England coach Steve McNamara is expecting centre Leroy Cudjoe to have a big impact on his debut against Australia on Sunday.
The 22-year-old Huddersfield player will be one of three debutants in a new-look England line-up after being chosen by McNamara as the man to replace the injured Michael Shenton.
Cudjoe was a surprise selection in England’s tour party but he proved to be the man for the big occasion this year, twice scoring match-winning tries in the Super League play-offs that took the Giants to within 80 minutes of a maiden Grand Final appearance.
Those took his try tally for the season to 22, putting him seventh in the Super League list, while he missed just 12 tackles all year.
McNamara said: “He’s a great professional player and his conduct has been great. He’s applied himself well throughout the whole of the Super League and has been one of Huddersfield’s star performers.
“He’s a young player with a tremendous amount of talent and I think we’ll see him on the international scene for a lot of years to come.”
Cudjoe’s only previous international experience came five years ago when he was named in the England Under-17s train-on squad but failed to make the final cut.
“It’s great to know that Steve has faith in me and I want to repay that faith on Sunday,” he said.
Must-win
Cudjoe’s selection is one of 11 changes for Sunday’s must-win clash at AAMI Park, where Shaun Lunt and Ben Harrison are also due to make their debuts off the bench.
The biggest surprise is the omission of Melbourne Storm back-up full-back Gareth Widdop, who was hoping to face his club-mate Billy Slater on his third England appearance at his home ground.
“I’m sure he’s disappointed,” added McNamara. “The support he will give and has given to the other players since the announcement has been very good and I am sure he will continue to do that.”
Meanwhile, McNamara is to seek a meeting ahead of the match with Australian referee Tony Archer, who was in charge of England’s opening game against New Zealand in Wellington last weekend.
McNamara said: “We’ll get on with it but I’d like to have a chat with Tony before the game and go through a couple of clips from last week. I thought there were some issues we need to clarify.”
