Brimson set for England debut with Welsby dropped

After Jack Welsby was axed from Shaun Wane’s 19-man matchday squad, AJ Brimson will make his England debut at full-back against Australia in Liverpool on Saturday.

Harry Smith, a half-back for Wigan, was recalled after missing the first Test, along with Morgan Smithies, a former Warriors player from Canberra.

With the departures of second row John Bateman and prop Ethan Havard, Kallum Watkins also joins the squad. According to what it is known, Bateman has been having health issues.

Brimson, who was born in Brisbane and graduated from London with his mother, changed allegiances earlier this year.

Smith was left out of the squad for last Saturday’s first Test because Wane chose Mikey Lewis and George Williams as the half-back pairing after playing in the previous six England games before the Australia series.

Lewis and Williams will make up the matchday squad for the Kangaroos at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium, from which Wane will choose 17 players. Live on BBC One, the game begins at 14:30 GMT.

With Lindsay Collins joining the starting lineup after Isaah Yeo was ruled out due to a concussion, and captain Isaah Yeo was made to change, according to head coach Kevin Walters’ announcement on Tuesday.

Following the 26-6 defeat in London, Wane had promised to rebuild his side.

He continued, “I had to make some changes to the side that lost last week at Wembley, and I did so.”

The beauty of having such a strong squad is that we are bringing some seriously talented players into the side for this weekend’s game, but the truth is that we simply need to be better this time around.

Welsby, a renowned Super League player and stalwart for England in recent seasons, is undoubtedly the most well-known casualty of those changes.

After facing off against Angus Crichton in the second row to score Australia’s second try, the St Helens full-back was criticized for his performance.

The Canberra Raiders won the NRL Minor Premiership this season while Wane looks to bolster his squad with the abrasive Smithies.

Matty Lees, his former Wigan teammate, made 73 yards between them on Saturday from 11 carries.