Hoffman believes O’Loughlin is in world’s top ten

Australia second-rower Ryan Hoffman believes that England skipper Sean O’Loughlin is amongst the ten best players in the world.

The New Zealand Warriors-bound Kangaroo, who played alongside O’Loughlin at Wigan, believes that the England loose forward leads by stirring example.

“I think [O’Loughlin] is in the top 10 players in the world,” Hoffman told reporters in Australia.

“As a leader, he is inspiring. He is inspiring by his actions. If England gets him back, it just makes a very formidable forward pack even more challenging.

“He is not the big yell, talk sort of guy. He goes, ‘I want to go out and do my job the same every week and this is the way you play rugby league guys, follow me.’

“But it is a challenge the Australian team is quite looking forward to because we were disappointed how we as a pack handled New Zealand, so we want to make amends.

“[He] doesn’t mind if he is tackling or running the ball, whether that is 10 metres out from their line or 10 metres out from his own, he will do it all.

“He is one of those blokes who doesn’t see anything as not his job and as a captain he leads by example.”

O’Loughlin is struggling with a quadraceps injury currently, which makes him a doubt for Sunday’s game in Melbourne.

There is still a chance that he could be fit, however.