Holbrook Stakes Knowles’ Great Britain Claim

Justin Holbrook has called for St Helens’ Morgan Knowles to be given a call-up for Great Britain’s tour of New Zealand. The Saints chief spoke out on behalf of the 22-year-old following his performance in the side’s 36-10 Good Friday win against rivals Wigan, which took them four points clear at the top of Super League.

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All the talk with regards to Great Britain’s end-of-season trip to face the Kiwis has centred around Regan Grace being involved, especially on the back of his hat-trick against the Warriors, which took his season tally to 11 in 11 matches. And while Holbrook claims Grace is “more than capable” of playing for the Lions, he picked out his fellow Wales international Knowles as a player who should be a shoo-in for coach Wayne Bennett.

“For me, he’s the most underrated player in Super League, although he’s not underrated by us,” Holbrook said. “If you talk about Great Britain tours, he’d be the first person I’d pick. Honestly, he’s that good. “Right from the start of pre-season, he’s worked so hard and he’s such a pleasure to coach. Our whole forward pack is playing really well and he’s a big part of that.”