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England have issued an SOS to NRL duo AJ Brimson and Morgan Smithies as they look to keep the Ashes series alive after a poor showing in London last week.
England coach Shaun Wane has confirmed that Brimson, who was overlooked for game one of the series in favour of St Helens star Jack Welsby, will play in the second Test at the newly opened home of Everton FC, Hill Dickinson Stadium.
“He’ll be playing some time,” Wane said.
“He’s a talent, there’s no doubt about that. I’m excited to see how he goes. Jack’s not going to play at all. We’ll give him a break, and we’ll see how AJ goes. I’m a big Jack Welsby fan. The way he plays, I’ve always picked him, but he dipped below them standards on Saturday. He knows that.
“When we first got the players together, I explained that 24 players are going to be needed to get any success in this competition. That’s what we’re going to do now with AJ Brimson.”
Wane’s team produced an error-riddled performance in the first Test at Wembley and were never in the contest.
AJ Brimson scores for the Gold Coast Titans.Credit: NRL Photos
That has resulted in several changes to the English side. Canberra forward Smithies will also play his first game of this series – most probably off the interchange bench.
However, fellow NRL player John Bateman will miss out, with England citing illness as the reason for his omission.
“I know what we’re capable of, but we didn’t show anything of it on Saturday, which was really disappointing,” Wane said.
“We’ve analysed that. Did we train too hard? Not hard enough? Did we pick the right team? Hopefully, we’ve made the right changes for what’s going to challenge a fantastic Australian team.
“Our end of sets were poor. The way we got to the end, our skill level, we made three breaks and threw the ball away. All scoring opportunities Australia had, they converted. They were ruthless and excellent, but we weren’t. That can change in a heartbeat, but that’s what we’re hoping for.”
Despite a record UK Ashes crowd just over 60,000 in attendance in London, the atmosphere at Wembley Stadium was far from hostile.
The English hope that parochial fans in the north of England will make Hill Dickinson Stadium a far more intimidating prospect for the Australians.
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“We’re in a fantastic stadium,” Wane said. “We’re up north with a lot of people travelling. It’s going to be very loud. It’s going to be a proper Test match, which I don’t feel it was last week.”
The English have spent a large chunk of their preparations this week studying footage of Reece Walsh after he dismantled the opposition at Wembley Stadium last weekend.
Walsh scored two tries and saved another two, leaving the Poms on high alert.
“It’s tough because he’s talented,” Wane said.
“The way he stopped those tries – there’s not many players would’ve stopped them. He’s very hard to handle, but we’ve worked hard with our analysis. Hopefully there’s certain areas we can get the better of him. Let’s see what happens on Saturday.”
For the Kangaroos, Harry Grant will captain the team for the first time in the absence of lock Isaah Yeo.
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