England head coach Brian McDermott can be heartened by the number of England-qualified players in the Dream Team, given that the 2026 World Cup is little over a month away.
O’Neill put last season’s Grand Final sin-binning and disappointment of defeat behind him in 2026 to show he is of international quality, adding a run threat to his excellent defence [894 tackles this season] and distribution from dummy-half.
His club teammate Eckersley not only offers versatility across the backline, having played centre and full-back at times in 2026, but also scored 36 tries in 31 games in all competitions, running almost 3,000 metres and making 30 clean breaks.
Wakefield’s Auckland-born Hamlin-Uele, who qualifies via his grandparents, was an immense force for Trinity up front, surpassing 3,000 metres, crushing out 78 tackle busts and contributing 751 tackles in defence.
Rhinos three-quarter Handley was another included in McDermott’s 40-strong pool of talent named earlier this year, as was Hanley at Leigh, who, despite missing a chunk of the campaign through injury, still managed to notch 10 try assists, 65 tackle busts and 12 clean breaks.
Another of those selections, Currie, has been typically consistent for Warrington this year, making 933 tackles and taking 349 hit-ups for 2,333 metres.
