England set to poach Dom Young from Jamaica
England head coach Shaun Wane is considering poaching Newcastle Knights’ winger Dom Young for the World Cup.
The highly-rated Yorkshireman with Jamaican heritage made his Super League debut for Huddersfield at the age of 17 and is now in his second full season in the NRL. He joined the Knights on a three-year deal from 2021.
The 20-year-old began the season in sensational form with tries in his first three appearances before sustaining a knee injury against Manly earlier this month.
Young has spoken of his desire to line up alongside older brother Alex, who plays on the wing for Championship club Workington, for the Reggae Warriors in front of his Jamaica-born grandmother, Joyce, and grandfather, George. However, Wane plans to sound him out for England when he visits Australia for the NRL’s annual Magic Weekend in May.
Wane to meet with Dom Young
“I’ve been watching Dom Young at Newcastle,” Wane said.
“He qualifies for Jamaica and I don’t know what his thoughts are about playing for England but I’m going to meet up with him in Australia and have a chat and see what he thinks.
“He’s big and athletic and he’s going well in a good competition.”
Another cancelled session
Before flying out, Wane will host another get-together with his 30-strong Super League-based players but is once more unlikely to have the chance to get them out on the field.
Wane lost his first planned session of the year due to injury and the second was held indoors at a Manchester hotel, where England football manager Gareth Southgate addressed the players.
With a surfeit of injuries after the first nine rounds of Super League, Wane is resigned to having to bow to pressure from the clubs not to over-burden their best players when they meet up on May 3.
“It’s not 100 per cent cancelled yet but it’s not looking good,” he said.
“I’m trying to make the best of what we’ve got. Unfortunately, a few clubs have got a few big weeks coming up around that period.
“I am trying to do the best I can for the Super League clubs but also trying to get as much work into the potential World Cup players as I can.
“I need to get the players together but having a very small group on the field is no good to us.
“Losing sessions on the field is not ideal but getting the players together and going through some video is the next best thing.”
READ MORE: Jake Connor included in Combined Nations All Stars squad
PLAY: Our free Fantasy Rugby League competition is back for 2022
