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AAP
Sport
George Clarke

Rooster Radley on England's RLWC radar

Sydney Roosters' Victor Radley is being courted by England coach Shaun Wane ahead of the World Cup. (AAP)

England coach Shaun Wane aims to meet with Victor Radley this week to convince him to play for his side at the Rugby League World Cup.

Radley, who qualifies for England through a Sheffield-born father, has previously indicated his preference is to represent Australia and the NSW Blues.

The Sydney Roosters lock, who has been ruled out of a third straight Origin series, has yet to earn representative honours but is behind Isaah Yeo and Cameron Murray in the queue.

Wane said he had been keeping tabs on the 24-year-old's performances since replacing Wayne Bennett in 2020 and would be keen to call him up.

"I'm very proud to be English and I want my players to be proud," he told AAP.

"If there's someone who has English heritage who is absolutely outstanding in their position then I'm open to selecting them as well.

"He (Radley) is a great player, there's no doubt about that.

"I've got some really strong players in that position and if he wants to make himself available then it comes down to me making a judgement."

Wane said the same criteria applies to Wests Tigers halfback Jackson Hastings.

The 26-year-old represented Great Britain under Bennett in 2019 but was excluded from Wane's first and only England squad last year.

He was instead called up by their opponents, the Combined Nations All Stars.

"Jackson's a good player and he's doing some really impressive things for the Tigers," Wane said.

"He's the same as everyone else, I'm open minded and if he's playing well he'll definitely be in the picture.

"The door is never closed but I always want England to be a first pick."

Wane, who coached Wigan to three Super League titles, has used a trip to Australia to check in with some England veterans such as Canberra's Elliot Whitehead and Canterbury's Luke Thompson.

He also met with rising Brisbane centre Herbie Farnworth, who after scoring seven tries in 10 games this season, is seen as a shoo-in for his first international honours later this year.

England play the Combined Nations next month with their Super League-based players before a warm-up Test against Fiji in October.

They open their World Cup campaign against Samoa in a group including Greece and France.

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