‘Cleary’s their general’ – Morley’s five Australians to watch in Ashes

It has been more than 20 years since the last Ashes series, says Adrian Morley.

The former England international, who also played for the United States in the most recent Test series against Australia in 2003, is thrilled to see it make a comeback.

“I know there have been one-off Test matches since, but this is the pinnacle – the oldest and fiercest rivalry in rugby league. Wembley, roll on.

At Wembley on October 25 and Wembley on November 1 and 1 November, at Everton Hill Dickinson Stadium in England, at AMT Headingley on November 8. All three matches are 14: 30 kick-offs and will be live on BBC One.

Age: 23 Club: Brisbane Broncos Position: Full-back

Walsh, a full-back with 640, 000 Instagram followers and star quality, was described as “the Justin Bieber of rugby league.”

Walsh received his first call-up for Australia the day after the Brisbane Broncos won the NRL Grand Final against Melbourne Storm. He scored a memorable individual try, provided three assists and made a dramatic try-saving tackle in the final seconds.

He has a lot of personality and plays on the edge; he avoided a sin-binning but was fined earlier in the game for a high tackle. He frequently uses painted nails to adorn the field with his four-year-old daughter Leila.

That personality occasionally gets him into bother – he went viral on social media last month over a video showing him drinking water out of a toilet bowl, joking that it helped his muscle recovery after games.

Although his club was still required to rush out a “don’t try this at home” statement, the toilet was brand-new and had not been used.

Age: 27 Club: Penrith Panthers Position: Scrum-half

Winner of the World Cup. Expert kicker Game changer. With a torn knee ligament, once led his team to victory in the NRL Grand Final. Nathan Cleary has been the main man in Australian rugby league for many years.

On the field, he inspired Penrith Panthers to four successive Grand Final wins from 2021 to 2024. He is a member of an elite sporting couple, Mary Fowler from Australia and Manchester City’s Mary Fowler, who plays football.

The Panthers captain’s season has not been straightforward, though. They were bottom of the NRL after 12 rounds and, although they reached the play-offs, hopes of a fifth straight title were ended by eventual winners Brisbane Broncos.

After surprising defeat to Queensland in Sydney in the state of Origin in July, Cleary himself faced criticism.

He is still one of rugby league’s greatest players of the modern era, though. It is only two years since that remarkable Grand Final display for the Panthers against the Broncos, playing with knee ligament damage for 71 minutes and still scoring the winning try.

Shibasaki began the season by throwing up into a bucket. He wins the Grand Final and calls the Ashes, respectively, to wrap things up. It is a remarkable comeback.

Twelve months ago his career was drifting: He had played only three NRL matches in three seasons and was working in youth support while playing reserve-grade rugby league.

After that, he was given the opportunity to sign with the Brisbane Broncos’ train-and-trial program, and despite struggling with his first pre-season training session because it caused him to vomit, he was accepted.

As he was called up to the Queensland side that had won the State of Origin series, the upward trend persisted. Although he received a late-season club ban for his part in a drinking session, he bounced back to score two tries in the Grand Final as the Broncos won their first NRL title in 19 years.

Penrith Panthers ‘ all-time leading appearance maker took over his country’s captaincy last autumn after James Tedesco was dropped for the Pacific Championships, and led them to the title.

Yeo then took the place of New South Wales in the State of Origin series against Queensland.

He won the World Cup three years ago and will continue to lead the Kangaroos on their Ashes tour.

Age: 25 Club: Sydney Roosters Position: Winger

After Mark Nawaqanitawase produced an outrageous piece of skill for the Sydney Roosters in May, Channel Nine commentator Matthew Thompson remarked, “That’s the try of the decade.”

It’s worth checking out if you haven’t seen the try the winger scored against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.

Heading for the corner, tight to the line, with opponents hurling themselves at his waist and ankles, Nawaqanitawase avoided going into touch by hopping on his left foot while tapping the ball ahead with his right in mid-air, before darting ahead to collect his own kick and grounding it just inside the line.

The winger scored 24tries in his first full NRL season, placing him at the top of the scoring chart.

Nawaqanitawase (pronounced Nwonga-neater-waazay) has a rugby union background and, like Walsh and Shibasaki, received his first call-up for the Ashes series. He played for the Wallabies at the 2023 World Cup.

He intends to return to union at the end of next season to prepare for the 2027 World Cup in Australia. However, Kevin Walters, the head coach of the Kangaroos, has given him the opportunity to play in both languages.

Among the other players Morley will be looking out for is Roosters forward Angus Crichton – “he’s such a handful, such a strong player” – and he acknowledges that Australia’s strength in depth creates a huge challenge for England.

The fact that it will be on their own soil will be significant for the English, he says. “They are world champs and they have been the benchmark for a number of years. A gripping, close three-game Test series is expected.

Australia have not lost an Ashes series since 1970, although they had to come from behind to win all three matches in 2003, including the opener, in which Morley was sent off after only 12 seconds for poleaxing Robbie Kearns.

He jokes that he wouldn’t have been sent off if he had jumped up right away.

“To be fair, it was a very difficult challenge. It just happened so fast. There was a little blur in the process.

The 2006 Tri-Nations victory in Sydney brings back many fond memories for Great Britain.

“It was the infamous night when Willie Mason was on a mission trying to take all the British players out”, he says.

“Sean Long received a much worse challenge after he punched Stuart Fielden,” he continued. And I did wonder, “Why is he not been sent off, and I was.” But they let a little bit more go in these Test matches. It was fantastic to participate in that.

Since then, no British team has defeated the Kangaroos.