WARRINGTON Wolves stars Stefan Ratchford, Chris Hill and Daryl Clark head out to Australia with England today to compete in the Four Nations tournament.

They will be joined in Steve McNamara’s 24-man squad at their camp on Queensland’s Gold Coast on Thursday by Warringtonian and former Wolves prop Mike Cooper, who has been in impressive form during his first season in the NRL with St George Illawarra Dragons.

It is an exciting tour for all four, with three of them looking to make their first England caps and Hill – a star of the World Cup last winter - also welcoming his first opportunity to represent his country Down Under.

England’s first opponents will be Samoa, who were hosted in Warrington for the World Cup last year, in a double-header at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on Saturday, October 25, when top of the bill will be a repeat of the 2013 World Cup Final between Australia and New Zealand.

Ratchford, one of nine uncapped players in the England squad, says he heads to Australasia in good shape after a long, hard season with Wolves that ended with that epic and dramatic last-minute loss to eventual Grand Final runners-up Wigan at the DW Stadium on October 3.

“I don’t feel too bad actually,” said the 26-year-old former Salford Red Devils man, one of six players in McNamara’s squad that started their careers with the Wigan St Patricks amateur club.

“It’s been a bit of a long year but with the way Tony Smith (Warrington Wolves head coach) works things he likes to rest players at certain times and give you a week off here and there to freshen you up, so that helps.

“The body’s holding up okay and hopefully it’ll do the same for the next five weeks.”

With England facing Australia at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Sunday, November 2, before heading over to New Zealand to tackle the Kiwis at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Saturday, November 8, this initial flight to the Gold Coast is a taster for much travelling to come that will be a challenge in itself.

There will hopefully be a further flight from New Zealand’s South Island to the North Island for the final at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Saturday, November 15.

Ratchford said: “There is a lot of travel but from the way Steve (McNamara) has explained things, it’s going to be pretty smooth changing from place to place.

“The first couple of weeks we’re based in one place, then we fly into Melbourne a couple of days before the game and then we’re going to go straight over to New Zealand after that game.

“Initially, we’ll have a steady base that everyone’s going to be familiar with and have the same bed.

“We’ll have a week in New Zealand before that game so everyone will be able to settle back in again.

“It’s not going to be a couple of days here, a couple of days there, so as much as it is a hectic schedule, we’re going to have a lot of steady time.”

The 24-man squad will be captained by Wigan Warriors’ Sean O’Loughlin, who replaces Leeds Rhinos’ Kevin Sinfield after his international retirement earlier this summer.

The squad includes 13 survivors from last year’s Rugby League World Cup.

The nine uncapped players also include Catalan Dragons’ Elliott Whitehead, Joe Westerman from Hull FC, Josh Hodgson, who will be joining NRL side Canberra Raiders from Hull KR later in the year, and the Wigan trio of Joe Burgess, Dan Sarginson and Matty Smith.

Castleford centre Michael Shenton has profited from a strong season in the First Utility Super League with inclusion in the international set-up for the first time since October 2010 and Wigan’s Joel Tomkins, after returning to Rugby League this summer following a three-year stint in rugby union, is included alongside his brother Sam.

Wigan have the biggest representation with seven players. League Leaders’ Shield and Grand Final winners St Helens have none.

Saints’ James Roby along with Wigan’s Michael McIlorum and Warrington’s Ben Westwood were not considered because of surgery requirements at the end of the domestic season. Brisbane Broncos’ Jack Reed and Parramatta Eels’ Lee Mossop were not available due to having recent shoulder surgery respectively.

England squad (Professional club and community club shown):

George Burgess, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Dewsbury Moor;

Joe Burgess, Wigan Warriors, Ince Rose Bridge;

Tom Burgess, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Dewsbury Moor;

Josh Charnley, Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Patricks;

Daryl Clark, Castleford Tigers, Newsome Panthers;

Mike Cooper, St George Illawarra Dragons, Latchford Albion;

Liam Farrell, Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Patricks;

Brett Ferres, Huddersfield Giants, Smawthorne Panthers;

James Graham, Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs, Blackbrook;

Ryan Hall, Leeds Rhinos, Oulton Raiders;

Zak Hardaker, Leeds Rhinos, Featherstone Lions;

Chris Hill, Warrington Wolves, New Spring Lions;

Josh Hodgson, Hull KR, East Hull;

Sean O’Loughlin (captain), Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Patricks;

Stefan Ratchford, Warrington Wolves, Wigan St Patricks;

Dan Sarginson, Wigan Warriors, Hemel Stags;

Michael Shenton, Castleford Tigers, Upton;

Matty Smith, Wigan Warriors, Blackbrook;

Joel Tomkins, Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Patricks;

Sam Tomkins, New Zealand Warriors, Wigan St Patricks;

Kallum Watkins, Leeds Rhinos, Latchford Albion;

Joe Westerman, Hull FC, Featherstone Lions;

Elliott Whitehead, Catalans Dragons, West Bowling;

Gareth Widdop, St George Illawarra Dragons, King Cross