Shenton disappointed over England omission

Michael Shenton has revealed that he was disappointed to miss out on England’s series with New Zealand, but has extra motivation to put himself back in the frame for the upcoming Four Nations.

Shenton was selected in Super League‘s 2015 Dream Team, alongside fellow England centre Kallam Watkins, but was overlooked for the three Tests against New Zealand.

Leroy Cudjoe and John Bateman got the nod, with the Wigan back-rower featuring in all three games.

Shenton made his England debut in 2008 and has played nine games his country.

“Of course yes, it’s always disappointing,” he admitted.

“I was just in the mix and missed out but it’s Steve’s call at the end of the day and they got the job done so can’t really complain too much.

“I’m pleased for those boys.

“[But] I’m a bit disappointed for Luke Gale. I thought he could have really made a difference for that team.

“They looked a little bit blunt at times in attack and I thought he could have added some real sharpness and it was a shame to see him not get a crack but he’s right in the mix.

“He’s a current form player, so it’s a shame not to see us play our current best team right there but we can’t complain as we got the series win and that’s a really big step for England as it was a must-win series for us.”

England took out the series 2-1 against New Zealand and will host the Four Nations on British soil at the end of 2016.

Shenton is keen to stake a claim in the season coming up to be involved in that tournament.

“Absolutely, and we’ve got other boys going to be in the mix in coming years,” the 29-year old said.

“If you see Mike McMeeken knocking about he’s a big back-row.

“He played a little bit to settle in last year but he’s a giant and a real talented player and I think he’s one for the future.

“[They’re a ] little bit young at the minute, still a little inexperienced, but we’ve got some young boys now and we should have some challenging.

“If we want to be a top four team it means we should have some players challenging for rep honours.”