Tuesday 22 October 2019 13:19, UK
Australia-born duo Lachlan Coote and Jackson Hastings are set to start for Great Britain in the opening match of this winter’s tour against Tonga on Saturday.
Head coach Wayne Bennett gave a clear indication of his line-up for the game in Hamilton when he announced a 21-man squad on Tuesday, omitting Jake Trueman, Joe Philbin and Blake Austin from his full touring party.
St Helens' Coote and Man of Steel Hastings, who both qualify through an English grandparent, are lined up to start at full-back and scrum-half respectively, while Wigan Warriors' Zak Hardaker is set to start at centre.
Hardaker, who was a late call-up, is a specialist full-back but his last appearance for England was a centre and he looks set to get the nod ahead of Jake Connor.
Former St Helens forward James Graham will join one of rugby league's most exclusive clubs when he leads out the Lions in Waikato.
The 34-year-old St George Illawarra Dragons prop will become only the fourth British player in the history of the game to win a half-century of caps, following in the footsteps of Jim Sullivan, Mick Sullivan and Adrian Morley.
The match has been given official Test match status and so Graham is set to become the eighth recipient overall of a Golden Cap, awarded by International Rugby League in recognition of his half-century.
The squad announcement was delayed after the Great Britain players and staff were evacuated from their Auckland base because of a major a fire at the neighbouring SkyCity Convention Centre.
The centre of Auckland was covered by smoke from the fire and the team have been moved to Hamilton a day earlier than planned to prepare for Saturday's game.
The players, who had been on a day off on Tuesday, left Auckland at 5pm local time to make the 69-mile trip south to Hamilton.
A spokesman said: "It all happened very quickly. Within an hour of being told to pack their bags we were on the coach out of Auckland."
The team were due to train in Auckland on Wednesday before making the trip but will now train in Hamilton instead.
The 24-man squad and support staff flew into Auckland from Sydney on Monday after attending the inaugural World Cup Nines tournament last weekend to embark on the first Lions tour to New Zealand since 1996.
The Great Britain team was mothballed in 2007 to enable the home nations to compete separately, but the Rugby Football League bowed to pressure to bring it back.
England coach Bennett is in charge of the Lions, who will open their four-match tour against the Tongans at the 25,800-capacity Waikato Stadium and play two Tests against the Kiwis before moving on to Port Moresby to face Papua New Guinea.
Great Britain 21-man squad: Lachlan Coote, Jermaine McGillvary, Zak Hardaker, Oliver Gildart, Ryan Hall, Gareth Widdop, Jackson Hastings, Chris Hill, Josh Hodgson, Luke Thompson, John Bateman, Elliot Whitehead, James Graham, Josh Jones, Tom Burgess, Jonny Lomax, Alex Walmsley, Jake Connor, Jack Hughes, George Williams, Daryl Clark
