Cooper eying England call-up

Former Warrington prop Michael Cooper has his eyes on a place in the England squad for the Four Nations after a fine debut year in the NRL.

Cooper, 25, has played in all but one of St George-Illawarra’s matches this season having made the switch from Super League in the close season, and has impressed.

With the Four Nations looming Down Under in October, Cooper is being tipped to join the likes of James Graham, the Burgess brothers and Sam Tomkins – all of whom also ply their trade in the NRL – in Steve McNamara’s squad.

He told the BBC: “If I do get a chance I’ll be really happy, but I won’t be disappointed if I don’t make it because there’s a lot of quality in the NRL and Super League.

“One thing I will say is that there’s a huge amount of talent in the forwards, not only with the boys that are playing here like the Burgess brothers and James Graham, but also with what’s in England.

“I think Chris Hill is one of the best forwards in the world. There’s the lads that are at St Helens and Craig Huby‘s been in good form at Castleford, so I know there’s a lot of numbers for a position in the pack.

“People have been saying a few things and I’d be absolutely over the moon to get the call-up.

“I’ve got to be doing my best for St George to give myself the best chance to play for England.”