Wolves trio selected for England Academy's opening tour fixture (From Warrington Guardian)

Warrington Wolves trio selected for England Academy's opening tour fixture

12:32pm Monday 23rd July 2012 in Wolves news

WOLVES trio James Saltonstall, Gavin Bennion and Ben Currie have been named in England Academy coach Dave Elliott’s 17-man squad to take on New South Wales Juniors at Narrabeen, Australia on Wednesday.

The Academy arrived in Australia last Thursday and have gradually increased the intensity of training ahead of what promises to be a challenging first game on Tour.

“We’re a few days in to the tour now and things are looking fantastic,” said Elliott. “The first few days were tough for everyone in camp as we’ve been coping with a bit of jetlag and tiredness, which is to be expected, but today was a really intense session and the players have responded well.

“I’ve been really impressed with the facilities that we have here at our camp in Narrabeen and also to how the lads have responded to the situation so far.”

Wednesday’s game against New South Wales comes just three days before the side will embark on a second warm-up game against Parramatta on Saturday, and Elliott is confident his charges can impress during a tough first week.

“From what we know about the New South Wales squad it sounds like a very strong team they’re putting out,” said Elliott. “Knowing the Australians they’ll definitely be going out for the win, but I have great confidence in our boys.

“The whole point of coming out here earlier than usual and giving the lads a chance to play two warm-up games is to get us in the best shape possible for the Test series.

“But we’ve picked a strong side to face NSW and I have every confidence in our players to come back with the result and get us off to the perfect start.”

England Academy Squad to Play NSW: Luke Briscoe (Leeds Rhinos, Featherstone Lions), James Saltonstall (Warrington Wolves, Siddal) , Greg Wilde (St Helens, Golborne Parkside), John Ford (Salford City Reds, Blackbrook Royals), Joe Burgess (Wigan Warriors, Ince Rose Bridge), Liam Sutcliffe (Leeds Rhinos, Hunslet Warriors), Ryan Hampshire (Wigan Warriors, Normanton Knights), Liam McAvoy (Bradford Bulls, Broughton Red Rose), Dominic Speakman (St Helens, Halton Hornets), Josh Johnson (Huddersfield Giants, Saddleworth), John Bateman (Bradford Bulls, Dudley Hill), Peter Aspinwall (Huddersfield Giants, Huddersfield YMCA), Jordan Baldwinson (Leeds Rhinos, Hunslet Warriors), George Williams (Wigan Warriors, Ince Rose Bridge), Gavin Bennion (Warrington Wolves, Ryland Sharks) , Ben Currie (Warrington Wolves, Golborne Parkside) , Luke Thompson (St Helens, Pilkington Recs).