Connor, who played five times for England in 2018 and made three Great Britain appearances the following year, had an outstanding season with Leeds Rhinos, being named their player of the year. He also featured in the Betfred Super League Dream Team and won the Man of Steel award, but was not included among the 24 players selected to take on Australia in the three-Test series which begins at Wembley on Saturday, October 25.
Warrington Wolves’ George Williams has retained his role as captain and is likely to partner either Hull KR’s Mikey Lewis or Harry Smith, of their beaten Grand Final rivals Wigan Warriors, in the halves for England. Connor’s omission, which was widely predicted, was the headline news from Wane’s squad announcement, but the coach himself was bemused by the fuss.
“It wasn’t really difficult,” Wane insisted. “He’s a very good player, there’s no doubt about that. I spoke to him in the week and he is going to be available for the World Cup next year. When I’m picking the squad, the thing you will never hear from me is ‘he’s the Man of Steel, he needs to be in’.
“I don’t know who picks the Man of Steel, I don’t know what goes into it; I don’t know who was in the Dream Team, that doesn’t come into my reckoning. I just watch the players play and think who could do a fantastic job against Australia.”
Wane added: “It’s more about his form than anything else. He took it well, he’s a really good lad and I’ve lots of time for him, but there’s other players who have not got into this 24 and I don’t see the obsession. The Man of Steel, it just doesn’t mean anything to me.”
Outlining what Connor needs to do to feature for England at the World Cup, Wane stressed: “Play really well and consistently in every game he plays. I look at it in a very different way than everyone else does. He’s a really good player, a good talent, but so are George Williams, Mikey Lewis and Harry Smith. Jake is up there, next year for the World Cup he will be challenging with all the halves.”
Rhinos’ veteran forward Kallum Watkins is in the squad, despite not featuring when the training group was announced in June. Wane explained: “I picked Kal at the World Cup, he’s just a super talent and can play in different positions.
“It’s not just about what players do on the field. We’ve got four weeks together and you need to be a certain sort of individual. You’re under pressure – as soon as these players wake up in the morning there are demands on them until they go to bed at night. The four weeks are very, very intense. Kal has done it before and that’s why he’s in.”
Another Leeds man, prop Mikolaj Oledzki, is recalled for the first time since 2022 and teammate Harry Newman is also included. “Mik has had injuries the last few years, but this year he has been fantastic,” Wane said. “He has exploded onto the ball, he is a fast twitch and a good athlete. He’s a great lad off the field.”
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