Combined Nations All Stars head coach Ellery Hanley has named a 29-man squad of players who are in contention to play against England in their mid-season international.
The side will take on Shaun Wane’s team on Saturday 18 June at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington.
Hanley, who will be assisted by Andrew Henderson, has announced a squad of players who are currently in his plans to make the 17 for the game.
For the second year running, Jake Connor is in contention to play for the All Stars, with the Hull FC star not currently in the England training squad.
Wakefield Trinity winger Tom Johnstone is another England hopeful who is in contention to play against them in June, having been put on Hanley’s list.
Wigan Warriors’ Jai Field is among a number of exciting stars also to be included in the squad, along with former State of Origin players Mitchell Pearce and Matt Prior of Catalans Dragons and Leeds Rhinos respectively.
It also contains six Tongan players ahead of a game in which both teams will wear Tonga-inspired jerseys to raise funds for the country following a tsunami.
“I’ve spoken to every one of these players personally because I think that’s the way to do things correctly, and I have been overwhelmed and so impressed by the way they have responded,” said Hanley.
“It was important for me to talk through the values and qualities I am expecting from them, and the message I got back from them was that they are ready to go – and so proud to have the chance to be involved.
“I also want to make it clear that the door is still open for other players to force their way in between now and June – we know there are going to be injuries, as we have already seen, and hence the reason for naming this large squad, which we will reduce as we get nearer to the match.”
Hanley also explained the restrictions he was working under, having agreed that there would be no more than six players from any club selected to play in the match across both the England and All Stars line-ups.
“It’s also important for fans and players to recognise the framework we’ve been given to work with, in that no more than six players will be selected for the match from any one Super League club,” he said.
“Some people will raise eyebrows and ask why we haven’t included any of the brilliant St Helens players – for example I’d have loved to include Sione Mata’utia in our squad alongside his brother Peter.
“But we have to recognise that a lot of St Helens players are very important to Shaun Wane’s plans for England this year, so it was more sensible for us to look to other clubs across the Super League.”
Combined Nations All Stars 2022 – initial squad:
Jake Connor (Hull FC, Trinidad), Kenny Edwards (Castleford Tigers, New Zealand), Jai Field (Wigan Warriors, Australia), David Fifita (Wakefield Trinity, Tonga), Ben Garcia (Catalans Dragons, France), Tom Johnstone (Wakefield Trinity, Scotland/Germany), Sam Kasiano (Catalans Dragons, Samoa), Shaun Kenny-Dowall (Hull KR, New Zealand), Tim Lafai (Salford Red Devils, Samoa), Samisoni Langi (Catalans Dragons, Tonga), Ricky Leutele (Huddersfield Giants, Samoa), Danny Levi (Huddersfield Giants, Samoa), Kane Linnett (Hull KR, Scotland), Mason Lino (Wakefield Trinity, Samoa), Tui Lolohea (Huddersfield Giants, Tonga), Joe Lovodua (Hull FC, Fiji), Jake Mamo (Castleford Tigers, Australia), Rhyse Martin (Leeds Rhinos, Papua New Guinea), Peter Mata’utia (Warrington Wolves, Samoa), Manu Ma’u (Hull FC, Tonga), Mitchell Pearce (Catalans Dragons, Australia), Matt Prior (Leeds Rhinos, Australia), Ligi Sao (Hull FC, Samoa), Chris Satae (Hull FC, Tonga), Ken Sio (Salford Red Devils, Samoa), Kelepi Tanginoa (Wakefield Trinity, Tonga), Zane Tetevano (Leeds Rhinos, Cook Islands / New Zealand), Carlos Tuimavave (Hull FC, Samoa), Luke Yates (Huddersfield Giants, Australia)
