Five ones to watch for Scotland at the World Cup

Drew Darbyshire

With the 2017 Rugby League World Cup on the horizon, we have named our ones to watch for Scotland at the tournament.

Bravehearts head coach Steve McCormack named his 24-man squad a couple of weeks ago and it has a young squad compared to recent years but it still has a lot of talent included.

And Love Rugby League eventually got through the tough ask in selecting five players to watch out for at the tournament this autumn.

DANNY BROUGH (HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS)

The Scotland captain has had another fantastic year at club level with Huddersfield Giants and his kicking game is sure to help the Bravehearts out because he can control games with just his left boot.

The 34-year-old has come up with 22 assists in Super League this season as well as scoring four tries and 61 goals in 27 games. He is at the top of kicks in general play chart as well with 326 kicks to his name.

MATTY RUSSELL (WARRINGTON WOLVES)

The 24-year-old has had a good season, despite Warrington Wolves finishing in the Qualifiers. The Wigan Warriors Academy product has scored 10 tries in 22 Super League appearances in 2017.

Russell is a forward’s dream as well, owing to him taking a lot of carries out of yardage and making an average gain of 9.01 metres and he has got a lethal step so he opposition will have to watch out for him.

DANNY ADDY (HULL KR)

The former Bradford Bulls star seems like he has been around for years and years but he is still only 26 years of age and had a brilliant debut season as he helped guide Hull Kingston Rovers back to promotion to Super League.

Addy made his international debut for the Bravehearts in 2013 and has been a regular in McCormack’s side ever since and he is a versatile player, being able to play in the halves and at loose forward. He’s a joy to watch.

LEWIS TIERNEY (CATALANS DRAGONS)

The 23-year-old has signed permanently for the Dragons ahead of next season after massively impressing during his loan spell in Perpignan from Wigan towards the back end of the 2017 season.

Tierney will be one of the fastest players in the competition and if you want proof, just search for his try against Warrington when playing for Catalans this season. He scored six times this campaign and bust 38 tackles in 19 Super League matches.

LUKE DOUGLAS (ST HELENS)

The 31-year-old prop has been a popular player for the Saints since he joined from NRL outfit Gold Coast Titans ahead of the 2017 season and will be vice-captain for Scotland at the World Cup.

Douglas made 25 appearances in his debut Super League campaign, taking 272 carries in while making 653 tackles and making 1,824 tackles. He is a very disciplined player as well, conceding just six penalties all season and it will be interesting to see how he copes with a return to Australia in a couple of weeks.

Do you agree with our five ones to watch? Or should someone else be in the list? Let us know in the comments below.