Brett Hodgson believes Jake Connor should be in England frame

Hull coach Brett Hodgson believes Jake Connor should be in the England frame when Shaun Wane announces his latest squad on Tuesday.

The former Huddersfield utility back, who played for England under Wayne Bennett, was left out of Wane’s elite training squad in 2020 but has started the new Betfred Super League season in sparking form in his new full-back role for the Black and Whites.

Impressive in Hull’s opening win over his old club last Sunday, Connor was named man of the match in their 35-4 victory over Salford at St Helens on Saturday to provide Wane with a timely reminder of his ability.

“I’m not sure what is in Shaun Wane’s mind but what I can say is that, if I was picking a team, he would be in,” said Hodgson.

“He’s exceptional with the ball in his hands and on defence he’s improving every day.”

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Connor, who created early tries for Andre Savelio and Josh Reynolds, was forced to move into the halves after both Reynolds and Marc Sneyd limped off in the third quarter, while Hull also lost prop forward Ligi Sao with an ankle strain.

The injuries took some of the gloss off Hull’s impressive display but Hodgson has not ruled any of them out of next week’s Challenge Cup tie with Featherstone.

“Ligi Sao has a high ankle strain and, at a pinch, we could have brought him back on,” Hodgson said.

“Josh has a low-grade hamstring. We’re not sure of the extent until we get a scan but it’s fingers crossed.

“Marc Sneyd had a dead leg which he couldn’t run off so we thought it best to bring him off and protect it.”

Reynolds added a second try and Cameron Scott scored late on as Hull built on their opening victory to make it two out of two under their new head coach, who believes there is more to come from his side.

“Losing a couple of players didn’t help but the way they stuck together really pleased me,” said Hodgson.

“I thought in the first half we made it difficult for ourselves because we didn’t ice a couple of opportunities. We have to learn to be patient and earn the right to play attacking rugby.

“The fact we scored late in both halves is really pleasing. It’s definitely a pleasing start but, as always, there are things to improve on.”

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