series win.
Wane will be desperate to end the series on a high though and prevent the tourists from inflicting a 3-0 whitewash defeat on their hosts.
Kevin Walters has opted against making wholesale changes to his Kangaroos line-up, keeping things relatively similar as they look to claim a third straight victory. And, England will be matching them up with a squad that Wane will believe is capable of upsetting the odds and restoring some pride in West Yorkshire.
After overlooking them in the first two Tests, it seems as though Hull KR winger Joe Burgess and Leeds Rhinos’ Harry Newman look set to get a run out against the Aussies.
Dom Young and Jake Wardle are the men to drop out to make way for the pair, with Young appearing to pick up an injury in the closing stages of last Saturday’s game. Speaking after the game, Wane said that Young would be good to go for the third Test, but he has not been included in the squad.
Wardle, on the other hand, drops out after struggling to make a positive impact over the first two Tests.
John Bateman remains sidelined with an ankle injury, while Jack Welsby and Ethan Havard also miss out on selection.
Shaun Wane on his England squad for third Ashes Test
“Of course we are disappointed not to be going into this final game with the opportunity to win the Ashes, but the goal now is to come away from the series with a victory,” Wane said.
“We did a lot of good things last week but ultimately, we need to be even better if we want to get a win this weekend.
“It will be great to see Joe Burgess and Harry Newman in action this weekend. Joe has had a great season with Hull KR and Harry has been a consistent performer for me in an England jersey.
“I’ve no doubt the England supporters will get behind us once more as they have in previous seasons at Headingley – and hopefully we can give them something to celebrate come Saturday evening.”
England squad for third Test: AJ Brimson, Joe Burgess, Daryl Clark, Herbie Farnworth, Tom Johnstone, Morgan Knowles, Matty Lees, Mikey Lewis, Jez Litten, Mike McMeeken, Harry Newman, Mikolaj Oledzki, Kai Pearce-Paul, Harry Smith, Morgan Smithies, Owen Trout, Alex Walmsley, Kallum Watkins, George Williams.
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