New South Wales coach Laurie Daley has bizarrely suggested that Shaun Wane is deliberately favouring Super League players over those playing in the NRL to prove the English competition can match its Australian counterpart.
England were well beaten in the opening Test of this autumn’s Ashes and must now win back-to-back games to salvage the series and win the Ashes for the first time since 1970.
The defeat at Wembley saw the likes of Gold Coast star AJ Brimson and Canberra forward Morgan Smithies left out of Wane’s 17 completely – though a number of NRL-based players including John Bateman, Herbie Farnworth and Kai Pearce-Paul did play.
But Daley, speaking to Australian radio, has incredibly suggested that the England staff are determined to prove Super League is equal to the NRL by actively selecting players from the English competition instead.
“They have probably got this thing where, they are Australians playing in the NRL and we will show them how good the Super League is, well no,” Daley said.
“I even thought Morgan Smithies should have been in the (first Test) squad, he’s getting week in, week out experience in the NRL … Billy Smith I would have had him in.
“The problem is they believe Super League is a really strong competition and they want to pick as many as they can from there.. that would be the main reason.”
Daley cited the possible omission of Jack Welsby – who struggled at Wembley – in place of Brimson as a change England must consider for Everton this weekend.
“I think they need to make some changes. Jack Welsby is obviously a very good player in the English Super League, but that incident with Angus Crichton when he scored the try, he must have just lost all bearings of where he was. I’ve never seen a fullback do that.
“He had to go forward and you go forward in that situation, but he stayed back and allowed Angus a free run to the line. If he moves forward he gets an opportunity to stop him.
“I just couldn’t believe that decision by an experienced player who has a big reputation in England.”
