It’s hello Ellery Hanley, goodbye Jake Connor, at least as far as England involvement this year is concerned.
I was absolutely delighted to see my old Leeds and Great Britain team-mate Ellery back in the news when it was announced he will coach the Combined Nations All Stars team against England at Warrington in June.
But is there any chance of Jake, one of the best and most versatile backs in Super League, being involved in Shaun Wane’s squad for that match? I don’t think so.
Waney might say the door is open, and that he has told Jake what he needs to do to come into the equation.
But given that he wasn’t selected for the fixture last season, and ended up playing for the Combined Nations, who won 26-24 under Tim Sheens, I think it’s clear the England coach just doesn’t rate him highly enough – a bit like Wayne Bennett with Mark Percival – which I find both surprising and disappointing.
Waney will always go for Sam Tomkins at fullback, and there’s no debate whatsoever about the Catalans man’s quality and consistency, but it’s all about selecting a squad to cover various eventualities, and Jake has so much going for him.
He’s a very good player in his own right, which he has shown throughout his career and certainly in Hull’s recent Super League clash with Salford, when he was in fine fettle as the Black and Whites eased to a 48-16 win.
Jake has real talent, and plenty of vision and creativity, which means he can do things off the cuff and produce something unexpected, which helps the team, particularly against the top international sides, and provides entertainment for the fans.
I suspect that maverick approach doesn’t appeal to Waney, who likes his structures and so-called processes, which are that bit too rigid for a player like Jake to fit into.
The other value of Jake is, as I referred to earlier, his versatility.
He has experience of playing, and doing well, in several positions, and that comes in very useful, particularly when putting together a squad for a tournament.
You never know what issues might occur through injuries or suspensions, and Jake provides options in several areas.
There are 30 names in that training squad announced last week and I find it amazing that there wasn’t room for him.
The clash with the Combined Nations will be an important part of World Cup preparations, and with Ellery at the reins, one thing is for certain – England will get a good work-out.
I wasn’t surprised to hear him say he intends to make life “torrid” for his old Wigan team-mate Waney on June 18, because I’ve never known him to take any training session, never mind a match, lightly.
We all know what a terrific Rugby League superstar Ellery was, right up there with the best around, and that personality and presence as a player extends into his coaching.
He doesn’t accept anything less than total commitment, and reputations mean nothing, because he’ll go with the players who have the ability, are in form and have the best attitude.
It’s a shame to think he hasn’t been a hands-on coach since 2008, when he led Doncaster to promotion from the third tier, a role he will have applied himself to just as much to as that of overseeing St Helens, whom he led to Grand Final success in 1999, or Great Britain, whom he guided to a win over Australia in 1994.
But he has retained a keen interest in the game and has more recently has chaired the Man of Steel selection panel.
Now, I believe through Carl Hall, his old boss at Doncaster who is the Combined Nations team manager, his involvement is greater still – and with all his expertise and experience, I’d like to see the governing body go one step further and make him one of Waney’s assistants for the World Cup.
What a huge lift for everyone involved with England that would be.
It would be daft to have a man who has downed the Aussies both as a player and a coach back in the fold and not take full advantage.
Far too many of the top players of his generation with a huge amount to offer in various areas have been allowed to drift away from Rugby League.
Let’s get Ellery back. We all know it makes sense.
Crucial clash at Wakefield
Round five of Super League contains some intriguing fixtures, not least at Wakefield, where Toulouse visit for a clash which even at this early stage of the season, has the feel of a four-pointer.
I know Trinity have had a crop of injuries, and I know they produced plucky performances away to both of last season’s Grand Finalists Catalans and St Helens.
But league tables reflect results, and up to now, they haven’t been good enough.
That 34-18 scoreline against Leeds disguises the fact that it was a poor display by Willie Poching’s men, and had Leeds not taken their foot off the pedal in the second half, the margin of defeat would have been much greater.
As far as Leeds were concerned, while the quality wasn’t high, it was a badly-needed win, built on their first-half display, and they are finally up and running.
Here’s how I rated the two starting sides:
Wakefield: Jowitt 7, Murphy 4, Pitts 4, Batchelor 4, Johnstone 5, Miller 5, Lino 4, Whitbread 5, Bowes 8, Arona 5, Ashurst 6, Tanginoa 5, Crowther 5.
Leeds: Walker 8, Fusitu’a 7, Newman 7, Sutcliffe 6, Handley 8, Austin 7, Sezer 7, Oledzki 8, Leeming 7, Prior 7, Gannon 8, Martin 7, Tetevano 6.
Toulouse came much closer against Wigan than I, and a suspect a lot of others, expected, and the challenge is to take the positives from that one-point defeat over to West Yorkshire on Friday.
If Wakefield get a few bodies back, I think they will make the most of home advantage and win by 20.
Meanwhile Leeds host Hull on Thursday, and I reckon they’ll edge it by seven.
Wigan remain in France for Saturday’s clash with Catalans, who really impressed me in winning 24-18 at Warrington.
They were without Sam Tomkins and Michael McIlorum, but still got the job done, and one of the things I like about Steve McNamara is that he doesn’t complain about absent players, he just gets on with things.
I fancy the Dragons to win by eight, with Huddersfield successful by the same margin in their home clash with Castleford on the same day.
Warrington were clunky against Catalans, showing there is still much work to be done by Daryl Powell, and Friday’s trip to St Helens will be testing.
Like Wigan, they are on four wins out of four after putting away hosts Hull KR in the manner Leeds should have dealt with Wakefield.
The feeling persists that there is plenty more to come from Saints, and while they would never say it publicly, I’m sure competing a Super League season with a 100 percent record is a motivation for them.
I believe they will make it five from five, by 24 points.
As for Hull KR, I foresee another defeat, this time on Friday at Salford, who will prevail by seven.
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