Hull KR’s trio of homegrown halfbacks is a good-news story for both club and country.
That’s the view of assistant coach and former star Leeds pivot Danny McGuire (pictured).
Tony Smith’s right-hand man played twelve times for Great Britain and made seven England appearances.
And the 38-year-old was delighted to hear Jordan Abdull has been called up for England’s clash with France at Perpignan on Saturday after Mikey Lewis joined up with England Knights for their clash with Jamaica at Castleford on Friday night.
Abdull, 25, a contender for this year’s Man of Steel award, started out at Hull before a season with London Broncos preceded his move to Rovers.
Lewis, 20, came through the club’s development system, and appeared alongside Abdull in the play-off ties against Warrington and Catalans Dragons.
Meanwhile, the Humbersiders also have 22-year-old Rowan Milnes, signed from Bradford in 2020, on the books.
Ex-England Academy player Lewis, who spent time on loan to York this year, ended the season with seven tries and as many assists in ten matches for Rovers.
And McGuire, who along with fellow assistant coaches Stanley Gene and David Hodgson is fresh from signing a one-year contract extension, believes he is “one of the most exciting players in the game.”
McGuire continued: “We want people to excite us and Mikey certainly does that.
“His game isn’t perfect and he’s still got lots of things that he needs to work on, but he knows that and he’s willing to do it.
“Mikey’s a young kid and it’s going to take him a bit of time to develop. He’s going to make mistakes but we’ll keep backing him and keep supporting him.
“He can conjure up unbelievable moments out of nothing. I’m sure that’s going to be in his make-up for the rest of his career and he’s going to be a great player for the club.
“We are really lucky to have three players of the quality of Jordan, Mikey and Rowan with good characters as well.
“They are really talented halfbacks and they’re British, which makes it better for everybody.”
The above content is also available in the regular weekly edition of League Express, on newsstands every Monday in the UK and as a digital download. Click here for more details.
