MAX JOWITT admits he’s “running out of time” for an England call-up as he stated his desire to compete for the fullback shirt in this autumn’s Ashes series.
The homegrown Wakefield Trinity star has been backed to push for such honours by his coach Daryl Powell, who said earlier this year: “I believe he will grow further and challenge as an international fullback in the future.”
Jowitt has made a strong return to the Super League stage, notching nine tries in his first eleven appearances of the season, after breaking the all-time rugby league points-record by scoring 500 in all competitions last year while Wakefield were a Championship side.
Now his sights are set on earning a place in England coach Shaun Wane’s thinking over the second half of this season before the much-anticipated visit of Australia.
He said: “It’s 100 percent in my mind, even before the news about Jack Welsby (England’s incumbent fullback is injured for most of the remainder of the season).
“You want to have your name thrown around with England, don’t you? If you’re not reaching for that, there’s no point playing. You want to be playing at the top level.
“I got a little taste for it when I was younger playing for (England) Academy. Obviously it’s not the same as the first-team international stage but you get that idea, when you’re younger, of how much that shirt means.
“At meetings we had at the start of the year, this was one of my long-term goals. I’m 28 so if it’s not now, I’m running out of time a little bit.
“It’s a realistic goal and there’s no reason why (I can’t), but I need to performing week in, week out to be considered.”