England squad Winners and Losers: ‘Desperately unlucky’ Hull KR duo bizarrely left out

Shaun Wane’s latest 32-man England performance squad will meet on Tuesday evening for an off-feet squad session in Manchester – and that squad has plenty of talking points in it.

With six uncapped players and some big names missing out, it’s safe to say the squad has prompted plenty of debate.

Here’s our winners and losers from the announcement..

Winners

Leeds Rhinos pair Morgan Gannon and James McDonnell definitely represent surprise call-ups. That’s not to say they’re not playing well – they are – but you assumed they were well down the pecking order in Wane’s back row options. The door is ajar for them to force into the Ashes picture.

St Helens youngster Harry Robertson’s first call-up may have come sooner than a lot of people expected, but it’s definitely with merit given how he’s acquitted himself at Super League level. He’s a star of the future – but Wane clearly sees him as a star of the present, too.

Warrington winger Matty Ashton is clearly a long-term lock-in for one wing spot too given how he’s involved in this off-feet session despite having no chance of playing in the Ashes due to injury. His inclusion proves he’s at the top of Wane’s wing options.

Losers

Without doubt the most startling omission is the current leader of the Man of Steel, Jake Connor – whose Ashes hopes are now almost certainly over.

If Connor can’t force his way into an extended performance squad without the NRL contingent when he’s playing this well, it’s safe to say his chances of a call-up later in the year are slim at best. For whatever reason, it’s now abundantly clear Connor isn’t on Wane’s radar.

Nor too is another of Super League’s form players, Hull KR forward Dean Hadley. The consensus was Hadley was playing well enough to at least get into an extended England squad, like Connor. His absence is another that stands out.

So too does his Rovers team-mate, Tom Davies. One of the form wingers this season, he is another who is pretty unfortunate to have not made the cut.

And with no Jack Welsby for a prolonged period, and the St Helens man likely to have little time to get match fit for the Ashes, other fullback options felt like they would have been considered. With that in mind, Wakefield’s Max Jowitt is perhaps a shade unlucky not to get a look.

TUESDAY’S READS ON LRL

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👉🏻 Hull KR ‘convincingly’ Super League’s best side as pundit talks up treble chances

👉🏻 Leeds face Sam Lisone fight as Super League rival makes move for prop

👉🏻 Brad Fittler reveals shocking detail behind Australia’s lack of Ashes preparations