Shaun Wane reveals early England candidates... and there are some surprises

Wigan winger Dom Manfredi has been included and Liam Farrell has returned to the fold – he last played for England in 2016.

Interestingly, Warriors halfback Jackson Hastings – as well as Warrington’s Blake Austin – are left out. They played for Great Britain last autumn after qualifying through the ancestry rule but their absence suggests Wane will lean towards not selecting Australian-born players.

Wigan centres Zak Hardaker and Oliver Gildart are also in the squad but there is no place for captain Sean O’Loughlin or marquee prop George Burgess.

A further eight NRL-based players are on Wane’s ‘watch list’ ahead of the autumn series against Australia – including ex-Wigan trio John Bateman, George Williams and Ryan Sutton.

Wane stressed this was not a provisional squad and that the door was open for others not included to force their way in.

He said: “It’s too early to be selecting Ashes squads – a lot can happen between now and the end of the season – but I’ve invited a group of players who are uppermost in my thoughts right now.

“I want to tell them that face-to-face and share with them my plans for the rest of the year.

“There are some very talented players, both in Super League and the NRL, and I’ll be monitoring their progress, week in, week out.

“I’m very excited about the prospect of working with them and the players who most impress will be the ones selected for the Ashes series.

“I realise there are some notable exceptions at this stage, and I would say to those players that this isn’t the squad, the door is never closed and outstanding form will be rewarded.”

Elsewhere, ex-Warrior Sam Tomkins figures while Warrington's Gareth Widdop is a significant absentee.

Also invited to the 2021 Rugby League World Cup Final venue are more than 30 players identified by Knights’ coach Paul Anderson as possibilities for his 2020 squad.

Wigan’s Ethan Havard, Harry Smith and Morgan Smithies have stepped up from the academy while Jake Bibby, Liam Marshall, Sam Powell and Ollie Partington are also invited to the Knights meeting.

Old Trafford Senior invites: Josh Charnley, Daryl Clark, Mike Cooper, Ben Currie (all Warrington Wolves), Niall Evalds (Salford Red Devils), Liam Farrell (Wigan Warriors), Luke Gale (Leeds Rhinos), Oliver Gildart (Wigan Warriors), Josh Griffin (Hull FC), Zak Hardaker (Wigan Warriors), Chris Hill (Warrington Wolves), Jack Hughes (Warrington Wolves), Tom Johnstone (Wakefield Trinity), Josh Jones (Hull FC), Jonny Lomax (St Helens), Reece Lyne (Wakefield Trinity), Jermaine McGillvary (Huddersfield Giants), Paul McShane (Castleford Tigers), Tommy Makinson (St Helens), Dom Manfredi (Wigan Warriors), Harry Newman (Leeds Rhinos), Mark Percival (St Helens), Joe Philbin (Warrington Wolves), Stefan Ratchford (Warrington Wolves), James Roby (St Helens), Dan Sarginson (Salford Red Devils), Scott Taylor (Hull FC), Luke Thompson (St Helens), Sam Tomkins (Catalans Dragons), Alex Walmsley (St Helens), Liam Watts (Castleford Tigers)

England Knights invites: Matthew Ashton (Warrington Wolves), Jack Ashworth (St Helens), Jake Bibby (Wigan Warriors), Robert Butler (London Broncos), Tom Davies (Catalans Dragons), Matty English (Huddersfield Giants), Ethan Havard (Wigan Warriors), Toby King (Warrington Wolves), George Lawler (Hull KR), Matty Lees (St Helens), Kruise Leeming (Leeds Rhinos), Darnell McIntosh (Huddersfield Giants), Michael McMeeken (Castleford Tigers), Liam Marshall (Wigan Warriors), Masimbaashe Matongo (Hull FC), Greg Minikin (Hull KR), Adam O’Brien (Huddersfield Giants), Mikolaj Oledzki (Leeds Rhinos), Oliver Partington (Wigan Warriors), Sam Powell (Wigan Warriors), Danny Richardson (Castleford Tigers), Aaron Smith (St Helens), Cameron Smith (Leeds Rhinos), Harry Smith (Wigan Warriors), Morgan Smithies (Wigan Warriors), Jake Trueman (Castleford Tigers), Danny Walker (Warrington Wolves), Jack Walker (Leeds Rhinos), Jake Wardle (Huddersfield Giants), Jack Welsby (St Helens), Matthew Whitley (Catalans Dragons), Oliver Wilson (Huddersfield Giants)