England head coach Shaun Wane has confirmed he could make as many as four changes to this 17-man side to face Australia this weekend at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
His words come amid a heavy 26-6 defeat in Test One of the three-Test series at Wembley Stadium last weekend, a defeat which already puts England in must-win territory heading to Merseyside.
“It’s a really good 24-man squad we’ve got,” Wane told the media. “There are lots of players that could have played last week (and didn’t), and they’re all going to be in contention for selection this week as well.
“Yes, (there will be changes), a few. I’m going to be seeing the coaches again shortly, and we’re going to look into what we need to do to make sure the team will be a lot more equipped. Whether I make two or four changes, I’m not sure yet.”
These also followed growing calls for changes to the side after the manner of the defeat in the Capital, in which England only scored their first points of the game in the 76th minute.
There will, of course, be a lot going into these calls, with Wane needing to resist the urge to detonate the squad from last weekend while also ensuring he gets the result he wants to then force a decider at Headingley, but just which new faces could come into the 17?
Here is our take on just that.
AJ Brimson
A lot of the talk heading into Saturday’s Test at Everton is centred on a possible debut for AJ Brimson, be it in the starting side or on the bench.
The move makes sense, in a lot of ways. England’s attack looked a touch clunky under the arch last weekend, which saw them miss out on key opportunities. Brimson could be the answer to those problems. He gives England a proper dual-threat in their spine, scoring 12 tries and notching 13 assists in his 23 NRL appearances this season, which is something Wane’s side missed last weekend.
His ability to play at full-back and in the halves, as well as centre and even hooker if needed, also makes him a good option to have on the bench.
Fellow full-back Jack Welsby will also likely be involved somewhere in the 17, given Wane’s public backing of the St Helens man after what he described as an ‘off day’, so these two could very easily feature in the same side. It’ll be interesting to see who starts and who goes on the bench between them.
Harry Smith
It was a big call to bring Mikey Lewis into the starting 13 last weekend, and it could be an even bigger one to take him out of it again after just one week, but it does seem like Wane could pick Harry Smith at seven in Test Two.
Williams again looked the part in an England jersey last weekend, and he and Smith are already a settled, proven combination at Test level and could force Wane’s hand.
Around that, Smith would also offer England a lot more control. While Lewis has been in stellar form for Hull KR on their march to the treble, he is an out-and-out six who thrives when he is given the freedom to threaten ball-in-hand. In this England side, though, that role falls to Williams, which then forces Lewis to become the controlling number seven, a role he doesn’t quite have nailed down.
Don’t get us wrong, his kicking game has come on leaps and bounds this year, but if Lewis is the student, then Smith is the master. The Wigan back is the conductor behind his side’s attack, with his boot playing a key role in their suffocating tactics.
Wane was also not too happy with the way England ended their sets on Saturday, either, but Smith’s kicking game will give them a consistent, clean end to a set.
It’s harsh on Lewis, but it’s certainly a likely call.
Morgan Smithies
While Morgan Knowles didn’t necessarily have a bad game last weekend, Wane could be tempted to bring Morgan Smithies in at loose forward for Test Two.
The Canberra Raiders might have had to get used to life on the bench in recent appearances, but he was a mainstay in the side that won the Minor Premiership in 2025, and that form could very easily transfer over to England. While he’s still not your ball-playing 13 that Wane is clearly after, and which he had in Victor Radley, Smithies is just a proper nuts and bolts player and could also help the interchanges in the front-row.
With Smithies in the team, it could then also see Knowles move to prop or even on the bench as well, and give him that freedom to focus solely on his carrying ball-in-hand in the process, but then also allow for much more fluid rotation in the middle this weekend. Both Smithies and Knowles can play big minutes if needed, which then just makes the rotation between the rest of the front-row that little bit easier.
Mikolaj Oledzki
Another face who could come into the pack this weekend is Leeds’ Mikolaj Oledzki.
The pack did put in some decent grunt at Wembley, but on the whole, Australia did manage to get the better of them, and this could be where Wane makes a change.
Oledzki has been in pretty good form this year, too, acting as a key cog in the Leeds Rhinos pack with 22 starts to his name across the campaign, and would just add a fresh impact to the pack.
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