England Academy squad named

Wednesday 16th December 2009

A host of promising players are set to follow in famous relatives' footsteps after being named in the initial 2010 England Academy squad.

The 29-strong squad includes Bobby Goulding, son of France coach Bobbie Goulding, and Ben Crooks, who is the son of former Hull, Leeds, Castleford and Great Britain forward Lee Crooks.

Jack Briscoe is the younger brother of Hull and England wing Tom Briscoe, while George Burgess' older brother is England forward Sam Burgess.

The squad will meet up throughout 2010 for coaching sessions and meetings run by the new full-time national development coach, a vacancy which is currently being advertised by the RFL.

England will play three fixtures in 2010, a match against France in June and two Tests against the Australian High Schools in December.

The squad is: Jack Briscoe (Hull FC), Jordan Thompson (Castleford), Jack Murphy (Wigan), Darren Lamb (Huddersfield), Ryan King (Wigan), Reece Lyne (Hull FC), George Elliott (Leeds), Tommy Makinson (St Helens), Danny Cowling (Wakefield), Ryan Shaw (Warrington), Bobby Goulding (Warrington), Sam Powell (Wigan), Cain Southernwood (Wakefield), Kristian Bell (Hull KR), George Burgess (Bradford), Tom Lillicrop (Bradford), Carl Forster (St Helens), Brad Singleton (Leeds), Danny Smith (Leeds), Adam Milner (Castleford) Liam Hood (Leeds), Adam O'Brien (Bradford), James Laithewaite (Warrington), Ben Crooks (Hull FC), Danny Bridge (Wigan), Jared Stewart (Leeds), James Donaldson (Bradford), Greg Burke (Wigan), Mathew Russell (Wigan).