Ex-Wigan Warriors prop Ryan Sutton set to make NRL history

Ryan Sutton is poised to make NRL history  - on the same day his Wigan side do the same in Super League!
Ryan Sutton in action for CanberraRyan Sutton in action for Canberra
Ryan Sutton in action for Canberra

Hours before the Warriors face Catalans at the iconic Nou Camp, prop Sutton is set to play for Canberra in a 'Battle of Britain' against South Sydney.

He and his Canberra team-mates Josh Hodgson and Elliott Whitehead are set to face Souths' Burgess brothers Sam, George and Tom, meaning there will be six born-and-bred Englishmen in an NRL game for the first time.

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There would be seven but John Bateman is injured, although his Test coach, Wayne Bennett, is in charge of the Rabbitohs.

And Sutton, who has made a strong start to his NRL career, hopes a starring performance may thrust him into Bennett's plans for the Great Britain side later this year.

You want to strive for the peak and that's what I want to do. I want to play for my country," Sutton told the Canberra Times.

"Hopefully coming over to Australia and to play in the NRL will give me a helping hand to where I want to go."

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According to David Middleton's League Information Services, the previous record of five Englishman in one match was set in 1976 when Penrith's Bill Ashurst, Mike Stephenson and Dave Topliss went up against Manly's Steve Norton and Phil Lowe.

There were also five Englishman in the 1989 Easts-Wests match, which featured Roosters duo Martin Offiah and Joe Lydon against the Magpies trio of Ellery Hanley, Gary Schofield and Kelvin Skerrett.