CAIUS FAATILI reckons an England shirt would suit his fellow Wakefield Trinity impact sub Caleb Hamlin-Uele nicely.
Hamlin-Uele, 26, has been with Wakefield since their Championship season of 2024 while fellow New Zealand-born prop Faatili, 24, followed a year later.
Both have been formidable figures, usually off the bench, despite neither having any first-grade experience when they arrived at the DIY Kitchens Stadium.
While they set their sights on helping Wakefield achieve the highest possible league finish ahead of the play-offs, Hamlin-Uele’s form could bring extra reward come the autumn.
That’s because he qualifies for England on heritage grounds, and is part of Brian McDermott’s 38-man performance programme as the new coach looks ahead to the World Cup in Australia.
While there is plenty of competition for a spot in the final squad, including from Wakefield captain and international regular Mike McMeeken, Faatili is backing Hamlin-Uele to make the final cut.
“Me and Caleb have a pretty good partnership coming off the bench,” said the fan favourite.
“He’s been killing it and I’m happy to see that because he had a tough year with injuries last year (he was limited to twelve league games) and we already knew how he could play.
“I feel like he’s reaping the rewards of his hard work. He’s had a hell of a season and played every game, so I can definitely see him in an England shirt at the end of the year.”
Faatili has also kicked on in his second Super League season, although he admitted: “I was probably one who started the year a bit slow.
“It took me a while to play consistently. I missed a few games early in the year through injury.
“Now I feel I’m playing better footy. I’m getting over the line a bit (for tries) which helps.”
Faatili insists Wakefield’s push at the very top of the table should come as no surprise.
“It’s definitely somewhere we thought we could be,” he said.
“We know if we play our best footy we’re hard to beat.
“It’s all about being consistent. It probably took us a while to get there but we’re finding our groove. We’re playing with a bit more confidence.
“Powelly (head coach Daryl Powell) talks about playing to the best of your ability individually. Nobody plays a perfect game but if we’ve got 17 boys playing at least 80-90 percent of their ability, we’re pretty hard to stop.
“It’s keeping that consistency of individual performances, and that builds as a team.”