England boss picks out trio for praise in defeat with AJ Brimson debut verdict aired
England coach Shaun Wane picked out three of his players out for praise following their 14-4 defeat to Australia, whilst delivering his verdict on AJ Brimson’s debut.
England produced a much-improved performance at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday compared to their 26-6 defeat at Wembley the week before, but it still wasn’t enough as the Kangaroos clinched an Ashes series victory with a game to spare.
Wane insists his side needs to be better if they are to beat the touring Kangaroos in the third and final Test at AMT Headingley in Leeds on Saturday, but did share praise for three members of his squad following their defeat at the home of Everton Football Club.
“I thought Mike McMeeken was good,” said Wane.
“Mik Oledzki did well when he came on, Jez Litten started the game for us, I thought he was very, very good – I was happy with a lot of the things we did, it was just that first 10 minutes (of the second half), that switch off, that made it quite easy for them (Australia).”
Meanwhile, Wane opted to bring Harry Smith back into the halves alongside captain George Williams, with Mikey Lewis moving to the bench, with the Hull KR man coming on for the last 15 minutes.
“That’s enough for Mikey to make an impact,” Wane explained. “We had it all set up beforehand about what minutes he was going to go on, and he can cover us in quite a few positions, but I’m happy with what we did there.”
NRL star Brimson made his full international debut for England, having switched his allegiance from his birth nation Australia to represent his English heritage.
“I think he can do more,” Wane said of Brimson’s debut. “He did some good things, but not enough.
“I want him to get more involvement, but he is a great kid and great player in a system which he is not used to – he did some good things, I just need more.”
Both of England’s wingers Dom Young and Tom Johnstone seemed to pick up knocks in Saturday’s defeat, but Wane isn’t overly concerned about the pair being doubtful for the final Test.
“We’ll be okay,” Wane added. “We can fix it, we’ve got a good squad, and it’ll be 17 fully-committed players next week.
“Tom’s okay now. He’s in the changing room, he’s good. It wasn’t a concussion - he’s good to go.”
Wane said he and his players were ‘devastated’ after losing the Ashes series, and believes Super League needs more high-octane matches for England to help match the intensity their Australian counterparts play at.
“A lot of credit we have to give to Australia, they play Test matches, they play a lot of Test matches in their competition, and we play 10/15 a year,” Wane continued.
“They play a lot more intense games, and that makes me feel proud that we’ve stuck at it for 70 minutes, but the overriding feeling for me is disappointment of not finishing the job.
“That’s what we need (in Super League), really intense games, that will improve the competition and that will improve the competition in these sorts of games.”
Wane confirmed he will again make changes for the final Test in Leeds on Saturday.