Wane’s biggest challenge has been to find a way to strike the right balance between the Super League and NRL players at his disposal, while considering what personnel and positional changes to implement.
The 61-year-old has repeatedly talked about players having credit in the bank at international level from the World Cup in 2022 and from series triumphs over Tonga and Samoa over the past two years.
In the face of significant criticism,, external notably from Kangaroos legend Laurie Daley, Wane defended Jack Welsby staunchly earlier this week and suggested that he expected him to “bounce back strong” from an out-of-sorts display in London.
But the omission of the versatile St Helens star suggests that AJ Brimson, who switched his international allegiance from Australia to England in May, will line up at full-back.
The inclusion of the 27-year-old, whose mother is from south London and who has two brothers who were born in Chertsey, was mooted during Wane’s news conference immediately after the first Test.
While Australia were able to make make several significant long-range breaks and key attacking metres, thanks largely to Reece Walsh’s contributions, England failed to make any real inroads from kick returns.
Brimson’s pace and support play, plus his experience of playing against Australia’s stars for the Gold Coast Titans and Queensland, is an obvious attraction and it is hoped that could add a new dimension to England’s attack.
“The way AJ has trained and what he brings to a team has been outstanding. I’m excited to see him,” added Wane, who has been accused of favouring Super League players over those based in Australia’s premier competition.
“People in the room know what our players are capable of. The NRL people don’t yet and that hurts me.
“I will feel better on Saturday if we have a go at them and attack the way we can attack and defend as physical as possible, which we didn’t do last weekend.
“We got beat in a Test match. We got beat badly. It is part of being a head coach, I’ve had it [criticism] all my life. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest.”
