Lachlan Coote has come to be the next participant to be called up by Great Britain coach Wayne Bennett.
Coote, who performed for Scotland at the 2016 Four Nations Series and has ancestry, joins Warrington stand-off Blake Austin in a performance group to prepare for the excursion to Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.
Coote’s Saints team-mate Morgan Knowles, who played for Wales is one of five new faces but winger Regan Grace, his team-mate for club and country, is not one of them.
Rather Bennett has called the leading try-scorer at Super League at 2019, Leeds Rhinos winger Ash Handley up.
“As we’ve said since the return of the Great Britain team was declared at the start of the year, we have considered everyone who is eligible and places themselves forward,” Bennett said.
“Along with this performance group of players in England and France, we’ve got another set of players located at the NRL to consider – and there is still time to others that are eligible to impress and push their way ”
The other newcomers are Warrington Wolves ahead Joe Philbin, who played for Ireland also Salford Red Devils second rower Josh Jones. St Helens forwards Matty Lees could have been a sixth face but for injury.
Also ruled out by injury are Castleford half-back Luke Gale while Warrington second rower Ben Currie was left out to allow him to have a complete and Wakefield winger Tom Johnstone.
The group will meet for the very first time in Leeds next Tuesday to begin the preparations. Coaching will start during the Super League series.
The squad is expected to be captained by England and Wigan skipper Sean O’Loughlin, who is set to come back prior to the end of the season from a pectoral injury.
St Helens hooker James Roby and he would be the players at the Super League-based squad.
The group was selected by a panel which also contained also three former Lions vacationers and Danny Ward, group manager Jamie Peacock and coaches Ian Watson in Paul Anderson, Paul Sculthorpe and Paul Wellens.
The final squad will be announced on October 12 within 48 hours of the Grand Final. The Lions’ first game will be from Tonga in Hamilton on Saturday, October 26.
Amazing Britan elite performance squad: Jake Trueman, Liam Watts (both Castleford), Sam Tomkins (Catalans Dragons), Jermaine McGillvary (Huddersfield), Jake Connor, Jamie Shaul, Scott Taylor (all of Hull FC), Ash Handley, Stevie Ward (both Leeds), Jonny Lomax, Tommy Makinson, Mark Percival, J Roby, Luke Thompson, Alex Walmsley, Morgan Knowles, Lachlan Coote (all St Helens), Jack Jones (Salford), Reece Lyne (Wakefield), Blake Austin, Josh Charnley, Daryl Clark, Chris Hill, Jack Hughes, Joe Philbin, Stefan Ratchford (all Warrington), Oliver Gildart, Sean O’Loughlin, George Williams (all Wigan)
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