Josh Charnley unfortunate not to make England squad, says Leigh coach

Leigh coach Adrian Lam believes his in-form winger Josh Charnley was unfortunate not to have been included in Shaun Wane’s latest England squad.

Charnley bagged a brace to help the Leopards ease past winless Wakefield 32-0 at Belle Vue on Sunday afternoon.

The 31-year-old winger may be sitting at the top of Super League’s try scoring charts with 12 tries in nine games, but his name was absent from Wane’s 40-man England squad he announced earlier this week ahead of their mid-season international against France later this month.

“I think he should be in that squad,” Lam said.

“I felt for him and you can’t do much more than what he’s doing.

“The people around him are really proud of what he’s done, and in pre-season he was as professional as any player I’ve ever been involved with around the world.

“He’s one of the best finishers ever in Super League and I think he’s certainly made a difference.”

TRY TIME: Josh Charnley leading the way for tries in Super League

Adrian Lam delighted with Leigh’s start to the season

The Leopards have enjoyed a fine start to life back in Super League, winning four from their first nine games back in the top flight.

Their win at Wakefield lifts Leigh to within two points of the play-off spots.

“We knew it would be a tough ask as almost every team that’s come up in the last 10 years has gone straight back down,” Lam added.

“But we have high expectations, we did well to recruit some good players for this year, and it’s been a really interesting journey for me.

“You can hit the wall at any stage but we have got to keep on looking forward.”

Next up for Leigh is a game at home to Leeds on Friday night, 8pm kick-off. The club’s enjoyable pre-match entertainment schedule continues with the confirmation of English rock band Toploader.

Toploader have more than two million album sales to date, with several top 20 hits since their form in 1997.

They are arguably best known for their cover of US hit ‘Dancing in the Moonlight’ released in 1999, while their debut album, Onka’s Big Moka, peaked in the top five of the UK Albums Chart.

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