England head coach Shaun Wane has confirmed Mikey Lewis will be in his squad for the Ashes: but has insisted he ‘doesn’t think about’ awards like Man of Steel when asked about Jake Connor.
Wane will reveal his 24-man squad on Monday lunchtime, and the growing consensus is that the newly-crowned Man of Steel is going to be one of the unfortunate players that will miss the cut.
Connor has repeatedly been asked about whether he thinks he will be included and has constantly played it down, insisting his contact with Wane has been minimal throughout 2025.
And when asked by the BBC after Saturday’s Super League Grand Final about Connor, Wane admitted he wasn’t concerned about the individual awards that have been handed out.
He said: “To be honest, I don’t think about Man of Steel and Dream Team. I don’t know how they pick it and I know people go on about it but it doesn’t my enter my head. I’m a rugby man so I know who plays well when I watch a game.
“I know Jake Connor is a good player, and Mikey is a great player. Whoever I think can perform against Australia in that first Test will be in that 24 and they will be playing in that first Test. The Dream Team and Man of Steel, I don’t know how they pick it. I don’t know who is in the Dream Team, I just know who the good players are.”
However, Wane was more clear about Lewis – who won the man of the match award in Saturday night’s Grand Final – being included in his squad for the series.
He said: “Towards the back end of the game he was very good, Mikey. I thought he had a quiet start but he was very good today. He scored a try but he’s always been in the squad for me, Mikey – and he’ll be in the squad again. He’s a good player, there’s no doubt about that.”
And intriguingly, Wane admitted the performances of some players in the Grand Final has altered his thinking about who will make the cut – with his selection set to ‘slightly’ change as a result of Hull KR’s win over Wigan Warriors.
“A little bit,” he said. “I’m going to go home and watch it again but the people I thought would do something, did something. I thought it was a great game for Hull KR, I thought we were off today but it changes my selection slightly.”
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