James Roby to fill Josh Hodgson’s spot in RLWC final for England

ENGLAND might have lost star hooker Josh Hodgson to a horror ACL injury but don’t give the RLWC final away to the Kangaroos just yet.

James Roby could be the secret to England success on Saturday.

ENGLAND might have lost star hooker Josh Hodgson to a horror ACL injury but don’t give the RLWC final away to the Kangaroos just yet.

England’s secret weapon could be a man who has beaten Australia before and has plenty of motivation to do it again at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday, reports foxsports.com.au.

James Roby is a 32-year-old veteran of 34 Tests and will fill in for Hodgson at hooker during the tournament decider.

James Roby could be the secret to England success on Saturday.

He is one of just two players in the England squad who have beaten Australia before - the other being English skipper Sean O’Loughlin.

They were both members of the Great Britain side that beat the Kangaroos 23-12 in the 2006 Tri-Nation series.

Roby thought his international career was over when Hodgson arrrived on the scene but a stellar 2017 season with Super League club St Helens forced Wayne Bennett to bring him onboard.

Down and out: Josh Jodgson injured his ACL.

“I’m really gutted for him,” Roby said of teammate Hodgson.

“You don’t want to see any player get injured at any time but to get injured just before such a massive occasion for England Rugby League as well, it’s real disappointing for him.

“If I get my chance then obviously I’ll take it with both hands and try my best for the team.”

MEN’S RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP FINAL

Saturday, 8:00pm (AEDST), Suncorp Stadium

Australia: 1. Billy Slater 2. Dane Gagai 3. Will Chambers 4. Josh Dugan 5. Valentine Holmes 6. Michael Morgan 7. Cooper Cronk 8. Aaron Woods 9. Cameron Smith 10. David Klemmer 11. Boyd Cordner 12. Matt Gillett 13. Josh McGuire 14. Wade Graham 15. Jordan McLean 16. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 17. Tyson Frizell 18. Felise Kaufusi 19. Tom Trbojevic 20. Josh Mansour 21. James Maloney

No changes for the Kangaroos, who are expected to go with the same team for the third week running.

England: 1. Gareth Widdop 2. Jermaine McGillvary 3. Kallum Watkins 4. John Bateman 5. Ryan Hall 6. Kevin Brown 7. Luke Gale 8. Chris Hill 9. James Roby 10. James Graham 11. Sam Burgess 12. Elliott Whitehead 13. Sean O’Loughlin 14. Alex Walmsley 15. Thomas Burgess 16. Ben Currie 17. Chris Heighington 18. Jonny Lomax 19. Scott Taylor 20. George Williams 21. Mark Percival

Wayne Bennett has decided to go with Chris Heighington as his final man on the bench, eschewing a utility completley. As a result, James Roby will be called upon to play 80 minutes at dummy half.

Originally published as James Roby to fill Josh Hodgson’s spot in RLWC final for England